"A Miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue"

My Blog readers know my site has been silent for some time. On August 27th my wife Peggy had a significant stroke (the night after my last post), and my life since then has been consumed with her recovery. Stroke recovery takes patience and good therapists, and I am pleased to say she continues to improve and hopefully will be coming home in a few weeks.

After this historical election I wanted to post a Blog, but just do not have the time. But a friend of mine sent me this after I asked him to be a guest Blogger.

By Robert Catalano

A Miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue:

On this day following Donald Trump's election to President of the United States, the tone of the nation reported through the usual media outlets is shock and disbelief.  The questions being asked around the opinion tables at CNN, that bastion of liberal political opinion disguised as real news and other mainstream media outlets, are beside themselves with shock.

This was not supposed to happen with Hillary Clinton leading in the major polls by as much as ten or more points for a while.  Donald Trump seemed to be making a fool of himself during the debates against Hillary and the Clinton campaign was into a major smear campaign against him.  Some media outlets were anticipating that Trump would undoubtedly drop out of the race with all of the baggage being reported against him.  Even the Republican establishment in Washington D.C. was pulling their endorsements and making statements that Trump was not electable.

What Donald Trump's opposition failed to recognize was the American people have had enough ultra-liberalism.  Four or eight more years of the same policies expressed by Obama through Hillary Clinton were unacceptable.  That factor coupled with the revelations about Hillary Clinton's disingenuous personality, consistent pattern of lying, the Clinton family pay-to-play schemes and the email scandal that she was unable to talk her way out of, sunk the Clinton ship. So in some ways it was not how well Trump performed, but how poorly Hillary and her campaign performed.

The media outlets appear to be in a dither now with the talking heads asking questions about Trump's plans for running the nation.  They must be in such shock that they are unable to remember Trumps campaign statements.  The essence of his plan has been reported to run our government like a business with key people in important positions.  He has promised to provide national governance that benefits our nation rather than the special interests that comprise the majority of the Democratic Party.

The future of America that our children and grandchildren will face is looking brighter today and looking forward, it is now all up to President-elect Donald Trump.

"Bottom Feeders"

Everyone predicted this would be a nasty campaign between Clinton and Trump and here we are before Labor Day and the campaigns have already moved down into the sewer with false comments and accusations that have nothing to do with programs or policies that might convince Americans to vote for them.

Trump calls Hillary a 'bigot' because of the Democratic party's treatment of minorities (especially blacks), by essentially "keeping them on the plantation' and dependent on the democratic entitlement policies. Hillary accuses Trump of being a 'racist', even putting out a video with a Ku Klux Clan member saying he supports Donald Trump and by insinuation labeling all Republicans as 'racists'; if Trump could get a communist to say he supports Hillary, would that make her and all Democrats 'communists'?  It's political bottom feeding at its worse.

It's disgusting on both sides:

From day-to-day it is hard to tell what Trump's policies are and they keep changing.  He makes a good speech then falls on his sword the next day and makes a completely stupid comment. I'm sure his handlers are frustrated because how do you make the 'Tasmanian Devil' a boring, disciplined politician like Hillary. But I don't think his passionate supporters will change their opinion of him.

And from day-to-day more and more information and emails keep coming out further showing what a corrupt politician and liar Hillary Clinton is (and has been). I am sure the Clinton campaign is in a frantic attack mode to do whatever they can to deflect the daily 'email' news away from all this corruption and towards the Trump campaign. But I also don't think her passionate supporters will change their position, and a complicit liberal main stream media has been highly effective in protecting her from close scrutiny while demonizing Donald Trump.

If this election were not so serious it would be funny to watch, but unfortunately it has turned in to a reality show and I am embarrassed to be a serious American voter. How the hell did we ever wind up with these two losers?

Having called them both 'losers', I believe that no intelligent person could vote for Hillary Clinton, who is indisputably the most corrupt and dishonest person we have ever considered as a presidential candidate. But...I guess you could say no intelligent person could vote for Donald Trump. Someone said recently voting in this election is like trying to decide whether to cut off your left or right arm.

But here is how I look at it - there is a chance Trump could be a good president, a chance he could be an average president, a chance he could be a mediocre president, and a chance he could be a bad president. But I believe he would appoint conservative or moderate Supreme Court judges and at least keep the Court in balance.

I believe there is a 100% chance Hillary Clinton will be a bad, corrupt President who cares about nothing but herself and not the American people. It is fitting that she wants to follow in Obama's footsteps who has been the same kind of President. But more importantly, she will appoint far left Supreme Court judges that could change this into another socialist country, which we might never recover from.

Maybe Julian Assange of Wikileaks will drop a 'Hillary bombshell' in November and solve the problem for all of us.

"Truth - sooner or later"

Someone once said that sooner or later no matter how much effort is put into covering the truth it always rises to the surface.

This election campaign is becoming more fun as we go along.  By all rights, after all of Trump's stupid comments and the fact that the media gives him 95% of the negative attention, Hillary Clinton should be running away with this election. I read today that after Trump's comment about gun rights last night, today's media devoted 15 times more negative reporting compared to Hillary. And this is after Judicial Watch was able to secure more emails exposing the 'pay to play' Clinton crime family operation. And yet the liberal media hardly covered it.

Today Julian Assange of Wikileaks in an interview with Netherlands TV 'hinted' that Seth Rich the DNC staffer murdered last month in DC might have been one of his sources. He did not say he thought Seth was murdered because he WAS a source, but said "Some sources take great risks".  Rich was shot twice in the back and his murder was listed as a 'possible burglary' although his wallet and cell phone were not taken.  Hmm...shades of Vince Foster.

Hillary's campaign has said that all these recent 'pay to play' emails released were between her staffers and Clinton Foundation staffers and she was not involved....right. These slimy Clintons keep denying, denying but sooner or later the truth will come out.

Why would Hillary wipe her server clean of 33,000 so-called personal emails? Why not just delete them like we all do, even knowing they still stay in memory. Ask yourself that question.  She says they were all personal; organizing Chelsea's wedding; scheduling her Yoga classes, etc. I can see where a lot of the emails had to do with such a magnificent wedding, after all it was the King and Queen of American politics and the wedding of their Princess Chelsea. And I guess you can spend a lot of time on email scheduling your Yoga classes, she certainly must have spent a lot of time on the internet trying to find XXL yoga pants. But ask yourself again, why wipe the server clean?...I think we all know why.

So strap in your seat belt this could be quite an election season. No one gives Trump a chance but what if Wikileaks or some other hacker releases some or all of those 33,000 emails and exposes the truth? How exciting this election could become. But don't count on the main stream liberal media, they are in the tank and will do whatever they can to cover the truth about Hillary. But truth sooner or later...

"The Folks v the Establishment"

This is a historic election in many ways. I cannot remember a time when the Democrats, the sitting President, the liberal main stream media, and the Republican establishment have all teamed up against an outsider who broke through the system, beat 16 opponents during the Republican primary and now has the political and media establishment in full attack mode against him. Are they worried?

Donald trump brings a lot of this on himself. The Khan speech during the Democratic convention was a classic scripted presentation to bait Trump. The Khans were very believable, and how could you not sympathize with them losing their son in Iraq, a captain in the military and a bronze star hero. But unfortunately the heart breaking story they told during the convention turned into an attack on Trump by the father, which was obviously scripted; it was a classic Democratic tactic. And Trump took the bait. He should have praised the family, and then just said that he didn't think their comments about him were fair.

During the Republican convention the mother of one of the CIA agents killed in Benghazi told the story about Hillary lying to her. The father of another agent killed during the attack confirmed it during later press interviews; he even had notes made on the spot proving that Hillary said "The attack was due to the video and we are going to put the man that made it in jail", this was after she had told her daughter and the president of Egypt it was a terrorist attack. The mother's speech got almost no attention from the media, while the Khan speech and Trumps response received 50 times the coverage. The message - Trump took the bait and the liberal media jumped. Hillary was smart by only saying; "The mother and father of the slain Benghazi heroes get my full sympathy, but they just misunderstood what I said", a complete lie, but the media bought it and the story was buried.

What makes this election historic is how Trump might possibly win with these 'headwinds' from every corner of the political and media establishment. When our President gets up in a nationally televised press conference with a foreign leader, and tells the Republican establishment not to support Donald Trump, that is unprecedented for a sitting chief executive, but it is not surprising coming from a despicable, classless, narcissist who cares about nothing but protecting his legacy because he knows Trump might destroy it.

No one really gives this outsider Trump a chance, but if somehow he does win, it will be a remarkable victory for the 'folks' and a finger in the eye of the establishment across the board, and could result in profound changes in our political system and media coverage. If he does not win, he will just become a blip in history along with Bernie Sanders and proof that Washington really does control all aspects of the political and media establishment in this country.  

"Passion"

Passion....or lack of it clearly describes the attitudes of voters this election. Donald Trump has passionate followers and no one will ever change their mind. He also has a large segment of the voting public that passionately would NEVER vote for him no matter who he is running against. And that says a lot since he is running against a serial criminal, yet the experts say he will lose in November.

Hillary is also facing head winds in the November election and there is not so much passion involved with her supporters. Like Trump there is also a large segment of the voting public that would NEVER vote for Hillary Clinton and plan to hold their nose and vote for Trump or not vote. On the support side I don't see much 'passion'; ask yourself how many people you have seen that passionately want Hillary to be President, many of her supporters just don't like Trump. I have a son who hates Trump and even jokes (I think) about moving to Canada if Trump is elected. I asked him what he was going to do if Hillary is elected, his response: "So what if we have another crook in the White House, that's not unusual". How's that for a ringing endorsement of Hillary.

Hillary's advantage is the entitlement society; millions rely on government assistance in the form of food stamps, welfare, housing assistance, Obamacare subsidies, free cell phone assistance...it is endless, and these folks will never vote for a Donald Trump or any other 'pro work' President. I'm not saying there are folks that don't need assistance, of course there are, but in my opinion not in the numbers on the government dole right now.

The Republican Convention was not filled with a lot of passion, although Rudy gave it a good shot. But it was a good convention in my opinion, the Cruz dust up and the Melania accusation of plagiarism were just speed bumps, but contrary to the liberal media calling it a food fight, I liked the many speakers and the message. In my opinion the story of the convention was Trump's family, especially his kids; what an impressive group. There is an old saying; "You cannot fake good kids"; they were intelligent, great speakers, classy, and not pretentious in any way. If Trump is smart he will have them all on the road during his campaign.

Mike Pence was a safe choice for Trump and adds the political experience needed. Today Hillary announced her VP choice; Senator Tim Kaine. When it comes to 'passion' I would color Pence gray and I would color Kain gray; so we have 'gray squared' VP candidates...plan on dinner out for the VP debate.

So now we go to the Democratic Convention where as one pundit described it "They will try to tear the skin off Donald Trump", and why not, that is what this bullshit we call politics is all about.    

Madam "Bobble head"

Bernie Sanders' speech endorsing Hillary in New Hampshire yesterday was a sight to watch. It was sad to see Bernie become such a political prostitute; I lost what little respect I had for him. And watching him go on about 'income inequality' with Hillary standing behind him; yes the same Hillary that made over $21 million the past several years making speeches to Wall Street and foreign entities jostling for future favors in her administration.

If you haven't seen his endorsement speech, check it out on You Tube. She stood behind Bernie with that Clinton smirk on her face and nodding 'yes' at every far left point he made. Someone actually counted the nods and they totaled over 400 during the Crazy Uncle's speech. A "bobble head" doll would have been envious.

Watching her with that smirk on her face I could imagine what she was thinking:  "You suckers thought I would be indicted but us Clintons can always slither out of these minor criminal acts...ha ha. And now Bernie is endorsing me, so I will go along with his program just to get votes from his followers. But when I get elected I will drop this crazy old man and his followers like a cheap pantsuit. I will never abandon those Wall Street and other major donors that I owe favors". 

This election season is depressing for many of us especially watching the blatant corruption shown by Obama, Hillary, Bill, Loretta Lynch, and even FBI Director Comey who after giving Hillary a 'get out of jail card', admitted to Congress the following day that she lied under oath many times, tried to hide emails, kept an unsecured server in her home, and was guilty of gross carelessness. This whole corrupt Obama administration has proven one thing - people thought the system was rigged in Hillary's favor and they were proven to be correct. Let's hope the voters will have the final say this November and sent this serial criminal in pantsuits packing and out of our lives.

"Brexit Analysis"

Those that have nothing else to do and read this Blog know that I am an expert on just about everything...especially if I have had a martini.

So let's analyze the implications of "Brexit" which is the majority vote of citizens of Great Britain to tell the EU to "stuff it" and Britain will again become a sovereign country. They will control their own borders and immigration, decide upon their own business and trade regulations, and basically make their own decisions based on what is best for their citizens. The vote was a complete surprise since most polls showed the "remain in the EU" vote ahead.

The general consensus by the pundits today is that uncontrolled immigration and failure of immigrants to assimilate and become "British" was the deciding factor. Could this be a trend in Europe? I traveled to Europe 1-2 times a year for 30 years during my career with business in many of the industrialized countries making up of the EU. When the EU was formed I was a skeptic having seen for years how these diverse cultures viewed each other. Germans thought the French were lazy and not industrious; the French thought the Germans were "barbarians"; etc. etc. So put 27 of those diverse countries in the same pot and I always thought it was a mixture that would not work.

Obviously immigration in Europe is a big issue particularly with the Mid-East being a chaotic mess and people fleeing to seek some kind of life. The EU, one of the industrial powerhouses of the west with basically open borders is straining under the pressure of millions of poor, uneducated, and unskilled people flooding their countries and most needing government assistance.

So the future may or may not result in other countries bailing from the EU. Donald Trump predicts they will. Is this guy smart or just lucky to be in the UK when all this came down today in his favor? I doubt it will make any difference in our election, but the timing was great.

So here is my analysis of the Brexit situation: I have no idea what is going to happen, but if the stock market tanks again Monday I am buying in because I still believe nothing can stop the USA productive machine in the long run.


P.S. Readers may note that I have two very intelligent "lurkers" that follow this Blog - John (Nighthawk) and Bob Catalano.  They normally respond within minutes to my posts with their opinions so they may be able to further clear up this "Brexit" situation  :-)  

"The Race to the Bottom"

The recent speeches by Hillary and Trump give us a preview of where this election season will be going once the conventions are over and the general election campaign begins. The candidates are going straight to the sewer of politics folks and we need to get ready for three months of pure bullshit that has nothing to do with the problems facing this country.

Hillary called Trump a thief, a 'griffter', dishonest businessman screwing his suppliers, mentally unstable', involved in 3500 lawsuits during his career, and not qualified to be President.

Trump called Hillary the most corrupt politician that has ever run for president, reminded us of her almost treasonous behavior while letting the Ambassador and his supporters be murdered while doing nothing, then blaming it on a video, trading millions of donations from countries for special favors once she becomes president, accepting millions for speeches from Wall Street while refusing to release transcripts of those speeches, and finally the only presidential candidate running for office that is under criminal investigation.

Even if half of these claims are true by each of these candidates, this great country has come up with two "bottom feeders" to run for the most powerful office in the world. I'm not sure we deserve any congratulations.

I cannot fact check the accusations against Trump and I am not really a supporter. But I have followed Bill and Hillary Clinton's careers for decades and if anything I would add many accusations to her and her husband's performance while in office. Let's not forget Whitewater, FBI files, Vince Foster suicide, all the women Bill has molested including his disgusting sexual dalliances in the Oval Office and I could go on. How the hell do we come up with these so-called leaders? It makes one feel that the average guy no longer has a say.

Having said all this I will hold my nose and do everything I can to see that Hillary is not elected and the Clinton's become a "black blip" in US history.

"What happened to our laws"

Am I the only one disgusted while watching these riots in Coasta Mesa, Albuquerque, and Anaheim showing people destroying police cars, breaking windows, and starting fires while the police watched? Some were arrested but it looked like dozens were breaking the law, not 'peacefully' protesting...and now we approach the Convention in Cleveland.

 People should be allowed to protest, it's their right, but if you destroy a police car or someone's property you have broken the law and you should go to jail. I commend the police for their restraint, but I also believe the neglect of the rule of law leads to anarchy. If you watched the videos, someone who was a Trump supporter could have been killed and some were injured as they just wanted drive home from the rally.

I was also disgusted to see many of the protesters flying Mexican flags. Call me a racist, but think about what would happen if you flew an American flag during a protest in Mexico City. What is ironic is that these folks have just reinforced Trump's campaign; he wants to enforce the laws of this country and stop the flow of illegals into this country. We are all descendants of immigrants but without some control this country will become chaotic and it showed in all these protests. 


California is a Latino majority and most are peace loving, but if they protest violently and fly Mexican flags, the progress they have made will be lost. More than 50% of drivers licenses last year in Ca went to illegal immigrants. I'm not a anti immigration person but we do have a country with borders and do we want to recognize these borders or not? Democrats seem to want an open borders country, some say to get more votes I hope that's not the case.

I am in the wine business so no one knows more that me how much vineyard workers are needed and that's why we need a guest worker program. Most illegals are here to earn money and would like nothing better that to make some money and move back to their home country.

Let me end this blog by asking a question - how many Conservatives do you see participating in violent protests? And let's see how many Conservatives protest violently this summer during the Conventions. 

"Fed up"

I have been traveling these past few weeks, driving across this beautiful country and had a lot of time to think. But all I can come up with is how fed up I am with the two candidates we have running to become President of this country. Out of 320 million people is this the best we can come up with?

Why have Donald Trump and (almost) Bernie Sanders received so many votes? Because the folks are angry and fed up - they are fed up with the Washington power structure not representing their votes, they are fed up with the liberal media trying to tell them how to vote, they are fed up with the cultural decline of this country, and they are fed up with the East Coast liberals thinking they are the "intellectuals" and the rest of the population are 'hayseeds' that can't think for themselves.

Well I have news for the so-called political/media power structure concentrated in the North East (and California), the folks are throwing you under the bus. I have said many times on this Blog that I am not a Trump supporter but I am a "never Hillary" supporter. Don't forget Bernie, he has also tapped into the folks that want to throw the establishment under the bus. Unfortunately he is running in a party that has a rigged primary election that planned a 'coronation' of Hillary before the election started. 

Isn't it interesting that the experts thought the Republican Convention would be chaos and now (most) Republicans, (reluctantly) are starting to support Trump. At the same time it looks like the Democratic convention may be chaos and according to some polls as many as 20% of Bernie supporters may vote for Trump. Hillary is a joke and many on the democratic side believe that. Here is my feeling about this election - we know what Hillary will do as President, we don't know what Donald Trump would do, but it would have to be an improvement.

Sadly this is going to be an election where for the first time in my life most voters will be voting for who they are 'against' not who they are 'for'. 

"All aboard the Trump Train II"

Well readers this will be a short Blog since I am leaving on a trip. If I get time I will Blog from the road, if not see you in a few weeks.

But I had to comment on the Trump Train which seems to be going full speed since my candidate Ted Cruz has dropped out. John Kasich says he will stay in the race, but that is like a Pop Warner football team trying to beat the Green Bay Packers, so I will not give him any more words in this Blog.

But it is time for Republicans to unite and direct our fire at Hillary Clinton because I still believe in the  'anyone but Hillary' mantra. The experts say Trump cannot possibly win; for those that promise to leave the country if Trump becomes president, I repeat my earlier comments; "Make sure your passport is up to date".

This guy has tapped into an anger in this country that may cross party lines. The experts say that the Democrats have the electoral advantage...I'm not so sure. I believe the next thing you will see is the Trump campaign leaking key appointments in the Trump administration, and he has a lot of  bench talent to draw from. If you compare Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Rudy Giuliani, and so many other Conservatives that have been in the background for years while Obama and his minions have tried to destroy this country to Hillary and her potential Administration, you may be surprised at what happens in the political arena the next few months...should be fun.

Signing off for a while.  John and Bob make your comments and keep this Blog posting going :-)

"Insanity and Socialism"

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result".  Some attribute this saying to Einstein. But it certainly makes sense.

AP reported today:  "Cities across Venezuela are increasingly agitated, as government offices closed their doors for the rest of the week in the face of a worsening energy crisis that is causing daily blackouts. Looting for food and fiery protests started spreading Wednesday in Caracas, as hundreds of angry voters lined up to sign a petition beginning the process of recalling the deeply unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. The socialist administration began imposing a four-hour daily blackout around the country this week to save electricity. Then, Maduro announced that millions of officials will now work only Mondays and Tuesdays, taking the rest of the week off in a bid to save electricity". (By the way these government officials will continue to be paid for the days they do not work, another cornerstone of a government controlled socialist society).

Ah yes, as Venezuela continues to mourn its hero Hugo Chavez the folks are not too happy. No food, no electricity, an oil powerhouse that cannot even supply gasoline to the few that can afford a car. The country is in chaos as they harvest the fruits of socialism. So following Cuba's example here we have another definition of insanity....trying socialism and expecting a different result.

But there is a silver lining in this story, now that Bernie Sanders has no chance to win the primary here in the US, the potential job openings keep coming. If the people in Venezuela are successful in overthrowing their President Maduro, maybe Bernie with his large unused campaign war chest should move there and try to convince the population to "Try socialism just once more, I know how to do it right". I wouldn't bet on that insanity Bern.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133991.html

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133991.html

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133991.html

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133991.html

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133991.html

"All Aboard the Trump Train"

For those of you that swore to leave the country if Trump becomes President, you may want to be sure your passport is updated and house ready to sell.

He has not been nominated yet, but the Trump Train is moving down the tracks toward that goal at a pretty good clip. After sweeping the Northeast, Indiana could be the deathblow for the Cruz/Kasich caboose. The so-called collusion by Cruz/Kasich is most likely a 'Hail Mary' that will have little effect. In my opinion for Cruz to team up with Kasich is like adding a proven loser to your team. Their strategy is to keep Trump from getting to 1237 delegates and then the 'establishment' can rise up and get rid of him in a contested convention...the way Trump is accumulating delegates that may be wishful thinking and the race could be over by then.

But there is still hope for you Trump haters, the experts say Hillary will destroy him in the general election, so don't put that house on the market yet. But I remind you that there were 16 Republican competitors, all the political experts, and conservative Republicans like myself that thought at the beginning Trump was just a 'flash in the pan' and doomed to extinguish quickly. Well here we are, and the 'flash' has turned into a wildfire that may burn all the way to Cleveland.

I am still not a Trump fan but he is a Phenom that has turned the political scene upside down and has the establishment wondering what the hell happened. I cannot imagine this country electing someone as disgusting as Hillary Clinton as our leader, and I am sure the Trump haters feel the same about him. How did we get here with these two people?

Hillary and her team are very confident and salivating at the thought that Trump will be the Republican challenger in the general election..."be careful what you wish for".  

 

"On a Wing and a Prayer"

Those in my generation remember this iconic phrase from WWII...a pilot's damaged plane with only one engine, coming in "on a wing and a prayer".

This should be Bernie Sanders' new campaign slogan. His campaign is flying on only one wing and his prayer: "Please lord let Hillary be indicted". The Bern's campaign promises of free stuff could never overcome the Clinton machine, probably because other that a few smart people I know who supported him, his base of young mush-brained millennials never stopped to ask how he would pay for his promises and what would happen to their taxes.

Bernie sadly never had a chance but he was still a Phenom especially raising money. He boasts that his average contribution from millions of people was less than $30. If someone promised you a free college education, free preschool, free medical and that he would bring those Wall Street greedy people to their knees, wouldn't you send him 30 bucks?

Bernie is no dummy; he collected almost $40 million in March and vows to stay in until the end. But I suspect he will reduce his campaign spending because he now has a massive campaign war chest.

I checked the campaign finance rules and even if Bernie were to drop out he would get to keep all those millions for future campaigns. So if he doesn't make it in this primary I pity anyone who runs against him in future Vermont elections because he will have a war chest that could destroy any political competitor at a state level until he retires. I can see it now - Bernie will have his own version of the Trump jet going back and forth to Vermont and never again having to fly with the folks. This jet will have 'The Bern' on big letters on the side and I can see him in the plane's private lounge drinking his strawberry daiquiri thinking "up yours Donald".

OK, I'm just having fun...as a person I like "The Bern" but he is so misguided; with all this money maybe after he retires from the Senate and the Castro brothers die, he should make a run for President of Cuba...well, maybe that would not be successful, those folks  already know what socialism is all about.

" And then there were two"

Big wins for the 'Trumpster' and the 'Pant Suit' last night and the experts are telling us it is all over and these will be the candidates in the general election. Even Mr. Trump in his victory speech started to speak with more civility referring to 'Senator' Cruz' (not 'lying Ted').

I cannot imagine what Kasich is doing in this race, he has never won anything but his own state and if he wants to be a 'spoiler' he is playing right into Trump's hand. This guy is a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and would probably give Hillary a run if he could get the nomination because the DC establishment does not want change. But this is a different time and no one represents the 'establishment' more than Kasich, so he doesn't have a chance and should just fold his tent and go away.

But Cruz, Kasich, and The Bern are not going away, hoping for contested conventions. First of all, Bernie has no chance unless Hillary gets indicted. But the Obama administration and the Democratic Party will not let that happen, so Bernie (as he has been all along) is history. It will be interesting to see where his voters go...they do not like Hillary or the 'establishment'.

And if Trump makes it to 1237 delegates either before or during the first convention ballot Cruz and Kasich are history also. And the Trumpster does have a lot of momentum with favorable polls in many of the remaining primary elections. Whether you support Trump or hate him, we need to acknowledge that this is an inexperienced politician that started off competing against 17 Republican experienced politicians (except for Dr. Carson), and may defeat them all. This, along with Bernie's success, tells us there are a lot of voters in this country angry with the establishment and want change.

Those that follow this Blog know that I am not a Trump supporter, but I am also an "anyone but Hillary" voter. Obama has almost destroyed this country and Hillary plans to continue his policies, Saul Alinsky would be proud.

California has had no say in any primary election for decades because of the late date of our primary. But would it not be ironic if California, the liberal bastion of the western US, and supporter of more illegal immigrants than the rest of the country combined, was the state whose voters catapulted Donald J. Trump into the general election for President?

"Battle of the Curmudgeons"

I thought the Democratic debate last night was finally an example of what these two nominees are all about. A friend once told me how 'civil' they were to each other in their debates compared to Republicans. Really! Someone pulled back the curtain and the gloves came off last night. These two curmudgeons were yelling at each other all evening. Even the ultra-liberal Wolf Blitzer had to tell them to calm down and quit talking over each other.

Hillary: "We need a $15 minimum wage!"

Bernie: "That was my offer, you were only at $12 a few weeks ago!"

Hillary: "I have always been at $15 and I might even go to $20!"

Bernie: "I'll match your $20 and throw in three weeks of paid vacation for all employees!"

Hillary: "You're full of crap Bernie and you will never be President!"

Bernie: "Look bitch you are the one getting $235 thousand for a speech to Goldman Sachs and your Super Pac gets $15 million from Wall Street. You are in Wall Street's back pocket, you voted for the Iraq war, and you don't have the judgement to be President!"

Hillary: "Look you old bastard you can't get more that $30 from each of your contributors and you shouldn't even be on the stage with me. After Obama kicked my ass in 2008 I have been promised by the DNC that it's my turn to be President and you need to get lost!"

Bernie: "Look fatso I have won 7 of the last 8 primaries and I am in this to kick your ass all the way to the Convention!"

Wolf Blitzer: "Please can't we all get along?"

OK, this is not exactly how the debate went, but it is what I believe they were both thinking. Civil...I don't think so, and I was amazed that they could yell at the top of their voices for almost two hours. But in the end it was the same old Democratic play book...offer your voters lots of free stuff even though you know you can never deliver on your promises.

 

"Just One of the Folks"

The photo op of Mrs. Clinton on the subway in NYC was, to use a pun, 'Hillaryous', not because she couldn't even figure out how to swipe the card, but this is a woman who once said: "I haven't driven a car in 20 years", being chauffeured in a limo everywhere. These candidates must think 'the folks' are really stupid.

She is not the only one; John Kasich eating pizza in NYC with a fork...no John, and Texan Ted Cruz making Jewish matzah bread (probably wearing his cowboy boots). I guess these politicians feel they have to do these photo ops, but at some point you would think their handlers would tell them that the folks won't buy it.

But these photo ops can also be destructive to a campaign. Those my age can remember Micheal Dukakis doing his "Beetle Baily" imitation driving a tank. That photo was not just mocked throughout the media but also probably had a lot to do with his campaign being a total flop. This was probably the first time he had ever been near a tank. The folks didn't buy it.

And we can't forget John Kerry in camo being video taped walking into a small hunting store in Ohio saying; "Is this where I get me a huntin license?" The folks didn't buy it, and it may have helped contribute to his campaign loss.

This primary election is so competitive that for the first time in decades the California vote on June 7th will be very important for all the candidates. If before that election we see a video of Bernie Sanders surfing I may croak.

"Feel the Bern III"

Finally the 'gentle geezer' is attacking Hillary. Unfortunately it may be too late, who knows where his campaign might be if earlier he had brought up the email scandal, the Clinton Foundation "pay for play" scandals, and her trust factor which is a negative among a majority of American voters.

Bernie is a lot of things; great campaigner, energetic, honest, and he really believes his idea of a socialist utopia would work...he can't explain how it would work, but he believes it. But for someone who has been in politics for 25 years he is naive about the rough and tumble aspect of politics, especially going up against a Clinton.

When Bernie in the first debate against Hillary said: "Forget the emails. I'm not interested in that".   At that point I thought to myself, 'he has lost the election'. Going against the Clintons you need to be tough, aggressive, and yes, downright dirty because that's how they play. Believe me if Bernie would ever pull even or get ahead of her they would roll out the dirt, and they probably have a lot on Bernie even if it is made up.

Hillary is controlled by the Wall Street and Corporate structure in this country and he has been hitting her hard on that. But her 'Achilles heel' is the scandals and 'trustworthy' issue which he has avoided. He should have been attacking her on those issues from the beginning and would probably have a real chance right now. But the numbers (and especially with the Super delegates) indicate his chances are probably nil at this point. He may be a nice guy trying to sell a 'utopian society that provides free stuff for everyone', but without a miracle in this primary, history will look at him as just an asterisk  in American politics, particularly since he had done very little in his first 25 years as a public servant. 

"Between a Rock and a Hard Spot"

The Wisconsin primary certainly kept the pot boiling on both sides. During the last presidential primary everything was settled by now. Instead, now both parties are still wondering who their candidate will be.  On the democratic side the experts say that Hillary still has the nomination wrapped up but I am not so sure. NY and Pennsylvania primaries will tell everything, but odds are that Hillary will win in the end especially since the Democratic establishment as of this writing, have the 'super delegates' committed to Hillary.

But on the republican side we are between a 'rock and a hard spot' - Trump voters hate Cruz and vice versa. It's hard to imagine these two ever coming together if one of them are nominated, or if another republican candidate is selected. If Trump loses he may make an independent bid and Republicans will lose. If Cruz wins, his following has a ceiling just like Trump and I don't see how he could pull the party together since most of the Republican power structure in DC is against him.  And if the republicans bring in a candidate like Kasich ('Rino') or one who has not been part of the primary, people  will stay home, so at this point it doesn't look good for the good guys.

It's sad that 60% of Americans on both sides believe the country is on the wrong track and that America has lost its leadership standing in the world...congratulations Mr. Obama on a job well done. The only thing the Republican party has going for it in this election is that the Democrats have put up two of the sorriest candidates I can remember in my lifetime (and that's a long time). 

"Speed Bumps and Convention Madness"

If the Wisconsin primary polls are accurate, it looks like the Trump and Hillary trains may hit a bit of a 'speed bump'.

Each loss by The Donald makes it look more and more like a contested Convention. Experts tell us that if neither Trump nor Cruz reaches the 1237 required to secure the nomination, and if neither can muster that many votes during the first round of voting, the delegates will be free on the second round and things could break wide open and anyone can be nominated. Kasich is nothing but a spoiler at this point and unless they change the rules, he cannot even be included in the first round of voting since you need to win a majority in at least eight primaries. It would not surprise me if the 'establishment' was funding his campaign just so he can keep Trump and Cruz from winning outright.

All the news lately is about a "chaotic" Republican convention, especially from Trump who says that if he is close to the 1237 number but is denied the nomination, there could be unrest by his supporters, and maybe even 'rioting'. So the Republican Convention holds the promise of being a very interesting event.

But what about the Democratic Convention?

Bernie Sanders has now won six out of the last seven primary contests (many of them caucuses) and must have the Hillary campaign somewhat concerned; he is also slightly ahead in the polls in Wisconsin. All the experts believe the primary is rigged for Hillary and Bernie is just coming along for the ride. With a big lead and almost all of the super delegates committed to her, Bernie doesn't seem to have much of a chance. Even Debbie Wasserman-Shultz the DNC chairman has been heard privately saying that he will never be their candidate because; "He has always been an Independent and not a Democrat".

But think about this:  Some believe Hillary may be indicted (I don't think so); even if the FBI recommends indictment political power in DC will keep that from happening. The FBI is planning to interview Hillary and her top aids under oath in the near future; in addition the man that set up and installed her private server has agreed to testify after being given immunity (why would he ask for immunity?). None of this looks good for the Hillary train. Even if the FBI recommends indictment and the Obama administration refuses to move forward, that will leak out to the press and  could cause Hillary to lose big in the remaining primaries and not cinch the nomination.

And if by a miracle that happens and Hillary and Bernie go into the convention with neither having a majority, and neither secure the nomination on the first round, the DNC could send someone like Joe Biden into the convention on a white horse to secure the nomination for the "establishment". It's not probable, but wouldn't it be ironic if that happened and the Bernie supporters went wild and the Democratic convention ended up being crazier than the Republican convention?

Could be an interesting summer, and one thing we know for sure, Liberals are much better at rioting than Conservatives.

"Who is embarassing America?""

Barack Obama:  “The number one question I am getting as I travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is, what is happening in America about our politics.

John Kerry:  "Everywhere I go, every leader I meet, they ask about what is happening in America. They cannot believe it. It upsets people's sense of equilibrium about our steadiness, about our reliability. And to some degree, I must say to you, some of the questions, the way they are posed to me, it's clear to me that what's happening is an embarrassment to our country".

Look closely at almost the same talking points from these two feckless leaders during the last few days. This administration has taken hypocrisy to new levels and continues to do so.

Politics can be a tough game, and maybe more so this primary season, but let me tell you what an "embarrassment" to our country really is:

- It started with the ISIS beheading of American James Foley on a video that went viral around the world. ISIS wanted our attention and that video signaled the start of a new major Islamic terror organization.  Obama was on vacation at that time. He didn't cancel his vacation and you can decide  whether or not that was appropriate, but it was how he handled it all; giving a speech about the horror of the beheading and immediately running off to play golf and yuk it up with his friends.


- Then Obama refuses to go to France along with other major leaders to march in solidarity after France's first major terror attack. Instead John Kerry shows up a few days later with James Taylor singing; "You've got a friend"...embarrassing and childish like Hillary's 'reset' button to the Russians.

- I won't elaborate on the Iranian nuclear deal; it has been covered so much in the press. But how embarrassing for this country that while Kerry and Obama were negotiating the deal (against the wishes of many of our allies, especially Israel), the Iranians were dancing in the streets shouting "death to America"...still hard to believe.

But while John Kerry and Barack Obama make the rounds of the talk shows spouting rhetoric about how embarrassing our political contests are; Obama as President of this great country demonstrates to the world what embarrassing behavior really is:  While Brussels is in flames and Islamic terror makes another major strike (which we now find has killed four Americans), our leader is shown doing the "wave" at a baseball game with communist leader Raul Castro and he follows that with a tango in Argentina, both embarrassing videos that were shown around the world.

So while Obama and Kerry play politics about America's "embarrassing" political season, they have proved to be the 'champions' of embarrassing America in a much more harmful way. It's still hard for me to believe how my fellow Americans could elect this narcissistic clown twice...no wonder voters are in the mood to really shakeup Washington politics.  

"Feel the Bern II"

I have called Bernie the "crazy uncle" and the "old man" but after badly beating Hillary in the caucuses in Alaska, Washington, and Hawaii this past weekend this geezer is starting to give Hillary some 'goose bumps'. Even Bill is probably getting nervous that his hopes of going back to the White House with all those young beautiful interns, may not happen.

Bernie probably doesn't have a chance to actually win the nomination since the DNC has quietly made it clear that he will never be their candidate, but the guy is a money raising machine. He has out-raised Hillary the past two months and since his wins Saturday he has pulled in another $4 million. It's hard to believe all this money is coming from his hard core young millennium followers for the simple reason; they don't have any money because they can't get jobs! Could all this money be coming from their parents? If you were a parent trying to figure out how to come up with $100K to send your child through college would not the siren song from Bernie of "free college" be very enticing?

It is so easy to be a Democrat running for office, you don't have to win the battle of ideas, you just offer "free stuff"; it's quite simple actually. But I have news for those that think Hillary (or Bernie if he pulls off a miracle) wins the election: "The free stuff ain't gonna happen". This country will have a debt of $20 trillion by the time the next President is inaugurated which means every penny we spend will be borrowed.

It's time the voters in this country understand that simple point...we are out of money and at some point we have to face up to it. And we cannot solve the problem by "cutting expenses", this economy has to start booming again with more people working and paying taxes otherwise we will become Europe with zero growth and chronic unemployment.

Socialism's failures are so well documented it's still hard for me to believe it is a system that can be sold to voters,            

"Trump Traumatizes"

I had planned to take a break from blogging until the next primary, but the situation at Emory University has me laughing, unbelieving, and feeling sad for some of those students. Just when I cannot believe how bad the P.C. culture has become in this country, it seems to get worse.

Someone wrote with chalk marks around Emory University "vile" slogans such as "Trump 2016", "Vote for Trump in 2016", "Trump for President", and several other benign political slogans. Apparently writing with chalk is common at the university; Bernie supporters and "Black Lives Matter" supporters have also promoted their causes in the same way. The chalk is not permanent graffiti since it washes off whenever it rains.

But a group of students has protested to the President of the university and feel they have been "traumatized" and do not feel safe anymore as long as these Trump slogans are allowed to remain. And what is also hard to believe is the university seems to be going along with the complainers; as one complaining student put it "I don’t deserve to feel afraid at my school”.

I am not a Trump supporter, but this political correctness has become so common at universities these days I am wondering what quality of leaders we are training for the next generation. These must be children that were sheltered and protected by their parents and received a "participation trophy" for every competitive game they ever played. Sadly they have no idea what it means to win or lose, or what awaits them after (or if) they graduate.

The unfortunate aspect of this "sheltering" attitude is that those kids will go into the real world someday and will be in shock, and some may not be able to cope. I'm not an authority but I have raised six kids, and have seven grandchildren (six who have, or are going to graduate from college), and all of them take responsibility for themselves and deal with all the obstacles that life seems to throw at our feet. The real world is not always "politically correct" and we should be training our future leaders with that in mind.

I said earlier I was laughing about the reaction of these students at Emory, but really I feel sorry for them and it's disturbing to see how this left wing liberal influence is degrading what was once the greatest university system in the world. 

"Stop the Madness"

The Belgium terror attacks today remind us again of the scourge of radical Islam. It has become madness throughout the world and sometimes I believe if the average American has not been directly involved in a terrorist attack, we are becoming desensitized. Terrorist attacks are becoming daily events and if they are in the third world, we read about them and move on. But when they attack the West (Paris, San Bernardino, and Brussels) it's major news, but still little happens to solve the problem.

I have no magic solution, the terrorists today in Belgium attacked in the unsecured check-in area of the airport where anyone can get out of a car, walk in, and blow themselves up. The other attacker just blew himself up in an unsecured subway. I am not sure how that can be stopped; every airport, train terminal, subway in the world is an easy target along with music festivals, fairs, etc....the 'soft targets ' are endless. Do you want to go through security when you step out of your car at the airport or at a train station or visit a fair?

If I listed all the terrorist attacks that have happened just during 2015 it would fill up the rest of this Blog; the situation is pure madness and 99% is connected to Islam. Terrorism has to be irradiated at its source; attacks on soft targets can never be stopped.

To start, the first source is ISIS and their home base or 'Caliphate' in Syria; the source of the cancer must be eliminated; their leaders and soldiers are dispersed within the population so 'carpet bombing' and killing innocents is out of the question. I am not a military expert but it seems to me the only solution to the ISIS problem is a ground war going door-to-door in ISIS strongholds in Syria; not a popular move with a war weary American population, but this is a 'western' problem and a NATO coalition determined to eradicate ISIS should be able to do it very quickly.

I believe the final solution to the problem lies within Islam itself; if the majority of that religion cannot eradicate their radical element of Jihadists, and the Shia and Sunnis cannot figure out how to get along, we will be living with terrorism for generations. Christians went through a reformation in the 16th century, it was not easy and Catholics and Protestants continued to war with each other until they finally realized killing was not the answer. There have been 'flare-ups' as in Ireland and Northern Ireland, but mostly Christians have decided to live with each other peacefully....maybe it's time Muslims took a long hard look at themselves and learned something from history.

"What is the Trump base?"

I have followed politics for a long time and am completely confused when it comes to trying to define the 'base' of Trump voters. I have Conservative friends that dislike him and Conservative friends that love him. I obviously also have liberal friends that dislike him, some are Bernie supporters, but they also dislike Hillary so much that they are also confused. In my own large family I have kids that are Trump supporters and even one who is threatening to leave the country if he is elected....ouch!

I have never seen the country so divided; it is not only Donald Trump, but on the Democratic side we have an old-time Socialist and Hillary; a lifetime political liar (maybe even criminal) and their voter turnout this primary season has been dismal.  It doesn't give one confidence that this country knows how to produce a leader. No matter what happens in this election season we may all be losers, I heard a prominent pollster today describe it best; "We may be choosing the better of two evils".

Those of us on this side cannot comprehend how anyone could vote for Hillary Clinton; not just because of the pending email scandals and possibility of indictment but we still remember Benghazi, the Rose law firm scandal, FBI files, Vince Foster suicide, Bill Clinton's liaisons and rape accusations, etc., etc...the Clinton scandals could be Blog pages in itself. Her involvement in Benghazi and the cover-up afterwards confirms she is one of the most notorious liars in political history, and if you are a potential Democratic voter ask yourself this one question: Would you be comfortable with Hillary Clinton being your Commander-in-Chief ?

On the Republican side it is ironic that the top two candidates are hated by the establishment; it's hard to believe the Republican Party power brokers are spending millions against their own candidates.

Donald Trump's 'base' of voters tells us a lot about the politics and leadership in this country; the average American is fed up with the political leaders in Washington and on an emotional level just want to stick their thumb in the eye of the DC establishment. They don't care what the so-called experts say, they don't care if someone like Trump is bombastic, arrogant, and maybe not always telling the truth, they are just fed up and feel anything is better than what we have in Washington. They are attracted to him because he is tough and not afraid to be politically incorrect.

Obama says he is not responsible for this divided America, but on the contrary I believe he is directly responsible; the folks want the out of control immigration problem solved, they want government out of their lives, they want their Commander-in-Chief to identify "radical Islam',  and most of all they want good paying jobs again, not part-time and service work. Trump voters are willing to shake things up no matter what the consequences are, they are coming out in large numbers, and feel that things could not get any worse than the present political cabal in DC that doesn't seem to represent their interests.

"Establishment Panic"

The results of the Tuesday primary have probably put the Republican 'establishment' in full panic mode. After Trump's sweep of every state but Ohio and Rubio dropping out after being 'trumped' in Florida, the establishment are hanging by their finger nails with John Kasich as their remaining 'Hail Mary Pass'. Watching Kasich's victory speech (of his only win), with the confetti raining down at the end it was as if he has just been elected President. I wonder if his campaign has ordered the Roman pillars for his acceptance speech. Let's be real - this is a two man race Trump v Cruz and Kasich is either delusional or the establishment is trying to pull off a "weekend at Bernie's" move keeping a dead man alive in the eyes of the voters.


With Hillary making a clean sweep the Democratic establishment must be pleased, and going to bed with visions of sugar plums in their heads. And ironically they have their own "weekend at Bernie's" play going on with a real Bernie and without a miracle he is a political dead man walking. Hillary was preordained by the establishment and with all the super delegates pledged to her, the  primary was rigged in her favor from the beginning. What is interesting, exit polls show that 90% of the under 30 vote went to Bernie - not a good sign for Hillary.

Trump v Cruz is a classic battle of a Populist against a true Conservative....and the establishment dislikes (or maybe hates) both. Even talk today about a third party candidate run by the Republican establishment, sadly that would probably put Hillary in the White House.

We are Cruz supporters and are also 'anyone but Hillary' committed voters. We have had the opportunity of meeting and hearing Cruz's father speak about his life experiences, and my wife Peggy as President of the Paso Robles Republican Women's organization for a year had the opportunity to communicate on a regulator basis with Cruz's mother-in-law who lives in this area, and regardless of your political affiliation, from what we have seen they are a great family.

Having said that, Trump is a master at cheer leading, and that is important for a President. We have heard for eight years what a "bad ' country the USA is, and many people are responding to the "Make America Great again' and "We are going to win again" cliche's. Folks are sick of hearing the democratic mantras of : "Rich are bad people", "Police are Killers", "White people are privileged", "the USA is a bad force in the world"..... people are starved and they just want to hear something positive about their country.

So it will continue to be a very interesting political season right on up to, and maybe including a wild Republican convention. The Democrats will continue the same old socialist talking points. At least Bernie could make a case for that philosophy and did a good job doing it, but I believe the Clinton  family with all their alleged criminal activities and politically derived wealth will have trouble selling the socialist program. And who knows, if Hillary is indicted, all bets are off and we could have turmoil on both sides. Should be fun for us political junkies.

"Hillary...Hillary"

I'm watching Hillary's victory speech...luckily I have not eaten yet. First of all she is reading it from a Teleprompter which in itself tells you about her character and the character of the Democratic party....every thing orchestrated. Her shrill voice even hurts my ears...how can so many people even vote for this woman.

Even after her gaff yesterday stating that "No one lost their life in Libya", in her victory speech she said that she is the most qualified to be in commander in chief...WTF!

Sorry I have had a martini and still cannot believe that the American voters have put Hillary and The Donald as the front runners in this Primary.

More to follow...

" Is Turnout Real?"

The turnout numbers in this primary are astounding, but what do they mean? Republicans have seen record breaking turnout in every primary, sometimes an increase of 100%, while on average Democrat voting has been down an average of about 25%. There is no question the enthusiasm is on the Republican side in these primaries but will it translate to the final election in November?

Is the enthusiastic Republican turnout because their candidates are having lively (and sometimes absurd) debates with young, charismatic, high energy candidates? And is the low Democratic turnout because they are running two tired old career politicians who do nothing but spout socialistic talking points?

This is leading to a good deal of concern among liberals. But the primary turnout may not be an indication of what will happen in November. Turnout is normally higher in the primaries by the party not in power and some have even speculated that many Democrats have 'crossed over' to try and insure that Donald Trump will be the nominee which they believe will 'insure' that a Democrat will go back to the White House in the next election. If this crossover strategy vote is true; "Democrats, be careful what you wish for".

Republican turnout may be due to the high energy and sometimes embarrassing debates by the candidates. Lively discussion among what started as 17 candidates along with insults and childish arguments gets ratings, and certainly 17 candidates could be the reason for the high turnout? One thing is for sure, watching Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate each other is like watching paint dry while they try to out-due each other offering their voters an endless array of giveaways within a 'socialist utopia'.
      
Tuesday will tell us a lot and it will be interesting to see if the recent turmoil at Trump events will help or hurt him. What controversial Republican would schedule a rally at the left wing bastion University of Chicago? That is a recipe for trouble since there is not a Republican within miles of that campus and he still had 25,000 people that wanted to attend. The guy has the 'stones' to go into a venue like that and it was probably best to cancel it.

It certainly has been an interesting primary season. There is no question the Republicans are divided and some experts believe the establishment strategy at this point is to spread the vote and go to a 'contested' convention hoping they can nominate one of their own. That would be very interesting for most Americans who have never seen the political process at its extremes, but I doubt if it would work and it would probably insure a Democrat win in November.

On the Democratic side the system is rigged for Hillary - few debates, she gets most of the super delegates, and the Democratic 'establishment' will never let 'Crazy Bernie' carry their mantle, even if Hillary is indicted. 

"Progressives in action"

As I have stated before, I am not a Trump supporter but this situation in Chicago tonight was very disturbing. "Progressives" claim to be the political wave of the future but they are digging their own grave. To shut down a Trump rally just because you don't want him to speak goes against the basic freedom our Founders protected in the First Amendment of the Constitution.

And this is not the first case of this; Conservative speakers are now routinely rejected from speaking on campuses across this country because students do not want to hear their point of view. What a shame that we are turning out monolithic minds from our campuses that simply don't think anymore. Can you imagine a group of Conservatives rioting to keep a Progressive from speaking; no, they either listen or don't bother to listen.

I don't know if this shut down of the Trump rally in Chicago was organized, but preliminary reports are that many of the protesters were Bernie Sanders and MoveOn.org supporters. It will be interesting to see what Bernie has to say about this potential riot and if some were 'paid' protesters.

But no matter, Progressives and so-called Socialists need to take a hard look at why they cannot hear another point of view by refusing to let Conservative speakers on campuses or threatening a riot in a rally by someone that they may not agree with.

I suspect that this will further energize the Trump campaign.

P.S. I have never seen this country so divided, the fault falls on both parties but in the end it falls on the person we elected to lead us.

"Debate Turmoil"

Stop the debates!...or whatever you want to call them. It's getting ridiculous and voters are not learning anything with these childish playground insults. I have lost a lot of respect for the top three especially Trump and Rubio during these last two debates. At least Cruz acted like a mature adult part of the time last night but Kasich was the only one who looked like he belonged in a Presidential primary election contest.

I'm sure many Conservatives join me in their disappointment with the way these potential candidates are acting. Romney didn't help things with his stupid speech earlier in the day. Things must be pretty bad when someone as classy as Mitt Romney decides to jump down into the gutter with the rest of the group. And his speech instead of hurting Trump has probably helped him. When you stick your thumb in the eye of someone who is angry like Trumps voters, they get angrier.

It's obvious to me that the 'establishment' is in a panic and their plan is to try to split the voting and go to the convention without a clear winner, get through the first round of voting, and then the delegates will be free to vote for anyone. That will not work.

A convention full of turmoil will be a losing proposition either way for the Republican party. If Trump goes in with a majority and loses based on convention rules, he will probably bolt, run as an independent, and take his voters with him. So no matter what, with a third party bid, Hillary will go to the White House. Wouldn't it be ironic if another Clinton got elected President with less than 45% of the vote like Bill did in 92' thanks to Ross Perot?

So get your act together candidates! I still find it hard to believe Trump will be our selection, but in the end people get to vote and the country will have to live with the results. Someone asked conservative comedian Dennis Miller who he will vote for this presidential election, his response: "If it's 'Hillary' or 'Not Hillary', I'm definitely in the 'Not Hillary' camp". Sounds like a plan - sometimes in life you have to choose between the better of two bad options and Hillary is as bad an option as you can get.    

"Make America whole again?"

Hillary in her victory speech last night attacked Trump's campaign slogan head on: "Make America Great Again". She said "We don't need to make America great again we are already great, we need to make America whole again".

I don't know about you but America is not as great as she used to be. Obama is a feckless world leader and many of our allies are amazed at how weak this country has become both militarily, economically, and with a debt that is almost insurmountable.

Elect Hillary and the new slogan should be "Make America go further into the hole again"  Sarcasm intended.   

"Coalition of the Dependent"

Hillary won big in South Carolina with a 50 point win in the primary.  The turnout of voters was down as it has been in all the Democratic primaries so far, which indicates a lack of enthusiasm, but she carried the black vote by a large margin. It amazes me that the black vote is so monolithic supporting democrats exclusively, especially Hillary in this primary.

Why do blacks and to a certain extent Latinos, vote almost exclusively democratic? Here is what I don't understand - after 8 years of a black president, black unemployment and poverty are at an all-time high and yet the black community still supports any democratic candidate. If you look at every city where black ghettos exist and black people are mired in poverty, there is one constant - the city has been run for decades by democrats. These communities have a 70% birth rate to a single parent, education is poor because the teachers unions have stifled performance, and drugs are rampant.  And yet these folks continue to support a president that offered "Hope" to everyone, especially those minority communities.

But this is not a big issue to most democrats in power, they want a "coalition of the dependent" and I believe without them the Democratic party would not exist, and they know it. Race hustlers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton's livelihood and power would not exist without this dependent coalition. Teachers unions in poor communities have locked the education system into mediocrity, charter schools are discouraged, and welfare has kept people into poverty as a lifestyle.

Bernie Sanders' enthusiasm is fading, but give him credit for being honest; he understands the problem in minority communities and is serious about solving it. I don't agree with his solution of more dependency, but to watch Hillary pandering to the black vote is sickening. Unfortunately the democratic machine is too strong to be defeated by the idealism of the millenniums and disaffected democrats of Sanders supporters. At least Bernie is honest about being a socialist, Hillary is a socialist in sheep's clothing and will lie whenever and wherever it is required to further her candidacy.

Jack Kemp was a former NFL quarterback and conservative Congressman. Many reading this Blog do not remember him, but he proposed for many years a system of  "Enterprise Zones" in minority communities that taught residents the free enterprise system and assisted them in setting up small businesses; he believed that would "feed" on itself and he was probably right. Once people experience the free enterprise system they will never go back.

So how do you eliminate the coalition of the dependent?  I believe in to ways; an education system that produces people that think for themselves and the restoration of the family unit. If you are a child born without a family unit, you start out in life with a big disadvantage. I feel sorry for the millions of black folks that idealistically voted for "hope and change" and 8 years later have lost "hope" and have experienced no "change".  

"Bernie v Billionaires"

"America now has more wealth and income inequality than any major developed country on earth, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is wider than at any time since the 1920's"

This is a quote directly from Bernie Sanders' web site. It may be true but I do not have the time to research his statistics. Let's assume it is true...but what are the reasons and what are the results of this country producing more millionaires and billionaires per capita than any country in the world? And why shouldn't we take away more of their money and redistribute it, after all these "wealthy' people don't need all that money do they?

There are not very many billionaires in this country that have inherited their wealth. Here are some of the billionaires in Forbes top 15 - Bill Gates - Microsoft, Warren buffet - Berkshire Hathaway, Larry Olson - Oracle founder, The Koch Brothers - Koch Industries, the Walton family - Walmart, Jeff Bezos - Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook, Phil Knight - Nike ...and I could go on (including Beyonce and JayZ). These entrepreneurs produced a product that people wanted and they probably had no thoughts when they started about becoming a millionaire or a billionaire, they had a great idea, worked their ass off, and their business was successful. Bernie sanders says "the system is rigged" if that's true how did so many people in our lifetime (many who started from scratch), become millionaires and billionaires?

I recently read an article which analyzed the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans. These 400 created 10 million jobs in the country. The top 100 founded companies that employed on average 40,000 workers.
 
This class warfare which is a staple in the Democrats play book is getting old. As of 2015 The top 20% of wage earners pay 84% of all taxes, the lower 50 % pay on average 2.9% and the bottom 20% actually get paid by the government. Hey Bernie why is that not fair?

I am not a billionaire, nor am I jealous of them, but I did start a successful tech business from scratch; so did many of my entrepreneurial friends. And if you count real estate especially here in California you could call us millionaires. But we also remember the long hours, great risk putting all our assets on the line, and periods when the business almost "went south" and no one will ever convince us that the free enterprise system attacked by Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, is "rigged". 

Bernie has proposed a top income tax rate of 54%, with a capital gains rate to match (up from the current 25%). With state and local taxes the top earners could pay 75% in California and New York. Who is going to work for three quarters of the year and give that income to the government - no one. Under a Bernie Sanders society the high wage earners will just go offshore and our economy will tank. "Socialism" has a proven record of failure, but 'progressives' like Bernie and Hilary continue to want to repeat it and try again.

Bernie says the wealthy should pay their "fair share". To me, giving even 50% of your income to the government borders on being 'fair', no matter how much you make. To pay more than 50% is simply "confiscation".