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

There Is No Too Far for Donald Trump

 

XENOPHOBE: noun: One unduly afraid of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin.

It is unclear if Donald Trump is actually a raging xenophobe, or if he just sees the fear of all things foreign as a means to help him get back into power. Let's face it, we know, without a doubt, the man believes the end, at least his intended end, is justified by every means possible. 

We also know once Don Trump finds a subject he believes works he is like a Tibetan Mastiff with a fresh bone. That dog isn't going to let it go no matter what. Such is the case with immigrants. Non-European immigrants in particular. You know, the ones who aren't, as Dr. Sheldon Cooper once put it, "whiter than marshmallows."

By now most people are familiar with the accusations that involve Haitians eating household pets and peaceful park loving ducks in Springfield, OH. There is confusion over the origins of that myth. Some say it sprang from a social media post from a Trump supporter saying the friend of a neighbor's daughter was convinced her pet was taken and eaten by immigrants. Another possible source was a second Trump fan who filed a police report saying her missing cat might have been catnapped, as it were, by Haitian neighbors. When the woman found the animal she called police, to tell them she was wrong, then, unlike her idol, walked next door and apologized for the accusation. 

Whichever the case, Trump ran wild with the lie. He told one crowd that when he is elected he will send all those Haitians back to, Venezuela, (geography has never been the guy's strong suit) inspiring the cult to chant, "send them back, send them back." It seemed not to matter to anyone there most, if not all, the Haitians in Springfield are there legally. 

Thanks to Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, things spun out of control. Springfield's immigrant community was so inundated with credible threats of violence state police had to be dispatched to schools and neighborhoods to protect them and their kids. 

The Trump and Vance barrage of bullshit became so overwhelming, members of the Haitian community filed a suit in court attempting to stop them. The action prompted republican Congressman Clay Higgins to write on social media, "Lol. These Haitians are wild, eating pets, vudu (sic) nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters...but, damned if they don't feel sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP. (the Congressman was referring to Trump and Vance, not Biden and Harris who actually are the President and VP.) All these thugs better get their minds right and their asses out of our country before January 20th."

Trump then moved on to Aurora, CO. He claimed an entire apartment building, or complex, or neighborhood had been completely overrun with Mexican, or Central American gangs. These gangs were so violent the entire town was quaking in fear and local police refused to enter the buildings, or areas, or someplace. The republican Mayor of Aurora told everyone who would listen Trump was lying, then he invited the GOP nominee to come to Aurora to see for himself. So far Trump has refused the offer. Perhaps it is because he doesn't like to be confronted by the truth, or, he simply doesn't want to go to Colorado because Lauren Boebert would insert herself into the picture. After all, while Trump likes to grab women by the crotch, he might be uncomfortable with Boebert latching onto his, as she is apt to do. 

On Saturday Donald Trump was in Prairie du Chien, WI. He told the crowd, "Joe Biden became mentally impaired, Kamala Harris was born that way. She was born that way. And if you think about it , only a mentally disabled person could allow this to happen to our country. The, "this," he was talking about was immigration and immigrants. Then, Donald John Trump proved that taking it too far isn't far enough for him.

Speaking about illegal immigrants he told his supporters, "They will walk into your kitchen, they'll cut your throat. " He added, "Small towns in America are terrified of migrants coming in and, even when they haven't arrived, they're terrified. They will rape, pillage, thieve, plunder, and kill the people of the United States of America.' 

Now that's how to scare white folks. Don't beat around the bush, throw the rubes straight into the middle of a Wes Cravens' horror movie. It makes that remark about migrants, "poisoning the blood of the nation," sound downright subtle. 

Donald Trump isn't qualified intellectually, or emotionally to be the President of the United States. However, it does appear he would be a perfect fit to replace Moe Hailstone as Moronica's head of state.

Why not? As old Moe used to say, "Moronica for Morons!"

 

9-30-24

Appealing to Women Voters, MAGA Style

You will no longer be abandoned, lonely, or scared. You will no longer be in danger--you're not going to be in danger any longer. You will no longer have anxiety from all the problems our country has today. You will be protected and I am your protector. You will be happy, healthy, confident, and free. You will no longer be thinking about abortion.

Donald J. Trump, current republican Presidential nominee and convicted felon, addressing the women at a recent political rally.

Pretty eloquent words from a guy who is on the hook for about 90 million bucks for sexually assaulting a woman in a department store dressing room. Not to mention one facing jail time for covering up a hush money payment to a porn actress after a sordid encounter with her--while his wife was home with his newborn baby.  

While Big Don might have said he was addressing women one suspects his real target was all those white MAGA types, no matter what the gender. You know, all those racists and xenophobes who are petrified the white power establishment is coming to an end. That notion seemed to be confirmed when he throws in a bit about women in the suburbs (and presumably their husbands and children) being under, "migrant criminal siege." Then tells the crowd, ""I will fix all that and fast and at long last, this nation--our national nightmare will end. It will end, we've gotta end this national nightmare. Because I am your protector. I want to be your protector." 

That is rhetoric which sounds like it is straight out of 1932 Germany. Or current day North Korea.

However, let's get back to the subject at hand, so to speak. How can the GOP attract more women voters? Perhaps they can nominate more down ballot candidates like Mark Robinson in North Carolina. He is the guy who told women they wouldn't need abortions if they, "Kept their pants up and their skirts down." The republican gubernatorial candidate shared that bon mot with us long before CNN came out with a story about how he used to hang out at a porn site called, "Nude Africa." Not only that, the report claimed, but he left a series of messages in one of the site's chat rooms. In one he talked about how his early sexual proclivities were shaped by spying on women using public showers. Another revealed that, despite his recent homophobic rants, he really was turned on by sex scenes that included transgender men--or, as they say in the business, "shemales." 

Meanwhile, up in Ohio the republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Bernie Moreno recently had this to say at a town hall meeting: "Sadly, by the way, there's a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women, that are like, 'Listen, abortion is it. If I can't have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else" To drive his point home, Moreno added, "It's a little crazy by the way, but--especially for women that are like past 50. I'm thinking to myself, I don't think that's an issue for you." 

Well, Bernie, since you are biologically incapable of giving birth, maybe abortion rights shouldn't be an issue for you either. But, hey, let's not delve into political theory and speculation. After all, despite what J.D. Vance believes the law of the land clearly states the votes of childless cat women count just as much as yours and his. (Not to mention the vote of that self-described, "perv," Mark Robinson who is on record saying women shouldn't be allowed to vote at all.)

While not being a professional political campaign operative, it does appear clowns like these and Trump himself, might not be the sort of crowd which attracts the elusive women's demographic.  

Indeed, at this point the most puzzling part about the GOP's shrinking support among women voters is they genuinely seem--yes--puzzled by it. At the same rally he told women he was their, "protector," the guy, who is on tape saying because he is a celebrity women let him latch onto their genitals (E. Jean Carroll being the obvious exception) told the crowd, '"I always thought women liked me. I never thought I had a problem. But the fake news keeps saying women don't like me. I don't believe it."

Really? 

Obviously, some women do like Donald Trump. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Loomer come to mind. The truth though is, there are a hell of a lot of women out there who don't. And trust me, Don, you can't blame that dislike on the, "fake news." Those women don't like you simply because of what you've said and done during the entire twisted course of your, "I can grab 'em by the pussy," life.

In other words, Mr. Trump, many women don't want you to be the, "Protector," because they consider you the threat.

 

9-25-24

A Would-be Assassin Driven by insanity and Two Canidates Driven by Lies and Xenophobia

 In 2016 Ryan Routh voted for Donald Trump. That love affair didn't last long though. By 2020 Routh was saying he considered Trump a, "buffoon." That was just part of his life, however. Brother Routh was also busy getting popped by the police for things like receiving stolen goods, illegally operating a motor vehicle, and possession of a fully automatic machine gun. He had been involved in confrontations with the cops, including at least one instance where he barricaded himself in a place while armed. 

In short, Mr. Routh, like Donald Trump, is a man who has been convicted on multiple felony counts. In theory he should have never been able to get his hands on the weapon he abandoned at the scene when a Secret Service agent opened fire on him. Unfortunately, this being America, he didn't have any problem doing so.

Not long after Russia invaded Ukraine Routh became fixated on the war. He traveled to Kyiv, saying he was ready to volunteer, fight, and die for Ukraine. Since the Ukrainian army didn't want him (they said it was because he was too old and had no military experience, although one has to suspect there was more to it now) he managed to get a touch of fame by being interviewed by the New York Times and Newsweek Romania. He also tried to make a name for himself by pushing the idea of recruiting Afghan soldiers to fight for the nation. After the Ukrainians rejected that idea too, he came back to the states. 

The obvious question is why would the Ukrainians reject any help as Russan troops poured into their country--besides the age and lack of experience thing. The answer to that one is fairly simple. In an interview with The New Republic, a Canadian military veteran, Kevin Leach, described Routh this way: "The word across useful volunteer networks is how fucking certifiable this guy behaved, how he treated everybody like shit."  He added, "The guy was clearly not moored to reality." 

Back in the states, Routh initially proved that assessment by sending Elon Musk a social media message which read, "I would like to buy a rocket from you. I want to load it with a warhead for Putin's Black Sea mansion bunker to end him. The rocket doesn't have to be new. It can be old and used as not returning."

As we know the second time was when he pointed his AK-47 style weapon toward Donald Trump.    

Since then the entire MAGA cult has been blaming the incident on democrats in general and Kamal Harris in particular. The left's never ending hate speech aimed at Donald Trump incited Ryan Routh to his mad act, they say. 

Really? Because it sure sounds to me like Ryan Wesley Routh was already in the crazy place--he didn't need any incitement. All he needed was a time, a place, and another weapon. And he found all of those on his own.

However, on the subject of the results of hate speech, in Springfield, OH, public buildings and schools have been closed for days thanks to threats of violence. All the fear and chaos has been directly caused by a lie, knowingly told by VP nominee, J.D. Vance, then repeated by Donald Trump during the Presidential debate. Reports are now saying that when Vance first heard the rumors of dog eating immigrants, he instructed a staffer to verify them. The staffer made a call, or two to Springfield officials who told him there was nothing to it. When the aide delivered the news to Vance the candidate was apparently severely disappointed, so he just claimed it was true anyway.

Then the man who would be President picked up on it as he raged in Philadelphia in front of an amused Kamala Harris and, if they were watching, no doubt a horrified bunch of Haitians living in Springfield. 

Vance has since told the media he had no qualms, "creating," a story to draw attention to the suffering of native Ohioans in Springfield. Now he is angrily accusing the media of obsessing with the story, rather than all that suffering, which so far, he has failed to articulate. 

On Friday during an impromptu news conference Donald Trump told reporters, "I can say this, we will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio--large deportations. We're going to get these people out. We are bringing them back to Venezuela." 

Don't ever speak about Joe Biden's mental capabilities again. The current republican nominee just showed us, 1, he either doesn't know, or care the immigrants in Springfield are there legally and 2. he thinks Haitians come from Venezuela. 

Good God man, if you are going to persecute people at least figure out where they come from. 

All this vile xenophobic pet eating shit is getting dangerously close to the ghoulish Nazi lie that Jews drink the blood of Christian babies. Not to mention the slightly milder QANON version which has a vast international cabal of Hollywood types and liberals kidnapping and molesting boatloads of children. 

We are getting close to the day and at this point we are faced with two terrifying questions. Why do the republican nominees, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance think these reprehensible lies will win them the White House?  And, given what these two monsters are saying, why is this election still too close to call?  

 The answers to both are equally appalling.

9-18-24