WHAT’S EUROPE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Most politicians occasionally make gaffes or puzzling comments. But the latest quote from Vice President Kamala Harris was a real head scratcher. Here she is talking to Lester Holt on NBC news, who’s known to be pretty easy on liberals. So, she has nothing much to fear. He asks her a simple question, “Have you been to the border?” She evades the question by saying, “we’ve been to the border.” So, he pins her down and asks if she, personally has been, and this is what pops out of her mouth: “And, I haven’t been to Europe.” What’s Europe got to do with it? Honestly, I don’t see the connection , or the point she was trying to make.

Harris got roasted in the media for tweeting a picture of herself before Memorial Day which said “enjoy the long weekend.” I can see where she was coming from on that. Just trying to relate to the fact that everyone had a nice long weekend ahead. But the press thought it was tone deaf– trivializing the true meaning of Memorial Day. That was a bit of over reaction, in my opinion. But the Europe thing? Totally beyond comprehension.

The person in the current administration who seems to have a handle on things is the president’s wife, Jill Biden. Maybe all those years as a school teacher taught her how to relate to people. She seems relaxed, friendly, and genuine. And she was plenty smart to wear a jacket to with LOVE emblazoned on the back during their trip to Europe.. All you could remember was that horrible jacket Melania Trump wore on the trip to the migrant facility. “I really don’t care, do U?” in black letters on the back wasn’t a very empathetic message under the circumstances

Poor Melania never did get it. That stiff posture, smoldering look and pouty mouth didn’t exactly warm your heart. She was such an easy act to follow. Just about any woman who was born and raised in America could have done better. Think Betty Ford. Laura Bush, .Michelle Obama, Bess Truman.

Joe Biden is just…well…Joe. Most of the time he sounds fairly coherent, but sometimes he wanders off into strange territory. Like telling a little girl in the audience that she looked like she was 19. What was that all about?

Kamala’s husband is fairly invisible at this point. He’s in uncharted territory, as the first male married to a VP of the United States. Keeping his mouth shut is probably the smartest thing he could do. Anyway, I don’t think he’s quit his day job.

Fortunately, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference what the current leaders of this country say and do. They come and go. The country is strong, diverse, and will survive the peculiarities of any elected official. We’ve been doing it for 244 years.

November 9, 2020November 9, 2020

DID YOU VOTE FOR OR AGAINST?

Remember the 2016 Presidential Election? No one could understand why Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump. Especially since she won the popular vote. Most political pundits conduct a post mortem after all is said and done. And, the consensus was that a lot of people didn’t like Hillary. They didn’t vote for Trump so much as they voted against Hillary. So what happened in the 2020 Election? I suspect it wasn’t that voters liked Biden so much as they disliked Trump. Did you vote for or against?

What wasn’t to like about Hillary? She was smart, personable, and extremely experienced. Having been married to a two term President, and served as Secretary of State, her credentials far out-classed Trump in every way imaginable. And yet, many people remembered how she defended Clinton in his numerous peccadilloes and affairs. She dismissed all his ex’s and accusers as liars and trashy women. A lot of women, especially, found that annoying. And then, she called the half of Americans who supported Trump, a basket of deplorables. At times, she could sound strident and shrill.

Did you vote for Biden or against Trump. Many Americans probably voted against. — Did Americans vote *for* Biden or against Trump in the 2020 election? In 2016, they voted against Hillary as opposed to Trump.

I saw Hillary Clinton when she came to our city to campaign. In person, she was charismatic and radiant. That didn’t’ come across on the big screen. And so, she lost by a very thin margin.

About Trump: He started off on the wrong foot the day of the inauguration by complaining about his news coverage. Who cared about how many lined the streets or if a small crowd attended. Why did he have to make an issue of it? Trump had his moments, and he did a lot for the economy and working class people. But in the end, many voters got tired of his name calling, tweeting, and firing his advisors. His unpredictable behavior and handling of the coronavirus was the last straw.

Now, if the Democrats had considered Joe Biden a strong candidate in 2016, why didn’t they nominate him to run? Biden was seen by many as simply a party hack, with nothing very outstanding to appeal to the voters. That’s why a lot of people didn’t think he could win this time around. When all’s said and done, I suspect people didn’t vote for Biden as much as they voted against Trump. There were some amazingly smart, talented presidential candidates vying for the nomination during the DNC convention. Even though Biden turned out to be their safe bet, I believe any one of those candidates could have beat Trump. He had made so many enemies, it’s a wonder the election was even close.

Did Americans vote for Biden or against Trump.?

August 31, 2020August 31, 2020

SHOULD A ROBOT RUN FOR PRESIDENT?

Have you ever said something stupid? Or done something irrational? If you’re a human being living on this earth, it’s safe to say you have a few regrets. However, if you’re a politician, the voters won’t cut you much slack. I can think of many cringe worthy moments and major mistakes made through the years with every single president of the United States, starting with FDR. It makes you wonder: Should a robot run for president?

Some scientists think artificial intelligence would make better presidential decisions — Using artificial intelligence, robots might make better presidential decisions.

For example: John Kennedy made a mistake during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba . He made up for it during the Cuban Missile Crisis, But he was assassinated before he came up for re election. Harry Truman had a public hissy fit when someone made fun of his daughter’s singing. Richard Nixon was dumb enough to order a break in at the Democratic headquarters. Bill Clinton had an affair with an intern. Presidents are just way too human.

While you may think it sounds outlandish, a robot for president isn’t a new idea. Some scientists say politics is a “multidimensional, nonlinear problem of optimization.” Consequently, they believe we should put a computer in charge of the country. They’ve concluded that artificial intelligence could make big, complicated decisions better than a real live president.

Let’s take this idea a step further. I suggest that we have two robots running for president. Robot Dem and Robot Rep. Each party would key in the basic aspects of their platforms . The Democrats would tell their robot to make decisions favoring Medicare for all, and open borders Naturally , the Republicans would plug in closed borders, and private health insurance. Decisions on war and peace would be based on outcomes of conflicts throughout the ages. Mathematical statistics would decide the best economic policies.

Others things a robot president wouldn’t have to worry about:

Age. A robot is never too young or too old.

Hair: Orange hair, baldness, hair plugs—none of it matters. A robot has no hair at all.

Sexual harassment: Robots don’t smell women’s hair, have sex with interns, or get accused of raping a girl at a college frat party.

Health: Robots don’t suffer from back pain, heart attacks, cancer, high blood pressure. IT technicians can keep them in good working order.

Embarrassing relatives. Many presidents have had to deal with them. Remember Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy Carter?

Emotions. Robots don’t have character flaws . They aren’t greedy, lusty, or narcissistic. They make decisions strictly on the facts.

Therefore, It seems as though the American people might be better off with a robot for president.

August 26, 2020August 26, 2020

DC AWASH IN FAMILY DYSFUNCTION

Some of us have experienced more family dysfunction than we would care to admit. The façade of the “perfect family” is one that’s carefully nurtured and preserved. Politicians, especially, strive to present such an image. President Barack Obama and Vice President Mike Pence represent the ideal persona of happily married family men. Unfortunately, right now, Washington DC politicians are awash in a sea of family dysfunction.

Starting last year with Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. He’s the one who got kicked out of the Navy. Nevertheless, he made millions for doing almost nothing in China and the Ukraine while his dad was VP. Then, he got some show girl pregnant and refused to assume responsibility for the daughter she bore him. She had to go to court and get a DNA test to prove paternity. But that’s all water over the dam. He was proudly scheduled as a speaker at the DNC convention.

Things got really juicy in July when Donald Trump’s angry, disgruntled niece-from-hell, wrote a tell-all book about the dysfunctional Trump family. OMG! Senior Trump was a tyrant, an abuser, and Lord knows what all. Granny Trump opted out of motherhood—it was just too much for her. And to top it all off, the oldest son was an alcoholic, and his kids didn’t get any more in the final Trump will than the other grandkids. Well, Mary Trump got even. She went so far as to stir up some sibling rivalry, secretly recording big sissy Mary Anne complaining about baby brother. I guess all of us rant and rave about our sibs at times, but we don’t expect it to be recorded for public consumption.

Back to Biden. We know he likes to smell women’s hair. That seems weird, but not exactly immoral. What we didn’t know, until now, is that he had an affair with his wife , Jill, while she was still married to someone else. Her ex husband is writing a tell all book to be released in October.

Speaking of affairs with a married person. Vice Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris was 29 when she started an affair with 60 year old Willie Brown. His being Speaker of the California State Assembly made up for the age difference, I guess. Trouble was, he had a wife and three children.

DC awash in sea of dysfunction. Kellyanne Conway & husband George finally quit their jobs to become parents. — DC Awash in Sea of Family Dysfunction. Kellyanne Conway and her husband finally quit their jobs to become parents.

Next, we have the, most blatantly dysfunctional family imaginable with Trump advisor, Kellyanne Conway. Her husband started a Super Pack, called the Lincoln Project, to bash Trump. I guess they must have been living separately. We wondered where their four kids fit into all this, but last week, we found out. Their teenage daughter went online to accuse them both of being losers and abusers as parents. Consequently, both Kellyanne and her husband George quit their jobs and presumably are trying to salvage what’s left of their dysfunctional family.

Does it really matter to the voters? Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky and got impeached. He’s been seen at the secret hideaway of sex offender Epstein, but they still had him speaking at the DNC convention.

Reporters just love it all. It gives them something to rant and rave about. But after awhile, you wonder if politicians are a different breed. You’d have to have a hide like a rhinoceros to survive. Maybe all that family dysfunction toughened them up.

Remember the words of PT Barnum: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

August 22, 2020August 24, 2020

DID DEMS SQUANDER PRIME TIME?

What time do you typically go to bed at night? Eleven o’clock seems to be the favored hour for turning in. Of course, if you’re an octogenarian, you might begin to yawn around 10 p.m. Which means you’re not in the mood to watch speeches at a political convention. Prime time—when most people turn on the TV—is between 7 to 9 p.m. Consequently the voters most apt to view the convention last week were those who live on or near the West Coast. In preaching to the choir, did the Democrats squander prime time?

Voters in the blue states like California, Oregon and Washington got to view the convention during prime time. But what was the advantage to that? Those people already knew who they were going to vote for, so basically, Democrats were just playing to their base..

The battleground states at this time are defined as Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida. Look at the time zone map of the United States. Only one battle ground state—Arizona—was able to view the convention while they were most alert, during prime time.

I think if I were a political planner of either party, I wouldn’t really care how many people on the West Coast watched the convention. Those states are a done deal. They are going to vote Democratic, no matter what. Seems like you’d schedule the show to start at 8 p.m. central time. That way, you would reach more of the swing state voters while they’re still wide awake.

Actually, the conventions may not make much difference, in the long run. The DNC convention, overall, was somewhat of a flop, with viewership on the first night down 48% from 2016. I suspect the Republican convention next week will fare just as poorly. I don’t think anything is going to replace the excitement of live audiences, cheering, booing, shouting, waving and clapping in response to flaming oratory speeches.

February 21, 2020February 21, 2020

MONEY CAN’T BUY LOVE

There’s an old saying: those who marry for money earn it. Can a mansion and a yacht make up for a miserable love life? By the same token, do Bloomberg’s paid supporters love him for himself, or for his money.? Small donors to any candidate are much more apt to get out the votes for the person they believe in. Therefore, big money can’t buy love. And it doesn’t send people to the polls.

If you watched the Democratic debates, you could see why each candidate has a base of supporters who love him or her. For example, Buttigieg appeals to people who value civility and intellect. Warren is an attack dog. Her fiery rhetoric appeals to those who want a ton of freebies including health care and college tuition. Sander’s socialists want to eliminate capitalism altogether. He’s passionate, and articulate, and loved by his supporters. Biden is suave, sophisticated, knowledgeable and personable. Klobuchar is just a good old girl who appeals to the working class. And she’s the only woman who doesn’t mind wearing a skirt. She’s witty and sharp.

Except for Bloomberg, all the candidates on that debate stage were people who have campaigned to the point of exhaustion. They’re seasoned and personable. Each, in their own way, is able to stir the soul and warm the heart. If any one of them wins the nomination, they will have earned it.

What could we say about Bloomberg ? As the mayor of New York for three terms, there must be something the voters liked about him. But I didn’t find him all that appealing. I guess that thing about the non disclosure agreements, and the women he treated like dirt had me against him from the get go. Sexual harassment is one thing, but when you chew out women for getting pregnant, and suggest that any old “black” could take care of your baby, you’ve lost me.

He had no warmth or charm. He’s came across as condescending and defensive. Sorry, Bloomberg. money can’t buy love.

December 20, 2019December 20, 2019

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

Are there any professional mind readers out there? If so, your services are desperately needed. Every impeachment is different, but this one is the weirdest of all. The validity of the impeachment of President Trump, and whether or not the FBI’s FISA Warrant was legal, depends on what was on their minds at the time in question. What were they thinking?

Only a mind reader could tell us what Comey and Trump were thinking. — It would take a true mind reader to know what Trump and Comey were thinking,

When the FBI used Christopher Steele’s dossier as an excuse to spy on the Trump campaign, did James Comey know it was a made up report? Did he actually believe Carter Page was a Russian spy?. If he was truly convinced Page was a spy, then you can see he felt justified in spying on the Trump campaign headquarters.

By the same token, did Donald Trump really believe that the Bidens were involved in a huge corruption /scandal in the Ukraine? If that was his conviction, it would justify his demand for an investigation before we gave the Ukraine $500 million dollars of American taxpayer money. The fact that Joe Biden was a potential running mate would have seemed irrelevant. We just don’t know what was really on Trump’s mind, and neither does anyone else at this point.

So far, the FBI has gotten a free pass. James Comey has not been indicted for committing a crime. But Trump has been impeached by the Congress.

The similarities in the two circumstances are striking.

It’s kind of like someone who’s accused of involuntary manslaughter. You’re driving in the dark and you see what you think is a truck parked up ahead. Not realizing that it’s actually a school bus, you keep going, and kill three school children crossing the highway. This really happened in Indiana. Therefore, the driver of that car was convicted of murder and sentenced to 4 years in prison. The jury decided they knew what was on that woman’s mind. They convicted her because they believed she knew it was a school bus and didn’t care. Never mind that it was pitch black outside , she’d just crawled out of bed to take her nephew to a baby sitter, and might have been so sleep deprived that she honestly didn’t know she was bypassing a school bus.

What was really on James Comey’s mind when he used a fake report to get a FISA Warrant? What was President Trump thinking when he asked for the Ukraine/Biden investigation while 75 people listened in? And, incidentally, what was on Joe Biden’s mind when his son landed all those cushy jobs in the Ukraine and China?

All of us can guess, based on our political biases . But we’ll never really know what they were thinking.