Tag Archives: Donald Trump

General

Oh boy…

Beware: POLITICS.

Turn away, turn away…

We live in interesting *ahem* times.

After years of hearing outrage regarding morality -and, to them, the lack thereof- of people within the Democratic Party, we’re at a time when someone like Donald Trump, a man whose own morality is just about as low as it can be, engenders in these same people a bizarre disconnect where they look the other way while applauding actions which, at best, can only be described as abhorrent.

Bill Clinton got a blow job by an intern in the White House, lied about the affair, and the outraged Republicans tried like hell to impeach and throw him out of office.  Yet we have a person in the office today who has at best only the barest grasp of reality who huffs and puffs and pays off porn stars to hide his affairs while his children -and he!- make big money while using the office and there’s compelling evidence to suggest his campaign was in cahoots with the Russians (the RUSSIANS!) to win the election and now is separating children from their parents at the border…

…and the silence is deafening.

I know there are many different types of people in the world and I know there are some very smart people whose politics are diametrically opposite of my own.

But how in the world does one react to something like this?

Corey Lewandowski was one of Donald Trump’s more controversial campaign workers during the election and, to be fair, he supposedly is no longer involved in Trump’s White House.

Yet the blase dismissal/mockery on display here is… staggering.

There was a time not so very long ago when a group of people were portrayed as below human and the government that did this went down a particularly dark road which resulted in the deaths of many millions of people.

It has been said that when one is in an argument and invokes the shadow of Nazi Germany, the argument has clearly gone off the rails and into absurdity.

Yet what is one to make of a Government whose leader views those attempting to come into our country as nothing more than “rapists” or “drug dealers”?  Is that so very different from the Nazi Party’s views of Jews?

Image result for nazi propaganda

Is it a surprise when this same Government then starts to imprison all of them and separate the children, some infants, and feel this is somehow an appropriate measure?

The only thing that gives me a little bit of hope is the fact that there is outrage in this country and finally, finally, people may be seeing Donald Trump and his hench-men and women for what they are.

Perhaps.

UPDATE, and related:

Just found this article by Hayley Miller and over at TheHuffingtonPost.com:

GOP Strategist Steve Schmidt quits “corrupt” party of “feckless cowards”, will vote for Democrats

If you don’t know who Steve Schmidt is, he ran John McCain’s presidential campaign and has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration.  While I believe he does have some responsibility for where we stand in politics today -he was in charge when John McCain brought Sarah Palin in as his VP candidate- his “defection” is the type of thing that brings me hope that things will change, hopefully for the better.

The November elections can’t come quick enough.

General, Movies

What a weekend…

So much happening, so many things to note… or not.

First off, the Trump-G7 summit… blah.  How surprising Mr. Thin-Skin got all huffy with the other leaders when he arrived late and left early.  And all that crap he -and his sycophantic underlings- heaped on Canadian PM Justin Trudeau?  Really?  (Wanna read more?  Here’s an article by Matt Spetalnick for Reuters and presented on HuffingtonPost.com, Trump blasts NATO Allies, EU, and Canadian PM Trudeau).

Then there was the Tonys which featured one truly beautiful moment in the Parkland students singing Seasons of Love…

…and Robert DeNiro giving some… uh… rough shout-outs toward Mr. Trump…

Man… I’m really conflicted about the later.  On the one hand, I’ve been shouting the same in private to my television for quite a while now.  On the other hand, I can’t help but feel that this sort of public insulting is exactly the type of crap that feeds Trump and his supporters and makes those who are against him look terrible.

Ah well.  Given the way that the news cycle is running (at about 5 million RPMs), it’ll probably be forgotten very soon.

Finally, Solo: A Star Wars Story continued to underperform though it looks as if it won’t bomb quite as hard as John Carter or The Lone Ranger did.  Ron Dicker at (again) HuffingtonPost.com writes about director Ron Howard’s twitter reaction to the movie’s box office:

Ron Howard tells fan he “feels badly” about Solo’s Box Office

To be more precise, when asked about his feelings about the movie’s box office, Ron Howard wrote:

I’m proud of and the cast & crew worked hard to give fans a fun new addition. As a director I feel badly when people who I believe (& exit polls show) will very likely enjoy a movie… don’t see it on a big screen w/great sound.

I mean, what else would Mr. Howard write?

You fucking fans blew it!  BLEW IT!  Why won’t you go see my film?!  It’s getting good reviews!  YOU CAN STILL  MAKE IT A SUCCESS!!!!  FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GO SEE IT!!!! #AAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!

I kid, of course, but despite his too-polite tweet (the real one, not my phony one) I’m sure Howard must feel considerable frustration.

Yet the reality is the reality: Sometimes you create something that may be good -or, if you search out a variety of reviews, something that is decent or even mediocre-yet-better-than-expected- and despite the fact that it may be at least decent-and-possibly-good, audiences will either come or they won’t.

And its maddening.

How many times has a film come out and it explodes at the box-office… despite the fact that it is at best mediocre?  How many times does a film get released with tons of great reviews and it… does ok?  Or perhaps worse?

Audiences are fickle.

There was a time that westerns were box office gold and audiences couldn’t get enough of them.

Then, one day, people no longer cared for westerns and, with few exceptions, they are hardly made today.

Superhero films are incredibly popular nowadays, but who’s to say they will remain so five years from today?  Or next year, for that matter?

Consider the Transformer films.  Despite getting slaughtered by reviewers and many fans, they nonetheless made tons of money, until the last one did only “ok”.

Solo may be a good film.  It might be a typical Ron Howard film, decent but not terribly extraordinary.

Regardless, audiences weren’t terribly interested in seeing it.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that people are tired of Star Wars films.  Perhaps people were so bothered by The Last Jedi -at least those who hated it- that they wanted to punish Disney.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that people were suspicious of a film with all the baggage this one had (previous directors fired, Ron Howard brought in at the last minute, etc.).  Perhaps people simply didn’t feel the need to see a Han Solo “origin” story… with or without Harrison Ford in the role.

Perhaps it was a combination of all those elements.

Ah well.

Uncategorized

This ‘n that (Beware…some politics!)

Couple of bits of news got my attention yesterday, one decidedly less “earth shattering”, I suppose, than the other.

First up, this article by Chloe Melas and found on CNN.com:

Lindsey Buckingham departs Fleetwood Mac

If there was ever a band that created great music (and that’s an understatement!) amidst equally great turmoil since the mid 1970’s in their up to now current incarnation, its Fleetwood Mac.

Their best known, best selling album, Rumours, had among its many famous songs this one, sung by Mr. Buckingham and, allegedly, a song about his breakup with fellow band mate Stevie Nicks:

So here the band, which is about to embark on what is purported to be their last tour, decides perhaps mutually, perhaps not, to cut ties with Lindsey Buckingham and… it seems so silly and such a wasted opportunity.

Not to brag, but I happened to catch Fleetwood Mac with their “classic” lineup in a concert that, if the one about to happen is their last was their second to last tour, and they were freaking great.

Lindsey Buckingham, in particular, blew me away with not only his singing on many of the classic songs he created for the band but also his absolutely sizzling guitar playing, which until I saw them live -this was the first time!- I didn’t realize was that damn good.

He’s a very underrated guitarist!

At some point in the concert and between songs Mr. Buckingham told the crowd to expect new Fleetwood Mac music.  Based on this article, that will likely never be, though fellow band mate Christie McVie and he did release a collaborative album very shortly afterwards and in 2017.

Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie

I suppose Mr. Buckingham couldn’t get the rest of the band interested in working on a new album but at least got fellow band mate Ms. McVie.

Anyway, at this point in time, Lindsey Buckingham is 69 years old.  Stevie Nicks is about to turn 70.  Christie McVie is approaching 75 years of age.  Mick Fleetwood is reaching 71.  John McVie will be 73 this year.

The point is that these five people, who have been together since late 1974 in this band’s incarnation -though there have been years when individual members have left the band for some period of time- got back together and, despite their age, created some magnificent concert music together.

I do believe their current concert tour will be their last.  You can only go on so long with this kind of high energy grind and, as I mentioned above, these individuals are getting up there in age.  Regardless, its a damn shame -for audiences who will go to these final shows- that when they go they won’t see or hear Mr. Buckingham and his terrific singing and guitar playing.

Such a shame.

*****

For those into politics, yesterday was one hell of a day.  I’m referring, of course, the fact that the FBI raided Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen’s residence and business.  If the reports are accurate, they actually busted down a door or two to get into one or more of these places.

Stephen Collison over at CNN.com (again!), wrote the following article regarding what happened next…

Trump lashes out as Cohen raid fuses Russia probe and Stormy case

There are so many incredible -stunning, shocking– things that have happened since the inauguration of Donald Trump, but I truly didn’t think we’d be talking about non-disclosure agreements with porn stars and a raid on his personal attorney’s office.

And this isn’t to mention the fact that Trump was, up to that moment, focused on possible repercussions to a gas attack in Syria.

What’ll happen next?

I suppose we’ll have to stay tuned.

It’ll be an interesting week.

General

By all that’s holy…

I will give Trump this much credit: By having so many catastrophic-sounding things happening in one day, as a voter one is so overwhelmed it’s hard to focus on any one thing!

For the record, among other things we’ve had happen is: Longtime aid Hope Hicks -who many thought would be the last one to leave Trump’s side- resigns one day after a grueling congressional testimony session, its finally made clear that Mueller’s investigation is going directly after Trump, there was a meeting with Senators regarding gun control and Trump noted -among other things!- he would go after guns (I can’t help but chuckle about this one… it made many a pro-NRA people/Republicans’ heads explode), Trump goes after Sessions (I suppose this is low hanging fruit), Kushner’s security status downgraded -it was announced his family received perhaps billions of dollars in loans from foreign run companies- and people are now wondering what’s still keeping him there and why he hasn’t resigned…

What else?

I feel like I’m missing a couple hundred things!

There is, however, one thing I find a positive development: It appears the massacre at Parkland, the latest example of one person with a weapon of war killing far too many people, looks like it finally –finally!– has moved the needle regarding awareness of, and perhaps lowering tolerance for, assault weapons.

To date, many companies have reacted, from no longer giving discounts to the NRA for their services to Dick’s Sporting Goods stating they will no longer sell such weapons while Walmart stated they will no longer sell weapons or ammo to anyone under 21 years of age.

Some have noted Dick’s barely do sell assault weapons to begin with so this might be more of a PR move but, given their public statement, I do believe its a brave thing to do.  Same with Walmart.  I use neither company all that much, but I do salute their moves.

Uncategorized

Interesting…and sad.

As many are no doubt aware, a man (I won’t dignify him by listing him by name) with a left-wing bent decided to shoot at the Republican members of Congress practicing for the annual Democratic vs. Republican baseball game.

It was a horrific act, and the fact that it appears this individual was targeting Republicans makes it all the more frightening.

Now most people view this act as what it was: The actions of a clearly disturbed individual.

Yet it didn’t stop some from demonizing the “left wing tone”, as if that was to blame for what happened yesterday.

I don’t want to get on a high horse here, but come on.

You have to have a really short term memory to forget the various things a certain now President of the United States said on the campaign trail…

While there certainly have been examples of nasty left wing statements in the recent past, I don’t recall any prominent left wing candidate or politician make a statement quite like this one.

On the plus side, there has been talk by others both on the left and right of the need to reach out across the aisle and work together.

In that respect I hope this lone maniac’s actions -vile as they were- may bring, in the long run, something more positive in our politics and our politicians.

General

Difficult to avoid politics today, 6/8/17

For those within and outside the U.S. and who are fascinated by this stuff, today ex-FBI Director James Comey testifies at Capitol Hill.

From the looks of things, Mr. Comey, hardly a snow-white figure on his own (whether he likes it or not, his impact in Trump’s Presidential victory is statistically notable, as per Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com), gets to talk about what he obviously felt was an attempt by President Trump to influence him on his investigation of the Russian attempts to tamper the election…as well as the various odd things his aids did with the very same Russians prior and after the election itself.

It should be interesting…if it weren’t so sad.

General

Yet more politics…

It’s been, astonishingly, 27 days -not yet a month- since Donald Trump became president of the United States of America (Curious how long he’s been President?  Click here).

Feels like a lifetime since then and certainly much longer than 27 days!

The news outlets like to show how the job of President “ages” the people on the job.  Someone far wiser (and clever…wish I knew who!) than me noted that this time around, the country is going to age during his term.

Giving Mr. Trump some props, he decided yesterday to have a long (77 minutes, in the end) press conference and answer many, many questions from reporters.

Again, I have to give Mr. Trump some props for doing this.  The administration has been in turmoil of late and for him to go out there and answer questions from reporters was, if nothing else, a brave thing to do.

However…

If the press conference was intended to show Mr. Trump in charge and ease any fears people have that his government is stable…he pretty much blew it.

One of the reactions, from Stephen Collinson from Mr. Trump’s hated CNN, offers this:

Donald Trump -under fire- returns to the campaign

Others laid into his performance, like S.V. Date for Huffington Post…

Trump blames media, judges, Democrats in Chaos Theory Tour-De-Force

Also from the Huffington Post, twitter reactions…

Scarier than Psycho: Twitter erupts over Trump’s “Bat#$@” press conference

My favorite reaction, from Gary Cooper, offers the following gif and these words:

SNL writers at the moment…

Yup.

Though if you think about it, the writers at SNL still have today and tomorrow to see what further madness might occur which they can find humor with.

Speaking of which, thank the Gods its Friday.  To everyone out there, have yourselves a nice, relaxing break.

 

General

Alternative Facts…

A few days back (Sunday, to be exact), Presidential Aide (I don’t know if she has any other formal title) Kellyanne Conway, while on Meet the Press and while being asked about, well, see for yourself:

And thus a line I’m certain Ms. Conway would desperately love to take back, “Alternative Facts”, was born and much ridicule was to be had with her Orwellian use of language.

Speaking of which:

1984 Skyrockets on Amazon.com after “Alternative Facts” Controversy

Frankly, I don’t know what to make of Ms. Conway.  Maybe I’m projecting my own feelings upon her but, at least to me, she seems like a fairly smart person yet there’s something so terribly, so clearly …wrong… inside her.

Perhaps she’s like a lawyer who’s assigned to defend a client they know is guilty as hell and a terrible person, to boot, yet value their job to the point where they will provide as strong a defense as possible.  Perhaps I’m over-simplifying it, but it’s their job, not them.

Yet note the first things that come out of Ms. Conway’s mouth in the above extended clip, how she threatens the press right off the bat.

The ridicule heaped upon her and the administration for the things she said in the above interview, especially the “Alternative Facts” quote,  is well deserved, again IMHO, yet I can’t help but feel a great unease.  Are these people for real?  Just how far are they willing to go to argue their view of reality, which, of course, simply isn’t?

Unlike the ridicule coming from the internet, George Orwell’s 1984 was far from a “comedy”.  At its core it was a truly terrifying horror story.  The idea of a dictatorial government taking total control of its citizens and, effectively, making them sheep should terrify everyone, and the idea they can create their own reality and force their people to accept it is perhaps the most frightening idea of them all.

Up is down.  Black is white.  Fighting for peace…

Alternative facts, indeed.

We’re not even a week into this new presidency.  What exactly are we in for?

General

About yesterday’s inauguration…

As many have noted, the crowds during Mr. Trump’s inauguration were significantly …less… than expected by the “big” man.  He proclaimed beforehand the crowds at his event would break records (they did, I suppose, though not the way he expected).

This is a popular comparison picture…

Image result for inauguration crowds comparison

And considering many of the crowds that did bother to come were protest crowds, then things look even more dire, attendance-wise for the Trumpster.

As for the protest crowds, Slate magazine offered some of what they considered the more amusing protest signs…

The Best Protest Signs for the Inauguration of Donald Trump

They were clever, funny, and sad…all at the same time.  Among my SFW favorites…

img_4719_1024

Then there was this: White Nationalist Richard Spencer showed up at the inauguration and…

Sigh.

Look, I really don’t condone violence in any way, shape, or form and while one is tempted to applaud the fact that this man, who ultimately espouses hate, gets “what’s coming to him”, I can’t help but worry if this is a sign of things to come…and worry even more if we’re starting down a too-dangerous path here.

The blame, ultimately, comes right back to Mr. Trump.  During the campaign he played fast and loose with some dangerous statements and personalities while engaging in all to obvious verbal “dog whistles”.  While he was incredibly quick in recent days to condemn Representative (and Civil Rights Icon) John Lewis for publicly calling his presidency “Illegitimate”, try to find as strong a rejection of some of the white nationalists that have tried to cozy up to him.

It’s going to be a long four years…if the Trumpster makes it that far.