Trump is either lying or doesn't know what he is talking about. — Bitter Crank

Por que no los dos?

Sanders probably won't be nominated unless Hillary is indicted before the Democratic Convention. Hillary's indictment after the convention will look a lot like a conspiracy, but it will probably sink her candidacy. — Bitter Crank

If Sanders has any chance of winning if Hillary is indicted, then he needs to make his presence felt not as a second-choice, plan B candidate but one that literally rises from the ashes of the Democratic party.

Bernie vs. Trump debate would have been something to see. Except being indicted, nothing could have been worse for Hillary. But Trump perhaps understood that the whole thing could backfire on him, so why take chances? He can flip flop as much as he wants.

If third parties, be they the liberals or the greens, can use this moment to get people interested on them, good for them!

Yet let's not forget that the President's power and abilities are vastly overplayed. And this is the reason why dramatic changes rarely happen. Small changes, sure.

A plague on all your candidates.

http://johnpilger.com/articles/silencing-america-as-it-prepares-for-war

Trump is either lying or doesn't know what he is talking about. I'm sure of it. — Bitter Crank

I'm fairly sure it is both.

Atleast he has presented an honest face... that is the honest face of racism, sexism and jingoism, which seems to be the ugly underneath of much of the USA, as well as other parts of the world.

Meow!

GREG

Bernie vs. Trump debate would have been something to see. Except being indicted, nothing could have been worse for Hillary. But Trump perhaps understood that the whole thing could backfire on him, so why take chances? He can flip flop as much as he wants. — ssu

Well... it would be only interesting to rubberneckers and those who like to watch horrific accidents on the highway.

Truth is, I feel that this was a great underhanded play by the Republican party. No matter how well or poorly Trump would appears in a debate with Sanders, it would not work out well for Clinton... the one who is in all probability the Democratic candidate. If Bernie looks great, boo Hillary. If Trump (somehow) looks great... well... let's rule this one out from the get go shall we. The man has no platform (other than building a huge wall where those dirty Mexicans tunnel into America... fuckin' brilliant!) and never really answers any questions. He somehow starts a sentence and then jibber jabbers on about something that really has next to nothing to do with the questions, lists off a few incomplete thoughts (if they can be called thoughts) and finally just says more or less... "we'll get that done". He sort of takes advantage of the American tendency to only listen to the beginning and endings of statements; thus gets away with saying nothing. Brilliant!

As for the suggestion of the debate:

Basically it is a way for the Republicans to mess with the Democratic nomination and possibly hijack it. As for a populist move... Kudos to the Republicans.

Indeed Sanders made some sort of suggestion about a year ago that such a debate would be a good idea, but what I find queer about it all is the timing. WHY NOW! When Trump is the candidate and when it looks in all probability that Hillary will be the other candidate.

Sorry for my questioning motives and looking for underhanded agendas, but this is American Politics and not an Ethics Debate Club. For me... timing of when and how things are presented say much more than what is actually being said.

Meow!

GREG

After the November election, things in Gloccamorra — Bitter Crank

I hope things are fine. I have a trip to the USA planned for December. I cannot do it earlier or later.

I have to travel to a very conservative hot bed of Bible thumpers and those who wish to show their Christian love by throwing acid in the faces of transexuals. Also, it is an NRA hot spot where indeed there are more firearms in the county than there are people living there... oh, and they have very short tempers. http://www.numbeo.com/crime/country_result.jsp?country=United+States

Indeed I feel if Trump is elected there should be a travel advisory warning to anyone from Europe planning to visit the USA similar to those travel advisory warning issued for countries like Syria or Somalia.

(always ahead of his time Bowie!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7APmRkatEU

Meow!

GREG

I don't take anything he says as the source for what I expect from him (though it's a window to how far he will possibly go). Rather I look at the people tied to him and the party base underneath him to make a good guess what interests he's likely to support in the future.

I mean for instance, he flips flops all the time on foreign policy. One moment he's spouting isolationist policies that are to left of Sanders and then later he reveals himself to be a hyper aggressive war monger. He started off saying he doesn't want to support Israel and later goes to give a speech at AIPAC and says he wants to support Israel settlement expansion.

Is he really going to support policies that help the working class like he suggests to his base regarding taxing hedge fund managers and stopping "trade deals?" I mean, he appointed someone who worked at Goldman Sachs as his finance chairman.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/trump-names-former-partner-at-goldman-sachs-as-new-national-finance-chairman/

This is a pretty good piece that does away with the myth that he's somehow less militant than Hillary Clinton on foreign policy, a myth that I've been hearing among progressives and the Left for a long time now and still persisting:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/30/president-trump-us-war-machine-rolls-on/

As for whether Sanders still has a chance, I seriously doubt he'll end up winning, though he should continue to organize people and get as many delegates as he can to influence future policy of the Democratic Party by the time of the convention. But then again, what were usually reliable pundits were completely wrong with how much Sanders would succeed in this campaign from the very beginning over and over again as the election went on. So if I were to be honest, I shouldn't make any firm claims. He's basically always had a slim chance for overcoming odds since the beginning and he's done it. Doesn't mean he will now and I doubt it but who knows?

Anyone read that email by Louis CK back in March?

"Trump has nothing to do with politics or ideology. He has to do with himself. And really I don’t mean to insult anyone. Except Trump. I mean to insult him very much. And really I’m not saying he’s evil or a monster. In fact I don’t think Hitler was. The problem with saying that guys like that are monsters is that we don’t see them coming when they turn out to be human, which they all are. Everyone is. Trump is a messed up guy with a hole in his heart that he tries to fill with money and attention. He can never ever have enough of either and he’ll never stop trying. He’s sick. Which makes him really really interesting. And he pulls you towards him which somehow feels good or fascinatingly bad. He’s not a monster. He’s a sad man. But all this makes him horribly dangerous if he becomes president. Give him another TV show. Let him pay to put his name on buildings. But please stop voting for him."

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/louis-c-k-donald-trump-insane-bigot-dangerous-1201723679/

I missed this at the time but having read it now it reeks of sobering and depressing truisms.

I don't see Trump as any more or less evil than Hillary, and I don't even see him as predictably conservative. He's a self absorbed megalomaniac populist. That just means he might have the perfect set of flaws to gain high status, maybe even be the leader of the free world.

The problem with saying that guys like that are monsters is that we don’t see them coming when they turn out to be human, which they all are. Everyone is. — Louis CK

@Agustino Told ya so.

He's a self absorbed megalomaniac populist. — Hanover

It could very well be that being a self-absorbed megalomaniac is a requirement to run for the highest public office in the US. This is certainly true of Hilary Clinton too, and might even! be true of Bernie. To some extent, it's true for everyone who wants a job where they are going to be, or must be, the center of attention.

At the low end of the megalomania spectrum, pastors of store-front salvation missions have a little capsule of self-absorbing megalomania in their washed-in-the-blood-of-the-Lamb hearts. Being the maximum leader of the free world [sic] requires deep, bed-rock-anchored self-confidence. Most of us lack sufficient self-confidence, self-absorption, self-aggrandizement, and certainty needed to run for dog catcher, let alone what the President has to have, especially while simultaneously being the leader of the free world [sic] and being the favorite target of every dissatisfied person in the country, if not the world.

It's unavoidable because being a two-bit preacher or El Presidente requires merely differing degrees of self-promotion, self-assertion, self-confidence. Trump also has experience in the entertainment biz where self-promotion is the very essence of the trade. (Clinton hasn't reached the mountain peaks of that field, yet anyway.) All this might be even more true for Clinton, since as a woman she has had to assert and promote herself even more ferociously than the average male presidential candidate has had to do.

Trump or Clinton will be different presidents, even if they share megalomania. One still has to make a choice, Trump, Clinton, or somebody else.

I just got back from an interview in the Mid-West. Got an offer for 6-digit income, bonuses and stock options in a really hot startup. When I got home though, I saw the news outlets doing their re-enactment of the Monty Python sketch, "I'm not dead yet", with Bernie Sanders.



Now, I've pretty much decided not to accept the new job. If it is Hillary vs. Donald, then it looks like it is the end of America as we knew it. War is probably inevitable, along with bankruptcy. There is now a very real chance I'll need to abandon the country, again, after I save up enough to survive -- but there will probably be no escape even then as the rest of the developed world starts breaking up along with all those trade partnerships and the corporate rats flee the sinking ship. But I don't think it is the candidate's direct fault, it is a reflection of the deep fractures of a society based on cognitive dissonance.

Take your pick...













... I'm simply ready for 5 months of the great bullshit show in the history of mankind.

I've never been so happy that I left America than today. I just hope America has the good taste to leave me alone.

Meow!

GREG

We knew this was coming.