A Last Minute Victory For Georgia Voters and The Big Lie Continues

                                           Good Day World!

This election season voter suppression award goes to the state of Georgia. 

Secretary of State Brian Kemp has done everything possible to rig the election by suppressing voter's rights, but at the last minute a judge ruled against him.

Voting rights groups have been monitoring Kemp's efforts and sued him in district court. Yesterday the judge, Eleanor Ross, said the state's identical match system was illegal.

The judge then ordered Kemp to establish additional procedures to guarantee that voters flagged by the state as potential noncitizens can vote in the 2018 election if they can prove their citizenship.

Kemp had 53,000 potential voters sitting on his desk and refused to release them until the court forced him to.

Georgia's nasty gubernatorial race between Kemp (yes, surprise! He's also the Republican candidate) and Democrat Stacy Abrams, has centered around his efforts to suppress the black vote. About 70  percent of the voters are black.

With Trump leading the way, these midterms have turned into a horror show of spectacular proportions. The Republican party has elected to go long with Trump's divisive rhetoric and lies.

In desperation, Trump has brought out the Big Lie about immigrants from South America. The same hateful lie he campaigned on. Hispanics are murdering rapists trying to invade our country.

In a really deplorable stunt, our liar in chief has ordered 15,000 active duty troops to stop the "invasion." That's more troops than we have in Afghanistan.

His blatant lies about crazed MS-13 members and middle eastern terrorists controlling the group have been exposed...but he keeps repeating them...rally after rally.

Three more days. Are you ready to vote?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

2018 Elections: Vicious Lies, Echo Chambers and Bubbles

Good Day World!

Let's look at the bright side.

In four more days voting will take place and that avalanche of political ads will cease. 

These midterm elections, driven by senseless fears, have already made history as the nastiest midterms ever. 

Fueled by Trump's lies about a group of refugees and immigrants coming from Honduras to invade America, this ad makes the infamous Willie Horton ad look tame. It's a vicious assault based upon lies and conservative propaganda.

Trump and his surrogates are savagely waging a racial warfare between attempted bombings of prominent Democrats and Trump critics, and the Pittsburg synagogue massacre.

Trumpanzees at Fox News and social media web sites like Breitbart are reliable echo chambers for every baseless claim our liar in chief makes.

Then there's Trump's base. This particular group of people live in a bubble where Trump is viewed as a savior because he attacks liberals and tells them things they like to hear...regardless of how racist or hateful the stories are.

In the bubble, Trump can act like the anti Christ and still be hailed as God's servant by the alt-right evangelicals who ignore his sins here on earth in order to further draconian laws against women's right of choice regarding their bodies.

Related: Trump Bears Moral Responsibility For Pipe Bombs. Denying It Makes It Worse

Hate rides the winds this Fall as America prepares to turn out for what may be our most vicious midterm election in history. 

When the dust settles, we'll find out if there's hope of reining in Trump and his minions with a Democratic majority House.

If you haven't already pre-voted, please...vote on Election Day. Democracy is counting on you.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Surviving a Season of Fear in America

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address

                                         Good Day World!

With midterm madness covering us like a burial shroud, the political winds carry the seeds of fear across the country.

Our liar in chief - a known fear monger - has set the tone for the nastiest midterms in history. His fellow racists and Congressional stooges set up a fantasy invasion of America to gin up support before voting day.

Because Trump uses fear to fuel his base, his bullshit stories, false claims, and outright lies about immigrants, are resonating among conservatives, radical supporters like the KKK, white supremacists, and Sean Hannity from Fox News.

The sad thing is many Americans are fearful of the "caravan" and equate it to an invasion thanks to listening to the alt-right haters with megaphones like Trump.

Like Aristotle said, "He who has overcome his fears will truly be free."

In order to restore the freedoms disappearing under Trump's regime, the House has to flip back to the Democrats who'll hold him accountable for his crimes as a citizen and as the president of the United States.

I predict we'll survive this season of fear and raging hatred...at least, until the next election comes in 2020.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

I'm Back! Time to Expose Trump's Latest Stunt

 Good Day World!

It's good to be back.

It was nice taking a break, but now it's time to take a look at last minute shenanigans that Trump has trotted out for the midterms.

It's all about that base. Anything for the base.

To that end, he's using scare tactics on steroids. Trump knows his base is fearful of Hispanics invading our southern border at any time...because he told them they would if he didn't stop them.

Just to show he means business six days before the elections, Trump is sending 5,000 active duty soldiers to the border to reinforce the 2,000 border patrol agents already on duty there.

Why? Because a caravan of 3,500 refugees from Honduras are going to arrive here and seek asylum. They should be at our border in about two months. So why are 5,000 military men and women being immediately dispatched there?

Hmmmm...let me think.

Why would Trump suddenly order more military personnel to the US southwest that he has serving in some of the world's most contentious combat zones?

Will Fischer, a former Marine who now works for the VoteVets, a progressive veteran's organization knows why:

In an interview with CNN, Fischer said, "Donald Trump thinks unarmed people who are fleeing horrors and are still 1,000 miles away are a national security threat a week before election day. I don't think so. It's a political ploy to blow up the embers of racism and nativism by using the military again as a political prop to advance his own agenda."

I have to agree. Trump's little "Operation Faithful Patriot" (how ironic that name is) is a load of bullshit served up in time for November 6.

Fischer and other veterans point to the unknown cost to taxpayers, given that much smaller deployments of National Guard to the border have cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

They also question the cost the military will bear, as the operation pulls troops away from training, other missions and their families. And then, they say, there's the murky legality of the mission, its scope and its purpose.

Just in case that's not enough red meat for his base, he's promising to defile the Constitution by destroying the 14th Amendment. 

It didn't take him long to make a direct attack against our Constitution...just in time for the elections.

Stop Trump's racist agenda by voting.

It's not going to be easy, but if the Democrats take back the House it's a strong first step at curbing our hater in chief.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Blog Break: I'll Be back In Time For Halloween

Good Day World!

It's that time of year...when I step away from my blogs. 

This one, and my Fiction Blog - Stories By Dave Stancliff.

As much fun as I have writing non-fiction and fiction, it never hurts to back away for a while (leaving today, back Oct.30th), and become computer free. 

I think we all need to stop and smell the roses sometimes. This fast-paced world we live in can become mentally (and physically) exhausting for anyone.

I invite you to check out my archives (they go back to 2008) on the right side of this page. The same invitation is extended to my fiction blog archives. 

If you're a regular reader, I thank you for spending time with me. If you're new, I hope you'll like what you see and subscribe to my blog(s).

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Now, It's Time For the Rest of the Story About Kavanaugh

Good Day World!

There's still a rotten stench lingering after "Beer boy-I like beer, do you like beer?" Kavanaugh's confirmation process.

The aftermath of that stolen confirmation involves a dozen ethics complaints filed against him during the process. Instead of taking care of them in a timely way, they were held up somewhere.

That somewhere, it turns out, was supreme court chief justice John Robert's desk. The complaints sat there until the confirmation farce was over and Kavanaugh was on the supreme court where judges are in effect immune to disciplinary action by lower-court justices. 

The court is supposed to police it's own actions. Anyone who really believes they do are painfully naive about our crooked courts. It's apparent to most law observers that the supreme court is now fully politicized. 

So what are the chances that Kavanaugh will be called out for lying under oath, and eleven are charges? Zero. 

To illustrate that point let's look at who Roberts put in charge of reviewing the complaints; a good buddy of Kavanaugh's, Timothy Tymkovich.

Here's what's common knowledge: Kavanaugh once lobbied in support of a controversial judge who is now going to judge him. That judge is Tymkovich.
 

Kavanaugh was involved in a high-stakes campaign to ensure that Timothy Tymkovich, another staunch conservative and a former Colorado solicitor general, would secure a lifetime appointment as a federal judge.

Talk about convenient. Tymkovich's now chief judge on the 10th circuit court of appeals, in Colorado. That means just one thing; the process was a sham from the get-go.

Instead of Robert's going out of his way to choose a judge who did not have any ties to Kavanaugh, such as one nominated by Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, he has added to the perception that the nine supreme court justices are above the law.

Critics, including hundreds of law professors, legal experts and senators, have said that Kavanaugh’s performance, in which he lashed out at Democrats over allegations he committed sexual assault, lacked judicial temperament. There was also that little matter about lying under oath.

In summary, we have a chief justice(Roberts)who thinks he's fooling the world about adhering to a lawful investigative process, when in fact he stacked the deck.

And that, my friends, is the rest of this sorry story.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

I Voted Today: Stay Posted For Your Turn

                                            Good Day World!

I love the voting system here in Oregon. It's by mail. This money-saving and secure way of voting went into effect in 1998.

I'm taking advantage of turning in my ballot early today. It's really too bad that most states don't use the mail-in system. There's only a few that currently do.

In 2016 California passed SB 450 which authorizes a roll out of 100% vote by mail across the state. However, only five counties are doing so for the midterms. All counties will be authorized by 2020, except LA County which will be authorized in 2022.

Washington, Colorado, and Utah have 100% vote by mail.

The majority of experts argue it's the safest way of voting in our world today. They nearly unanimous in praising paper trails. Better yet, there's no way in hell anyone can hack a mail-in election because no computers are involved.

It's common sense. Does that mean the rest of the states aren't far behind in adopting the system? Probably not. Most aren't even considering the idea.

There are some successful pilot programs going on this year in Anchorage, Alaska which had record (early voter) turnouts, and in Garden City, Nebraska which saw a much higher turnout versus the state average.

Wherever you live please remember to vote in November, or before, if possible. I truly feel this will be an historic election determining the course of our democracy. 

Trump has made it a referendum on himself so it's a great opportunity to send the narcissist in charge a clear message...we won't take your shit any longer!

Time for me to walk on down the road... 

Midterm Alert: Georgia's Kemp Is Playing By Trump's Dirty Politics Guide

Good Day World!

The fix is on in Georgia.

Georgia's secretary of state, Republican Brian Kemp, is running for governor...which in itself is no problem, unless you factor in that he's also supervising the election!

He should have recused himself and let another pol take over the supervision of the election because of the obvious conflict of interest.

But that didn't happen. Instead, the bastard doubled down and purged 340,000 current Georgia residents from voting rolls, making them unable to participate in the November 6 election.

A recent analysis of records by the Palast Investigative Fund found that Kemp has overseen the removal of possible voters in the hotly contested race.

He didn't stop there however.

He's facing legal action over claims that he has hindered the voting registration of around 50,000 people, a group that is overwhelmingly black, Latino or Asian American, by implementing a new law just in time for the election.

In addition:

Georgia County Tosses Out Hundreds Of Minority Absentee Ballots


His opponent, Democrat Stacey Abrams, is running to be the first black female governor in American history.

Kemp is also talking a page from his Trump's Dirty Politics Guide by creating a miasma of fear over voting in Georgia. 

Without a shred of evidence, and taking another page from Trump's vile guide, Kemp claims Abrams wants illegal immigrants to vote.

He told the Republican propaganda outlet, Fox News, that,   “I think hard-working Georgians should decide who their governor is, not people here illegally like my opponent wants.”

The claim is, of course, a lie. In Trump's Dirty Playbook of Politics, lying is highly recommended. That and defying reality with an alternate reality conjured up by Republican's who kiss Trump's ass daily.

With just weeks remaining, we're going to find out just how effective a campaign of lies and voter suppression is. 

Time for me to walk on down the road....

Trump Reinvents 'Bully Pulpit' - It Now Means Bullying People

Good Day World!

Let's start the day off explaining what a Bully Pulpit is and where the term came from:

Definition: A bully pulpit is a conspicuous position that provides an opportunity to speak out and be listened to.
Roosevelt used the word bully as an adjective meaning "superb" or "wonderful", a more common usage at that time.

One of Trump's favorite pastimes is holding hate rallies. They charge his batteries and give him an opportunity to bully people while being cheered by a crowd of crazed cult followers.

The definition of Bully Pulpit has gone from something positive, to an act of overt hatred used to attack anyone not drinking Trump's Kool Aid. 

The whole world is aghast at the murder of a journalist for the Washington Post, but Trump has taken no steps to do anything about it. His reluctance to stand up for a murdered journalist dovetails nicely into his war against the free press.

Related story: Democratic Lawmakers Seek Answers Over Trump "Personal Enrichment" From Saudi Government.

At one of his hate rallies yesterday in Montana he praised a Republican candidate for assaulting a reporter from the Guardian newspaper. He praised the candidate for throwing the reporter down and breaking his glasses.

"Now, that's my kind of guy," Trump boasted to the seething crowd of right-wing radicals.

The White House Correspondents' Association issued a rare public denunciation of Trump yesterday, one day after he praised the congressman for "body-slamming" a reporter last year.

The president of the organization, Oliver Knox told the press, "This incident amounted to a celebration of a crime by someone sworn to protect our laws and the First Amendment and by someone pledged to defend it."

There's no doubt in my mind that Trump could write (with the help of a ghost writer who knows how to spell) the definitive book on bullying. He's practiced the art all of his life. 

Money is power and Trump's god. He used it to ruin countless lives as a civilian, and now as the leader of the free world. His ability to harness hate and fear is only exceeded by his track record of bullying people.

Let's hold the bastard accountability in the midterms, and take back The House to show Trump that America is not going to stand for his bullying, lies, and fear-mongering any longer.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

In Case You Think There's Adults in the White House, Read This

Good Day World!

In all fairness, the Trump regime had a few adults when they infected Washington DC shortly after the presidential election follies of 2016.

Those adults, whose names are long forgotten, have slunk away to obscurity and hopefully peace in their last days. For the first year it was kinda fun watching the evolving carnage as one staffer after another left in disgrace and personal defeat.

As Trump's second year rolled around, it became obvious that the chaos in the West Wing was actually getting worse. Political pundits opined that the last adult left standing was chief of staff John Kelly.

Within months it was apparent not even a Marine Corps four-star general could control the "romper room" that the White House had become under the biggest baby of them all...Trump.

Just yesterday, Kelly and national security advisor, John Bolton, got into a real pissing match that left insiders thinking that one, or the other, might resign. 

Trump got involved and sided with Bolton about closing our southern border to immigrants, as reports of an immigrant caravan heading to the US from Central America came in. After Kelly tried to be the adult in the room for one last time, a line might have been crossed.  

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the propaganda minister for the White House has basically melted into the shadows and is no longer holding White House Press briefings.

I suspect the daily lying finally got through to whatever Christian principals she still has left. No surprise here if she resigns before the year ends.

Here's an article dealing with the rapidly vanishing Sanders that you may find particularly interesting.

When I saw photos of the baby Trump blimp floating over a rally in Florida the other day it was a defining moment. 

Americans are aware that a bad-tempered baby with a heavy diaper, rules in Washington and is fouling discourse in our society.

I suspect we'll see more Trump Baby blimps in the remaining days before November 6. 

Please...get out and vote in the midterms. We need a change and this is the only way to make it happen!

Time for me to walk on down the road...