The Election was Stolen - Here's How by Greg Palast

The Election was Stolen – Here’s How by Greg Palast Before a single vote was cast, the election was fixed by GOP and Trump operatives. Starting in 2013 – just as the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act – a coterie of Trump operatives, under the direction of Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, created a system to purge 1.1 million Americans of color from the voter rolls of GOP–controlled states. The system, called Crosscheck, is detailed in my Rolling Stone report, “The GOP’s Stealth War on Voters,” 8/24/2016. Crosscheck in action:   Trump victory margin in Michigan:                         13,107 Michigan Crosscheck purge list:                           449,922 Trump victory margin in Arizona:                           85,257 Arizona Crosscheck purge list:                            270,824 Trump victory margin in North Carolina:               177,008 North Carolina Crosscheck purge list:                   589,393   On Tuesday, we saw Crosscheck elect a Republican Senate and as President, Donald Trump.  The electoral putsch was aided by nine other methods of attacking the right to vote of Black, Latino and Asian-American voters, methods detailed in my book and film, including “Caging,” “purging,” blocking legitimate registrations, and wrongly shunting millions to “provisional” ballots that will never be counted. Trump signaled the use of “Crosscheck” when he claimed the election is “rigged” because “people are voting many, many times.”  His operative Kobach, who also advised Trump on building a wall on the southern border, devised a list of 7.2 million “potential” double voters—1.1 million of which were removed from the voter rolls by Tuesday. The list is loaded overwhelmingly with voters of color and the poor. Here's a sample of the list Those accused of criminal double voting include, for example, Donald Alexander Webster Jr. of Ohio who is accused of voting a second time in Virginia as Donald EUGENE Webster SR.   Note: Watch the four-minute video summary of Crosscheck. The investigation and explanation of these methods of fixing the vote can be found in my bookand film, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: a Tale of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits (2016). No, not everyone on the list loses their vote.  But this was not the only racially poisonous tactic that accounted for this purloined victory by Trump and GOP candidates. For example, in the swing state of North Carolina, it was reported that 6,700 Black folk lost their registrations because their registrations had been challenged by a group called Voter Integrity Project (VIP). VIP sent letters to households in Black communities “do not forward.”  If the voter had moved within the same building, or somehow did not get their mail (e.g. if their name was not on a mail box), they were challenged as “ghost” voters.  GOP voting officials happily complied with VIP with instant cancellation of registrations. The 6,700 identified in two counties were returned to the rolls through a lawsuit.  However, there was not one mention in the press that VIP was also behind Crosscheck in North Carolina; nor that its leader, Col. Jay Delancy, whom I’ve tracked for years has previously used this vote thievery, known as “caging,” for years.  Doubtless the caging game was wider and deeper than reported.  And by the way, caging, as my Rolling Stone co-author, attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tells me, is “a felony, it’s illegal, and punishable by high fines and even jail time.” There is still much investigation to do.  For example, there are millions of “provisional” ballots, “spoiled” (invalidated) ballots and ballots rejected from the approximately 30 million mailed in.  Unlike reporting in Britain, US media does not report the ballots that are rejected and tossed out—because, after all, as Joe Biden says, “Our elections are the envy of the world.”  Only in Kazakhstan, Joe. While there is a great deal of work to do, much documentation still to analyze, we’ll have to pry it from partisan voting chiefs who stamp the scrub lists, Crosscheck lists and ballot records, “confidential.” But, the evidence already in our hands makes me sadly confident in saying, Jim Crow, not the voters, elected Mr. Trump.   What about those exit polls? Exit polls are the standard by which the US State Department measures the honesty of foreign elections.  Exit polling is, historically, deadly accurate. The bane of pre-election polling is that pollsters must adjust for the likelihood of a person voting.  Exit polls solve the problem. But three times in US history, pollsters have had to publicly flagellate themselves for their “errors.”  In 2000, exit polls gave Al Gore the win in Florida; in 2004, exit polls gave Kerry the win in Ohio, and now, in swing states, exit polls gave the presidency to Hillary Clinton. So how could these multi-million-dollar Ph.d-directed statisticians with decades of experience get exit polls so wrong? Answer:  they didn’t.  The polls in Florida in 2000 were accurate.  That’s because exit pollsters can only ask, “How did you vote?”  What they don’t ask, and can’t, is, “Was your vote counted.” In 2000, in Florida, GOP Secretary of State Katherine Harris officially rejected 181,173 ballots, as “spoiled” because their chads were hung and other nonsense excuses.  Those ballots overwhelmingly were marked for Al Gore.  The exit polls included those 181,173 people who thought they had voted – but their vote didn’t count.  In other words, the exit polls accurately reflected whom the voters chose, not what Katherine Harris chose. In 2004, a similar number of votes were invalidated (including an enormous pile of “provisional” ballots) by Ohio’s GOP Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.  Again, the polls reflected that Kerry was the choice of 51% of the voters.  But the exit polls were “wrong” because they didn’t reflect the ballots invalidated by Blackwell. Notably, two weeks after the 2004 US election, the US State Department refused the recognize the Ukraine election results because the official polls contradicted the exit polls. And here we go again. 2016: Hillary wins among those queried as they exit the polling station—yet Trump is declared winner in GOP-controlled swings states. And, once again, the expert pollsters are forced to apologize—when they should be screaming, “Fraud!  Here’s the evidence the vote was fixed!” Now there’s a new trope to explain away the exit polls that gave Clinton the win.  Supposedly, Trump voters were ashamed to say they voted for Trump.  Really?  ON WHAT PLANET?  For Democracy Now! and Rolling Stone I was out in several swing states.  In Ohio, yes, a Black voter may have been reluctant to state support for Trump. But a white voter in the exurbs of Dayton, where the Trump signs grew on lawns like weeds, and the pews of the evangelical mega churches were slathered with Trump and GOP brochures, risked getting spat on if they even whispered, “Hillary.” This country is violently divided, but in the end, there simply aren’t enough white guys to elect Trump nor a Republican Senate.  The only way they could win was to eliminate the votes of non-white guys—and they did so by tossing Black provisional ballots into the dumpster, ID laws that turn away students—the list goes on.  It’s a web of complex obstacles to voting by citizens of color topped by that lying spider, Crosscheck.

Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Support The Palast Investigative Fund and keep our work alive. Download the FREE Movie Comic Book. Rent or buy the film from Amazon or Vimeo. Or support the The Palast Investigative Fund (a project of The Sustainable Markets Foundation) by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Palast Fund and you get a tax-deduction! More info. Follow Palast on Twitter | Like Palast on Facebook | Forward to a friend  Subscribe to Palast's Newsletter | Podcasts Share this with

The Manchurian Candidate

If you don't know what "The Manchurian Candidate" refers to, please go to Google ASAP.

Many people argue, now that Trump has been duly elected, we must work with him to help him be a successful president based upon the misguided notion that somehow he can be reasoned with and will do the right thing.  At the very least, we should relax and hope he'll do the right thing.

I think this is entirely wrong.  The comparison between Donald Trump in 2016 and Adolf Hitler in 1938 is too strong.  Trump is not Hitler and our Constitution and agencies of government should keep him in check.  But, as Hitler showed us, Constitutions and governmental agencies are no barrier to a despot dedicated to accomplishing his nefarious goals.

The people of Germany voted for Hitler just as about half of the people in this country voted for Trump.  Hitler did not hide his agenda at that time, nor has Donald hidden his agenda for this time.  Donald has told us, again and again, in a loud voice and bold print exactly how he intends to tear down this country and turn it into a third-world banana republic ruled and run by the very rich and the military.

None of this should surprise anyone.  His wife has said that he keeps Hitler's, Mein Kampf, by his bedside and reads it frequently, finding it a valuable resource.

Trump is an awful, evil person.  But the real horror is that so many citizens of this country cast their vote in his favor.  How could this happen?  Again, he did not hide the facts of the case nor did he try to hide the evil that resides within him.

If any other candidate had said just a couple of the things that Trump said, or had done just a couple of things that Trump did, that candidate would have been run out of town.

Consider:

Donald Trump is a psychopath - which means he suffers from an antisocial personality disorder.  A psychopath has no conscience, "that little voice inside that lets us know when we're doing something wrong."  Thus, Donald Trump can lie, cheat and steal, etc., with no moral qualms.  He may pretend to be sorry, but he is not.  For example, he refused to release his tax returns based upon the incredible reason that he was under audit by the IRS.  But he bragged about gaming the system so he didn't have to pay any taxes.  And that, he said, made him "smart."  No moral qualms there.

Trump is a sexual pervert by his own admission; "grabbing pussy" is his right.  If your mother, wife, sister, or niece worked for him, you would not want to give him the key to the restroom. Similarly, because of his psychopathic tendencies and his inability to control his actions, you would not want to give him the keys to our nuclear codes.

Trump's wife (who, it turns out, worked illegally in this country for some time - although both she and Trump lied about that) has referred to him as a man-child. From his words and actions, he appears to have never reached adulthood and still operates from the emotional and maturity levels of a 10-year old child.

This morning, he became frustrated by some folks protesting against him and took to Twitter to call them out, indicating first of all, he has a very thin skin; secondly, that he is vengeful; and thirdly, that he really isn't convinced our Constitution's guarantee of free speech is a good thing.

Trump is a psychopathic liar.  He lies about everything and then lies about having said what he said, even when presented with clear evidence such as tape recordings.  This was another trait that Trump shares with Hitler.  Hitler and his cohorts knew they could tell extravagant lies and then deny those lies and people would believe them.   The bigger the lie the easier it was to fool the people. Trump learned that lesson well!

He got by with lying about President Obama's birthplace.  He lied about Hillary Clinton's emails and rallied his supporters to hate her to such an extent that some of them, including at least one congressperson, indicated she should be shot!

Donald Trump is a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, and a cheater.  His record shows multiple instances of racism, that he has cheated business people with whom he has worked, that he treats women like garbage, and that he intensely dislikes certain people, especially the poor and minorities.

Currently, Trump is having to deal with a legal challenge related to his Trump University.  He is being sued for fraud.  This morning, it appears his lawyers are trying to settle and get the case closed which makes a lot of sense because it is clear that their client defrauded many people out of thousands of dollars and it just won't look good if a new president is convicted of such a deed even before he takes office.

Actually, he's involved in a number of other lawsuits, although I'm not privy to the circumstances.

Trump has another great liability:  he has no government experience.  He knows very little about the government.  Not long ago, he showed he did not know about the separation of powers or how our system works.  His ignorance shows also in his promises to "build a wall," or "get rid of Obamacare" immediately after taking office.  Because he is a fascist demagogue, however, he seems to think he can order such things to happen and voila! so they will.

Finally, back to the Manchurian Candidate.  During the campaign, Trump denied knowing Putin, avowing that he'd never met him.  Those were all lies.  Moreover, in the past, Trump has praised Putin and at one point suggested Putin involve himself in the campaign by checking out Ms. Clinton's emails.

Although Trump swore he had no business interests in Russia, it appears now that also was a lie; that his organization has secret accounts with a Russian bank, the purpose of which is yet to be determined.

Immediately following the election, Putin praised Trump and indicated he was looking forward to working with him to bring the U.S. and Russia closer together.

But the smoking gun was revealed when one of Putin's associates indicated that Russia had interfered in the election to help Trump get elected.

Remembering how Trump lies about everything and cannot be trusted to tell the truth about anything, one cannot help but be concerned over his Russian ties and Russia's intentions.  All of this certainly raises some important, even vital, questions.  A minor one that does not fall prey to conspiracy notions, is exactly what does Russia expect in return for their help in getting Trump elected?


As noted, almost one-half of the Americans that voted, voted in favor of Trump for president.  Many, if not most of this people, call themselves "conservative" or "evangelical" Christians.  How such people could vote for this monster is incomprehensible.

Unless...and this is probably the case, their "Christianity" has nothing to do with their Jesus or their God but is simply a front for their "conservative" political ideologies.  At the very least, the fact they voted for a pathological liar, sexual pervert, cheater, bigot and racist, says to all the world they are monumental hypocrites and if their Bible is true, they must expect to be cast into the fires of hell upon their death!


It is bothersome to the extreme that we've learned so little since the 1930s, that the United States, which I used to admire as having potential at least, has become one of the most morally and ethically and intellectually lax countries of the world.

For those of us who care about this a little bit, the least we can do is fight Mr. Trump in every possible way to make it impossible for him to advance his agenda and to hobble him in such a manner that his depravity fails to take hold in this country.

Now representing officially - American Fascism

This photo is in memory of what this country used to be.  It also is a recognition of what is.  Less than 1/2 of our citizens have elected (due to the Electoral College) a psychopathic fascist as our president.

The darkness descends just as it did in Germany on Kristallnacht when mobs beat and robbed Jews and torched synagogues.  The date of Kristallnacht was November 9 - 10, 1938.

In both instances, the country's leaders, demagogues both, urged the people to wreak violence against unwanted citizens.  While the same amount of violence has not yet occurred here, threats have been made by our demagogue and his followers, and it is, I believe, just a matter of time.

Happy Birthday, Hillary!

This is from Shakesville, click HERE.

New York's Daily News Special Editorial on da Trumpf

One of the best summaries of the person known as Trump.

Read it all here.

Life's a Bitch

                                                       s

Jon Stewart Takes Over Colbert's Late Show Desk

Keith Olbermann - 176 Reasons Trump Should Not Be President

Watch this video on The Scene.

Hillary Clinton Nails Trump to His White Nationalistic Friends!

Making Clear the Right To Bear Arms

For a number of years now, I have argued strenuously that the 2nd Amendment does not, in any sense, guarantee that private citizens have a right to own guns in this country.  The NRA and most, if not all, gun owners, may disagree with me and the conservative gun-loving Supreme Court may also disagree but such disagreements do not nullify the truth that the only thing the 2nd Amendment guarantees is the right of "a well-regulated militia" to own and use weapons in the defense of the nation.

What follows is a grammatical argument which sustains my position.  It was written by Daryl Sneath and appeared in the Huffington Post on August 16, 2016.  Sneath is a novelist and self-proclaimed amateur grammarian.

Sneath notes that the most notable of our founders, namely Jefferson, Madison and Thomas Paine, who were directly involved in the construction of our founding documents, were well-educated, very wise men who knew a thing or two about language and they worked to make sure what they wrote was glaringly clear.

Thus, Sneath observes, based on the founding fathers understanding of grammar,  it is not the right of every Tom, Dick, and Harriet to own guns which shall not be infringed, but rather the right to keep and bear arms is always predicated on the need for a well-regulated militia to ensure our freedom.

One of those things they knew about is the comma, the only purpose of which is clarity. Doubtless the writers were acutely aware of this grammatical truism (despite their apparent affinity for complex diction) when they drew their collective stylus southward (certainly aware too of that symbolic direction) making the little mark immediately following the phrase the right of the people to keep and bear arms. As such, the subject of the predicate shall not be infringed is clearly not the right of the people. No subject is ever separated from its predicate by a comma alone. Put more plainly, the principal clause (or declaration) of the whole amendment is this: A well regulated militia shall not be infringed. The middle bit modifies the main.

But the ‘right to pack’ contingent continues to unpack the latter half of the amendment such that, for them, it states matter-of-factly the right to keep and bear arms is theirs because The Constitution says so and ain’t nobody gonna say no different no how.

There’s no need for anybody to say any different—the third comma does.

In addition to the subject/predicate issue explained above, the third comma further indicates that the right of the people to keep and bear arms is a noun phrase which functions adverbially on the the participial phrase preceding it which, in turn, modifies the subject A well-regulated militia.

To clarify, the right of the people is only a right when A well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state, all of which together is the thing that shall not be infringed.

The end.

Glaring clarity. 

What the hell?

This photo, currently flitting about the Web, shows Ivanka Trump with her dear friend, Wendi Deng Murdoch while on vacation in Croatia.

Wendi Murdoch happens to be Vladimir Putin's girlfriend.

Did not da Trump say he hardly knew Vladimir?  And did he not say he had no financial interests in Russia?

Is it possible da Trump is lying?

Is it also possible that Ivanka is purposely trying to derail her father's bid for the White House?

Made in China by I. Trump

This was sent to me by a friend.  I have no way of determining its source nor can I verify its validity, but I thought it was interesting enough to post.

True or False?

Politifact: Donald Trump Is Way Ahead In 'Pants On Fire' Statements

I've been writing this for a while now, but Donald Trump lies like no other presidential nominee before him. I'm talking about the kind of lies that are easily debunkable and unnecessary. I'm talking about the kind of lies conspiracy theory nuts spew to the fringes of our society. And he's also a serial exaggerator about…

KA-BOOM! What Trump Really Thinks About Iraq and Hillary

What follows is from Daily Kos.


In 2007, Wolf Blitzer interviewed Da Trump.  Da Trump was asked what he thought about the war in Iraq.  Da Trump said this:

The war is a total disaster. It's a catastrophe, nothing less. It is such a shame that this took place. In fact, I gained a lot of respect for our current president's father by the fact that he had the sense not to go into Iraq. He won the war and then said, Let's not go the rest of the way. And he turned out to be right. And Saddam Hussein, whether they liked him or didn't like him, he hated terrorists. He'd shoot and kill terrorists. When terrorists came into his country, which he did control and he did dominate, he would kill terrorists. Now it's a breeding ground for terrorists. So, look, the war is a total catastrophe.

BLITZER: Who do you blame?

TRUMP: And they have a civil war going over there.

BLITZER: Who do you blame?

TRUMP: Well, there's only one person you can blame, and that's our current president. I mean, obviously Rumsfeld was a disaster, and other people that are giving him advice have been a disaster. And Condoleezza Rice, who's a lovely woman but she never makes a deal -- she doesn't make deals, she waves. She gets off the plane, she waves, she sits down with some dictator -- 45 degree angle, they do the camera shot. She waves again, she gets back on the plane, she waves -- no deal ever happens. So, I mean — 

Then, Blitzer said, "Thank you very much.  Let's talk politics.  All right?  A lot of people thinking about politics right now.  I'm going to mention some names:  give me your thoughts right away. 

Hillary Clinton.

Da Trump said:

Very talented, very smart. She's a friend of mine, so I'm a little bit prejudiced. She's a very, very capable person and I think she'll probably be the nominee. We'll see, but I think she'll probably be the nominee.

BLITZER: Is she ready to be commander-in-chief?

TRUMP: I think she is. I think she's a very, very brilliant person, and as a senator in New York, she has done a great job. Everybody loves her. She just won an election with a tremendous majority and she really -- she's become very, very popular in New York. And it wasn't easy.

AND KA-BOOM!!!!

One Sentence by the Crazy Donald Trump

Look, having nuclear—my uncle was a great professor and scientist  and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, 

OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart 

—you know, if you're a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, 

like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I'm one of the 

smartest people anywhere in the world—it's true!—but when you're a 

conservative Republican they try—oh, do they do a number—that's 

why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went 

there, went there, did this, built a fortune—you know I have to give my 

like credentials all the time, because we're a little disadvantaged—but 

you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me—it would 

have been so easy, and it's not as important as these lives are (nuclear 

is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the 

power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of 

what's going to happen and he was right—who would have thought?), 

but when you look at what's going on with the four prisoners—now it 

used to be three, now it's four—but when it was three and even now, I 

would have said it's all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, 

you know, they don't, they haven't figured that the women are smarter 

right now than the men, so, you know, it's gonna take them about 

another 150 years—but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians  are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.

Note:  The video is from about a year ago.  The transcription came from Daily Kos.  The man really is crazy!

Lebanese Olympic Athletes Bar Israeli Athletes From Bus

According to Jerusalemonline.com, on the eve of the Olympic's opening ceremonies, the Lebanese athletic delegation refused to allow the Israeli delegation on the bus - although both delegations had been assigned that bus by Olympic officials.

This kind of thing is far from the spirit of the Olympic games and what they represent - inclusiveness, friendship, cooperation.  It also violates the "truce" agreement among the nations participating.

The Lebanese athletes and their cohorts responsible for this debacle should be confronted and given a choice:  Apologize for the action or pack up and go home!

It is also reported that the Israeli athletes have let this slide and intend to focus on their various competitive events and fully engage the Olympic experience.  That is wonderful but doesn't solve the problem or deal with the issue.  The authorities in Rio need to take decisive action to let the world and the athletes know that this kind of hatred and divisiveness will not be tolerated.

Olympic Games Opening Ceremony 2016 in Rio Demonstrating Dangerous Clima...

And a Republican congressman just the other day suggested that climate change and global warming are a myth and should be ignored.

Those of you who live along coastal Florida, get out now.  Just don't come to Ocala.  Please!  We may be drier in the future but we're loaded with climate change deniers and other jackwangs and don't need any more.

Clinton Campaign Devastates Trump With His Ties To Putin

This video put out by the Clinton campaign is brutally effective, and even more so because it's true. Here's the former Acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell, explaining just how awful Trump's embrace of Putin is within the intelligence establishment. Holy cow, folks. "The dangers that flow from Mr. Trump's character are not just risks…

Our Heroes

Evidently, this scene has a Star Wars connection.  It was created by:

@jeffbenzenberg.

I found this at Shakesville, a wonderful blog by Melissa McEwan.  The young man in the middle is a young Tim Kaine...and the face in the storm you recognize right away:  the wrath of Evil.

AARP & The Koch Brothers - Hand in Hand???????

Did You Know That AARP Is A Paying Member Of ALEC?

Here is a real shocker. AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) has been a paying member of the notorious right-wing, Koch-tied lobbying organization American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) since at least 2014. Yes, that AARP, once known for protecting the interests of senior citizens and fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare. Yes, that…

Trump's Campaign Store Might Be a Pain Store

Think Twice Before Buying From Trump's Campaign Store

When you make an online purchase, you try and take confidence that your personal information, including your credit card information, remains secure throughout the transaction. A good indicator is in the URL bar of your browser. If it shows a green lock, that means you're secure. If it doesn't then stop what you're doing and walk…

A Vote For Trump is Slap in the Face Of Jesus!

[Photo from http://williamkendallbooks.blogspot.ca]

For years Tim LaHaye wrote books about the so-called Rapture with a friend, Jerry Jenkins.  The books were a huge success, unfortunately, and screwed up a lot of people ignorant of the Bible.  But LaHaye became very important in “evangelical” circles.  In fact, Time magazine in 2005 declared him to be one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in the U.S., and went on to call LaHaye and his wife “The Christian Power Couple.”

Tim has died.  I’d say “God rest his soul,” but I’m afraid he’s not going to meet his maker for he was a fakir from the word “go.”  His theology was twisted and irresponsible with no connection to the Jesus he claimed to follow.  None!  He was a Christian supposedly, but as we’ve come to learn, that, in many cases, means nothing.  All kinds of people claim to be Christian but it's quite obvious that Jesus would not know them.  The term, "Christian Power Couple," in and of itself, implies a denial of all that Jesus taught!

Jesus, of course, was not a Christian, either.  Assuming he was a real person, we learn from the Gospel stories that he was a Jew, that he attended the synagogue, that he was well-learned in the Hebrew Bible, that he was a rabbi (teacher) and that he taught NONE of the doctrines that comprise the Christian faith in its various forms today.

My point is that if evangelical Christians today would actually follow Jesus, whom they claim as their “savior,” they would act very differently than they do.  So, we must conclude that their religion is a sham and they are essentially and fundamentally hypocrites.  

But I want to discuss Donald “The Traitor” Trump, who has said on numerous occasions that he is a Christian.  I want to discuss Trump and his “evangelical” Christian followers as their lives relate to the Jesus of the Gospels.  We shall see that, in fact, they actually deny and disavow Jesus by their words and by their actions.

The other day I received an email containing a link to a film by the con man and Christian crook, Dinesh D’Souza.  It was sent by an “evangelical” Christian to many other evangelical Christians (I got it because I am related to the sender).  The film is a horrible hackneyed attempt to crucify Obama and particularly Hillary Clinton as well as all Democrats for destroying the world.  

D’Souza should have no hearing in the evangelical world!  He’s a convicted felon who was fired as president of King’s College in New York, a small evangelical school which serves as the home of Campus Crusade for Christ, because of an adulterous affair with Denise Odie Joseph who was at the time already married.  At the time D’souza was married to Dixie Brusker with whom he had a child.  

In the end he married someone else altogether, a woman named Debbie Rancher - the ceremony conducted by the father of Ted Cruz, Rafael Cruz.  

Obviously, we have a whole packet of hypocrites involved in this mess.

But, perhaps worse than that is the fact that D’Souza was convicted of “felonious election fraud,” for which when he finally admitted his guilt he was sentenced to 8 1/2 months in a half-way house.

The sad part of all this is that millions of evangelicals will watch this film on YouTube and come to believe that Hillary Clinton is of the devil and should never become president.  And it’s all lies!  Lies by one who claims to be an evangelical Christian but does not know or follow Jesus.  

And it’s another example of the fact that evangelical Christians these days no longer even pretend to follow Jesus.  They follow power and fame and money but not Jesus.  They try to protect themselves and their possessions with government and military might.  So, they will vote for Donald “The Traitor” Trump.  But a vote for Trump is a slap in the face of Jesus!

Here’s why:

The Gospels are not the first books in the New Testament.  They were placed in that position by the Church Fathers in the 4th century to make it appear that Jesus came first and everything else flowed from him.

The truth is that Paul’s letters were the earliest “books” of the New Testament, and the first was the Letter to the Romans, written sometime around 50 C.E.  Paul’s letters indicate that there were a number of “Christ” groups in the Mediterranean early on - people who followed a “Christ,” which is the Greek word for Savior.  Paul preached that their Christ was really Jesus.  He did this to root his theology in history, in Judaism in particular; for while he was probably not the rabbi he claimed to be, he was Jewish.

The gospels were written at the end of the first century by persons unknown to us; persons who had never met Jesus in the flesh.  Therefore, their accounts are 2nd hand.  The earliest of the gospels is Mark and Mark is based upon an earlier document known simply as “the source.”  Thus, you will see Mark is rather bare-bones.  Matthew and Luke, writing later, used Mark as their framework to which they added other stories.  You’ll note that the gospels do not present anything like an historical narrative, but are a collection of stories and vignettes thrown together, sometimes with little rhyme or reason.

We’re going to begin looking at what Jesus really taught by heading into the Gospel according to Mark.  Jesus begins his ministry forthwith (there’s no birth story here!) by teaching in various synagogues.  And we learn that he was very inclusive, healing the sick and ministering to those considered outside of respectable society.  He wasn’t bound by religious conventions:  “And looking around at those who were sitting in the circle about him he said, ‘Here are my mother, and my brothers.  Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother.’”  (Mark 3:33-35)

In other words you become part of Jesus’ inner circle not by going through ritualistic motions or following religious precepts, but by DOING the will of God which is to love and care for your fellow human beings; all of them!  His message was an active message.  You don’t get to heaven by chanting or praying or reading the Bible.  You’ve got to be out there DOING the will of God, which as we will see, includes NOT voting for Trump.

Narcissism defines Donald Trump.  Narcissism means to be most concerned about one’s self; to love one’s self to the exclusion of other people.  Here’s what Jesus said about that:  “Anyone who wishes to be a follower of mine must leave self behind; he must take up his cross and come with me.  Whoever cares for his own safety is lost…”  (Mark 8:34-35)

Then there’s this message to twice-divorced D. Trump:  “What God has joined together, man must not separate. … Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her…”  (Mark 10:9-12)

A vote for Trump is a slap in the face of Jesus!

Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus meets and and heals people hanging on the lowest rungs of society - children, first-century illegal immigrants, convicts, etc.  These folks included the deaf, the dumb, the leprous, and the crazies.  NOT ONCE DID HE SAY HE WANTED TO BUILD A WALL AROUND HIMSELF!

In Mark 10:17ff, Jesus is confronted by a stranger who wanted to gain the kingdom of heaven and had kept all the commandments.  Jesus said “One thing you lack; go, sell everything you have, and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, follow me.”  

But he wasn’t done.  The rich, he said, have almost no chance of entering the kingdom of God!  “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

A vote for Trump is a slap in the face of Jesus!

What about those who hate the government and don’t want to pay their taxes:  Jesus was asked by the Pharisees if it was right to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor.  He asked for a piece of silver.  When it was given to him he asked whose face was on the coin.  “Caesar’s,” they said.

Jesus said, “Pay Caesar what is due to Caesar, and pay God what is due to God.”  (Mark 12:15-17)

Just after this exchange, Jesus is asked what he thinks is the most important commandment.  If you’re into self-aggrandizement, power, pride, money, status, etc., you will not like his answer, which is, in summary:  Love the Lord your God with everything you have - no reservations, and then, he added a second, very important commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.  Which means, of course, love your neighbor wholeheartedly, even if he or she is a Mexican or a Muslim.

Oops!  Trump fails on that one too!  So a vote for Trump is a slap in the face of Jesus!

Let’s move on to Matthew, which is the 2nd book in the New Testament as it is currently construed.  Matthew and Luke are very similar, but each have added stories particular to them.  They both took Mark’s gospel and added a variety of embellishments, such as birth stories.  The birth stories contradict one another, but church people never have been worried about such things, for they make up doctrines and ignore biblical passages they don’t like.

In Matthew, chapter 5, we first encounter the so-called “Sermon on the Mount.”  This is the sermon that political demagogues like Trump and followers of Ayn Rand, such as Paul Ryan, don’t like at all.

For Jesus turns the tables upside down.  “Blest are the sorrowful…Blest are those of a gentle spirit…Blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail…Blest are those who show mercy…Blest are those whose hearts are pure…Blest are the peacemakers…”

Oh, the ignominy, the horror.  All these things directly contradict what Donald Trump teaches and how Donald Trump acts.  

Later, in that same chapter, Jesus raises the bar even further.  He notes the law says one shall not commit murder, but Jesus says “anyone who nurses anger against his brother shall be brought to judgment, and “if he sneers (at his brother) he will have to answer for it in the fires of hell.”

Trump is in big trouble!  So are those who vote for Trump!  A vote for Trump is a slap in the face of Jesus!

Here’s one Trump ignores big time.  If someone sues you, don’t countersue, but come to terms.  Somewhere I read that Trump is currently involved in over 2,500 lawsuits!  

Even worse for Trump and his Trumpees:  “Do not set yourself against the man who wrongs you.  If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer him your left…

“You have learned…’Love your neighbor, hate your enemy.’  But I tell you this: ‘Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors…”

For those righteous and pious evangelicals who insist on praying in the pubic square, who insist that they have a right to cry out to their god in schools and courts and congresses, Jesus has some harsh words:  

“Be careful not to make a show of your religion before men; if you do, no reward awaits you in your Father’s house in heaven.”

“Again, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers standing up in synagogue and at the street-corners, for everyone to see them. …when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is there in the secret place.”

Matthew 6:19ff:  “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth…store up treasure in heaven…For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Chapter 7:  “Pass no judgement, and you will not be judged…Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law and the prophets. 

And there is so much more.  I’d urge you to read it for yourself.  Jesus welcomes the outcast, the despised, the hated Samaritans, the crazy people, those who had no resources and no hope.  He told his followers to not lie, or bear false witness.  Think about where Trump lands on those issues.  He’s proven over and over again that he hates people different than he is with a passion and that he is a pathological liar.

Notice also that Jesus said nothing about birth control, abortion, homosexuality, capitalism, socialism, the “right” to own and shoot guns or about any of the other hot-button issues that drive the evangelicals to do their dirty work and allows them to justify their completely ignoring of the Jesus they claim to love.

I remember one video where Trump, with hate filling his face, is waving his wee little fists at DNC speakers crying out he wants to hit them, hit them so bad!  His fury is palpable because they had the gall to criticize him.   

In summary, Jesus said that the first and great commandment is to love God with your whole being and to love your neighbor as yourself.  That is the whole of the Law and the prophets.

To vote for Trump is to break both of those commandments.  A vote for Trump is a slap in the face of Jesus.

Full Speech Obama at DNC. July 27, 2016. Democratic National Convention ...

Democrats Work Together For Our Country

Democrats vs. Republicans or Love vs. Hate



You saw nothing like this at the RNC.

TRUMP KNOWS THE WAY! AND WHY TRUMP MUST QUIT THE RACE

This has got to be the worst home-made video I've ever seen!  But it is funny...if you don't throw up watching it!  This guy is a clone of many of my neighbors in Florida...they've never met a Trump they didn't like.

But now Trump has done something so egregious, so self-serving, so against everything we stand for and so unpatriotic that he needs to go home to his tower, lock himself in a closet and come out only at night with the other crawly things.

Here it is as explained in a headline from The New York Times:  "Trump Calls On Russia to Hack and Release Clinton's Email."

Here's what da Trump said:  "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," which references email Sec. Clinton says are personal and have been deleted from her private email server.

The New York Times notes that Trump's comment "was an extraordinary sanctioning of a foreign power's cyberespionage, with Russia already accused of meddling in the election."

I think we're going to see much more information regarding Trump's ties to Russia and Mr. Putin before this is over.

Can you imagine a Democrat saying and doing the things that Trump does? That Democrat would be tarred and feathered and hung from the nearest tree!


Thanks to Americablog.com for the video.

Da Trumpf - All The Reasons to Vote NO!

The following link is an excellent compilation as to why every citizen of this great land should vote against Donald Trump.  It is very effective for it uses Trump's own words and actions to show clearly that the man is unfit for public office!

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/21/12218136/donald-trump-nomination-afraid


[Thanks to my friend, Bob Poris, for calling my attention to this article]

Mr. Creepy and Daughter

Notice how quickly she backs away from him; it's almost like this has happened before.


The above from The Daily Irritant by Professor Chaos.

Heil Trumpf

This is from Getty Images via Crooks & Liars.

Who Better Than Laura Ingraham To Fly The Nazi Salute At The RNC?

That thing did actually happen. At the end of her speech, Laura Ingraham appeared flew the Nazi salute in honor of her hero, Führer Drumpf. This will become more common in the next few months, I predict. Along with loyalty pledges and brownshirt armies. It CAN happen here.…

Rantings of a Demented Candidate

This post is the work of my friend, the very creative William Kendall, and is reprinted with his permission.  Please visit him at his blog here.

So, the Republican convention is underway, and I thought I'd take the obnoxious

voice of Donald Trump again and speculate on the sort of crap he might blather on with. Needless to say, finding his voice is highly revolting. And odds are what he actually says will be much worse.

“I’ve just gotta say, folks, it’s great to see all of you out here ready to confirm what we already know: that the only person who can take this piece of crap party back to power is me, me, and me. Donald Trump. Because I am the best. I am the greatest. I do great things, folks. Everybody knows it. They know that the Trump name stands for quality and integrity and all that good stuff.

Hello, Cleveland! Well, those members of the community who got in here, anyway. I don’t give a crap about any of those stupid protesting ****ers out on the other side of the police lines, let me tell you. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in Cleveland, and let’s be honest... this is probably the last time I’ll ever come here, because let’s face it, the place is a hellhole, folks. Hell on Earth, let me tell you. When I get into the White House, I’m gonna build a wall right around this cesspool of a city and turn it into a prison, just like that movie, Escape From Forrest Gump, with Kurt Russell taking shots at Tom Hanks, right? And I’m gonna sentence Rosie O’Donnell to spend the rest of her life right here, believe me. Have I mentioned what a disgusting cow she is? It’s terrible, just terrible.

I know, some smarty pants reporters are going to be saying, hey Donald, you can’t sentence anyone to anything. You’re not a judge. Well, you know what I say to that? **** you! First thing I do when I get into the White House, I’m gonna be passing laws that revoke your rights and let me do whatever the **** I want! Emperor Donald, folks, that’s me.

And let me tell you something, folks. There are a lot of people out there who look at me and they criticize. They dare to question me. They think they’ve got the right to make fun of me. They refuse to bow down and worship me as I so richly deserve.

Well, **** that! Because I’ve got big plans, folks, big plans. As part of naming myself Emperor For Life, Supreme Majestor, and His Stupendous Greatness Lord Donald, which all of you vermin are gonna have to memorize, I’ll be passin’ a law that makes even the slightest criticism of me illegal and punishable by terms of seventy years hard labour in the Donald Trump re-education camps. You heard me right, folks.

Because anyone who makes fun of me, says I’ve got little hands, or thinks my hair isn’t actually real hair, they’re gonna end up there. Along with everyone who voted against me, believe me. Because the Trump campaign is gonna keep track of every ballot and who voted for who and what their social insurance number is. Don’t ask me how we’re gonna do it, we got ourselves a hell of a system. And after the election’s over, we’re gonna be busy settlin’ scores and puttin’ people behind bars and into forced labour and all that great stuff, am I right, folks?

You know what I expect outta life? What I’ve already got. Incredibly hot wife, I mean have you looked at Melania? She’s smokin’ hot and sexy and never in her life would even dream of plagiarizing anything. Let me tell you, folks, she’s almost as hot as my daughter Ivanka. And don’t worry, just because I’ve already divorced twice for younger women every single time doesn’t mean that’s gonna happen again anytime soon.

I haven’t had a chance to go out to Eastern Europe and scope any hot babes for the position of Mrs. Trump #4. Just kidding, believe me, trust me, that’s just a joke. Hey, if I’m lyin’, may lightning strike Justice Ginsberg.

Speaking of the old bat, let me tell you, she’s absolutely disgusting. First order of business after I’ve suspended your rights and all of democracy, I’m havin’ the whole Supreme Court arrested and locked up in my Trump re-education camps. Just because. We don’t need nine morons in black robes lookin’ like something outta a bad movie from what’s his name? Oh yeah, a bad movie from Olaf Bergman tellin’ us what to do. We just need me tellin’ you what to do. Like it was always supposed to be.

Where was I? Oh, right, tellin’ you what I expect outta life. Like I said, I already got that hot wife, and she’s gonna look all hot and sexy and gorgeous and amazin’ as First Lady. I got lots of people sayin’ to me, yes sir and right away, Mr. Trump, and let’s not forget, as you wish, dread lord of darkness. I got all of that. I got respect, let me tell you. I got respect from everybody and everything. I got respect comin’ outta my ass.

Everybody knows what a great guy I am. I mean, the blacks love me, even when I’m dumpin’ all over them or havin’ their homes torn down or plannin’ on revoking the 13^th Amendment. The Mexicans love me. Doesn’t matter if I’m callin’ them rapists and demandin’ they pay for the yuuuuuuuuge wall I’m gonna have built. Muslims love me, even if I think all of them should be kicked outta the country, believe me folks, that’s the first order of business when I get into the White House. Civil liberties, my ass.

Anyway, who else loves me? Women love me. Because every woman wants nothin’ more than to have a rich guy take care of ‘em and tell ‘em what they should do, right folks? Well, to be fair, not every woman. I mean, that Megyn Kelly, she doesn’t seem that impressed with me. Don’t know why, what did I ever do to her? Except that whole thing about blood comin’ outta her whatever. Hey, you know what? I still stand by what I said.

Hey, there’s Scott Baio, ladies and gentlemen, give the great guy a big hand. Did I promise this whole thing was gonna be star studded or what? And we all know that Scott Baio, he’s a hell of a guy, real A-list material. Scott, I’m seriously thinkin’ of havin’ you be my Head Honcho Of Culture, or whatever the **** I’m gonna call it after the dumbasses vote me in. Nobody can do that job better than a truly great actor like you.

It’s great to see Scott out here. And Kirk Cameron. Hey, Kirk, any thought to becomin’ my Grand Poobah of State Theocracy? We’re gonna need one, but you’re gonna have to shift your focus to the Worship of Trump first. Because aside from bein’ an Emperor, I’m elevatin’ myself to god status too.

Hey folks, there’s old Pat Robertson there lookin’ like he’s about to stroke out. Fooled you, did I? You thought you’d be the Grand Poobah of State Theocracy in the United States Of Trump, right? Well, sorry, old man, but that just isn’t gonna happen.

You know who’s not here tonight, folks? Lots of Republicans who are refusing to bow down and acknowledge me as their rightful master. We’re talkin’ two former presidents. We’re talkin’ two former GOP presidential candidates. And yes, John McCain, I still stand by what I said. I don’t like guys who get caught and end up prisoners of war. They’re losers. Losers! I like winners. Winners like me.

And we’ve got plenty of Republicans out there who decided not to show up at all. They made up all sorts of excuses. They snickered when they asked if they’d support me. They said they were busy mowing the lawn this week. Well, boys and girls... mostly boys, because I don’t give a **** about career women. When I’m in the White House, I’m comin’ after every single one of you in this party who show me this kinda disrespect. 

You don’t disrespect a Trump. And what I end up doin’ to the Mexicans and the liberals and the Muslims and the blacks and the Daughters Of The Revolution isn’t gonna be anywhere near as bad as what I’m gonna do to you traitors, believe me, folks, I know what I’m talking about. We’re talking scorched earth, people, the mother of all throwdowns.

That reminds me of my old pal Saddam. You know, when you really got to know the guy, he wasn’t that bad. Sure, he slaughtered lots of people, but he made an effort to take pride in his work. You know who else does that? Winners.

Anyway, I’m gettin’ carried away with myself. Make America Great Again. That’s my motto. That and Donald Trump Is Master Of The Universe. Because let’s face it folks, believe me, I am. Everybody knows that, and when I’m done and Crooked Hillary is spending the remainder of her days in a prison cell, it’s not gonna end there. Because I’m gonna have her daughter and grandchildren serve her sentence after she’s gone. All part of my Destroy Freedoms And Rule With An Iron Fist agenda. Wait, did I say that out loud? I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. Forget I said anything, okay, folks?

In closing, I just wanna thank my running mate. Mike Pence, governor of that great state of Indiana. This man, folks, he and I think alike. Mike, I swear, you’re not gonna regret hitchin’ your wagon to the greatness that is Trump. I mean, seriously, am I right, folks? We got the best team, the most amazing people workin’ for us, and we got all the suckers believin’ every line of bull we feed them.

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, can possibly go wrong now. So don’t worry, Mike, we’re goin’ all the way to the White House.

Or as I’m gonna call it, the Trump House." 

Copyright © 2016 by William Kendall

Plagiarizing Trump

Note:  The above from Crooks & Liars comment section.

Stephen Colbert Delivers Best Opening To The RNC Of All: 'Christmas In July'

Okay, has everyone had enough of the lunacy for one night? I sure have, so I was so grateful to laugh my butt off for a few minutes, thanks to our own Heather, who made this clip to close the night. Last call, folks. Enjoy the video, and we'll be back in the morning with more…