The Great Debatables
If you tuned into the debate on Monday evening hoping for a major surprise of some kind, you were surely let down. The whole affair was entirely predictable from my point of view. There was no major meltdown on the part of either candidate. And while more-than-a-few untruths were uttered between them, that shouldn't astonish you too much. Politicians lie. That's their job.
I watched the event at the home of my cousin, Kevin Cullen. I'm not hooked up to cable these days. For the better part of my adult life, I've been without broadcast television. If there is a major news event transpiring that I need to see, I usually hightail it over to Kevin's. He's as interested in this stuff as I am.
Hillary Clinton walked away the clear winner but with no major boost to her polling numbers. The most amusing part of the night was Donald Trump denying making the statements he clearly has made throughout this insanely comical campaign - in some instance multiple times. The day a complete lack of self-awareness becomes a human virtue, expect the Donald to receive the Nobel prize. The man is an unintentional hoot. He is now blaming his abysmal performance during the debate on a defective microphone. This is complete nonsense, of course. A close examination of any playback of the debate confirms that he was heard quite clearly throughout - a little too clearly, in fact. He would have come out looking much better off had his mic been completely turned off. Silly bastard
I watched the event at the home of my cousin, Kevin Cullen. I'm not hooked up to cable these days. For the better part of my adult life, I've been without broadcast television. If there is a major news event transpiring that I need to see, I usually hightail it over to Kevin's. He's as interested in this stuff as I am.
Hillary Clinton walked away the clear winner but with no major boost to her polling numbers. The most amusing part of the night was Donald Trump denying making the statements he clearly has made throughout this insanely comical campaign - in some instance multiple times. The day a complete lack of self-awareness becomes a human virtue, expect the Donald to receive the Nobel prize. The man is an unintentional hoot. He is now blaming his abysmal performance during the debate on a defective microphone. This is complete nonsense, of course. A close examination of any playback of the debate confirms that he was heard quite clearly throughout - a little too clearly, in fact. He would have come out looking much better off had his mic been completely turned off. Silly bastard
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| Maloney |
How could so many people be so utterly clueless? It makes me wonder. Even in my neck of the woods - the so-called "sophisticated" Hudson Valley - there is enough support for Trump to give rationally-minded folks the heebie jeebies. Walk into any bar or diner that has a television set turned on for the amusement of the clientele, it'll usually be tuned in to Fox Noise. This certainly is an interesting time to be alive.
A mere forty-one days separates us from this moment to when the polls open to the public on the morning of November 8. And while one month and ten days can be an eternity in politics, don't count on any unpredictable scandal that's going to change the fact that Hillary Clinton is going to be the next president of the United States....I hope. Although, as I've said many times, I'm not in ecstasy over the fact that she is the "progressive" standard bearer in this race, the alternative is too horrible to think about. President Trump? If the American electorate is stupid enough to go down that road....well....it's sure going to be oodles of fun to write about. If the American electorate is stupid enough to go down that road, I'll be the only person I know personally who will benefit. VOTE FOR TRUMP!
....but seriously, folks.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
SUGGESTED VIEWING:
Here is a YouTube link to watch Stephen Colbert's wrap-up that was broadcast live immediately following the debate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqMQDiIiHbk
As usual, the man is right on the mark.
posted by Tom Degan @ 3:16 AM
23 comments
23 Comments:
Forget Killary's wars for profit that are killing 100s of thousands of innocents. Which are soon to be intensified because of people like you.
Tom Degan: "I'm not in ecstasy over the fact that she is the 'progressive' standard bearer in this race, the alternative is too horrible to think about."
Tom, I see you made a very important distinction this time -- unlike a few posts ago. Your quotation marks speak volumes. But to be fair, no matter how you choose to spin it the progressive "standard bearer" is still Jill Stein.
I'm starting to wonder whether you left the Democratic Party -- or it left you. You're still thinking like it's forty-or-more years ago.
JG, There are TWO viable candidates. Trump or Clinton. That's it you know. Now you can vote with your "principals" for a candidate that has ZERO chance of winning and watch America go down the tubes with Trump, or you can vote for Hillary and realize that she will choose SCOTUS judges that will not sell America to Putin. Besides, you and I both know that 99% of the "scandals" are just years and years of GOP propaganda.
Your choice, I'm just saying.
Typical liberal elitism to believe voters are stupid if they don't vote the liberal way.
Are they blind to their own elitism?
What is your definition of elitism? It means "part of an honored and unique few".
I happily plead guilty.
That Was Fun
Clearly Trump lost the debate.
He proved he knows nothing about most of the issues, especially on nuclear and NATO issues. He doesn't understand treaty laws, which leads him to believe we could tear up all our treaties we have throughout the world.
His business mind tells him it's his goal and a good thing to pay no taxes. I guess he thinks communal taxation is for suckers. He doesn't understand how America built the greatest country in the world. He knows how to use other people's money, then files bankruptcy when the numbers don't work out, leaving the folks who actually did the work, not getting paid and he calls that smart business. He uses any dirty trick including discrimination and thinks that's just fine, because the fine (if he gets caught) would be cheaper than paying a fair wage. I can't think of a more un-American business attitude.
His financial plan is trickle down on steroids. A financial strategy that has been proven wrong multiple times.
He invokes General MacArthur, but I guess he forgot MacArthur got fired.
He still believes Obama is not American. A racist statement if ever there was one.
He says he knows all Americans agree with him that Rosie O'Donnell is a fat pig, so he was correct in publicly calling her that, and the vulgar name calling he uses for other women.
He claimed his mic wasn't working, but we could hear every sniffle.
He claims Lester Holt was biased towards him and some see truth in that, because Mr. Holt never asked Clinton about Benghazi, or emails, or Libya, etc.. Maybe Trump will get his way when Chris Wallace is moderator.
I've met many guys with over the top egos, but Trump wins the prize. He is a spoiled brat.
A Trump presidency would be scary. It's scary enough to think he will get over 50 million votes.
This is the kind of dolt the Republicans have given us. They deserve to lose.
Tom,
“Elitism”, like any other word from radical Right Republicans, is unilaterally defined by their propaganda. Double Example: Liberal elitism is despised by real Americans.
An accepted definition for civil society is from the American Heritage Dictionary:
Definition of Elitism:
The belief that certain persons or members of certain groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their superiority, as in intelligence, social standing, or wealth.
We can find examples of true elitism from Trump when Hillary clobbered him in their first debate.
Example 1: Superiority in intelligence:
Donald Trump bragged, “That makes me smart.” (in response to paying zero dollars in federal income taxes)
Example 2: Superiority in wealth:
Trump bragged, “It’s about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money.”
Example 3: Racist superiority of social standing:
Trump bragged about his racist birtherism, “And I think I did a great job and a great service not only for the country, but even for the president, in getting him to produce his birth certificate.”
Example 4: Racist superiority of social standing: (The deplorable angry white racist fringe)
Trump supporter David Duke said, “Voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage.”
The propagandists of the far Right need to redefine elitism because they do not want us to know they serve the interests of real elitism.
Nothing to see here, folks. Look! Over there! Liberal elites are destroying America! Only Donald can save us!
Nobody embodies this elitism more than their Orange Savior.
Tom,
As I have thought for some time, and now you have confirmed, you and your fellow liberals don't not think of yourselves as the common man. You hold yourself above them, and look down your nose at them while claiming you know what is best for them if they would only not be so stupid and do as they you tell them.
So much for liberty under liberalism.
Thanks for the full disclosure.
Mozart: "There are TWO viable candidates. Trump or Clinton. That's it you know."
Definition of the word viable: Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable.
As far as "effectiveness", I'll hand that to her. She'll clearly be just as effective for the very elite -- just as Obama has been, along with his predecessor and her husband. Don't you think it's time to get off the merry-go-round?
"...or you can vote for Hillary and realize that she will choose SCOTUS judges that will not sell America to Putin.
The Republicans and Democrats have been selling out America, and its citizens, for decades. How come you haven't figured this out yet? You're betting everything -- your family, your job, your home -- on a corporatist neoliberal warmonger. You're going to lose. All of us will.
By the way, if most of us are dead and the survivors face a nuclear winter, does it really matter who gets selected for the United States Supreme Court? Seriously, who cares?
The paradigm shift has started. It's time for a new story. Be a part of it.
Tom
I've answered your question, why haven't you acknowledge same?
JG,
Fine, vote for Stien. You could save yourself the trouble and just not vote, but I guess you have to put SOOMETHING in that box so your vote for all the GOP "undercard" candidates count.
Major Major (Cluckie)
Get back on your meds. BTW, Trump sits in a GOLDEN CHAIR at the top of a TOWER WITH HIS NAME ON IT IN 20 FOOT GOLDEN LETTERS, and calls his followers "uneducated", insults women and minorities, and says he loves Hispanics because his cafeteria serves a Taco bowl that TACO BELL would reject.
Who's "elitist" again?
To me, Trump is not nearly as bad as the mainstream media is painting him. I've never seen such a time when what we call news is all directed one way. BUT, Trump has said he will appoint a judge like Scalia. He has said he is against choice in abortion. That says it all for me. I don't like Hillary, but she won't appoint a right wing judge for the Supreme Court. She will do things I won't like because she doesn't appear to believe in borders and she made mistakes in terms of intervening in nations that led to an Arab Spring that was anything but.
For me, this is a time to vote for the lesser of evils. My husband and I may cancel each other out on that as we aren't in agreement as to what that is. For those who put down those who would vote for the 'other' side, you aren't helping but just making the situation more bitter. Good people are going to vote for either of them based on issues-- not some of the stupid stuff being thrown out there. Look at what they say they'll do and choose the one you like the most because you likely won't like either of them on all the issues. I just hope for the best in '17 and that whoever wins won't get us into new wars and further damage the country.
"BTW, Trump sits in a GOLDEN CHAIR at the top of a TOWER WITH HIS NAME ON IT IN 20 FOOT GOLDEN LETTERS, and calls his followers "uneducated", insults women and minorities, and says he loves Hispanics because his cafeteria serves a Taco bowl that TACO BELL would reject."
"From this day forward, comments that are off topic will not be accepted."
Unless the off topic comment is from Mozart.
Mozart1220: "Fine, vote for Stien. You could save yourself the trouble and just not vote..."
No, that would defeat the whole purpose. The powers-that-be want me to not vote. The whole point of voting third party is to display my disdain for the same non-choice every election cycle. Not voting is equivalent to going with business-as-usual. That's your role. Not mine. I prefer democracy over an oligopoly or corporatocracy.
Apparently you don't.
JG, what good is a vote for someone who's not in the race? Why not write in "Micky Mouse" or "Majormajor" (same thing)
You can sit home in a crashed economy with three wars going on and say "I voted my PRINCIPLES" But the end result is the same. If Trump wins, Mike Pence is President. Is that what you want? Do you want Mike Pence choosing the next three SCOTUS judges?
Mozart1220: "JG, what good is a vote for someone who's not in the race?"
I thought I explained myself clearly, above.
Hmm...The last I heard, Jill Stein was on the ballot in 40-something states. Looks pretty "in the race" to me.
"You can sit home in a crashed economy with three wars going on and say 'I voted my PRINCIPLES' But the end result is the same."
You're absolutely correct -- voting either Republican or Democrat will yield the same results. No thank you. I'll pass on the lack of choice.
"If Trump wins, Mike Pence is President. Is that what you want?"
There must have been a major constitutional change that I somehow missed.
Seriously...are you planning something on the sly?... ;-)
JG,
Trump has said that he will let his VP "take care of the foreign and domestic issues, while I'm out making America great again".
Talk to Trump about the constitution, not me. Also talk to Cheney, since he was running the show while Bush played with his toes.
As for Stien, she MIGHT be on a ballot in some states, but it would be a MIRICLE if she got 5% of the popular vote. Not exactly "in the running".
You might as well write in Santa Clause.
Mozart1220: "...but it would be a MIRICLE if she got 5% of the popular vote."
The miracle would turn to reality if people consciously allowed themselves to follow what's right and best for their country and best for themselves. It's all up to each individual, so the possibility exists. I haven't lost all hope in the human spirit. That space is already occupied by those who have become apathetic and don't even bother to vote.
When citizens bow to the fears that the corporate state fabricates and the mass media enable, they only hear and see what seems to be their only alternative and succumb to it. That's apparently where you are now.
"You might as well write in Santa Clause."
I haven't seen the platform for Santa Claus. (By the way, it's "Claus" -- not "Clause". You know this, right? I sense you're allowing yourself to be desensitized to your true self by American pop culture again, and not "keeping your eye on the ball" -- if you catch my drift.)
I have, in the past, written the names of my cats onto my ballots. In this election though, I believe the better alternative to showing us a way out of our global crisis and national malaise is what the Green Party offers -- certainly not either major party. As previously mentioned, and which I've yet to see you address, is that Clinton only offers more neoliberalism, more catering to Wall Street, and more submission to the military-industrial-surveillance complex. And as I've also mentioned, "no thank you". I've had enough to last a lifetime.
Well Jg, vote for Stein if you want. She's not going to get even 5% of the vote and it's not because people are stupid. People like QUALIFIED candidates. Remember this if Trump wins. You will have no one to blame but yourself.
And keep worrying about the spelling if a fictional character. That's important.
Trump goes out in His debate and makes an ass of himself, as usual. Pence then has to spend HIS debate doing damage control, basically doing the same as Trump, interrupting with "Wrong" "No way" "Never happened" and THEN a 30 sec. Google search will show Pence was LYING, and Trump DID say and do the things mentioned.
I keep asking conservatives how they would feel if Obama or Hillary had said and done the same things Trump is doing, and I get the same response as Trump and Pence.
"But Hillary...but Hillary....but Hillary..." bringing up things that were investigated,and debunked sometimes DECADES ago.
It's hilarious.
Oh and JG,
I'm so glad you love the country so much you take the RESPONSIBILITY to vote seriously. I'm sure your cats were qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the office.
Like your vote for Stein...why not be honest and admit you support Trump, because that's what you are doing by voting for someone with ZERO CHANCE of even getting 5% of the vote?
Mozart1220: "Well Jg, vote for Stein if you want."
Thank you for your vote of confidence!... ;-)
"[Stein's] not going to get even 5% of the vote and it's not because people are stupid. People like QUALIFIED candidates."
Some people are stupid. Most are ill-informed and ignorant. I'd venture to say that if the third-party candidates received as much airtime and were allowed to debate on the stage with the corporatists and alt-right-wingers, we'd have a horse race.
"...if Trump wins. You will have no one to blame but yourself."
No, if Trump wins**, blame the people who voted for Trump -- along with corporate-owned presidents and legislators since the Reagan years for allowing economic conditions to deteriorate for the middle class so much that racists and demagogues now look more appealing than corporatist candidates.
(**Don't worry, your candidate of choice will not lose -- for the same reasons she didn't lose the Democratic primary. What's not rigged will be fixed. The powers-that-be will make sure Trump doesn't get in. They don't want someone they can't control "running the show". Hillary Clinton's theirs.)
"And keep worrying about the spelling if a fictional character. That's important."
It is important that you're reminded how you're so wrapped up in popular culture and not paying enough attention to what's really going on. "Bread and circuses" -- remember?
Mozart1220: "I'm so glad you love the country so much you take the RESPONSIBILITY to vote seriously."
Thank you!
Unfortunately, I'm disheartened to realize you despise your country so much as to allow the neoliberals, the warmongers, and the corporatists to run the show.
"I'm sure your cats were qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the office."
They're probably more qualified than most people. They have an inherent sense of democracy about them -- sharing food and sleeping areas, for example. They also don't go out of their way to purposely attack other cats -- unless, of course, their own territory is advanced upon or compromised.
As far as your royal dame, Hillary Clinton, I'm positive she's not qualified to assume the responsibilities of the United States presidency. How could she? She's already committed treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.
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