Do Trumpsters Think Hillary Is Actually President

Here's one guy who thinks Hillary Clinton should be
impeached from an office she doesn't hold

Jimmy Kimmel's team pulled one of his stunts this week, sending a roving reporter out onto the streets to ask Trump supporters whether Hillary Clinton should be impeached.

Of course you and I know that she can't, because she's not president.

However, as you'll find out in this video, the fact that Clinton does not currently hold an elective office is not going to stop the impeachment bandwagon against her.

I will be charitable and assume that the people interviewed in this clip were confusing the definition of the word "impeach" with that of "prosecute."  Because I suppose if Clinton or anybody else did something illegal, they could be prosecuted.

Watch the video and you be the judge of what these people were thinking:

A Letter To My Young Nieces In The Era Of Trump

My nieces Sydney and Alex are "nasty women"
in the best possible and young women like them
will get us through the Trump years, just you wait. 

This open letter is to my nieces Sydney and Alex, who are super sharp college age young women. This letter, from an old white man in Vermont who is thinking about Donald Trump, is also to all young women and girls.  

Dear Sydney and Alex: 

With the election of Donald Trump, you might not feel like this is a great time for a woman to rev up her young adult life.

Once again, old white men decided that a woman's place is not in the House, Senate or White House, but someplace subservient. Which of course is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Oh sure, there were many reasons Hillary Clinton was not elected president, but her being a woman was one of them, as we all surely know.

This time, the old, white men who had such an influence on selecting a president brought us one that really doesn't appreciate women, to say the least. The misogyny during the campaign was breathtaking.

Women are right to worry about what a Trump presidency will bring. Women are right to worry about the future. After all, the Powers That Be seem to want to go back to the days when women were truly considered second class citizens.

But you'd be wrong to give up in despair.

This is a setback, definitely.  But remember, Syd and Alex, you are "nasty women." You know what I mean. During one of the debates Trump snarled that Hillary Clinton is a "nasty woman." Women embraced that moniker as a badge of power, strength, purpose and morality. All of which made me cheer joyfully.

The nation remains full of young, nasty women, like you, and your numbers are growing.  This old white guy knows that what the nation needs more than anything is legions of nasty women.  The more the better.

Here's the dirty little secret: Old white men who voted for Trump are VERY afraid of nasty women.

Because women, particularly the "nasty"ones, are what will get us through this situation. Your uncle Jeff and I are a gay couple, part of one of the groups targeted as not worthy by some of the Trumpeters. Jeff and I and other LGBTQ people aren't necessarily the principal targets here, at least compared to Latinos, Muslims and African Americans, but we've nonetheless been put on notice.

Nasty women like you also know that love Trumps hate. Alex, I'm particularly happy you posted the following on Facebook:

"To Donald Trump, Mike Pence and their supporters.
I am a woman and I love you.
I support black lives matter and I love you.
I am a feminist and I love you
I am Christian and I love you."

What this tells me is all the nasty women like you, Alex and Syd, will be the ones that lead us out of the darkness in a purposeful, peaceful way.  I wish old white guys like Jeff and I would finally realize that it's always women who make things work when things go to hell.

You know, Rosie the Riveter in World War II. The labor organizer Mother Jones. The simple, honest grace and intelligence of Anne Frank and young Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The "when they go low, we go high" moral clarity of Michelle Obama. And so, so many others.

You will surely get down and depressed at times during the Trump era, but let me explain something else:

I don't normally lecture young women this way, but really, listen to your mother. She's a strong, assertive, smart woman who's trained you well to take on the world. She's a really nasty woman. Thank God.  And you're lucky to have a father who insists on letting you be you.

Everyone should be so lucky.

In her gracious concession speech, Clinton spoke to you, and girls much younger than you:

"Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling but someday, someone will - and hopefully sooner than we might think right now.

And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams."

Hillary Clinton was wrong about some things, but she was so very spot on here. Clinton, like me and your Uncle Jeff, understand the world needs you and all the other nasty girls and women more than ever.

Pop star Katy Perry, a strong woman in her own right who backed Hillary Clinton, is correct when she tweeted after the election. "The revolution is coming," and "Rise up."

I can feel that revolution approaching in a thunderous roar from millions of wonderful, nasty women.

It's up to you, Syd and Alex, to be part of this coming revolution of young women who will finally change the world for the better. I know it will happen.

Your Uncle Jeff and I can't wait to see what you do.

Love, Uncle Matt.

In A Sanders Snit, Washington State Electoral College Members Might Throw Election To Trump

Will this Electoral College elector from Washington State
throw the election to Trump even if Clinton wins the
popular vote. There's a slight chance he could, all because
he's still in a snit that Bernie Sanders didn't win the
Democratic nomination. 

Washington State is likely to go with Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in tomorrow's pivotal election.

But if the election is close, two Democratic members of the Electoral College, which ultimately picks the president, say they won't, or might not cast votes for Hillary Clinton, even if she wins the popular vote.  

The most adamant of the Washington Electoral College members is Robert Satiacum, who supported Bernie Sanders during the primary, says the Seattle Times. 

Satiacum is still in a snit because Sanders did not win the Democratic primary, so he won't vote for Clinton if she wins Washington. Never mind that Sanders had repeatedly said those who supported hi in the primary should vote Clinton to ensure Trump doesn't win.

"No, no, no on Hillary. Absolutely not. No way," Satiacum told the Seattle Times. "I hope it comes down to a swing vote and it's me....Good. She ain't getting it. Maybe it'll wake this country up."

Judging fron Satiacum's quotes, he's as arrogant and narcissistic as Trump. Oh, he'll single handedly save the country from itself. Sounds like Trump's famous quote that he alone can save this country.

I guess Satiacum wants Trump to win to really ruin the country in the bonehead theory that everybody will come around to his line of thinking, which is to the left of Clinton.

Satiacum, a member of Washington's Puyallup Native American Tribe, is at the Dakota Access pipeline demonstration in North Dakota. (Native Americans and many others are demonstrating against the pipeline because it threatens drinking water for native Americans and it impinges on burial grounds.)

Satiacum says he doesn't like Clinton because he doesn't trust her on environmental and tribal issues.

He doesn't support Trump, but his actions have the slightest threat of throwing the election to Trump. Trump has said that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by China and strongly advocates the coal and oil industries, which certainly contribute to global warming.

Bret Chiafalo, another Democratic elector from Washington State, is also considering not voting for Clinton, even if the popular vote goes her way.

Interestingly, Satiacum, as noted, is a member of the Puyallup Tribe. The Tribal Council strongly backs Clinton, and has donated $460,000 to her campaign, one of the largest contributors from Washington State, says the Seattle Times.

Washington State has 12 of the nation's 538 electors from the U.S Electoral College, which would finalize the presidential results in December. The winner needs 270 votes from the Electoral College to become president.

The chances that Satiacum and Chiafalo could throw the election to Trump despite the will of the people is slim, but it is just that kind of arrogance that makes me wonder why the Founding Fathers established the Electoral College. 

Gold Star Father Khizr Khan Has New Devastating, Emotional Ad For Hillary, Against Trump.

Khizr Kahn is back with a devastating Hillary Clinton
ad, once again taking Donald Trump to task for the
kind of "America" Trump envisions.

Remember Khizr Kahn?

He was the American Muslim Gold Star dad who stood up at the Democratic National Convention last summer in support of Hillary Clinton, who questioned whether Donald Trump had ever even read the Constitution.  

Kahn's American military hero son died in Iraq in 2004, but his actions in the moment he died saved several other soldiers.

Donald Trump had a totally unnecessary feud with Kahn in the days and weeks after his convention appearance, which helped to erode Trump's popularity. (To be fair, Trump has done a LOT of things to erode his popularity.)

Khizr Kahn is back in the closing days of this sordid presidential campaign in a new, devastating ad for Hillary Clinton.

The highly emotional ad (If you watch it, below, there's a definite Kleexex alert with it.)

Kahn tells us the inspiring, tragic story of his son, then says, "I want to ask Mr. Trump: Would my son have a place in your America?"

Good question, Mr. Kahn. Most normal people would say absolutely. Kahn's son represents the best of American values and sacrifice.

Trump? I'm not so sure.

Watch the new Khizr Kahn/Hillary Clinton ad and judge for yourself:

Sadly, Arizona Republic Learns That Any Opinion Warrants Death Threats

In the current sad state of affairs, the staff at the Arizona
Republic newspaper has been getting numerous death
threats for endorsing Hillary Clinton. The paper's
editorial on it reaction to the threats is a must-read

An editorial in the Arizona Republic newspaper is going viral for a very sad reason.

Another editorial several days earlier in the traditionally conservative newspaper in the conservative state of Arizona endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.  

Until now, the paper has always endorsed the Republican candidate, but the Arizona Republic's editorial board couldn't stomach Donald Trump.

Sure, some conservative readers of the Arizona Republic got mad at the Clinton endorsement, complained loudly about it, even canceled subscriptions.

All that is fair.

But a number of people -not just a few - lobbed very gross death threats against the people who work at the Arizona Republic, thereby continuing a strange, awful new tradition in America:  Threaten to kill anyone who doesn't share your worldview.

In this past Sunday's editorial, Editor Mi-Ai Parrish listed the threats the Arizona Republic received for the "high crime" of endorsing a Democratic presidential nominee for the first time in 125 years.

Among them:

"You're dead. Watch your back."

"We will burn you down."

"You should be put in front of a firing squad as a traitor."

I know, it's just a bunch of yahoos who make these kind of threats. Still, it's a sensitive subject, especially at the Arizona Republic.

Back in 1976, a car bomb killed Arizona Republic investigative reporter Don Bolles  because somebody was pissed off that he was looking into a crooked land deal.

You have to take death threats seriously.  

A 1976 car bombing killed an Arizona Republic
investigative reporter who was looking into a shady land deal.

Still, you absolutely have to read the Arizona Republic editorial on the death threats, if you haven't already.

The editorial has gone viral as a master class for all of us on First Amendment rights, civics, civility, and the need for a free press. And it's a tribute to all the good employees at the Arizona Republic.

The Arizona Republic is still a conservative paper. I'm an East Coast liberal. I bet I could find a ton of Arizona Republic editorials that annoy me, that I disagree with, that I think are dumb.

That's fine. But how does one make the leap from being annoyed at something you read to want to kill the person who wrote it, and all the people who work in the building with that author?

Something is wrong in this country, and it's not the editorial page at the Arizona Republic.

What Was The Deal With All That Sniffling The Donald Was Doing In The Debate?

This coud have been the scene at last night's
debate between Trump and Clinton, what with
The Donald sniffling all the time.  

While everyone talks about the policy issues, the temperament and the performance of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in last night's debate, can we talk about The Sniffles?

All through the evening, between his bluster and his interruptions, The Donald was sniffling. A lot.

Could just be allergies. But the speculation went rampant.  

Former Vermont Governor and former DNC Chair Howard Dean tweeted, "Notice Trump sniffing all the time. Coke user?

Now that was probably inappropriate and unfair. Then again, Dean IS a doctor, and maybe he can diagnose these kinds of thing? I don't know.

My theory is that Trump is the petulant man child, who, as we all know, does not do well when criticized, especially when said criticism comes from a woman.

And it's especially frustrating for Trump when he tried to bluster back to put the supposedly fragile woman in her place, but instead, we got someone like a smiling Hillary Clinton standing there, serenely letting Trump dig his own hole.

Anyway, other people had their own take on the Trump Sniffles.

"Is the Trump sniffle the new Hillary cough?," political consultant Jessica Tarlov tweeted, referring to Trump jumping all over Hillary for her recent bout of pneumonia.

"Trump is sniffling because he's allergic to the Constitution," Colin Jost plausibly theorized on Twitter.

The Trump Sniffles are now a big thing. There's already a comedy Twitter account called @TrumpSniff that already had more than 3,000 followers as of 8 a.m Monday.

In any event, if Trump is coming down with a cold or, ahem, pneumonia, I hope Hillary doesn't catch it from being in such close proximity to The Donald last night.

The Big Debate Is Tonight. I Need A Drink

Donald Vs. Hillary tonight. Are you gonna watch? 

Tonight's the big night! Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off on the debate stage, and it's going to be one of the most watched television events in years.'

I know, I know, it's being treated like a reality television show. And Trump would win big time over Clinton in one of those tacky TV reality shows.    

Of course, the problem is reality shows aren't reality, but a presidential debate IS reality. I just hope who watch and judge the candidates tonight understand the difference between reality and reality shows.

Some people turn these kinds of debates into drinking games, and I'm tempted. But the only game I could think of is dangerous.

Take a swig every time Trump tells a lie. If I did that, I'd be rushed to the the emergency room with acute alcohol poisoning, so I don't want to go there.

Clinton and Trump have already been playing sort of pre-debate games. Clinton invited Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a successful businessman who is NOT a Trump fan, let me tell ya.

Maybe Clinton figures that'll rattle Trump. And it already did. As always, Trump took the bait, tweeting, "If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers along side him."

Gennifer Flowers, of course, was said to have an affair with Bill Clinton years ago. Trump thinks women are fragile things, and figured maybe if Hillary saw Gennifer, Hillary would storm off the debate stage in tears upon seeing the woman who tried to steal her man.

Or something like that.

In any event, latest reports are that Gennifer won't be there after all, so we'll miss that spectacle.

As we all know, Trump isn't exactly good at taking criticism. Especially from a woman. Tonight, he will have to share a stage with a woman for 90 minutes, and much of that time will be spent listening to that women criticize him.

No doubt it will take supreme effort to control himself, but I think Trump will. The most interesting part of the debate will come a couple hours after the actual event, when Trump has had a couple drinks and goes on one of his Twitter Storm rants against the people who crossed him at the debate.

I can't wait to read his Tweets tomorrow morning! Well, actually, I can, but....

What bothers me is I get the impression we're grading Trump on a curve. Both Donald and Hillary are applying for the same job, so shouldn't we apply the same standards? Sure, definitely hold HIllary's feet to the fire.

Just as long as we hold Trump's feet to that exact same fire, please.

Hillary Clinton's WWII POW Ad Will Hit You In The Gut

World War II POW and veteran Joel Sollender lands
an emotional, devastating blow against Donald Trump
in a new Hillary Clinton campaign ad. 

Like her or hate her, a new Hillary Clinton campaign ad will really hit you in the gut.

It's a continuation of one of her campaign themes about Donald Trump's disrespect for the military. 

The ad, viewable at the bottom of this post, is paid for by Hillary for America.

The ad shows World War II veteran Joel Sollender viewing that famous clip of Trump saying that Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, is not a war hero because he was a POW. (McCain was captured in the Vietnam War.)

In the clip, Trump says McCain was not a hero because he was captured. "I like people who weren't captured, OK?" Trump says.

After the Trump clip finishes, Sollender tells us about his experiences when he was captured by the Nazis in World War II after he tossed a grenade into a German bunker, and explains in damning detail why he doesn't think Trump should be president.

I'm guessing the Clinton campaign found Sollender because a San Diego television station interviewed him about the billionaire Trump's statements shortly after he made them in July, 2015.

"Is this how he feels about the people he might be sending to war? That might be captured, that they're not heroic? I can't believe it and would that be the end of his career? I would certainly hope so because money can't buy everything," Sollender told San Diego's Fox 5 in 2015.

The Clinton ad in which Sollender appears is as powerful as you can get against Trump.

Watch:

Taco Trucks Will Dominate Our Lives If Hillary Wins

Trump's camp warns that if Hillary wins, we'd have
a taco truck on every corner. Sounds delicious! 

UPDATE:

In a brilliant move, a Denver city councilman parked a taco truck across the street from the city's Trump campaign headquarters.

The councilor then turned the taco truck into a voter registration booth.

Awesome!

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION:

Yesterday, we got this dark warning from a Donald Trump surrogate: If Hillary wins, there will be a taco truck on every corner.

The horror! Delicious tacos just feet away from any location you are anywhere in the United States. This is better than a chicken in every pot.

Ooops, sorry, I'm supposed ot be horrified. Tacos. Damn Mexicans. The Trump people say anything with a whiff of Hispanic culture is bad for America.

The warning about a taco truck on every corner was delivered by Latinos for Trump co-founder Marco Gutierrez.

Latinos for Trump? I bet there are a lot of empty seats at their meetings!

Anyway,  Gutierrez was on MSNBC when he said. "My culture is a very dominant culture.... And it's imposing, and it's causing problems. If you don't do something about it, you're gonna have taco trucks on every corner."

This just might be Hillary Clinton's new campaign logo. 

With that, we got the second big Trump-related Twitter hashtag of the week, #TacoTruckOnEveryCorner.

Frankly, I'd like to aim higher.  I think there should be a margarita truck on every corner. I was thinking Gutierrez is also afraid there might be a mariachi band on every corner. That would get a bit noisy, but what the hell.

I think Hillary Clinton should run with this. She's ahead in the polls, so if she promoted the idea her presidency would inspire a taco truck on every corner, she'd be a shoo-in.

Talk about a jobs program! All the unemployed people in the United States could get a job in the multitudes of street corner taco trucks.

And maybe margarita trucks, too!

Yum!!

Like Bernie Sanders Or Not, His New Ad Is Very Different, And Remarkably Well Made

Bernie Sanders' "America" presidential campaign ad
is one of the best and most effective I've ever seen. 

You either love Bernie Sanders or you hate him.

Either way, he's certainly not the usual politician.

Just check out his latest ad. It's at the bottom of this post. It's a very unusual ad for a presidential candidate and a very good one at that.

All politicians have ads that try to inspire you, to feel good about the candidate, to embrace his or her story.

This ad for Sanders is no different. But aside from the politics, it's remarkably well crafted. And a welcome change from incessant ads that just hammer away at opponents with misleading claims, shouting and lies.

There are human elements in some campaign ads. There's the humorous moment in the Hillary Clinton ad in which a young girl, probably a plant, asks Clinton if she's elected, will she be paid as much as if a guy won.

That let her launch into her spiel about equal pay for equal work.

A current ad for Republican John Kasich ad is pretty good, too. A good old boy narrator  tells his background story about growing up in gritty Ohio and getting things done, all to the twangy homespun guitar in the background.

But as far as tugging at your heartstrings and trying to get you to embrace a candidate, as well as his message, the new Bernie Sanders clip is tops.  This one's a winner.

In it, you hear the song "America" by Simon and Garfunkel. As the tone of the music swells, we see various shots of quintessential Americans interspersed with Sanders and people at his campaign rallies.  Sanders does not speak in the ad, except for the end, when he informs us that he approved this message.

The ad shows bigger and bigger crowds,. Then you see the smiling mug shots of thousands of people who have donated small amounts of money to the Sanders effort. As this happens the words containing the song's lyrics flash on the screen in front of all the people. "They've all come to look for America."

That ties in with Sanders' message. Whether you agree with him or not, the ad wants you to join the people who think the America they know has been taken away by the powerful forces and people and money Sanders rails against.

All the people supporting his campaign, the ad is saying,  have come to look for the America they remember and want, the one in which power is spread among all the people, not just some elites. And Sanders, by golly, will lead them there, goes the message.

Again, you might not agree with Sanders' overall approach or you might love it.

But coming from a person who detests most ads because they're poorly done. And a person who likes to single out the rare good advertisements you see on TV, this Sanders ad is compelling and effective and artfully done.

It triggers emotions and a feeling of patriotism and makes you remember the "product," in this case, Bernie Sanders.

Watch this very well composed ad:

The Squirrel Is Back: Are The Republicans Being Squirrelly?

Back in 2008, a guy dressed up as a squirrel dogged (ha!) the Obama presidential campaign, just sort of harassing him and his assistants from a Republican perspective.

The strange Republican squirrel is back! I wonder
what the Democrats will come up with. 

Normal for a campaign. Both major parties bring out the gimmicks and the weirdos to call attention to their cause, and tell us why the opposition is really, really bad.

Now, (drum roll) the Republican squirrel is back! Already!

Yeah, it's a couple years before we select a new president, but Hillary Clinton is already making noises about running on the Democratic side.

Never one to waste time, the squirrel is fully recharged and fighting the good (or bad, depending on your perspective) fight against Hillary.

Here's the truly bizarre video from the Republicans re-introducing us to the Infamous Squirrel:

Hillary Clinton's Done at State, Left Us Fun Meme

Hillary Clinton's last day on the job as Secretary of State was yesterday.

I wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors, but I hope she's sleeping in this morning. All that globe trotting and diplomacy has to be exhausting!

Hell, I get tired just driving two hours to Rutland, Vermont. Imagine dropping everything and flying off to Tunisia or something at the drop of a hat.

With her departure, it's fun to take a last look at the Tumblr meme, "Texts From Hillary"   of Hillary Clinton

It uses a photo of her in sunglasses on a military transport plane texting somebody something, and we have fun from there.

One example is on this post, Click on the Texts From Hillary link for more fun.