Just One More Reason to Dump Trump...

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Jake Tapper(CNN) - “Will you unequivocally condemn David Duke and say that you don't want his vote or that of other white supremacists in this election?

Donald Trump, GOP presidential candidate) - “Well, just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I don't know. I don't know, did he endorse me or what's going on, because, you know, I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you're asking me a question that I'm supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about.

The question asked of Trump is pretty straight forward and difficult, if not impossible, to misunderstand. Trump's response is also very clear. From the clarity of Mr. Trumps response one can only deduce that candidate Trump fully understood the question Tapper asked.

David Duke, a white supremacist and former Grand Wizard in the KKK is well known in America. For anyone to believe that Trump doesn't know anything thing about David Duke, or that he doesn't know nothing about white supremacists is more than just a stretch.

Following the telephone interview with Tapper Trump later blamed his remarks on a lousy earpiece that CNN provided him. On NBC's "Today" Trump began his walk back of his initial response.

"I'm sitting in a house in Florida with a very bad earpiece that they gave me, and you could hardly hear what he was saying. But what I heard was various groups, and I don't mind disavowing anybody, and I disavowed David Duke and I disavowed him the day before at a major news conference, which is surprising because he was at the major news conference, CNN was at the major news conference, and they heard me very easily disavow David Duke."

"Now, I go, and I sit down again, I have a lousy earpiece that is provided by them, and frankly, he talked about groups. He also talked about groups. And I have no problem with disavowing groups, but I'd at least like to know who they are. It would be very unfair to disavow a group, Matt, if the group shouldn't be disavowed. I have to know who the groups are. But I disavowed David Duke."

Trump is allegedly a smart man, college educated, and successful in business. He has, by his own words, known and worked with many politicians of both parties to secure the favors he sought in his business affairs. Yet he apparently thinks his supporters are either naïve or unintelligent enough to fully buy his direct, after the fact disavowal of David Duke and his squirting a direct denouncement of white supremacy and the KKK.

It remains to be seen whether Trump's base of supporters will accept the weak, and frankly disingenuous, attempt to walk back his initial response to Tapper's question. Given Trump is apparently covered with Teflon it is likely his statement, and the questions it should raise, will be brushed off like water rolling of a ducks back.

SOURCE

Via: Memeorandum

UPATE - 3/1/16

Washington (CNN)—The two top Republicans in Congress called out Donald Trump on Tuesday for failing to denounce white supremacist groups over the weekend.

"If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. This party does not prey on people's prejudices," House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said plainly, "Senate Republicans condemn David Duke, the KKK, and his racism."

"There has been a lot of talk in the last 24 hours about one of our presidential candidates and his seeming ambivalence about David Duke and the KKK, so let me make it perfectly clear," he said. "That is not the view of Republicans who have been elected to the United States Senate, and I condemn his views in the most forceful way."

Congressional Democrats also seized on the issue Tuesday to argue that Trump's views represented his party as a whole.

"The leading Republican presidential candidate's refusal to disavow the KKK was a breathtaking low-point for our country," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. "Yet while Donald Trump's radical agenda does not reflect the values of the American people, it is a perfect reflection of many in the House Republican Conference."

What say you? Are you buying the Ryan/McConnell condemnation/denunciation? The Pelosi broad brush stroke that many in the Republican Conference hold Trump's views?

Full article BELOW THE FOLD.

American Nationalist Party... A Positive Political Ideology Or Not?

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America is angry. Angry at politicians, government, business (particularly Wall Street), fearful of Islamic terrorism and illegal immigration, concerned about our ballooning national debt, as well as host of other concerns. America is ripe for a change. A departure from business as usual in Washington DC. Folks are hungry for a leader that will promise them a change and restore the United States to greatness,

The rise of Donald Trump and his nationalist populism is driven by the concerns of Americans noted above. It also explains the existence of the American Nationalist Party (click here to go to their website). Our purpose for posting the following is not to be taken as support for Donald Trump or an endorsement of The American Nationalist Party as it is neither. Rather it is posted for informational and educational purposes.

Nationalism in its extreme is a very dangerous condition as we have seen throughout history. The formation of an American Nationalist party, and the advent of populist movements like Donald Trump's should give educated and concerned citizens great pause. Nationalism, regardless of how sold carries with it the echoes of the past, quickly bringing to mind the nationalism that led to Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Fascist Spain of the 20th century just to name a few.

We hope you find the information and links provided helpful and useful. Much is at stake in 2016 and beyond. It is critical America does not make the mistake of turning its future over to demagogues that prey on the concerns and fears of the populace. It has never turned out well for countries who have,

The 2nd Revolution

You will hear us use the word “revolution” many times in our writings, articles, etc. Many may wonder what exactly we mean by revolution. How would revolution actually happen if one was even theoretically possible? And what kind of revolution? What do we mean by revolution?

Revolution is defined as:

1. A forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.

2. A fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.

3. A sudden, extreme, or complete change in something or a sudden, complete change in the way people live, work, think, etc.

4. An instance of revolving; the movement of an object in a circular or elliptical course around another or about an axis or center.

When we speak of revolution which one are we? Obviously not number 4. So that leaves 1-3. We want to try and avoid number 1 if possible, so that leaves us as promoters of numbers 2 and 3. We are a revolutionary party! No matter how you look at the problems our nation faces, it is going to require some kind of mass upheaval to finally break the cycle of corruption, decline, and disgrace that plagues our Nation!

How would revolution actually happen? And what kind of revolution? What do we mean by revolution? What is the nature of revolution? Perhaps this section will shed some light on what we mean and bring to light the necessity of some kind of collective action against the ruling elite!



Outline of Revolution

1) Why Revolution? Avoiding Violent Overthrows of Government

2) Can Revolutions Happen Against Democratic Institutions?

3) The Rise of a Third Political Party?

Bonus: American Nationalists Building the Next American Revolution



The Revolution that we are calling for takes place on many levels. This revolution takes place politically, intellectually, economically, culturally, and perhaps in a sense, spiritually. This revolution encompasses that of an awakening for the American people and the rebirth/renewal of the United States of America! Rebirth is a process of restoring as well as creating!

This revolution will bring about the birth of a new way of life. We Americans have sat quiet long enough while the political establishment has dismantled this country in all shapes, forms, and ways through their corrupt manners. There is no one person or group to fully blame for the bad shape this country is in. The ruling establishment deserves much of the blame for their twisted and corrupt ways that have destroyed the lives of millions of Americans.

We Americans are also guilty for allowing all this to happen and blindly following the status quo’s corrupt system! This revolution is an atonement for past mistakes! We can all rebuild our country, restore our government’s sanctity, and recreate a more prefect Republic! We are the next American Revolution!American National Party

Postscript: While there are items on the American Nationalist Party's website that do make sense, taken as a whole it left me with a net negative judgement.

Watching The Trump Reality Show Unfold On The American Stage...

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Purveyor of Truth

Why Evangelicals Are Born Again for Donald Trump

Trump Eyes Nevada for Third Consecutive Victory

GOP wakes up to Trump nightmare

Personally, I think way too many Americans are addicted to reality shows.

Oh and this teaser from The New Yorker.

The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. Nine days later, Thomas Hardy composed a poem about the disaster called “The Convergence of the Twain.” Many poets were mourning the dead; Hardy took a different approach. He asked readers to contemplate the accident’s prehistory: to imagine how, even as the great ship was being built, the iceberg—its “sinister mate”—had also been growing. “No mortal eye could see / The intimate welding of their later history,” Hardy wrote. But, even so, “They were bent / By paths coincident / On being anon twin halves of one august event.”

The poem’s theory of history—as something that unfolds through fated convergences—is also a theory of leadership. For leadership to exist, a leader must cross paths with a crisis; an exemplary person must meet her “sinister mate.” Without an answering crisis, a would-be leader remains just a promising custodian of potential. (Imagine Lincoln without the Civil War or F.D.R. without the Depression.) Before a leader can pull us out of despair, we have to fall into it. For this reason, a melancholy ambivalence can cling to even the most inspiring stories of leadership.

People who fetishize leadership sometimes find themselves longing for crisis. They yearn for emergency, dreaming of a doomsday to be narrowly averted. Last month, Donald Trump’s campaign released its first official TV advertisement. The ad features a procession of alarming images—the San Bernardino shooters, a crowd at passport control, the flag of Syria’s Al Nusra Front—designed to communicate the idea of a country under siege. But the ad does more than stoke fear; it also excites, because it suggests that we’ve arrived at a moment welcoming to the emergence of a strong and electrifying leader. (Trump, a voice-over explains, will “quickly cut the head off ISIS—and take their oil.”) By making America’s moment of crisis seem as big (or “huge”) as possible, Trump makes himself seem more consequential, too.More below the fold.

A Puzzling Problem...

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A federal judge sounded skeptical Monday about a request from voting and civil rights' groups to block a federal official's decision to embrace requirements in three states that new voters submit proof that they're U.S. citizens.

Given the influx of illegal immigrants it is just a bit puzzling why the requirements to submit proof of US citizenship is a problem. It really shouldn't be that difficult to devise a system where US citizen of voting age secures a valid picture voter ID card when they become eligible to vote, Whether natural born or naturalized.. Something along the lines of the old system of registering for the draft perhaps. A one time requirement and you done. 

Starting registration in 2018 would certainly give everyone already of voting age  enough time to get the documentation needed to secure a voter ID card.

Full article HERE

Atheism Possibly Predates Christ By at Least 500 Years...

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Stephen Fry putting things in rational perspective, certainly in my opinion anyway. Be sure to read the article on atheism for an interesting historical perspective.

The Telegraph - To its adherents it is the ultimate modern belief system, the antidote to centuries of ignorance and superstition, while to its detractors it is the product of latter-day decadence and materialism.


But a new Cambridge University study argues that atheism is in fact one of the world’s oldest religions – long predating Christianity and Islam.


Far from being the result of scientific breakthroughs or modern mass education, the belief that there were no gods was relatively common in the ancient world, research by Prof Tim Whitmarsh, a leading Cambridge classicist, concludes.


But the “ancient atheism” was effectively written out of history after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire after the reign of Constantine in the early 4th Century, heralding a new era of state-imposed belief, Prof Whitmarsh, Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge, argues


The study is potentially bad news for believers and non-believers alike.

On one hand it breaks the widely assumed link between atheism and progress or modernity but it also rejects the idea that faith is a natural, instinctive impulse.

Continue Reading Below the Fold.

Echoes of McCarthyism...

Ted Cruz: Friend to Fascists, Past and Present


A greater threat to our republic and civil liberties than even Trump. Click on highlighted link above.

Make America "Great Again"... The Donald

Nuff Said?

The Threat Of Religion Rising In Our Secular Constitutional Government...

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Purveyor of Truth

In America, the nation whose constitution assures the right of every citizen to worship the God she or he pleases, we now have a candidate for president who is running to ... “show this country the face of the God that we serve.” < According to Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife Heidi.







Rafael Cruz, the senator's father made a similar statement a month ago saying his son is running for president in order to “share the love of Jesus Christ” with “every person in America of every race, color and creed.







These statements in and of themselves should cause considerable concern in anyone and everyone who values their religious freedom and the secular government our Founding Fathers left to us. However there is yet more. Rafael Cruz has also said that the "presence of the Holy Spirit" convinced his son to run for president. Essentially implying his son was chosen by God to run for president.






I wonder if the Christian God is to be Cruz's chief advisor in all things should he win the presidency. Maybe it's just me but a Cruz Presidency, or even more frightening a seat on The Supreme Court, are the last thing this nation needs. If it values its heritage.

Via: Memeorandum

Could It Happen Here?...

Looking at this from a realistic and rational perspective one would, I believe, have to acknowledge it very well could.

It is questionable whether the 2'nd amendment to our constitution will continue to be interpreted as giving ALL law abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms or whether it will change via progressive thought that the amendment means only a well regulated militia, which of course includes law enforcement officials.

It is reasonable to consider that should our legislative, judicial, and executive branches someday all be controlled by a progressive majority who believes, for whatever reason, that firearm confiscation is in the nation's best interest you can almost bet it will happen.

Ron Paul Gives Bernie Sanders a Boost... Sort Of

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“On occasion, Bernie comes up with libertarian views when he talks about taking away the cronyism on Wall Street, so in essence he’s right, and occasionally he voted against war,”...

"It's hard to find anybody -- since Rand is out of it -- anybody that would take a libertarian position, hardcore libertarian position on privacy, on the war issue and on economic policy,"...

“So I always say: You can search for a long time, but you’re not gonna find anybody in the Republican or Democratic primary that even comes slightly close to ever being able to claim themselves a libertarian,”

So, the way I read this is, if you aren't voting Gary Johnson you should be voting Bernie Sanders.

It just makes sense...

Full article BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

A Briliant Business Owner!...

h/t THE NEW YORKER

Politics, National and World Issues, and Sports...

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Purveyor of Truth

Was there ever a time when American electoral politics trafficked more in substance than is fluff and hyperbole? I seem to vaguely recall a time when substance, and maybe even a bit of integrity played a larger part than paranoia and fear. Maybe it's just me and I have a foggy memory. There was after all the infamous Red Scare of the "1950's.

Come to think of it the nation has remained fixated on the socialist and or communist threats almost perpetually since the end of WW II. Marx sure created a helluva stir with his vision of a socially equitable economic system back in the mid eighteen hundreds. Too bad he strayed into the weeds of utopia.

Since we've not become communist since Barrack Obama has been in office for 7 years we'll just have to keep up the fight against just in case. Although we have engaged in forms of socialism going back to FDR and forward.

Now there is the immigrant issue. You know, the one that goes back years and President Reagan clamped down on by signing into law and act giving limited numbers amnesty. Here we are today with the same issue and a by far greater number of illegal immigrants hiding in the shadows. Some think we should round them all up and depart them. Still waiting for the specifics on how that would work exactly.

Of course the terrorist threat is very real and must be dealt with. To listen to some, radical jihadist Islam is going to take over the civilized world unless the USA destroys the threat, single handedly if necessary and according to some demagogues.

Most of the fear and slaughter has been the terrorists terrorizing their own and threatening the governments of Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa. Maybe the answer is to actually do exactly what Obama is doing and build on it. Even our allies in the region aren't too terribly fond of us. Maybe figuring out why and rectifying it might help in the effort against terror from the Middle East. As for Iran, kudos to Obama and his team.

Last I checked all Americans have the freedom to worship as their conscience guides them, peacefully and without disruption to others. But to listen to some you'd think religious freedom is in peril in America. I guess that must be because a lot of people believe reproductive rights and LGBT rights somehow diminish or negate their right to continue to discriminate.

My son, a responsible and loving family man recently acquired his permit to carry. So I guess the hyperbole over the 2nd amendment right to own firearms is your typical NRA and the political right inflated and overblown hyperbole. Meanwhile millions of responsible firearm owners and hunters are scratching their heads and wondering what all the hoopla over background checks and waiting periods are. But this is America, I'll leave it at that.

This weekend is Super Bowl 50, and it is as expected shaping up to be a huge media and sporting event. Come to think of it politics in America bears more than just a casual resemblance.

What Trump's 2'nd Place Finish in Iowa Means...

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Purveyor of Truth


Nate Silver provides some interesting insight into what Trump's failing to win the Iowa Caucuses reveals. The analysis, if correct, is heartening for those inclined to a saner world view than the one possessed by The Donald.

It’s not uncommon for the polls to be off in Iowa and other early-voting states, but the manner in which Trump underachieved is revealing. It turns out that few late-deciding voters went for him. According to entrance polls in Iowa, Trump won 39 percent of the vote among Iowans who decided on their candidate more than a month ago. But he took just 13 percent of voters who had decided in the last few days, with Rubio instead winning the plurality of those voters.


WHEN DECISION TO SUPPORT WAS MADE TRUMP CRUZ RUBIO

Just today 15% 22% 28%
In the last few days 13 27 31
Sometime last week 13 36 27
In the last month 23 32 27
Before that 39 26 13

Source: Iowa Republican Entrance Poll

Hopefully the above is telling us that as the campaign wears on more individuals will determine the Trump narcissism, hyperbole, extreme white nationalism, bigotry, misogyny, and propensity for lying is not for them. At the end of the day playing to fear and paranoia is usually the losing strategy.

Read more BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum