President-elect Trump (I misspelled every word as I typed that; I think my fingers are rebelling) was on 60 Minutes tonight. I didn’t watch the interview, but I read an article by a member of the liberal media that summarized it.In addition to admitting that he won’t deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, and that his border wall may be just a fence in some places, (Ronald Mc)Donald Trump suggested that he’d talk to F.B.I. director James Comey to make sure he hadn’t screwed up the investigation of Hillary Clinton.On Friday, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump wouldn’t rule out prosecuting Clinton.I’d like to think that this is just Crazy Donny being crazy. Sort of winking at his supporters to reassure them. “I might not be able to build that big wall, and maybe we’re gonna have to let some immigrants stay in the country, but I still hate Hillary, just like you.”I suspect that now that she’s not running for office, most people will hate Hillary a little less. Hillary for Prison was just a catchy little slogan to shout at political rallies, but now that she won’t actually be president, then perhaps the anti-Hillary contingent won’t smell as much blood in the water.However, if there’s any support for prosecuting her, no matter how flimsy the evidence, no matter how inappropriate the charges, or whether they are in direct opposition to recommendations made by people who aren’t just political hacks and know the law, then President Trump (I just threw up in my mouth a little) will prosecute.I have a feeling that Trump will make Tricky Dick and his enemies list seem like amateur hour.I voted for Hillary, but I suspect many people—Hillary voters or not—are sick to death of hearing about her e-mail servers. If she would have just admitted that she and her people were too busy worrying about other things that they overlooked the sloppy way in which they were handling e-mail, this whole controversy might have died right away.She was careless. She was dumb. She made bad decisions. None of that is illegal. If she did anything illegal I’m quite certain that the F.B.I. would have recommended that she be prosecuted.I hope that we’ve heard the last of this, but with Trump’s thin skin, erratic temperament, and newfound power, I worry that we haven’t.There is, however, one way that we can be sure we’ve heard the end of the Hillary for Prison ridiculousness: President Obama should pardon her.There’s complete justification for such a pardon. First, any prosecution of Clinton follows a recommendation by the F.B.I.—the F.B.I., America’s crime fighting force!—that she not be prosecuted. Thus, any prosecution of her is tainted, and will be viewed as purely partisan.Second, presidents have issued similar pardons before. Remember Tricky Dick, who I mentioned above? Just a month after he resigned the office of the presidency, his successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him.The actual wording of the pardon is exactly what Obama should do for Clinton. Ford’s pardon of Nixon read, “I...have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.”Replace Richard Nixon with Hillary Clinton, and change the dates to January 21, 2009 through February 1, 2013 and have Obama sign it.Besides freeing Clinton from worrying about an unjust prosecution carried out by maniacs flaunting their power, the pardon would drive those same maniacs crazy. And that would make my day.No doubt they’d complain about the pardon, to which Obama—a Constitutional scholar—would delight in reminding them is completely within his presidential powers, as spelled out by Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.“The President… shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”And I’m sure Obama would relish the opportunity to grant such a pardon, both in appreciation of Clinton’s stellar leadership at the State department, and as a final “screw you” to Trump and his supporters, many of whom spent years questioning the legitimacy of his birth certificate and his right to the presidency.Hillary for Pardon!Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Run Again, Mitt!PREVIOUS POST: Introducing my Daughter to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Introducing my Daughter to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, has always had a special status in our house. I loved the Gene Wilder film adaptation when I was a kid, and vaguely recall reading the book.In recent years I’ve read the book aloud three times: about twelve years ago to my oldest daughter, three or four years ago to my two sons, and I finished reading it to my youngest daughter about a month ago.I love that book.My three oldest kids have all seen both the Gene Wilder and the Johnny Depp film adaptations, and since my youngest daughter is now familiar with the book, I figured it was a good time to introduce her to the movie.I wavered as to whether begin with the Wilder version or the Depp version. Everyone of my generation has an affinity for the Wilder version. It’s spectacularly kookie, and Gene Wilder somehow pulls off the trick of being a likeable, friendly psychopath.But the Depp version is actually more true to the book. Wilder’s version takes countless liberties in its adaptation. And although I don’t think that film adaptations need to remain true to the book—film is film, books are books, they’re different—there’s something authentic in the Depp film.Ultimately, I decided to show her the Wilder version. I’ll never forget how magical the film seemed when I was kid. I wanted her to experience that.But as I watched the film (for the first time in a few years, and definitely the first time since I began thinking and writing about the films I watch), quite a few questions presented themselves.First, it’s interesting that Wilder’s version is called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The book and the Depp film are both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both characters are interesting in their own way, but I think the fantastical visuals, and Wilder’s performance, helped put the spotlight on Willy Wonka rather than Charlie.There’s a scene in the book where the four grandparents are telling Charlie about how no one ever goes in or out of Wonka’s factory. In the Wilder film, some madman riding a bike that has cleavers and knives hanging off of it tells Charlie that tidbit while he’s peering through the gates of Wonka’s factory. A chop-chop here, a shank in the back there, and all of a sudden it’s a completely different movie.The grandparents just don’t look old enough. The book portrays them as much older. However, many kids who watch the film probably can’t tell the difference between a guy who’s sixty-four (as the film actor was) and one who’s ninety-three (as Grandpa Joe is portrayed in the book). To kids, old is old, so I’m obviously looking at that through my thirty-eight-year-old eyes.Charlie’s sort of an asshole at the beginning of the film. He whines when he doesn’t find the golden ticket. He seems a bit entitled. He was talking to his mom about it, and I wanted her to shake him and say, “We’re feeding seven people in this house with cabbage water and you’re worried about a stupid golden ticket!”Speaking of Charlie’s mom, there’s a scene where he goes to visit her at her job, washing clothes. They talk and he’s down about not having a golden ticket. But when he leaves, his mother sings a song. She’s got a great voice. Why the hell doesn’t she try to make it as a singer? She’s got nothing to lose!Charlie redeems himself a little bit when he has what he thinks is a last chance at getting a golden ticket. He’s opening the bar with Grandpa Joe, all excited, really expecting to get a ticket. And when no ticket appears he says, “Ya know, I bet those golden tickets make the chocolate taste terrible.” That was sad and made me forgive Charlie for being such a whiner minutes before.The dude who shows up and whispers into the ears of all of the kids as soon as they win a golden ticket is one creepy dude. He would have never made it to the second kid these days, because anyone who saw him whispering to Augustus Gloop like that would have reported him and he’d be starring in Al Capone and the License Plate Factory.As they’re entering the chocolate room, the first room of the factory, Willy Wonka says, “Inside this door, all of my dreams become reality, and all of my realities become dreams.” Wouldn’t we all love a door like that?When the Oompa Loompas make their first appearance, one of the parents say, “I’ve never seen anyone with an orange face before.” There will be an orange-faced cretin at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in about two months.Willy Wonka has a dark side. As August Gloop is getting sucked into the chocolate pipe, he says, “The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” Wonka’s mostly good, but he likes magical more than good. If he could only use his imagination for bad things, I think he would.When my four kids were young, their mother would always play a game with them where she would tickle their belly button and say, “Button, button, who’s got the button?” I didn’t realize until tonight that she got that line from this film. It made both those memories and the film even sweeter, more special.“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.” Willy Wonka says this when Veruca Salt insists that snozzberries don’t exist. Someone should put that quote on a T-shirt. I’d buy it.All of the kids in the movie do things they’re not supposed to. Even Charlie. He and Grandpa Joe drink fizzy lifting drinks, and almost get decapitated. In the book, these events occur to Oompa Loompas, and Willy Wonka is just relaying the story. I was sorry to see that part changed because Wonka’s command to the Oompa Loompa to lower himself when he kept rising provided my daughter’s favorite line of the book, “Burp you silly ass, burp!”Whenever I want to get a chuckle from my daughter I can say, “Burp you silly ass, burp,” and she rewards me with the sweetest laugh on earth.When the film ended, my daughter stood up in front of me, turned around, and said, “That was a good movie!” and then clapped.A good movie, indeed.Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: The Electoral College is Voter Fraud, American StylePREVIOUS POST: The 939 Saturdays of Childhood
The Electoral College is Voter Fraud, American Style
As of the writing of this post, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by just under 566,000 votes, with 99% of the precincts reporting. Since she received more votes, President-Elect Clinton will take office on January 20.What’s that you say? She won’t take office? She’s not President-Elect? She didn’t win the election?But she got more votes!Welcome, friends, to the Electoral College. Or, as I’ve come to call it, Voter Fraud, American Style.Prior to this week’s election, the Republican candidate for president spewed endlessly about a rigged election. In recent years Republican governors and legislatures have signed voter ID laws to help prevent voter impersonation, which they claim is common. Never mind this constitutional law expert’s study that found 31 cases of voter impersonation out of 1 billion votes cast from 2000-2014.That rate of voter impersonation works out to 4 votes cast via voter impersonation in this election. Four.The voter fraud Republicans worry about is so extraordinarily rare that we can call it non-existent. When Indiana defended its voter ID law before the Supreme Court they couldn’t provide one real example of voter fraud that the ID law would have prevented.However, Voter Fraud, American Style is very real.The basic concept that Republicans are supposedly trying to protect is the idea of one person, one vote. Everyone gets one vote, and no one’s vote counts more than anyone else’s vote.Sounds good, eh? Fair and democratic. It’s the sort of noble idea that the great men who founded this country endorsed.Except they didn’t.Instead of setting up a true one person, one vote system, the Founders created the Electoral College. When problems arose, they modified it with the Twelfth Amendment.The Electoral College works like this: citizens cast votes for president. Those votes are tallied, and the candidate who wins the most votes in a state gets all the electoral votes for that state.But what’s an electoral vote, and why do some states have more than others?Each state has two electoral votes (based on having two Senators), and then an additional electoral vote for each member of the House of Representatives from that state. The numbers of members of the House is based on the population of each state in the census. So states with the smallest populations like Wyoming, Alaska, and South Dakota have the fewest members of the House, and states like California and New York have the most.So California, the most-populous state, has two Senators and 53 Representatives, for a total of 55 electoral votes. And Wyoming, the least-populous state, has two Senators and 1 Representative, for a total of 3 electoral votes.Poor Wyoming, they have so few votes! They don’t count for anything.But wait a minute, this is Voter Fraud, American Style, so there’s more than meets the eye.California’s 55 electoral votes are spread over 37.2 million people, while Wyoming’s 3 electoral votes are spread over 563,000 people. Some quick division reveals that a person’s vote in Wyoming counts 3.6 times as much as a person’s vote in California!A South Dakota person’s vote counts 4.1 times as much as person’s vote from neighboring state, Minnesota. A vote in Indiana only counts nine-tenths as much as a vote in Illinois.What happened to one person, one vote?If we’re so gung ho about the fairness and integrity of our elections, then why do we choose a president through such an unfair system?The Founders setup the Electoral College this way for a few different reasons. In an era when political parties didn’t exist and the country was too spread out, and infrastructure too scarce to permit nationwide campaigning, the Founders worried that voters wouldn’t have enough information to make an informed choice.There was also the issue of slavery. Southern states wanted slaves counted as people for purposes of determining how many Representatives they’d get, and thus their number of electoral votes. Northern states didn’t want slaves counted. So they came up with the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted each slave as Three-Fifths of a person, which permitted less-populous, slave-holding southern states to be on par, population-wise, with more-populous, non-slave-holding, northern states.But we don’t have slavery any more. And we have more than enough information to make an informed choice. The reasons for the Electoral College no longer exist, yet we keep it.And we keep it despite the fact that it makes our presidential elections patently unfair. In addition to nullifying the idea of one person, one vote, the Electoral College also perpetuates inequality of attention. Only 11 states had a margin of victory of less than 5% in this election.Hillary Clinton lost Wyoming by 46%. She knew she was going to lose Wyoming—and gain zero electoral votes—so she never campaigned there. Trump lost California by 28%. He knew was going to lose California, so he never campaigned there.Instead, presidential campaign events and advertising are concentrated in the states with close races, effectively disenfranchising Democrats in Wyoming and Republicans in California.The only sensible alternative is direct election by popular vote. The candidate who wins the most popular votes wins the election. Force the candidates to campaign from sea to shining sea.A Democrat would campaign in central Alabama, which is heavily Democratic, but is now ignored because the rest of the state is Republican. A Republican would campaign in upstate New York, which leans Republican, but is now ignored because the rest of the state is so heavily Democratic.If we want to do away with Voter Fraud, American Style, then we need to get rid of the Electoral College.That’s not likely to happen though. Beginning next year Republicans will control the White House and both chambers of Congress. And if it weren’t for the Electoral College, Republicans would rarely control the White House.Democrats have won the popular vote in six of the past seven presidential elections. And Republicans have won the popular vote only once in the past 48 years in elections in which they were not the incumbent party.The Electoral College negates the idea of one person, one vote. And if the Republicans hated voter fraud as much as they claim, they’d lead the charge to amend the Constitution so presidents are elected by popular vote.Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Interesting Elections from American HistoryPREVIOUS POST: Why Trump Supporters Should Embrace the Post-Election Protests
Why Trump Supporters Should Embrace the Post-Election Protests
Only two days have passed since Donald Trump was elected to be the next president of the United States. And almost immediately, protests over his election began all over the country. Opposition to Trump was so vehement throughout the campaign that these organic, immediate protests are not surprising.Also unsurprising is the reaction to these protests from Trump supporters.A few of my friends shared a post on Facebook today that read, “Protests only work if human rights have been violated. Protesting for not getting your way is just crying.”Other posts urged the protestors to get jobs, stop crying, get over it, or run home to mommy and daddy.I understand that people who voted for Donald Trump probably don’t agree with the protestors. However, I’m surprised at their angry, mocking reaction to the protests and the protestors for a variety of reasons.First, I would think that given the number of un-American policies that Mr. Trump has endorsed, his supporters might relish the chance to show that they support something so basic to American history, rights, and values as the mass protest.Trump voters balk at being called racists or haters, even though they’re supporting a candidate who wants to ban an entire religion from entering the country, stated that Mexican illegal immigrants are rapists, and didn’t immediately distance himself from an endorsement by the KKK.Of course Trump voters support the Second Amendment. According to many of them, the Second Amendment is all that keeps this country from being overrun by a tyrannical government.So if they reject being called un-American for the policies they endorse, and they’ve shown an intrinsic love of the Second Amendment, then why not extend that love to the First Amendment? Freedom of speech, religion and the press are well known, but that amendment also protects the right of the people to peaceably assemble.Surely we can’t pick and choose which Constitutional amendments, or even which parts of amendments, we want to endorse, can we? Surely they’re not implying that there are no exceptions to the Second Amendment, but there is an exception to the First Amendment, namely, that there is no right to protest the result of an election.The first part of the graphic shared on Facebook, the part the reads, “Protests only work if human rights have been violated,” also interests me. What is the Black Lives Matter movement if not a human rights movement? By that definition, will Trump supporters admit that they were wrong to mock the Black Lives Matter protests?Another reason that I’m surprised by how much Trump’s supporters dislike the protests is that before the election Trump himself didn’t guarantee he’d accept the results unless he won. How many times did we hear him talk about a rigged election, even before the election took place?And let’s not forget the numerous calls for armed revolt if Clinton won the election. Former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh suggested he’d grab his musket if Clinton won. Lunatic Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said that if Clinton won it would be “pitchforks and torches time.” Trump voters themselves discussed the possibility of marching on the capitol with arms to remove Hillary Clinton from office if she won.So those who complain about the peaceful, non-violent protests taking place in reaction to Trump’s election are arguing that these Constitutionally-protected actions should not take place, yet if Trump lost, some of his supporters vowed to undertake an armed rebellion.Trump supporters must have also forgotten about the Tea Party protests that began in February 2009, barely a month into Obama’s first term. Much of Trump’s support comes from Tea Party sympathizers, yet they don’t recall that they organized their own protests of the new president.I can also point out the way that Senate Republicans refused to do their Constitutional duty to consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, which is a protest that actually flies in the face of the Constitution.It’s true that elections have consequences. However, silence from the opposition is not one of those consequences.One last point about the Constitution. It’s particularly interesting to note that the only reason Trump is president is because of the electoral college system devised in the Constitution. Clinton received more votes than Trump. So when Trump supporters talk about Trump being president because it’s the “will of the people,” I hope they realize that it’s the will of the people who lived in 1788 that is being honored.Because the will of the people in 2016—as measured strictly according to the number of votes received nationwide—is for Hillary Clinton to be president. (Note: This is the sixth time in the past seven presidential elections that the Democratic candidate won the popular vote.)This is the perfect place to add the famous Margaret Mead quote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: What's Wrong with Inaction?PREVIOUS POST: Despite the Wishes of Trump and His Supporters, America Won't Go Back
Despite the Wishes of Trump and His Supporters, America Won't Go Back
In all of the election coverage that I’ve read the past couple of days, one piece of information keeps coming to mind. It’s the most basic explanation of the election result. It sounds rather benign at first, but if we really think about it, and figure out why it’s pertinent to this election, we realize it’s anything but harmless.A survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, a research organization for journalists, scholars, policymakers and the general public, found that 7 in 10 Donald Trump supporters say “American society and way of life” was better in the 1950s than it is today.The numbers for Hillary Clinton supporters are just the opposite, with 7 in 10 Clinton supporters saying things have changed for the better.Trump’s well-known slogan of “Make America Great Again” has been widely mocked by almost everyone except his supporters. It’s so vague, and the implication that America is, in fact, not great today, flies in the face of many of those same Trump supporters who would have no qualms about calling America the greatest country on earth, or the greatest country in history.Perhaps what this survey reveals is that regardless of what Trump intended for his slogan to mean—I doubt he put much thought into it at all—his supporters would love the opportunity to return “American society and way of life” back to how it was in the 1950s.That decade ended almost twenty years before I was born, so I can’t comment first-hand on what it was like. However, I do know we’ve made real, valuable, measurable progress across all aspects of American life in the decades since.So why would we want to go back?What would we lose if we returned America to the 1950s?The Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination based on the race, sex, country of origin, or religion. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed racial discrimination in voting. Dozens of other laws and statues that help to make this a more fair nation for minorities.Court decisions that ended segregation, banned laws prohibiting interracial marriage, provided various gay rights, including the right to marry, decriminalized the use of birth control, established Miranda rights, and countless other rights that we almost take for granted today.Guaranteed healthcare for some of our most vulnerable citizens through Medicare and Medicaid.Protections for the environment instituted by the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.The Food Stamp Act, which helps ensure that poor Americans have enough to eat.The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which bans testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, oceans or outer space.The Interstate Highway System, which began construction in the 1950s, but wasn’t completed until 1992.Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires employers to provide leave for employees who are sick, have a sick family member, or welcome a new child.I’ve obviously just pointed out what we’ve gained from the actions of the federal government in recent decades. We’ve obviously made significant societal improvements from other sources as well.And America has changed. We’re not as white as we used to be. Women are in the workplace (even though they’re not paid the same), and in positions of leadership. Growing numbers of people with different religions live among us. We always have been, and remain, a nation of immigrants.It’s easy to look back at the idyllic, glossy, Leave it to Beaver-ish version of the 1950s, and think, “Those were the days.” But regardless of promises to Make America Great Again, those Happy Days are gone, and they’re not coming back.We’ve come too far to set ourselves back sixty years. We may think life was more simple in the 1950s, more innocent, but longing for those days ignores the problems that existed. It ignores how far we’ve come.Now that Trump is president, we’ll see how difficult it is to Make America Great Again in the way that his supporters expect him to.White people will soon be a minority. Coal mining jobs and steel jobs aren’t coming back. Regulations can’t be torn up. Fifteen million people can’t be rounded up and deported. Members of an entire religion can’t be barred from entering the country.The American people, perhaps even some of those people who supported Trump, who think that they want to go back to the 1950s, won’t stand for the types of policies that would be required for those things to happen.This is the United States of America. We move forward. Every single good thing that has ever come out of this country—including the country itself—has come from progressing, looking forward, moving ahead. We can’t save yesterday. It’s gone forever, and, usually, for better.Tomorrow is coming. We can choose to embrace it and make it better than today, or we can try to bring back yesterday. Only one path is successful, and I know which one I choose.I hope that Trump, and the millions of people who voted for him, make the right choice.Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Sometimes We're Absolutely WrongPREVIOUS POST: Thoughts About the Election While It's Still Unfolding
Thoughts About the Election While It's Still Unfolding
Here’s a first. I’m writing a blog post about something as it happens. And this time it’s the 2016 presidential election. It’s 10:02 pm and here’s where things stand:Trump won Florida and Ohio. He’s ahead in Michigan and Wisconsin. And New Hampshire. And North Carolina.Clinton won Virginia. Narrowly.If things stand as they are now, we’ll have President Trump. What. The. Fuck.Luckily, I don’t think things will remain as they are. Lots of votes out in Madison and Detroit, so Clinton will win Wisconsin and Michigan. If she can pickup Nevada or New Hampshire, she wins. She doesn’t even need Florida, Ohio, or North Carolina.That makes me feel better.Right now Trump has just under 41 million votes and Clinton has just under 39 million votes.Are you kidding me?I live in a country where at least 41 million people look at this guy and think, “Yeah, I want him to be my president.” How is that even possible?Okay, a few observations as I frantically refresh cnn.com to get updated numbers on Michigan and Wisconsin.First, I voted for Hillary, but she had to be the worst possible candidate Democrats could have put up against Trump. How is she not trouncing him? How on earth is she not getting 60% of the vote? I’m dumbfounded.Some of it is because she’s a woman. A sizable portion of this country will never vote for a woman for president. Just like a sizeable portion of this country will never vote for a person of color as president. It’s just the way things are, despite the idiocy of it.However, I think Clinton was the worst possible choice because she so divisive. People have opinions about her. She’s been around so long, she’s been so involved for so long, has such a record that she’s easy to attack.And she’s made mistakes. The e-mail server was a stupid decision that someone on her staff should have talked her out of right away. Her first inclination is always secrecy—which I somewhat understand, due to her two decades of fighting attacks from her political rivals—but secrecy gives people a reason to question what you’re hiding. And people assume things are more nefarious than they are.It’s odd to say a candidate had too much experience, but in her case I think she had too much experience, and, hence, too long of a record, so it was easy for people to vote against her. She wasn’t just running against people who oppose her in 2016, she was running against people who opposed her 1992, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008.Someone more charismatic, younger, and with less of a record might have done better and made this the blowout it should have been.Trump has to be kicking himself for pulling out of Virginia. He abandoned the state a couple of weeks ago. Pulled his entire operation, all but conceding it to Clinton. He narrowly lost. Had he stayed there, he might have won. And if this goes how I think it will go, then winning in Virginia would have been the difference between a win and a loss for him.Take no states for granted. Democrats would have never guessed that they might lose Michigan or Wisconsin. They were banking on a win in North Carolina and lost. They barely won in Virginia, a state that Obama won the past two elections. No voter should ever assume that their vote doesn’t matter. Trump won Indiana easily, and I figured he would, but I still went and voted for Clinton this morning. Every vote must be fought for. Take nothing for granted.You know, if you ever decide to run for President someday.And the last lesson is by far the most important one. Donald Trump received at least 41 million votes. That means a lot of people in this country have concerns they feel are best addressed by an egotistical, unstable, sex offender lunatic.But regardless of who they think is best to address their concerns, they have concerns. We cannot ignore those people. Even if Clinton wins, which I think she will—narrowly—she, and the House and Senate, and every American citizen must acknowledge the concerns of Trump voters and figure out how to improve things.Make America Great Again is the worst fucking slogan in the world. Just like everything else with this backward-looking, misogynistic, racist, elitist, mentally deficient psychopath, it shows complete disregard for nuance and the complexity of the problems the world faces.We’ve got problems. Tens of millions of Trump supporters have made that clear. Unfortunately, the man they voted for is not the man to solve those problems.Let’s see what happens.Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: We Can Do Better Than Donald Trump, Can't We?PREVIOUS POST: Why I Changed My Mind And Plan to Vote for Donald Trump
Why I Changed My Mind And Plan to Vote for Donald Trump
The presidential campaign, which officially kicked off on March 23, 2015, when Ted Cruz was the first to announce his candidacy, finally concludes today. Millions of people will vote tomorrow, and we’ll choose the people who will choose our next president. (If that sentence confuses you, read the Constitution.)Over the past few months I’ve written a few posts about the election and the candidates. I’ve heard from people who agree with me, and people who disagree with me. And although I decided who I wanted to vote for after the Democratic party primary process concluded, I hadn’t thought much about it.But since tomorrow is Election Day, I figured I should put some thought into my choice.And I’ve changed my mind. I’ve decided to vote for Donald Trump.My reasons are simple. I think he’s the best man for the job. He’s the one who can Make America Great Again.I don’t care that he’s never held elected office. Career politicians are what’s wrong with this country anyway.I don’t care that the media says that he spreads misinformation. I don’t believe the media anyway. Trump tells it like it is. That’s what we need. A straight talker. Maybe he’s not the most eloquent person to ever run for President, but he says what’s on his mind.I don’t care that he hasn’t paid federal income taxes for so many years. He’s just using the tax laws that already exist. If Clinton is so worried about it, why didn’t she do anything to stop such tax shenanigans?I don’t care about his “demeaning” comments toward women. Most of it was just locker room talk. Every other politician has probably said or done worse, only it hasn’t been captured by a microphone. He respects women. He’s done great things for women.
I don’t care that it’s so easy to push his buttons. He’s a passionate guy, so of course he’s going to get worked up when people say things that aren’t true, or distort what actually happened. I don’t blame him.I don’t care that he doesn’t “act presidential,” whatever the hell that means. We need fewer people who are worried about “acting presidential” and more telling it like it is.I don’t care that he’s come up short on explaining the intricacies of many of his policies. That’s not his job. He’s got people around him who will help him implement the ideas and worry about the details.I don’t care whether people think he’s undermining the election by claiming it’s rigged before it even happens. The entire system—both parties, the media—is working against him, so no wonder he thinks it’s rigged. Can’t fault a guy for wanting fair treatment.But my support for him isn’t just based on choosing to ignore the controversy that surrounds him. I’m not supporting him because he’s the least-bad candidate. He’s got some policy ideas that sound good, too.He’s right that we need to build a wall. We can’t just have a country of open borders that allows anyone in, no questions asked. And a wall will keep them out. And when he has the power of the presidency behind him, I have no doubt he’ll get Mexico to pay for it.He’s right that environmental regulations place undue burdens on industry. We need to get government out of the way and let businesses create jobs.He’s right in self-funding his campaign. He won’t be beholden to any special interests. That will be a nice change.He’s right to urge his supporters at a rally to “knock the crap out” of protestors. Those people are just troublemakers, and deserve what they get. Of course the media loves a story like that because it just helps continue their false narrative that Trump’s unbalanced or a bully. Whatever.It’s almost time to vote, and I’m excited. I’m surprised that I’ve changed my mind, but I’m voting for Trump. It’s time to Make America Great Again.Actually, I’m not. I’m still voting for Hillary Clinton. I just said all of that stuff to fool you. But don’t be mad at me. Don't feel bad. If you plan to vote for Donald Trump, he’s been fooling you this whole time.Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: We Can Do Better Than Donald Trump, Can't We?PREVIOUS POST: Some Notes on Stealing Halloween Candy From My Kids
Some Notes on Stealing Halloween Candy From My Kids
We’re a week into November now, which means I’m about five pounds heavier than I was only six or seven days ago. I’ve got Halloween candy to “thank” for that. Although I blame my kids, too. They went to so many damn houses, and scored such a variety of candy that I haven’t grown tired of any of it yet. I just keep eating and eating.If they’ve noticed that their Halloween stash declines by a piece or two in the hours between when they go to bed and when they wake up, they haven’t mentioned it to me.(Mental note: Make sure the kids don’t read this post.)In my defense, I haven’t been mindlessly shoving candy into my mouth. I’ve paid attention to what I’ve been eating this week, and I’ve come to a few conclusions. So here are lessons from, and reflections of, a veteran Halloween candy plunderer.Chocolate is king. When you purchase the Halloween candy you intend to pass out next year, keep this fact in mind. Nothing will make little ghosts and goblins (and their pillaging parents) happier than chocolate.It may be tempting to get a bag of Smarties or SweeTarts or suckers, but just keep in mind, that by handing out something other than chocolate, you’re not giving these kids what they truly want. And considering that kids say “Trick or treat” when the come to your door, it might behoove you to ensure they’re happy with the treat you provide, lest you be on the receiving end of a flaming bag of dog crap, toilet papered trees, or some other hilarious trick.You’ve been warned.Everything else is second. Now, don’t think for a second that if I open my kids’ trick-or-treat bag and all of the chocolate is gone that I’m not going to take something. Twizzlers are good, and I’ve been known to indulge in a pack of Smarties every now and then. It’s hard to go wrong with Pixy Stix, too. I mean what kid wouldn’t love a tube of sugar?And although chocolate is superior to every other candy, there are some problems with chocolate.First, let’s stop with this Fun Size bullshit. I don’t know what kind of sick marketing expert decided to call the smallest candy bars Fun Size, but they’re liars. There’s nothing fun about a candy bar so small that it gives you just a taste of its goodness, and then it’s gone, leaving you wanting more.Fun Size candy bars are the equivalent of baseball team losing in the postseason before they get to the World Series. It’s better than nothing, and no one would ever turn it down, but let’s not pretend it’s the best choice. Fun Size should be the best. Fun Size should be bigger than King Size.Also, just because something is chocolate, let’s not assume it’s good. There are exceptions to the Chocolate is King rule.Like Hershey bars, for example. They’re good. I eat them. But why do they taste so chemically? Maybe it’s because it’s just plain milk chocolate, but something always tastes a little off with a Hershey bar. Miraculously, when almonds are added the bar makes a complete turn around, ascends to greatness.
Almond Joy is fantastic. The coconut is delicious, and the almonds are there to up the ante. But why the hell is it milk chocolate? Those should be dark chocolate. Mounds is Almond Joy without the almond, but with the dark chocolate. Why can’t they figure out that they need to move the dark chocolate from Mounds to Almond Joy? True, sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don’t, but I always feel like dark chocolate over milk chocolate.I eat candy year round. M&M’s, (Peanut Butter) Twix, Reese’s, (Peanut Butter) Snickers, and Junior Mints find their way into my hand all the time. So why is it that there are so many candy bars that I only eat after I’ve stolen them from my kids’ trick-or-treat bag?Mr. Goodbar. I love those, but I don’t think I’ve ever bought one. Krackel. Is that even a full-size candy bar? I think I’ve only seen the miniature (not Fun Size) version of those. They’re good, and I sometimes steal them from candy trays I find in various offices at work, but 95% of the Krackel bars I’ve consumed in my life have been given to me or my children by strangers.The chocolate supply in the trick-or-treat bags is dwindling. There are only a few pieces left, and I live by one rule when stealing from my kids: don’t take the last piece of anything. So I think I’m just about done with Halloween candy for the year. My belt thanks me.Oh, one last thing. Each of my kids came home with packets of taco sauce from Taco Bell and honey from Popeyes in their trick-or-treat bag. And if I find out which house is responsible for that grotesqueness, I’ve got a dozen eggs with their address on them.I’m kidding. (Sort of.)Click here to receive an e-mail each time I write a new post! Guaranteed spam-free, unsubscribe any time IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Hey Kids, Michelle Obama Didn't Make your School LunchPREVIOUS POST: Teaching Kids How to Blow Bubbles Provides a Parenting Rarity: Immediate Results