The New Yorker probably has the best political cartoon of Trump I’ve seen in a while. The only reason Trump hasn’t bashed the New Yorker it’s because the articles are too long for him to read.
Trump is reputed for watching a lot of TV and a very short attention span. Just think of the people he has attacked on Tweeter seconds after they said something he didn’t like on TV.
Here’s an interesting picture taken in 2008. In hindsight, there’s a lot going on here.
Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of NY, is smiling and doesn’t look crazy. What happened to him? He tried to become President in 2008. Donald Trump was a democrat, pro-war, pro-choice and a Clinton supporter. Now he’s President-elect as a republican. Michael Bloomberg was the mayor of NY and hanging out with Donald Trump. He was considering an independent run to stop Donald Trump. Bill Clinton wasn’t a vegan. And then you have Joe Torre and Billy Crystal photo bombing. I wonder if that pic will ever be taken again.
America you did it. You broke the glass ceiling. I’m not referring to electing a woman as your first President. No, not that. That would be too easy. I’m referring to the the bigger glass ceiling: Electing a reality TV star. The guy from The Apprentice is your next President. It has been over a week since Donald Trump is President elect and it still doesn’t feel real. Saying the phrase “President Trump” doesn’t roll easily. Where is Ashton Kutcher and his cameras? I’m still waiting for him to come out of no where to tell us we got pranked. For the last year and a half, Donald Trump occupied way too much of my brain power. It looks like it won’t stop. It’s obvious Trump won’t be a traditional President. I just can’t picture him fulfilling all the traditional Presidential duties. Try to picture Trump going to all these ceremonies because the customs demands so.
The elections were less about electing Donald Trump and his platform and more about giving a big F-You to the establishment, that is the anachronistic, arrogant, entitled, smug, conceited ruling elite and ruling paradigm. Just like Brexit, it wasn’t about racism or misogyny, but a fundamental shattering of an old paradigm. The vote was not so much for a particular vision of one man, but against a prevailing model of managing the world. The neoliberal world of the last 30 years got brought to its knees. White working- and middle-class fellow citizens – out of anger and anguish – rejected the economic neglect of neoliberal policies and the self-righteous arrogance of elites. A lot of wealth and good happened in the last 30 to 40 years, but not everyone enjoyed the benefits and some people were left behind. Those people voted last week.
I’m going to make a few predictions. So far my magic crystal ball has been way off and my forecasting skills can only improve from there. Here’s my big prediction: Donald Trump won’t finish his Presidential term. I have a feeling he’s looking for somekind of exit strategy. Somethin will happen along the lines of:
1) Trump will resign and go back to the life he enjoyed. He hates his new life and he will hate it more once he’s in Washington. There’s nothing wrong with that. Trump already said that his VP Mike Pence will be running the country anyway.
2) He will resign because he’s sick. He hates his new life so much that it made him sick. Remember that Trump jumped in the race as a publicity stunt to get a pay raise from NBC for his TV show. The stunt backfired badly and as a result he has damaged the Trump brand. Trump Hotel will use the name Scion for new hotels instead of Trump.
3) Trump will resign because of an impeachement process. He won’t need to abuse the office of the Presidency for that. He already has a bunch of legal problems pending that will eventually catch up to him. The Republicans will turn their back on Trump after he got them the keys to the castle. That is the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court. Remember this is politics folk. Just like he wish, that will be his way out and tell people that the system is corrupted to save face.
4) He will be assassinated but that the least probably scenario.
The receptivity of the masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.
-Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, Volume One, Chapter Six: “War Propaganda”
Donald Trump is a marketing genius. Trump knows you have about 7 seconds of somebody’s attention. What did Trump do? For a year and a half he repeated the same things over and over and over and over. “Make American Great Again”, “drain the swamp”, “crooked politicians” and other sticky slogans were drilled in people’s mind. And yet we don’t have a single clue how he is going to make America great. Trump won the election with a vocabulary of about twenty words (Loser, winner, huge, rich etc…) Anger and emotions blinded the Americans.
Just to be clear. I’m not a Democrat or a Republican. I’m not even American so I can’t vote. But I did live in the U.S. for many years. I have many friends in the U.S. I invest in U.S. companies. I visit the country occasionally and I follow what’s happening in the country very closely. So I care about this. America has given people so many opportunities. It is not perfect but I believe it is a force for good in the world. A healthy strong America is better for the world.
If you are American, you are probably sick and tired of both candidates and politics in general. It’s kind of frustrating that this is the best two candidates that America has to offer. But you have to make a choice. (And why, in 2016, are there still only two main political parties? But that’s a topic for another day). You are stuck between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I’ve look at third party options and they are not credible. Where do you vote if you are a moderate? Where are the normal candidates at?
Donald Trump is polling good numbers and as crazy as it sound it could become President. It doesn’t matter what he does or say, who he offends, how many women he sexually assaulted, or that he’s not qualified for the job, 40-45% of the population will vote for him. Facts don’t matter to Trump supporters, despite clear evidence that he had misrepresented or falsified key issues throughout the campaign. To understand why people will vote for Donald Trump, you need to put yourself in their shoes. I think it’s an exercise that more people should do. I’m not going to pretend that I understand what it is to be a Trump supporter, because I don’t, but I can try to understand their point of view. Despite all the dreadful things that Donald Trump said and did, he’s still polling around 40%. So that’s means there is a large segment of the population that support his views. People will vote for Donald Trump because they believe he will make their lives better. Most of Trump supporters are, and I’m generalizing 1)white male 2)less educated 3)and have lower income. In that ~40% you also have the republicans that only vote republicans and the Christian vote (it’s really an anti-abortion vote). A lot of people also hates Hillary Clinton. Even though stats have shown that the U.S.A. is doing well (GDP up, unemployment below 5%, stock market at record high etc…) they feel they “lost” they country. America has prospered a lot in the last few decades and even if it doesn’t feel like it, most Americans are better off than they were. However some people were left behind and as a result have fallen through the cracks of society. They will vote for Donald Trump because the political establishment of the last few decades has failed them, and Hillary Clinton is part of the “establishment” and Donald Trump is not.
Trump is not ready to assume the responsibilities that comes with being President of the U.S. He doesn’t have the knowledge, the experience, and the temperament to be President. The idea the he alone can “fix it” is absurd. He’s textbook egomaniac. He’s tapping into popular resentments and insecurities. I don’t think he has any idea what he got himself into. Getting things done in politics wasn’t suppose to be easy. When the founding fathers created the system, it was intentionally set up to have gridlock. Today we see it as a frustrating flaw, but the idea is that if you are going to change something you need a good majority. Donald Trump has trampled all over the unwritten rules of American democracy, violating his party and his country. He’s running the campaign like it’s so kind of reality TV show. It creates an ambiguity about how serious he is, and how seriously his audience needs to take him. There are too many signs that he’s unfit to be head of state. We never know what Trump will say next and that’s a huge problem. It represents massive uncertainty, and uncertainty can cause social unrest.
Now Hillary Clinton is not perfect. She has a long history in American politics. She represents the “establishment”. Hillary is bought and sold. She’s not credible and most American distrust her, with reason. She will say the scripted things to get votes. If she was running against a more competent opponent she would probably lose. Look how hard it was to beat Bernie Sanders. Trump has pissed off every voting class possible except the angry broke white men. Trump can’t get the women vote, the Hispanic vote, the black vote, the Muslim vote, the educated vote, and he stills has a chance to beat Hillary.
Despite all of that, Hillary Clinton should be the next President of United-States. This is more than “she’s the lesser of the two evils.” She’s the most qualified and the most prepared. You are not going to like her. She doesn’t have the charisma of Obama or he husband. She’s not warm. You have put up with a manufactured smile and her boring speeches. But what really matters? You need the person to get the job done. When it comes to elections, instead of “hiring” the right person, you are voting for the right person. But when it comes to voting, people forgets the importance of the resume and it becomes a popularity contest. When it’s a popularity contest, people will say or do whatever is necessary to get votes and that’s when things get out of whack. You need to charm people. Charisma and great speeches is what got Obama elected twice despite his lack of experience and a tough first term. Hillary Clinton has a solid resume but struggle to be popular. Yes she has many flaws but I want the best person for the job, not the coolest. She knows the game better than anybody. She will work with legislators, even the ones that are determined to thwart her. That means less gridlock and getting things done. It’s not going to take her six months to get up to speed with the job. Plus Bill Clinton will be in the White House and I don’t think he’s there to choose the china set. Remember the 90s? I really think that if you vote for her, you will not regret your decision and America will be better off in four years.
Another thing that I look for when I vote is their potential cabinet, the people who surrounds and advice the President. Let’s face it, the President is not the real decision maker. He’s just there for PR. What really matters is who is running Defence? Education? Treasury? Secretary of State? Even if Trump wins it won’t be the end of the world because he won’t do anything. His cabinet will tell him what to do and Congress or the Supreme Court will probably not pass any of his crazy idea. Hillary will be better surrounded. If she can keep Joe Biden or John Kerry that would be great. Trump will listen to Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie, that’s not good. Plus Trump has pissed off too many credible Republicans that they won’t work with him. I don’t think Trump has the personality to attract top talent.
Here are my predictions: Hillary wins.
If Mr Trump loses, Mrs Clinton will begin her presidency with tens of millions of people believing that she ought to be in jail. Perhaps he will lose so comprehensively that he takes the Republican majorities in both chambers down with him. That would afford Mrs Clinton at least two years, before the next mid-term elections, during which she might push through an immigration reform, increase spending on infrastructure and change the balance on the Supreme Court. These would be big achievements, but something close to 40% of voters would feel they were being steamrollered by a hostile government. Then the Democrats will lose the mid-term election. Politics could become yet more polarized.
*Post-debate update: Chris Wallace delivered a solid performance.
The third and last presidential debate tonight at 9pm ET. If you don’t have cable Youtube usually has a live feed.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace has the prestigious assignment of moderating the election’s final debate and he also faces tremendous pressure to hold Clinton and Trump accountable. Will Wallace call out the nominee if they make false claims? Will he keep the candidates in check if they cut away from the question? It will be interesting to see how Wallace deals with the candidates. Trump has trashed the previous moderators for being bias. Will Trump say the same about Wallace? Since August Trump only gives interviews to Fox News, his allies. Trump has been bombarded by bad news, by sticking to Fox News he mostly avoids difficult questions about the daily controversies that plague his campaign. Wallace worked for Roger Ailes, the former king at Fox News, for two decades. Now Ailes with one of Trump’s advisor. Lets just hope that Wallace is tough on both candidates.
Below are four videos. Two funny ones from previous debates and two of Chris Wallace is owned by Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart.
If you are familiar with the show Arrested Development, you will love the following video. Arrested Development is one of the most underrated TV ever created.
Last week I included a letter by a former deputy director of the CIA explaining his endorsement for Hillary Clinton and on why Donald Trump is not qualified to by the next President of the U.S.A.
This week, fifty of the nation’s most senior Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members of former Republican administrations have signed a letter declaring that Donald J. Trump “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president and “would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.” This comes on the top of several Republicans to publicly announce that they would not be supporting the GOP presidential nominee. Mr. Trump, the officials warn, “would be the most reckless president in American history.”
Below is the full statement:
Continue reading “50 G.O.P. Officials Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nation’s Security ‘at Risk’”
Below I reposted a solid article by the former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Michael Morell. The article is clear, rational, and straight to the point. What you would exactly expect from a CIA guy. With so much nosense floating around, this article is refreshing.
Repost from the New-York Times
I Ran the C.I.A. Now I’m Endorsing Hillary Clinton.
By Michael J. Morell
During a 33-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency, I served presidents of both parties — three Republicans and three Democrats. I was at President George W. Bush’s side when we were attacked on Sept. 11; as deputy director of the agency, I was with President Obama when we killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
I am neither a registered Democrat nor a registered Republican. In my 40 years of voting, I have pulled the lever for candidates of both parties. As a government official, I have always been silent about my preference for president.
No longer. On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as our 45th president.
Two strongly held beliefs have brought me to this decision. First, Mrs. Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president — keeping our nation safe. Second, Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.
I spent four years working with Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state, most often in the White House Situation Room. In these critically important meetings, I found her to be prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and willing to change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.
I also saw the secretary’s commitment to our nation’s security; her belief that America is an exceptional nation that must lead in the world for the country to remain secure and prosperous; her understanding that diplomacy can be effective only if the country is perceived as willing and able to use force if necessary; and, most important, her capacity to make the most difficult decision of all — whether to put young American women and men in harm’s way.
Mrs. Clinton was an early advocate of the raid that brought Bin Laden to justice, in opposition to some of her most important colleagues on the National Security Council. During the early debates about how we should respond to the Syrian civil war, she was a strong proponent of a more aggressive approach, one that might have prevented the Islamic State from gaining a foothold in Syria.
I never saw her bring politics into the Situation Room. In fact, I saw the opposite. When some wanted to delay the Bin Laden raid by one day because the White House Correspondents Dinner might be disrupted, she said, “Screw the White House Correspondents Dinner.”
In sharp contrast to Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief.
These traits include his obvious need for self-aggrandizement, his overreaction to perceived slights, his tendency to make decisions based on intuition, his refusal to change his views based on new information, his routine carelessness with the facts, his unwillingness to listen to others and his lack of respect for the rule of law.
The dangers that flow from Mr. Trump’s character are not just risks that would emerge if he became president. It is already damaging our national security.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was a career intelligence officer, trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trump’s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated.
Mr. Putin is a great leader, Mr. Trump says, ignoring that he has killed and jailed journalists and political opponents, has invaded two of his neighbors and is driving his economy to ruin. Mr. Trump has also taken policy positions consistent with Russian, not American, interests — endorsing Russian espionage against the United States, supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea and giving a green light to a possible Russian invasion of the Baltic States.
In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.
Mr. Trump has also undermined security with his call for barring Muslims from entering the country. This position, which so clearly contradicts the foundational values of our nation, plays into the hands of the jihadist narrative that our fight against terrorism is a war between religions.
In fact, many Muslim Americans play critical roles in protecting our country, including the man, whom I cannot identify, who ran the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center for nearly a decade and who I believe is most responsible for keeping America safe since the Sept. 11 attacks.
My training as an intelligence officer taught me to call it as I see it. This is what I did for the C.I.A. This is what I am doing now. Our nation will be much safer with Hillary Clinton as president.
Michael J. Morell was the acting director and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2013.
Trump is the master of selling dumbed-down solutions to complex problems.
Don’t like immigrants? Trump will build a wall and will get the Mexicans to pay for it.
What about the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country? Trump will find them and deport them. My guess is that Trump will make Mexico pay for that too.
Scared of Muslims? Trump will ban them.
Worried about terrorism? Trump will kill them all.
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un: Trump will get rid of him.
The US’s trade imbalance with China? Trump would “win” against China.
The jobs loss overseas? Trump will bring them back.
See the world is that simple to fix.
Brian Langis 