Revenge of the ignorant. Is it too late for America to wise up?

There's a piece in Monday's Boston Globe titled "Yes, there is shame in not knowing." In it, the author, who teaches writing at New York University, argues that it's not okay to be willfully ignorant -- and that people who refuse to seek out knowledge, or who willfully refuse to believe facts, should be ashamed and shamed.

While I agree with Taylor that willful ignorance is shameful, it is precisely articles like this, and people feeling shamed -- or looked down upon by "the media" and "elites" -- that has resulted in Donald J. Trump, who pandered to people's baser instincts and flouted knowledge and truth and facts, being elected president.

Indeed, I would argue that we now live in a time, at least in this country*, where being ignorant (being proud of a lack of intellectual curiosity and not caring about facts or the truth or attaining knowledge) is considered a virtue, and makes you "a real American," and being smart (having an intellectual curiosity, wanting to learn, a desire to gain knowledge) is bad and makes you "elite."

[I don't know about all of you, but I'd sure as heck rather be in the elite camp than be considered uneducated or ignorant. But, as my 18-year-old daughter just reminded me, amongst pre-teens and teenagers, it's often considered cool to be stupid and not cool to be or act smart. And it's the same among some adults, sadly.]

Lest you think this is the first time in recent history where being considered smart -- as in intelligent, well-prepared, and thoughtful -- put one at a disadvantage, especially if running for higher office, it's not. Just cast back to the 1990s, which could well be considered the Era of the Nerd, where young wiz kids who were good with technology could and did make millions -- and having an MBA, JD, and/or PhD seemed to be de rigueur** to getting ahead.

Then in 2000, the Supreme Court Americans, many as a slap in the face to or rejection of nerdism, and specifically know-it-all Al Gore, elected George W. Bush, who proudly boasted of his poor record as a student and showed a lack of interest in learning or intelligence briefings. And soon after we had 9/11 and a war in Iraq to show for it.

Now we have president-elect Donald J. Trump, the new hero of the uneducated and ignorant, who tells us he doesn't need to read or have daily intelligence briefings because he is "like smart," smart in this case meaning not knowledgeable nor mentally alert, nor witty or clever, but shrewd.

And it's true that he outsmarted a field of Republicans with his boasts and his lies. And he outsmarted the mainstream media with his sales pitches disguised as breaking news and big announcements. But it is only a matter of time until some terrorist or foreign power outsmarts Trump -- and inflicts serious damage on our country. (Per the CIA and FBI, Russia already has)

So my question is, when are Americans going to wise up?


* in many places, though not all
** Does using phrases like "de rigueur" make me an elitist?

This song totally sums up 2016 (NSFW but very funny)

Man, 2016 has been a sh*tty year. I seriously don't remember a year, at least in recent memory, that's been so depressing -- at least politically and culturally (and, to a certain extent, personally).

So many cultural greats died. (I'm still in mourning for David Bowie, or the David Bowie of my youth.) And you all know how I (and a majority of Americans) feel about "President-Elect Donald J. Trump." (Even typing that makes me feel sick.)

But how to sum up all the pain and frustration, the anguish and the anger? And then I saw this post on Facebook*, titled "The 2016 Song," from the British-born sister act, Flo & Joan, and I had my answer.



Pretty much sums it up, dontcha think?

*H/T to my social media-savvy daughter and budding political protester, who was the one to spot this.

Russian PM congratulates U.S. on Donald Trump's big win

Greetings Comrades Citizens of the United States of Russia!

I am writing to congratulate you on your glorious revolution stupidity election. We have spent years grooming Donald J. Trump for this important position, and we are overjoyed to see that all of our hard work has finally paid off.

We have to admit, we were momentarily worried when our good friend Paul Manafort was dismissed as campaign manager. But we were delighted to see how incredibly gullible open the American people and Congress were to our other efforts to get Mr. Trump elected. (And here we thought you Americans were not so easily duped.)

Rest assured, we in Russia will do everything in our power to help Mr. Trump plunge the United States into chaos succeed. Our Syrian representative has already met with Mr. Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr., and assured us of Mr. Trump's -- and the United States's -- future cooperation on important world matters. And our fearless leader President Putin is very taken with Mr. Trump's charming daughter, Ivanka.

Here's to four years of close cooperation between our two countries.

За нашу дружбу!

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev and all of your friends in the Russian Federation

The comic stylings of Joe Biden (post-election meme)

They say laughter is the best medicine (especially when you can't afford medicine). So as a bit of comic relief to our post-election nightmare I give you my favorite Joe Biden - Barack Obama transition-of-power memes (aka imagined pranks on president-elect Donald J. Trump).

[For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about -- i.e., people who do not have a Facebook or Twitter account and/or do not regularly peruse BoredPanda and/or BuzzFeed -- Hi Mom! -- several clever folks have been taking photos of Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama, aka BROTUS, huddled together, and creating imaginary conversations between the two, with Biden telling Obama about pranks he plans to play on the next White House tenant -- and posting these humorous images, or memes, on social media.]

Want change? Move Red, you Blue Democrats.

So here is the problem, fellow Democrats. Between self-selection and Republicans gerrymandering districts, we're all clustered together. So basically we got clusterfucked this election.

The solution: Have some of us from Dem heavy states (I'm looking at you, Massachusetts people, and you, Californians, and all you Brooklynites) move to swing states, states where a bunch more Democrats (and by "a bunch" I mean 10,000 to 100,000, or more) could make a yuge difference in the next elections*.

[To see the latest state-by-state vote totals for the 2016 Election, click here.]

Which states am I talking about? For starters, Florida. Where a lot of us Northeasterners plan on moving (eventually) anyway. But also Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin -- even Arizona (which was pretty close this election), North Carolina, or Texas. Better yet, find a county in those states that leans slightly Republican and move there.

We're doing our part (though we're not registered to vote in Florida... yet). Now it's up to you to do yours.

Also, please consider donating to environmental causes (I just gave $$$ to the Environmental Defense Fund), the ACLU (am about to give), Planned Parenthood (ditto), and other organizations that help protect people and our planet.

This has been yet another public service announcement.


*You know what could also make a huge difference? If people registered to vote and then actually voted. Especially all you young Democrats. Just look at these Election Turnout numbers. Pathetic.

The depressing numbers behind Election 2016

I don't consider myself a numbers person, but I have been fascinated by the numbers behind the 2016 Presidential Election, going back to the primaries. And the numbers behind what is being called the most surprising (and shocking) U.S. presidential election ever are pretty interesting. So I thought I'd share some of them with you.

Here are a bunch from the United States Elections Project:

Here are some other interesting numbers:

Number of Americans registered to vote: 146,311,000 (per Statistics Brain, which has more statistics about the election on its site).

Number of registered voters who actually voted: 133,331,500*

This means nearly 13 million people who could have easily voted did not. And over 85 million who could have voted by registering couldn't be bothered. 

[You want a better world, Millennials? Go register and VOTE IN THE MIDTERMS. No effing excuses.]

Popular vote totals* as of 8:35 a.m. ET on 11/12/16:

Hillary Clinton:  60,467,601**
Donald Trump:   60,072,551
Gary Johnson:      4,123,115
Jill Stein:              1,237,138
Other candidates:    820,695

For those too lazy to do the math, Clinton now leads Trump by nearly 400,00 votes.

[Donald Trump was right. The electoral college is a disaster.]

To see state-by-state popular vote totals, click here.

As I mentioned on Facebook the other day, less than (or just over) 100,000 votes separated Clinton and Trump in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. But the only way the outcome of the election would change is if those votes for Hillary were cast in Arizona and Michigan and either Florida and/or Pennsylvania.

Interestingly, as of November 9, Arizona, which Trump won by less than 100,000 votes, still had over 600,000 ballots to count. And, according to Heavy:

As of November 11, the Secretary of State in Michigan was reporting the following totals:

Trump: 2,277,914
Clinton: 2,264,807
Johnson: 172,726
Stein: 51,420
Castle: 16,125
Soltysik: 2,231

That’s a margin of victory of just 13,107 votes. A margin of under 2,000 votes triggers an automatic recount in Michigan, but candidates can seek a recount even if the margin is larger.

Speaking of razor thin margins, check out this fascinating article from The Washington Post titled "How Trump won the presidency with razor-thin margins in swing states," which notes that "Of the more than 120 million votes cast in the 2016 election, 107,000 votes in three states effectively decided the election."

Another excellent numerical read is the New York Times's exit poll stats. As Samantha Bee noted, "it's pretty clear who ruined America: white people." Indeed, 63 percent of white men and 53 percent of white women cast their votes for Trump. (To which I say, WTF ladies?)

And that concludes this lesson on why it's important for those of you unhappy with the results of Election 2016 to register to vote (if you have not done so already) and to actually go out and vote on election day -- and why 2018 will be a very important election.

This has been a public service announcement.

11/13/16 UPDATE: As of 6:07 p.m. ET today, Hillary Clinton's lead over Donald Trump increased to more than 650,000 votes. And when I checked earlier today, votes were still being counted in parts of Michigan and Pennsylvania, both close races that were being called for Trump, and California, which broke heavily for Clinton. But according to various reports I've read, even if Clinton has a million or two million more votes than Trump, because of where those votes were cast, Trump is still going to be President.


*These numbers will go up as votes are still being counted.
**According to many/most predictions, Clinton's popular vote lead will exceed 500,000 -- and some say over 1 million votes.

Good day gloom: a post-election scary tale [UPDATED]

With apologies to Margaret Wise Brown...

In the great Oval Office
There was a telephone
A red telephone
And a picture of
Donald Trump, a yuge picture
And there was Giuliani, Gingrich, and Christie each in a chair
And two little hands
On some guy with cotton candy hair
And a model of Trump Tower
And a buxom blonde and brunette
And a tanning bed and a comb and a brush
And Kellyanne Conway who was whispering "hush"

Goodbye Hillary
Goodbye Bill
The popular vote counted for nil

Goodbye Obama
Goodbye Obamacare

Goodbye Roe v Wade
Goodbye women's rights for another decade

Goodbye big data
Goodbye polls

Hello Breitbart
And Internet trolls

Goodbye Muslims
and Mexicans and all you non-whites

Hello walls and guns
and buttons that make BOOM in the night

Goodbye science
Goodbye reason
Welcome to the crazy season

Goodbye environment
Goodbye regulation

Be scared all you LGBT
It's open season

Goodbye tolerance
Goodbye dreams
Hello bullying and children's screams

Goodbye to hope
Hello to fear
Hope we make it
through the next four years

Final thoughts on the 2016 presidential election

I did not watch the third and final presidential debate of 2016 (though I did check out some of the comments on Twitter while it was going on). I may be a Metsochist, but I'm not a masochist. Besides, why stay up late and put yourself through 90 minutes of mental torture when you can spend just five reading Alexandra Petri's (way more entertaining) recap or wait for the (again more entertaining) Alec Baldwin-Kate McKinnon version of the debate on SNL this weekend, hombre?

Even before going into the third presidential debate, most people's (everyone's) minds were made up -- and pretty much nothing Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton would say was going to change that.* Even Donald Trump refusing to say if he would respect the outcome of the election -- despite the horror expressed by every mainstream news organization at that statement. (And no, the suspense is not killing me.)

(Seriously pundits, you really think people who have no problem supporting a questionably rich guy who brags about not paying his taxes and assaulting women are going to suddenly change their minds about Trump because he would not unequivocally state he would respect election results? Which election have you been following?)

So, I am not writing this to change anyone's mind. (See the asterisk, below.) But I did want to share some thoughts, or observations, about this election.

1. Those surprised by the rise of Donald J. Trump either slept through the last 50 years or were not paying attention to politics. Trump is the product, or by-product, of years of political demagoguery -- the bloated, orange, short-fingered, small-minded embodiment of everything bad and hateful about America.

2. Facts don't matter any more. A lot of people don't even know the difference between facts and opinions. As someone whose first job was as a fact checker -- and was taught in school and as a journalist and editor that the truth and facts were paramount, I find that deeply disturbing. (Oh, and for those who say it's hard to ferret out the facts in this election, no it isn't. Just go to PolitiFact or FactCheck.org.)

3. Civil discourse is dead. It's been dying for years, I know, much like fact checking, but this election may have been the final nail in the coffin.

4. If Donald J. Trump receives more votes than Hillary Clinton, then yes, I will believe the election was rigged.



*For anyone interested in the neuroscience behind why and how people make up their minds and why some (most?) people will never change them once made up, even when facts contradict their beliefs, read Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To by Dean Burnett. It is both entertaining and enlightening. Also see "confirmation bias" and "cognitive dissonance," the two reasons I stopped arguing with people about politics (and religion) long ago.

Donald Trump and Pussy Galore

While pretty much everything that spews forth out of Donald Trump's mouth is vile, I just cannot get worked up over his use of the word pussy. Seriously, of all the slang and pejorative terms for a woman's genitalia, aka vagina (rhymes with China), pussy is the one we're having issues with? Seriously?

[Btw, if you didn't see Samantha Bee's "Vagina Monologue" in her segment on the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape last night, you can watch it here. It is must-see TV IMO.]

But getting back to pussies.... You people ever hear of a book, later made into a film by the same name, called Goldfinger, featuring a guy by the name of James Bond? The film, released in 1964, was tremendously popular and some 40-plus years after it was made you can still watch it on TBS and BBC America regularly.

Any of you recall the name of the femme fatale in Goldfinger? Here, let me help you, Pussy Galore. I don't recall it inciting riots, then or now, but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. (FYI, in the book, Galore was a lesbian.)

Donald Trump was likewise dreaming if he thought that women wanted him to grab them -- by their pussy, or anyplace else -- and kiss them. Though, this scene from the film, as described in Wikipedia, sounds frighteningly Trumpian:

"Bond corners Galore in a barn and forcibly holds her down (while she tries hard to fight him off) and kisses her. The film then shows a massive change in personality where she seems to welcome the earlier assault, putting her arms around Bond. She then secretly turns against Goldfinger."

Maybe the problem with Donald Trump is that he thinks he's James Bond.

While we are on the topic of James Bond and women, who could forget this priceless (totally male chauvinistic) exchange from Diamonds Are Forever?



Ivanka is lucky she wasn't named after her father. Otherwise we might now know her as Short-Fingered Vulgarian or Cheeto Jesus or Clown Face.

NOTE: To anyone reading this who thinks I am in any way condoning Trump's behavior, I am not. There is zero excuse for sexual assault. But many people (see "Trump Supporters") seem to be way more worked up about the use of the word pussy than by Trump's actions, which is wrong.

What a sniff show: Takeaway from the Second Presidential Debate of 2016

Maybe the Commission on Presidential Debates should have gotten Afrin to be the sponsor.



Once again, #sniffles was trending big time on Twitter (as were #sniffing and #sniffingTrump) during last night's Second Presidential Debate between Republican nominee Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Seriously, could no one have provided that man with some nasal spray before the debate? Or maybe, as more than one person I saw wrote, Trump sniffs every time he lies. (Though in that case, he'd be sniffing so much he wouldn't be able to breathe.)

And speaking of lies, I thought NPR did a pretty good job of fact checking last night's debate. (PolitiFact also provided fact checking.)

Of course, facts don't matter to a lot of people any more. *SIGH*

But getting back to the Second Presidential Debate... though there was very little that was presidential about it. What a "sniff" show. I kept begging the spouse to flip over to the Giants-Packers game -- or the baseball. (I have now gotten to the point where I would rather watch the Giants lose than have to watch anything where Donald Trump opens his mouth.)

And while people (some people) are disagreeing this morning as to who won last night's debate, I think there is one thing, sadly, we can all agree upon: America lost.

BONUS VIDEO: When your nose is running for President of the United States

The real reason Republicans are distancing themselves from Donald Trump

The real reason Republicans in the House and Senate (especially those up for re-election) are distancing themselves from Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump right now? It's not because of that just released, now infamous 2005 audio tape, where he bragged to Billy Bush* that he could get away with sexually assaulting women.

(Plenty of Trump's supporters actually admire Trump for his supposed way with the ladies -- a way that would land most of them in jail or at least fired from their job. While other Trump supporters brush off his crude, lewd, abusive talk as "locker room banter," though Trump is no athlete and was nowhere near a locker room and if a professional athlete was caught on tape saying that shit, you can bet your ass he would be in serious trouble.)

No, the real reason Republican Senators and Congressfolk and others are distancing themselves from the short-fingered vulgarian isn't because he's a vulgar, narcissistic, xenophobic, misogynistic, racist. It's because he's about to be a LOSER (or is now perceived as a loser) -- and they are terrified of being attached to, or going down on the ship with, a LOSER. (Remember, it's always the rats that are the first to leave a sinking ship.)

Remember how a bunch of prominent Republicans had distanced themselves from the Cheeto Cheater during the primaries and even after -- only to announce their support for him (or "the Republican nominee") when his poll numbers were looking up? Guess what happens every time his poll numbers go down? Yup, the rats jump ship.

And I'll tell you this, if for some reason the six-time bankrupt, Tic Tac-popping, serial-cheating, Putin-loving, spray-tanned, wouldn't-know-the-truth-if-it-was-plastered-on-the-side-of-a-skyscraper, tax-evading gas bag, aka the Republican nominee for President of the United States, does, for someone reason, get a bump in the polls between now and November 8th, many of those rats will clamber back aboard the S.S. Trump.


*who I have been unable to watch since he came to TODAY, especially after he defended Ryan Lochte, NBC needs to get him off the air.

BREAKING NEWS: Second Presidential Debate format change

Donald J. Trump, the Republican candidate for President of the United States, has announced he will come out fighting in the second Presidential Debate of 2016, to be held this Sunday, October 9, at Washington University in St. Louis (at 9 p.m. ET).

So in the spirit of this year's presidential campaign, the Commission on Presidential Debates has changed the format of the upcoming debate from a Town Hall to a no-holds-barred boxing-cum-wrestling match between Trump and Democratic candidate for President Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"The American people are itching for a fight, and we plan on giving them one," said Mike McCurry, a co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

As part of the new format, Michael Buffer, the boxing and wrestling announcer, who announced all of the boxing bouts at Donald Trump-owned casinos in the 1980s, will be calling the fight, I mean, debate. Refereeing the match will be ABC's Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent and co-anchor of "This Week" and CNN anchor (and CIA operative) Anderson Cooper.

So presidential debate fans, are you ready to rumble?

Preview: Lester Holt's debate questions for Clinton and Trump

The first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump takes place tonight at 9 p.m. ET at Hofstra University on Long Island and will run for 90 minutes, without commercial interruption. Around 100 million people are expected to tune in -- Super Bowl numbers.

Per the Commission on Presidential Debates, which sponsors the presidential debates:

The debate will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by the moderator and announced at least one week before the debate. 

The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.

          *****

Lester Holt, moderator of the first 2016 presidential debate, has selected the topics for that debate. Subject to possible changes because of news developments, the topics for the September 26 debate are as follows, not necessarily to be brought up in this order: 

America's Direction 

Achieving Prosperity 

Securing America 

What specifically will Lester Holt, the anchor of NBC Nightly News (and a registered Republican), ask the candidates? Here's a preview of some of the questions. [NB: Questions are not listed in the order they may appear.]

To Secretary Clinton: Do you feel America is headed in the right direction?

To Donald Trump: Can I have one of your "Make America Great" hats?

To Secretary Clinton: How would you handle illegal immigration?

To Donald Trump: What's your favorite color?

To Secretary Clinton: What specifically would you do to help improve the economy, to help those people who have lost jobs or are earning less than they did eight years ago?

To Donald Trump: How great is your plan to help America -- great, or really great?

To Secretary Clinton: How would you solve the situation in the Middle East and stop terrorism?

To Donald Trump: Remind us, what did Vladimir Putin say about you, that you were a genius?

To Secretary Clinton: Doesn't your role in Benghazi disqualify you from being President?

To Donald Trump: Running the Miss Universe pageant must have given you a lot of insight into international relations. Can you share some of the lessons you have learned?

To Secretary Clinton: Why did you use a private email server -- and why do you continue to refuse to share those speeches you gave to Goldman Sachs?

To Donald Trump: Do you feel the American people really need to see your tax returns?

To Secretary Clinton: What concerns you most about Donald Trump?

To Donald Trump: What concerns you most about Crooked Hillary; emails, Benghazi, or her terminal illness?

Feel free to suggest other questions via the Comments (which are also moderated, albeit not by Lester Holt).

If Donald Trump was your doctor

My friend, Amy, posted this video, from Informed Citizens, on Facebook a little while ago, and I thought it important to share.

Killer Surgeon from Informed Citizens on Vimeo.

You would never hire a surgeon with no proven experience, or a track record of repeated failure, to operate on you or a loved one, would you?

Well, maybe some of you would, because you hated the woman doctor with years of experience and the proven track record, because she came across as a know-it-all and your buddies Rush and Sean and Roger said you can't trust a girl doctor, especially an old, ugly one, cause, ya know, everyone knows boy doctors are smarter than girl doctors. And this guy Trump said he would totally make your mother better, and that was good enough for you, even though the guy had a whole bunch of medical malpractice suits filed against him and he admitted he had never performed this operation before, but, you know, how hard could it be?

And speaking of Trump, or really Trump supporters, here's a piece from GQ by Drew Magary (whom I enjoy reading over on Deadspin) worth a read.

Here are some of my favorite (printable) lines from the article:

"YOU are the people who want to revolutionize the way America does business by voting for its worst businessman, a disgusting neon pig who only makes money when he causes problems for other people instead of solving them."

[There are so many awesome names for Trump, many of which can be found over at Balloon Juice.]

"YOU are the people willing to overlook the fact that Trump is an unqualified, ignorant sociopath because DURRRR HILLARY IS BAD TOO DURRRR."

[I'm so tired of false equivalence. Aren't you?]

"You are handing the most important job on Earth to Napoleon from Animal Farm." 

[I just love a good literary allusion.]

And I thought it was in the Drew Magary article, but I guess it was in some other one, where the author theorized that a number of people would vote for Donald Trump just to stick it to their liberal sister-in-law, which I do not doubt for a second. But it's kind of like cutting your nose off to spite your face. Only you won't just lose your nose if you voted for Trump.

Of course, none of this -- no facts, no arguments -- will dissuade Trump supporters from believing his lies and voting for him, because... neuroscience. But writing these posts (aka venting) makes me, like Drew Magary, feel a teeny bit better.

Donald J. Trump, Looney Tune?

There is a classic Bugs Bunny episode from 1955 titled "Hare Brush" where Elmer J. Fudd (millionaire and Bugs Bunny protagonist and archenemy) suffers from serious mental illness. Alarmed, the board of directors of the Elmer J. Fudd Corporation  -- a group of conservative white men -- consider Fudd a threat to the organization and have him committed (to the Fruitcake Sanitarium, which is "full of nuts").

Fast forward a bit and we see that Elmer has convinced Bugs Bunny to trade places with him in the sanitarium -- and the psychiatrist trying to convince Bugs Bunny that he is Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire businessman, by having him repeatedly state "I am Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire, I own a mansion and a yacht." Which does the trick.

(Apparently if you emphatically state you are a millionaire with a mansion and a yacht enough times, you will believe it, even if it's not so.)

Elmer J. Fudd remind you of any other delusional millionaire* you know of?

No? Try substituting "Donald J. Trump" for "Elmer J. Fudd."

Even their signature buildings bare a striking resemblance!

Also, like Donald J. Trump, Elmer J. Fudd was obsessed with offing his opponent.

Today, however, instead of getting put in a sanitarium for his crazy behavior, our cartoon millionaire stands to get put in the White House. Now that's cwazy.

UPDATED 1/26: In his first major TV interview, with ABC's David Muir, which aired last night, Trump, who became our 45th president on January 20th, went full-on Looney Tune, spouting crazy, paranoid nonsense. Like Elmer J. Fudd, Donald J. Trump is a man obsessed -- and believes the press is Bugs Bunny.

*Until Trump produces his tax returns, I refuse to refer to him as a billionaire.

Maybe Hillary should learn how to assemble an AR-15 rifle blindfolded

For those who haven't yet seen this brilliant ad by Jason Kander, a former Army captain who fought in Afghanistan, who is running against Roy Blount in the Missouri Senate race, it is a must see:



[H/T Balloon Juice]

Kander, who is a Democrat, created the ad in response to Blount and the NRA calling him weak on Second Amendment rights. (Meanwhile numerous polls have shown that approximately 90 percent of Americans support gun control measures, including expanded background checks.)

The good news is, you don't need to know how to assemble a rifle in order to stop Donald Trump from becoming President (though it probably wouldn't hurt Hillary Clinton if she could). You apparently just need a vagina.



[H/T, again, to Balloon Juice]

Women outnumber men in the United States and more women than men have voted in recent elections. (See this and this and this.) So ladies, if we want to send Trump back to his Tower, go out and vote for Hillary on November 8th. And bring along your husband -- or boyfriend or brother or male neighbor -- and have him vote for Hillary, too.

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!  For those not keeping score, here is a handy cheat sheet of Donald Trump's various scandals. Also, be sure to check out the Cosmo interview with Ivanka Trump on her/her father's maternity leave policy, which is quite an eye opener (for those who had their eyes closed, fantasizing about Trump's busty blonde eldest daughter).

Of course, none of this -- or any facts -- is going to change the minds of Trump supporters or Hillary haters. But I felt like it was time to chime in.

If you don't have anything nice to say (or tweet)...

Don't say -- or tweet -- anything at all. Especially if you are running for President of the United States.

I get that some people believe that "political correctness" has gone too far. (In some cases, I agree with them. An emotional support rabbit? Puh-lease. Spare me.) But it's still politic to be polite, especially if you want to win voters and influence heads of state.

Did Donald Trump's Trump's father, or mother, never say to him, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all"? Did he never see Bambi?



Hey, it's OK to disagree with someone (other than me). But there is no reason, especially for someone running for "higher" office, to resort to ugly name calling, crudeness, profanity, and bullying.

Silence may be golden, but recently I've been wishing it was orange.

Rethinking who can be President of the United States

If this election cycle has taught us anything it's that we need to fix the electoral process -- starting with the qualifications necessary to run for and serve as President of the United States.

Per Article Two, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Clearly, it is time to amend the Constitution (again).

First of all, how many people today were around "at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution"?

Secondly, does it really matter any more where a person was born as long as he -- OR SHE -- is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident within the United States for at least 14 years?

(The correct answer to that question is "no.")

And thirdly, while back in 1787, when most people didn't live past 41, 35 was considered old. Today, with people living into their 80s, not so much. So I say we should raise the minimum age to be president to 40 -- make that 45.

But most importantly, we need to make sure that the person ascending to the highest office of the land is sound in both mind and body -- and able to carry out the duties of President of the United States.

To that end, I propose the following amendment to Section 1 of Article Two of the Constitution, which I call Qualifications to Be President of the United States:

* Must be at least 45 years of age.
* Must be a citizen of the United States and have resided within the United States for at least 14 years.
* Must undergo a complete physical and mental health examination overseen by a board of certified, nonpartisan medical professionals and be considered to be of sound mind and body.
* Must take and pass a four-hour, closed-book examination [similar to the AP exams] covering U.S. History and Government, as well as World History.
* Must produce his or her tax returns for the four years prior to the year of election.

All in favor, say "Aye!"

Of course, even if such qualifications were somehow enacted, you would still get unsavory characters running for president. But at least they would, hopefully, diaqualify the Trumps (and Palins) of the world.

2016 Democratic Primary Race Vote Update (No throwing chairs!)

So when this blog last printed the vote totals for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, back on April 27th, Hillary was leading Bernie by just over 3 million votes. So where do the Democratic candidates for President now stand?

Here is my updated table showing 2016 Democratic Primary & Caucus Vote Totals:

[Click on the image to enlarge it.]

As of this writing (with 96% of the votes reported for Oregon, which was the latest total as of this writing), Hillary Clinton is still leading Bernie Sanders -- by 2,890,670 votes.

Put in delegate terms, Clinton leads Sanders by 274 pledged delegates (which does not include super delegates), with Clinton having 1,768 pledged delegates and Sanders amassing 1,494 pledged delegates.

A few interesting facts about the recent Democratic contests:

* Hillary "crushed" Bernie in Guam, winning 59.5% of the vote to Bernie's 40.5%. Which just goes to show you how you need to read beyond the headlines. While it is true that Hillary, percentage-wise, "crushed" Bernie, in terms of actual votes, it wasn't a big deal -- 777 (Clinton) to 528 (Sanders).

* Clinton and Sanders were each awarded 27 delegates in Kentucky, even though, technically, Hillary "won." That's because the Democrats use the proportional method (which is not to be confused with the rhythm method, though can be just as or more confusing) of awarding delegates to candidates.

* States with large white populations (especially white, male, working class and/or young, white, male populations) and low black and Hispanic populations tend to vote Sanders whereas states that "look like the Democratic party" (i.e., are more diverse) tend to vote Clinton, which would seem to predict wins for Clinton in California and New Jersey (two delegate-rich states) and possibly New Mexico.

NEXT UP, contest-wise: The U.S. Virgin Islands on 6/4; Puerto Rico on 6/5; California, New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota on 6/7; and Washington, D.C., on 6/14. So expect my next update on 6/8.

Hillary and Bernie Election 2016: The voters have spoken (again)

Before Super Tuesday IV, or the Acela Primary (as some pundits had been calling it), Hillary Clinton had been leading Bernie Sanders by over 2.5 million votes. Yesterday, Clinton increased her lead to just over 3 million votes, as you can see from my updated 2016 Democratic Primary & Caucus Vote Totals table below. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Of note, Clinton beat Sanders nearly 2 to 1 -- 533,656 vs. 281,700 votes -- in Maryland and by nearly 200,000 votes in Pennsylvania (918,649 vs. 719,911 votes), which was and is considered a must-win state in both the primaries and in the general election.

Connecticut was a bit of a nail biter, with Clinton ultimately beating Sanders by about 17,000 votes (169,763 vs. 152,895 votes). However, Sanders beat Clinton in Rhode Island, by a margin of 14,000, which was less than the margin of the Clinton wins, including Connecticut and Delaware, where she beat Sanders by over 19,000 votes.

Of course, as we all (or most -- or some -- of us) know, it's not ultimately votes that get you to the party convention and win you the nomination but delegates. Though in most states it's votes that get you delegates. And as of 7:30 this morning, Hillary Clinton had 1,640 pledge delegates to Bernie Sanders 1,331 pledged delegates*. Add in super delegates (who, btw, have never decided or compromised an election, voting with the majority of voters) and Hillary's total rises to 2,159 delegates and Bernie's to 1,370 -- with the magic number to win the Democratic nomination being 2,383.

Unless you believe in Bernie Math (see below) and unicorns, it seems pretty clear at this point that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2016.

To be continued...?



*Depending on which news organization's number you use.