Month: February 2016

Daily Trump Dump 02/29/16

THE BIG NEWS: Leap Day 2016 will probably be referred to as “Earpiece Day” by future generations. After yesterday’s weird interview with Jake Tapper of CNN, where Trump failed (several times) to separate himself from David Duke and white supremacists, Our Hero explained why he didn’t take the opportunity to wash his hands of racists on Today

Let me tell you, I’m sitting in a house in Florida with a very bad earpiece that they gave me and you could hardly hear what he was saying, but what I heard was ‘various groups’ and I don’t mind disavowing anybody and I disavowed David Duke

Thus, “bad earpiece” became the “wide stance” of 2016. If Rubio doesn’t bring up the earpiece during Thursday’s debate, he’s ten shades of yellow. Extra points if he refers to Trump as “Ole Earpiece over here”. After all, Rubes has insinuated that DT has a small penis

FWIW, I like “Comedy Zone” Rubio. Much more laid back. It’s like he’s Jeffrey Ross at The Donald Trump Roast

Meanwhile, a “Mommy and Daddy are fighting” scenario developed over the Rubes/Trump feud between Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter. They duked it out on Twitter. Here’s an example of the back-and-forth

DAMN! All the drama of the epic Spring Valley Middle School “Whitney called Courtney a slut” battle of 2014. I just hope those crazy kids make up. They’re so good together. Like Pepsi and battery acid

A little drama at a Trump rally in Virginia today, as Time photographer Chris Morris was choke slammed by a Secret Service agent. Morris said he ventured 18 inches out of the “press pen” to get a better look at protestors being escorted out

At a Trump rally in Georgia, DT ordered the Secret Service to remove some black students who didn’t suit him

Now, imagine that guy in charge of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines

Super Tuesday is upon us and Ted Cruz is poised for a win in his home state of  Alberta Texas. Trump is destroying Rubes in Florida. DT is killing it in Virginia and Georgia, as well as Michigan and Massachusetts. Things are close in Ohio, which could be Kasich’s last stand. It’s pretty grim for everyone not named Donald Trump. After Tuesday, the money men will have to reassess whether they want to back Cruz or Rubio because they probably need to take a hard look at their resources and continuing to throw money at both won’t be practical. Cruzer, at least has racked up two victories (assuming he holds serve in the Lone Star State), while Rubes has none. Carson is simply staying in to sell his next book. Kasich will probably drop out if he loses Ohio, so we’ll, essentially, be down to Cruzer vs. DT after Super Tuesday. At that point, The Donald may have captured enough delegates that it’s too late, anyway

In a ponderous move on Monday, NASCAR’s CEO and some past and present drivers endorsed Trump

I’ll set aside the drivers’ endorsements, as they can do what they want, but to have Brian France endorse DT is further evidence that NASCAR simply will never be at the same level as the NFL, NBA, MLB, or even the NHL. Can you imagine Roger Goodell endorsing any presidential candidate? And, before you start, I’m quite aware that Mr. Goodell has had some lapses in judgment. But, let’s get real: There’s no way a legitimate sports organization would co-sign for a guy who is the presidential candidate of choice for the Ku Klux Klan. Even WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, who runs a fake sports organization and is a rabid Republican has kept his powder dry with regards to The Donald (the two know each other well). It becomes an even more perplexing move, as NASCAR is negotiating for a new partner for it’s highest-level series. Let’s say you’re the CEO of, let’s say McDonald’s and you’re considering sponsoring The Mickey D’s Cup. You want to go take a meeting with a guy who just showed mad love for David Duke’s crush?

And let’s not even talk about NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity. I’d love to see Brian France explain to a Hispanic kid wanting to enter the sport why he supported a guy who has stated that the Mexican government is sending rapists and murderers across the border

But, maybe I’m reading this wrong. Maybe Trump’s precious wall will be a SAFER barrier

 

Vinyl: Worse Than Ballers

Last year, I began to watch HBO’s original series Ballers. I didn’t fall in love with it from the beginning, but I kept watching, hoping that the mediocre series would become funny, at some point. I like The Rock. I like sports. I like behind-the-scenes looks at stuff, so it seemed like a no-brainer for me

It never got better

The show wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good, either. The Daily Show alum Rob Corddry was a bright spot, but not enough to carry the show

This year, I was intrigued by HBO’s new drama Vinyl, which promised to take us on a wild ride through the music industry of the 1970s

Created by Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Rich Cohen, and Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Vinyl was highly-promoted and showed a lot of promise. Reviews, however, have been mixed. In fact, some people have been crapping since the credits began rolling on the pilot

I hate it when people simply say “that sucks” or “I hate that” about music/television/film with no detail, so I will list in descending order my grievances and also a couple of things that I like about the show

First, the negatives:

  1. I don’t buy Bobby Cannavale as the lead character. I accept that Mr. Cannavale is a fine actor who has logged many fine performances in his career, but I just don’t buy him as the drug-fueled, mercurial Richie Finestra. There’s just something missing there that makes it seem like he’s playing Ray Liotta’s character in Goodfellas with a pinch of Scarface. I’m not seeing a lot of nuance here
  2. There’s no one to root for on this show. I think we’re supposed to be cheering for this up-and-coming band The Nasty Bits (fronted by Jagger’s son), but they come off as petulant punks and I don’t mean that in a good way. Finestra’s wife (played by Olivia Wilde) has moment of redemption, but it’s hard to be sympathetic to a mom who drove off and left her kids at a restaurant because she was high
  3. The flashback/fantasy sequences really don’t work. My “jump the shark” moment was when Mrs. Finestra was remembering the tender moment her future husband banged her in a disgusting bathroom at a club and she suddenly fantasized about being on a pleasant car ride with fake Karen Carpenter singing “Yesterday Once More”. Also, someone needs to explain to me the Jerry Lee Lewis interstitial from episode two
  4. Continually making historical errors. I’m not quite as uptight about this as others, but it does add up. I don’t care so much that Peter Grant was, in real life, a mountain of a man with a voice that could make God pee his pants, but, on the show, he’s an average-sized guy with a whiny timbre. I DO mind that Finestra keeps “finding” various moments in history like some sort of Rock ‘n’ Roll Gump. It just so happens that he’s driving in a bad part of town and accidentally hears DJ Kool Herc inventing hip hop. And he just so happens that he survives a New York Dolls show where the building collapses (don’t look it up; never happened)
  5. The “cameos” are absurd. The guy who plays Andy Warhol is barely passable. The guy portraying Alice Cooper in episode three looked like Ace Frehley‘s little brother
  6. Supporting cast is only ok. I like Ray Romano, but he doesn’t belong in this. I like Juno Temple as Jamie Vine, but everybody else is just wallpaper
  7. Does a bump of cocaine really make you feel like you’re having an orgasm and biting into a habanero while taking off in a rocket ship?

So, to be fair, here’s what does work on the show

  1. Olivia Wilde, Fantastic likable actress, who is great in about everything she does, even when she’s given contrived dialog and being put into unrealistic situations
  2. The comedy team of Bo Dietl and Andrew Dice Clay. They, sadly, were…err…split up before the end of the pilot (kind of a spoiler, but, so what?)
  3. The “look” of the show. That part, they nail, which isn’t surprising, given Scorses’s involvement. Gritty and grainy, all the way

So, the negatives far outweigh the positives. From now on, I’ll probably be hate watching. But, Vinyl looks like Mick Jagger’s Son Needs a Job at this point

 

B&B Podcast 02/29/16

Lyft is the rideshare service that gives you rides in minutes wherever you are. Download the Lyft app and use the code URAWINNER to get a $50 credit you can use right now with Lyft. Lil’ Rush attacks the Academy Awards, B and B speak of Trump, David Duke, and earpieces. twitter.com/BradandBritt facebook.com/BradandBrittShow http://BradandBritt.com

3 Things Trump Says He Hasn’t Heard Of: David Duke, Il Duce, John Oliver

Admittedly, we’re addicted to the non-stop pointing out of what a doofus Donald Trump Drumpf (real family name) is.  No point in stopping now. Silence is surrender.  Support is complicity.  Lack of examination is self-blindness.  Drumpf could go… all… the… way.   Sunday night, I rolled thatScreen shot 2016-02-29 at 11.58.18 AM DVR on John Oliver on HBO, thinking he’d be a great desert to the Oscar meal, which always takes too long to serve, but was delivered spectacularly by Chris Rock.  Right at midnight, I said goodnight to the deserving Spotlight gang and John Oliver, who promised to try to ignore Trump as long as possible, could hold back no more.  If you haven’t seen his 20-minute, perfectly-researched takedown of the Short-Fingered One, enjoy!

Inae Oh in Mother Jones:

John Oliver Finally Takes on “Serial Liar” Donald Trump and It Was Brutally Fantastic

“Donald Trump is America’s back mole—it may have seemed harmless a year ago, but now that it has gotten frighteningly bigger, it is no longer wise to ignore it.”

And with that, John Oliver finally took on the politics of Donald Trump on Sunday, after spending months largely ignoring the real estate magnate’s meteoric rise in the polls since launching his presidential campaign last summer.

“But he has now won three states, has been endorsed by Chris Christie, and polls show him leading most Super Tuesday states, which is a big deal,” Oliver said.

While he claimed to understand why Trump’s campaign is resonating with voters, Oliver explained that upon closer inspection, Trump’s appeal reveals to be quite horrifying, much like the attractiveness of a “buffet lunch at a strip club.”

The “Last Week Tonight” host went onto suggest supporters start imagining the candidacy of a man named Donald Drumpf—the last name one biographer recently uncovered was the Republican frontrunner’s original family name—to help expose Trump and his empty, often racist promises to make America great again.

“Stop and take a moment to imagine how you would feel if you just met a guy named Donald Drumpf, a litigious serial liar with a string of broken business ventures and the support of a former KKK leader who he can’t decide whether or not to condemn.”

Yep, let’s #MakeDonaldDrumpf again.

Daily Trump Dump 02/28/16

THE BIG NEWS: Sunday’s edition of The New York Times featured an article detailing how GOP bigwigs are FREAKING THE HELL OUT about Trump becoming the party’s nominee. Let’s unpack some of this

At a meeting of Republican governors the next morning, Paul R. LePage of Maine called for action. Seated at a long boardroom table at the Willard Hotel, he erupted in frustration over the state of the 2016 race, saying Mr. Trump’s nomination would deeply wound the Republican Party. Mr. LePage urged the governors to draft an open letter “to the people,” disavowing Mr. Trump and his divisive brand of politics.

The suggestion was not taken up. Since then, Mr. Trump has only gotten stronger, winning two more state contests and collecting the endorsement of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey

If you just read that and aren’t from Maine, you might not know that Paul LePage is an INSANE HUMAN BEING

Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday he made the “outrageous” comments about “black dealers” to get more Drug Enforcement Administration resources, alluding to past controversial comments he made about drug dealers.

“I had to go scream at the top of my lungs about black dealers coming in and doing the things that they’re doing to our state,” LePage told the radio station WVOM-FM. “I had to scream about guillotines and those types of things before they were embarrassed into giving us a handful of DEA agents.”

As the guy on the infomercial says, but wait: There’s more

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) believes asylum-seekers are the “biggest problem” in the state because of the diseases they may be bringing in.

“What happens is you get hepatitis C, tuberculosis, AIDS, HIV, the ‘ziki fly,’ all these other foreign type of diseases that find a way to our land,” LePage said during a town hall meeting Tuesday night, according to Maine Public Broadcasting News

In case you weren’t aware, there is no such thing as a Ziki Fly. However, if you start ranting like Paul LePage, you may have been stung by the deadly Dumbass Bee

But, you want to know how I know Paul LePage is out of his freaking mind?

(WAIT FOR IT! WAIT FOR IT!)

He just became the second overweight governor to endorse Donald Trump

That’s right! After suggesting a resolution that would distance GOP governors from The Crazy World of Donald Trump, he decided to embrace him fully and completely. Suddenly, I long for the steady guiding hand of a Rod Blagojevich or Mark Sanford

Continuing with the Times piece

Republicans have ruefully acknowledged that they came to this dire pass in no small part because of their own passivity. There were ample opportunities to battle Mr. Trump earlier; more than one plan was drawn up only to be rejected. Rivals who attacked him early, like Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal, the former governors of Texas and Louisiana, received little backup and quickly faded

Despite the efforts of Rough and Ready Jindal and Blood and Guts Perry, The Donald’s truth is marching on. Seriously! Did people just watch them go into the breach and say “I’m sure those boys have this handled”? Dear Lord!

Resistance to Mr. Trump still runs deep. The party’s biggest benefactors remain totally opposed to him. At a recent presentation hosted by the billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch, the country’s most prolific conservative donors, their political advisers characterized Mr. Trump’s record as utterly unacceptable, and highlighted his support for government-funded business subsidies and government-backed health care, according to people who attended.

But the Kochs, like Mr. Adelson, have shown no appetite to intervene directly in the primary with decisive force

Superman napped. I guess the guys are so anti-liberal that the mere thought that throwing money at a problem to solve it is deeply offensive to them

Several senior Republicans, including Mr. Romney, have made direct appeals to Mr. Kasich to gauge his willingness to stand down and allow the party to unify behind another candidate. But Mr. Kasich has told at least one person that his plan is to win the Ohio primary on March 15 and gather the party behind his campaign if Mr. Rubio loses in Florida, his home state, on the same day

I love ya, John, but, do you have a Plan D?

Mr. McConnell was especially vocal, describing Mr. Kasich’s persistence as irrational because he has no plausible path to the nomination, several senators said

And we know how much Tippy hates irrationality

I’d like to have just a word with big-time Republicans who think they can pull some shenanigans and keep Trump from the nomination. The rest of you can go back to surfing porn

Are they gone?

Good

If you dummies start jacking with the delegates and working your behind-the-scenes magic, Donald Trump will mount a third party/independent bid, splitting the vote, and Hillary will waltz into 1600 (SHOCKER: He’s already laying the foundation)

While I admire your “The ‘check engine’ light is on. Let’s set the car on fire!” strategy, it’s hard to see a way out now. And, yes, you built that! Is it really that hard to see Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” morphing into white supremacists endorsing DT? Don’t you think if Lee Atwater had a Twitter account back in the day, it would resemble Trump’s feed now? Can you not see the link between making Rush Limbaugh an “honorary member of Congress” (“we need to sound like this guy”) to having a Republican frontrunner who sounds like a right-wing talk show host?

Good news for you, Repubs: Only about 25 seats in the House of Representatives are even going to be contested. What a fabulous credit to our democracy! Only about five percent of the seats up for grabs will see legitimate competition. Everyone else has been gerrymandered to safety except for the few seats where no one could be mustered to compete against an incumbent who would likely be able to spend the hell out of any challenger

So, that leaves the Senate? Hey, wait! Aren’t those the people who have the final say on Supreme Court nominees?

OK! Good talk. Glad we could share. Back to the Dump

Trump (hearts) Mussolini (apparently). The RT is not your friend, Donald. Here was Trump’s (weak) explanation on Meet The Press

DT shrugs shoulders re KKK and white supremacists

Cruzer says The Donald has links to a mafia-connected dude

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) endorses DT

Did The Donald diss Christie at a campaign event? You decide

Rubes and Cruzer continue to troll The Donald on tax returns

 

DT claims Hispanic judge in Trump University case has been a meanie

Meanwhile, Rubio is unleashing hell on Trump

When a protester appeared behind Rubio, sporting a coat hanger and a sign that read “MARCO RUBIO EMPTY SUIT,” the candidate wasted no time in vamping, quite effectively, on the interruption.

“‘Empty suit,'” Rubio remarked, clearly enjoying himself, “at least my suit wasn’t made in China!” — a not-so-subtle jab at Donald Trump’s clothing line. The crowd roared with approval.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the valedictorian of Trump University!” Rubio continued as the protester was led out

Good stuff, Senator. In fact, a little too good. A cynic might say the protester was a plant, which allowed Rubes to throw down his scripted lines

Stay thirsty, Marco

Never Buy Bagels From A Place That Doesn’t Give You The 13th For Free… It’s Just An Immutable Rule

And NEVER….. and I mean NEVER buy from a place that sells these damn things:

Screen shot 2016-02-28 at 4.20.18 PM

This is as bad as it gets.  This is not what the world needs.  This doesn’t improve anything.  It looks like a Bernie Sanders acid trip gone bad.   My eternal thanks to Wonkette for making us aware of this scourge on humanity: “Rainbow Bagels – the name is trademarked – became a massive hit in New York after Jonathan Cheban, a friend of Kim Kardashian, shared pictures of his purchase on Snapchat. They are credited to baker Scot Rossillo, the self-described “World’s premier bagel artist”, whose CV also includes the invention of the cragel, a croissant-bagel hybrid.”

1. This is but one more thing to add to Things That Are a Blight On the World Because Of OJ Simpson. He is to blame for ALL things Kardashian. We would have never known those little brats were it not for him, and this post would not exist.
2. I am a Bagel Racist and proud of it. I believe that bagels should not MIX with other genetically inferior, non-bagel ingredients as shown here. A puredough, real bagel need not be sullied by the inferior blobs that are produced via mutations that come from the evil minds of Culinary Chef Mengeles.
3. Bagels are NOT some kind of culinary canvas to be painted or decorated like other inanimate objects. They are BAGELS, dammit.  These iterations are far enough.  If you want a donut, go get a donut.

Screen shot 2016-02-28 at 4.28.03 PM

The “Make America White Again” Crusade Continues, Starring Donald J. Trump & Friends

Because he has done so well among all demographic groups in the Republican primaries so far, Donald deftly added one last (unexpected) constituency hostage this past week… everyone who didn’t attend the Wharton School of Finance and other assorted dummies. (“I love the poorly educated”). With that clean sweep, it was time to get back around to solidifying his original base, so Trump pivoted back to racists, bigots, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists over the weekend.

1. Demonstrating the wise, contemplative demeanor of a seasoned leader,  Trump retweeted a Mussolini quote that had been placed out there by Gawker.  They explain how they reeled in the Greatest Negotiator Ever… The Man Who Cannot Be Fooled…. here.Screen shot 2016-02-28 at 2.40.38 PM

Like any street thug, dictator, or strongman bully creep, Trump LOVED it and wanted to share it with the world as if it were his own thought. Here’s the exchange on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, as he defends the indefensible. Remember, this highly educated moron/oaf DIDN’T apparently recognize or have the common knowledge that Mussolini was known as “il duce,”– the leader, the chief.

TODD: You know right now on Twitter, there is a trending retweet of yours. You tweeted someone from “ilduce2016″ — it was a Mussolini quote, but you didn’t know it was Mussolini when you retweeted it, it said, “It is better to live one day as a lion than one hundred years as a sheep.”* That’s a famous Mussolini quote, you retweeted it, do you like the quote? Did you know it was Mussolini?

TRUMP: It’s okay to know it’s Mussolini. Yeah, look Mussolini was Mussolini. Its a very good quote, it’s a very interesting quote, and I know it… I saw it… I saw what… I know who said it. But what difference does it make whether it’s Mussolini or somebody else? It’s certainly a very interesting quote.

TODD: Well…

TRUMP: That’s probably why…

TODD: Mussolini…

TRUMP: I, between Facebook and Twitter…

TODD: …was a fascist.

TRUMP: …have fourteen million people who…

TODD: …do you want to be associated…

TRUMP: …want to be able to vote. It’s a very interesting quote and people can talk about it.

TODD: Do you want to be associated with a fascist?

TRUMP: No, I want to be associated with interesting quotes, and people, I have almost fourteen million people between Instagram and Facebook and Twitter, and all of that and we do interesting things. And I sent it out, and it certainly got your attention didn’t it?

TODD: Well, it is trending on Twitter right now. Mister Trump, I have to leave it there. Stay safe on the trail. We’ll see you Super Tuesday. It could be a big night for you.

2.  “Will you unequivocally condemn (former KKK Grand Wizard) David Duke and say that you don’t want his vote and that of other white supremacists in this election?” Jake Tapper asked Trump on CNN’s “State of the Union.” As always, when trapped, Trump lied and lied and lied. Or that tall bubble he lives in on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is more insulated than we thought. “I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So I don’t know. I mean, I Screen shot 2016-02-28 at 2.50.20 PMdon’t know — did he endorse me or what’s going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you’re asking me a question that I’m supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about.”

 

3.  Ever since last week’s debate, Trump has been out trashing US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. According to Business Insider: “at a Saturday rally in Arkansas, Trump discussed the “Hispanic” judge while panning a lawsuit against Trump University, which critics accuse of being a scam. “I think the judge has been extremely hostile to me. I think it has to do with, perhaps with I’m very, very strong on the border — very, very strong on the border,” Trump told Wallace. “We have a very hostile judge. Now, he is Hispanic, I believe, and he is a very hostile judge to me.” Wallace seemed perplexed. “Why even bring up that he’s Hispanic? I mean, it does raise the question,” he asked Trump. Trump said he brought up the judge’s ethnic background because the media reports on how Hispanic voters have an unfavorable opinion of his candidacy. Trump famously launched his campaign last summer while accusing the Mexican government of sending rapists and murderers across the border. “Because you always bring it up, Chris. Because you always say how the Hispanics don’t like Donald Trump. You always bring it up in your poll numbers. You say the Hispanics don’t like Donald Trump. You’re Screen shot 2016-02-28 at 2.57.21 PMthe one that brings it up,” Trump said. “I don’t think I ever brought it up,” Wallace replied.

Funny, I could barely recognize Judge Curiel as Hispanic without the sombrero.  I mistook him for a real American.  He was approved by the US Senate in a voice vote in 2012.

 

Coins On The Track Don’t Stop The Make-America-Great-Again Train

 

I’ll divide support for Trump right now into two parts:

1.  People who love the idea of Trump as a change agent on their behalf, as if he magically appeared from nowhere to challenge all previous conventional wisdom on everything.  No answers, not even a remote scintilla of thoughtfulness on any issue….. just insults and the 100% counterintuitive taunt that America Sucks, Is Broken, Doesn’t Function, Was Taken From Us By Them, and I’ll Get It Back For You.  Implicit foundation is that because he’s rich he’s automatically smarter than everyone else… so follow they do.  His response to it being revealed again that he’d hired illegal aliens to build his buildings is to yell that he’s provided tens of thousands of jobs, what the F have you done, loser?  His dodge, easily accepted, on why he doesn’t put out his tax returns is a bundle of lies about being audited for 10 or 12 years (you’d think he’d KNOW for sure) which prevents him (it doesn’t) from doing so.  He even floated the possibility that he’s a persecuted Christian taxpayer!  Is that implying the IRS is run by the Jews?  Not even W. could call off the dogs?  Doesn’t matter to the followers.  They love that Trump really may be Howard Stern in a Screen shot 2016-02-27 at 11.20.47 AMSuit, freely associating and riffing on everything, trashing any and everyone who they believe has been shafting them forever.  Bubbling beneath that, of course, for many has been the perceived Destruction Of America by The Other president, Barack Obama.  They care nothing of Trump’s lack of specificity on anything.  In fact, his generalized boasting of future greatness is attractive because it looks like no one has to sacrifice anything…. it’s all gain and no pain and Trump has it nailed!  How will he bring the jobs back from China and Mexico?  Who cares?  How will he have ISIS begging the United States to stop bombing the s— out of them?  Doesn’t matter, but I love the idea of it all.   I love the fact that when Rubio finally broke out and tried to go sweat-to-hair with Donald The Insult Attack Dog candidate it just didn’t matter.

It won’t change anything. Donald was just as obnoxious as Rubio, and then steamrolled him the next day by pulling away Chris Christie from the Golden Corral desert island. Allegedly providing mainstream respectability, this blowhard phony who will be a former-governor-in-2017-who’ll-need-a-gig but is facing the little problem of Bridgegate finally reaching open court this April when two high-ranking associates face federal trial charges…  Christie may have a public shelf life a few hours longer than Sarah Palin, but that’s it.  What a perfect example of Trump using someone for immediate gratification and attention, then tossing him aside.  Trump as Don Corleone.  Chris will be back in Jersey after a few days pursuing the Garden State’s perfect pasta, the food he told the kids in 2013 in Camden was his favorite food, “before being interrupted by a kid who wanted to add meatballs to the dish. “Yeah throw them in there too, why not? Throw those babies in there. That always makes it a little better.” Favorite movie: “My favorite movie is probably ‘The Godfather,'” Christie said to chuckles from adults in the room. “That’s a more important answer for the legislators than it is for you.”

2.  Everyone else.  Notwithstanding the kind of general election Campaign From Hell ’16 that faces us in a probable Trump vs. Clinton smackdown, will the inevitable exposure of Trump As The Empty Suit keep him out of the White House?  Will ideas and policies and details ever matter all the way though November?   Maybe they never really have, and we just have to accept it’s like your high school student council presidential election, always going to Mr. or Ms. Popularity.  Promising to extend lunch an extra 20 minutes didn’t help Zitface.  Or, will his non-stop attack on Hillary The Corrupt, Empty Pantsuit convince enough Anybody But Trump Republicans and Democrats who are just as susceptible to the message and fit the demo and psychographics equally well?

This is not a policy-detail piece, but one thing must be put on the record from this past week:  Amidst all the trash-talk at the Houston debate, there was plenty of lying and plenty of substance.  Trump’s biggest fumble (and I know, there’s nothing too stupid that should be a disqualifying moment of zen for him that ever is… we’re way past that) was when Rubio pounded him on his health care plan.  You know, the one he doesn’t have.  Trump tried to fake it…. by rolling out the longstanding Republican suggestion to allow health insurers to compete across state lines.

“What is your plan on health care?” Rubio asked. “You don’t have a plan.”  Trump stumbled,“When you get rid of the lines, it brings in competition.  So instead of having one insurance company taking care of New York or Texas, you’ll have many. They’ll compete. And it will be a beautiful thing.”

For the entire time he’s has been running for president, and really for the 40 years he’s been in the public sphere, including all those years when, as someone who’s employed “tens of thousands of people,” you’d think Trump would have a pretty good working idea of health care, health insurance, and the details of this critical area of paramount concern.  Right now healthcare is 17-18% of our GDP, headed towards 20%.  And Trump knows nothing.  Nothing.  Palin-sized nothing.  It’s bad enough he gets away with the pre-packaged, “I’ll get rid of Obamacare on Day One” or a variation thereof.  What’s worse is his nonstop lying and the lying of every person who has ever been asked about Donald Trump’s healthcare plan.  Surrogates, enablers, family members, his crazy cadre of spokespeople…. all of them, when pinned on the issue, defer to saying, “just go to Donaldjtrump.com and it’s all right there.”  Really?  I tried it.  Under the “positions” tab, you get these simple, three-line statements that say nothing, of course.

There is also an “issues,” tab, composed of those horrendous office videos Trump makes on “Competent Leadership,” “Drug Epidemic,” “Live Free or Die,” “Second Amendment,” “Self-Funding,” “Illegal Immigration,” “The Military,”…. you get the idea, but nothing on his alleged, supposed, most-beautiful health care plan that “you can see at Donald’s website.”  So, he and everyone else are either knowingly lying or I am the first person in America to notice this ginormous anomaly that is so innocent and inadvertent.

I know…. none of it matters.   Trump is well on his way to the nomination.  Thank goodness I only chronicle this as a spectator to the process.   The Rejectionist, Conservative Resistance to Modernity, which I believe dates back to Reconstruction, winds through Strom Thurmond in ’48, revulsion at school desegregation, making sectarian prayer in school illegal, Nixon’s Southern Strategy, Willie Horton electing Bush 41, Reagan’s welfare queens, Ultimate hate and obstruction and the unacceptance of Obama as a legitimate president, Nuclear Obstructionism right up to no Scalia replacement need apply…. and it’s all embodied in Donald J. Trump For President 2016.  Have at it, gang.

In the end, nothing happens except you, the coin, get flattened.  The train rolls on towards its destination.  This demonstration video, shot in an undisclosed Super Tuesday state, confirms it in the first ten seconds.

 

 

Daily Trump Dump 02/26/16

THE BIG STORY: After suffering though the Cuban double team at Thursday’s debate in Houston, Trump rebounded with a big endorsement from Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), who made the announcement in Fort Worth. If you hate yourself, here it is

One has to wonder if the Governor’s good friend, Jerry Jones, paid for that plane ride to Texas. It remains to be seen what the price was for this particular political prize, but, imagine this: Supreme Court Justice Chris Christie. Man, those hearings will be SPECTACULAR!

Christie’s was only the second most disturbing endorsement of Trump this week

But, Cruzer and Rubes went hard after Trump at the debate, landing shots on his tax returns and employment of illegal aliens (extra points for Rubio, who smeared helpless Poles instead of Hispanics). It remains to be seen if their attacks will bear fruit, but, a lot of pundits say they should have been teaming up on DT for a while now.

Rubes and Trump continued to go after each other on Friday with Trump beating a long-dead horse and Marco firing back about DT’s “wet pants”. Donald then used the twitter

Rubes then tried and failed to make fun of Trump’s spelling expertise

Lincoln and Douglas are weeping in their graves

Back to the tax return issue: DT claims he hasn’t released tax returns because he’s being audited and he’s being audited because he’s a Christian. PS: His excuse for not releasing the tax returns is BS

Trump University was a massive scam

But an investigation by Mr. Schneiderman’s office found that Mr. Trump had little to do with picking instructors at the seminars or developing the curriculums for the seminars, which were run largely by people with motivational speaking backgrounds who were compensated based on how many people they persuaded to buy additional seminars. One of them was a manager at Buffalo Wild Wings

He never really cares about what he puts his name on, which makes me wonder if Trump Vodka caused blindness in 4 out of 5 alcoholics. Maybe if you got drunk off of it, you wandered around screaming obscenities and calling people “losers” and “dopey”

Hey! Was that vodka made by undocumented Polish workers? Somebody check on that

The Trump vs. Vicente Fox feud escalated. The former Mexican president dropped the “f bomb” when talking about Trump’s proposed wall on Thursday. DT was offended

So, Fox Business gave Fox an opportunity to apologize on Friday. And…

Well, he certainly passes The Donald’s “politically incorrect” test

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): My party has gone batshit crazy

In no-holds-barred remarks at a celebratory dinner Thursday night, the South Carolina senator and unsuccessful presidential candidate said the GOP has lost all semblance of sanity and predicted the party will suffer irrevocable losses in November if it backs Trump.

Graham said the GOP has its best chance in years to win as Democrats are likely to nominate Hillary Clinton, who has been damaged by questions about her trustworthiness. But his party is about to blow it, he said.

“The most dishonest person in America is a woman, who’s about to become president. How could that be? My party has gone batshit crazy,” Graham said.

But, Senator Graham also used his wicked sense of humor

In closing, Graham declared himself the Dr. Jack Kevorkian of the GOP presidential campaign, referring to the euthanasia activist who died in 2011. Graham’s own presidential bid faltered, and he had to drop out. He endorsed Jeb Bush, who subsequently quit.

Graham then pulled out a white baseball cap emblazoned with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and endorsed the New Yorker.

“I endorse Donald Trump and hope the Graham magic still exists,” he said

After previously declaring war on Apple and Ford, Trump went after Amazon on Friday

“I have respect for Jeff Bezos, but he bought The Washington Post to have political influence, and I gotta tell you, we have a different country than we used to have,” Trump said. “He owns Amazon. He wants political influence so that Amazon will benefit from it. That’s not right. And believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems. They’re going to have such problems.”

Just close your eyes for a moment and imagine that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) back in 2008 had said, “When I get in office, Wal-Mart (or General Motors or United Healthcare of YUM! Brands) will have a lot of problems! Boy, will they have problems!”. Rush Limbaugh’s head would’ve exploded. Every server Drudge had would have melted down. Roger Ailes might have stroked out

So, maybe the fallout wouldn’t have been that terrible

 

 

 

 

 

B&B Podcast 02/26/16

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