The End is Here

 On this, the day before the 2024 Presidential election it is safe to say two things. First, no one, absolutely no one. knows how it is going to turn out. Second, the national news media, be it left leaning, or off on the right edge of the universe, is in a state of mass hysteria. Yes, we are talking about levels of anxiety so off the meter the talking heads have, for the most part, been reduced to high pitched babbling.

It is as if everyone from Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to Lawrence O'Donnell and Rachel Maddow are covering the Titanic disaster--broadcasting live from the top deck as the bow sinks beneath the black waters of the North Atlantic.

Indeed, the day of reckoning has arrived! THE END IS HERE!

The counting will begin in a little over 24 hours. Locations which will house those who do the actual tabulations in more than a few states have, thanks to the very real threat of violence, become well-armed fortresses. Drop off ballot boxes have been torched. Local election officials have received death threats both to themselves and their families. In swing states battalions of Trump supporters are vowing to show up at polling places to make sure there isn't any, "cheating," going on and if the need may arise intimidate anyone who doesn't look Trumpy enough.

In North Carolina and other states MAGA politicians have been pushing for the results of the election to be thrown out immediately so republican dominated state legislatures can hand the state's electors over to Trump within hours of the polls closing.

Their candidate is now running ads on national TV claiming if he doesn't win the nation will not only descend into economic chaos, but World War III. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, it is either Donald J. Trump, or the fucking apocalypse.

Meanwhile, liberals are squawking like flocks of panicked starlings. Did Harris do enough to attract this, or that demographic? What about Hispanic men? What about young black men? What about suburban women, will they truly recognize the existential threat to their health care? What about Muslim Americans? AARGHH! Can Kamala Harris win the one eyed, lefthanded vote? 

And everyone is screaming, "For God's sake, which polls are accurate?"

Here is a hint. None of them are. Like everything else Trump and his supporters touch, polls have been delegitimized since 2016. It was the first step toward claiming elections are, "rigged." 

 The country is deeply divided. It appears nearly half the electorate likes the idea of leaving all their problems in the hands of a would be autocrat who has no respect for the law and little, if any use, for democracy. The final truth is we are witnessing the death throes of the white male power structure which has been in place since the nation was founded. For the first time that power structure's continued existence is dependent on a convicted felon and known sexual predator. And tens of millions of Americans, of all colors are fine with it.

From here it looks like, Kamala Harris will be the next President of these United States. Not because of some demographic swing, or surge. She will win because I simply refuse to believe the nation is so far gone most of us have given up on decency, civility, and respect for the law altogether. She will win because this nation is not what Donald Trump thinks it is.

At least I hope and pray it isn't.

11-4-24

Eight Days to Go: You are Either with Trump, or You are on The List

 Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist? 

CNN host, Anderson Cooper

Yes, I do. Yes, I do.

Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, currently number one on The List 

While Donald Trump has never campaigned with any amount of dignity, restraint, or decency, up until now, Kamala Harris has tried to remain positive and with some sense of decorum, at least until now. However, with election day now right around the corner, Harris has shucked her gloves, much like a hockey player does at the start of one of those legendary, NHL gang fights on the ice.  

Harris waited to make that statement until after Trump's longest serving Chief of Staff, retired Marine General, John Kelly said publicly Trump, "meets the definition of a fascist." Kelly also related a quaint story about Trump wistfully telling him in the Oval Office he wished that he had generals who were as loyal as Hitler's was to him. Kelly had to let Big Don in on the truth--that Hitler's generals not only lost the war, but hated the guy to the point of plotting to assassinate him. It is unclear if these details made an impression on the former President, or not.

While this was going on, Donald Trump and his pals were out proving that the Vice President's assessment of his politics was spot on. 

In one of the most bizarre moments of a campaign chock full of bizarre moments Tucker Carlson opened for Trump at a Georgia rally. During his intro, Tuck compared those who oppose Trump to misbehaving children--specifically misbehaving adolescent girls. (Kamala Harris is a girl, get it?) According to Carlson even though these bad girls have been misbehaving, Daddy Don still loves them because they are his kids and is so magnanimous he allows them to live in his house. That little metaphor couldn't be any clearer. The nation is Trump's house. He owns it and it is only through his love and generosity that the rest of us are allowed to live here. Then the former Fox host went on:

"And when Dad gets home, you know what he says? You've been a bad girl, you've been a bad little girl and you're going to get a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it's not going to hurt me more than it hurts you. No it's not. I'm not going to lie. This is going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You're getting a vigorous spanking because you've been a bad girl."

While it felt like we just found out more about Tucker Carlson's sexual fantasies than we'd like to know, the crowd embraced the tale. When Donald Trump, republican nominee for President hit the stage he was greeted with chants of, "Daddy Don," and "Daddy's home." The only positive thing anyone can take away from the whole scene was at least the audience wasn't chanting, "Sieg, Heil." 

Then came Trump's mega rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden. It was a six hour marathon filled with racist jokes, crude profanities, and vile name calling. All of which sounded like the sort of awful shit (Hey, I'm not running for President, or speaking on the behalf of someone who is, so I can say stuff like that.) you'd hear deep into a Ku Klux Klan keg party.  Our pal, Tucker Carlson was there once again. He called Kamala Harris, "The first Samoan/-Malaysian low IQ presidential nominee."  However, the headliner of the evening was an Austin, TX based, "comedian/podcaster," named, Tony Hinchcliffe. 

Hinchcliffe's monologue included this: "I don't know if you know this, but there's literally a a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico." 

While most of the crowd laughed, right now it is unknown if any of the 400,000 plus Pennsylvania voters who are of Puerto Rican descent thought the, "joke," was funny. In fact, Hinchcliffe's remarks about Hispanics were so offensive (These Latinos love making babies, just know that they do.) even the Trump campaign distanced itself from them. Although it took them over five hours and probably someone pointing out they actually need to win Pennsylvania, before they did. 

Others spoke, including a republican pol named, David Rem, who called Kamala Harris, "the devil," and, "the antichrist," while waving around a large crucifix. Radio host, Sid Rosenberg seemed to be unstuck in time when he took the podium. His opened with, "She's some sick bastard that Hillary Clinton, huh? " 

Which brings us to the question, do any of these evil fucks have a grasp on reality? After all, there have been a number of times Trump himself seems to think he is running against either Obama, or Biden. One supposes he could be excused for these lapses. These days there are so many, "enemies within," and their numbers are growing by the minute, it is hard to keep track of them all. In fact, the toughest job in the Trump campaign might belong to the person who has to keep, The List, updated and accurate. 

There are eight days to go and both campaigns know crunch time is here. The race is a dead heat, which in itself paints an ugly portrait of the American electorate. Here at the end, Harris has turned from being the joyous warrior to negativity. At the same time Donald Trump is still the monster he has always been, but now he and his cadre of political and half assed celebrity supporters have scrapped all the dog whistles. They are now out there with bullhorns telling everyone exactly what they are and what they plan to do. Their pro autocratic message is being shouted loud and proud, to borrow a phrase.

Indeed, it has never been more crystal clear. In these last eight days of the 2024 campaign, you are either with Donald John Trump, or you are on, The List.

10-28-24

Donald Trump and the Political Soul of America

 USA FACTS says there are 36 million Americans who are registered republicans. The site admits the actual number is much higher than that because in a number of states party affiliation is not part of their voter public records. Given that tidbit of information we know there are a whole lot of republicans out there, not to mention registered independents who hang out in the right corner of political attic. 

The other day the results of a national poll conducted jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Public Religion Research Institute. It found 19%, or nearly seven million of those 36 million people believe, Donald J. Trump should, do whatever it takes, to return to power. That includes calling the election rigged and invalid if he loses.   

It goes downhill from there.

The poll also reveals 29% of republicans, around 10 million of the fuckers thinks True American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to, "save the country." The same is true of 16% of independents who participated in the poll. Things have gotten so far out of control even eight percent of the democrats who responded say the same thing. Another 12% believe Kamala Harris should reject the results of the election if she loses.

But wait, as the TV ads say, there is more. 41% of voters who primarily watch right wing news outlets think using political violence to achieve political goals is a legitimate idea. 30% of Fox News viewers believe the same thing. At the same time 28% of white evangelical Protestants are convinced those, "true patriots," will have to resort to violence to, "save the country," while 33% of Mormons do. When it comes to other demographics, 18% of Hispanic Catholics, 14% of black protestants, and 10% of American Jews feel the use of political violence is somehow justified. 

The president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institue, Robert Jones was quoted by Axios as saying, "I've been doing this for 20 years and these answers are keeping me up at night." 

Get in line, Bob.

For those who could be, or rather, should be terminally depressed and appalled by the results of the poll, there are two glimmers of light in the darkness. When it comes to the Supreme Court, 73% of everybody believes there should either be a mandatory retirement age, for the justices, or a set number of years they are allowed to sit on the court. And, 68% of those responding, despite their party affiliation, believed people should be allowed to receive any FDA approved medication, including so called, "abortion," pills through the mail.      

Still, these are just brief flashes of sanity in a nation that has seemingly gone mad. Just the other day Trump compared the conviction and incarceration of the January 6th insurrectionists to the internment of Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. (For those not up on actual history, the Japanese-Americans were thrown into prison camps without the benefit of a trial because they were--well--Japanese-Americans. The January 6th rioters were tried and convicted of violent crimes we all witnessed on national television.)

Nearly eight years ago when Don Trump first took office we all saw his outraged befuddlement when it dawned on him the national media, or at least segments of it, wasn't his PR department and Congress wasn't just a bunch of corporate toadies there tell him he was right about everything. That realization and the 2020 election defeat, not to mention some, let's say, legal problems, appear to have pushed him over the edge. His lifelong disdain for the laws of the land spread to everything the Constitution says and means.                             

These days, when Trump isn't playing the martyr, or accusing his opponent of committing crimes against humanity and nature, he likes to take credit for a lot of stuff he had nothing to do with--like he is the, "father of IVF." However, let us give credit where credit is due. When it comes to survey responses like the ones we've just seen it is easy to say, with all confidence, Donnie, my boy, this pro-violence shit is all your fault.   

There is no doubt he will proudly acknowledge what he has done. Indeed, this time around there won't be any screw ups. You see, The Big Orange Guy has laid the foundation for victory, no matter what. Who cares if the process cost many their political souls? This is party over nation, baby, ego uber alles.

Congratulations, Donald Trump! After only nine years in politics, you've managed to convince millions of Americans that democracy and the rule of law are, as you put it once about military service, "for suckers and losers."   That'll show those teachers who thought you'd never amount to anything. 

There are two weeks until the 2024 Presidential election. Thanks to Donald Trump, only God in heaven knows if there will be any more.

10-22-24    

Dancing With Don and Listening to Kamala

 In July, 1518 residents of the city of Strasbourg were struck by a sudden and seemingly uncontrollable urge to dance...According to historian, John Waller the explanation most likely concerns Sy. Vitus, a Catholic saint, who pious 16th century Europeans believed had the power to curse people with a dancing plague. 

Evan Andrews, writing for the History Channel

Yes, it would seem that terrible plague has returned. How else can you explain what the nation witnessed earlier this week at a pro Donald Trump, "town hall," meeting in Pennsylvania? Of course, the citizens of Stroudsburg danced without musical accompaniment, at least until city officials brought in a band after a few days of all that weird shit starting. At the Pennsylvania get together the music was there the whole time, thanks to candidate, turned dancing DJ, Donald John Trump.

The entire bizarre affair began shortly after a Trump supporter asked him what he would do to help small businesses. Trump's rambling answer, which was quite nearly incoherent, seemed to be that he would increase oil and gas production--despite the fact they are at all-time highs right now--making it cheaper for small businesses to operate. At least that's one interpretation, although there could be many others. At this point who really knows for sure? Within minutes the candidate looked at event emcee, South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem (men admire her aim and dogs fear her name) telling her, "Who wants to listen to questions? A clear indication he was done. Then Trump demanded to hear his favorite tune, Pavarotti's version of, "Ava Maria." As it played, he began to sway to and fro, disorienting the crowd. You could see them asking themselves, should we stay? Should we leave? For God's sake will someone please tell us what the fuck is going on?  At one point Noem even thanked them for coming, seemingly ending the party.

Trump, however, refused to exit the stage, freezing them in place. Soon other songs were playing, including the gay anthem, "YMCA," to which Mr. Trump displayed his signature, "rocking out," move, the two handed horizontal fist pump--which satirist, Bill Maher has described as looking like the Donald is jerking off two guys at once.

The ghoulishly, demented, display went on for 39 minutes. Not as long as the dancing plague of Strasbourg--it lasted two months--but far too long for modern American sensibilities. (According to Andrews in order to get things back to normal in Strasbourg the authorities finally hauled the dancers off to a mountain top shrine to repent and pray for absolution. Something we know Donald Trump would never agree to, at least not without inciting a riot first.)   

Meanwhile, Kamla Harris was also in Pennsylvania, appearing at a rally which included over 100 GOP power types. More than a few of them had served in the pervious Trump administration and they all were adamant in their support of the Vice President and insistent that Donald Trump should never be allowed into the White House again. And that doesn't even count all the republicans and former republicans currently working for MSNBC who absolutely loathe the man.

The next day, Mr. Trump showed up in front of The Economic Club of Chicago. He was questioned by Bloomberg editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait. Micklethwait proved himself to be a persistent son of a bitch, by time and time again demanding Trump actually answer the questions asked, not the ones he was apparently making up in his own head. 

Afterward the candidate complained Micklethwait was hostile and biased. At the same time his son, Eric was telling Fox's Senan Hannity his dear old dad was at the top of his game and had the Chicago audience eating out of his hand. He also bellyached that the, "liberal media," never held Harris accountable for her lies. 

 Kamala Harris' answer to Trump the younger was to show up on Fox itself.  Last night, she entered the lair of the beast, so to speak. She appeared on Fox for a one on one interview with Trump shill, Bret Baier. Amid a barrage of aggressive questions and interruptions she held her own. At one point she temporarily, at least, shut Baier up when she pointed out the clip he showed of Trump had been carefully edited, omitting many of his damning words. After a moment of stunned silence Baier moved on to another subject. 

Trump, on the other hand, was holding another town hall, this time hosted by the Spanish language network, Univision. Today we learned from the former head of the network the audience had been hand picked by Trump's campaign and the agreement was no fact checking. In other words, Don Trump could run wild with the craziest shit imaginable, completely unattached to the truth. Which is exactly what he did.

There are less than three weeks left until election day, actually not even that since early voting has already begun in many states. The democratic candidate is out there taking chances, getting endorsed by former Trump officials, and answering tough questions posed by members of her opposition. The republican candidate refuses to get involved in another debate, much of the time speaks gibberish, and inexplicably performed a ghastly marathon version of St. Vitus' Dance which MSNBC found so utterly weird they showed it in its entirety. 

For those wondering why this election is even close we have two clues. First, despite the evasions and rambling answers in Chicago, when it came to immigration and tax cuts the crowd remained enthusiastic. And, after dancing with Donald for over a half an hour in Pennsylvania one supporter euphorically told a reporter, "It felt like I was in his living room with him."  

The sum of both those observations translates into two things. First, despite his obvious mental instability and cognitive disintegration, Donald Trump still might end up President once again. And two, no one who is sane, or at least has good taste, should ever want to be in his living room with him when the music comes on.

10-17-24

Democrats and the Green Menace

 Not quite a quarter of a century ago a Presidential election was so close it was decided by a painfully long recount in the state of Florida. Fortunately, that was back during a time when Presidents and candidates actually respected the constitution. Bill Clinton's second term was up and unlike some these days, he knew it was his duty to give up the highest office in the land. His Vice President, Al Gore was the democratic candidate and Texas Governor, George W. Bush represented the republicans. 

The entire election was so breathtakingly tight in Florida, on election night at least one major TV network called the state for Gore, but then rescinded their call. As the votes were counted and recounted chaos ensued. There were problems with the ballots, which were marked by punching holes next to the names of whoever you were voting for. However, the system really didn't work. It was confusing to many because the names didn't line up right. On other ballots the holes weren't complete enough to be read correctly by the counting machines. Confusion reigned and all of America became familiar with a new term, "hanging chads." Before it was over the Florida results ended up in front of the United States Supreme Court. 

When the legal dust settled George Bush won Florida by a little over 500 votes and therefore the Presidency. Despite some grumbling about republican, post election hanky-panky Gore accepted the results and early in 2021 he sat in the Senate and presided over the certification and a peaceful transfer of power. Again, this all happened back in those quaint days before the arrival of dictatorial wannabe assholes and run amok gangs of thugs carrying cans of bear spray.   

So much so after the election, the anger of most democrats wasn't focused on the Bush campaign and some of his supporters who acted wildly inappropriately in the days during the recounts, but rather, the green party candidate, Ralph Nader. Nader had run as, "alternative," to Gore and Bush, attempting to appeal to far left eco-activists who weren't satisfied with what they perceived was the pro industrial policies of both men. In other words these rubes found both Gore and Bush too far right to be acceptable.

In that election, which was decided by one tenth of one percent, Ralph Nader received 1.65% of the vote. In raw numbers he got 97,488 votes. To this day, there isn't a democrat around who lived through those gut wrenching weeks, or the subsequent eight years of Bush rule who doesn't blame Ralph Nader and the green party for the loss. 

All of which explains why veteran members of the democratic party get a serious case of the cold sweats during a close election in a state which has a green party candidate on the ballot. It also explains their tendency to sometimes overreact in close run situations when a green candidate is running--for no other reason, at least in their minds, than to really fuck things up.

This election cycle the green party is running Dr. Jill Stein. She is on the ballots in every battle ground state, plus many which aren't. This morning, on a national cable news network the Harris campaign began running ads which showed, Donald Trump saying he likes, Jill Stein (no real context is provided) and telling potential Stein voters that voting for her is, in effect, a vote for Donald Trump. It is a sure sign the people in charge of the VP's campaign don't want to get, Gored, so to speak, once again.   

There are even some democrats out there who are claiming Stein, who ran in 2016, cost Hillary Clinton the election by siphoning off enough votes she lost Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  

That allegation is a stretch. In Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin Clinton came close, but in each of those states Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson received far more votes than Jill Stein. It isn't hard to make an argument that Johnson's presence in the race hurt Trump more than Stein's hurt Clinton. Theories such as these really prove only one thing. That it's easy to believe democrats tend to become, let's say, a tad paranoid when a green party candidate is on the ballot.

Still...

The 2024 election is barely three weeks away and if the polls are correct, it is a dead heat. Every single vote out there is too precious to lose. Especially to some ego driven eco-idealist who doesn't mind handing the election to the most virulent anti-environmental, climate change denier in the nation. 

The Harris ad was right. However, Jill Stein is out there and she is going to get votes. That's the reality of the situation. The only question at the moment is how many will she get? Probably not as many as the democrats fear. Tragically though, in this, the year of our Lord 2024, even not as many might be too much.

sic vita est

10-14-24

Ryan Walters and a Couple of Happy Coincidences

Christian nationalism primarily focuses on the internal politics of society, such as legislating civil and criminal laws that reflect the adherents' view of Christianity and the role of religion in in political and social life.

The definition of Christian nationalism according to Wikipedia

The key phrase there being, "reflecting the adherents' view of Christianity," because, as we know, or at least should recognize, there are a whole lot of different views when it comes to Christianity. Including those of Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Later in his life he wrote, that when it comes to the U.S. government, the intentions of the founding fathers had been, "to build a wall between church and state." 

All of which brings us to the great state of Oklahoma and one Ryan Walters, the Big Kahuna of public education in these parts. Walters has, via decree, mandated every school classroom in the state must contain a bible and teachers must use it as a means of instruction when it comes to history, civics, and other subjects.

But which version of the bible you might ask. Because as we also know there are almost as many versions of, "the good book," as there are interpretations of Christianity itself.  Well, it turns out, the Superintendent of public education has very specific ideas in that regard. According to reports, Walters wants the bibles, paid for with state funds, to be 1. The King James version, 2. to include the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Constitution. Plus, they need to be bound in either leather, or leather-like material. 

So, where does one find a reported 55,000 copies of a United States centric version of the bible? The organization, Oklahoma Watch asked Christian education distributer, Mardel just that question. According to the outfit, Mardel went through 2,900 different versions of the bible without finding a match. Then, lo and behold, they struck gold, so to speak.

It turns out the only two bibles out there that meet Ryan Walters' demands are--you guessed it--the Donald Trump endorsed, Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A." bible and the Donald Trump Jr. backed, "We the People," version. Thanks to name, image, and likeness deals, the Trump Org. gets a cut from each and every sale of both books.

Ah, what a stunning moment of coincidental serendipity. And while some of the more cynical among us might think the fix is in, Walters' spokesperson, Dan Isett denies any biblical hanky-panky. According to Isett, "There are hundreds of bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal." 

Yes, one can easily picture that, "robust competition," just as political satirist, Mark Russell once described it. "First you arrange all the bids on a table in sealed envelopes," Russell said, "Then you award the bid. After that you open the envelopes."

It is unknown here if Ryan Walters has ever met, Donald Trump. It is also unknown if Trump has ever heard of Walters. Although Walters has spent a lot of time on Fox News thanks to hefty fees paid to an out of state PR firm which has been financed by Oklahoma taxpayers. However, it's obvious to everyone on the planet that the quickest way to get on Donald Trump's good side is to make him money, solicited, or not. For those interested 55,000 "God Bless the U.S.A bibles would mean a little more than $3 million in sales for the publisher and the Big Orange Guy. Which makes for another happy coincidence. Walters initially requested almost that exact amount from the state to pay for the bibles. Well, why not? Trump could use an influx of cash right now. Despite his boast that he is, "rich as hell," the guy is on the hook to E. Jean Carroll alone for close to $100 million. And that doesn't count legal fees past, present, and future.

Besides, what's a little corruption when it comes to God and country?

Of course, we could go into the whole separation of church and state thing, not to mention a complete lack of Christian scripture in the Declaration, the Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Pledge, but that is probably a discussion left for another day. (Take the time to read them all, the words, Creator, Divine Providence, and even God can apply to a lot of religions besides Christianity.)

Indeed, the subject at hand is a not so subtle attempt by a small time American right wing hack to curry favor with the biggest American right wing hack in history. All the while trying to infuse his brand of Christian nationalism into Oklahoma public education. And have it paid for paid for by every tax paying man and cat woman, no matter what their faith, or lack thereof might be.  

 You know there are warnings about shit like this. Open up--that's right--a king James version of the bible to Matthew 7:15. It says, "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

 Wolves who, I might add, see power as not just another scam, but the greatest scam of all.

10-7-24  

The Vice Presidential Debate: Dead Heat on a Merry Go Round--Sort Of

 J.D. Vance (nee Bowman, nee Hamel) is one smoothly glib guy. Unlike his would be boss, he can keep his cool and sound perfectly reasonable. However, just like Donald Trump he lies his ass off. So, we are faced with a question: Who is more dangerous, an obviously insane psychopath who rants incoherently, or the dude who is so slick and amoral he could sell you life insurance which is rendered null and void upon the death of the policy holder?

Yes, the Senator from Ohio sounded that good last night during the Vice Presidential debate. That's not to say Vance won going away. Governor Tim Walz actually had a good night--except for one terrible moment. It is just that J.D. Vance sounded like a polished Yale Law School grad and the Governor sounded like--well-- a football coach. 

In fact by the time it was over the two participants had performed well enough that both sides could and did  claim victory. From here the hour and a half plus exercise felt like the title of an old movie. It was, in truth, a "Dead Heat on a Merry Go Round." 

Walz's biggest fumble, as it were, came when he was asked about a claim he made years ago. The Governor has said he was in China when the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and subsequent crackdown occurred. It turned out he wasn't there until a month after it happened. Walz awkwardly tried to dodge the answer for a painful eternity before finally admitting he had, "misspoke."

J.D. Vance on the other hand simply avoided the sicky questions altogether. Or at least he tried to. The first glimpse into what he was trying to pull came early. He was asked about his comments on, "legal immigrants," in Springfield, OH. Vance immediately complained the moderator was breaking the debate rule that disallowed, "fact checking." Which brings us to another question. Is including a fact in a question fact checking? Apparently the Senator believes it is.

In addition, over the course of the evening, Mr. Vance didn't seem aware that Vice Presidents are not in charge of making policy, Presidents are. He constantly implied Kamala Harris had run the entire Biden administration all on her own--that Joe Biden didn't really have anything to do with it. If the Senator really thinks that's how it works and Donald Trump does win in November he is in for a rude shock when Trump shuffles him off into an attic, or somewhere else completely out of the way. If recent Presidential history has taught us anything it is when Big Don is in charge he doesn't want, or need any help from his VP, except in a real crunch.

Speaking of which, it took the entire debate for the most important question of the night to land right in the GOP candidate's lap. And for the first and only time all night J.D. Vance squirmed. CBS' Norah O'Donnell went to the place no republican wants to go and they all will avoid. She asked, "You have said you would not have certified the last Presidential election and would have asked the states to submit alternative electors. That has been called unconstitutional and illegal. Would you again seek to challenge this years election results, even if every governor certifies the results?"

 The Senator responded by saying the biggest threat to democracy wasn't trying to illegally overturn a legitimate election, but that Kamala Harris is coercing, "big technology companies into silencing their fellow citizens." Vance went onto accuse Harris of wanting to, "censor people who engage in misinformation." In other words, that Marxist bitch wants to stop people from lying on the internet and--you know--lying is a sacred American right. 

Walz pounced. He put it to Vance directly, "Do you believe Donald Trump lost the last election?" Vance had been caught in one humiliating lie already that night when he told the audience, with a straight face, Donald Trump had saved Obama Care. It took Tim Walz about two seconds to squash that bug. Now he was stuck. Did he lie again, or really, I mean really, piss Donald Trump off? Vance chose a third option. He began by saying he preferred to look to the future, rather than the past. Then he went back into the song and dance about censorship of misinformation concluding with, "you guys were trying to get people kicked off Facebook."

How getting someone kicked off a social media site for spreading lies is comparable to an attempted overthrow of the United States government went unexplained.  

After Walz responded that the insurrection of January 6th was a tad more serious, Vance rewrote history by insisting the 2021 Presidential transfer of power was completely peaceful. After all, he said, Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20th and Donald Trump left town. No muss, no fuss, right? As Tim Walz pointed out over 100 Capitol Police were injured on January 6h. He didn't even have to mention the hundreds of run amok vandals rampaging through the nation's Capital Building chanting, "Hang Mike Pence!" although earlier he had asked Vance if he even knew why Pence wasn't there.  

The final question of the night also triggered Donald Trump himself. He had been throwing out insults all evening, referring to the Minnesota Governor as, "Tampon Tim." (There is no denying the man's droll wit.) The former President immediately posted, "CBS is LYING AGAIN about the 2020 Election. Where is my apology from Leslie Stahl? She claimed the Hunter Biden LAPTOP FROM HELL was not real and that my Campaign wasn't spied on.  CBS IS FAKE NEWS!" 

To paraphrase an old Jerry Reed lyric, "When you're nuts, you're nuts."

There is a shade over a month to go until election day. Last night proved only one thing. J.D. Vance can and does lie like Donald Trump. He does, however, sound better than Trump when he is doing it.

sic vita est

10-2-24