● I still chuckle over just how blind the left is when it comes to the public. There are articles all over places like Politico arguing that this election will swing the Democrats’ way because they are finally going to fight the meanie NRApublicans on the issue of guns... or ending nuclear weapons... or fighting racism. I can’t image three issues less likely to appeal to the public. But hey, have at it.
● More and more polls are showing Trump in the lead. More importantly though, they are all showing a steady rise in Trump’s numbers and a crash in Hillary’s numbers. In my experience, poll numbers are not significant, but trends are: this is a trend. What’s more, anything close to even is a disaster for Hillary because her voters are clumped in several states where their votes are wasted. It’s looking like a blow out.
● Speaking of Trump, the left has no idea how to attack him anymore than the GOP did. The media is trying each of the following: (1) he has mob ties! (a positive in America), (2) he called a former Miss America “Miss Piggy” because she ate too much... boo hoo hoo (we’ve been conditioned to hate beauty queens, and this is a ridiculous thing to whine about), (3) he doesn’t have a very big political staff (i.e. he’s an outsider), and (4) yes, while he’s winning the polls, it’s not with the right people (uh, wha??).
● The Redskin thing continues with article after article by these people assuring us that those 504 American Indians weren’t REAL American Indians and, even if they were, they wouldn’t matter because the people who said no are just so racist they don’t even see how racist they truly are and we need to save them from themselves.
● The Bernie Sanders thing has reached the funny stage. He’s lost. He lost long ago, but he just won’t quit. And now the center-left media is finally seeing the danger in not trying to destroy him sooner as they are fretting he will run as an independent. (Maybe he can run with Romney?) This is an instance where their rhetoric completely blinded them to the danger. They sold this idea of a GOP civil war and always ignored the feuding on the left and now they find themselves in the middle of an implosion because the real civil war has always been on the left and they failed to manage it. Ha ha.
● From what I’m seeing Venezuela is doing its best to keep socialism’s record perfect by destroying yet another country.
● So Hillary is pretty sure that the explosion of that plane might even have been terrorism, gosh darn. Now that is one tough position!
That’s all that comes to mind. You?
66 comments:
One isn't going to damage Trump by exposing him as corrupt or a liar (that is known and Hillary is no better nor for that matter is Bernie who according to those polls is more popular than Trump and Clinton) but feeding the narratives (by citing Trump's treatment of women) is probably the Dem's best strategy at this point.
Once all possibilities are exhausted, many people kiss the ring of the nominee no matter who they are. That has always been the trend, always will be (Chris Christie stands in large company nowadays).
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Trump-Hillary-Clinton-polls/2016/05/22/id/730092/
Politicususa downplays the significance of the recent polls, citing recent evidence that Trump's advantage is only a predictable bump after most Republicans have begun rallying around his campaign after he all but won the nomination.
In the 2012 race, Mitt Romney was leading President Barack Obama in the polls after Rick Santorum dropped out of the Republican primaries. And in the 2008 campaign, the same phenomenon happened as John McCain led Obama after he had clinched the Republican nomination but Obama was still battling against Clinton in the Democratic primaries.
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That being said, for the Democrats much hinges on whether or not Bernie and his supporters eventually fall into line. If they don't Trump will certainly win (if they do he might win anyway).
Sir Mix-a-Lot has returned from grave (or wherever he was) to defend Blake Lively. I'm kind of amazed that this controversy is a thing.
The first Mission: Impossible film turns 20... not only was it the first movie I saw with school friends and not parents, but I'm now as old as Tom Cruise was when he made the damn thing! [shudder] :-)
Anthony, I think what is going on with Lively is that she comes across as an overly-privileged, rich, snooty blonde "she must have been the most popular girl in school!" girl, like Gweneth Paltro. And whenever one of those gets into trouble (even manufactured trouble) an army of ugly girls, self-hating emos turned internet shamers, and envious socialist-types pours out their venom at the pour little rich girl who must in reality be so unhappy and will only understand how unhappy she really is if we tell her how much we hate her.... it's for her own good!
As for Sir Mix-A-Lot, I suspect he's commenting because he's enjoying the publicity.
>>Sir Mix-a-Lot has returned from grave (or wherever he was)>>
This was so much easier to answer when Hollywood Squares was still on the air.
Kommiefornia as virtually outlawed any rifle with a removable magazine, so all those bolt action Remington 700s and pump action Remington 760s are now considered assault weapons...they have managed to move that group of gun owners who were complacent about all this....the Dims assured everyone they're not after this gun or that gun, only black rifles...and ammo,,,well, the SOBs are after all the guns and I'm hoping Trump trounces Hillary so bad the Dims never recover. Funny, Bill Clinton raped women and it's no big deal with the Left but Don trump says one is too fat for a beauty pageant and suddenly he's the anti-Christ.
Hilary needs to invest in some new pantsuits.
P.S. Hi Bev and Andrew!
Obama has lifted the US arms embargo on Vietnam that has been in place since the end of the Vietnam War. This is probably one of his smarter moves.
The Vietnamese hate the Chinese far more than they hate us (ethnic Chinese were among the first Boat People & they fought a war in the late-70), they want to check Chinese expansion across Asia and the Pacific, and we want to check the Chinese as well.
Which is why I find this line hilarious:
"The President denies move based on China's aggression in region"
Well, it's not the biggest whopper he's told during his presidency...
LINK
Howdy Writer X! How are things?!
I think Hillary should give up the pantsuits and go for old-style Spanish pantaloons, like the conquistadors wore.
Kit, The irony is that the chicken wing of the left loves to hate us selling arms.
In any event, from everything I've read, Vietnam has become a fairly solid US friend in the region. So it makes sense to make them more of an ally, especially with China being so provocative.
Eric, That did seem to be a good way to house washed up celebs!
Critch, The left will overlook child molestation or holocaust causing so long as you have the right political views. Their hypersensitivity only comes out when it's someone they don't like.
On California, I think they've tipped over beyond the point of no return. We just need to find a way to ship all the Californians here back to there and then seal the borders.
"The left will overlook child molestation or holocaust causing so long as you have the right political views."
See; Kennedy, Edward M. "Ted"
Trump vs. Clinton? I'm still hoping SMOD hits us first.
...Trump's advantage is only a predictable bump after ... he all but won the nomination.
First, the obligatory "Trump is awful" disclaimer followed by a “but still better than Hillary" caveat. With that out of the way, Politicsusa's analysis is somewhere between disingenuous and downright dishonest. I have no idea which polls Politicsusa refers to, so I looked to RCP on everything.
To begin, Trump has been closing on Hillary since the April 1, a month before he was the last GOP candidate running. In that time, he has managed to close an 11 point gap. That looks more like a trend than a bump. But let me be generous. The pace at which that gap is closing has increased slightly since Cruz and Kasich dropped out of the race. That by itself could perhaps be called a bump, but it would seem odd, especially as the "bump" is only in service to the larger trend. If that is the bump, when it ends Trump's numbers would still rise rather than fall as implied.
Politicsusa is flat wrong about what happened in 2012. Santorum dropped out of the race in April, but Romney got no discernable bump in the polls at that time. Yes, Rasmussen and Gallup found that Romney had a lead in April, but they found the same thing every other month, so not even their flawed polls registered a bump. Similarly, 2008 is exaggerated. McCain became the clear nominee in March and got a modest 3.5 point bump that petered out in two weeks. Furthermore, neither McCain nor Romney was ever as far behind in the polls as Trump was.
In summary, simply dismissing Trump's success as a 2 month, 11 pt "bump" attributable to an event occurring halfway through its rise and which --since the word "predictable" has been used-- hasn't turned downward yet, strains credulity.
Kit, why are you so quick to write off Cthulhu?
If Ted Kennedy, the Hero of Chappaquiddick, had been driving a VW Beetle, he might have been president...
I've talked to 5 veterans in the last month or so who have left California and moved back here...they said it's terrible out there...the cost of living was killing them.
I find the Trump vs. Hillary polls interesting not because they really tell us who will win but because previous polls had her crushing him. Just wait until he gets nasty about her. It is going to be an fat, ugly race.
The Sandernistas are pissed because most of Hillary's lead is due to superdelegates. It feels like she is being crowned by a bunch of Lords. If the Nevada convention is any indication, the national one should be fun to watch. The GOP's will be boring. The only option she has is to make him her vice-president.
Who should Trump take as VP? I'm thinking someone like Nikki Haley might be good. She a minority, a real woman, and from the south. He locks up much of the south and tempers the "woman hater" image. If he really wants to maintain the circus with free advertisement, he could make it Caitlyn Jenner.
Writer X! Great to hear from you! Yeah, I don't begrudge her wearing pantsuits, but at least get ones that fit. Bernie could use the same makeover. They both are pretty frumpy. And do not get me started about Trump's hair...
(See what I did there I took the whole sexist aspect and turned it on it's head)
Kit - I'm still wishing for a SMOD too. It would solve so many problems...
Koshcat, Trump already has most of the south locked up. The question is can he pick up Florida? (I know, not exactly "the south" but they get lumped in.)
The interesting thing about the electoral college map (LINK) is that, while it currently favors Clinton, it's showing some surprising toss-up states. For example, Nevada, Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa. As of yesterday, MN and MI were leaning Hillary, and they've changed since then, if that's any indication of where things are headed.
I see that Commentarama has become just another mouthpiece for SMODers and #NeverCthulhu. So disappointed.
tryanmax, I don't like Cthulhu's policy on the capital gains tax.
On polls, btw, I think you are right tryanmax that Trump's gains are a trend. They basically started from a low in the middle of last year and have just kept going up every week. I think he has tipped over into the world of "acceptable" at this point and is slowly approaching "approved." When that happens, the rest of the herd will follow and Trump should blow Hillary out easily.
On the polls themselves, I think the biggest signs of a Trump splatdown are (1) that states that should be dark blue are suddenly the battleground, plus (2) voter turn out was so depressed in Democratic circles, and (3) you are seeing articles analyzing why Hillary "lost".
Tryanmax and Andrew,
I still think Trump is going to say the wrong stupid thing eventually. In the unlikely event he says nothing else stupid, I still don't think he's capable of blowing out Hillary, but time will tell.
Koshcat, I think Nikki Haley would be an awesome choice. That would defuse a lot of anti-minority, anti-woman rhetoric from the left. It would be both an outsider choice and a choice of an outsider who can work within the system. I think it's a great idea.
Anthony, We'll see. I think Trump's biggest advantage is that Hillary is just a total dud.
Also, one of the Freddie Gray (the guy who magically broke his neck in police custody) cops was acquitted. The acquitted officer was a bike cop and one of the arresting officers. He was charged with making an unlawful arrest (sounds like a stretch to me, Gray did run even if he wasn't guilty of anything) and not belting in Gray biggest action was not belting in Freddie Gray (who it is suspected was critically injured during the subsequent van ride though predictably nobody knows nothing). Not belting in Gray was against policy, but it also wasn't the responsibility of the arresting officer.
Cops have taken much worse direct action and skated so its no surprise this guy skated.
Hopefully the city won't burn this time. Nothing stupider than goons burning and looting then whining that their area is economically underdeveloped (burning down local businesses does tend to make for less local businesses).
Also Clarence Thomas was the sole dissenting vote in a case in which the Supreme Court set aside a death penalty because blacks had been struck from the jury for being black.
The guy was guilty of raping and murdering a woman. If the KKK and the Nazis wanted to slowly skin him and salt him, personally I'd watch and eat popcorn, but the Supreme Court is setting precedents every other court is going to live by, so its probably for the best they let a guy badly in need of a slow death live though I suspect the big takeaway for prosecutors will be 'don't leave detailed notes spelling out our racial animus' :) .
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/timothy-foster-supreme-court-black-jurors_us_57431347e4b045cc9a716f0a
As for Hood, prosecutors had argued that his son at the time was the same age as Foster and that his church affiliation and potential opposition to the death penalty disqualified him from the jury. But it turns out that other jurors with children similar in age to Foster were allowed to remain, and that instead it was a prosecutor’s note that Hood’s church was a “black” church that barred him from the jury.
Taken together, Roberts found this evidence of racial animus “compelling,” but also faulted the prosecutors for other misconduct during jury selection, including “the shifting explanations, the misrepresentations of the record, and the persistent focus on race in the prosecution’s file.”
“Considering all of the circumstantial evidence that bears upon the issue of racial animosity, we are left with the firm conviction that the strikes of Garrett and Hood were motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent,” Roberts wrote.
Justice Samuel Alito, who agreed with his colleagues’ end result, wrote separately to emphasize that the Supreme Court should be wary to intervene in cases like Foster’s, where the states have already taken steps to review potentially unlawful sentences.
I can't stand it. Hilary has a new line in one of her speeches. She says we need a president who can use the bully pulpit, but the last thing we need is a bully in the pulpit. Does she have high schoolers writing her speeches for her? It's like The Beginner's Guide to Rhetorical Devices.
...Trump is going to say the wrong stupid thing eventually.
I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters.
If he hasn't done it yet...
Tyranmax,
Jonah Goldberg gave good reasons for preferring SMOD (Sweet Meteor of Death) over Cthulhu:
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Smod describes himself as a “pre-cambrian conservative.” He has no cultists looking to rule in his name. He doesn’t endorse evil, merely the sweet release of planetary destruction. While Cthulhu can be a bit of windbag, Smod makes no speeches, he makes no sounds at all as he glides through the cosmic ether. Calvin Coolidge looks loquacious by comparison. Meanwhile, Cthulhu’s will is unpredictable, he vows chaos and anarchy here on earth. Smod provides what the market demands: certainty, predictability, and simple rules for a complex society. Who knows what Cthulhu will do tomorrow? With Smod there is no tomorrow. He has the single-minded focus only a cold and soulless inanimate object can provide.
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"The Real Primary: Cthulhu vs. Smod"
I'm curious to see how crazy the social conservative campaign against Target gets. Why not just shop elsewhere?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dont-target-our-daughters_us_57431df5e4b00e09e89f8b6d
Organizers want to designate Saturday, June 4 to be a “moment to stand together” and warn shoppers about Target’s policy allowing “predators and sex offenders” into women’s restrooms and fitting rooms by protesting outside stores.
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It’s the latest in a series of conservative moves against the Minneapolis-based retail group that apparently were aimed at its transgender policy. Last week, video footage of an unidentified women storming through a Target store warning of “devil rape” went viral after being posted on YouTube.
Earlier this month, police were reportedly called about an active shooter situation after a 39-year-old man created a disturbance inside a Target store in Bradley, Illinois. Responding officers arrested Michael L. Merichko for disorderly conduct, but said they found no firearm.
As I said before, it irks me that the conservative line on transgender bathrooms is borrowed from feminism.
Kit,
That's well and good, but as Williamson pointed out, in spite of Goldberg's own warnings against the totalitarian temptation, he presents us with the ultimate one-size-fits-all solution. Yes, solving all of our problems in a blinding flash of planet-ending mass extinction is, given the current political environment, a genuine feel-good solution — but what are we, hippies?
So here's a scientific poll - Who spends time in a public bathroom looking around at other people?
I don't. I go in...do my bidness...wash my hands, of course...then leave. I do not spend time trying to determine if the person dressed like a woman standing next to me is a real woman or a transgendered/transitioning male person. Never have, never will.
With SMOD, it is not a matter of if, how, or why, but only a matter of when...that is somewhat comforting.
"It irks me that the conservative line on transgender bathrooms is borrowed from feminism."
Same here.
Bev,
With SMOD the how is known: Gravity will pull him to the bosom of the earth where he will unleash an explosion the force off many many atomic bombs wiping out all human life.
The why is irrelevant.
Bev, When men go into the bathroom, we compare sizes, sometimes engage in "sword" fights, and then watch each other pee. Being forced to let a guy in a dress join in would just be weird. ;-)
Anthony, Crazy is SOP for some people.
tryanmax, Modern feminism and social conservatism share the same sense of prudishness.
I am having laptop issues tonight for some reason. I just downloaded a bunch of photos and my computer isn't liking them much. Everything's a critic these days. Once again, I am going to delay my next post until Thursday. Hopefully it will clear up...
Andrew, that's a good point about feminisms and the hard Rightwing. Both like to pretend that women aren't as strong as men to match their rhetoric. Nikki Haley is a great idea for a VP. Again about the bathroom thing, kids don't need an introduction to trans-genderism etc just because they had to pee. Sorry, it just seems strange...the only logical solution is converting public restrooms to a bunch of unisex one holers...There will probably be a bunch of early Christmas shopping in Baltimore tonight.
Critch, I've always found it funny that the hard right and the hard left share common views on issues like that, even as they claim to oppose each other so angrily. And I really find it funny how feminism claims to be about "strong women" and letting women prove they are "equal" but then they treat women like they are delicate flowers who will wilt upon the first wrongful gaze of a man.
Hillary said, "Trump could bankrupt America!"
I'm really amazed at how poorly she keeps attacking. Does it not occur to her that the public sees her establishment buddies as having already bankrupted America? Plus, they see Trump as a billionaire. Billionaires aren't bankrupt. So the charge doesn't work.
It really amazes me how poorly the establishment fights Trump. I think it speaks to a serious blind spot in their thinking.
Andrew - Are you surprised with Hillary. This is the same person (and campaign) that tweeted/exclaimed that "Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported."
Kit, Bev,
I'm frankly astounded that you support a candidate who clearly aims to destroy not only the institutions and traditions that helped make America the greatest nation on Earth, but to destroy the very Earth itself! SMOD has certainly not denied this aim. SMOD denies nothing. SMOD is an inanimate chunk of rock and ice. Which brings up another point. The problem conservative candidates routinely have is seeming cold, impersonal, and overly concerned with logic. This stereotype can only be confirmed by a candidate who is governed solely by the absolute laws of physics and is partially composed of actual ice.
I will grant that Cthulhu is not the perfect candidate. I would not be at all surprised if he took a position of eating the rich --literally-- as well as people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. But that shows how Cthulhu doesn't stoop to identity politics. He will oppress the whole human race, regardless of skin color, gender, or sexual orientation, which would surely end all talk of white privilege. Far from denigrating the armed forces, Cthulhu will utilize them to dominate the globe. He will ensure security not by building walls, but by expanding borders. As an elder god, Cthulhu will defend religion. Cthulhu believes in the sanctity of life--that's why he demands blood sacrifice unto himself. In contrast, I think we all know where a candidate with "Death" in their initials stands (or rather glides silently through the void) on that subject.
Tryanmax - You make some really good points. The fact that SMOD is clearly going to destroy all of human/animal/vegetable-kind and Cthulhu will only completely enslave same, is really giving something to think about and further research and explore. However, I am going with my gut instinct here, and will be voting for the one with the name that I can pronounce...
That's it, tryanmax, you've convinced me a vote for Cthulu is a vote for at least a modicum of humanity. Hopefully Metallica would be spared for as long as possible, though, in order to provide the beastie with proper campaign/inauguration theme music.
https://youtu.be/sWGOEWdV13M
SMOD and Cthulu are overkill on a grand scale...Godzilla would bring us together....
Critch - With the extra added bonus that Godzilla usually takes out SF, not NYC! And I can pronounce it.
Cthulhu is not a traditionalist, nor does he support civility and morality. If you wish to understand a man look at his closest and most loyal supporters, in this case the cultists who follow him. Here is what HowStuffWorks.com describes them:
" the Cult of Cthulhu, an organization of humans who are convinced that Cthulhu's return is inevitable and work to hasten it. They foresee a time when Cthulhu will rise up and rule over Earth, and mankind will cast aside concepts of civilization and inhibition. Chaos will ensue, and men will revel in their most base instincts."
His enslavement will involve an enslavement to our most base and vile desires. Cthulhu would essentially turn the entire world into one prolonged and eternal episode of the Jersey Shore.
Maybe in your leftist, amoral worldview this makes sense but I'm a conservative who wants at least some preservation of natural law. Cthulhu obeys no laws, not the laws of physics, not the Ten Commandments, and not the natural law that forms the basis of our Constitution. Every aspect of the natural order will upend it.
A true conservative, to quote Russell Kirk, "believes in an enduring moral order" and "adheres to custom, convention, and continuity."
SMOD poses no threat follows to the moral order that Cthulhu wishes to upend. He will wipe out all human life but the moral order, in whatever corner of the universe sentient life still exists, will endure. And whereas Cthulhu would toss custom, convention, and continuity right out the window during his reign, SMOD shows his adherence to those things by his strict and unwavering adherence to the Law of Gravity and Newton's First Law of Motion.
Lastly, given that his cultists believe that they will receive certain benefits for supporting his arrival (God knows what) Cthulhu strikes me as just another big government socialist crony who plays favorites and picks the winners and losers in the market. With SMOD there is no favoritism, only death.
Sweet, sweet death.
Also, can we be sure that Cthulhu will be a tough leader who can get things done? I've read HP Lovecraft's short story "The Call of Cthulhu" and, if I recall correctly, the tentacled behemoth was stopped by some half-mad sailor driving a steam-ship into his stomach. Talk about a guy who talks big and can't deliver!
If Hollywood is any clue, SMOD can only be stopped by an expert team of highly-trained astronauts, and maybe some redneck oilmen carrying nuclear warheads.
Which one do you think would be tougher on ISIS, Russia, and China? Not the cephalopod wanna-be.
Correction: "Every aspect of the natural order will upend it." should be "Every aspect of the natural order will be upended."
Kit, you left out that Cthulhu sleeps for aeons at a time. To apply that old quote regarding President Arthur, "Cthulhu never does anything today that he can't put off until tomorrow."
If that isn't cyclopaen tunnel vision, I don't know what is.
BTW, I'm with Critch. ALL HAIL THE BIG G!!!!
Rustbelt,
I like Godzilla alot but let's be honest, he's just another loser third-party candidate with no hope of winning. Who also has a habit of snoozing for long periods of time, not Cthulhu-long but long.
Besides, I've heard rumors that the Big G had an affair with Mothra.
Ah, Kit. That's just cruel. G's denied those rumors for years now.
Besides, the latest rumor- according to TMZ- has to do with Mothra and Gigan. (Word is Ghidora has photos from Gigan's vacation on Planet X that he doesn't want made public and Ghidora is doing a pretty good extortion job with 'em.)
God, such sexists...Mothra was a victim of Godzilla's egregious sexual harassment! Do you really think that Mothra went willingly go into Godzilla's tiny, little arms....NO!!! Yeah, always wanting to blame Mothra!
I've heard stories involving everyone from Gimantis to King Kong.
Personally, I'd rather not think about it and assume Minya was just a horrible splicing experiment/accident conducted by Nebula Space Hunter M.
I have, however, been thinking about Cthulhu alternates. How about Yog Sothoth? He's time itself, he'll grant campaign promises for a (un)reasonable price, he's had more affairs than Bill Clinton and Zeus combined and nothing ever sticks, and, unlike Cthulhu, he doesn't spend eons sleeping on the ocean floor. Now, there's a go-getter!
I've heard Mothra gets around.
I've also heard stories about her and Battra.
And who was Minya's real mother?
Yog Shothoth, that guy possesses people in order to copulate with others —others who are often members of the possessee's family.
Yog is icky.
"Yog is icky."
So is Washington. He'll fit in perfectly!
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