Cuckoo Birds of a Feather Flock Together...

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Donald J. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president of The United States, continues to display on the world stage his basic ignorance. Well, maybe it isn't really ignorance per se. Perhaps he is just so wrapped up in himself and his self perceived greatness that he hasn't time to learn the details of world shaping events. Unless of course it is to feed into his xenophobia and megalomania which he will use to poison the US political environment further.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump was asked about the upcoming vote in the U.K. about leaving the European Union. The reporter asked, “And Brexit? Your position?” Trump replied, “Huh?”

“Brexit,” the reporter repeated. “Hmm,” Trump responded, apparently unfamiliar with the term.

With this exchange in mind, consider what the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said on Twitter this morning:
“Just arrived in Scotland. Place is going wild over the vote. They took their country back, just like we will take America back. No games!”
What Trump may not realize, or really even be able to fully understand, is that Scotland is “going wild” because Scottish voters overwhelmingly voted against leaving the E.U. Locally, people aren’t celebrating – because they see this as a disaster.

Trump proceeded to hold a press conference in Scotland, against the backdrop of one of the most important political moments in the modern history of the United Kingdom, where he spoke at great length, and in great detail, about his new golf resort. The Republican candidate boasted about refurbished holes on his course, plumbing, putting greens, and zoning considerations.

Even by the low standards of Donald J. Trump, it was among the most baffling press conferences anyone has ever seen. The entirety of Scotland is reeling; the future of the U.K. and the continent is uncertain; and an American presidential candidate arrived to deliver a testimonial about a country club and how fond he is of the design of a golf course.

Wait, it gets worse. More BELOW THE FOLD

Of course one of Trump's most ardent supporters, 1/2 term governor of Alaska, and failed 2008 GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin weighed in.

If you thought Donald Trump’s take on the Brexit was idiotic… well, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Sarah Palin’s scorching take.

On her Facebook page Friday, Palin cheered on voters in the United Kingdom for voting to leave the European Union. While this in and of itself was predictable, Palin passed Go and collected a $200 one-way ticket to Crazyville Station by spouting conspiratorial rhetoric worthy of Alex Jones.

“Good on you for ignoring all the fear mongering from special interest globalists who tend to aim for that apocalyptic One World Government that dissolves a nation’s self-determination and sovereignty… the EU being a One World Government mini-me,” Palin wrote/sputtered on Facebook. “America can learn an encouraging lesson from this. It is time to dissolve political bands that connect us to agendas not in our best interest.

Yeah, like the incoherent Palin has even a clue what is in our best interests. Sort of like the narcissist demagogue she supports for president of the USA.

More BELOW THE FOLD.

A Gentlemanly Snubbing By Rubio...

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"I have my own identity. I have my own positions on issues," Marco Rubio said. | Getty

Can ya blame the guy? Another GOP'er with some principles.

POLITICO Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is not campaigning with Donald Trump in the battleground state of Florida, but he says he has his reasons.

"It's not that I'm looking to undermine him, but I think the differences between us on key issues are so significant that I just don't plan to campaign — I've got to run my own race," Rubio told CNN in a live interview Wednesday.

Rubio announced earlier in the day that he had changed his mind and will seek reelection for his Senate seat, which he had previously said he would not do at the outset of his Republican presidential campaign. In explaining his reasoning behind not campaigning with Trump, Rubio said it had not changed from before he decided to seek reelection.

"I have my own identity," he continued. "I have my own positions on issues, and I'm not going to be out there undermining him or anything of that nature because I don't want Hillary to win, but I really think I need to tell people what I'm going to do as a senator as opposed to, kind of, and that was going to be the case irrespective of whether I ran."


Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/swing-states-2016-election/2016/06/rubio-not-campaign-trump-224680#ixzz4CLxe64o1
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

Via: Memeorandum

Not A Good Picture...

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It appears as though American lawmakers have forgotten how to exercise compromise and create a win-win environment for all Americans. Which begs the question, who's in charge?

Article BELOW THE FOLD .

Time To Let Go Of A Losing Ideology...

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“Is The End of My Country’s Greatness Near” is a question I contemplated and subsequently wrote an essay on back in 2009. I ask the very same question today, almost nine years later. It troubles me more now than it did in2009. But it is not because the object and subject of my concern, Barack Hussein Obama and socialism has destroyed America, rather it is because the conservatism I had always believed in has been responsible for bringing to political life the narcissistic demagogue and megalomaniac Donald J. Trump.

Just to be very clear. I have not wavered from my core principles, a conservatism that is far removed from today’s Evangelical, Neocon, authoritarian, oligarchical, and board room conservatism. This weblog supports a conservatism that is based on constitutional principles, the belief that all people have equal right to opportunity, that race, ethnicity, or religion should not be a barrier in anyway, that diversity and differing views are in fact good, healthy, and necessary for a strong society, and that it must be the goal of conservatism to support the economic dreams of the lower and middle rungs of the socio-economic ladder rather than the dreams of the most wealthy.

President Obama, a man I once thought would change America in ways that would significantly and negatively impact my liberties to live my life as I desire has done no such thing. I am as free to live my life as I chose today as I was before he assumed office. My fears were completely unjustified and I must say I am embarrassed that I, one who values objectivity and reason, let myself be swayed by political hyperbole and the pressures of Tea Party conservative groupthink. With the birth of the Tea Party the conservatives unjustified hyperbole reached fever pitch and it is why today, I must renounce any and all connection to the present modern day brand of conservatism. A conservatism that seeks not to expand opportunity and civil liberties for all but rather strives to impose their views on all.

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD.

Will Trump's Economic Policies Make America Great "Again"...

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Presidential hopeful and presumptive GOP nominee Donald J. Trump wants to Make America Great "Again". His economic policies, analyzed by Moody, paints a not so rosy picture. At the very least Mr. Trump needs to explain in depth what his policies would be, demonstrate why they would be successful and how Moody's analysis is incorrect.

Moody's Analytics - Presidential candidates often put forward proposals that are as much political statements as firm policy positions. No one expects that their proposals will get through the legislative process and into law fully intact. But while the policy proposals put forward by candidates are generally well overstated, they are a statement on their philosophy and priorities. Mr. Trump’s economic policy proposals should be considered through this lens. He has suggested that he might be willing to bend his position on taxes and perhaps tariffs. He has even intimated that his policy statements are simply a negotiating stance— he is asking for a lot more up front than he ultimately expects to get.

Having said this, what he is asking for is fiscally unsound. His tax and spending proposals will result in very large deficits and a much higher debt load. A future Congress may be able to rein in this profligacy, but it will not be easy, as there is a gulf between what he says he wants on taxes and spending and what it will take to make the budget arithmetic work.

He is also very suspicious of globalization. His willingness to threaten higher tariffs on U.S. trading partners and his sharp criticism of major trade deals signal a reversal on the long-running expansion of U.S. trade and foreign investment. Requiring millions of undocumented immigrants to leave the country also signals less openness to the rest of the world. The upshot of Mr. Trump’s economic policy positions under almost any scenario is that the U.S. economy will be more isolated and diminished.

Article from the Wall Street Journal.

Complete Moody's Analytics analysis.

Knowing what we know about Mr. Trump's track record relative to honesty a deep and healthy skepticism of everything he utters would be an advisable policy.

Via: Memeorandum

Per the Donald, It's Time To Start Profiling...

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More bigotry and lunacy from Donald J. Trump, GOP presumptive nominee.

Donald Trump said Sunday that in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, it's time for the United States to start looking at racial profiling as a preventative tactic.

"Well I think profiling is something that we're going to have to start thinking about as a country," the presumptive GOP nominee said in a phone interview with CBS' "Face the Nation. "Other countries do it, you look at Israel and you look at others, they do it and they do it successfully. And I hate the concept of profiling but we have to start using common sense and we have to use our heads."

"It's not the worst thing to do," he added.

This just in .

Via: Memeorandum

As The Donald Continues To Be The Donald, Exciting The 30%'ers...

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This from a man who to anyone paying attention is about as honest as this.





Of course the 30% Trumpian Gladiators will support to the death one of, if not the biggest, liar in American political history.

Supporters of Donald Trump got an unexpected plea on Saturday: a request to send the billionaire money.

It was an "emergency" request, the Hill reported, representing an urgent need for an infusion of $100,000 to put ads on the air in battleground states. Why Trump couldn't simply write a check to cover the costs apparently wasn't explained, but the missive was useful regardless: It demonstrates clearly the difficult position of the Trump campaign with only 142 days to go.

We looked at Trump's sliding poll numbers on Friday, but it's worth adding a bit more context.

"[T]here’s no way to look at Trump’s national polling that avoids the grim reality that he is at a lower ebb than any general election candidate has hit in the last three elections," the National Review's Dan McLaughlin wrote last week.

Not only are Trump's poll numbers slipping, they are at a low that no one, Republican or Democrat, has seen in the past three election cycles. Looking at the window of time between 200 and 100 days before each of those elections, you can see that Trump has consistently polled worse than George W. Bush in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. He caught up briefly after clinching the GOP nomination — and then sank again.

Trump News?...

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Reports are floating around that Donald J Trump, GOP presumptive presidential nominee, is considering getting into the media business. If there is any substance to this it certainty would not be surprising. He could name his company Yellow Journalism LTD and his news show Reality Television News.

Every election cycle has its own breakout media star. In 1992, it was CNN. A few years later, it would be an e-mail blast called the Drudge Report. By 2000, the country had more or less been neatly delineated between MSNBC and Fox News households. The 2008 election introduced Politico and the Huffington Post to the adults’ table. BuzzFeed joined in 2012.

The breakout media star of 2016 is, inarguably, Donald Trump, who has masterfully—and horrifyingly—demonstrated an aptitude for manipulating the news cycle, gaining billions of dollars worth of free airtime, and dominating coverage on every screen. Now, several people around him are looking for a way to leverage his supporters into a new media platform and cable channel.

Trump is indeed considering creating his own media business, built on the audience that has supported him thus far in his bid to become the next president of the United States. According to several people briefed on the discussions, the presumptive Republican nominee is examining the opportunity presented by the “audience” currently supporting him. He has also discussed the possibility of launching a “mini-media conglomerate” outside of his existing TV-production business, Trump Productions LLC. He has, according to one of these people, enlisted the consultation of his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who owns the The New York Observer. Trump’s rationale, according to this person, is that, “win or lose, we are onto something here. We’ve triggered a base of the population that hasn’t had a voice in a long time.” For his part, Kushner was heard at a New York dinner party saying that “the people here don’t understand what I’m seeing. You go to these arenas and people go crazy for him.” (Both Kushner and Ivanka Trump did not respond to a request for comment.)

Trump, this person close to the matter suggests, has become irked by his ability to create revenue for other media organizations without being able to take a cut himself. Such a situation “brings him to the conclusion that he has the business acumen and the ratings for his own network.” Trump has “gotten the bug,” according to this person. “So now he wants to figure out if he can monetize it.”

More HERE.

Via: Memeorandum

Stephen Colbert Skewering Trump...

Hillarious!

Again the NRA and Trump Are Lyng...

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Here we go again. Complements of the NRA and Donald Trump.

Fairfax, Va.— The executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, Chris W. Cox, released the following statement regarding terror watchlists:

We are happy to meet with Donald Trump. The NRA's position on this issue has not changed. The NRA believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period. Anyone on a terror watchlist who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing. If an investigation uncovers evidence of terrorist activity or involvement, the government should be allowed to immediately go to court, block the sale, and arrest the terrorist. At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watchlist to be removed. That has been the position of Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Tex.) and a majority of the U.S. Senate. Sadly, President Obama and his allies would prefer to play politics with this issue.

President Obama's stated position.

Regarding a Constitutional right to guns, Obama says:


Obama, "Sportsmen": Barack Obama believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms. He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns.


On the issue of urban policy, Obama says he favors "commonsense measures" to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children, and that he would bring back the expired "assault weapon" ban and make it permanent:


Obama, "Urban Policy": Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

For the unemotional and cool headed person, one that observes reality, it is clear that the NRA and Donald Trump are the ones who ...would prefer to play politics with this issue.

Reinstituting the 1994 "assault weapons" ban, universal background checks, and closing loopholes is not banning firearms or gutting the Second Amendment. The only folks hurt by banning assault style large capacity weapons would be the manufacturers and the NRA who, as we all know, are in the manufacturers hip pocket and love to play politics on their behalf.

It is time this nation actually engages in a non political and rational discussion on the issue of sensible and rational firearm regulation and control.

Sources HEREand HERE.

You Be The Judge...

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Anderson Cooper in a rather pointed and intense interview with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. After listening to the video and reading the article it was clear to me that nothing was really clear. The individual citizen Bondi may very well differ with the official Republican Attorney General Bondi. But then again if this be the case why didn't she choose a party hat would be more in line with her personal values? We leave it to you all to be the judge.

CNN's Anderson Cooper went after Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) hard in a one-on-one interview Tuesday, calling into question her status as a champion for LGBT Floridians given her work on the legal fight against same-sex marriage in the state.

And for five minutes, he didn't relent.

Cooper began the interview by quoting Bondi as saying that anybody who attacks Florida's LGBT community will be gone after "to the fullest extent of the law." The quote -- and Tuesday afternoon's interview -- were both in regard to the terrorist attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning.

Cooper then noted that many people in the LGBT community he spoke to did not have much regard for Bondi, given her work against same-sex marriage in the state. Bondi notably, in 2014, wrote in court papers that Florida allowing the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states would "impose significant public harm." (Cooper used the words "induce public harm.")

That's when things got heated.

"Do you really think you're a champion of the gay community?" he asked.

Bondi emphasized that she was sworn to uphold the Constitution of Florida and that Florida voters had passed a ban on same-sex marriage (it passed with 62 percent support in 2008). "It had nothing to do -- I've never said I don't like gay people," Bondi protested. "That's ridiculous."

Cooper, who in 2012 came out as gay, didn't back down, though, focusing on the use of the word "harm" in the court papers.

"Doesn't that send a message to some people who might have bad ideas in mind?" he asked.

"Anderson, I don't believe gay people could do harm to the state of Florida," Bondi said.

Then Cooper asked again. And again. By the end, he'd asked some version of that question five times.

A visibly frustrated Bondi sighed and said she would also defend a law legalizing marijuana if it were the law of Florida.

Via: Memeorandum

Monday Evening Comic Relief...

Trump, An ISIS Stooge?...

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It is no surprise that Trump has chose to politicize and exploit the Orlando Florida terrorist attack in which 50 souls were killed and 53 were injured this past Sunday morning. His exploitation of this horrific attack for political purposes is reprehensible and sickens. It is also dangerous.


The following from Slate,

Donald Trump says the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida—perpetrated early Sunday morning by an Afghan American who’d pledged allegiance to ISIS—vindicates Trump’s hard line against ISIS and terrorism. In a tweet posted Sunday afternoon, Trump gloated that he had been proved “right on radical Islamic terrorism.”

SKIP

Trump is a fool. Analysts who see this atrocity as an act of radical Islamic terrorism—and who understand radicalism, Islam, and terrorism far better than Trump does—suspect it was inspired by a message from ISIS, issued three weeks ago. This elaborate statement, delivered by ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, urged ISIS sympathizers to attack civilians in Europe and the United States during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It also clarified the group’s propaganda and recruitment strategy. Trump’s platform of banning Muslims, blocking migrants, and ruthlessly bombing ISIS-held territory fits this strategy perfectly. He’s an ISIS stooge.

The statement from ISIS, released on May 21, exhorts Muslims to “terrorize” non-Muslims everywhere and to make Ramadan “a month of suffering.” But this plea comes from a position of weakness. The statement says “the whole world has allied and rushed against us,” launching “20,000 airstrikes” and killing several top ISIS leaders. It pledges, defiantly and expectantly, that ISIS won’t quit no matter how much territory it loses.

The worst peril, according to the statement, is emerging from within Islam: “Evil scholars” are using “every form of media” to issue “fatwas against the mujahidin.” These scholars, the statement explains, are promoting moderate interpretations of Islamic mercy. They’re denouncing terrorism and condemning ISIS fighters as pseudo-Islamic “renegades.” They’re instructing Muslims to renounce jihad and expel ISIS from their lands. For pages and pages, the statement goes on, lambasting these scholars and the damage they’re doing to public opinion. Clearly, ISIS sees this as a central threat.

To quash the threat, ISIS reasserts that “there are only two armies, two camps, two trenches”: Muslims and infidels. There can be no integration, the statement argues—no attempt to “ ‘make peace and mix’ with those who hate the faith.” Muslims must follow ISIS: “We are the People of the Quran.” The statement claims that the armies arrayed against ISIS “wage war against us … because we command the worship of Allah. … This is our religion. For this alone, we fight the world and they fight us."

To prove that the forces arrayed against ISIS are anti-Islamic, and to justify terrorism in Europe and the United States, the statement presents three arguments...

Continue reading  BELOW THE FOLD.


Trump is without doubt a stooge. A very, very dangerous stooge.

As Trump Continues Sinking Lower Than Thought Possible...

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This weblog, never a Trump supporter and for what is glaringly obvious to most rational folks, is now comfortably stating Trump is a man to be despised, completely and totally. Trump the Demagogue has sunk to a level even I never dreamed possible for him. Trump is an embarrassment to this country and a serious danger to our American way of life. He has single handedly destroyed any credibility the republican party may have had, and now he wants to destroy the credibility our country has among the nations of the world. He is a jackal in disguise and unless he is stopped in his tracks come November the entire nation, and perhaps the world, will suffer on multiple levels.

The following excerpt from The New Yorker expresses the thoughts millions of Americans are having.

In the rhetoric of Donald Trump, mendacity and cynicism compete for equal time. It is hard to say which prevailed today as the Republican Party standard-bearer, a man who pretends to the most powerful political office in the land, tweeted this at his followers: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism.”

This came in the wake of the most horrific mass shooting in the history of the United States—a slaughter of fifty men and women in an L.G.B.T. night club called Pulse, in Orlando, early Sunday morning. Trump allowed that he didn’t want “congrats” so much as he wanted “toughness & vigilance.” Just as profoundly, he announced, “We must be smart!”

Trump also told his followers—and hence the world—that President Obama should “immediately resign in disgrace” for failing to “mention the words radical Islam” in his remarks on the shooting. And, he suggested, Hillary Clinton might want to get out of the Presidential race for making the same sin of omission in her statement.

With every month, it has become clearer that Trump is a makeshift politician, whose rancid wit resides in his willingness to say whatever it takes to arouse the fears of a political base. He might have started his campaign with the idea of winning some votes and publicity, increasing his profile as a marketing whiz, and then dropping out. Good for business! But now that he has stunned the political world—and, likely, himself—he has shown little inclination (or, perhaps, capacity) to grow into his role, to modify his language, be it for the sake of the Republican establishment or of simple decency. He’ll have none of that. Whatever inflates his sense of self and prods the anxieties of the country—that’s what works for him.

It feels indecent on such a day to engage these comments of Trump’s at all. But their velocity, vapidity, and sheer ugliness reflect his character, his emptiness, and, most of all, the shape of the election campaign to come. Since Trump has ascended, it’s been clear that his demagogic instincts could be tested precisely by the sort of tragedy suffered in Orlando. And, when faced with the path of modesty and the path of dark opportunism, he has chosen the latter. That’s what he is about. It’s who he is.

SKIP

“If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore,” Trump said in a statement posted on his campaign’s Web site. “Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen—and it is only going to get worse. I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can’t afford to be politically correct anymore.”

Trump’s ruse is that somehow the United States is not engaged militarily in the fight against ISIS, or that “political correctness” is the chief factor undermining American security. He feeds his constituents daily with the misbegotten notion that the country is being flooded with countless unchecked “aliens” from the Middle East, South Asia, and Mexico. The mouth moves and the lies pour forth. Any contrary evidence, any complexity, is foreign. Questioned on television to prove his points, faced with contrary evidence, he talks past it. Never mind all the firepower expended against ISIS targets, the territory gained, and the difficulty of taking back cities when ordinary civilians are used, en masse, as human shields. We are weak; we are politically correct.

In the interest of common decency I will not say what I really think of Trump the Demagogue.

More BELOW THE FOLD.

Horror and Terror in Orlando...

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As Donald Trump plays his all to familiar xenophobia trump card (pun intended), President Obama responds appropriately as the President of the United States should to the early morning terrorist attack in Orlando Florida.

Donald J. Trump Statement Regarding Tragic Terrorist Attack in Orlando, Florida

Last night, our nation was attacked by a radical Islamic terrorist. It was the worst terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11, and the second of its kind in 6 months. My deepest sympathy and support goes out to the victims, the wounded, and their families.

In his remarks today, President Obama disgracefully refused to even say the words 'Radical Islam'. For that reason alone, he should step down. If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words 'Radical Islam' she should get out of this race for the Presidency.

If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore. Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen – and it is only going to get worse. I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can't afford to be politically correct anymore.

The terrorist, Omar Mir Saddique Mateen, is the son of an immigrant from Afghanistan who openly published his support for the Afghanistani Taliban and even tried to run for President of Afghanistan. According to Pew, 99% of people in Afghanistan support oppressive Sharia Law.

We admit more than 100,000 lifetime migrants from the Middle East each year. Since 9/11, hundreds of migrants and their children have been implicated in terrorism in the United States.


Hillary Clinton wants to dramatically increase admissions from the Middle East, bringing in many hundreds of thousands during a first term – and we will have no way to screen them, pay for them, or prevent the second generation from radicalizing.

We need to protect all Americans, of all backgrounds and all beliefs, from Radical Islamic Terrorism - which has no place in an open and tolerant society. Radical Islam advocates hate for women, gays, Jews, Christians and all Americans. I am going to be a President for all Americans, and I am going to protect and defend all Americans. We are going to make America safe again and great again for everyone.


- Donald J. Trump

We note that Mr. Trump's unpopularity is having an impact, pushing republicans and conservatives in a typically red sate potentially into HRC's corner. We're sure statements such as the one recently issued by him (see above) has had a some impact in the move away from supporting The Donald.

Earlier President Obama made the following remarks.

(CNN) — President Barack Obama called the mass shooting at an LGBT Orlando nightclub Sunday an "act of terror" in remarks to the nation from the White House briefing room.

"We know enough to say this was an act of terror and an act of hate," he said. "The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of terror. We will go wherever the facts lead us ... What is clear is he was a person filled with hatred."

MORE here.

Clinton Leading Trump In Reuters/Ipsos Poll ,,,

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Away all weekend visiting family out of state. No posting but comments will be monitored and posted sporadically.

Enjoy the weekend, and, Down With Trump!

Clinton leads Trump by 11 points in White House race: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 11 points in the U.S. presidential race, showing little change after she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.

The online poll, conducted from Monday to Friday, shows 46 percent of likely voters support Clinton while 34.8 percent back Trump. Another 19.2 percent support neither candidate. Their parties hold conventions in July ahead of a Nov. 8 election.

Clinton's lead was nearly the same a week ago, before she had amassed enough convention delegates to win the nomination and before Trump drew criticism from leaders of both parties for questioning the impartiality of a Mexican-American judge.

Defeating Trump must be priority 1. Ideally in a landslide. He is simply that BAD for our civil liberties and America in general.

Stop Trump...

Sign the Petition - Stop Trump!

Should Democrats Begin Taking a More Realistic Approach Towards The Donald?...

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Donald J. Trump is many things, as the year long primary season so amply and credibly pointed out. Stupidity however is certainly not one of them. Although given his divisive rhetoric and apparent tone deafness one sometimes was left to question that premise.

At any rate Trump's June 7th victory speech struck a tone different from what we've grown used to, and, frankly grown to expect from the Donald. As TPM aptly points out in the following excerpts if Trump continues to press his populist agenda in the same tone as his June 7th speech he will be a strong general election candidate. One much more difficult for HRC to vanquish.

*He framed the election in classic populist terms: “I’m going to be America’s champion because you see this election isn’t about Republican or Democrat; it’s about who runs this country – the special interests or the people and I mean the American people.”

*Instead of the usual Republican bromides against government spending, he bemoaned crumbling public infrastructure: “I visited the crumbling cities and the struggling schools. I’ve seen our dilapidated airports, highways, bridges and I’ve compared them to other countries where we see facilities so far superior to ours it’s really not to be believed, hard to imagine what’s happened to our country.”

*He cited the loss of manufacturing jobs: “I’ve visited communities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Indiana and Ohio whose manufacturing jobs, they literally, these jobs have virtually disappeared, an embarrassment to our country and it’s horrible.”

*He used the slogan of “America First” (most Americans are unaware of the slogan’s origins) to highlight his opposition to foreign intervention that wasn’t directly linked to America’s security. Citing Clinton’s intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria, he described his own foreign policy: “It means on foreign policy we will never enter into any kind conflict unless it makes us safer as a nation. It has to make us safer as a nation.”

*He also used the slogan of “America First” to link his opposition to illegal immigration, but on economic rather than cultural rounds: “America First means protecting the jobs, wages and security of American workers, whether first or tenth generation.” Then he segued to a universal appeal: “No matter who you are, we’re going to protect your job because let me tell you our jobs are being stripped from our country like we’re babies…Every American worker of every background is entitled to the same benefits, protections and rights and privileges; it’s got to be that way.”

*He also used “America First” to explain his opposition to NAFTA and other trade deals. “On trade, America First means the American worker will have his or her job protected from unfair foreign competition.”

*In his repeated promise to create new jobs, he specifically included African Americans with the highest rate of unemployment: “We’re going to put America back to work. We’re going to make our own products. We’re going to put America back to work. We’re going to rebuild our inner cities which are absolutely a shame and so sad. We’re going to take care of our African American people that have been mistreated for so long.”

*Finally, instead of attacking Clinton for her relationship with her husband – and some other sordid irrelevance – he honed in on where Clinton is most vulnerable: “The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves. They’ve made hundreds of millions of dollars selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts, and I mean hundreds of millions of dollars. Secretary Clinton even did all of the work on a totally illegal private server. Something about how she’s getting away with this folks nobody understands.”

Whether Trump is able to control his natural narcissistic urges or not remains to be seen. If he is it will likely be a very tight race and the democratic party, as well as HRC, ought to be concerned. It will be as important for them to focus on HRC's positives as it will be to highlight Trump's negatives.

Believing Trump would govern differently than his rhetoric of the prior 12 months is a very hard thing to do however. Maybe it's just me?

Read full article BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

The Republican Party Has A Problem, It's Called Trump...

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If you are a republican, and or a conservative, the clarion call for party unity has went out, and, the pressure will mount for all to fall in line behind the presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump.

Given Mr. Trump's inclination to xenophobia, misogyny, extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, and his recent racist comments with respect to Judge Curiel he has effectively put party leadership in a very tough spot.

It is necessary that a political party unite behind a standard bearer, one who represents and indeed personifies the party's values and principles. Uniting behind an effective and principled leader is considered a must if the party is to prevail in presidential elections.

Influential members of the GOP, including some in leadership positions have endorsed Trump. A few with principles have refused to endorse or openly support him. That is what leaders and others with courage do, they stand behind their values and principles, even if it may result in loss.

How the GOP can square their talk about inclusiveness, liberty, opportunity, and increasing the size of their tent while at the same time standing behind perhaps the most divisive political figure in the last 50 years is puzzling. It really does make one question republican party sincerity. Saying one thing and essentially acting the opposite damages credibility. Certainly in the minds of rational people.

What was once the party of Lincoln, T Roosevelt, and Reagan, is now the party of Trump. The party that could once plausibly argue it stood on principle, now has as its standard bearer a person that seemingly has few, if any at all. Speaker Paul Ryan, a man who hesitated endorsing Trump but ultimately did, is continuing to support Trump even in light of his racism. That my friends puts his own character and principles in question.

(CNN) — House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated his support Wednesday for Donald Trump at a closed door meeting with House Republicans and asked his colleagues to unite behind the presumptive Republican nominee, according to several members who attended the session.

Ryan's backing of Trump comes a day after he blasted the businessman's remarks about a federal judge as a "textbook definition of a racist comment."

Trumps comments have sparked a fury on Capitol Hill where many Republicans worry that Trump's racially tinged criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel could ultimately hurt down-ballot GOP candidates competing in congressional races this year.

Though Ryan didn't back away from his endorsement, he said he would continue to speak out when he believed the billionaire businessman makes inappropriate statements.

Ryan spokesman said the speaker did not "urge" the party to fall in line behind Trump but stressed the importance of unity.


Ryan "just reaffirmed his disagreement with the comment, respecting that the people have elected Donald Trump as our Republican nominee and what we're going to do is we're going to use our position in a positive way to help America out," said Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y.

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Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative group in Congress, said Trump needs to "quit spending time bashing judges." He will vote for Trump, he said, but, "I don't endorse people that bash judges -- based on his ethnic heritage."

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colorado, who is facing a competitive race, has not endorsed Trump, and has said the presumptive nominee's comments on Curiel were "inappropriate."

"I just disagree with his tone. I just don't think you know his tone as far as Hispanics, his tone to women, and quite frankly, his tone to veterans. As a Marine Corps combat veteran," Coffman said.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, agreed with characterizations of Trump's comments as racist.

Indeed. The GOP has a problem and with America's changing demographics its problems will only continue to grow. Being totally insensitive and tone is evident within the GOP. It will likely be the party's death knell.

Via: Memeorandum

The La Raza Connection...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


An exchange with one -FJ over at The Daddy Blog.

-FJ June 6, 2016 at 12:37 PM

LEFTISTS, they will NEVER admit their emperor is naked.

Like the Trump-judge story. Trumps raants make perfect sense when you know about the "La Raza" connection. But the Press never makes the connection. It's all a bad-faith by Trump "mystery"... much like all that Chicago gun violence.


Rational Nation USA June 6, 2016 at 1:32 PM

At least YOU gave a palatable response. Bias is everywhere and the vast majority, if not all, of the people are biased. Including conservatives and they, as well as liberals, lean towards their bias, reflexively for most.

Thanks for your response -FJ

If Trump becomes the right's Emperor, which is highly unlikely, I wonder if the right will ever admit he is naked.

Karl Rove & The La Raza Connection

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 16, 2007

In an eleven minute Video News Blog, the Full Disclosure Network® presents --the news behind the news-- the last day of the National Council of La Raza convention in Los Angeles on July 11, 2006. This video reveals Karl Rove, White House connection to multi-national corporate sponsors behind the National Council of La Raza. Available free, on demand, 24/7 at this URL: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/VideoBlogs/VideoBlog32.php Common goals?

Rove's remarks on this video offer possible explanations as to why he was designated to represent the White House and provides insight in to the Hispanic strategy to support sympathy for an "open border" policy. Also, the multi-national Corporate leaders describe their common goals with the National Council of La Raza (non-profit social, activist groups) Full Disclosure® discovered the coordinated effort of these forces at the NCLR convention where speakers and delegates describe the exciting prospect of nurturing, cultivating and encouraging the populous Hispanic forces in America to push for the following:

Merging the United States, Mexico and Canada into an economic union, Open Borders.

Free flow of capital, goods, labor, and services.

North American Economic Union aka "a common market economy."

To compete with the European Common Market.


The news behind the news:You judge for yourself by watching Full Disclosure Network's® coverage of the National Council of La Raza Convention. This video contains excerpts of presentations the mainstream media failed to cover.
Included in the video are:

Excerpts from Karl Rove, White House strategist on the Administration's failed Immigration reform policy.

Corporate sponsors of the event pitching to the Hispanic audience.

Reaction from a sampling of attendees representing Latino and migrant rights organizations.

Video clips interviews with the Nativo Lopez, president of MAPA a prominent retired Hispanic law enforcement official. L. A. County Sheriff's Sergeant Richard Valdemar.


Known as --the news behind the news-- the Full Disclosure Network® is featured on 45 cable television systems and streamed on the Internet at http://www.fulldisclosure.net In 2002 the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented host Leslie Dutton with an Emmy for the 2001 public affairs series entitled L.A.'s War Against Against Terrorism. In 2000 the first Full Disclosure Forum was held in Washington D.C. entitled : The Prosecutor & The Presidency featuring former U. S. Attorneys General and Special and Independent Prosecutors on how America investigates the Presidency.

Interesting stuff. I guess what -FJ is pointing out is that he (and apparently Trump and many others) are isolationists and supportive of closed borders. 

Fact is it is possible at some point there may actually exist a North American Economic Union. What is critical is that when and if it ever does exist it is structured as a win - win for all. My thoughts are we just aren't that smart yet. Neither is Trump or -FJ et all.

Any thoughts all you good people out there?

Daddy regulars are welcome to comment as well. As long as comment is on topic, respectful, and observes comment criteria.

There Is Apparently No End To Donald J. Trump's Dung Heap Of Words...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

It must be incredibly embarrassing for the GOP to have as its presumptive nominee someone who manages to draw fire from not only the opposition but from conservatives and libertarians within the GOP as well.

Today's post is a quick round up of criticism aimed at Donald J. Trump, Narcissist Demagogue Extraordinaire.




Here's Trump.



Article BELOW THE FOLD.

THE HILL - Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said on Sunday that presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump should not have attacked a California judge regarding his "Mexican heritage."

"This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made," Gingrich said on "Fox News Sunday."

"I think it's inexcusable."

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"He is an American. Period. When you come to America, you get to become an American, and Trump, who has grandparents who came to the U.S., should understand this as much as anybody," he said.

Read more and view video BELOW THE FOLD.

BuzzFeed - BuzzFeed has pulled out of an advertising agreement with the Republican National Committee over objections to Donald Trump's rhetoric.

The buy was for $1.3 million, a source close to BuzzFeed told POLITICO. The source said that the main consideration was the site’s employees – that BuzzFeed could not countenance “having employees make ads, or working at the company and having our site promoting things, that limit our freedom and make it harder for them to live their lives.”

Asked if the site would rule out any Trump advertising, the source said the specifics would matter: “In general, we have taken the position that we won’t take ads for his presidential campaign.”

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"We certainly don't like to turn away revenue that funds all the important work we do across the company," Peretti wrote. "However, in some cases we must make business exceptions: we don't run cigarette ads because they are hazardous to our health, and we won't accept Trump ads for the exact same reason."

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD.

Washington (CNN) - Top Republican officials and donors are increasingly worried about the threat Donald Trump's attack on a judge's Mexican heritage could pose to their party's chances in November -- and about the GOP's ability to win Latino votes for many elections to come.

Trump is under fire for repeatedly accusing U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing a lawsuit involving Trump University, of bias because of his Mexican heritage. Those concerns intensified Sunday after Trump said he would have the same concerns about the impartiality of a Muslim judge.

House and Senate GOP leaders have condemned Trump's remarks about Curiel, while donors have openly worried that losing Latino voters could doom them in key down-ballot races. Other important party figures, including former Speaker Newt Gingrich, are urging Trump to change his combative, confrontational style before it's too late.

Veteran Republican strategist Rick Wilson warned this weekend that GOP leaders who have endorsed Trump "own his politics."

"You own his politics," Wilson wrote in a column for Heatstreet, adding later, "You own the racial animus that started out as a bug, became a feature and is now the defining characteristic of his campaign. You own every crazy, vile chunk of word vomit that spews from his mouth."

More BELOW THE FOLD.

Of course Donald J. Trump, clueless as he is, claims surprise at the criticism he is receiving. That of course is absolutely NO surprise at all for those who have spent time following Trump, his divisive rhetoric, and Trumpian demagoguery.

Trump shames himself and continues to embarrass the USA.

As Trump Struggles To Convince Rational Individuals...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

I'll freely admit this is just my opinion and many may disagree with it, but, based on Trump's response to Dickerson it seems clear Trump is not only heavily biased himself but he is absolutely tone deaf and clueless.

Donald Trump is standing by comments he made against U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the judge presiding over a Trump University lawsuit, telling CBS' "Face the Nation" that Curiel's Mexican heritage prevents him from acting fairly on the bench.

"He is a member of a club or society, very strongly pro-Mexican, which is all fine," Trump told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson in an interview that will air Sunday. "But I say he's got bias. I want to build a wall. I'm going to build a wall. I'm doing very well with the Latinos, with the Hispanics, with the Mexicans, I'm doing very well with them in my opinion."

Later, when asked if he believed a Muslim judge would treat him unfairly because of another controversial proposal to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the U.S., Trump replied: "It's possible, yes. Yeah. That would be possible, absolutely."

"Isn't there sort of a tradition though in America that we don't judge people by who their parents were and where they came from?" Dickerson asked.

"I'm not talking about tradition," Trump replied. "I'm talking about common sense, okay? He's somebody, he's proud of his heritage. And I think that's great that he's proud of his heritage."

Trump is exactly what this nation does not need.

Complete article BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Muhammad Ali... Float Like a Butterfly Sting Like A Bee

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


Ten years younger than Ali I grew up watching and admiring The Greatest.  His honesty, courage, and strength of his convictions top the list.

You Were, and Will Always Remain the Greatest Champ

Rest In Peace

What a loss to suffer, even if for years you knew it was coming. Muhammad Ali, who died Friday, in Phoenix, at the age of seventy-four, was the most fantastical American figure of his era, a self-invented character of such physical wit, political defiance, global fame, and sheer originality that no novelist you might name would dare conceive him. Born Cassius Clay in Jim Crow-era Louisville, Kentucky, he was a skinny, quick-witted kid, the son of a sign painter and a house cleaner, who learned to box at the age of twelve to avenge the indignity of a stolen bicycle, a sixty-dollar red Schwinn that he could not bear to lose. Eventually, Ali became arguably the most famous person on the planet, known as a supreme athlete, an uncanny blend of power, improvisation, and velocity; a master of rhyming prediction and derision; an exemplar and symbol of racial pride; a fighter, a draft resister, an acolyte, a preacher, a separatist, an integrationist, a comedian, an actor, a dancer, a butterfly, a bee, a figure of immense courage.

In his early career, when he declared his allegiance to Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam, rid himself of his “slave name,” and lost his heavyweight title rather than fight in Vietnam, Ali was vilified as much as he was admired. Millions hated Ali; he threatened a sense of the racial order; he was, in his refusal to conform to any type, as destabilizing to many Americans as he was to the many heavyweights who could not understand why he would just not come to the center of the ring and fight like a real man. He was, for many years, a radical figure for many Americans. For years, many refused to call him by his new name. “I pity Clay and abhor what he represents,” the columnist Jimmy Cannon wrote. Even Red Smith, the most respected of all sports columnists, compared Ali to the “unwashed punks” who dared to march against the war. But in recent decades, as Parkinson’s disease began to overwhelm his gifts for movement and speech, and as the country’s attitudes changed, Ali became a focus of almost universal affection. The people who encountered him at charity dinners, in airports, at sporting events approached him as they would a serene Pope Francis or the Dalai Lama, and, if he could summon a whispered joke or flirt for a moment or just widen his eyes in that old vaudeville way of his, people left with a sense of having met a source of wonder.

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“They stand around and say, ‘Good fight, boy: you’re a good boy; good goin’,” Ali said, in 1970. “They don’t look at fighters to have brains. They don’t look at fighters to be businessmen, or human, or intelligent. Fighters are just brutes that come to entertain the rich white people. Beat up on each other and break each other’s noses, and bleed, and show off like two little monkeys for the crowd, killing each other for the crowd. And half the crowd is white. We’re just like two slaves in that ring. The masters get two of us big old black slaves and let us fight it out while they bet: ‘My slave can whup your slave.’ That’s what I see when I see two black people fighting.” It was almost as if Ali, at the height of his fame, was hinting that we were all complicit in something fallen and dubious, even as we were rooting him on.

What modern athlete, much less one at Ali’s level, has ever talked with such political complexity, ambiguity, or engagement?

Full article BELOW THE FOLD.

Would A Trump Presidency Be A Threat To The Rule Of Law?...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Having observed Donald J. Trump during the GOP debates, watched the endless stream of Trump media exposure, and read numerous long form journalism accounts, it is almost impossible to not arrive at the conclusion he is unfit to be president of our democratic republic. Escaping the realization Trump demonstrates many characteristics of narcissism, misogyny, xenophobia, extreme nationalism, bigotry, authoritarianism, and disregard for the rule of law is only possible if one willfully ignores that which is in plain sight, and glaringly so.

For the self proclaimed party of limited government and maximum liberty it would seem reasonable as well as rational that the GOP, especially the Tea Party folks, would refuse to support a candidate that may very well, as the following The New York Times article points out, threaten the rule of law on which this nation was founded. But it has become increasingly more obvious that the GOP and the Tea Party is by far more interested in something else, returning to the old order of things pre 1965. Trump rep[resents the strong arm strongman they believe can and will do exactly that.

WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump’s blustery attacks on the press, complaints about the judicial system and bold claims of presidential power collectively sketch out a constitutional worldview that shows contempt for the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law, legal experts across the political spectrum say.

Even as much of the Republican political establishment lines up behind its presumptive nominee, many conservative and libertarian legal scholars warn that electing Mr. Trump is a recipe for a constitutional crisis.

“Who knows what Donald Trump with a pen and phone would do?” asked Ilya Shapiro, a lawyer with the libertarian Cato Institute.

With five months to go before Election Day, Mr. Trump has already said he would “loosen” libel laws to make it easier to sue news organizations. He has threatened to sic federal regulators on his critics. He has encouraged rough treatment of demonstrators.

His proposal to bar Muslims from entry into the country tests the Constitution’s guarantees of religious freedom, due process and equal protection.

And, in what was a tipping point for some, he attacked Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of the Federal District Court in San Diego, who is overseeing two class actions against Trump University.

Mr. Trump accused the judge of bias, falsely said he was Mexican and seemed to issue a threat.

“They ought to look into Judge Curiel, because what Judge Curiel is doing is a total disgrace,” Mr. Trump said. “O.K.? But we will come back in November. Wouldn’t that be wild if I am president and come back and do a civil case?”

David Post, a retired law professor who now writes for the Volokh Conspiracy, a conservative-leaning law blog, said those comments had crossed a line.

“This is how authoritarianism starts, with a president who does not respect the judiciary,” Mr. Post said. “You can criticize the judicial system, you can criticize individual cases, you can criticize individual judges. But the president has to be clear that the law is the law and that he enforces the law. That is his constitutional obligation.”

To Trump advocates we can only say caveat emptor.

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD

Via: Memeorandum

Is This What America Needs? Or Wants?

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth



In our democratic republic legitimate authority is derived from the people. Is Trump a personality this nation really wants to take a chance on? Reason consuls us the answer is absolutly not.

Senator Mitch McConnell Opposes Voting Rights Update...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose new memoir reverently recalls the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, said there's no need for Congress to restore part of the law struck down three years ago.

The Kentucky Republican said the heart of the historic anti-discrimination law remains intact, and the Supreme Court correctly ended the need for certain states to get federal permission before making any changes to their voting procedures.

“What was struck down were the provisions that absurdly treated the South differently,” McConnell told USA TODAY. “They don’t apply anymore. It’s 50 years later.”

His comments seem to doom any chance Congress will act this year to update the law and restore the strict federal oversight of cites and states with a history of discriminating against minority voters.

Certainly no surprise here. Click on the teaser for the full article.

Via: Memeorandum

Things That Should Matter, Especially To Conservatives...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Some thoughts about Trump, and, some other stuff. Just click on the teaser below.

Trump told a biker rally in Washington on Sunday: “When you think of the great General Patton and all our generals, they are spinning in their graves when they watch we can’t beat ISIS. … We are going to knock the hell out of them.” Then, for good measure, he repeated his longstanding call to build a wall along the Mexican border, and when he asked who would pay for it, the crowd shouted in unison: “Mexico!” Trump added, “Not even a doubt.”

Really, not even a doubt? Why hasn’t President Obama been a “real man” and just carpet-bombed ISIS off the face of the earth? Answer: 1.) ISIS is embedded in urban areas, among Iraqi and Syrian civilians, so we can’t carpet-bomb the terrorists without killing all the civilians around them. 2.) If Obama sent the 82nd Airborne into Mosul and wiped out ISIS, after horrific door-to-door fighting, the morning after the battle we would own Mosul, because there is no agreement among Sunni tribes there, let alone the Kurds, Shiites and neighboring Turkey, over who should control Mosul post-ISIS. In other words, we’d be stuck governing it. So Obama is trying to squeeze ISIS with one hand while trying to squeeze Iraqis to come together around a post-ISIS order with the other.

It’s called being strategic and General Patton would be applauding from his grave.

On Mexico, please tell me why it would pay for a multibillion-dollar wall on our border and how we would compel our neighbor to do so and what impact that would have on U.S. companies? To act as if those are not even issues is fraud.

Trump’s tax plan? The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that it would decrease tax revenues over 10 years by $11.2 trillion, and since Trump has ruled out entitlement cuts, he would need to slash all discretionary federal spending by 80 percent — that’s where the defense, research and education budgets come from. This is not just magical thinking, it’s nonsense, and if Trump implemented half of it, your kids would pay dearly.

UPDATE

Just for fun. A bit of humor. Big H/T to PPE.