The Daily Nooze

"All the news we deem fit to print"

You are here: Home / Archives for John DeProspo

10 Ways The Coronavirus Outbreak Has Changed The Way We Think About Things

By Leave a Comment

Now that the country is in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, our ways of thinking about things is changing. Here are 10 things we never really thought about before:

  1. Snagging that last package of toilet paper off the shelf can feel like hitting the jackpot
  2. Acquiring a whole new appreciation for the shelf-life of canned tuna 
  3. Seeing how impossible it is to live without sports on TV
  4. Realizing how much money can be saved not eating out
  5. Understanding money can’t save you from an equal opportunity virus
  6. Learning that checking our 401(k)s on a daily basis is a terrible idea
  7. Finding out how hard it is not to touch your face
  8. Discovering a handshake could be lethal
  9. Reaching a point were paying $200 for a bottle of hand sanitizer doesn’t seem outrageous
  10. Concluding we need to rally together as one American family in order to defeat this deadly threat

Stay home. Keep smiling. Practice good hand hygiene. Take social distancing seriously. And listen to the experts!

Photo | lowes.com

No, God Is Not Punishing Us With Coronavirus Because Of Gay Marriage

By 2 Comments

Now that we are in the midst of an alarming pandemic, many are wondering why God would do this to us … why now? We’ve been good, haven’t we?

Yes, there were times in the past when we deserved divine retribution. Floods, plagues and the deaths of our firstborn were ways by which God punished us for our evil ways.

Now, according to some men of the cloth, God is punishing us with the coronavirus because of gay marriage … and abortion rights.

Tennessee preacher Perry Stone suggested that the spread of the coronavirus was a response to the legalization of the “abomination” of equal marriage and abortion.

“So why is there a reckoning? I’m gonna explain it in these simple terms. There’s a reckoning because the courts of the land passed a law to take an infant’s life… and for marriage, that we have known it, to be changed into something we’ve never known,” said Stone.

I am not a preacher nor claim to be a religious scholar, but I’m suggesting God is punishing us with this vicious virus because we had the audacity to elect Donald Trump president.

I think the Lord became doubly upset when 52 Republican senators refused to do their sworn Constitutional duty and remove Trump from office.

Has there ever been a leader, like Trump, who is the walking embodiment of the seven deadly sins … pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, and wrath?

God is probably also ticked off that so many of his children are worshipping at the feet of Donald J. Trump. Have they forgotten their Ten Commandments? Specifically, God’s first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me”?

I fear we will not get over this fast-moving pandemic until the false idol, Trump, is removed from office. Until we are back to God’s good graces, I do not see an end to the needless suffering and death.

I must confess I attended religious instruction, religiously, as a youngster. So, I know a thing or two about how vindictive God can be.

Photo | abcnews.go.com

Markets Rise Dramatically Following Trump’s Sudden Resignation

By 3 Comments

Reprint from moronmajority.com

The Dow Industrial Average gained a staggering 9,000 points following the unexpected White House announcement Trump has resigned the presidency. Stocks recovered nearly all their recent losses since setting their all-time high of 29,551.42 on February 12, 2020.

In a tweet, Trump indicated he made the move because he felt it to be in the best interests of the country:

I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States. For the good of the country, the office will now be in the capable hands of President Mike Pence and his awesome pardoning powers.

This is indeed an ironic turn following Trump’s often repeated prediction the markets would “crash” if he were ever to be removed from office.

It was only six months ago Trump boasted in a tweet, “Do you think it was luck that got us to the best Stock Market and Economy in our history. It wasn’t.”

 My, oh my, how things can turn on a dime!

The soon-to-be-president Pence has yet to comment on the dramatic turn of events. It appears the announcement caught him, as it did all Americans, by surprise.

“I had no forewarning … really, I mean it,” said Pence.

Speculation is already rampant of what a Pence presidency, and Kushner vice presidency, will look like.

Photo | slopes.com/AP-Evan Vucci

Warning – this could be “fake” nooze

Coronavirus Proves Highly Resistant To Political Spin

By 2 Comments

Donald Trump knows only one way of handling a vexing problem … to knowingly downplay the situation and offer an alternative, biased interpretation of the “facts” in order to sway public opinion in his direction.

And so it was with the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Trump went from claiming the Democrats were making the coronavirus “their new hoax” to saying “it will go away.”

As the outbreak was worsening, Trump kept downplaying the potential for the virus to spread throughout the U.S., even suggesting without scientific evidence, that the number of cases would soon decrease.

At a news conference only 10 days ago, Trump said the number of cases “within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. That’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”

“We’re going very substantially down, not up,” Trump added.

Of course, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. The number of confirmed infections, and deaths, only continues to increase.

As one might expect, and surveys bear out, Democrats take the gravity of this pandemic more seriously than do Republicans.

And, according to Jennifer Rubin, Republicans are doing so at their own peril.

Appearing on MSNBC’s “AM Joy”, the Washington Post conservative columnist said the daily drumbeat of misinformation coming from the White House and Fox News that has downplayed the coronavirus pandemic will likely lead to more deaths among Republicans than Democrats.

Taking aim at the Fox News propaganda machine, Rubin offered, “Here is a particular cruelty/irony that it is their core viewers, the Republican older viewers, who are the most at risk. And when you think about it, which party immediately canceled all of their rallies? Which party immediately started having their political figures really portray and use their lies as an example? It was the Democrats.”

Some may cynically wonder if this isn’t just another example of Darwin’s theory of evolution (survival of the fittest).

No matter how much Trump and his sycophants wish otherwise, the coronavirus pandemic is here; it is spreading. And like gravity, it’s a fact that can not be politically spun.

Photo | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Could Trump Cancel 2020 Elections?

By 3 Comments

As the coronavirus outbreak worsens, could the 2020 elections be at risk? Can they be cancelled just like the NCAA today scrubbed its basketball tournament?

What if Trump declares a state of emergency and orders that elections be postponed to a later date?

Not possible you say? Think again.

The truth is we are in uncharted territory. 

While it’s nice to think our laws and institutions protect us from a dangerous president and that a lawless chief executive can only do so much without bumping up against the limits set by the Constitution and Congress (and enforced by the courts), that just might not be the case.

Did you know the moment the president declares a “national emergency”—a decision that is entirely within his discretion—more than 100 special provisions become available to him? 

While many of those concessions are geared to reasonable responses to genuine emergencies, some appear dangerously suited to a president eager to amass or retain power. 

As Elizabeth Goitein writes in The Atlantic, “This edifice of extraordinary powers has historically rested on the assumption that the president will act in the country’s best interest when using them. With a handful of noteworthy exceptions, this assumption has held up. But what if a president, backed into a corner and facing electoral defeat or impeachment, were to declare an emergency for the sake of holding on to power? In that scenario, our laws and institutions might not save us from a presidential power grab. They might be what takes us down.”

The coronavirus pandemic has the potential of turning into a catastrophe the likes of which our country, and the world, has never seen… and a golden opportunity for Trump to remain in power until he declares the “emergency” over.

I fear the odds of Trump taking such drastic action will only increase as his odds of winning reelection decrease.

If we’ve learned anything by now it’s that Trump … and his Republican enablers … have total disdain for our Constitution and the rule of law.

The scary part is that, historically, the Supreme Court has often upheld declarations of “national emergency” or found ways to avoid reviewing them, at least while the crisis still remained.

Uncharted territory indeed!

Photo | wsj.com

What People Liked Most About Bloomberg Was The Idea Of Bloomberg

By 4 Comments

Oh, if only Mike had not found his way onto that February 19 Democratic debate stage!

The former New York mayor’s strategy of saturating the airwaves with his political ads was working like a charm. He was well positioned to be the “moderate” alternative to the “radical” Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden was fast sinking into “afterthought” status.

But in that infamous February 19 debate, Mike Bloomberg proved you can create buzz for a product with countless, well-made ads but you ultimately have to deliver the goods. To say Bloomberg underwhelmed during his first appearance in a Democratic presidential debate would be putting it mildly. He was eviscerated by fellow candidate Elizabeth Warren and his performance was universally panned by political analysts.

Now that Bloomberg has withdrawn from the Democratic presidential race after a disastrous showing in the Super Tuesday primaries, some people are trying to wrap their heads around how someone who looked so formidable … who spent half a billion dollars on a political campaign … could not end up with the brass ring.

It seems clear that what people liked most about Mike Bloomberg was the “idea” of Mike Bloomberg. They liked his ads.

Here was a guy whose stated goal was to do whatever it took to defeat Donald Trump. If that meant spending a cool billion or two of his own money, Mike was the man.  People liked the prospect of a real billionaire who could outspend a fake billionaire and his Republican Party.

Democrats thought if supporting a billionaire was the price to pay for kicking Trump out of office, they were willing to set aside their hatred of big money in politics and go with Mike. Some pre-Bloomberg-debate polls even showed he had the best chance to defeating Trump.

Yes, he was a fat cat willing to spend an obscene amount of money but he would also be the one to save the country from another four years of Trump.

But then it came time for Bloomberg to back up his ad blitz with a solid debate performance.

It didn’t happen. Not in his first debate nor in his second.

Say what you will about Bloomberg … that he wasted his money on a vanity campaign. The truth is his hard-hitting ads did real damage to Trump and he succeeded (for better or worse) in steering the Democratic Party back into the arms of the Party establishment by making Joe Biden the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

Photo | floridapolitics.com

And You Wonder How A Donald Trump Could Get Elected?

By 4 Comments

Let’s face it.  Americans just aren’t as sharp as they used to be.

Perhaps after years of cutting school funding, and the homeschooling craze, the nation is now reaping its tragic, yet predictable, rewards.

According to a recent survey of beer drinkers, Foxbusiness.com is reporting that nearly 40% said they are avoiding drinking Corona beer over fears of the coronavirus!

Over the past few weeks, there has been an uptick in Google searches for “corona beer virus” and “beer coronavirus,” according to SEMrush, a trends data provider.

In related news, the stock price of Constellation Brands Inc., maker of Corona beer, is taking a major hit over the obvious confusion.

And now, some erstwhile, unemployed satirist is wondering how long it will take for Donald Trump to blame the coronavirus on Mexico and call for a complete boycott of all Mexican products until this “whole Corona virus thing is sorted out.”

Did you know that in a recent survey 4 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds said they actually believe the world is flat; 9 percent said they had always believed the world was round but were recently having doubts, 5 percent said they had always believed the world was flat but were becoming skeptical of that conclusion and 16 percent just weren’t sure!

American exceptionalism!

Photo | parley.tv

Maybe Trump And The Kremlin Are Betting On The Wrong Horse?

By 1 Comment

We found out last week Russia is at it again … interfering in our upcoming elections. U.S. intelligence agencies not only warned that Russia is trying to get Trump reelected, they are also trying to swing the Democratic presidential nomination to Bernie Sanders.

For his part, Trump appears to agree with his Russian handlers. He seems to want to face off against Bernie, the democratic socialist, in November.

“Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates,” Trump tweeted last Saturday. “Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!”

The thinking is simple. Once Bernie becomes the Democratic nominee, both Trump and Putin’s cyber-warfare machine will smear him as a dangerous socialist, a Marxist, a Castro sympathizer. Funny how all this election interference is being brought to you by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics!

However, a close look at Sanders’ landslide victory in Nevada should give both Trump and Putin pause. Bernie won with an amazing across-the-board coalition … “men and women, whites and Latinos, voters 17-29, 30-44 and 45-65, those with college degrees and those without, liberal Democrats (by a lot) and moderate/conservatives (narrowly), union and non-union households.” 

Yet the Democratic establishment is fearful of a Sanders candidacy. How could a socialist win the presidency, even against a complete horror show like Trump, they worry? But for all the concern over Bernie’s “radicalism,” are his signature policies such as a national healthcare program, a living wage, free public college education, and a serious green energy investment plan really that far out of the mainstream?

As Nathan Robinson of the Guardian writes, “It’s shocking that there is such opposition to such sensible plans. On what planet are these things so politically toxic that Democrats are afraid to run on them? Voters like these ideas, and so long as Democrats unify behind Bernie rather than continuing to try to tear him down, they will have a very good shot at defeating a radical and unhinged president like Donald Trump.”

I am certain Democrats will rally around whoever is their presidential nominee. But if it looks like the Democratic Party establishment is trying to tip the scales against a Sanders nomination, you can be sure of two things … a civil war within the Party, and another four years of Trump.

Don and Vlad, be careful what you wish for.

Photo | abcnews.go.com

Why Bloomberg’s Pitiful Performance In Vegas Might Prove He Made The Wrong Bet

By 2 Comments

Mike Bloomberg, the former Republican, had a simple plan for becoming the Democratic presidential nominee … he’d just buy the nomination.

With his vast fortune, he would overwhelm his rivals with “saturation advertising.” He would not have to bother campaigning in the early primary and caucus states. The refined New York billionaire just isn’t another one of your Iowa corn-dog-eating politicians!

And for a while, the strategy was working. Bloomberg went from nowhere in the charts to second or third in some presidential polls.

But then came the moment he had to step out from behind his curtain of megabucks and onto the Las Vegas debate stage.

To say the billionaire was underwhelming, and showed major unpreparedness, would be putting it mildly.

Bloomberg was attacked from all sides with questions about his past that were so obvious you didn’t need to be a political strategist to predict them. He was hammered most effectively by Elizabeth Warren. She pounded him from the get-go with this classic burn, “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”

Bloomberg has staked his run for the presidency on his sincere, intense desire to beat Trump in November. “The stakes could not be higher, we must win this election,” said Bloomberg. He called Trump an “existential threat to our country.”

It does not appear, however, that his effort to do so by trying to win (buy) the Democratic nomination was the way to go.

A better bet for ousting Trump would have been for Bloomberg  to run as a Republican – the party affiliation he had as Mayor of New York City. While he probably would not have beaten Trump for the party’s nomination, history has shown that incumbent presidents who face strong primary challenges are severely weakened by them. 

Did Bloomberg really think he could skate to the Democratic nomination by flooding the airwaves with ads bought by an unlimited reservoir of cash … what Democrats hate most about our post-Citizens United political landscape?

Okay, it’s only Bloomberg’s first debate and who watches them anyway? He might get better. His ad blitz is still effective.

But after his dreadful performance in Las Vegas, the belief that Bloomberg is the most likely Democrat to save us from another four years of Trump is seriously in doubt.

Photo | AP/John Locher

Trump’s Support For Bernie Is A Win-Win … For Trump

By 2 Comments

Donald Trump wants to run against Bernie Sanders. How do we know? Just consider what he said last week during an Oval Office rant. “Frankly, I would rather run against Bloomberg than Bernie Sanders,” Trump told reporters, “because Sanders has real followers, whether you like them or not, whether you agree with them or not — I happen to think it’s terrible what [Sanders] says.”

For anyone who’s been following Trump’s pronouncements, you know he usually says the opposite of what he truly believes. So, Trump wants to run against Bernie Sanders, not Mike Bloomberg. Unlike Trump, Bloomberg is a real self-made billionaire who could, and would, outspend him big time. He has stated he is willing to “spend whatever it takes” to defeat Trump. This is very appealing to many Democratic voters.

You just know Trump is salivating at the chance of running against a self-described democratic socialist. The word “socialist” is such a toxic, and misunderstood, word, that many political pundits do not think it would play well with swing voters in crucial states that would reject the radicalism of Sanders’ background and ideas.

So, in Trump’s mind, he gets re-elected if Sanders is the Democratic nominee. A win.

Then there’s this pro-Bernie tweet today:

The Crooked DNC is working overtime to take the Democrat Nomination away from Bernie, AGAIN! Watch what happens to the Super Delegates in Round Two. A Rigged Convention!

Like his own cultish followers, Trump knows Bernie supporters are fiercely loyal. If there is a brokered convention, which looks quite possible, and it appears to Sanders’ die-hard army of supporters that they have been cheated out of the nomination by the Democratic establishment … again … many will protest by not voting for the eventual nominee.

You could call it the ultimate voter suppression … but totally legal and brought to you courtesy of the Democratic Party.

So, in Trump’s calculation, if a good chunk of Bernie backers stay home and do not vote for the Democratic nominee, or vote for a third-party candidate …. like last time … again he wins.

There you have it. Whether or not Bernie is the Democratic presidential nominee, it’s a win-win … for Trump.

Photo | commondreams.org

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.