Trump 'Sacrifices' by Being a Capitalist

Good Sunday morning, Friends,

As was expected, Donald Trump just couldn't let any criticism slide by.

When Khizr Khan, Gold Star father of deceased American Army hero Captain Humayum Khan, called out Trump on his proposed 'Muslim ban', it was predictable that Trump couldn't just quietly let it go.

And it was sooo hard being rich my whole life. You would not
believe how big a sacrifice it is to be me!

He revealed his racism yet again with his ignorant quip about Mrs. Khan, who stood silently by her husband on the podium of the Democratic convention while he eviscerated Trump with his eloquent and unscripted lambasting.

Trump suggested that Mrs.Khan wasn't "allowed" by her husband to speak.

This bit of nonsense could not have been much further from the truth.

She later spoke to CBS News on camera. The truth surrounding her silence was that she is simply still too emotional to talk about her son's death. She was afraid she would not be able to make it through any speech without breaking down.

Mrs. Khan talked to CBS about having told her son to not be a hero in Iraq. "Just come home to me as my son."

"Instead," she said holding back tears, "he came home to me as a hero."

Perhaps the high point of  Khizr Khan's shredding of The Donald was when he scolded, "You have sacrificed nothing--and no one."

When asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulus what sacrifices he's ever made, Trump lamely replied. "I've sacrificed a lot. I've worked really hard, and I've employed tens of thousands of people."

Poor, poor billionaire.

Except in Bizarro World, Trump's life has been the polar opposite of sacrifice. It's the life that just about every capitalist in this country dreams about.

It is positively disgraceful to denigrate the sacrifice the Khans' made for our country in this way.

If Trump's followers can't understand what they're backing by now, they are this country's most serious problem--nothing else.

Trump was just given a little more rope, and he predictably put another knot in his own noose.

Friends, there is no other Donald Trump. What you see is what you get. He can't keep that addled brain driving his big mouth in check.

President of the United States of America?

Trump could ironically be stopped from getting there by his unfiltered reaction to his own worst fear...an angry Muslim.

Hillary and Dems Hit it Out of the Park

It's the morning after, Friends,

If you watched the spectacular Democratic National Convention and didn't have at least one emotional moment, well, you'd better check to see if you're still fogging the mirror.

I freely admit there were moments that brought me to tears. The most emotional was a speech by Khizr Khan, father of Army Captain Humayum Khan, a true American hero and a first generation Muslim-American of Pakistani descent.

He gave his life in Iraq, warning his troops away from a fast approaching suicide truck bomber--all the while running toward it, trying in vain to stop the inevitable explosion, which killed Captain Khan instantly.

His bereaved father's criticism of Trump was stinging--slamming him for having never sacrificed anyone or anything.

He said Trump knew nothing about the Constitution, and offered up his own well-worn pocket version of it he carries with him.

Noticeably holding back his emotions, Khan went on to say that if Donald Trump were president, his son would not have been an American hero. " If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America," he proclaimed.

We actually learned a lot more about Hillary Clinton as a person last night, thanks to a genuinely sweet introduction by her glowing daughter Chelsea. It's hard to believe the stunning and brilliant mother of two is already past her 36th birthday.

Hillary herself gave a genuinely good, upbeat, and commanding, if not inspirational, acceptance speech with at least three potent zingers against her vacuous opponent.

If you didn't see her speech, you should really try to at least watch some highlights.

Notably, Hillary's big night had two mainstream Republicans, a former Ronald Reagan staffer as well as the head of GOP Women for Hillary, publicly endorse her.

She was also hardily endorsed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and retired four-star General John Allen.

As a production, the Democratic gala made last week's Trumpfest look like it was put together by rank amateurs.

I predict Hillary will get at least a 15 point bump in the polls from her four-night spectacular.

This IS your future Donald Trump. But not on it--underneath it. 

Meanwhile, I believe that the GOP will let Trump twist in the wind, and he'll have to go it virtually alone.

Most anyone who's anybody in the party has either already abandoned him or is keeping their distance from an obvious pariah.

The party needs to save itself by focusing on down-ballot races.

The GOP establishment will very soon and very publicly give up on the White House for the next four years. They will conclude that they have everything to gain by excising the cancer that has infected their party--sooner rather than later.

Sticking with Trump just makes the GOP look like the party of the crazies, which it historically isn't. Ostracizing a lying maniac would show the party has some integrity left.

Yesterday, Trump claimed he didn't know Vladimir Putin. He's seems unaware that everything he's done for years is on tape. His statement is belied by a 2013 NBC interview where he talked about his personal relationship with Putin.

Mark my words. The GOP will throw Trump under the bus.

Making Hillary Human

Good Thursday morning, Friends,

There have been some really rousing speeches at the Democratic convention, and, by and large they've been warm and fuzzy, inspiring, and uplifting. Most of all, they've had one underlying theme-- making Hillary Clinton likable.

The Dems find themselves with the most-experienced but least-trusted candidate they've run for president in at least the last 60 years.

Her achievements, when pulled from their context, would seem impressive. She'a a skilled attorney who fought for children's rights, former activist First Lady both on the state and national levels, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State.

But although she had a good reputation as a hard-working senator, she ran into trouble at the State Department.

Not only were her accomplishments there lackluster, but her private email server and mishandling of state secrets as Secretary of State is a mess that won't go away.

And therein lies her issue.

Here's Hillary's plan for her speech tonight. If she senses she's coming across like a
robotic policy wonk. she's going to hold up this picture.

Hillary had a private email server not to commit some nefarious act of sedition against the state, she had it so she could keep her personal communications out of the public eye.

On a private server, Hillary's electronic correspondence would be beyond the reach of the Freedom of Information Act. No one would ever see her emails unless she decided they should.

But Hillary's desire for privacy in public positions is her Achilles' heel. Wanting separate public and private personae is her weakness.

Because of it, even after 25 years in the public eye, we still don't know her as a real, multi-dimensional, flesh and blood person.

She's been so objectified at this point, it's very easy to see her as an exaggeration of her negatives and to loathe her for them.

After this much time has passed, most of us have formed our opinions of her. Rebuilding Hillary as a capable, trustworthy, empathetic grandma is a pretty tall order.

But that's what the Democrats must do to defeat a man whose principle appeal is to raw emotion, and who has moved ahead of Hillary in the polls.

Heavy hitters like the president, vice president, Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, and even Michael Bloomberg, who enthusiastically endorsed her at the convention (all of whom would be better candidates), have nearly moved the mountain of Hillary's historically-high negatives.

Tonight, it will be up to her and her keynote speech to prove to us she is the rosy picture they've been painting.

Mrs. Clinton is remarkably capable and intelligent, but her shell has been difficult for the public to crack. We want to know the real person.

Tonight's will be the most important speech of Hillary's life.

Many are looking for something, anything to help us like her. Can enough of us warm up to Hillary Clinton to defeat a looming monster?

Come back tomorrow. Maybe the world will have turned upside down.
       

Who Would Hire This Man?

Happy Hump Day, Friends,

I've really enjoyed the Democratic National Convention for the past two days. It's had lots of inspiring speeches, a few excellent and entertaining musical performances, and the two three-hour live TV extravaganzas were remarkably smooth.

History was made yesterday when Hillary Clinton became the first woman ever nominated for president by a major party.

And it was virtually impossible not to like First Laddy nominee Bill Clinton's keynote address about his and Hillary's history together.

The Democratic convention in Philadelphia has been extremely upbeat and optimistic. Contrast that with the darkness of the GOP's Cleveland Trump coronation.

Every important Democrat has either turned out for their convention, or sent a message in support of Hillary Clinton.

None of their Republican counterparts showed up for Trumpfest, and many of the party endorsements he does have are lukewarm at best.

The Democrats have had no problems rolling out an A+ list of celebrities to speak and/or perform for Hillary. Trump had Scott Baio.

Believe it or not, I have three good friends who are absolute GOP wingnuts. Two of them constantly send me right wing propaganda that's been widely debunked, but they've fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

They still suspect the president of being a secret Muslim who was born in Kenya.

One of them bet me that President Obama will declare martial law and suspend the presidential election. I win the dinner of my choice at any restaurant I choose if America goes to the polls on time.

Who do you think might win this one?

I forgive them for their crazy beliefs because they are genuinely good people who've always been extremely nice to me, but they've completely drunk the Kool-aid.

I got an email yesterday from one of them arguing that Trump is the savior that our country's been yearning for. Wow. Thank God for another son!

All three of these people are in Trump's demographic...angry older white folks. Go figure.

Well, no I've never worked in this business before. Uh no, I haven't taken the time to
learn about your company. Hell, I don't even know what you sell. What? I'm hired?
Wow, you're a lot dumber than I thought you were.

Here's the question I have for these well-experienced Americans and all their compatriots who support a complete charlatan for president:

If you owned a business, would you hire someone to run it who has no experience?

You would? No, you wouldn't.

Running for president is a job interview with the American public, and each one of us is Chairman of the Board.

We need to make a smart decision, not an emotional one.

Trump has never held any government position. He knows nothing about what it actually takes to run a YUGE not-for-profit operation and even says he doesn't care to learn about it.

Of all the candidates running for president (including Gary Johnson and Jill Stein), Trump has the fewest actual qualifications to be the country's top government official. He's not a general manager. He's a wheeler dealer.

He's also demonstrated that his temperament is too unstable and immature to be commander-in-chief of the world's most-powerful military and have his finger on the nuclear trigger.

We know how he responds when someone criticizes him. He destroys them. Ironically, three people he has praised are Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un, and Saddam Hussein--three of democracy's great role models.

Here's what Trump would tell you in an interview for a job that puts your life in his hands, "Well, I have no experience, but I know more than the generals do, and I talk to myself for advice. I'll make the country great again because I say I will. How? I'll tell you that later."

I'm not sure who I'll hire yet, but I know who I won't.

Donald Trump Deserves No Respect

Good Tuesday to you, Friends,

I'd like to warn you in advance about today's post, I've had it with Donald Trump's juvenile name calling, and I'm not going to hold back.

This nasty, exploitative, short-fingered. bleach-blond bully, is singlehandedly destroying the dignity of the United States Presidency.

His response to any criticism is with a personal attack on some physical trait or character flaw of the critic.

This is the tactic of someone with inferior intelligence and poor verbal skills. And it figures that most of his supporters are equally low brow (did you ever take a good look at Sean Hannity's hairline?).

He continues to double down on calling Senator Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas," which should have native Americans seething. This is tantamount to walking up to any Latino and calling him Pedro.

Like a sniveling little bully, he gives virtually all his rivals pejorative nicknames: Crooked Hillary, Lyin' Ted, Little Marco, etc.

This disgraces the free world's most important office.

I thought he may get a little more presidential when the general election came around. Perhaps there was a side to Donald Trump that we didn't know about.

I was wrong; at least for all intents and purposes.

Just a few minutes ago, when I began writing this post, I was prepared to tell you that I was completely fed up with Trump's petty name calling.

I was prepared to write that from now on and until I write my very last post, I will refer to Trump exclusively as Nubbs--in recognition of his remarkably small and out of proportion index fingers and thumbs.

What do you mean that's small? That's big! And besides, that's only when it's soft.

Then, I was going to call him some of the nastiest names ever printed outside of the world's most disgusting book "Scrotie McBoogerballs."

But that would be stooping to his level. And while it's really tempting, as Michelle Obama said in her powerful and inspiring convention speech last night, "When they go low, we go high."

So that's what I'm going to do. I will treat Donald Trump with the respect that he hasn't earned, which, in fact, he continues to urinate away.

I just hope that renowned filmmaker Michael Moore is wrong.

Moore says that Donald Trump has identified and is exploiting an underlying national rage and is using his master marketing skills to manipulate the electorate.

Trump has convinced voters that the country is on a fast track down the tubes, and he's the only one who can save it.

He's aggravated that raw nerve so successfully, in fact, he's going to be elected president.

Fortunately, no one's right about everything--not even me.

Rigged Dem Convention Begins

It's only Monday, Friends,

So much has happened since the week began yesterday, it's hard to believe it's just Monday.

Any hopes for a calm Democratic National Convention have been completely dashed, along with any hopes for a presidential election that's fair and square.

Thanks to Russian hackers who broke into the party's computers, we now know through email evidence what before we only suspected.

We have this guy to thank for ensuring that the American presidential election is
fair and honest.  The world has truly gone mad.

The Democratic party manipulated the primary to ensure a Hillary Clinton nomination.

Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been forced to resign in disgrace. At a Florida delegate breakfast this morning, she was literally booed off the stage. The party is now rethinking her scheduled 4 p.m. address to the convention.

Personally, I'd love to see it happen again, but I'd actually recommend she hop the first flight back to Boca.

The media is saying the Democratic party is now in disarray. Anger is flying, and Sanders supporters are urging the Senator to stage a convention challenge.

Who really knows what would have happened if the party's debates had been scheduled in prime time instead of being buried? What would have happened if the party had treated both candidates equally instead of actively derailing Bernie?

Ironically, Donald Trump was absolutely right about the Democrats rigging their nominating system against Bernie and any other Hillary challenge.

And it fits nicely into the narrative that the Clintons play by their own rules and can't be trusted.

Sanders says he still endorses Hillary, and, regardless of what happens to him personally, Trump needs to be defeated at any cost.

Tell me why.

The GOP primary, though ugly, was at least honest. The Democrats have actively ripped us off.

Many of Bernie's ardent supporters aren't having any of it.

They are gathering all around the City of Brotherly Love. Thousands are expected to protest, and city officials are hoping they don't get violent.

Meanwhile, the Democratic party has some 'splainin' to do to people like me who used to have some faith in it. Tell me why I should have any belief in this organization now that I know for certain it tried to manipulate me?

What's really rich is that the Democrats are pinning the blame for this mess on the Russians, who they allege started slowly releasing the party's confidential hacked emails yesterday. Maybe the DNC should be thinking about what it did instead.

This whole election process has been nauseating.

Bernie Sanders will not be the Democratic nominee, even though it's quite possible if the playing field had been level that he would be.

I'm feeling pretty gloomy this morning, but maybe things will look a little different to me on Thursday when the convention ends.

Stay tuned.

Dems Oblivious to Rise of American Fascism

Good morning, Friends,

I really like Tim Kaine.

He has a wonderful life story and has already made history for several of his accomplishments. He's one of only 20 people to have been a mayor, governor and U.S. senator, and he's a former Democratic party chairman. If he becomes VP, he'll be unique in history.

I'm smart, articulate, accomplished and have a heck of
a life story. I'm just the wrong guy for the times.

His wife Anne is the only person to have lived in the Virginia governor's mansion at two different times in her life--as a child when her father Linwood Holton was governor, and then as First Lady.

Governor Holton, a Republican, is known for desegregating Virginia's schools. And daughter Anne attended predominantly black public schools in the state capital. Today, she's Virginia's Secretary of Education.

Senator Kaine hit a homerun yesterday in his V.P. nomination acceptance speech, delivered partly in fluent and barely-accented Spanish.

In any other year, Kaine could be the perfect complement to a very-establishment Hillary Clinton policy-focused candidacy.

This year, though, Kaine does nothing to help Hillary and the Democrats.

Hillary's choice flies in the face of nearly half of the party's primary voters who said loudly and clearly that they wanted change.

It's bad enough that intra-party emails divulged yesterday by Wikileaks proved Bernie Sanders' claim that party leaders, led by chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, tilted the playing field in favor of Hillary.

The choice of moderate to right-leaning Kaine is a slap in the face to an electorate that's rapidly moving to the left.  It's telling millions of motivated voters that they don't matter. Hillary doesn't need them to win.

They're dead wrong. And their tone deafness is going to drive us over a cliff.

Look at Donald Trump's candidacy. It's based on fear and demagoguery.

Here's a description everyone should read: a political philosophy or movement that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for an autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader and suppression of opposition.

If it sounds a bit familiar, you should be frightened. It's Webster's definition of fascism. And if Donald Trump doesn't already embody it, it'll be too late when we find out it's a perfect fit for him because he'll already be president.

I wish the Democrats were better at what they do.

Despite a palpable clamor for change, the party establishment has ramrodded a flawed candidate down our throats.

Now, we're told by the selection of Tim Kaine that we're in for the status quo for at least another four years.

A Bloomberg poll showed that 45% of Sanders' supporters say will not vote for Hillary Clinton under any circumstances. What's worse, 22% say they'll vote for Trump.

This makes me more frightened than anything The Donald has said so far.

I Hear Music Playing

Wow, TGIF, Friends,

It was a dramatic finish to the Republican National Convention, and the slightly delayed balloon and confetti drop added a fitting flourish to a loud and exciting night.

Four days ago I wrote a post about how similar the Trump family seemed to the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music.In that iconic film, the attractive young wife and brilliantly talented kids' love transforms a crusty patriarch into a warm and fuzzy hero.

Trump's kids proved to be every bit as brilliantly talented as the kids in the film. And last night Ivanka Trump absolutely stole the show. She is intelligent, articulate, politically astute, poised, accomplished, and not to mention strikingly beautiful.

She got up and spoke to an audience of tens of millions as if she'd done it hundreds of times--totally relaxed, with calm authority and presence.

Honestly, why isn't this Trump running for president?

People are remarking this morning that Ivanka introducing her "father's agenda" of humanist and feminist policies made them almost feel like they were listening to Hillary Clinton.

It was clearly Ivanka's own laundry list of policies and they would generally be considered antithetical to the GOP.

But she actually had the crowd on its feet cheering for a totally liberal agenda like 'equal pay for women'.

I would vote for Ivanka for president if she were running. That's how good she was.

Her two brothers and younger sister were equally effective in their own individual ways.

Twenty-two-year-old Tiffany, fresh out of the University of Pennsylvania, was a pleasant surprise and should have a very bright future.

The two adult Trump brothers, Don and Eric, were equally impressive at the podium. Both gave strong performances.

And 10-year-old Baron, while not speaking, looked every bit like The Donald's  'Mini Me.'

Despite the plagiarism gaffe, no one's really going to hold a grudge against Melania for very long. Even with the lifted Michelle Obama lines, Melania showed some mettle at the podium.

Trump himself stayed on message by sticking to the teleprompter, but his speech was dark and angry. It basically was a synopsis of everything he's been saying since Day 1, without any of the racist or misogynistic vitriol.

He painted a pretty gloomy picture of our country and world and offered himself, not specific policies, as the solution.

Some things he says he'll do for the economy sound pretty scary, such as virtually unrestricted exploitation of our energy resources.

Some of his plans resemble Reagan's debunked and failed 'Trickle Down' economics--help the rich and they'll help everyone else. Trump wants to cut their taxes "big time."

To Trump's credit, he and his convention reached out several times to the LGBTQ community and promised that his administration would be inclusive and protect their rights.

The pundits are virtually all saying that Trump still hasn't 'made the pivot' to the general election.

We'll see about that. But we have now met the Von Trump family, and they're easy to love. Can we love their crusty patriarch?

The jury is still out on that one, but there seems to be music quietly playing in the background.

GOP Split Will Hurt Trump

Final day today, Friends,

Unless Donald Trump and daughter Ivanka can pull off a miracle when they speak tonight (and it's possible), the GOP will be leaving its Cleveland showcase without the typical convention bump and as a very sick puppy.

True to his Grandpa Munster alter ego, Ted Cruz sucked the blood right out of the delegates in Quicken Loans Arena last night. Some 23 minutes into Cruz's allotted 12, it dawned on them that he would not endorse the party's nominee.

Their cheers turned to jeers quickly when Cruz told them to vote their conscience and for someone who would support the Constitution.

He left Trump supporters cold, and even some of his own delegates weren't too pleased that Cruz wasn't honoring his written pledge to back the party's nominee.

Wahhh! Donald Trump's a big bully! Wahhh! He attacked my
wife. He attacked my daddy! I don't have to keep my word if I
don't want to! So there!

.
Ironically, Cruz and 15 other Trump opponents held the nominee's feet to the fire until he agreed to that same pledge, which he obviously honored.

Cruz said later that he would never endorse anyone who attacked his wife and his father. Trump was guilty of doing that publicly.

And some may agree that the personal attacks on Cruz's family were so beyond the pale that they voided the contract.

I think it was rude for Cruz to accept an invitation to speak at Trump's coronation, gobble up costly excess podium minutes, and then diss the host who was showing him some genuine grace by inviting him.

The convention has demonstrated how deeply the Republican party is split 100 days from the election.

My wife is rubbing it in that The Hatch Principle doesn't seem to be holding.

For the first time since Barry Goldwater, the party doesn't seem to be really congealing around its nominee. And even Goldwater's convention didn't cause such a ruckus.

Trump hasn't helped himself much. The convention has been almost completely distracted by gaffes--Melania's plagiarized speech and its mishandled aftermath the principal one.

Cruz caused so much tumult last night he totally upstaged the fairly strong speech by V.P. nominee Mike Pence. Who can remember even one word of what that candidate said?

Trump needs near total GOP support and a big chunk of the Independent vote to be president. He may already have the Independents leaning his way, but unless he can unite his own party, he's got big problems.

Most important Republicans didn't even show up to the convention. A good one-third of the delegates sat on their hands last night while their compatriots were on their feet shouting down Cruz.

I'd say Trump's got his work cut out for him.

P.S.

Hi Friends,

My wife insists I mention that the dress Melania wore for her now infamous speech was made by a Serbian designer based in London.

So much for employing Americans.

Trump Campaign's Self-Destructive Trait

Good Wednesday, Friends,

Obfuscate. I can't remember the last time I used this word in anything I've written, and I got my first full-time reporter job back in 1974.

It's not a word you hear often, but I don't think I need to define it. Its meaning becomes pretty obvious when it's used in a sentence, and I think you'll be hearing it a lot more.

I feel the need to use it now.

As I write this post, I'm sitting here watching Donald Trump's campaign manager Paul Manafort on CNN doubling down on Melania Trump's convention speech being completely in her own words. The rest of the world knows better.

This is how the Trump campaign behaves every time it gets caught with its pants down. It lies and denies. It obfuscates the issue.

This is how a Trump presidency will behave every time it gets caught with it pants down. It will lie and deny. It will obfuscate.

I say this is a black and white photo of some fog. The Trump campaign says it's a
full color shot of a man sitting on a horse. I guess they're right.  

The latest obfuscation involves Melania, or her speechwriters, clearly lifting what's today being reported as three passages directly from Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic Convention speech.

Being a journalist and educator, plagiarism is probably more important to me than to many people. But I consider the offense right up there with Hillary's use of a private email server.

Melania's not running for anything, of course, and I give her a tremendous amount of credit for getting up in front of an audience of millions and delivering her speech with grace and poise.

And even though she claimed she spent five weeks writing her speech with very little help, the truth is a team of speechwriters did most of the work...badly.

This latest Trump campaign gaffe is not Melania's. It falls squarely on the campaign, and by extension on Trump himself. It's just the latest example of a trait that would ordinarily lead to their and his demise.

They can't admit to mistakes. Instead, they will always stick to their guns and obfuscate what they did. After you've listened to their spin, you're not sure anymore which direction is up.

So far, obfuscation has made most of Trump's worst gaffes virtually go away. Here are just a few highlights: mocking a handicapped reporter; denying he knew who David Duke was; claiming a clearly anti-Semitic tweet was innocent; and now trying to spin away intellectual theft.

Apply this behavior to Trump as president, and it's pretty darn frightening.

Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton is no better. She's a smooth liar who can look straight at the camera and say pretty much anything, knowing much of it's false.

I heard last night that both Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are moving up in the polls.

Trump Campaign Now Lying About Plagiarism

Good Convention Day Two, Friends,

It wasn't a terrible start to the Republican National Convention yesterday, except for a blase speech by Melania Trump, which she claimed she spent five weeks writing but which she partly stole from Michelle Obama.

The night's keynote speech was anticipated to be a personal look into the Trumps' lives. It turned out to be a series of platitudes that left us as much in the dark about the Trumps as we were before Melania began speaking.

Take a good look at your potential First Lady, America. I know I am!

We know, according to Melania, that he's a great guy and gets things done, that he's kind and he cares. Why is anyone's guess. She didn't give us any examples.

And if The Donald sounded somewhat like Barack Obama, it's probably because Melania lifted two passages nearly verbatim from Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic Convention speech.

After initially admitting there may have been a terrible mistake made, now the Trump campaign is denying there was any plagiarism by the First Lady wannabe or anyone else.

I was a high school administrator for five years, and I can tell you that we prosecuted students for incidents of plagiarism much less egregious than Melania's.

Watching Michelle and Melania' speeches cut together side by side, it's obvious to all but a complete nitwit that Melania cheated.

Republicans are writing this incident off; saying that Melania isn't a native speaker and that her speech was similar to Michelle's but in no way identical. Really?

The Trump campaign is going to double down on its mistakes once too often.

I still refuse to let them get away with their anti-Semitic tweet borrowed from a neo-Nazi website, and then doubling down on its innocence.

One thing is becoming clear about this candidacy: when their lips are moving, they're explaining their way out of something.

Can the Von Trump Family Charm America?

It's Monday, Friends,

We're just hours away from the start of the GOP national convention and what Donald Trump promised will be a different kind of convention and a spectacular show.

What we may actually get is a modern-day rendition of The Sound of Music, This one features an adult version of the Von Trapp family doing a song and dance to convince us their patriarch should be our country's daddy as well.

The Von Trump family rehearsing for the GOP national convention
that begins today in Cleveland. What? That's the Von Trapp family?
Sorry.

It should be very amusing, and maybe even convincing.

Tonight, third wife Melania takes the stage to shower praise on her wonderful husband.

He has a track record of trading in wives for a newer model when they turn 50. She's only got four years' worth of tread left, so two terms for her in the Oval Office are kind of iffy.

Melania is, of course, a stunning international high-fashion (ahemmm) model.

It'll be really cool to hang semi-nude pinups of our First Lady around my office. I've seen some of them on the internet, and she's got my vote--for anything but First Lady.

Okay, she was a few years younger when she did the photo shoot, so maybe all the church people supporting Trump and his running mate Deacon Pence can forgive her for flaunting her boobies all over the heathen world.

According to GQ Magazine, back in her native Slovenia, Melania's father, then a young man and single, had a fling that produced an illegitimate half brother four years Melania's senior.

Prior to the boy's birth, said GQ, Melania's father had pushed the boy's mother unsuccessfully to abort the pregnancy. 

He subsequently denied his paternity, but the blood evidence showed otherwise.

Melania's dad ultimately lost in court to the boy's mother and financially supported the child until he turned 18. He chose to have no personal relationship with his son, whose very existence was kept secret.

This story is alleged to have brought its author, Douglas Friedman, anti-Semitic death threats from various neo-Nazis. Nice.

Once we've been charmed by Melania, and I'm really not being sarcastic here, we're in for a steady bevy of speeches from every other adult member of the Trump clan...a lovefest for Daddy.

We'll be hearing from Ivanka, Eric, Donald, Jr., and possibly even Tiffany. Aside from the youngest of them, these are very accomplished people. Ivanka's resume is so impressive that one wonders if she wouldn't be a better choice for the nation's first woman president.

If the Donald's kids are truly a reflection of him, then he's been deceiving the world about who he really is.

My guess? They're more reflections of their mother(s)--the first three from ex, Ivana, the fourth from ex, Marla Maples.

Melania has largely stayed off the campaign trail so she could be a hands-on mom to the Trumps' 10-year-old son Baron.

Of course, Nubbs has had to have been some semblance of a good influence on his children.

They all can't be just openly rebelling against his divisive, hateful, bombastic nature by being model citizens. He's had to have some genuinely positive impact on their work ethic and values.

So, Trump's kids may actually speak volumes about a man about whom so far we know of only a despicable caricature.

Can the Von Trump family charm us into liking a person who makes many of us gag?

Sadly, I know how The Sound of Music turned out. We not only loved the kids, but we also wound up loving their crusty old man.

Trump/Pence Not Worth Tuppence

Happy Sunday, Friends,

The Donald has eliminated all doubt. He officially announced to the world yesterday that his running mate is none other than staunch conservative, pro-life, homophobic, born again governor of Indiana, Mike Pence.

Pence was known as Ted Cruz's biggest supporter and is in lockstep with him politically. The choice could not have been any more like putting Cruz on the ticket than actually putting him on it.

Mike Pence hooked up with one loser. Can he possibly go for two?

Scary to think this guy could someday be a heartbeat away from the oldest president in history.

What's more, the Trump/Pence seems to lack any chemistry at all.

CNN's Dana Bash reported that Trump had buyer's remorse after choosing Pence, which was not made on his gut, but rather on the advice of his closest campaign advisers--his kids.

So far, everything about Trump's monumentally successful campaign has been based on his gut.

And though repulsive to maybe even most of us, his strategy has worked better than in arguably any other presidential campaign ever.

Not to mention, Trump has gotten to this point spending tens of millions of dollars less than anyone else. Say what you will, but his accomplishments so far have already redefined American politics.

Though tapping Pence appears to be a savvy political choice to his kids (and even many sane people), going against his gut on his first big decision will be the stake that kills Dracula.

Trump is all about his instincts, which are undeniably dead on. He's a born predator. But take those instincts away from him and what do you get? Mike Pence.

Pence does nothing for Trump but give his ticket the momentary appearance of normalcy. It won't be long until Nubbs makes his next offensive gaffe, and it'll be amusing to see how Pence handles the embarrassment.

He's already publicly called out Trump's Muslim ban as unconstitutional, and the two don't really seem to agree on very much policy-wise.

I almost get the feeling that Pence subconsciously took on Trump as his Sunday school project. Good luck there.

On accepting the invitation to be Trump's VP, the only memorable thing out of Pence's mouth was, "I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order." How comforting.

It's hard for me to see this team hanging together until November, but if Trump can actually make it happen, I'll be the first to give him kudos.

I think Mike Pence will be as much of an anchor around Donald Trump's neck as Sarah Palin turned out to be for John McCain, though in a totally different way.

Pence is a moral compass, but the Trump campaign has been a success precisely because it hasn't had one.

As terrible as that sounds, fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was right on when he advised to, "Let Trump be Trump."

Unless he's free to follow his killer instincts, Trump's a dead man.

No Revolt at GOP Convention

Dear Friends,

Horrific acts of terror are becoming a near daily occurrence in our world, and we mourn the loss of last night's latest victims in Nice, France. May their loved ones find peace and make some sense of this tragedy.

The worst act of mass mayhem by vehicle ever has put a complete chill on American politics.

Donald Trump's surprise announcement of his running mate, scheduled for late this morning, has been postponed either out of respect, or more cynically, so as not to be upstaged.

The media is reporting that Trump will quietly announce Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as his running mate some time later today. But that doesn't suit The Donald's style at all, so we'll see what actually happens.

Yes, even his picture kind of puts you to sleep. Despite
that, the media is reporting that Gov. Mike Pence will be
Donald Trump's running mate. No chance this guy will ever
upstage his boss, but he may not be the "master debater"
The Donald promised.

What is certain, and has slipped by because of the horrific story out of France, is that the GOP rules committee has overwhelmingly voted not to unbind its delegates on their first convention vote.

What this means is that Trump's nomination is now a forgone conclusion. There will be no revolt at the convention.

Bottom line: we are stuck with the binary choice of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton; or are we?

Both Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are serious people with serious credentials running for established--albeit never successful--parties.

Both the Libertarian Johnson and Green Party Stein have been gaining traction in the polls. With 15%, they buy a ticket onto the national debate stage with the main two players.

Stein, an MD, is eloquent and akin to Bernie Sanders in her policies. Johnson is a social liberal and fiscal conservative who did a creditable job in his two terms as governor of New Mexico. He's also a champion endurance athlete.

The world is in mourning again today, and I've talked enough about politics for now.

Perhaps we can make it to Monday's start of the Republican convention in Cleveland without another awful act of slaughter.

Have a good weekend, Friends.

Something's Fishy in Trump Campaign

Happy Bastille Day, Friends,

While most of the media mentally masturbates over who Donald Trump will pick as his running mate, there are other things going on in his campaign that only a handful of journalists are talking about.

An item started gaining some traction yesterday that I find both amusing and a bit disturbing. Frankly, I don't know what to make of it yet, but it's nefarious on its face with a sprinkle of incest to boot, and I'm getting a sense that it's important.

Jared Kushner, The Donald's son-in-law, has been instrumental in the campaign. He's been calling the shots on Trump's more sane moves and is largely credited with writing the scripted speeches that have done so much to legitimize his candidacy.

Kushner is from a wealthy New Jersey family, the patriarch of which is Charles. Like Trump, Charles Kushner made billions in commercial real estate.

But unlike The Donald, Kushner is a well-known liberal Democrat who's given millions to the party. Furthermore, he was fined and served time in federal prison for fraud regarding his contributions,

Kushner was convicted of flouting personal contribution limits by donating under his employees' names. That's not legal.

The kicker of this story is that the prosecutor who rabidly went after Charles Kushner for his unlawful gifts to the Democratic party was none other than...Chris Christie.

Chris Christie sent Jared Kushner's dad to prison! How crazy is that?

I'm proud I sent Charles Kushner to jail. When I'm Vice
President, I'm going to make it illegal to give any money to
 the Democrat party. What? Jared wants me in his office? Uh oh.

Considering how close the relationship between Donald Trump and Governor Donuts has been, one can only wonder what has to be going through Jared's head.

He and his wife Ivanka are alleged to be two of The Donald's closest advisers, and he generally follows their suggestions.

If I were in a position to avenge the politically-motivated jailing of my father, I'd sure take it. Christie should watch his back...just sayin'.

The other thing that's not lost here is how close the Kushner family has been and still is with the Democratic party.

As a matter of fact, Donald Trump's political history, prior to becoming Birther in Chief, was pretty close to Kushner's.

I'd even venture that so were Trump and Kushner...close, that is. They were so close, they married their families together.

What happened since? My guess is that Donald Trump, who's been planning a run for president since the 1990's, saw a path to the White House not through his own party but by hijacking the opposing one.

He observed a rising dissatisfaction within the GOP and spent years perfecting a marketing plan to cultivate that growing bloc. We've seen the results.

Listen to what Trump says when he's having a rare lucid moment, and you hear a lot of mainstream Democratic thoughts.

My advice to the Republican party: If Trump actually does get elected, you too should watch your back...just sayin'.

Trump Snubs NAACP, Clinton Slips in Polls Anyway

Happy Wednesday, Friends,

It seems pretty obvious that Donald Trump is doing everything he can to become the quintessential caricature of the worst possible presidential candidate ever.

He's now the first GOP candidate in at least the last four presidential elections to tell the nation's preeminent civil rights organization he won't be addressing their convention.

In light of the racial strife gripping this country, this unfathomable snub of the NAACP could be the most egregious slap in the face possible to the African American community--short of him actually slapping one of  "his African Americans" in the face.

Remember me? No, I didn't go away...You know I can't die.
And surprise! I may still be your next VP.

Trump's blamed his declining their invitation on a scheduling conflict with the GOP convention in Cleveland, which starts on Monday.

But his excuse doesn't hold up. The NAACP convention starts Saturday and is conveniently close by in Cincinnati.

This plays right into the narrative that Trump is pandering to white Christian voters and is pretty much writing off everyone else.

So far, he's openly insulted Mexicans, Muslims, Jews, African Americans, Native Americans, women and the handicapped.

And if he's missed anyone else yet, they're probably in his cross hairs. He's the Don Rickles of politics.

I've posted before on how Trump's campaign is modeled on the "Chins" episode of Seinfeld, where Elaine's boyfriend is notoriously bad at breaking up. He always leaves his exes with a complex over one of their physical features.

He called Elaine "Big Head" and she couldn't get over it. And then, he called George "Chins," and he went to pieces. Sound a bit familiar?

I also said Trump's campaign was like the play inside the play "The Producers," called "Springtime for Hitler." It was supposed to be the worst play ever written and designed to fail. Instead, it was an instant hit because of its charismatic star. Sound more familiar?

This morning, Trump is having breakfast with Governor Mike Pence of Indiana, formerly Ted Cruz's biggest supporter, The media is assuming that Pence is on the fast track to becoming Trump's running mate.

But Trump likes surprises. Perhaps talk with Cruz is going through Pence.

Ted Cruz is already scheduled to speak at the GOP convention--one of the few elected officials who will.

It's not a big leap to think that Trump's running mate will not be Pence, but Cruz, the very first prediction I made when this blog started back in January. Interestingly, Mary Matalin, the longtime Republican operative, agrees with me.

A Trump/Cruz ticket would fit right in with a Producers-style scenario. It would be the most polarizing duo since Goldwater/Miller.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton continues slipping in the polls. Trump has pulled ahead in several key swing states, despite her having spent millions on advertising and he next to nothing. Go figure.

I keep telling the Democrats they're backing a loser. They're not listening to me, and I hope I'm wrong.

The warning signs, however, are ominous.

Does Sanders' Endorsement Fix Hillary?

Good Tuesday morning, Friends,

Hillary Clinton has to be the worst candidate the Democratic party has tapped to be president since...well I can think of George McGovern and Michael Dukakis to name a couple.

At least those two came across as basically honest. If Hillary were a man, I'd call her a lying sleazeball.

But since even she herself admits to be happily playing the Woman Card, my calling her out for what she is seems somehow off limits.

I've been an adherent to the Democratic party's progressive social agenda my whole life and still support it. But shoving a dishonorable candidate like Hillary Clinton down my throat is just plain un-Democratic.

This is really YUGE. You've done terrible things, and I don't respect you. But
Donald Trump thinks this is all a big game show. What choice do I have? So
okay already. I endorse you.

Hillary may not have technically committed a felony by setting up a private email server, but her intent to break the law was pretty clear. It may not be the law you'd normally think of, like the Espionage Act.

She clearly wanted her emails to not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, as is every other government document. This demonstrates intent to break the law.

Now, none of her official emails as Secretary of State can ever be made public through an FOIA request.

Never mind that her server contained at least 110 classified documents, which the FBI uncovered, and potentially thousands of others her attorneys destroyed so thoroughly they can never be reconstructed.

It's now known that at least a dozen people with no security clearance at all had access to Hillary's server and, therefore, the country's most sensitive top secrets.

Yet, Hillary faces no consequences for this. Quite the contrary, she's possibly on the verge of being rewarded handsomely.

This is as bizarre a scenario as what's going on in the GOP.

Later today, Bernie Sanders will endorse Hillary Clinton.

In my opinion, Bernie is holding his nose over his endorsement of the candidate's character but is supercharged over the party's platform.

It's set to contain nearly every one of his main themes--free public college tuition, a $15 minimum wage, a Medicare for all option, campaign finance reform--except for his opposition to the TPP trade agreement.

Bernie's endorsement will help Hillary a bit. Some of his supporters will cast an ambivalent vote for her. But the majority will look for other options or just stay home.

With the weakest and most divisive candidate in modern history about to receive the GOP nomination, the Democrats have a huge window of opportunity to move the country progressively into the 21st century.

But despite Bernie Sanders' endorsement, by stubbornly standing by a badly broken Hillary Clinton, the blue party could be making a political mistake that will resonate for generations.

How Five Days Became Five Months

Good Monday, Friends,

Can you believe that just five days ago, we were still talking about Donald Trump's not backing down from his flagrantly anti-Semitic tweet that originated on a White Supremacist website?

The world has changed completely since then.

In that time, we lived through horrors in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, and Dallas, charges not being brought against Hillary Clinton for her private email server, and Trump quietly winning over his party at a meeting with GOP congressmen in Washington that nearly went unnoticed. 

WorldsBestPundit says he thinks I can act presidential for the next 100
days. Whaddya think? Should I make him look stupid?

Trump has been relatively quiet for the past five days, and what little he's said was carefully scripted. It was also uncannily presidential sounding. 

He's giving his first campaign speech today since the massacre of police in Dallas. This one will be on teleprompter, to a crowd in Virginia Beach. He's been good at sticking to talking points when scripted.

Could the five-day respite from campaigning have been a turning point for Trump? Will he do as his party has been begging him and stay on message?

I don't like to keep repeating myself, but a day is like a week in politics, and each of the last five days has been more like a month.

Our collective memory is notoriously short, and we are pretty forgiving when it comes to some of the people for whom we vote. What Trump did last week is already foggy.

His basic message has plenty of general appeal, but The Donald has had such high negatives, he's failed to attract more than 45% of the general electorate in any national poll. 

This also means, though, he only has to nudge about six percent of the voters his way to be president; even less if Gary Johnson has any impact on the race.

Looking as presidential as he did in his YouTube response to the Dallas tragedy may just start turning things his way. 

Can he be presidential for the next 100 days? 

I've just seen the first 10 minutes of today's scripted speech. 

My gut is, Friends, that he actually can. 

The One Secret That Will Save Us

Hi Friends,

Last week was gut wrenching.

If the United States were a person, most of us would say she's got some serious issues.

Hopefully, the one-two body punch of Louisiana and Minnesota, and the knockout blow to the chin that was Dallas, has jarred the collective conscience and will motivate us to deal with the issues of race, bad policing, and how to love one another.

These have become an all too familiar sight.

I was really inspired by the interfaith prayer service in Dallas on Friday. It demonstrated how vital faith is in healing us in times of major crisis.

And you don't even have to believe in God to acknowledge that the power of prayer was evident and helping to put that broken city back together.

I wish we could do something like it on a national scale once a month, to make us feel like one great people, instead of the divided camps in which we find ourselves.

We need to roll out a cavalcade of inspiring preachers of every faith of the United States, to stand up and inspire us with prayers special to both their own faith and that are universally familiar.

People are many times surprised at how similar the world's religions are, especially the three major faiths that worship the same deity--Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The liturgy of all three is, in many cases, indistinguishable.

We need to become more familiar and comfortable with one another. We can and need do this by learning more about each other, and discovering how much we all have in common.

Perhaps someday, as a supplement to our personal faiths, we'll also have a common one. Not a national church per se, but an entity that brings together our top religious leaders for a national Dallas-like prayer service.

It could be held at some enormous venue that each month moves to a different locale and is nationally telecast.

Every faith would be welcomed and represented, even Atheists and agnostics. .

We could call our new faith, The U.F.A.--the United Faiths of America. And we'll call our adherents... Americans.

Dallas changed our history once before with a violent and senseless act. But I don't think we learned a lot from that awful day in November, 1963.

Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if this latest horror in Dallas is the tipping point that ultimately fulfills the promise that is America?

Why don't we all take just a moment to pray for it?

Heartfelt Condolences

Dear Friends,

My heart goes out to all the victims of senseless acts of violence over the past two days. Condolences to all of the grieving families. We are all important. Let's try to love each other just a little bit more.

See you again on Sunday.

Comey Terrified of Trump Presidency?

Good morning, Friends,

Why in the world would FBI Director James Comey do what he did the other day? Instead of being a 'just the facts' kind of chief cop, he injected his own opinion publicly into the case against Hillary Rodham Clinton, and then pardoned her.

As I watched him present the findings of his agency's investigation into Hillary's personal email server and layout damning evidence against her, I said to myself, "Boy, is she in BIG trouble now."

But then came the anticlimax.

Not that I disagree with Comey's conclusion that most prosecutors wouldn't touch the case. But surely, some would.

This man may have let Hillary off  the hook because he was
genuinely trying to save the country. Funny how that works.

And it does seem a little fishy that just days before, Attorney General Loretta Lynch--after her clandestine half-hour meeting with Bill Clinton on the Phoenix airport tarmac--conveniently said she'd abide by whatever Comey said she should do.

What could have been on the mind of this highly-respected Republican appointee who's known as one of the straightest shooters in the business?

I believe Comey is a completely honest broker in this whole deal, but he's human. And just like most of us other humans, he's completely terrified of a Trump presidency.

By clearing Hillary of all charges, he made his own deal with the devil by stabilizing the Democratic side of the race and pitting the formidable Clinton machine against an underestimated foe. It will take all of that machine's strength to beat Donald Trump.

Comey secretly sold his soul because he's a patriot. He compromised his principles for what he believes is the good of the country.

He'll be grilled by the Republican-majority House this morning. They're incensed over his decision not to prosecute Hillary, despite the mountain of evidence he presented against her.

Maybe after another off-topic and hurtful rant by Donald Trump last night, it will dawn on them that Comey is just trying to protect the country.

It would be a nightmare scenario for a Democratic party in turmoil to have to face off with Trump in November.

Thank you, James Comey.

What Kind of Person Can't Apologize?

Mid-week is already here, Friends,

Now that Hillary Clinton won't be indicted, she's got a virtual lock on the Democratic presidential nomination. And, as of this moment, Donald Trump is still the Republican presumptive nominee. Our choices, Friends, are pretty dismal.

Hillary has proven herself to be a calculating and cold-blooded liar.

She made this comment a couple of days ago regarding questions about her email server debacle, and I'll quote it directly, "I'll do the best I can to be as forthcoming as possible."

Wow, she finally told the truth. She told us that she'd never tell us the truth.

You are either forthcoming or you're not. There are no degrees of forthcoming.

And true to her word, she was caught in a series of baldfaced lies over 'Servergate'.

Among other things, FBI Director James Comey said yesterday that the evidence showed she knowingly sent marked classified documents over her personal unsecured email server, despite her abject denials.

On the Trump side, it's beyond doubt that he tweeted an Antisemitic graphic on his personal Twitter account, despite trying to explain it away when he got caught with his pants down.

According to the Washington Post, this is one of five white supremacist tweets they've tracked so far emanating from his personal account.

If you haven't seen the graphic yet, click the link in yesterday's post.

Do you know what this is? It's a white Star of David on a blue background. The only
difference between this star and the one Donald Trump used is that Trump's star was red.

It's right out of early Third Reich Germany, showing a red six-pointed star over a backdrop of cash and implying that Hillary has been bought by 'big-money Jews'.

Not that the graphic wasn't incendiary enough.

Though the Trump campaign has now admitted, through its surrogates, that the original graphic they took down after two hours was posted by mistake, The Donald refuses to apologize for it.

He's keeping up the narrative that the star image did not harken the stars European Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis. It was "a sheriff's badge or a plain star."

That is 'plain' nonsense.

Donald Trump has said publicly and on camera that he personally oversees his Twitter account, and after around 7 p.m. every night, he "writes all the Tweets himself."

So, regardless of whether he posted the offensive tweet, or as his campaign now claims that it was posted by social media director Dan Scavino, whose wife is Jewish ("so he couldn't be Antisemitic"), Trump is responsible for it.

Trump has told the media he always admits when he's wrong. But like Hillary, he's demonstrated that when his mouth is moving, he's lying.

According to him, he hasn't been wrong yet.

But Trump is dead wrong about the way he's handled the worst of his unforced gaffes, and the world is waiting for a public apology--the one thing that can get him off the hook.

Until that happens, the mess he's made will continue to dog him.

What kind of person can't apologize?

Hopefully, not our president.

The One Awful Secret That Will Bring The Donald Down

Welcome back from the holiday weekend, Friends,

Thanks to both campaigns, I feel like I worked right through the break. And I actually did, responding throughout the weekend to Donald Trump's anti-Semitic tweet, and his doubling down on doing nothing wrong.

My wife said he's like the kid caught stealing cookies, with his hand still in the cookie jar, denying he did it, getting more and more adamant about it, and hoping that the more insistent he is, the more you'll believe him.

I don't.

Nubbs claims the red six-pointed star next to Hillary Clinton's face over a background of hundred dollar bills, is not anti-Semitic code for 'Jewish-controlled' Wall Street.

On the star is the accusation that Hillary is the most corrupt candidate ever. It's no leap to interpret this Tweet to mean that $15 million dollars in campaign contributions from the big bad Jews of Wall Street corrupted her.

And the graphic originated on a white supremacist website. It was intended to be anti-Semitic!

These people scare the bejeezus out of me. But Donald Trump actually thinks they're
a valid source for his campaign material.  

According to my high school classmate Ellen (Kahn) Rampell's very gifted daughter Catherine of The Washington Post, who appeared on MSNBC yesterday, this is the fifth time Trump has posted a white supremacist-leaning tweet. It's a pattern.

I'm sure you've seen the offensive tweet it by now. If not, click right here.

It took two hours for Trump to take his tweet down and replace the star with a circle. Keep in mind, this was not a re-tweet. It originated from Trump's personal Twitter account.

The Donald claims the star could have been a Sheriff's badge or a plain star. When I heard him say that, I literally thought I would vomit.

He blamed the media and Hillary for all the brouhaha.

But this graphic is quintessential Nazi propaganda straight out of late 1930's Germany, and he's too smart to know otherwise.

What the heck, Donald? You and I went to the same Ivy League school. You couldn't even have gotten into the place unless you'd taken Honors History in high school. You certainly knew better.

In summary, this anti-Semitic tweet was posted intentionally by Donald Trump or a surrogate. If not intentional, it was a lapse in management by 'the world's greatest manager'...for the fifth time.

Trump prides himself on his lean campaign staff, so he really can't blame this on his minions. They don't exist. The man refuses to apologize or even back down. This is pathological.

I'm amazed any self-respecting Republican will even talk to this horrible person. That any would still consider being on his ticket is beyond comprehension. It's also political suicide.

Trump is an unapologetic anti-Semite of the worst kind--one who claims he isn't.

His so-called Jewish familial connections simply serve to enable him...he sees them as tacit permission to unleash his vitriol.

I've witnessed this kind of behavior before in a former in-law of mine from a previous 'interfaith' marriage, and it was hurtful, harmful and wrong.

Believe it, America. Antisemitism represents a visceral and genuine existential threat to millions of your fellow citizens. They don't take it lightly, and there is no place for it in American politics.

Trump needs to apologize, clearly disavow Antisemitism and white supremacy, or drop out now.

Happy Independence Day

Good morning, Friends,
 
And happy 240th birthday to the USA! Lew's Views will be on hiatus until Tuesday, July 5th. In the meantime, I hope you'll catch up on some of the posts you may have missed.

Have a great holiday weekend, and I'll see you Tuesday!

With Regard to Temperament...

Good holiday weekend eve, Friends,

In the midst of all the media tumult over the Ataturk Airport attack in Istanbul, all the hoohah over Bill Clinton's ill-advised secret meeting with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and all the other presidential race news, a little-noticed item slipped by yesterday.

Considering the sheer volume of coverage showered on its precipitating incident, the outcome of the story was delivered in a simple crawl across the bottom of the TV screen. Not a spoken word was uttered about it--perhaps because the ending to the story didn't fit the popular narrative.

Egyptair Flight 804 most likely did not fall out of the sky because of a bomb. Something caused an electrical fire in the plane's control system beneath the flight deck, causing the pilots to lose control and the plane to crash.

This is important for so many reasons, not the least of which is the impact on the huge international fleet of Airbus A320s. I expect that all of them will eventually be grounded, thoroughly inspected and any necessary repairs made.

I said it was a bomb that brought that plane down, and I don't care
what the evidence shows. It was a G-ddamn bomb!

But more importantly, one of the candidates for the world's most-powerful office jumped to the conclusion that Egyptair Flight 804 was brought down by a terrorist's bomb. He was wrong.

Donald Trump has proven something, at least to me.

He proved that he doesn't have what it takes to be Commander-in-Chief.

We're sitting on the cusp of World War III, Friends. Look around us.

In the past five years, we have seen almost a half million people slaughtered in Syria and elsewhere in the Levant, millions of refugees dispersed to virtually everywhere, and radical Islamist terrorism sweep the globe.

And I would be remiss not to mention the seeds of a new cold war with Russia, which seem to be germinating.

More than ever, we cannot afford to have a president who jumps to conclusions...especially when he's got unfettered access to the doomsday switch.

Sooner or later, some ambitious reporter will do a full-blown story on what actually happened to Egyptair Flight 804. The reporter may even ask Nubbs if he regretted drawing his quick conclusion.

Bet that Trump will find some way to double down on his original assertion.

At that instant, our true source of danger will be crystal clear.