Archives for August 2016

Señor … The Check, Por Favor

August 31, 2016 By John DeProspo Leave a Comment

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Political analysts are puzzled. Why would the man who thinks Mexico is the land of criminals, drug dealers and rapists pay a visit to that country? Yes, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto invited Trump to share a margarita or two but what could Trump gain from such a trip?

To astute Trump loyalists, the answer to why Trump headed south of the border is simple. He is there to personally pick up a check from Señor Peña Nieto to build the great border between the two nations.

“There was no way Trump was going to trust Mexico to just mail a check that big,” said Trump supporter, Lester Bailey. “Trump is too smart to let the Mexicans just say the check is in the mail.”

A large number of Trump backers agree with Mr. Bailey.

Of course Mexicans laugh at the notion that they will be footing the bill for any wall built between the neighboring countries.

“I’m not going to pay for that f**king wall! He should pay for it. He’s got the money,” said Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico.

In a recent interview with Mexican newspaper Excelsior, Peña Nieto insisted there was “no scenario” in which Mexico would pay for the border wall Trump has proposed — a statement echoed by the country’s finance minister.

Mexicans, it is fair to say, detest Trump.

A new presidential poll taken in the world’s top 25 nations shows enormous support for Democrat Hillary Clinton, with the biggest gap between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump in Mexico, where she leads 88 percent to 1 percent.

Trump supporters may be disappointed if he does not come back with a cheque grande but no doubt will believe any excuse Trump offers them.

“Oh, he’ll get the check alright,” reasoned Bailey. “Perhaps on the next trip when he brings some of his greasy New York ‘friends’.”

Photo | marcoreport.com

Clinton Finally Finds Trump Stand-In For Debate Prep

August 30, 2016 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

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After much head-scratching, Hillary Clinton has finally found a man who can impersonate her Republican opponent as she prepares for the upcoming presidential debates.

“It wasn’t easy coming up with someone who could mimic the reckless temperament and the hateful instincts and divisive instincts of Donald Trump,” Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook told CNN. But with about one month to go before the first presidential debate, the Clinton camp has struck gold. Who better to imitate the unpredictable Trump than the “Merchant of Venom” himself, Don Rickles?

When a reporter asked “Mr. Warmth” if he was up for this latest gig, Rickles snapped, “Get away from me you hockey puck.”

At 90, Rickles’ mind is still sharp as a tack.

“Let me tell you something, sonny,” Rickles scolded the reporter. “I was insulting the best of them long before you had your first taste of Farina.”

“But what do you really know about presidential politics?” asked the fearless reporter.

“I know more than Trump and look whose the candidate. It ain’t me,” replied Rickles.

“Have we had a guy running for president who knows less than Trump … about anything?” asked Rickles. “You know who would have made a great president? My old friend Frank Sinatra. Now there was one smart burnt calzone.”

Why the Clinton camp didn’t think of hiring Rickles from the get-go seems odd in retrospect.

When told Clinton’s debate prep stand-in would be Don Rickles, Donald Trump smiled and said, “Love Rickles. Now there’s one hell of a man. I grew up watching the guy. I idolized him. Is the old geezer still alive?”

Photo | nypost.com

The President’s Praise of Hillary Well Earned

August 29, 2016 By John DeProspo 1 Comment

During his keynote speech at last month’s Democratic National Convention, President Obama heaped a whole lot of praise on his party’s new presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.

“I can say with confidence,” said the President, “there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.”

Just more campaign hyperbole, right?

No, not really. If you look at Hillary’s resume for the job of next commander in chief, you will realize what Obama said was not idle flattery.

Here is a list of Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments:

First ever student commencement speaker at Wellesley College.
•Intern at the House Republican Conference
•Distinguished graduate of Yale Law School
•Editorial board of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action
•Appointed to Senator Walter Mondale’s Subcommittee on Migratory Labor.
•Co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
•Staff attorney for Children’s Defense Fund
•Faculty member in the School of Law at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
•Former Director of the Arkansas Legal Aid Clinic.
•First female chair of the Legal Services Corporation
•First female partner at Rose Law Firm.
•Former civil litigation attorney.
•Former Law Professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
•Twice listed by The National Law Journal as one of the hundred most influential lawyers in America
•Former First Lady of Arkansas.
•Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983
•Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession
•Twice named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America
•Created Arkansas’s Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth
•Led a task force that reformed Arkansas’s education system
•Instrumental in passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
•Promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses
•Successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health
•Worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War (now recognized as Gulf War Syndrome)
•Helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice
•Initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act
•First FLOTUS in US History to hold a postgraduate degree
•Traveled to 79 countries during time as FLOTUS
•Helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries.
•Served on five Senate committees:
-Committee on Budget (2001–2002)
-Committee on Armed Services (2003–2009)
-Committee on Environment and Public Works (2001–2009)
-Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2001–2009)
-Special Committee on Aging.
•Member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
•Instrumental in securing $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site’s redevelopment
•Leading role in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders.
•In the aftermath of September 11th, she worked closely with her senior Senate counterpart from New York, Sen. Charles Schumer, on securing $21.4 billion in funding for the World Trade Center redevelopment.
• Middle East ceasefire. In November 2012, Secretary of State Clinton brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
•Introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games.
•First ex-FLOTUS in US History to be elected to the United States Senate (and re-elected)
•Two-term New York Senator
•Former US Secretary of State
•GRAMMY Award Winner
•Author

Despite such an impressive resume, Republicans still like to perpetuate the myth that Hillary Clinton is a woman without accomplishments.

If Democrats get their wish, Hillary can add the most groundbreaking achievement yet… first Madam President.

List of accomplishments courtesy of Candace TX of the dailykos.com

Is Trump “Softening” or “Hardening?” Even Melania Doesn’t Know

August 27, 2016 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Trump caused a major uproar earlier this week when he seemed to be backing off on one of his biggest campaign promises – the forced deportation of the approximately 11 illegal immigrants in the United States.

During a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Fox News host, Sean Hannity, asked Trump if he would change current parts of the law to accommodate law-abiding citizens or longtime residents who have raised children in the U.S.

“There could certainly be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people,” Trump answered. “We want people — we have some great people in this country.”

But then two days later, in an interview with CNN’s Andersen Cooper, Trump appeared to deny any “softening.”

Reminded by Cooper of his comments to Hannity, Trump said, “I don’t think it’s a softening, I’ve had people say it’s a hardening, actually.”

Not since the great Lite Beer controversy of the 1970s (“Tastes Great … Less Filling”) has there been such heated debate on a topic of national interest.

In an effort to bring some clarity to the subject, a reporter asked Melania Trump to weigh in on the matter… Is it “softening” or “hardening?”

Too savvy to be tripped up on such a hot topic, Melania replied, “I don’t know. I don’t touch subject.”

Asked to comment on his confusing statements, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, said, “ I am personally going to look into this.”

Perhaps the issue will become clearer in the coming days.

Looks like for now, we may all just have to wait for Trump to reveal himself.

Photo | univision.com

WARNING: Everything I Say Subject To 100% Reversal

August 25, 2016 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

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It seems as if any product you buy these days comes with a warning label. Whether it’s a drug, a children’s toy or a folding chair, warning labels caution us against possible risks associated with the use of a product. For the most part, warning labels are mandated by law to protect the consumer.

Donald Trump should be required by the Federal Election Commission to carry a warning label, or disclaimer, printed conspicuously across his forehead: WARNING: Everything I say is subject to 100% reversal. Anything that comes out of my mouth, which has any relationship to the truth, is purely coincidental.

One of Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises has been his unequivocal, unambiguous forced deportation of the nearly 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

At a primary campaign rally in Iowa on November 12, 2015, Trump could not have been clearer:

“I’m tougher on illegal immigration than anybody. That’s what I’m saying we have to take people that are here illegally and we have to move them out and you know what, it’s going to be done, it’s going to be done, it’s going to work and now even the other candidates are saying, ‘you know what, I think he’s right.’ They don’t know, we have to do it.”

Trump’s tough stance against illegal immigrants was a major draw for the many Republican voters who made him their party’s nominee. They bought into a product (Trump) that called for no amnesty, no pussyfooting, no exceptions and no way Jose.

But now that Trump is his party’s presidential nominee, there is a “softening” (some might say reversal) taking place on his no compromise deportation stance.

During a town hall meeting yesterday hosted by Fox News, Sean Hannity asked Trump if he would change current parts of the law to accommodate law-abiding citizens or longtime residents who have raised children in the U.S.

“There could certainly be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people,” Trump answered. “We want people — we have some great people in this country.”

“So you have somebody who’s been in the country for 20 years, has done a great job, and everything else,” Trump said. “Do we take him and the family and her and him or whatever and send him out?”

How this new kinder, gentler approach resonates with Trump’s diehard supporters remains to be seen.

Trump supporters beware! If Trump can “soften” on something as fundamental to his campaign as mass deportations, nothing Trump says or has said is safe. What’s next – a softening on TPP? Will the huge wall be scaled down to a decorative fence?

Photo| cnn.com

Landlord Trump Just Jacked The Rent

August 24, 2016 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

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Jimmy McMillan, the legendary Brooklyn, New York political activist is incensed. After hearing Donald Trump raised the Trump Tower rent he is charging his own political campaign by a whopping 500%, the founder of the Rent is Too Damn High Party could not contain himself.

“This is an outrage, a travesty, a bamboozling, a miscarriage of justice,” said the one time karate expert, Vietnam veteran, postal worker, stripper, private investigator and perennial candidate.

“It’s immoral and illegal, 500% increase? Man, the rent is too damn high!” said Mr. McMillan.

New filings with the Federal Election Commission found that the amount of rent Trump’s presidential campaign pays to Trump Tower Commercial LLC, the owner of the building that houses his campaign headquarters, has risen steadily since April.

A rent of $35,457 this April has increased to a staggering $169,758 this past July.

The dramatic increase in rent coincides with Trump’s new reliance on fund raising to pay campaign expenses. According to a Huffington Post review of FEC filings, Trump more than quadrupled the monthly rent his presidential campaign pays for its headquarters at Trump Tower to $169,758 in July, when he was raising funds from donors, compared with March, when he was self-funding his campaign. The rent jumped even though he was paying fewer staff in July than he did in March.

What Trump is doing may be shady but perfectly legal. Some are saying this is just another Trump scam to fleece his gullible supporters; just another way for Trump to profit from his own presidential campaign.

“If I was a donor, I’d want answers,” a Republican National Committee member told HuffPost on condition of anonymity. “If they don’t have any more staff, and they’re paying five times more? That’s the kind of stuff I’d read and try to make an (attack) ad out of it.”

When Mr. McMillan was informed Trump’s rent increase was legit, he still wasn’t having any of it.

“ We like rent increases to be in the 2-3% range. 500% is untenable, unconscionable, untoward, un-American and unholy!” said the man who had contemplated a presidential run of his own for 2016.

Photo | twitchy.com

Republican Lives Matter

August 23, 2016 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

With a loose cannon reality TV star as their presidential nominee, many Republicans are feeling the “Trump Effect” … and they are not liking it.

The once great Party of Lincoln is down in the dumps, worried about its continued survival. Republicans are bracing themselves for a November tsunami that could cost them not only the White House and Congress, but also their very existence.

It is hard not to feel sorry for the party elders. They have witnessed the hijacking of their beloved party – in broad daylight – by a buffoon supported by a majority of Republican voters. They have lost control of their source of power – without one shot being fired – by a con man that has fueled hatred against them, the power elite.

The sad fact is that because of the rise of Trump, Republicans have lost respect in the eyes of many and are now the laughingstock of developed nations throughout the world.

What is most difficult to witness are GOP regulars jumping ship. Yes, they console themselves, our nominee may sink in November but we are not going down with the USS Trumpanic. So sad, really.

With each passing day we have one more prominent Republican trying to regain some measure of self-respect by distancing himself from his own party’s nominee.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and one-time rumored running mate for Trump, said after the Orlando shooting, “I continue to be discouraged by the direction of the campaign and the comments that are made.” He continued, “And I did not think yesterday’s speech was the type of speech that one would give who wants to lead this country through difficult times.”

“Discouraged” is perhaps the best word to describe the former custodians of the GOP. The sense of powerlessness they undoubtedly feel must be so difficult to bear.

Democrats should not rejoice in this existential moment for their longtime rival. They must understand that the GOP deserves love and respect even in this darkest of hours.

What makes America great is its diversity. Our nation works best with a functioning two-party system, one which has existed since George Washington left office. The two parties in the system have changed occasionally — the Federalists, the Anti-Federalists, the Whigs — but the two-party system has remained.

No, Democrats, do not take pleasure in the current upheaval within the GOP. Remember … Republican Lives Matter.

Photo | realitychex.com

2016 … The Year Of Presidential Firsts

August 22, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

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While things have not been looking rosy for Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, 2016 promises to be a year loaded with political firsts no matter who ends up occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Of course, if Hillary Clinton wins in November, she would be the first female president. She would end a nearly 230-year streak of men as commander in chief and America would finally join a growing group of nations that have had a woman at the top.

Just as interesting, a Hillary win would give our nation its first male “First Lady.” No one really knows what Bill Clinton would want to be called if he makes his way back to the White House, but he has jokingly suggested, “First Lad” or “First Mate.” Or he just might take a page from the Sarah Palin playbook when, as Governor of Alaska, she often referred to her husband as Alaska’s “First Dude.”

If Trump can parlay his incredible run in the Republican primary to the Oval Office, he would become the first billionaire president. Of course, without Trump revealing his tax returns, we have no way of knowing if the billions Trump talks about are assets or liabilities.

But the most interesting political firsts would come if Melania Trump becomes our nation’s next First Lady.

Melania Trump would be the first First Lady born and raised in a former communist country, Yugoslavia. She would also be only the second First Lady born outside the United States, the first being Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, who was born in England.

Melania would also be the first First Lady who is the third wife of a President.

But strangely enough, she would not be the first First Lady to have worked as a model. Pat Nixon did so, on and off, in New York and Los Angeles before her marriage to Tricky Dick. Betty Ford, before marrying our 38^th president, Gerald Ford, was contracted as a professional runway and print ad model in New York.

Though Melania would become the country’s third First Lady model, she would be the first to have posed in the nude.

And just now, to the shock of some, it is being reported that Melania worked as a high priced “escort” for the few years she lived in the U.S. before she met Trump … not that there’s anything wrong with that! How a woman chooses to support herself is nobody’s business but hers.

Our founding fathers were wise men. There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents a “sex worker” from assuming the title of First Lady.

Photos | theweeklyobserver.com, washingtontimes.com

Trump, 70, Subtly Plays the Age Card Against Frail Hillary, 68

August 20, 2016 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

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Recently, a new issue has been raised by the Trump camp … Hillary Clinton’s mental and physical strength (more precisely, the lack thereof) to be our nation’s next commander in chief. Trump and his surrogates are all over the airwaves questioning Clinton’s stamina. Of course, this is a subtle way of saying Hillary’s too old for the presidency.

“To defeat crime and radical Islamic terrorism in our country, to win trade in our country, you need tremendous physical and mental strength and stamina,” said Trump recently in Wisconsin. “Hillary Clinton doesn’t have that strength and stamina.”

Trump, who would be the oldest first-term president if elected, is questioning the energy and endurance of a woman who withstood an 11-hour inquisition by a Congressional panel investigating her role in the Benghazi tragedy. How laughable!

What about Trump’s health?

Well, we have the brilliant, but also risible, medical opinion of Trump’s personal physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, who has stated, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”

But surely Hillary Clinton is hiding something about her mental and physical condition, say conservative conspiracy theorists. Is she mentally disturbed, unhinged, unbalanced or even incontinent?

Trump and his handlers know full well that if doubts about Clinton’s health are just vocalized, they will be believed by his gullible followers. And by questioning Hillary’s physical strength and stamina, they get a gender-age twofer, all for the price of one.

Here is Dr. Lisa Bardack’s statement regarding the health of her patient, Hillary Clinton, and the controversy surrounding “leaked” medical records:

“As Secretary Clinton’s long time physician, I released a medical statement during the campaign indicating that she is in excellent health. I have recently been made aware of allegedly ‘leaked’ medical documents regarding Secretary Clinton with my name on them. These documents are false, were not written by me and are not based on any medical facts. To reiterate what I said in my previous statement, Secretary Clinton is in excellent health and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

Will it be long before a congressional committee starts investigating the latest Clinton scandal … Dependsgate?

Photo | blackbag.gawker.com

The Final Piece Of The Puzzle… Trump Joins Forces With Ailes And Bannon

August 18, 2016 By John DeProspo Leave a Comment

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Another day, another shake up at Trump headquarters. This latest reshuffling by Trump, however, finally wipes away any doubt about his intention of ever securing the White House. The end game has been revealed.

Ever since he became the Republican presidential nominee, the talk has been about Trump acting more presidential; about pivoting from the divisive primary campaign rhetoric to a more inclusive general election mode. As we all know, the turnaround never came. Talk swirled that Trump was deliberately sabotaging his election chances.

And now we have the hiring of Stephen Bannon, chairman of the Breitbart News website, as Trump’s new campaign manager. This coming only one day after announcing Roger Ailes, former head of Fox News, as a campaign “advisor.”

Most people are familiar with Fox News, otherwise known as the official Republican propaganda network for the past twenty years. But not many people know of Breitbart News, a right wing online website founded in 2007. Making no apologies for its conservative, fringe worldview, it attacks establishment opponents (both Democratic and Republican) and traffics in conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats — as well as some Republicans it views as the enemy.

Think of Breitbart News as Fox News on steroids.

Trump joining forces with Bannon and Ailes is a marriage made in conservative media heaven. It all makes so much sense!

“Talk radio, Fox News and the conservative web sites created space for an outsider like Trump to storm the GOP citadel,” Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times columnist, told CNNMoney. “Now Trump, having tried — not very hard — to kiss and make up with the GOP establishment seems to be reverting to the media guerrillas who initially gave him the microphone and the push he needed.”

The much longed for Trump pivot has finally come, but it is not what establishment Republicans had hoped for. Look for Trump, under the tutelage of Bannon and Ailes, to become even more harsh and divisive. The hope will be to lose the presidential election, blame it on “the establishment” for rigging the election process, while building up Trump’s base of mostly angry white working class voters.

This strategy will supply the viewership base needed to give flight to a new conservative media empire controlled by Trump and his two associates. A truly brilliant move on the Donald’s part! People have said Trump has always wanted to be a media mogul like Rupert Murdoch.

Watch out, Fox News, your days of cable dominance may be numbered.

Photos | variety.com, thinkprogress.com, nbcnews.com