Sez Me.... GOP Leaders Are Irresponsible At The Very Least......

The fact that our GOP leaders are not disavowing the talk of Donald Trump and his supporters, of rigged elections is, at the very least irresponsible on their part; and at the extreme, treasonous. Donald Trump is enticing riots, maybe not on the spot, (though there have been fights and violence, and the press now needs security) but potentially the day after the election in which numerous groups have said there would be a revolution if Trump didn't win.  He is propagating that action with his incessant insistence that the elections are rigged.

The fact that Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Reince Priebus, and other Republican leaders are not disavowing and chastising Trump for these comments, is horrendous.  Speaker Ryan said he has confidence that the election is not rigged, does nothing to quell the riotous nature of Trumps comments.  This needs to be quashed in the strongest sense, and belittled by our Republican leaders.

Senator Jeff Sessions should lose his stature and place on the Judiciary Committee for repeating Trumps accusations that the elections are rigged.  He needs to be renounced immediately!!!!

the danger of not doing so is reflected in Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. calling for pitch forks and torches.

Sez Me.....Get A Brain! Morans.....

What A Role Model......
Can you imagine this call from your child's school,  "Good Afternoon Mr./Mrs X, we have your son in the principles office because he felt it appropriate to replicate the words of the President, and tried to kiss a girl and grab her by the crotch."  Now your 10 year old son, could very well be expelled from school, labeled a sex offender, and many parts of his life, may be ruined from that day forward.  that is how serious this shit is.......

Our Educational System......
Come election day, we will know which states take no pride, nor effort into their educational system. We see the result of tax cuts, and lack of funding for the educational system in this shit show we are calling an election.......



Is it the end for the GOP?......
Fareed Zakaria wrote a very compelling and very scary article on Trumps end game. Is the GOP History? What About The Country?  If you take the time to listen to his speeches, it makes sense, as he continuously propagates the Alt Right philosophies.  the Democrats should not rejoice at all even after election day.  Trump has opened Pandora box, and we all need to work together to close it......






Laugh Them Off The Stage.......
My theory, that I have put into practice, is to laugh at any Trump supporter I encounter.  I haven't gotten my ass kicked yet, though I am sure it is bound to happen, but mostly, they walk off in a huff. We need to laugh Trump and all of his supporters back into the rat-hole they came from......

Miami Herald Says It Best......

"Let’s make clear what the 2016 presidential election isn’t about:

It is not about choosing between a bad candidate and a worse one. The narrative that Hillary Clinton is the lesser of two evils is patently wrong. Ms. Clinton is a pragmatic, tough-minded woman of accomplishment and political conviction with a demonstrated mastery of policy. She is politically flawed. However, Donald Trump is a damaged human being.

It’s not about an entertaining, shoot-from-the-hip renegade outsider taking on a mainstay of the entrenched political elite. That was Sarah Palin vs. Joe Biden back in 2008. No, Mr. Trump is the elite, one who has managed to talk a good game to fire up frustrated and frightened mostly white Americans with a campaign of hate and xenophobia."

The rest of the endorsement is worth the read here..... Miami Herald Endorses Hillary Clinton

It Should Be Noted......

Donald Trump, who has gone after Hillary Clinton for disparaging her husband's accusers/victims, has spent the last 48 hours disparaging his own.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article108145747.html#storylink=cpy

Get Off My Lawn.... A Guest Column From Shane Roehl

I saw a comment on social media last night that finally threw me over the edge...

"The system is so broken...I can't stand either candidate.  I hope that people come to their senses and vote 3rd party.  I doubt it will happen though, because the media just tells people what to think."

This one statement, encapsulates all of the things that make me crazy about the general voting public.  It is also a perfect example of the danger of social media.  This person clearly has an opinion and is willing to share it, which of course, is their right.  The problem is, the train of thought that produced this statement has derailed so badly, that this thought becomes dangerous should this person be in a position to influence any other person.  

To me, I see at least 2 major problems here.  First is this idea that "the system is broken".  This claim just makes me insane.  Each time I see it, I think "What about the system, exactly, is broken?  Do you even understand the system?  Tell me, do you know what the 3 branches of government are?  Do you understand the relationship between the Executive and Legislative branch?  Do you understand how the electoral college works and why it exists? "  These are just a few of the questions that come to mind when someone talks about the system being broken.  My guess is you could poll anyone in your office and they would fail this civics test miserably.  I would also guess that these same people would tell you they feel disenfranchised by, and apathetic about, "the system".  If someone cannot answer clearly what exactly about the system is broken, with reasons that are based in fact, then I have absolutely no reason to take them seriously.

There seems to be this celebration of willful ignorance on these issues that permeates all corners of the voting and non voting public alike.  I don't think this is a new phenomenon.  I do believe, however, that since the 2008 election cycle these ignoramus voters have largely come of age, and now have a louder voice that is heard by more people, than ever via social media.  These diseased ideas spread amongst the lowest level thinkers like a zombie virus and at times even take hold with people you would otherwise consider to be intelligent. I find myself often being put in the position of having to defend history, and the facts of the matter, in order to keep the ship afloat.  I can say that I don't always take the bait due to either sheer exhaustion/exasperation, or due to the desire to not be a complete social pariah.  

What I would tell folks that hold this view is that the idea of simply voting 3rd Party will "solve" the perceived problem, is just plain lunacy.  That is like going to a dentist when you need to have your tires rotated.  It's as though everyone seems to forget the the most viable of the 3rd parties is the completely politically unworkable (and essentially anarchist) Libertarian point of view.  Forget that Gary Johnson specifically appears to be a bit of a buffoon, just focus on the policy ideas.  They don't work in an interconnected, global economy.  Facts being what they are, this hardly seems to matter to anyone. 

I'm finding that people would rather vote for a 3rd party candidate that has no real chance of winning, and if they did win, would cause significant harm to our economy and state in general than choose between a truly dangerous option (Trump) and an unlikeable, severely flawed, yet capable option (Clinton).  Voting for the 3rd party does them no good, even if they have the best of intentions and want to "vote their conscience."  This vote, does nothing to advance their interests, and in effect serves as a celebration of their willful ignorance.  I'm also very concerned when I see someone that I would otherwise consider a measured, intelligent, and thoughtful person, throwing their hat in this ring.  It is almost as if voting Libertarian is the "hipster" thing to do.  Like there is some intellectual high-ground they are taking by voting this way.  Often times I get the sense that there is some sort of feeling that this person believes they know something others don't, by choosing this option, when in reality it only highlights their ignorance to this particular intellectual domain.

All of this brings me to my point.  I think we can all agree that both of the major parties are racing toward their fringe constituents.  One a little faster than the other.  This, combined with the general ignorance and lack of intellectual will of the electorate combine to create the most concerning issue that will come out of this election.   Tens of Millions of voters are otherwise ideologically unattached, and are without a home politically (I would consider myself amongst them).  These people are going to be looking for another option.  Right now, it appears that the Libertarian Party is the one best positioned to capitalize on this void.  This is a horrible, horrible option.  Thank goodness their current slate of candidates are not ready for prime-time.  Can you imagine, however, if you had a Corey Booker (D-NJ) type personality on that ticket?  Someone that can inspire those who lack any foundation in facts or reason?  Those that willfully allow others to think for them?  

I have heard this same concern espoused regarding the Republican party, but sadly, that party has allowed the Mayberry Taliban portion constituency to take over, and most of America finds their stance to be repugnant.  The Libertarian platform appeals to those that chase snappy headlines, have a short memory as it pertains to history, and have a loose grip on the mechanics of government, foreign policy, and the economy. 

With that in mind, I think THIS is what we should really be concerned about coming out of this election cycle.  My hope is that should a 3rd party rise from the ashes of this election, it is a reformed version of the establishment Republican party.  At least then, a conversation could be had on policy.  While I may not agree with some of those old planks, at the very least there was measured consideration for the impacts of policy on our economy and state in general.  Only then will the Democratic party be pulled back toward the center.  Doing this, will lead to productive conversations about what policies will best move our country forward.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but think about what I've said in these terms...

Future elections will depend more and more upon the intellectual, and decision making stylings of Millennial Voters.  College educated, young professionals that have never had to face any real adversity outside of having to pay back student loans, and figure out which band to go see on Friday night.  Voters that claim moral and intellectual superiority on all social issues, but have absolutely zero arrows in their quiver when pressed for details on their respective positions.  I say that not to impugn their character as people, but rather to highlight the flaws in their commitment to fully thinking through these types of issues. 

This thought alone, chills my spine.  But to think about all of the flannel wearing, bearded, craft beer swilling, beanie wearing, beach cruiser bike riding, weenie boys and their equally insufferable girlfriends (or boyfriends) being the bulk of the future electorate genuinely causes me to lose sleep from time to time.

Oh, and get off my lawn...

You Want Jobs? Elect A Democrat For President: Facts Don't Lie!

In light of this past week's cringe-worthy, gutter news about Donald J. Trump and his bragging of how he sexually assaults women, I would like to get on with some real issues about this election, and what is best for the country, not only this election year, but for those in the future as well.  I will address Trump's comments briefly though.  REAL men, and any REAL man I have ever interacted with, would never brag about escapades and triumphs, and would NEVER talk about a woman in the way in which Trump speaks about them. Period. If any punk ever spoke that way in my presence, they would be abruptly and sternly halted.  Ok, now on to our regularly scheduled program.

For years, you have believed The Big Lie.  I sure did.  The lie is that Republicans are better for business, they give the working class jobs, they promote small businesses, they reduce regulations so that commerce can better help the economy.  That, my friends is the trap that many of us have fallen into for so many years.  But now, now we have over 20 years of experimentation on this.  27 years since Reagan left office, and 35 years since he entered.  So we have plenty of time to see if his grand experiment worked.  And that is what it was….an experiment.  I worked on the Reagan campaign.  I believed he would make our country better.  He would heal what ailed us. And he did in many ways.  But today, we sit….35 years later, with stagnated wages.  Do I blame it all on him?  No, of course not.  And we have had some good economic times since then.  But some very bad ones as well.  To go into all the causes, would constitute a whole book, and I know your attention span is not up to that.  Nor is my writing.

Now, however, we fortunately, after years of dismal growth, we are seeing some improvement.  You can’t give credit to the previous president on this one, for President Obama has been in office for 8 years.  I am sure many of you give him much of the blame for the turmoil we have had up until now. But one thing we can agree on, is that; “It’s the economy stupid!”

According to the Pew Research Center, 84% of the voting populace think that the economy is the main concern we are currently facing in the United States.  A recent poll by Fox, (for what that is worth) has the American Voters trusting Trump over Clinton, to do a better job with the economy, 50% to 45%.  

The GOP has sold Americans the bill of goods, that they are the party for business prosperity, and the overall economy. The Tea Party says that cutting government spending substantially is the course of action that will save America. Republicans believe that  the Laffer Economic Plan, supply side economics, reducing taxes on businesses and the wealthy creates more jobs, and greater wealth for the populace. The three preceding sentences prove that the GOP is either a moronic, idiotic bunch of dipshits, or they know they are taking America for a ride, and just want to stay in office, for they know if they told the truth, they would be out on their kiester...and their voters are a moronic, idiotic bunch of dipshits for believing them.

I know facts are inconvenient for those that have bought into the GOP facade, and I know that when confronted with facts, most people try and refute them, but  I am going to present them to you anyway...startling as they are. And this is from the National Bureau of Economic Research, a study conducted from two Princeton Economists, Alan Blinder and Mark Watson, (one being a conservative no-less). Are you ready? Sitting down, drinking a beer?  Relax, I know this is hard:

“The U.S. economy not only grows faster, according to real GDP and other measures, during Democratic versus Republican presidencies, it also produces more jobs, lowers the unemployment rate, generates higher corporate profits and investment, and turns in higher stock market returns. Indeed, it outperforms under almost all standard macroeconomic metrics. By some measures, the partisan performance gap is startlingly large--so large, in fact, that it strains credulity, given how little influence over the economy most economists (or the Constitution, for that matter) assign to the President of the United States.

Since Harry Truman’s Presidency, During the 64 years that make up these 16 terms, real GDP growth averaged 3.33% at an overall annual rate. But the average growth rates under Democratic and Republican presidents were starkly different: 4.35% and 2.54% respectively

If you include FDR, the difference is even greater.”

And….. other items such as:

• Income inequality rises under Republicans but falls under Democrats.
• both real wages (compensation per hour in the nonfarm business sector) and labor productivity increased faster under Democrats than Republicans
• the structural federal budget deficit has been, on average, smaller under Democratic presidents

Also, reading through the data one will notice that Democrats inherit growth rates of 1.9% from the final year of the previous term, while Republicans inherit a growth rate of 4.3%--a clear advantage to Republicans. So you cannot say that Democrats benefited from the policies of Republicans.  A false argument, period.

So all those Trump supporters who think Trump will bring jobs, all those GOP blow-hards who tell you that the Republican party is better for business, every single fact absolutely disputes that.  If you want wages to grow, if you want jobs, growth, and prosperity, then you need to put a Democrat in the White House. You’d do even better by changing congress to go along with that.

It Also Matters For Those Too Young To Vote And Our Educational System Is Failing Them..... A Guest Column from Ms. Cassie Gahm

There is a common misconception about politics that I believe is the root of some of the major problems that are surfacing in this presidential election. I have lost track of the number of times I have been told in the past several months that someone was not going to vote either because their vote didn’t matter or because they didn’t like either of the two candidates. The misconception here is that taking a hands-off approach, and not having to think about the reality of the situation will make it so that it doesn’t directly impact our future. It’s the Ostrich theory. Just bury your head in the sand, and nothing will hurt you, because you don’t know about it. Political nonchalance plagues my millennial generation, and put us in the middle of this mess. This mess being a legitimate campaign by a reality-star nightmare, Donald Trump.

I had a fascinating conversation with my eleven year old sister the other day. I had asked her casually what she was learning about in her Social Studies class and if they had watched any of the first presidential debate. She said that she had, and commented that she thought “Trump was rude and interrupted Clinton a lot and he didn’t really have anything good to say”. But she went on to tell me she hadn’t learned this in school. In school she was learning about Mesopotamia.

My instant reaction to hearing Mesopotamia was, “Why on God’s green earth are you learning about Mesopotamia during an election year where there are current events that could be teaching you about the world you are living in right now?” This was followed by the thought that it is really fun to say the word Mesopotamia.

Now, of course kids need to have a curriculum that teaches the basics, and of course she should be learning about Mesopotamia. My question is why couldn’t they follow current events and learn history at the same time? The answer is striking, a bit sickening, and pretty obvious. It is a lack of teaching our future generation how to think for themselves. No one is giving them the facts, teaching them how to draw their own conclusions, and showing them what they can do about it.

My sister and I went on to talk about if she could vote, who it would be for. When posed the question, her answer was Trump. I asked her why she wanted Trump to be president, especially when she had just pointed out that he was not good in the debate. She said, “Well, Mom and Dad are Republicans.” I can’t fault her for this - it was the exact same answer I had growing up. I knew nothing to very little about what was going on and understood even less. I blindly followed my parents thinking that I probably believed the same thing they did.

The thing that really got me going was when she said, “It doesn’t matter to me anyway.” That is a real thought that our kids have these days! They do not think that anything that is happening will actually impact them. They do not care because they are taught not to.

I went on to explain about how Clinton will bring better jobs into the country, give women equal pay, protect our country in a way that Trump has no intention of doing… she did not care. That is when I asked her if she planned to get a job when she was eighteen. She said, yes. I pointed out to her that the person that won this election would make the difference of her making a good wage, or a below average wage based on the fact that she’s a girl… because in eight years things will be changed for the better, or they will be much, much worse for women.

In a way she blew me off, thinking that that was a long time from now and I couldn’t possibly know what would happen in eight years. But it made her think. In reality - I do know what will happen. In eight years we will either be celebrating the fact that women have come to be an equal member of society, or we will have a leader that will treat women worse than anything that has been seen in sixty years. A man who can compare women to animals does not deserve to be the president of this great nation that has come so far from where we started.

The fact that people are blindly allowing this disgusting human being to get this far in this race is beyond me. The fact that no one is making our kids think about what is happening in the world is completely terrifying. Our education system is failing our future generations. I would go so far as to say it failed me, along with the millennial generation. But I can tell you one thing - we won’t be doing anyone any favors by putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

Our forefathers did not plan for us to sit idly by and let our country be run by a man that has no intention of well-being for our nation. Trump is a man that has shocked the nation with his belligerence, intolerance, inexperience, and overall self-righteous behavior over and over again. The sane people voting for him are trying to ignore that it is him they are voting for, and try and think of it as voting for the Republican Party. If they put their heads in the sand, it can’t truly be as bad as all that. Can it? YES IT CAN! Wake up, America. If you don’t think this decision will directly impact you for one terrifying reason or another, you are dreaming.