Its getting really hard not to get political around these parts, as much as I am loathe to do so.

Politics, especially nowadays, are incredibly polarizing and if you’ve followed my writings for any length of time you know where I stand.

Having said that, to those who are on the right, politically, I can’t help but wonder when you look at all the news floating out there about President Trump and, especially of late the resignation/firing of General Flynn and the hints at collusion between Russia and Mr. Trump’s people, does it not at least make you a little queasy?

Just a little bit?

I mean, its been roughly three weeks since Donald Trump has become President and the news cycles have been filled with mostly bad, worse, and terrible news regarding his Presidency.

Going back to General Flynn, this is the sort of thing he did back on the campaign trail…

I especially love the very first words he utters in the clip above:

We do not need a reckless President who believes she is above the law.

Wow.

Projection much?

I may have noted this before, but in my other life, I studied Psychology and one of the most interesting “defense” mechanism I encountered was that of Projection.

In a nutshell, Projection is used by people to defend themselves “against their own unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others.”

So therefore when General Flynn talks about a “reckless” President who believes herself “above the law” and then looks at what Mr. Trump has done in the past three weeks, can we not agree at the very least it has been reckless and there has been a disregard for the law (“So-called judges”)?

This isn’t unique in General Flynn.

Donald Trump often used this, insulting others with phrases that seemed more apropo to himself.

We’re only three weeks in, folks, and with General Flynn’s resignation/firing for having talked to the Russians before the actual election and then lying about having done so the media and members in Congress are beginning to wonder the exact extent of Mr. Trump’s relationship with Putin and the Russian power base.

Perhaps the biggest unanswered question, and a frightening one it is, is this: Did Donald Trump and his staff know that Russia was trying to sabotage Mrs. Clinton’s campaign by hacking her people’s computers and then releasing the information to the media?  Did he not only agree to this but encourage it?

And if that’s the case, what does it say about our media when there were hints about this already there, during the election, and no one seems to have taken them seriously until now?

Frightening, frightening stuff.

A couple of days ago I pointed out a CNN segment which featured a bewildered host interviewing what I assume were a group of Trump voters and was shocked when one of them, a woman, noted how she believed “millions” of “illegals” had voted in the election and that President Obama actually encouraged “illegals” to vote.  You can see the full CNN report (and clip) here.

In referencing this clearly misinformed (I’m trying to be polite) voter, I noted:

Look, its easy to knock the woman in this group for the absolutely stupid things she claims are true.  I suspect the others in that group, though not much footage is offered of their opinions, are also Trump supporters.

The reality is…I feel sorry for her.  I truly do.

Well, over the weekend we had another, far more scary reaction to bogus news.  This article by Kevin Bohn, Daniel Allman, and Greg Clary also appeared on CNN:

Gun-Brandishing Man Sought To Investigate Conspiracy Theory

I’ll try to offer a brief encapsulation of the story, though I urge you to read the full article:

When the John Podesta emails were released via Wiki-Leaks, there was mention of Comet Ping, a pizza establishment, that was an apparent spot he and others frequented.

From this the conspiracy theorists (I won’t even begin to guess how their minds worked this particular theory out) weaved a web that stated this establishment was somehow hiding a child sex ring, no doubt supervised by those evil, scum-sucking liberals.

Enter one Edgar Madison Welch, 28.  He entered the establishment brandishing a weapon (perhaps an assault rifle) and was eventually arrested.  Thankfully, no one was injured during this very scary event.

Why did Mr. Welch show up at Comet Ping with a weapon?  From the above article:

“During a post arrest interview this evening, the suspect revealed that he came to the establishment to self-investigate ‘Pizza Gate’ (a fictitious online conspiracy theory),” the police department said in a statement.

I felt sorry for the mis-informed middle aged woman who was so damn certain “millions” of illegals voted.

Based on the above incident, maybe I shouldn’t be so damn nice about the spreading, and believing, of mis-information.

Maybe its time to hold those who spread such idiotic rumors to account.  Especially before someone, a very real someone, gets hurt.

I really didn’t want to see the CNN video below but was curious about its headline: “Trump supporter claims stun CNN Anchor.”  So I saw it.

Sigh…

Look, its easy to knock the woman in this group for the absolutely stupid things she claims are true.  I suspect the others in that group, though not much footage is offered of their opinions, are also Trump supporters.

The reality is…I feel sorry for her.  I truly do.

It’s so easy to prey on people’s fears and/or desires and whip up their emotions with bogus stories and alarmist fare.  Clearly this woman has lapped it up, believing that a) millions of “illegals” voted for Clinton in California and b) that somehow President Obama encourage these “illegals” to vote.

Her proof?  She claims it was on the news and, to be fair, the CNN anchor did find a bogus “news” story that presented the second claim on (where else?) a Fox News report.

Yet I stand by what I say: I feel sorry for this woman.  She views the news (apparently any news) as something that is truthful in its presentation when, sadly, this is becoming less and less and progressively even less the case.

I’m not saying all news lies, but one has to judge the news from multiple sources.

The fact of the matter is that if President Obama had actually encouraged “illegals” to vote, don’t you think that would be smeared across all news networks?  The fact that it appeared on only one (discredited) news article should make you skeptical of it at best.

Yet for some this will become a truth and when its in your head its difficult to remove it.

The other day there was a “hot” video presented a Trump supporter in Florida (why does my state seem to be the focus of so much weird stuff?!) getting incensed because the barista at a Starbucks wasn’t giving him his coffee quickly enough.

The Trump supporter went off on her and, well, see for yourself…

So your immediate reaction is: This guy is a jerk, right?  When the anger died down (somewhat) we have this…

Note a couple of things in the above news video:

First off, the man is a lot more level headed and offers an apology for his behavior, even though he still feels he was discriminated against (hey, that’s his opinion and if indeed he did wait 20 plus minutes for a coffee and it wasn’t delivered, I’d probably get angry too, though I doubt I’d jump to this being caused by discrimination).

Secondly, as the report ends, it is noted the man suffers from some kind of issue (mental?  Who knows) and admitted to the reporters he was off his medication at the time of the confrontation.

So I’m inclined to give the guy a pass.  I very much think he’s wrong in assuming he was “discriminated” against.  I mean, come on, does he have a “I supported Trump” tattoo on his forehead?  How the hell did the barista know his political tendencies?

It’s so much easier to chalk his anger being related to just plain old poor service, something everyone can relate to.  That being the case, he did apologize for acting on that.  But to use a loaded term like being “discriminated” against?!  That’s victimization example “a” in your all-too typical right wing hot air handbook.

In a very long, roundabout way what I’m saying is that I can understand people being guided by misleading -or outright lying- in the media or in right wing sources, many of which create a reality about them that doesn’t exist.  What scares the crap out of me is when decent people (again, the man above did apologize and it looks like he was genuinely ashamed of his reaction…either that or I’m completely misreading him) fall prey to these emotions and act out on them..

I can’t help but feel these people helped elect a man who will prove himself to be completely unfit for office and, ultimately, a detriment to the very people who voted for him.

Having said that, I’m willing to give him at least a little latitude to prove me wrong.

Which is more than I can say about the latitude many gave President Obama when he was twice elected.  And I say this as someone who did not agree with all the things he did/is doing during his term.

There are no words…just a couple of David Bowie songs…

As someone much more eloquent than I said, let’s hope the office survives the man.

Maybe I was terribly, terribly wrong all this time and should vote for Donald Trump after all…

…beware!

For those still here:

One of the more interesting animal myths is that of the lemming.  You know the concept, if nothing else…

Those who “know” about lemmings and the fact that they follow each other, even off a cliff, should also know this: It is a myth.  This myth first appeared in, of all things, the Walt Disney Studios “White Wilderness” episode of the True Life Adventure series, released in 1958 (you can read about this here).

While the myth is just that, there is something, obviously, that resonated with this myth.  The idea that a group of animals could, en mass, blindly follow their leader to their death(s) was something that’s grabbed the human imagination.

Today, as we approach the 2016 Presidential Election, people have noted that as opposed to days past, there are fewer and fewer “cross party” voters.  In other words, if you vote Republican or Democratic, you tend to do so for the rest of the ticket.  Thus, your vote for your Republican/Democratic candidate for Presidency -the biggest vote- tends to mean you’re more likely than ever to then vote for subsequent Republican/Democratic candidates for Senate, the House, etc. etc.

This does not mean, however, there isn’t a breaking point, a point where you can no longer stomach “your” candidate and begin the sometimes painful mental process of realizing you cannot follow what your party is offering.

It appears that to many, this happened with the Repulican candidacy of Donald Trump.  While there remain those who support him, there have been many prominent conservative minds who rejected his candidacy and refuse to vote for him.

Now, in this fascinating article by Michelle Goldberg and presented on Slate magazine, another large group, self-described conservative women, also appear to have had enough:

The Anguish of Being A GOP Woman In The Age of Trump

As of today, Monday the 24th of October, indications are that Donald Trump will not only lose the Presidency, but do so in a rather historic fashion.

Until the day of the election, this is obviously not something written in stone.

However, articles like the above show why Donald Trump, with his abrasive style and even more abrasive message, has a tough -perhaps impossible- path toward winning this election.

If self-described conservative women are finding it difficult to vote for Mr. Trump, one huge piece of the Republican electorate, then what chances does he have?

Politics again…

Yesterday, Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump had another speech and, wouldn’t you know it, again said something stupid and/or idiotic and/or dangerous and/or ill-informed and/or all the above:

CNN, among other news outlets, were quick to point out the fact that in his words above, Mr. Trump sure does appear to suggest 2nd Amendment (read: Gun folks) can “solve” the Hillary Clinton “problem” and/or her Supreme Court appointees.

How should “gun folks” solve the problem, one wonders?

Joe Scarborough, a conservative TV personality (and former congressman), wrote the following for The Washington Post regarding Mr. Trump’s latest comments:

The GOP must dump Trump

I’ll give Mr. Scarborough credit: He doesn’t mince words like far too many Republicans have done.  From the article:

The GOP nominee was clearly suggesting that some of the “Second Amendment people” among his supporters could kill his Democratic opponent were she to be elected.

While current polls show support for Trump cratering, we are still a mind-boggling 89 days from the election and, sadly, there is still time for the race to tighten or *gasp* for Trump to possibly/maybe make a race of this yet…

Then again, given the way Mr. Trump habitually self-immolates every other day, perhaps there is nothing to fear.

By the Gods I hope so.