Month: October 2024

Puzzlement…

by MyBaconPress

He goes to Springfield Ohio and tells them about the pet eating. It’s not true, but Springfield MAGA will vote for him anyway.
He goes to Aurora Colorado and tells them about the gangland takeover. It’s not true, but Aurora MAGA will vote for him anyway.
He goes to California and tells them California sucks. That’s not true, either, but California MAGA will vote for him anyway.
He claims schools are helping kids get sex change operations without parental permission and, amazingly, in ONE DAY! That’s absolutely not true, but MAGA will vote for him anyway.
Did you hear that Trump tried to withhold disaster relief aid for states that didn’t vote for him? What a petty piece of…um, work. White House staffers had to show him that he was harming RED voters before he agreed to send aid. That one IS true, but no matter. MAGA will vote for him anyway.

As it happens, Trump has a real advantage in this election. He’s not constrained by anything restricting – like truth. He gets to say anything he wants to say, at any time, about anybody and it just never matters to MAGA. They dismiss his lies as “just Trump.” And it IS “just Trump.” Trump never tells the truth (unless it somehow serves him), but instead of counting that against him, they just dismiss the lies and overlay the Trump they’d prefer to see. That might be anything, and, often, it is.

That means Kamala is actually running against a specter, a phantom, an illusion. She sticks to the truth and runs a traditional campaign while he blathers whatever pops into his head in the moment and pretends to be whatever they want him to be – and they LOVE him for it. No, they LOVE the qualities they make up and assign to him. They simply DO NOT see the difference. There really ARE none so blind as those who WILL not see.

When I listen to MAGA describe the utopia that was under Trump, I throw up in my mouth, a little. There’s not one piece of legitimate information out there, not ONE, that backs up the claim that all was well under Trump. But don’t try to tell MAGA. They know what they know and they’re not going to let facts get in their way.

Trump benefited from Obama’s economy for a long while after taking office. Failings started creeping in as he started taking action. (He single-handedly decimated the American Soy bean trade.) Then he let Covid run rampant for political reasons and killed over a million Americans. Do you know which segment of the economy thrived while Trump was in office? The segment the provided the refrigerated trailers hospitals used to stack all the bodies that were piling up. Remember that?

After his attempted coup, when he finally left office, the economy was flat-lined. Only the most important workers, mostly the lowest-paid, menial workers, were still working. As a direct result of Trump’s failures, this country was literally in the worst shape she’s been in since the Great Depression. That’s HARDLY Utopia – and those are just the facts.

The current polling says Trump is not only even with Harris, he’s pulling ahead in some places. How? How does that happen? Look, I know MAGA glorifies his name and his deeds but the rest of us? We know better. So how is he gaining on Kamala? One answer I know is that there are always some “Never Trumpers’ who manage to find their way back to Trump, after all, so there’s going to be some gain from that.

But those were fringe MAGA to begin with. They buy the stories to a degree but they’re not all in. Trump’s antics seriously turn them off – but they just can’t quite bring themselves to vote Kamala and they DO intend to vote. So, they’ll hold their noses and pull the lever for Trump. They figure a lying incompetent is better than a Democrat. How dumb is that?

But many of us on the left were planning to do the same thing for Biden. The difference? I submit that, despite MAGA lies, Biden has had a pretty successful Presidency. Perfect? No, of course not. But there aren’t 18-wheeler trailers stacked high with dead Americans parked outside of every hospital in the nation, so there’s some improvement shown there.

Yesterday, I posted a bit about all the various and sundry ways Trump fits the Biblical description of the Anti-Christ. Maybe THAT explains why people continue to support him. Nothing else does. Of course, if he IS the Anti-Christ, he’s bringing cheating metaphysical energy with him and, theoretically, he can’t lose. If you think about it, MAGA is literally about to unleash hell on Earth…

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“Hey, did he leave office or not?” I get that argument from MAGA whenever the topic of January 6th comes up. Americans who know, suggest from time to time that Trump tried to stay in power illegally through a coup. MAGA responds by pointing out that he DID, in fact, leave office on January 20, 2021, which is true.

But their meaning is that leaving office is proof that Trump never even tried to steal the office. It isn’t, and the position is just stupid. Here, let me blow that one up for you. DID Hitler try to take over all of Europe and wipe out all the Jews? I say he did. For their argument to hold water, MAGA has to hold that, because he failed, he didn’t even try. You’d have to ask the 6 million murdered Jews or any one of the 60 million people killed during WWII to know for sure, I guess.

Failure is NOT proof there was no attempt…

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Rejecting Israel’s position doesn’t mean I automatically support Hamas or Hezbollah. Put THIS in your pipe and smoke it: I think BOTH sides are wrong. There, how’s that? I don’t approve of the Hamas attack on October 7th. I don’t approve of Israel’s “response.” I understand Hamas started the current shooting. I also understand Israel has extended and now expanded this damned little war for their own purposes.

How far back do you want to go? I know that Jews and Arabs lived side by side on that land for centuries. (The Arabs weren’t yet Islamic. It didn’t exist.) I accept and hold to this day, the Jews NEED a state of their own. When Israel was created, Arabs were forcibly removed from land that had been owned by Arabs for generations. The Arabs in question were “relocated.” Just…forced out. The Palestinians have NEVER accepted that situation. I’m not sure they hate Israel. I’m pretty sure they hate what Israel has done to them.

So who “started it?” The Palestinians who fought back after being forcibly removed, or the Israelis who did the forcible removal in an effort to create their home state? I mean, really, this region is a mess and has been since Britain decided to stick their noses in. I’m not sure one could make a final, certain case that one side is wrong and one side is right.

But I’ll tell you this; I think BOTH sides are wrong to keep turning to guns, rockets, and bombs to try and make their point. The ongoing killing isn’t going to get anybody anywhere…

Guess What? The Bible DOES Talk About Trump…

by MyBaconPress

Alright, this is Sunday, and as the First Speaker of the Doctrine of Universal Harmony, I think I ought to talk religion from time to time – especially on Sunday. So here is my sermon for this fine day. I hope it offers some insight. I know the people who need it most won’t accept it and that’s too bad, but if YOU see it, it will arm you with even more information about who represents evil in this race…

I think I started calling myself an atheist around age 14. I call myself an atheist because I had never seen anything from the Bible that might cause me to believe it as anything more than a story – and it’s a kind of weak story at that. There are LOTS of plot holes and inconsistencies and some of it seems to have been written on LSD. (It was probably peyote. LSD didn’t exist back then…) To be sure, I didn’t stop checking out religions at 14, but I was quite comfortable with the designation for myself.

You see, I was raised in a fairly religious household. We weren’t evangelical or fundamental but we did go to church regularly (read: without fail), my parents didn’t just attend, they participated, and we had ministers hanging around our house throughout my younger years. (My father had intended to be a Methodist minister but ended up in education, instead.) But one does NOT just easily walk away from the threats and fears (I mean, “teachings”) inculcated into a child’s mind before they can even think. It’s rather scary.

So, I hung around different faiths, trying to see if any of them could offer up some answers to questions I had that, in my mind, MUST have answers. I hung with the Baptists for a while. I hung with Catholics for a while. I even hung with an offshoot of Islam called the Baha’i faith for a while. (I don’t think they like being identified as an offshoot of Islam, but they are.) I never found answers and over time, decided that’s because the answers don’t exist. I don’t DO “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” According to the story, he’s supposed to be teaching us. One does NOT teach by telling people there’s something they MUST know, now guess what it is.

But who could spend so much time with religions and not have some of that stuff rub off on them? Nobody, that’s who. I’m no different. So I’ve got all these notions kicking around in my brain. It’s weird, being an atheist who references the Bible on a regular basis, but here I am. I like the philosophies. I mostly reject the theologies. I’ve gone on that way for, like, well, let’s just say a LOT of years. So, imagine my surprise when I realized I was seeing actual things, theological things, from the Bible that were supported by real life evidence – and ALL of them describe one man, Donald J. Trump.

If you count yourself a Christian but you support Donald Trump, this list is for you. Don’t worry. I don’t have any idea that you might re-consider your support. At this point, your fate is probably sealed. (That’s not up to me.) But you ought to know what you’re doing, according to the book you pretend to revere. So, what DOES the Bible say about Trump, I mean, the Anti-Christ? Actually, a LOT. Listen, this is LONG. Get a cup of coffee, relax, settle in, enjoy.

Oh, I should probably add that I didn’t pull all of these together. There’s a person on the web who did a video on the topic. I took his good work and ran with it. I don’t know his name, or I’d credit him. Or, if you’re MAGA, I don’t know his name so you can’t attack him.

I’ve written before that I like the King James Version (KJV) for it’s fiery orations but I ALSO like the New American Standard Bible (NASB) for easier understanding. Those “Thees” and Thous” get awfully confusing sometimes. So, I’ve referenced those two Bibles, depending on which translation I thought was most clear. MOST come from the NASB. Feel free to look them up. You can double check to see if you’ve been deceived by something I wrote, or warned…

For your edification:

The Anti-Christ will come in his own name and he will be accepted…
“I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” (John 5:43 NASB)

Who promotes his own name more than Donald Trump? He slaps it on buildings. If you want to be in Trump’s good graces, say his name. Trump has come in his own name. The pseudo-Christian community has embraced him like he’s the second coming of Jesus. (Hey guys, wrong direction, there…)

The Anti-Christ has the mouth of a lion…
“…and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne, and great authority.” (Revelation 13:2 NASB)

A lion’s mouth and roar are one of the lion’s defining characteristics. It lets every other animal know that the lion is king of the beasts. In the Bible, having a mouth like a lion means you roar a lot in an attempt to let everyone know YOU are king, especially when you feel threatened. Think of the way Trump attacks his accusers and rejects all responsibility for wrong-doing. Many of Trump’s supporters have actually embraced seeing him being portrayed as a lion even though the Bible describes Satan as a lion walking around seeking someone to devour…
“…be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NASB) See?

The Anti-Christ is called the little horn…
“…behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the previous horns were plucked out before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like human eyes, and a mouth uttering great boasts.” (Daniel 7:8 NASB)

‘The Little Horn’ is one of the names given the Anti-Christ in the Bible. It refers to an actual horn but in this case, the horn was a metaphor. Just for fun, in the King James version, the word ‘trump’ appears twice, both times, in reference to a small trumpet. In this case, the horn (or trump) had eyes of a man and boasted great things.

The Anti-Christ is named the man of sin…
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that the man of sin be revealed, the son of Perdition.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV)

I’ve said before, Trump is the physical embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins. But if you’re unsure, listen to him. He BRAGS about his lust, his greed, his wrath, his vengeance, and his inability to forgive.

The Anti-Christ is named the Lawless One…
“Then that lawless one will be revealed.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8 NASB)

This is part of the previous entry and is pretty self-explanatory. It’s interesting to note that the King James version refers to “that Wicked” instead of the “Lawless One.” A ‘man of sin’ and the ‘Lawless One’? BOTH seem excellent descriptions of Trump…

The Anti-Christ is deceitful and arrogant and magnifies himself above others…
“And through his shrewdness He will make deceit a success by his influence; And he will make himself great in his own mind…” (Daniel 8:25 NASB)
“After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.” (Daniel 11:23 NASB)

Trump is filled with excessive pride about himself and he commonly exhibits contempt for people around him.

He’s not who he says he is. To hear him tell it, nobody knows more about anything good than Donald Trump. He knows it best. He knew it first. Maybe he invented it, he doesn’t know. But only if it’s something he counts as good. If not, he knows nothing about it, never heard of it, has no idea. Kind of a genius/moron…

The Anti-Christ is extremely boastful…
“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and boast against every god and will speak dreadful things against the God of gods.” (Daniel 11:36 NASB)
“A mouth was given to him speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” (Revelation 13:5 NASB)

Trump regularly describes himself as the best, the smartest, the greatest, the most successful. Hey, let’s play a game of ‘Who Said It?’ Satan or Trump?

“You know I’m the coolest that’s ever come around.
You’ll notice things get hotter whenever I’m in town.
I mean I gotta be the coolest. Who else could it be?
Everybody knows who’s really cool…Me!

Let’s face it, I’m the greatest. I’m Mr. Number One.
My hometown built a statue to their favorite son.
I mean, I gotta be the greatest. I’m just a ball of fun.
I mean, I’m definitely the greatest. I’m also the coolest.

You can’t leave a package like me sitting on no shelf.
Let me tell you I’m so cool, sonny, I’m gonna save a little for myself.

Come here, come here, baby, Come over here a minute.
Who is the coolest? I mean how do I look?

You know the day I was born there were these four dudes up on a hill.
And they saw this star hanging out over town and the whole world seemed to stand still.
It made the Sunday papers. I guess it proves for sure…

I am the coolest. I’m also the greatest.
I am the baddest, I am the smoothest.
I’m just the best…”

Okay, trick question. The answer is Alice Cooper (a minister’s son) who captured Trump’s message back in 1976 with his album ‘Alice Cooper Goes To Hell.’ In the song, Satan is singing. (It’s a great album…) But it could easily have been Trump – and you know it…

The Anti-Christ will be a despicable person…
“And in his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the majesty of kingship has not been conferred; but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.” (Daniel 11:21 NASB)

The King James version describes the Anti-Christ as a vile person. Vile, despicable, despicable, vile. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. He lacks class and decency. He’s a crass and vulgar person. This is a guy who rapes women, brags about it, and then doesn’t understand why the women in question are upset, suggesting it’s some kind of “honor” to be raped by Trump. Yeah, that’s despicable.

The Anti-Christ will disguise himself as an angel of light…
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14 NASB)

This passage might be the most important on this list right now. It teaches that the Anti-Christ will come as a strong supporter of Christianity and of Israel and masquerade himself as a defender of Christian values. He’s the kind of guy who might use violence to clear a path so he could get to a photo op outside a church (they wouldn’t let him in) and have a picture of himself taken while holding a Bible – upside down; The kind of guy who is SO religious, he knows to refer to one of the books of the Bible as “Two Corinthians.” Who does that?

The Anti-Christ will throw truth to the ground and do as he pleases…
“…and it will hurl truth to the ground and do as it pleases and be successful.” (Daniel 8:12 NASB)

“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and boast against every god and will speak dreadful things against the God of gods; and he will be successful until the indignation is finished, because that which is determined will be done.” (Daniel 11:36)

Yeah, sure, this means he’s a pathological liar but, really, the truth just holds no value to him. He’ll use it if it works in his favor. He’ll set it aside if it doesn’t. And it’s all the same to him. It’s always to his advantage to leave people wondering what’s true and what’s not and if he can arrange that by lying willfully about everything, he will…and does…

The Anti-Christ will deny the Father and the son…
“This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.” (1 John 2:22 NASB)

Trump, himself, said he never seeks God’s forgiveness. He doesn’t think he needs it. Christians are supposed to seek forgiveness from time to time…

The Anti-Christ will love money as it’s the root of all kinds of evil…
“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10 NASB)

Hey, here’s a quote from Donald Trump: “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy for money. I grabbed all the money I can get, I’m so greedy.” Also? He’s SO evil…

The Anti-Christ is revealed by the falling away…
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that the man of sin be revealed, the son of Perdition.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV)

The people who fall away from the faith (MAGA), will fall towards the man of sin. This refers, specifically, to falling away from the teachings of Jesus and towards the Anti-Christ. So, they become someone who claims Christianity but rejects the teachings of Christ. Those people are readily identifiable when they espouse positions that are directly opposed to the teachings of Jesus. Pay attention to the person THAT person gravitates toward. The person they gravitate toward (Trump) is the Anti-Christ…

As an adjunct to that verse, the Bible talks about how Satan deceives the fallen Christians…
“For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness…” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NASB)

Second Thessalonians, I’m sorry, I obviously meant ‘Two Thessalonians.’ What was I thinking? I guess that’s what I get for not knowing the Bible as well as the Trumpster. Anyway, that passage is reinforcing the idea people will believe what is false and they WILL be judged for it in the end, even though they were deceived. Put more simply, MAGA faith in Trump instead of God is going to cost them, bigly, in the afterlife.

The Anti-Christ has the ultimate ego to call himself God…
“…the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASB)

No, he doesn’t SAY he’s God. He just claims the power of God. His followers may not realize it, but every time he claims to be the “only one who can save us,” he’s equating himself with God, and that’s a very clear no-no. It’s the result of his unbelievable, unrestrained ego…

The Anti-Christ understands ‘dark sentences…’
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.” (Daniel 8:23 KJV)

“Dark sentences” is also translated as “sinister schemes.” Donald Trump very definitely understands sinister schemes…

The Anti-Christ will amaze the world…
“I saw one of his heads as if it had been fatally wounded, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;” (Revelation 13:3 NASB)

He’s running around right now talking about how he MAY have been “shot in the head.” I guess the ear IS attached to the head so, technically, it’s correct. I think “shot in the head” evokes a different image than a teeny, tiny owie to the ear but, whatever. Then his ear “healed” miraculously (most likely because there was never any injury) and people noticed. MAGA fell into line and is following after the beast right now.

The Anti-Christ will know great success…
“And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and be successful and do as he pleases; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.” (Daniel 8:24 NASB)

Trump’s power is unquestionably mighty but he gets great support from conservative and even mainstream media. Conservative media just lies for him and mainstream media tends to “clean up” his insanity. It’s so bad, a name has been coined for the process: “Sanewashing.” But he’s not using his power to help anybody but himself. In fact, he harms people with his word and he does, in fact, “destroy mighty men” with his lies…

The Anti-Christ has a stout look…
“…that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and which was larger in appearance than its associates.” (Daniel 7:20 NASB)

The King James version uses the word ‘Stout’ instead of ‘larger in appearance.’ ‘Stout’ is defined as haughty, full of oneself, and even heavyset. Frankly, I think the angel was just calling the Anti-Christ a fatty, but it IS an apt description of Trump…

The Anti-Christ spreads strife…
“A worthless person, a wicked man, is one who walks with a perverse mouth, who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who points with his fingers; who, with perversion in his heart, continually devises evil, who spreads strife.” (Proverbs 6:12 – 14 NASB)

Trump is running around right now spreading strife. His lies about the help available to the victims of Helene and now Milton are keeping people who believe him from seeking the help they need and that IS available. He’s actively harming people in an effort to score a few political points. But if we’re honest, this is just the latest example. Trump harms people all the time – and every time he does, MAGA defends him and doubles down on their faith in him. Their faith…IN HIM. I kinda wonder why the “jealous God” of the Bible doesn’t just…slap him down…

The followers of the Anti-Christ see him as a unique, unstoppable force that can’t be fought against…
“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’” (Revelation 13:4 KJV)

For clarity: “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:9 NASB)

See? I told you it was long. It’s a pretty scary read, eh? I’d bet buttons to beans MAGA never made it through the list. They wouldn’t dare. Once they realized how accurate this is, they declared it bullshit and went back to their doom scrolling. Kudos to those who started, though, and kudos to you for making through. Now you know more than you knew before. Me, too, but I’ll tell you this: I wish I didn’t. I wish it didn’t fit so effing well. I wish people who call themselves ‘Christian’ would take it to heart. But I know many won’t…

Hogwash…

by MyBaconPress

I think it’s hilarious that cons can’t accept the idea that both Kamala and Walz are gun owners. We’ve fallen DEEPLY into a false narrative in this country, one that teaches that righties own all the guns and lefties would never, ever, in a million years, own a gun. Turns out? Nope. I know LOTS of lefty gun owners. Turns out, owning a gun is NOT a righty thing.

The reason it’s important is this: cons have come to the conclusion that, should shooting be “required,” they have all the advantage because they’re the only ones with guns. I’m pretty sure there are some surprises in store for the cons, should they choose that course…

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Okay, so here’s something I’ve been wondering. Recently, Trump started naming names of cities where atrocities are definitely occurring and “everybody knows it.” For example, Haitians are eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio. Gangs have completely taken over and sacked Aurora, Colorado. MAGA buys these stories and laps them up – even MAGA in Springfield and Aurora.

Are these people SO self-deluded that they go outside into their own cities every day and never lose a pet to a Haitian, or they go about their business freely in Aurora without suffering gang violence, and then convince themselves that Trump is speaking truth anyway? HOW, fercrissakes? What does it take to convince oneself that their own, lived experience should, properly, be set aside in favor of Trump’s deranged rantings?

And yet? Here we are and that, they do. As it happens, Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is real. It’s just that it’s MAGA who suffers from it…

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The polls just don’t make sense, to me. One minute, Kamala is up by four points, the next, she’s down a point. How? Why? What changes from day to day that causes such wide swings? Who in the HELL is Trump picking up? I mean, look, MAGA is forever faithful (for a while, anyway). We all know that. But outside of MAGA? Not so much. How does one GAIN voters with obvious, insane lies like Trump (and Vance) spew? What might Kamala have done to turn people off?

What I know is that since Kamala signed on as the nominee, voter registration has been through the roof. When Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala (because Trump forced her to), 400,000 new registrations were reported by Vote.org, a voter registration site. We’ve also heard from that site that, besides the Swift surge, nearly 200,000 OTHER registrations have occurred since Kamala’s entry. That seems like 600,000 new voters, likely inspired to vote FOR Kamala.

So where did she lose and, more importantly, where did he gain? It’s like we’re getting “Dueling Polls.” Pollsters aren’t supposed to be partisan. Nonetheless, some are. It turns out there are several polls out there “affiliated” with Republicans and several non-affiliated polls but only one affiliated with Democrats. Do you know what that is? That’s the Republicans, gaming the polls to make Trump look like he’s doing better than he actually is.

I suppose different results could reflect different polling techniques or different questions. I KNOW polls can be affected by the questions asked and I KNOW some of those techniques aren’t considered ethical, but they happen anyway. It turns out, one can’t trust polls too much unless one has access to the details of the poll. What questions were asked and HOW were they asked?

During one election, potential voters were asked, “If you knew John McCain had a black child, would it change the way you think about him?” As it happened, McCain DID have an adopted, black child. But the question was intentionally vague and it left the impression that McCain had fathered a child out of wedlock and with a black woman.

That’s called a ‘Push Poll.’ The pollster is actually “pushing” false information to the subject, while pretending to be simply asking a question. Their weasel words when they get caught? “We didn’t say that. We simply asked a question.” “If you knew…”

I’m not a polling expert. That’s just one, unprofessional technique I know about that gets used on a fairly regular basis. Is that, or something like it, why the polls swing so wildly? That kind of thing is the only thing that makes sense to me as an explanation of Trump’s success. HIS numbers shouldn’t change. You’re either MAGA, and therefore impervious to accurate information and loyal to the core, or you’re not. If you’re not MAGA, you’re not impressed by Trump. In fact, he looks the fool most of the time.

So, where are his new supporters coming from? In Pennsylvania, ballots are already coming in and being counted. Of the ballots that have come in, 285,072 have come in from Democrats, 95,666 have come in from Republicans, and 35,914 have come in from Independents based on recent reports. (The numbers have likely changed a little since.) That looks like advantage Kamala, even if one assigns ALL the independent ballots to Trump, which would be a huge mistake since I’m an independent voter and WILL BE voting Kamala. (Today or tomorrow, in fact.)

Those aren’t polls. Those are actual ballots, actually counted so far. I know, Trump has been pushing voting machines again instead of mail-in, but the Democrats have a huge lead so far, and I just don’t see where normal people are going to walk into a voting booth and pull the lever for “insane.” MAGA, sure. Rational Americans? Absolutely not. I guess I’m praying there are STILL more rational Americans than MAGA…

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If you bet on the NFL, you’re…well, for now, I’ll go with “not smart.” There’s a rule of thumb many people know, ‘The simplest answer tends to be correct.’ Oh, there’s another one, too, ‘Once you’ve eliminated all other possibilities, whatever is left, however unlikely, must be the answer.’

On Thursday night, the Forty-Niners played the Seattle Seahawks. At one point, a Seahawks player touched the ball on a kick return after letting it bounce, and the Niners fell on it. It SHOULD have been Niners ball but the “officials” gave the ball to the Seahawks. The Niners challenged the call and replay clearly showed the Seahawks player touching the ball. But the final word comes from New York and THEY said, no, give it to the Seahawks. (Seattle lost anyway, despite the assist.)

EVERYONE watching saw the player touch the ball and KNEW it should have gone to the Niners. The NFL finally claimed, “Oh, we didn’t have the enhanced image the viewers had. We used what we had and made our call from that.” THAT, to me, is some first-class bullshit. How does the NFL, a multi-BILLION dollar corporation, NOT have a feed the rest of the world has? Specifically, how does the team expected to make final calls on controversial plays not have the best possible image to work with? No, I don’t believe them.

I started noticing “hinky” calls from NFL officials a couple of years ago. Since then, the NFL has “partnered” with FanDuel, a sports betting site. Now we see calls all the time that just don’t make sense. Currently, the broadcasters will go back and show a replay to find the offense being called and show the viewers. Commonly, the calls don’t make sense. What they DO, is boost one team.

Sports betting by the leagues has been against the rules since the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, in which the Chicago White Sox were accused of accepting bribes to throw the World Series. The scandal hurt the popularity of the leagues, so they took action. The leagues wanted to ensure there wasn’t even a suggestion of impropriety. It worked for decades. But then, the rules changed. (Hey, there was money to be made.)

Now, the NFL has “partnered” with a betting web site, FanDuel. “Partnered” means the NFL makes money when the web site makes money. The NFL has control over the outcome of games via the calls the officials make. They don’t need upsets in every game but they can still profit by point shaving. Based on everything I’ve seen from the NFL over the last twenty years, if they CAN profit, they WILL profit.

So why would anybody believe the NFL isn’t working in the background to make sure they make money by manipulating the outcomes of games? So, here’s my advice. Don’t bet on the NFL. But if you’re…um…”not smart,” and you DO bet on those games, try to determine what outcome you think the NFL wants and bet on that. Don’t bother with which team is best and which is worst and who has the best whatever against the other team’s whatsits or whatever. What does the NFL want? THAT is the only question you need to answer.

And it says terrible things about the state of the NFL – and sports betting in general – these days…

The Pampered Progeny of Privilege…

by MyBaconPress

Kamala went on Stephen Colbert’s ‘The Late Show’ and had a beer with Stephen. Trump’s campaign went nuts. A Trump campaign spokesperson, Steven Chung, said, “Kamala drinks a beer to show Americans how relatable she is, but she ends up looking like an out-of-touch elitist trying to gaslight everyone into thinking she’s one of them.”

Kamala, who was raised middle class, is “trying to gaslight everyone into thinking she’s one of them” but the pampered progeny of privilege, the guy raised in wealth and luxury and who was given huge piles of money before his third birthday, that guy, is the REAL “down-to-Earth” guy to whom every working man should relate? Yeah, that makes sense…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can we all just agree, please, that Marjorie Taylor Greene is NOT a smart person? I mean, falling for standard MAGA mumbo-jumbo is one thing, but MTG falls for some of the weirdest conspiracy theories one can imagine. Jewish space lasers, anyone?

And now, she’s certain that “they” can control the weather. No word on who this mysterious “they” might be, but take her word for it, “they” are probably Democrats. She’s pretending Hurricane Helene hit the area it hit because Democrats wanted the storm to hit there to make it harder for Republicans to vote. Please do NOT inquire as to how Democrats in the area remain unaffected and free to vote as they wish. That would be VERY inconvenient. Otherwise, that storm makes it harder for EVERYONE to vote and it really loses steam as “an attack on cons.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even when I want to, it’s just impossible to NOT write about Trump. That guy is just unbelievable. He’s out on the campaign trail, pretending that FEMA money has been commandeered by the Biden administration and is being misused to house illegal immigrants.

As it happens? That’s not true, BUT…he didn’t just make it up. What he DID, was…remember. He remembered when HIS maladministration stole FEMA money to house undocumented immigrants. Then, as is standard in MAGA land, he simply accuses the other side of doing the thing HE actually did.

Dear MAGA: If you think stealing FEMA money and using it to house illegal immigrants is a terrible thing that warrants withholding one’s vote from the offending candidate, remember that it was TRUMP who did that, not Kamala. If you were willing to not vote for Kamala because you thought she did that, then you shouldn’t vote for Trump because we all KNOW he did that…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trump spends a lot of time on the campaign trail pretending he gives a rats tail about the American people. He commonly says that he always puts the American people first. Does he, though? Let’s take a closer look at just one opportunity to put the American people first and how Trump chose to address that opportunity.

“I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you.” That’s a quote from Russia’s Putin to Trump, AFTER the traitor Trump gave him several Covid-19 testing machines, according to Bob Woodward’s new book. These aren’t just the test kits the government sent to everybody for free. These were special machines that could detect Covid in a matter of minutes.

At the time, the US was struggling to meet demands for equipment to battle the illness. Trump sent a bunch to Russia, to Putin. Hey, what are friends for? So, yet another example of Trump saying he puts America first, then actually putting America second, prioritizing the needs of Americans AFTER the needs of his buddy Putin. As it happens, actions speak louder than words. And MAGA wants to send this guy back to the White House? I wonder what favors he’ll do for Putin in the second round?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trump gets invited to participate in an interview on ’60 Minutes’ and, initially, agrees. Then he finds out the interviewer, Leslie Stahl, intends to ask real questions that require real answers. Of course, that’s unacceptable to him, so he leaves. No ’60 Minutes’ interview if the questions are going to be hard – or fact-checked. I ask again, what does it say about a person who complains about being fact-checked? If one is dealing in facts, checking shouldn’t be an issue.

As it happens, Kamala was also invited to participate in an interview on ’60 Minutes’ and, being braver, smarter, and stronger than Trump, agrees – and then sits through the thing, answering the questions about the border, her economic plan, and charges that she has changed some positions.

So…quick review: Trump agreed, then chickened out and walked away, mostly because the interviewer was focused on the truth. Harris agreed and sat through the whole thing. So, of course, Trump attacked her for the worst interview ever. He insisted she didn’t know what she was talking about. He thinks his lies about the administration not helping victims of Helene will cause voters to vote against her but I suspect the reality of the help that has actually arrived, despite Trump’s claims to the contrary, might even HELP her in the campaign.

Kamala did what Trump couldn’t do. She sat for an interview that was NOT made up of softball questions and stayed through the whole thing. Trump cowered and ran – so naturally, he has to attack her. It’s just his way. He doesn’t DO anything. He just pretends. And MAGA, dutifully, pretends with him. It’s really weird…

The Long Run…

by MyBaconPress

This is just a feeling. I haven’t done a deep dive. I keep seeing moves Gavin Newsom makes and thinking, “He’s moving right.” It kind of makes sense. With Kamala’s rise in fortunes, Gavin has been moved to the back burner in the Democratic Party. He clearly had his eye on the White House in 2028. But with Kamala suddenly becoming the nominee, she would likely run in 2028 as well, and the Democrats won’t back anybody against her. In fact, other Democrats will specifically be told to stand down if they try.

Newsom is 56 years old. He’ll be 64 at the end of two Harris terms (should that be the way it works out.) That might be seen as getting up there, a bit, in years. If he stays a Democrat, he has to wait until 2032 to mount a run at the White House. Maybe he needs to move right and try to run as a Republican? (I don’t really think so. I just don’t know what he’s doing.)

As I indicated, it’s only a feeling. He still says all the right things about Democratic governance and, realistically, the cons have spent years vilifying Gavin Newsom. The idea that he could gain their good graces seems like a stretch to credibility. But I continue to be an “actions speak louder than words” kind of guy and the things Newsom is DOING are speaking more loudly, to me, than the words he’s saying.

Let’s just call it a…concern…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently, the NFL changed it’s kickoff rules. They had a combined goal: they wanted to see more returns but they want to reduce impact of collisions during kickoffs. I support the new rule for it’s protection efforts and it DOES seem to be increasing the number of returns as well.

But it’s weird seeing all those players just standing there waiting for the ball to hit the ground or be fielded by the returner. I feel like the rule needs one, final tweak. The NFL should require all the players on the lines, both lines, in unison, to shout “One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi” before moving. Call it an homage to three-on-three street football played by kids everywhere. (At least, it used to be…)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How frustrating it must be to be Trump/Vance. JUST when they thought they were going to enjoy a little economic upheaval, thereby giving a boost to their flagging campaign, the Dockworkers suspended their strike. Work will continue, goods will continue to flow. No economic upheaval to tout on the campaign trail.

No biggie, really. They’ll just keep making things up and MAGA will just keep drinking it down. Apparently, lying can be a BIG advantage – but it also has consequences…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know this is unkind and I don’t mean to be unkind but I find myself wondering how all of those red folks I spent years arguing about climate change with feel, now that “climate change” is smashing right through their doors, destroying their towns, and killing them? When a natural disaster occurs in a blue state, you can bet your bottom dollar some televangelist will come on television and claim it’s ‘God’s wrath’ for their sins. (‘Wrath’ actually being one of the Seven Deadly Sins…)

So, are the states in the southeast corner of our once-great nation now experiencing a little of ‘God’s wrath’ of their own from the hurricanes? Would I STILL get arguments that climate change is a hoax from people who live in Florida or the Carolinas? Sadly, I suspect I would. Some people simply refuse to learn.

But we were warned. Experts – people who study these things their entire lives – told us this is what we should expect if we do nothing. Because a certain crowd could form fraudulent sentences, we did nothing. Or, at least, we didn’t do enough. Now, we’re reaping the whirlwind. Literally. Why, it’s almost as if experts DO know more than web-surfers.

I’m sorry. I understand that, above all, these are human beings (and animals and other living things). They need help and I support doing all we can. It’s one of the benefits of our large, powerful government. You know, the one those very self-same people are always saying should be dismantled? Yeah, that one. I guess they’ll get back to dismantling it after they’ve received their bailout checks – and they ARE getting help, despite the continuing lies from the right.

Florida is about to be hit by a Category 3 hurricane. This, right after Hurricane Helene swept up the coast, killing and destroying as a Category 4 hurricane. You’d think those folks would have had more concerns about climate change, in view of the fact that they’re in the crosshairs of hurricane after hurricane. But no. They wanted to win a political battle – and they did.

Hey, congratulations on your “victory!”

I apologize again. I know it’s wrong and I’m working on it. The schadenfreude I’m feeling isn’t really overpowering my humanity, but it’s very definitely there. As it happens, one can lie all they want to, but they can’t ignore the consequences of their lies, nor the reality they denied. My heart goes out to every person who lost something or someone in these storms – or will lose out yet. But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed how their lies have “served” them in the long run…

Nobody Lies Like A Conman…

by MyBaconPress

“The rules were, you guys weren’t going to fact-check.” Oops. That was a Vance misstep in the debate. Not to think it, but to say it out loud. How does “you guys weren’t going to fact-check” NOT translate to “I need to lie to get anywhere?”

Of course, he doesn’t care about lying. He said in an interview that if he has to lie to get people talking, then he’ll lie. Except, won’t that have people talking about the lie or what an effing liar you are? How is that beneficial to the political discourse? I mean, I can see how it benefits YOU, personally, but how does it…?

Oh, I see. Never mind…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trump is STILL obsessed with trying to prove nobody leaves his rallies, even as video floats around of people leaving his rallies and reporters interview people leaving the rallies to find out WHY they’re leaving the rallies early. Primarily, the interviews suggest people leave because Trump is usually late to take the stage, they don’t like the length of his speeches, and they don’t like his rhetoric. (That’s from the interviews.)

One of Trump’s spokespeople, Karoline Leavitt, claimed it’s not true that people leave and that Trump’s rallies are the “biggest political events in history!” That’s yet another example of MAGA not knowing their history. Hitler’s Nuremberg rallies, anyone? Anyone?

Isn’t it interesting that the two most reviled people in history, Hitler and now Trump, are BOTH so obsessed with having the biggest rallies? They BOTH insist that nobody should love anybody more. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” indeed…

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Trump says the GOP is now the party of the working man and unions? Trump’s plan includes tax cuts for the rich and higher cost of living for the working man. How is that the “party of the working man?” Trump was giving a speech at one of his rallies and he said, out loud, to working people, that he hated to pay overtime, so he just didn’t pay it. Sure, he owed it according to the law. He just didn’t pay it – because he didn’t WANT to. HE said it, not me.

He was also quite specific that he doesn’t use union workers if he can avoid it. How is that the party of unions? That STILL seems anti-union, to me. You know what? I think I’m going to believe the plans they have written down (Project 2025 and Agenda 47) and not the words (or other sounds) coming out of his mouth. He’s a known liar. But he has a playbook and, like Tim Walz pointed out, one doesn’t make a playbook if they don’t plan to use it.

He’s just trying to tell you what he thinks you want to hear. He’s been doing that a lot recently. He’s promising anything, everything to everybody in an effort to convince them he’s on their side. He’s not on anybody’s “side” but his own. He’s not trying to help, he’s trying to deceive…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I have a question. How come Israel is the only group involved who “has a right to defend themselves?” Israel was attacked on October 7, but they weren’t “innocent victims.” Israel has been engaging in Micro-aggression since it’s founding, what with all the settlements, legal and otherwise being quickly built and occupied.

But still, the logic just doesn’t track. Hamas attacks Israel, Israel has the “right to defend itself.” Israel attacked Syria but the warning was, don’t strike back because Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel attacked Iran but the warning was, don’t strike back because Israel has the right to defend itself.

If Israel has the right to defend itself because Hamas turned to weaponry, doesn’t Syria have the right to defend itself because Israel turned to weaponry? Doesn’t Iran have the right to defend itself after Israel turned to weaponry? Israel seems to be the only group with a right to defend itself because it has a big, bad bully of a bodyguard in the US.

Israel and the US are NOT on solid moral ground in this whole thing. Setting up an obvious double-standard isn’t going to convince me of the righteousness of their cause. What a freakin’ mess…

Joffrey Knows No Bounds…

by MyBaconPress

I realized last night that I’m watching the battle between Donald Trump and Jack Smith play out like I watched ‘Game of Thrones.’ Two great houses, each working to bring down the other. One makes a move, the other makes a counter-move. Each week, we, the viewers, tune in to see this week’s plot twists. This version doesn’t have nearly as much nudity but, having seen the cast fully dressed, I think that’s probably preferable in the vast majority of cases.

House Trump is known to be scoundrels, criminals and layabouts, wreaking havoc on the world around them and they command a huge army. They represent Pride, Envy, Greed, Lust, Avarice, Wrath, and Sloth. The patriarch of House Trump has committed numerous egregious crimes and must be held accountable. In an effort to avoid the dungeon, the patriarch of House Trump is attempting to usurp the throne.

House Smith is honorable, faithful, and true. They enforce laws of the king by chasing and prosecuting wrong-doers, and they command a huge army of their own. The patriarch of House Smith is a MASTER of the law. He and his house understand the details on a level most houses can simply wonder at. It has been the responsibility of House Smith to protect the realm since it’s founding.

When the story opened, House Trump was caught, red-handed, committing a wide variety of crimes. House Smith stood up to pursue justice, but House Trump was in a strong position. With so much power under their control, House Trump had quietly slipped loyalists into positions expected to help the House repel any efforts of the forces of good. Now, House Trump has loyal followers everywhere. Many are in disguise and one doesn’t know from where they’ll jump out until they jump out.

House Smith relies on the processes and procedures they know, but find themselves constantly thwarted by House Trump allies. House Smith is unaware of the depth of corruption House Trump has already installed and finds themselves being stalled by the very people who are supposed to be supporting them. Many of the lower houses sworn and expected to support House Smith attack House Smith from the shadows. House Trump benefits. House Smith must constantly watch their backs.

Early in the season, House Trump had all of the advantages. House Smith made moves to bring House Trump to justice but House Trump called in favors and turned to lackeys who stood up for House Trump. Several skirmishes have taken place but none have been decisive. The action has been the behind the scenes stuff, the plotting of the primary characters.

In a recent episode, with the help of a flagrant betrayal of House Smith from another great House, House Roberts, House Trump had thought they had secured a victory that would lead them to their goal, the throne. It appeared as if, after a stunningly unexpected flanking move by House Roberts, House Smith had no army left. The attack had seemed devastating. (Hell, I thought the show was over.)

If the patriarch of House Trump can make it to the throne, he can eliminate House Smith once and for all. As king, the risk to his house will be behind him and nothing can stop him from his rampage of destruction and pillaging. Wildfire for all. The damage to the realm will be unimaginable. But first, he has to win the conclave to reach the coronation and there is a FAR more popular claimant to the throne, House Harris. There are rumors the current king, House Biden is directing House Smith from the shadows in support of House Harris but there’s no evidence to support that specious claim.

The House Trump patriarch CAN achieve his goal through legal means, but he needs to convince people he will be a king of the people, despite all of the evidence to the contrary. Many have flocked to his banner, taken in by stories he tells them. He promises every house will have a dragon and a barrel of gold, and all things will be perfect – and a huge number of the small folk actually believe him. They simply ignore his penchant for flaying people alive. His stories make them feel good.

Already, he has a coup built in, just in case the first, legal way fails. Some of his henchmen have already cleared the way for him, should it become necessary, and House Roberts had managed to put his legal troubles on hold, making it easier to deceive the people who believe in House Trump. Can House Trump get to the conclave and, through deception and machinations, win it?

Meanwhile, House Smith has been working behind the scenes trying to get some upper hand. Everywhere they turn, they find House Trump loyalists standing in their way. People who SHOULD BE supporting House Smith are inexplicably supporting House Trump, often covertly. House Smith has been scattered to the winds and nobody knows for sure who’s still alive and who has been killed. For much of the season, House Smith has seemed in disarray. The House Trump loyalists will do anything, sacrifice anything, to help House Trump in every way they can. Nevertheless, the law persists and House Smith has mastery House Trump lacks.

In this week’s episode, we saw House Smith make a masterful move in the battle. Nobody saw it coming. As the conclave approaches, House Trump was smugly ignoring potential legal hurdles because well-placed loyalists (House Roberts) had interfered with House Smith efforts. But House Smith doesn’t give up. Even as House Smith faces ruin, they keep their honor and they have been working behind the scenes to come up with a new challenge to the legitimacy of House Trump’s claim to the throne.

This week, House Smith unveiled their new challenge, a new indictment, free of the details House Trump’s Special Court had tried to kill. House Smith can still go after House Trump because the rules the Special Court set weren’t as strong as they had hoped and House Smith is very, very good at what they do. It was a major blow to House Trump but only moves forward if House Trump loses the conclave.

House Trump was very upset this information has been revealed. House Trump fears that if people realize the truth about who and how they are, some of that support may abandon them. They won’t. The lower houses supporting House Trump are there out of fear or obligation, not loyalty. Knowing their liege is a deceitful troll won’t move them because it can’t. If they take their banners elsewhere and then House Trump wins, House Trump will seek revenge and those lower Houses fear destruction.

Meanwhile, House Smith suspects that SOME House Trump supporters are being forced to bend the knee to House Trump against their will. They believe that if House Smith can make one decisive move, some of those supporters will fall away, happy for the opportunity to be free of House Trump. If it looks like House Smith has a fighting chance after all, some of those Houses might even return to the banner of House Smith.

We’re waiting for next week’s episode to find out how House Trump responds to House Smith’s latest move, but we know the show is set up as a limited series set to run through January so whatever plot twist is introduced, it won’t be a final move. It can’t be. They’ve got to fill hours between now and January. This season ends with the conclave and they go straight into the next season right away, the after battle. The conclave is important but the after battle is where the action is expected to be.

So far, it’s been very exciting, even stressful. EVERYBODY is talking about it. Everybody has an opinion. SO MUCH is riding on the outcome. The viewers know, House Smith isn’t guaranteed to win this thing. The writers seem to take an almost gleeful joy in NOT giving the audience anything they expect at any time. The situation is rigged against House Smith but not completely overwhelming. House Trump got a head-start, giving them an early advantage.

House Smith has appeared on it’s heals more than once, but keeps battling back. House Trump has tremendous advantages right now, but neither side can get a true upper hand. If House Smith wins, the land is saved. If House Trump wins, we can only hope for mercy from the Old Gods and the New. Most of the nation is pulling for House Smith, but House Trump commands a huge army.

If House Trump wins, the nation falls into crime and disrepair. Our status as a world leader is over and we become a world pariah and laughing stock. The patriarch of House Trump assumes the throne, and like King Joffrey before him, will be free to do anything he wants. The patriarch of House Smith ends with his head on a pike but it’s not just House Smith that loses. It’s everybody. EVERY House, even those who have bent the knee. Joffrey knows no bounds and believes loyalty is a one-way street. It’s really that simple.

Embellishment or Lie?

by MyBaconPress

I wish Tim Walz had not padded his resume. I presume he did this when he was in state politics and people didn’t look as closely as when one is in National politics, most especially, when one is running for Vice-President, but I don’t really know. (Tim and I aren’t on speaking terms, despite my casual use of his first name.)

TWICE, he’s been nailed for embellishments. He got comfortable using the phrase, “like the gun I carried in war.” It left the impression that he had been in combat. He has not. He DID serve during a war, but he was never in combat. Not a lie, exactly, but not exactly true, either.

Then, at the debate, he gets called out for claiming he was in Tienanmen Square while the anti-communism protests were taking place. Nope. He was in China a few months AFTER the protests. He MAY have been in Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is quite a distance from Tienanmen Square. He wasn’t “there.” THAT one is less of an embellishment and more of an outright lie.

Still, I don’t think it rises to the level of eating pets, taking over cities, utopia under Trump, or any of the other myriad lies being tossed casually around by Trump and/or Vance. Those are full-on, made-up-out-of-whole-cloth whoppers. So, of course, MAGA considers Walz’ stories deal-killers while completely ignoring Trump/Vance lies. It’s just the way of things…

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Cons hold two beliefs at the same time. One, Biden should use Executive Orders to secure the border. Two, it sucks (to them) that Biden was able to simply reverse Trump’s Executive Orders on the border. They NEVER make the next connection, so I will. Executive Orders are NOT as stable as a law. Executive Orders can be reversed. Easily. Executive Orders are not the best answer.

That’s why the Biden White House wanted a law. They wanted the law written by a far-right conservative. Trump killed it so he could use it as a campaign issue.

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I suppose the big news, here, is the reissued indictment against Trump in his criminal case. No, not that one. No, the other one. Yeah, that’s it, the pending election-theft case. It turns out, Jack Smith plans to use most of the damning evidence he was already planning to use against him and a little bit more. Smith filed the amendment in Tanya Chutkin’s court and argued the document (with redactions) should be made public.

“Oh, no, no, no!” argued Trump’s team. “We don’t want people to find out so close to an election what Trump did. Facts really hurt our guy. Hide it until AFTER the election, k?”
No. It has been released and it’s not good for Trump. I was very concerned the corrupted Kangaroo Court had helped him out considerably but Trump’s crimes are just too vast and WAY too far afield from his official duties and Smith plans to show that.

He’s even going to use testimony from Mike Pence now.

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Do you ever get tired of hearing MAGA pretend the world was perfect in every way under Trump? Man, I do. It doesn’t matter the topic. Trump had fixed it and it was perfect under Trump. There were no problems, no challenges, no difficulties. Everyone was making money. Everyone was safe and happy. There were no wars, did you know that? No wars. It was a beautiful thing.

Dear MAGA: we were there. We remember. We’re not going to just let you gaslight us into thinking things that weren’t true, no matter how many times you say them. Trump hadn’t fixed anything. The world was NOT at peace. The country was not perfect in every way. Trump lost more jobs than any other President. Oh, and he killed more Americans than any other president. Trump sucked just as badly at Presidentin’ as he sucks at everything else he does. He even cheats at golf.

Debatable…

by MyBaconPress

At this point, considering Trump too demented to be President is kind of doing the guy a favor. I mean, a Purge? Look, either the guy is lost and doesn’t know what he’s saying, or he’s not and he knows exactly what he’s saying. Which is worse, in this case? Yeah, I know, he never said the word, ‘Purge.’ He just described it, right?

He was talking about shoplifting and how bad it’s getting. He was pretending that shoplifting is a Democrat thing, the left supports it. In fact, during a part where he was pretending the left allegedly prevents police from enforcing the law, he shared his plan to “end it.” “You know, if you had one day, like one real rough, nasty day, one rough hour, and I mean real rough, the word will get out and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know, it’ll end immediately.”

Not exactly a ‘Purge,’ since it wouldn’t be a completely lawless day. It would be more like Germany’s infamous ‘Kristallnacht,’ where Nazi mobs attacked Jews in Hitler’s Germany. One night. One really rough, nasty night, and I mean real rough. And the word got out.

He seems to get all of his favorite ideas from some of the very worst people, doesn’t he?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can we talk about Tay for a minute? Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala. She’s an American. She has the right to choose the candidate she prefers. She prefers Harris. I don’t know if she would have said anything, but Trump started pretending she was endorsing him. HE kind of forced HER into announcing her support for Harris. But MAGA didn’t like it.

I saw video of a guy who bid $4,000 on a guitar at an auction that was originally reported to have been signed by Taylor. I’m not sure what the event was, because when the man went up to get his guitar, the auctioneer handed him the guitar and a hammer, which the guy then used to smash a few holes in the guitar. $4,000. Who pays $4,000 dollars to buy a guitar and then smashes it? The mind of MAGA, that’s who. (Actually, as a MAGA, the guy probably just won’t pay. He’ll bitch that the guitar was “broken…”)

As it happens, the guitar was NOT signed by Taylor. Hell, it was never owned nor even played by Taylor Swift as far as anybody knows. The person who donated the guitar included a CD cover that HAD been signed by Swift, but there’s no traceable provenance for the guitar that I’ve heard about. But some guy out there spent $4,000 to destroy a guitar just because someone associated Taylor Swift’s name to it. The effing guitar didn’t endorse Kamala! Why the hell did the guitar have to die? (Full disclosure, it could STILL turn out to be hers. There’s just no evidence at this point.)

So now there’s a story out there in the media that Taylor Swift lost supporters after endorsing Kamala. The story is trying to convince people she’s really suffering for her choice. Oh, she lost 2 million Spotify users? According to the article, that “only” leaves her with 91.9 million. She must be in a panic.

More likely, she doesn’t care. For one thing, I would guess the numbers ebb and flow anyway. For another, she, perhaps, remembers the big MAGA “boycott” of the NFL after Colin Kaepernick expressed an opinion. The MAGA boycott didn’t last long. They LIKE football. The people who got all pissy in the moment probably like Taylor’s music, even if they disagree with her politics. They’ll be back. I’d guess Taylor thinks that, too…

Oh, yeah, she has earned over a billion dollars – FAR more than Trump ever earned – or even grifted. I’m guessing if she lost her entire fan base overnight somehow, she’d be fine. But DAMN, MAGA desperately wishes they had a celebrity with a tenth of Swift’s stature to endorse Trump. Instead, he gets Kid Rock, Scott Baio, and Cameron Kirk. (Who? Exactly…)

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I’ll say this for Vance, if you give him several weeks to practice speaking, standing, and looking, he does quite well. I don’t know how well Vance did to advance the Trump/Vance ticket but he seemed to help his own prospects for a 2028 run. Word is, Trump doesn’t LIKE Vance and regrets choosing him for a running mate. How do you think he’s going to feel, now that Vance out-performed him on the debate stage?

Vance stayed focused, something Trump simply cannot do. Vance looked calm, something Trump definitely did NOT do during the Harris/Trump debate. Vance stayed on message, yet another failing of the would-dictator. Vance just did better than Trump. That, I’m sure, will irritate Trump to no end. No, not like “small crowds,” but a LOT.

Vance stood up there like a pro. I think he shed much of the ‘clumsy oaf’ characterization he’s been struggling against since trying to make small talk with a stranger in a doughnut shop like a real human. He just didn’t seem to have any actual answers, though. Lots of quick-time, double-talk to get around questions, but nothing responsive.

Q: “For example, would you deport parents who have entered the U.S. illegally and separate them from any of their children who were born on U.S. soil?”
JDV: “Blah, blah, blah. Fentanyl. Blah, blah. Opioid addiction. Blah de blah de blah, blah…”
Q: “Senator, the question was, will you separate parents from their children, even if their kids are U.S. citizens?
JDV: “Blah, blah, blah. Parents who can’t afford health care. Blah, blah. Schools that are overwhelmed. Blah de blah de blah, blah…”

“DID he (Donald Trump) lose the 2020 election?”
“Tim, I’m focused on the future, did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 Covid situation?”
See what he did, there? “Focused on the future” to avoid answering the question (he used that phrase twice to duck the same question) but focuses on the SAME past in response. “I’m not going to answer a question about 2020 but what about 2020?

When asked about conservative dreams to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) but maintain protections for pre-existing conditions, Vance said, “Well, look, we currently have laws and regulations in place, in place right now that protect people with preexisting conditions.”
Yeah, the ACA. The one you want to repeal…

My final take? If you’re MAGA? Vance won. If you’re not MAGA? Walz won. Not one mind was changed and no new insights into either candidate. Debates are kind of dumb. We all know it going in. Questions, sometimes good questions, will be asked but they rarely get answered by cons. “I’ll get back to that important question, but first…”

Yeah, screw you. Answer the question, THEN make your efforts to “correct” (read: distort) the record. Vance largely stuck to (delusional) talking points (lies) on the right. Walz was different than the Tim I’ve seen on the campaign trail, and I like campaign trail Walz better than debate Walz, but at least he had answers to questions…