Are We Finally Heading Towards A GOP Extinction-Level Event?

Another year, another moment closer to... the collapse of the Republican Party?

...so much winning, amirite?

Last year, I wrote that we, as a country, needed a Republican Extinction-Level Event.  As it turned out, the Republicans won.  Donald John Trump ascended to the Presidency.  The Republicans had run the table.  They controlled the Presidency, the majority in both houses in Congress, and the majority in the Supreme Court.  So, it would seem that the Republicans finally have their mandate to push whatever God-forsaken agenda through that they see fit, right?  The prophecies of Grover Norquist had reached fulfillment, and the Republicans finally found an idiot who had enough working digits to sign whatever legislation is thrown in front of him, right?

Right?  RIGHT, CHARLIE MURPHY?

Continue to rest in peace, Charlie.  I'll take it from here.

It seems that despite Dolt 45's promises of much bigly winning, he's having a bit of a challenge getting his agenda passed.  And by having a bit of challenge, what I mean is that his agenda is a veritable dumpster fire.

His plans to repeal and replace ObamaCare?  Crashed and burned.

Travel bans?  Judges keep laying the smack down.

The Wall?  Don't make me laugh.

In the Senate, the GOP had a razor-thin margin, and could not afford to lose anyone.  John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins put the goon hands to the repeal procedure.  McCain seems to be on a path to redeem himself and claim the mantle of "maverick" that he never really earned.  And now, a bigger update.

Two Republican Senators are not running for their seats again, and they are going HAM on Dolt 45.  Senator Bob Corker (R - TN) has invoked images of a day care with his tweets to the President, and I would never be a fan of Corker.  But his hashtag #AlertTheDaycareStaff in response to a Trumpian Level Covfefe Tweetstorm is pretty darned funny.  And Jeff Flake of Arizona is retiring and is having his own come-to-Jesus moment by condemning the President in no uncertain terms.

As a side note, a couple of things:  

1)  Neither of these guys are heroes.  They both voted for all of Dolt 45's cabinet choices, except for one each.  And these two gentlemen are speaking up NOW, since they decided that they have nothing to lose.  To use a favorite analogy of mine, it would be like Dr. Victor Frankenstein openly stating that the monster is out of control.

2)  Both of these gentlemen, as well as the Republican Party, helped to build Trump.  They supported his agenda, voted for his cabinet picks, and would have supported Trump's agenda if Trump himself wasn't about as appealing as onions disguised as taffy apples.

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

But what are the long-term consequences?  Is it a victory for human oxygen thief and white supremacist propaganda chieftain Steve Bannon?  After all, he can use his connections to add harder-right Republicans to the mix.  Will it be a victory for the Democrats?  Only if the Democrats can mobilize and take advantage, even though these are red states.  Will other Republicans join Flake and Sessions and publicly condemn Dolt 45?  Will we have to wait until after the GOP tries to pass their disastrous tax cut plans for the obscenely rich?

Only time will tell.

But not too much time, since Dolt 45 seems to want to push us ever closer to nuclear midnight... as of now, we're only 3 minutes to midnight.

Can We NOT Normalize George W. Bush?!

There are a lot of things going on with the wretched administration of Dolt 45.  He's vile, petty, vindictive, and completely unfit to serve.  He may have legitimate psychological problems.  He's a racist, and he previously had a propaganda chieftain for white supremacists serving as his chief adviser.

Some Republicans have completely distanced themselves from Trump, and others have different lines of demarcation that determine when they've had enough.  Some of their "come to Jesus" moments arrive when they realize that Dolt 45's plans, mindset, policies, and the like affect them PERSONALLY.  People like Joe Scarborough are some of the Doctors Frankenstein that helped to legitimize Trump.  And to this day, while Joe rails on about the monster that's ransacking the village, he still has not offered a mea culpa for HIS role in creating monster.

And speaking of monsters, this brings us to the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.  Donald Trump is so awful that people are longing for the bumbling idiocy of Bush.  Today, a former President who was so reviled that he couldn't even campaign for his successor delivered a speech that some are saying makes him one of the "faces of the resistance." 

NO.

Um... NO.  That's not cute.  Never forget.

Do you see this picture?  It's one of the many that is helping to sanitize George Bush's image, and make him palatable and respectable.  And before we go about longing for the carefree days of Uncurious George And The Administration That Couldn't, we need to remember his real track record and "accomplishments."

(Note:  I'm not angry at Michelle Obama for snuggling with that dopey moron of a POTUS, I'm bothered by the memes that this picture generated which helped to normalize him.  So there.)

HURRICANE KATRINA:  Under his watch, New Orleans suffered catastrophic losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  His appointed Director of FEMA, Michael Brown, had absolutely no experience in emergency management.  As Rachel Maddow put it, Brown's appointment was seen more as a patronage hire than one to bring the best man on for the job.  As American citizens suffered, Bush applauded Brown by infamously stating that Brown was doing "a heckuva job."

IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN:  In the aftermath of 9/11, America had a ton of global capital.  The whole world was pretty much with this country.  And what did Bush do?  He created a propaganda machine that led us into war with Iraq who -- and this is important -- HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11.  We went to war against a regime that had done nothing to us, against a leader that, by all objective measures, was secular and kept sectarian violence down.  Taking Saddam Hussein out created a power vacuum, and since nature abhors a vacuum, that vacuum was filled by extremists.  

As for Afghanistan, it was almost an afterthought that turned into a quagmire.  There's a reason why Afghanistan is called "The Graveyard Of Empires."  

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I wrote this to express my disgust at what 9/11 has become, most of which happened during the Bush Administration.  I also wrote this to express my disgust at the Republican Party's snuff film tribute to 9/11 during the RNC Convention in 2008.  And for God's sake, how can you forget THIS?

Still want him back?!

I could go on, including how he got elected in the FIRST place.  And don't get me started on the fact that his two Supreme Court appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, voted to support Citizens United.

I understand the need for Republican allies.  There are some great ones in the form of Anna Navarro, Steve Schmidt, and others.  But we shouldn't be so bereft of allies that we have to depend on one of history's greatest monsters as an ally, simply because he's a Rhodes Scholar and Elder Statesman in comparison to his Republican successor.  A 16-minute speech does not a real ally make.

If I Ruled The World - How I Would Have NFL Players Respond To Roger Goodell And Dolt 45

The "take a knee" protests continue.  They were started by Colin Kaepernick, who protested by sitting out the playing of the National Anthem when the San Francisco 49'ers played.  Since then, players have been taking a knee across the league, and Kaepernick has been "de facto" blackballed by the NFL owners.  Oh, you can SAY that there is no collusion between the owners, and you'd be partially right.  There is no WRITTEN policy that says that the NFL owners have agreed to keep Colin Kaepernick from a job.  But that doesn't automatically exonerate the owners.

After all, the Miami Dolphins decided to beg Jay Cutler to come out of retirement to play, and he did so reluctantly.  You can't convince me that under different circumstances, Kaepernick would have at least been given a first or second look.  Then again, the world just found out what may have contributed to the decision to bring in Cutler, at least partially.  Via video.  Heh.

But I digress, as I am wont to do.

Afterwards a bunch of owners (and players, reluctantly) usurped the protest message to turn it into a message of "unity", where the owner locks arms with the players.  In one case, the Dallas Cowboys showed just how a league owner can change the narrative of a protest.  They took a knee BEFORE the playing of the National Anthem, and then stood up during its play.  Owner Jerry Jones took it a step further and said that "anyone who disrespects the flag will not be allowed to play."

Enter NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  Goodell, caving to pressure from on high by the prince of darkness himself (aka Dolt 45 and his burgeoning kleptocracy) stated in a letter that everyone should stand for the National Anthem.  He says that this is an effort to "move past the controversy."  That "controversy" being pro football players silently protesting against police brutality, in case anyone forgot.  In other words, "Alright you uppity nigras, you did your thing long enough... time to shut up and do what we tell you do to... BOY."

How will the players respond?  Will players in Dallas risk taking a knee?  Will other owners follow Jerry Jones' lead and bench players who decide to protest?  The players here have the power in numbers, and if they use it, they can create a seismic shift in protests for social justice.  And how would I do it?

Here's how.

On a given Sunday afternoon or night, or Monday night, the players take the field as usual.  The coin is flipped, and the kicking team kicks to the receiving team.  At the first play from the line of scrimmage, the center snaps the ball.

The defense instantly takes a knee.

The offense then takes a knee.

And since the play isn't considered "dead" until the player with the ball (in this case, the QB) is tackled, takes a knee, or runs out of bounds, he remains motionless.  The quarterback holds the ball in one hand.  And with the other hand, he slowly raises a fist to the air.  Then, after about a minute, in front of worldwide sponsors with advertisers throwing a conniption fit, he slowly descends to take a knee.

The play is then whistled dead, and the rest of the game continues, as if nothing ever happened.  

When asked why they did this, a spokesman for either team can say that they will not be threatened into silence by their owners or by a sitting President of the United States.  And if the owners don't like it, what are they going to do?  Bench both teams?  Fine them?  Suspend them?  Any negative consequences will mushroom far beyond what the owners had intended.  The players have strength in numbers.

Will they do this?  It's doubtful.  But hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

Name-Checking And Concern-Trolling Chicago -- Will It Ever Stop?

Here we are, in the wake of another mass shooting.  The shooting on the Las Vegas Strip at a Country Music Festival is going down in U.S. history as the worst ever.  As of now, 59 people are dead, and hundreds are injured, and recovering from their injuries.

Of course, this means that conservatives take their lead from the blood-soaked terrorist organization disguised as a lobbying group, the National Rifle Association, or NAMB... er, NRA.  We have seen the usual talking points, including the "thoughts and prayers" comments from the Republicans.  As a side note, let me add this:

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS FROM REPUBLICANS ARE USELESS.  They have blood on their hands, as well.  The NRA has bought them, lock, stock and barrel.  To hear them talk about "thoughts and prayers" is beyond infuriating.  As a Christian, and especially as a minister, I'm not dismissing the power of prayer.  My faith tells me that there is supernatural power in prayer.  But my teachings ALSO inform me that "faith without works is dead."  That's Scripture, according to James 2:26.  And the website "GotQuestions" elucidates on this point by stating "Faith without works is dead because it reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God."  Don't tell me about any conservative "thoughts and prayers" when they continue to accept NRA blood money and parrot the same NRA talking points, especially in the wake of tragedies involving guns, and propagate obscene lies about President Obama planning a massive gun grab, because screw the Constitution.

But I digress.

My point here is that, as usual, Chicago has become the favorite talking point to deflect from any legitimate conversations.  It started in earnest with President Obama, with GOP idiots (and some "woke" folks -- but that's a point for another time) saying that President Obama didn't magically fix Chicago since he became President of the United States.  It's become a classic Battle Cry of the Stupid Conservative:

REASONABLE PERSON:  We need to do something about crime.

Conservative:  OH YEAH?  Well what about Chicago?  Crime is skyrocketing, and President Blackie McBlackenbush did nothing to fix it!

RP:  Black Lives Matter is holding a march to protest police brutality.

Con:  OH YEAH?  Why aren't they marching in Chicago against the killings?!

Even Dolt 45, aka the President, is no stranger to name-checking and concern-trolling Chicago.  He made the "hellscape" of Chicago a cornerstone of his campaign, and he continues to mention Chicago in situations that don't call for it.

This brings us to the present day.  Enter sentient colostomy bag, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of evangelical charlatan Mike Huckabee and Press Secretary to the President.

"I am not a very smart woe-man..."

After this weapons-grade moron (who almost makes you long for the days of Sean Spicer hiding in a bush, dodging reporters) said that we shouldn't politicize the massacre, she said this in regards to a conversation about gun laws.

"I think if you look to Chicago, where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes. Last year they have the strictest gun laws in the country and that certainly hasn't helped there, so when that time comes for those conversations to take place, then I think we need to look at things that may actually have a real impact."

Then, she followed it up by saying this:

I think that the problem there is pretty clear that it’s a crime problem. I think that crime is probably driven more by morality than anything else...

If Huckabee is going to concern-troll and name-check, she should at least come close to getting her facts right.  Yes, Chicago has strict laws.  But guns still find their way here.  Why?  Because neighboring states have gun laws that are a lot more lax.  For example, if someone wanted to, they could hop right across the border to avoid the soda-pop tax get a gun.  Even as far back as 2012 - 2013, there were indicators that traffickers were using an informal Dixie Pipeline to transport guns from southern states (again, with very lax gun laws) to here.  Thankfully, lots of people, including my Congressman Robin Kelly, pushed back with factual information.

I'm under no delusions that my fair city is a utopia where gun violence is a thing of the past.  Chicago, like every major city, has its issues, and issues involving gun violence and the Black community cannot be resolved with simple slogans and finger-pointing.  And it would be nice if we had a President of the United States who didn't feel the need to scapegoat and play the blame-game when things got hot.  And we could have had that...

...but her emails.

Trump, The Evangelical Right, And My Light Bulb Moment.

I always wondered why conservative Christians were so behind Trump. I've asked for months why this was the case, especially considering that Trump is the antithesis of the FAMILY VALUES that the Evangelical Right demands of its leadership. Conservatives gave the answer, but just now, I started putting the pieces together.
Conservatives responded that their acceptance of Trump was because they were electing a Commander-In-Chief, and not a Theologian-In-Chief. They were electing a President of the U.S., and not a Sunday School teacher. So, what was it that made Trump different than every FAMILY VALUES stump speech given at every conservative event from CPAC to Wisconsin's State Fair to every Republican Convention, ESPECIALLY in the wake of Bill Clinton's presidency?
Then a name hit me like a ton of bricks, and it all made sense. GROVER NORQUIST. You remember him, right? The unelected guy that MUST know where the bodies are buried, because he had Republican candidates for high office sign his "pledge"? He described the REAL reason that conservatives are embracing a thrice-married, twice-divorced man whose previous marriages ended in adultery. The real reason why they're accepting a man who did an introduction to a softcore porn video. The real reason why they continue to embrace a man who bragged about sexual abuse, called his daughter a nice piece of [REDACTED], a man who bragged about walking into the dressing room of his beauty pageant contestants to ogle at the (sometimes teenaged) naked bodies, and a man who praised foreign dictators.
Grover Norquist once said this:

All we have to do is replace Obama. ... We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate.

And there it is.
To the evangelical Christian conservatives that support Trump, they're not supporting him because of his genius, or even his business acumen. To them, a President Trump is a means to an end. Everything that the conservatives want will come through a candidate who, by all accounts, wants to look at the Presidency as a figurehead position ANYWAY, leaving the real heavy lifting to his "true believing" conservative running mate, Gov. Mike Pence.
The conservative base may look at Trump as the solution to their problems, because he and he alone can fix them. But to the power-brokers supporting him, including the Evangelical conservatives, Trump is nothing more than a useful idiot. All they would need to do is put a pen and a law in Trump's hand, and Trump will sign it.
So what does this mean? Two things:
1) It forever exposes the hypocrisy of the Evangelical Right's "Family Values" platform, as they put their support behind an almost literal Golden Calf and idolizer of his own name. Just about everything Trump stands for (especially in his personal life) runs contradictory to the teachings of Jesus. Trump brags about his wealth, and he only defines how "good" people are in terms of how it benefits HIM. Trump has said that he doesn't really see the need for repentance. And don't get me started on the "Two Corinthians" thing.
2) Now that I have the answer to this question, it doesn't matter how conservatives convince themselves that Trump is "a newborn Christian", or claim that he can be baptized on national TV to convince people of his faith.
The Evangelical Right was looking for a useful idiot.
And in Donald Trump, they found him.
Vote accordingly.

Treat Yo' Self. A Paradigm Shift.

It's not often that I treat myself.  And normally, when I do, it's to something like a movie or a big restaurant breakfast.

"Hey Big Spender..."

But I rarely, if ever, go BIG in terms of treating myself.

Until now.

Last month, I pulled the trigger on one of my bigger "Treat Yo' Self" moments, when I booked a cruise (to the BAHAMAS) for myself and friends.  It would not have been something that I would normally do for myself.  And once I pulled the trigger, it felt good.  It felt REALLY good.

Then it hit me.  I rarely treat myself because I'm always thinking about what type of unexpected emergencies or "priorities" that I need to take care of.  "I can't go here, because something might happen to my truck."  Or, "I can't do that thing, because I need to squirrel money away in case my computer dies."  And it occurred to me that no matter what, things will happen.

My old PC died unexpectedly.

My truck needed repairs.

By God's grace, I was able to take care of those things, but I still wasn't treating myself.

Planning this cruise caused me to shift my thinking.

My truck would need repairs, whether I went on vacation or not.  My PC would have died whether I traveled or not.  So instead of sitting around, watching everyone's adventures from a ringside seat (tip of the hat to the person that talked about this to me today), I'm getting in the ring.

I'm actually planning my cruise with some friends.  And sure enough, my truck needed some more repairs.  I took care of that and STILL kept positive about my plans.  Oddly enough, had my truck's repairs came about prior to planning this cruise, it would have steered me into a ditch.

The last time I took a real, honest-to-goodness, bonafide vacation was several years ago, when I spent a glorious week in sunny California.

Part of my vacation included Jules Winfield explaining the Bonnie Situation.

Things are going to happen.  Things may break, or emergencies may pop up.  But none of that prevents anyone from enjoying and living their lives to the fullest.  This will happen if I plan a cruise, watch my woefully neglected Netflix queue, or take a nap.  My pastor even spoke about the importance of getting away for a bit, even if it's for a drive across state lines for a few hours.

Now that I know that the world won't collapse upon itself if and when I plan something, I plan on doing this more often.  It may be a matter of baby steps, but I do plan on doing things like this more often.

...because if I don't, who will?

BECAUSE I'M GOING ON A GODD*MNED GOD-BLESSED CRUISE.

How To Get Black People To Objectively And Critically Analyze The Democratic Party (Pro-Tip: Not Like This)

A friend of mine suggested to a Facebook group I'm in that we watch the video.  The video begins with Quannell X.  Quannell X is an "activist" that I was done with years ago, after watching him and Guardian Angels head Curtis Sliwa go head to head, and eventually making, of all things, Sean Hannity look like the voice of reason.  That's an almost unpardonable sin.  But, despite my own misgivings about Quannell, I powered through the video.  

The video is an attempt to get Black people to take a critical look at the Democratic Party, and to stop with the undying loyalty that Black people have towards the Democrats.  As an attempt to get Black people to look beyond the Democratic Party or consider the Republicans, this video fails.  And here's why.  I posted the following comments in the group.  And since I believe that sharing is caring, here are my comments for everybody.

The Quannell X segment was just half of the video. The other half featured the creator of the video attempting to make the case about Black people and loyalty to the Democratic Party. 

Unfortunately, his attempt fell short. For example, as I said earlier, he invoked "Democrat Plantation." Personally, that's a term that I can't stand, and yes, I coined the term "Pet Negro Apologist." But Black conservatives throw out the "Democrat Plantation" term to prove that THEY'VE escaped the "plantation" and left everyone else behind. And the people who invoke that term usually (and almost to a fault) ignore the racism that oozes and seeps from every pore of the current GOP.

Next, the Civil Rights leader says that while Trump is only "rumored" to be connected with the Klan, Hillary Clinton has legitimate ties. And as I mentioned before, the proof is the standard "ROBERT KKK BYRD" card. It doesn't work when it comes from Sean Hannity, and it doesn't work when Black people play that card. And whenever I talk to people and they play that card, I simply ask them why current white supremacists, like David Duke, Breitbart (the civil rights leader completely dismissed Breitbart's white supremacist ties, even though Bannon himself said that they're basically an alt-right clearing house) and others are flocking behind Trump and saying that he speaks THEIR language.

The Civil Rights leader then goes on to list the Republican accomplishments for Black people. He starts with the 13th and 14th Amendments, and ends with Civil Rights legislation. He, like everyone else, completely ignored the Southern Strategy and the ideological switch that took place between both parties.

Which brings us to where we are now. 

Does the Democratic Party take the Black vote for granted? Yes. Oui. Si. Are *SOME* of us loyal? Absolutely, to a fault. That loyalty is what wound up killing Clinton's 2008 run, because she took it for granted that Bill Clinton's Black Community "goodwill" would be automatically conferred upon her. When Bill showed his behind after the South Carolina primary, Hillary got her wake up call. But she was in the midst of a horrible campaign ran by (until now) the worst campaign manager in modern history, Mark Penn. No one forgets how she was in a Black church talkin' about how she "don't feel no ways tah'rd."

No one forgets how her Black surrogates at the time were her unofficial attack dogs, from Bob Johnson floating balloons about then-Senator Obama's drug use to John Lewis saying that Obama should wait his turn, to Jesse Jackson forever cutting himself off from the Obama Administration when he said, on Fox News, on a hot mic, that he wanted to "cut Obama's nuts off."

Where was I? Oh yeah. Today.

Is Hillary Clinton the perfect candidate? Not to me. Elizabeth Warren and Senator Sanders were my 1A and 1B choices. But when it comes to things that I support, like the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, the reversal of Citizens United (interesting that the HEAD of Citizens United is now an active part of the Trump campaign), support for unions, support for a living wage, an expansion of Obamacare into something like single-payer, a President Hillary Clinton is more likely to accomplish that. 

Doesn't mean that she will... after all, President Obama campaigned on universal health care, but wound up with the CONSERVATIVE compromise of the ACA. And President Obama has fallen short on several progressive issues. 

But dang it, I go rambling again. This is almost like my blog post. ANYWAY... 

(ed. note:  It is now a blog post... heh...)

YES, as informed Black voters, we have to hold the Democratic Party that we (those of us that vote Democratic) accountable. The accountability works up and down the ticket, at EVERY ELECTION. 

If Republicans want to woo Black voters, they have GOT to do better than the surrogates that they send out now. They have GOT to stop it with the "Black plantation" remarks, and assume that a light bulb will go off and they'll automatically switch parties. And while the Democrats aren't perfect regarding race, they are MILES ahead of the GOP. The GOP had a chance to nip the bigotry of their party in the bud with Michael Steele as head of the RNC. But when push came to shove, Steele kissed the ring of Boss Limbaugh and was nothing more than a figurehead. He was ousted and replaced with useless tub of goo Reince Priebus.

THIS is who the GOP/Donald Trump is sending out.  For God's sake, NO. 

Locally, the Republican platform stands for everything that I'm against, including things like "right to work" and the belief that tax cuts for big businesses will trickle down to the electorate. I'm against the privatization of essential government services. I'm a Christian, but I'm against my faith being used as a cudgel against anyone who doesn't pray and worship the way I pray and worship. And more often than not, the so-called Party of Family Values is nothing more than the Party of Rank Hypocrisy and Deflection.

Yes, we need to hold our elected officials accountable. And yes, changes need to be made. But as I said earlier, the changes that are needed are best implemented at the local level, and not attempted every four years. 

I've been doing a little research on Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, and they're not much better. Despite Stein being an MD, she has cozied up to anti-vaxxers and has said some goofy things about wi-fi being dangerous. Anyone who is in favor of civil rights legislation, voting rights legislation, government agencies that protect the public, etc should be against the Libertarian party. Their solution is to leave everything alone and let the market figure it out. So, if the EpiPen obscene price hike offends you, and companies polluting water, and fracking offends you, and if openly-racist businesses and establishments offend you (separate-but-equal, anyone?), then the Libertarian Party isn't for you.

Completely dismissing the Tea Potty behavior, the casual and blatant racism from the party, and history is not an objective analysis as to why Black people should join the Republicans. If they want to start wooing Black people, they can actually FOLLOW the things listed in their GOP Autopsy.

Until then, I welcome the upcoming Republican Extinction Level Event and hopes that the party as it stands now gets wiped off the face of the earth. The survivors will have no choice but to reevaluate themselves or die from the fallout.

Additional Note:  My friend who runs the Primarily Politics Facebook Page covered Republican Outreach in a three-part video series.  Do yourself a favor and check them out.  He covers a lot of things that I mentioned here.

Part 1:  Say No To The Democrat Plantation

Part 2:  Stop Attacking The President

Part 3:  Don't Ever Send Black Republicans To Recruit Black People

We Need A Republican Extinction Level Event.

Look, I am all for the utter destruction of the Republican Party as it stands now.  Republican Presidential nominee Donald J. Trump represents a GOP Extinction Level Event, similar to the cataclysm that wiped out the dinosaurs.

"I see markings on the side... T... R...U..."

In the wake of Frankenstein’s Monster wreaking havoc all over the GOP village, some high-profile Republicans have taken to endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.  Each Republican has had his or her tipping point, from the criticism of Khizr Khan to thinly-veiled assassination threats …er, 2^nd Amendment Remedies to “save” the country from a mass gun confiscation under a Clinton Administration.  Maybe the new President Clinton can store the confiscated guns in the same room where President Obama stored guns during his administration:

But why let facts get in the way of a good screed?

One of the biggest defections that made a social media splash was the open letter from the Harvard Republican Club. They cited concerns about Trump from a policy and temperament perspective.  They cited his divisive campaign rhetoric and said that he is “poisoning (the) country and our children.”  They even went on to say that he is an existential “threat to the survival of the Republic.”

Between this and other high-profile defections, including a letter from dozens of Republicans asking for Reince Priebus to defund Trump, and 50 former GOP security officials penning an open letter (insert hyperlink), it would appear that the GOP is a done deal.  But not so fast.

Not only must Donald Trump be stopped, but the Republican Party as we know it must be relegated to the dustbin of history.  The common (and problematic) theme with these defections is the belief that Donald Trump is some sort of anomaly, or that he came out of nowhere.  Nothing could be further from the Truth.  Donald Trump DID NOT HAPPEN IN A VACUUM.  He is the living embodiment of every Tea Potty-er talking about taking their country back.  Trump legitimized the Birther Movement.  Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney kissed Trump’s ring.  Everything the Republicans have been doing, ESPECIALLY since 2008, has led to the creation and rise of Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Nominee.  Every racist joke and meme, every comment about taking the country back (by force if necessary), every utterance by weapons-grade moron Sarah Palin, every comment about President Obama being "exotic", "other", or "uppity", every right-wing evangelical praying that Michelle Obama become a widow and the Obama children become fatherless, it was all part of a toxic, hate-filled stew.  That stew became sentient in the form of Donald Trump.

In 2012, the GOP created a report known informally as their GOP Autopsy.  They wanted to be introspective and look at what went wrong in the wake of their defeat in 2012.  The purpose of this autopsy was to consider ideas like the acceptance of minorities, immigration reform, and expanding their so-called “Big Tent.”  Then, Trump happened, and the Republican base basically said “F THE AUTOPSY, WHITE SUPREMACY FOR THE WIN.”  But again, this did not happen in a vacuum.  Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, John McCain, and other Republicans claim to be repulsed by Trump, but have not withdrawn their endorsements.  This is despite Trump insulting McCain as a POW, and Ryan went so far as to denounce Trump's comments as "racist."  

The GOP hasn’t learned their lessons from their autopsy.  This paragraph from the Harvard Republicans confirms it.

This fall, we will instead focus our efforts on reclaiming the Republican Party from those who have done it considerable harm, campaigning for candidates who will uphold the conservative principles that have defined the Republican Party for generations. We will work to ensure both chambers of Congress remain in Republican hands, continuing to protect against executive overreach regardless of who wins the election this November.

Donald Trump holds views that are antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans.

We call on our party's elected leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night.

They are planning on preserving the same down-ballot party members that created the cesspool known as today’s Republican Party.  They are hoping that, at BEST, Trump will be soundly defeated for the Presidency, but the conservatives can preserve the House and the Senate (and subsequently, the Supreme Court), and then continue the obstruction, with the goal of making Secretary Clinton a one-term President.  This is why they must be defeated up and down the ballot.  Donald Trump is the standard-bearer, and everyone with an (R) attached to his or her name must suffer the electoral consequences.

Why?  Because if the entire Republican Party isn’t obliterated, what will happen is that someone else will fill the void.  And that person will be just as vile as Trump, but more politically polished and seasoned.  What we’ll get is someone who is a perverse hybrid of Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, and David Duke.  The only way to prevent that is to send the message that the era of the Republican Party of today is OVER.  Anything less than total obliteration gives them leave to try again.  And again.  And again.

They didn’t learn the easy way, now it’s time for the party to learn the hard way. Just as meteors wiped out the dinosaurs, we are in a position to wipe out the Republican Party as we know it.  It's up to us to push the button on Election Day that signals the Apocalypse, the Republican Extinction Level Event.

Blue Lives Have Never NOT Mattered.

First things first.

Being a police officer is a dangerous, and often thankless job.  They are charged with running towards the danger, while everyone else runs away.  Good police officers put their lives on the line whenever they're on the street, and in many cases, a traffic stop can lead to horrific results.

But recently, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and people demanding accountability for bad (emphasis on BAD, I can't emphasize "BAD" enough) cops, police officers and their defenders have responded with Blue Lives Matter.  This counter-movement gives the appearance that law enforcement officials en masse are under attack, and that their lives don't matter, and that they are being victimized by Black Lives Matter activists and other ne'er do wells.

But here is the truth of the matter.  Even if we look beyond the face value of what "Blue Lives Matter" means (a career choice as opposed to a skin color), "Blue Lives" have ALWAYS mattered.  Yes, police are held to a higher standard, and one of their own is taken out, it is indeed a tragedy.  No one (reasonable) is saying that it was a good thing that this happened.  The best way to prove that Blue Lives have always mattered, look at the response when even a single police officer is shot or otherwise killed.

When a police officer gets shot, here's what's NOT going to happen:

* Media outlets diving into the officer's history, to see if his background justified him getting shot.
* Law enforcement officials protecting the identity of the shooter.
* A community circling the wagons around the shooter.
* A prosecution team that will poison the well so that an indictment won't be handed down.
* People almost everywhere blaming the cop for his getting shot.
* An investigation that moves at a snail's pace.
* Alternately, a quickie investigation that only serves to fit a pre-prepared narrative.
* A look into what really happened ONLY after compelling, air tight video of the shooting is released.
* The shooting victim's treatment as "oh well, stuff happens."
* Video footage of the shooting victim's demise, dominating the news cycle and being aired repeatedly.
* Picture after picture of the police officer's bloodied and bullet-ridden body flooding social media.

You see, when a police officer is killed, people will pursue the shooter to the very gates of Hell until the officer's family sees justice.  Blue Lives have always mattered.

Wait.  Scratch that.  There is ONE exception to the rule that Blue Lives have always mattered.  And that exception?

When police retaliate against one of their own for daring to cross the Thin Blue Line, then, suddenly, Blue Lives don't matter as much.  It was demonstrated in the case of NYPD detective Frank Serpico, who became a whisteblower against corruption in the New York Police Department.  Side note, I should check out the movie based on his life.

Then there's this (and this is only the tip of the iceberg):

All of these law enforcement officials were trying to do the right thing, and they faced retaliation from their peers and superiors.  Recently, police officers have been shot, and the narrative (of course) is that these shootings are the result of Black Lives Matter activists.  Rushes to judgment are made, suspects are incorrectly identified, and mayhem ensues.  The fact of the matter is that there is a chasm of mistrust between law enforcement and the people that they have been sworn to protect.  We have heard talk about training police officers, and saw videos about how to respond when pulled over by the police, but very few people are addressing one key component.

If you want to rebuild trust between the police and the community, you MUST tear down the Blue Wall of Silence and allow the good police officers to cross the Thin Blue Line to weed out the worst in their ranks.  They should be able to do so without fear of retaliation from their peers or superiors.  A good cop shouldn't have to worry about a call for backup or assistance suddenly going unanswered, or "delayed."

"But Ty", I hear you saying, because frankly, you ask too many questions, "...police overall are good, and the good ones shouldn't be lumped in with the bad ones."

And that is true.  And unfortunately, it's a luxury that isn't extended to groups like "Black Lives Matter."  Whenever someone in a Black Lives Matter rally/march/protest says or does something stupid, the entire movement is blamed.  The entire cause is denigrated because of the actions of some outliers, who may be more interested in being opportunistic slugs than being agents of change.

Imagine if that logic were extended to the Men and Women in Blue:

• Under the power and authority of his badge, Daniel Holtzclaw raped women he knew couldn't fight back.
• Under the power and authority of his badge, Joe Gliniewicz stole from youth police organizations and planned to murder those investigating him.
• Under the power and authority of his badge, Jason Van Dyke emptied his weapon into the body of Laquan McDonald, and lied about the encounter.
• Under the power and authority of his badge, Jon Burge led a campaign of systematic torture that led to scores of individuals confessing to crimes they did not commit.
• Police officer Anthony Abbate tried to hide behind the Blue Wall of Silence, which attempted to protect him, after he savagely and brutally attacked a female bartender.
• And then there's this:

WHY DOES SHE STILL HAVE A JOB?!

Do any of these law enforcement abominations prevent anyone from supporting something like "Blue Lives Matter"?

If not, then why let outliers within the Black Lives Matter movement shape your perspective of the movement and its purpose as a whole?  Privilege doesn't allow for the "lone wolf" scenario to be extended to anyone who isn't white, male, and Christian.

Blue Lives have always mattered, and it does a grave injustice to everyone involved to pretend that it doesn't especially when this rallying cry is used to undermine legitimate aims to call for accountability and equal protection under the law in regards to police officers.  We need everyone, from the President of the United States on down, to demand that police officers who violate the public trust are immediately fired and prosecuted.  And when they are sued, put their pensions and salaries on the line.  Let them put some financial skin in the game, and watch complaints plummet.

Encourage police officers to cross the Thin Blue Line.  Smash the Blue Wall of Silence.  Stop rushing to judgment and accepting the "official" police narrative until the investigations are complete.  Hold the bad officers accountable immediately.

These are several ways to rebuild the broken trust that exists between police and citizens.  And these things must be done YESTERDAY.

Vice-President Elizabeth Warren? Not So Fast

Madame Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton Von DemocraticParty is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States.  Senator Bernie Sanders is out of contention, but has not conceded yet.  But Sanders has expressed that he will vote for Clinton.  We are now at the state where we get to speculate on the Vice-Presidential picks.  

One name has been coming up, time after time.

Progressive firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren.

"Hm.  How many more ways can I get under Donald Trump's skin?"

I love Senator Warren.  She has been bringing the pain on progressive issues for a little while now.  She has been very vocal about such issues as reining in the payday loan industry.  Recently, she has been taking the fight straight to Republican nominee and ignorant f&%*muppet Donald Trump (thanks, Scots, for the beautifully obscene insults).  She has been consistent and relentless, and as Ice T put it back in 1987, Warren is "like a pit bull lockin' on a doberman's neck."

Senator Warren had a recent joint campaign event with Hillary Clinton, and continued to stick her thumb into Trump's eye.  And the bloviating fleshbag and clueless numpty's only response was to call Sen. Warren "Goofy Elizabeth" and "Pocahontas."  Warren has demonstrated that she runs circles around Trump by doing this:  POCAHONTAS.  <--- go ahead.  Click on the link.  Sheer genius.

Does that mean that she would make a great Vice President?  She's obviously a great surrogate.  And personally, I think that Hillary Clinton should be thanking sweet baby Jesus that Warren did not make a run for the Presidency.  She would have given Hillary more fits than then-Senator Obama did.  But she didn't, a slue of others including Bernie Sanders did, and now here we are.  But let's discuss Senator Warren as a Vice-Presidential candidate.

NO.

It's not due to qualifications, as she is imminently qualified.  Elizabeth Warren should not be Secretary Clinton's running mate for the following reasons.

1:  MAKE-UP OF THE U.S. SENATE

If Senator Warren becomes Vice President, that creates a vacancy in the Senate.  If we have learned nothing over the last eight years, we should have learned that a sitting President needs all the support in Congress he/she can get.  We have been dealing with partisan obstructionism for most of the past 8 years.  There are no guarantees in politics, including the type of Senator that would replace Vice-President Warren.  This segment from this ThinkProgress article pretty much sums it up.

// Massachusetts currently has a Republican governor, who would be able to name a temporary replacement to fill Warren’s senate seat if the Massachusetts lawmaker became vice president. And, even though this seat would eventually be filled by the winner of a special election, there’s no certainty that Massachusetts voters will choose another Democrat to fill Warren’s seat. Just ask former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA). //

As crucial as this election is, and considering everything that's at state, we can't afford to have a Republican fill a seat vacated by Warren, no matter how temporary.  And as the segment lays out, there's no guarantee that a special election would seat a progressive.  After all, the late Liberal Lion of the Senate was replaced by Scott Brown.

2.  THE GOOD SOLDIER

One of the things that makes a good Vice-President is the ability to be a good soldier.  No one has proved that point better than President Obama's own personal enforcer, Vice President Joe Biden.

Throughout President Obama's two terms, Joe Biden has been loyal to a fault.  And like the best lieutenants, he did not outshine the man in charge.  Even with his so-called gaffes, he did not draw attention away from the President or steal the President's spotlight.  

Which brings us to Senator Warren.  As much of a surrogate that she is for Secretary Clinton, does this mean that she will take a back seat to President Clinton?  Hillary Clinton needs someone who wouldn't overshadow her, and Senator Warren's current status as a progressive firebrand could run the risk of stealing the spotlight from the always-pragmatic Clinton.  Whoever Clinton picks, it will be someone that won't have the crowd thinking "Why didn't THIS person win?"  And the LAST thing that she needs to pick is someone who will run the country from behind the dark curtain.

Yeah... "Vice" President... yeah, right.

3. KEEPING PRESIDENT CLINTON HONEST

I have a theory that President Obama governed as a center-right Republican and got a pass.  And to quote the great philosopher Herman Cain, I don't have the facts to back that up.  But I believe that overall, we were so focused on the obstruction that President Obama faced, and getting what seemed to be the most basic things done, that we didn't hold him accountable enough for such things as support for the TransPacific Partnership and not bringing criminal charges to the bankers and hedge fund managers that collapsed the economy.

Now, we are in a position to keep the White House Democratic, and we may be in a position to take back the Senate and the House of Representatives, and reshape the United States Supreme Court.  So, we will need to make sure that President Clinton has all of the Congressional support she needs, to pass her legislative ideas.

But remember, as much as Clinton campaigned about being a progressive, she's pretty much as center-right as President Obama is, and even moreso on issues such as national security.  We have to make sure that President Clinton is fulfilling her promises, and not giving away the store to Wall Street.  This is why Senator Warren is still needed in the Senate.  Senator Bernie Sanders has done a great job of pushing Secretary Clinton to the left on a lot of campaign issues, including things like a living wage.  Senators like Warren, Sanders, and others more to her ideological left will (hopefully) assure that Clinton's pendulum won't swing more towards the right.

4.  DE-FANGING SENATOR WARREN

This is probably the biggest reason why I don't feel that Warren should be Clinton's VP.  As mentioned earlier, Senator Warren is becoming a progressive firebrand, with the gravitas to be taken seriously and not dismissed as a loon.  A Vice-President Warren can't call out President Clinton if Clinton decides that fracking is cool, or that payday loan institutions have no pals in the White House.  A Warren Vice-Presidency pretty much silences Warren, and relegates her to the role of Clinton's lieutenant, Clinton's second-in-command.  

Senator Warren needs to continue to bring the pain from the Senate floor.  And there are plenty of other qualified people who will gladly fulfill the role of Clinton's Good Lieutenant.

Inside The GOP Convention... A S.A.L.T. Exclusive

Through the magic of time travel, I was able to view the last day of the GOP Convention, and I am here to tell you how it all unfolded.  Buckle up, kids.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ted Nugent and Scott Baio just finished their rendition of the National Anthem.

Oh Say Can You Gun, by the gun's early gun... 

Chachi was in rare form, blaming President Obama for the fact that crescent rolls aren't called "Big C bread", and the audience applauded with glee.  Shouts of "USA, USA" rose from the audience, and the White Aryan Resistance and members of the Ku Klux Klan embraced each other in this new spirit of renewed brotherhood.  They exchanged cross-burning techniques and figured out the best angle in which to give the Hitler salute.

She's baking KKKookies and bringing milk.  WHITE milk, of course.

Everyone is stoked.  They know that today is the day that they will pick their new Supreme Leader, who will finally fulfill the promise of making that pesky Barack Obama a one-term President.

Suddenly, all the lights go out.

The crowd gasps with anticipation.

A single spotlight shines on the stage, and it follows a lone tricycle to the center of the stage.

The crowd starts to go wild!  They can't possibly figure out what's going on, but they figure that it's something that will completely destroy the liberal media.

"Maybe it's like when that Clint Eastwood feller talked to that empty stool!  YEE HAW!!! I gits it!  Oblammo is the empty tricycle!"

The spotlight on the tricycle remains, and the house lights flicker.  A buzz and crackle of static emanates through the sound system.  The static clears, and this song begins playing.

While this song is playing, the giant ReaganTron6000 monitors flicker between a series of test patterns, static, and random error messages.  Then, this image appears on the screen:

Most of the crowd think that this is yet another mockery of President Obama, and the clap and yelp like rabid hyenas on bath salts.  The yelping dies down as some Republicans begin to recognize that face, and connect it to the tricycle and the music.  The excited and victorious atmosphere is now transformed to an atmosphere of terror.  At that moment, the "keynote speech" begins.

"Hello, Republicans.  You have been misleading the populace with the trickle-down prophecies of St. Ronald of Reagan, and you have been demonizing poor people, minorities, and anyone who isn't a white, Christian male for decades.  With the election of President Barack Hussein Obama in 2008, you turned dog-whistle rhetoric into full-blown, uncompromising bigotry.

"You formed a cabal to block every initiative that this President offers, promising to make him a one-term President on the day of his inauguration.  You gave voice to, and legitimized, a weapons-grade moron in the form of Sarah Palin.  In 2010, you took advantage of voter disaffection and ushered in a wave of do-nothing politicians in the form of the Tea Potty Party.  The rise of the Tea Party gave political birth to the likes of Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, Tom Cotton, Mark Kirk, and other people who aren't qualified to write bylaws for a game of tag, let alone write laws for the United States.  You have stepped into the abyss willingly and gleefully.

"In 2012, you had a chance to redeem yourself, and to prove that you were not clinically insane.  But you rejected relative moderate John Huntsman as your party's candidate for the Presidency, and went with billionaire vulture capitalist Mitt Romney,  Romney, of course, was defeated handily.

"Your party's members have been disrespectful to the President, even yelling 'You lie' during a State of the Union address.  You have descended into the mouth of madness when you convinced yourself that the President is a Kenyan-born socialist Muslim communist anti-American, exotic 'other.'  The National Rifle Association has convinced you that this 'usurper' is coming for your guns, causing you to panic and buy every gun in stock.  The NRA, the gun manufacturers, and the hedge fund mangers that invest in them are laughing at you, all the way to the bank.

"You made your choice this year when you selected a leader of the Birther movement to be the standard-bearer for your party.  You allowed Donald Trump to ascend from reality TV show host to the presumptive Republican nominee.  And Mr. Trump, rather than tone down incendiary rhetoric to move towards the 'center' of political discourse, continued to wallow in racism, bigotry conspiracy theories, and vicious innuendo that would make TMZ blush with pride.  Your candidate has revoked press privileges for any media outlet that has not kissed his ring.  Reporters are finally beginning to hold Mr. Trump to task for his comments about President Obama having allowed a madman to murder 49 people and injure dozens more in this country's latest mass shooting.

"Now, you must make one more choice.  Choose Donald Trump as the nominee, and you seal your party's fate as that of racists, bigots, the hateful, and the ignorant.  Every down-ballot candidate in your party will be connected to the nominee.

"Choose another person to be the nominee, and you will create chaos from the rabid, violent mouthbreathers that Donald Trump has encouraged throughout the campaign.  Your party will be splintered into tiny racist shards, unable to reassemble and take the White House.

"But understand this, Republicans and your delegates.  No matter which option you choose, the end result for the Republican Party will be...

** Jigsaw removes his mask, and the true terrifying mastermind reveals himself **

...GAME OVER."

Attention, Protesters: Stay Away From The RNC Convention!

This is Donald J. Trump.

"The mushroom clouds and apocalypse are gonna be YOOOOJ!"

He is the presumptive Republican nominee for the Presidency of the United States.  Later, we can discuss how we got here.  But for now, let's focus on the near future.  And the near future is the upcoming Republican National Committee Convention.  This is the huge event where they officially nominate the candidate as their party's standard bearer.

Now, Trump campaign rallies have been rife with violence against protesters, so much so that a video superimposed Trump encouraging violence against protesters with footage of civil rights protesters being beaten and attacked by the police, and the result is truly horrifying and terribly accurate.  Yes, we've been here before, and this is the America that Trump wants to take us back to.

I'm hoping that the protesters stay away from the RNC convention this year.  Not because they may be subject to assault by Trump staffers, and harassed and attacked by Trump supporters.

No.

Protesters need to stay away from the RNC protest because it will be a cataclysmic disaster.  Every day that passes presents a new opportunity for Trump to alienate a potential voter base.  His most recent remarks put him square against the U.S. Army, when he accused "an" Army of stealing cash meant for Iraqi citizens.

Yep, Trump is attacking the troops.

Trump's campaign is a living, breathing dumpster fire.  Or, as my friend who runs the Primarily Politics Facebook Page says, it's a Trumpster Fire.

Pictured:  Donald Trump's Campaign, coming to an alley near you

The reason why protesters should stay away is because the Republican Party is in the verge of collapse.  Republicans everywhere are either trying to disavow Trump, or having regrets about endorsing him, or hint at some sort of palace coup at the convention.  They will either nominate Trump, signaling Republican Armageddon, or they will work behind the scenes to nominate someone else, much to Trump's and his supporters' chagrin... which will also signal Republican Armageddon.

What we need is to let this entire cataclysm play itself out.  The last thing any of these warring factions needs is a common enemy to unite them.  We don't need to see Trump supporters distracted by things such as immigration reform, Trump's racism, Trump's sexism, Trump's failed businesses, Trump's comments about the military, or any of that.  We need for them to focus on Trump, and whether or not Paul Ryan will stab Trump in the back.

This is a grand opportunity for anyone opposed to anything that the Tea Potty and the Republicans stand for.  And when it comes time for the Convention to roll around, all we have to do sit back and watch it all unfold.

The RNC Convention concludes on a positive note.

But hey, if you must go, stay out of the blast radius and bring the hotdogs and marshmallows.  S'mores for everybody.