The October Surprise.

Well, tonight the Hillary campaign got their October Surprise. The FBI is re-opening their investigation on her unhacked server. Any sensitive material should have been on government servers so that it could be routinely hacked. But I’ll tell you what, I admire how she isn’t giving Colin Powell up. He’s the one that advised her to use her own stuff at home. He said, “we all do it.” But she won’t mention his name, won’t give him up. He basically has told on himself, but not in so many words. But what most people don’t realize, she’s willing to just take the heat. 

And guess what? We don’t get any real answers until after the election! Wow. There’s a surprise. But maybe that’s a blessing. They can’t indict a sitting President, but they can impeach. Then once she’s no longer President indict, I guess. Not sure. But projections are that the Democrats are going to gain enough inroads in both houses that they won’t pull off an Impeachment. But here's the question of the day: Can you indict a sitting President for something they did when they weren't President? But 2 to 1 anyway says the findings are the same, and they’ll just close it declaring they can find no criminal intent. 

Folks are still scratching their heads at the leaked tape several days ago of Trump bragging about groping and exploiting women. People are still wondering was this Donald’s October surprise? Because if it was it was released a little early. Usually about now is when they happen. Ala tonight’s FBI investigation re-opening a closed case. 

For those of you who don't know it, an October surprise is a part of every Presidential campaign. It's a standard feature. This should be taken as just part of the election cycle. 

Perhaps the real Trump October Surprise will come out in the next few days, but if the tape was it, it was good, but the timing sucked. 

But there's always Ted Cruz declaring yesterday that they may refuse to hold hearings on any Clinton nominee to the Supreme Court for 8 years. So our court gets to be broken for 9 years thanks to Constitution haters like Ted Cruz. I guess we are tossing out the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as we watch the Cruz fascist take-over. 

Have a pleasant evening outside the beltway.

Republicans Dump Trump

The ironic thing about watching Trump crash and burn is how he steadfastly denies any responsibility. Because for so long he was given a free pass. He could make outlandish remarks about Latinos being rapists, or banning Muslims, and his fans cried, “Right On!” And I also amazed by his hatred of women in authority, or any women that disagrees with him. He goes after them with a vengeance. And including blaming Hillary for Bill’s indiscretions. (Kind of like Pat Robertson telling women if their husbands cheat, it’s the woman’s fault because she wasn’t being sexy enough for her husband). Hillary didn’t do these indiscretions. And Bill’s not running for President. And if he was he would kick Trump’s ass. 

Can you imagine what the Republicans would be screaming if a Democrat had said those things? Yeah, I know not much. But they would be having a huge fit if the Democratic Candidate’s wife had posed for nude photos for magazines, refused to release his tax records, and claimed to be a great businessman and in the late 70’s opened the John Democrat Taj Mahal that was going to be the ‘new look for Casinos’ (essentially, he was going to make Casinos great again), and then they boarded it up last month. They’d be going nuts. 

Earlier in the week the RNC pulled all it’s funding for Trump, and today Paul Ryan is refusing to campaign for him, and has asked other Republicans to do the same. But you know what? Paul Ryan will still vote for Trump. McCain has said publicly that he won’t vote for either one, but he’ll vote for Trump. That's just how they're cut. But alas, all for naught. 

I’ve said many times, the Republicans can have the Tea Party or they can have the White House but they can’t have both. And even I, a Democrat to my bones, am actually starting to long for the days when the word Republican didn’t equate to buffoon. There was a time when they could engage in reasonable discourse and although one might not agree, at least it was an informed counterpoint. But the Republicans have brought this on themselves and now it has come to this. For the last eight years any wing nut that came down the Pike could just claim to be a Republican and they were allowed to jump on the coat-tails of a party that for around 200 years had established some sort of credibility. Some Tea Party reps have no education. Some have criminal records. Did the party do anything? No. Did they say, “Who says you’re a Republican?” No. Until their numbers were such in Congress that they had the Party by the throat. And could shut the government down. And be such idiots that even John Boehner finally had to throw his hands in the air, and quit. 

And now Trump complains to his muddled masses that the Country is in ‘tatters.’ But let’s consider this: 248 seats in the 440 seats in the House are held by Republicans. 54 seats of the 100 seats in the Senate are Republican. 31 out of 50 Governors are Republican. 70 out of 99 state legislative bodies are Republican. 4 of the 8 Justices in the Supreme Court are Republican. And it was 5 to 4 Republican until the recent death. So, if the country is in tatters, I guess we can see who’s making that happen. 

And so has Trump gets “unshackled” today, by having the Party cut him off, he will continue to sink slowly into the west. Unless the Republicans have something quite spectacular for their "October surprise.” And the recent tape isn’t the Democrats “October surprise.” It’s too early. The “October Surprise” is a standard component of any competent campaign. So we’ll see. 

The Wrath of Khan

I’m starting to feel the beginning of the end for Trump. Finally imploding. He might recover, and his ardent followers don’t care what he does, but still, there seems to have been a slight shift in the wind. Hillary has an 8 point lead as of today. 

And to think, an ordinary Muslim took him down. How ironic.

The statements by Mr. Khan were powerful. The act of pulling out his copy of the Constitution was powerful. The true ‘Wrath of Khan’.  But that’s not what really made it mega-huge. It was the fact that Trump felt a need to mix it up in social media about it. And he can’t let it go. He is so juvenile, he has to have the last word. He keeps opening his mouth and stepping on his dick. But he can’t stop. He HAS to get the last word. And he looks more and more foolish. And slowly military groups start to leave, and others who were at least sympathetic are moving away from his camp.

And to endear women even less, he states that if his daughter were being sexually harassed at work she would have the integrity to just quit. This is stupid on so many levels. And tomorrow he will tell veterans in wheelchairs, that his son would just get up and walk. 

And today, Trump refused to endorse Paul Ryan and John McCain in their re-election bids. Paul Ryan. Trump would have more trouble from the House than President Obama, OR President H. Clinton. They at least have great respect for him. Did you know that President Obama and Paul Ryan speak on the phone quite a bit as you might imagine. And after the biz talk they compare notes on raising teenage daughters. 

Finally today, for the first time ever, a sitting President, (he was standing actually), is asked about Trump by the press, and while standing next to a foreign dignitary, The President decides it’s the time. Stating unequivocally that Trump is not qualified to take over the job. Just couldn’t do the job. The President went on to say that while although he disagreed with John McCain and Mitt Romney on policy, he never thought they weren’t qualified to do the job. But with Trump…. naw, he couldn’t do it. And deep in the hearts of thinking Republicans, they know it’s true. He couldn’t do that job. 

I would never be able to imagine Donald Trump in this brotherhood. And that’s what it is. A brotherhood. They all like each other. Because they know the other guys get it. What it means to do the job. And soon they might have to let a girl join the club. 

By the way, I have carried a copy of the Constitution on me for the last 6 years. It really ticks Republicans off when you can pull one out and cite something from it that flies in the face of whatever they are asserting. Repubs hate the Constitution. I mean they love it, they just don’t like what is says mostly. 

A Woman. At Last.

When women got the vote in 1920, the political landscape started to change. Child Labor Laws changed so that 5 years olds didn't have to get their little hands cut off in a coal mine, or work 14 hours a day in a garment factory. Health Care improved. Jobs got better, and so did it's benefits. I think giving women the vote was one of the greatest things our country has every done. Jefferson put in one of the early drafts of the Constitution, that "all Men and Women are created equal." But that was deemed too radical by most of the others and it was shot down.

Interestingly enough one of the delegates for Hillary is 102 years old. When she was 8 she remembers going with her mother while she voted for the first time. Her mother was so excited. And now that child is a 102 year old delegate for Hillary. I hope she gets to see a woman President.

Tonight, Hillary Clinton for the first time in American political history, has been chosen as the Presidential Candidate of a major political party.

I have been fortunate enough to have lived through so much history in my life, and it just keeps on coming.

But the Repubs have cleverly successfully painted Hillary as a criminal. There is no basis in fact, but many Dems are buying into it. Be careful what you believe brethren.

I voted for Bernie here in Michigan. But had I known how juvenile and negative other supporters were going to act at the convention, I wouldn't have.

Let it go. Our guy lost. You don't always get your way. Now it's time to pull together and defeat Trump!

Get on the bus and let's secure our nation from folks like Mr. Trump.

And in case the hate media didn't notice, during the 60 Minutes interview (and yeah Hillary actually let her Running Mate speak), he casually mentioned he's been a missionary, and then quoted scripture eloquently.

So that's my family values. Just saying. It isn't getting into bed with the Russians because they lent you money.

The Republicans and What Ailes Them.

In a surprising turn of events, Roger Ailes the head of FOX News, a network he helped establish and turn into an industry giant, has been bounced from FOX News for being a sexually harassing naughty boy. He crumbles just as the Republican Party that he has all but destroyed, is crumbling too.

Ailes is much the reason that the Republican Party, once a party of reason and willingness to govern together with the other party, has turned into a bunch of ignorant, ranting buffoons. President George W. Bush once lamented that he was "probably the last Republican President." That's sad on several levels. Because if it's true, they sure didn't get to go out with much of a bang. Just a dud fizzle.

But this could be cause for the Democrat's alarm. Even though I have thought for years, "they can have the Tea Party or they can have the White House, but they can't have both." So I was very comforted thinking Democrats would at least have the Presidency for the next 20 years. The more Republicans hate, the more they lose.

But with King Roger Ailes falling from grace, this may present a problem. Although off the cuff Rupert Murdoch, the money behind this network is rushing to the US, cutting his French vacation short, to assume the responsibilities of Ailes, that will be short lived. Soon one of his sons will take over.

And word around the campfire is that none of the Murdoch son's have been happy with the tone of FOX News. This could mean that they insist that the network, ratchet down the rhetoric and start making sense. That could be big trouble for Democrats. As long as FOX News are clueless imbeciles, they are not threat to Democrats. But if they start being at least truthful, reasonable, and honest, they may actually help the Republican Party regain some respectability. And respectability means real competition.

For the longest I have resented the fact that any wing nut that comes down the pike can declare themselves a Republican and jump on the coat-tails of a Party that has spent 200 years establishing some sort of credibility, but I've enjoyed the fact that they falter with this nonsense. I have always thought if they toss these idiots out, they'll be a real power again. But instead John Boehner throws his hands in the air and quits.

But now this could be a serious juncture for both parties. If FOX News starts to become a legitimate news organization and Tea Party folks start becoming the thing of ridicule, this could mean that Republicans are legitimate contenders again.

And I'd be okay with that if we could get another Theodore Roosevelt.

Oil Production May Not Freeze After All....

The Wall Street Journal on todays front page had a story about how the oil suppliers who supply half the world with oil and gas were trying to freeze oil production so that they could ratchet up prices to screw us and the economy, didn't quite get what they wanted. And let's be honest we're talking about Exxon Mobile and all of the other big guys that want to hurt us if they can. Greed has no limits.

But the talks collapsed after Saudi Arabia reasserted a demand that Iran agree to cap it's oil production.

I have often stated "The President doesn't have anything to do with the price of gasoline." But this time I might be wrong. President Obama negotiated a deal with Iran that now allows them to sell oil on the world markets if they let us keep poking around. And as a matter of fact, we do, and we have already caught them wrong, and that has been rectified so it's working. But since Iran can sell oil again, and since they need to raise capital in a big hurry they are going to help flood the oil market.
So maybe in this case the President did have something to do with the price of gasoline.

But wait, these American oil companies can't stand this. They want to be able to rape us again. It is driving them crazing. They still make record profits, but it's not enough. Greed has no limit.

But they fell on their face today. The only reason gas prices have gone up in recent weeks is on speculation that the oil company evildoers were going to get their way. But it was not to be, since talks have collapsed.

But this is not necessarily bad news for these oil guys in the long run. The continued lower prices allow them to force littler oil competitors out of business. And therefore when they ultimately get their way, they will do even better.

Disgusting isn't it?

But for now, oil prices may hit new levels on the downside. There may even see places that see gas under a dollar this summer. And that means they will have more money to spend on goods and services and therefore helping the economy.

But evil always seems to make a comeback, and this prosperity can't last forever.

Can I say something else about guns?

I don't want to beat this one to death, but there are some things about guns I think need to be said.

First of all, even though every time there is a mass shooting in America a call automatically goes out questioning whether or not we need more gun control. But first everyone should look at the facts before pushing the automatic knee jerk buttons.

Gun violence in America has declined sharply in the US in the last 30 years. In 1980 there were 10.8 willful killings per 100,000. By 1993 it had dropped to seven killings for every 100,000 Americans. And by 2013 that number was down almost half: 3.6 homicides per 100,000 people according to data from the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maybe it's because of economic growth and opportunity. Maybe it's because of increased police funding. Or maybe it's just due to the drop in alcohol consumption.

But interestingly enough at the very same time gun violence was dropping, gun ownership was increasing. From 1993 to 2013, private gun ownership increased 56%, to 357 million from 185 million. This is based on data from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). That translates to 1.45 guns for every resident.

And yeah, once in a great while a conceal carry citizen thwarts a crime, but that's rare. I'll acknowledge that.

The point is though that more gun ownership has NOT lead to more gun violence. And restricting people from owning weapons will not necessarily lessen gun violence.

Handguns get a bad rap in this scenario when it is actually assault rifles doing most of the damage. So, what do you want to do? Ban those? I hope not. Bernie Sanders a guy I like a lot, asked on a TV show the other day why citizens need to own assault weapons. That answer is simple. Because the cops have them. Our Founding Fathers weren't afraid that we were going to someday have to battle herds of chipmunks, or roving gangs of deer, but they did want us to be able to take on authority. And as long as cops have assault weapons, we need them too.

These guys show us their ugly side everyday. I was on the job for almost 30 years and I know what I'm taking about. When cowards have weapons, they scare easily. So, if you don't believe me, go to YouTube the Battle of Athens, Tennessee 1947. This was a case of a corrupt sheriff gathering up all the ballot boxes in an election an hour before the polls were to close and promising "we'll count the ballots for you."

Well a bunch of good old boys, fresh home from WWII weren't buying it. So they all went home and got their weapons and there was actually a shoot out around the courthouse. The Governor refused to intervene and the citizens got their ballot boxes back. THAT'S what our Founding Fathers were talking about. So yeah, we need everything the cops have and maybe even a little more wouldn't hurt.

So here's the deal. I now conceal carry. You wanna rob me? Rob me. You wanna punch me? Punch me. But if you pick up a pipe or a knife or some other deadly weapon, you will not like where this will go. You break into my home? I'm going to keep our door shut in our bedroom, have the wife call 911 and stay on the line so that what I say is being recorded, and I am going to be barking "Take what you want and get the hell out! I am armed and if you come into this room and threaten me, I may shoot you. Get what you want and get out."

But if you come into a restaurant I'm in and decide to start killing people, I will shoot you. I won't try for a kill shot, but I'm good. Don't take the chance.

And if every crazy understood that wherever he went to kill people he was going to be met with a barrage of gunfire, do you think he'd be as anxious to pull this stunt?