Continuing With Trump Hump Day...

...a look into Trump World, where Trump believes Supreme Court justices "investigate" American citizens to see if they've broken any laws.

Yes.

Trump really said that in an interview today.

This is the guy who also said he would consult himself on foreign policy issues because he has "a good brain" and knows a lot of stuff.

That good brain of his sure showed up today when he told the country that the SCOTUS should become investigators into Hillary Clinton's emails.

Trump certainly reflects the intelligence of the people who support him if the only reason they're supporting this colossal jerk is to piss off The Establishment.  



Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Good Morning America on Wednesday that he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would investigate Hillary Clinton’s emails. \

At the very end of the interview, ABC News host David Muir asked Trump to respond to a comment Hillary Clinton made this week. “As scary as it might be, ask yourself, ‘What kind of justice would a President Trump appoint?'” she said during a speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Monday.

 Trump replied:

“Well, I probably would appoint people who would look very seriously at her email disaster because it’s a criminal activity and I would appoint people who would look very seriously at that to start off with. What she is getting away with is absolutely murder. You talk about a case, now that’s a real case.”




That's the stupidest thing he said today; this was the second stupidest thing:

On his way to attracting women voters to his campaign The Trumper went there:


Donald Trump scrambled to clarify his position on abortion and put out a firestorm of criticism Wednesday after he initially said women who obtain abortions should be punished. 

Several hours later, in a statement, he said that women who obtain abortions are victims and, if Congress passes laws outlawing abortion, doctors who provide them should be punished. "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman," 

Trump said. "The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed -- like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions."

Trump is like New England weather: If you don't like what he says, wait a minute, and he'll change it. 

This is how Trump "sticks it to The Establishment:"

He tells the country and the world that he doesn't know anything about the U.S. Government, and he's been for abortion before he was against it -- and jail for girls and women who get them.

Wednesday is Trump Hump Day

The brilliant John Oliver deconstructs Trump's famous border wall:






 

Dear Tea Party Republicans

We support your choice for the Republican nominee for POTUS, Donald J. Trump.

Yes. We really do.

Please proceed.

The Only Thing That Never Fails

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn…, "is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting." - T. H. White

Thanks Obama!

Here's a reality check for those who spend their lives in "Obama Is Doing Nothing About ISIS And Is A Weakling!" land:



"In the wake of this week’s terrorist attack in Brussels, President Obama’s critics raised familiar and predictable complaints. 

Why isn’t the Obama administration going after ISIS? When is the White House going to get tough on terror? We were reminded again this morning, however, that the gap between perceptions and reality is often significant. 

 ISIS’ second in command, Haji Imam, was killed during a raid this month, U.S. defense officials announced Friday. Imam was a finance minister who oversaw all the funding for ISIS’ operations, said Defense Secretary Ash Carter. 

 Imam’s death comes on the heels of a U.S. airstrike in Syria that reportedly killed another top ISIS commander, Omar al-Shishani. 

The combination of the two, NBC News reported, “are major scores for U.S.-led coalition forces in taking out the biggest names on the U.S.’s terror hit list.” --Steve Benen

Saturday Funnies

Donald Trump: Democratic Party Voters' BFF

The Trumper's supporters are not put off by any of the vile, puerile antics of the man they want to put in the White House.  And we liberals heartily encourage his supporters to stay with this buffoon and encourage the rest of the primary states to go all out for him to secure the T-GOP nomination for the presidency.

Why?  We'll let this writer and number cruncher from the conservative Weekly Standard, Jay Cost, tell you why:



"Let me state flatly and unequivocally that if Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary Clinton’s floor in the electoral college is 400 votes. That’s the floor, number one. Number two, kiss the Senate goodbye. I mean, it’s not even going to be a close call. It will be a bloodbath. Number three, and this is a little more controversial at this point, but I would give the Republicans no better than 40 percent odds hold the House of Representatives. 

 This guy is an abject disaster for the Republican Party in November, there is no other way to put it. And the notion that he’s going to bring in some tranche of voters is just a complete fiction, for two reasons: number one, there aren’t enough of them, okay? 

 I live in Western Pennsylvania. I live right near places that, up until very recently, were voting Democratic. And yeah, can Trump bring some new voters in from Beaver County? Yeah, maybe he can. But I’m telling you what, I live in Butler County, which has been voting Republican since 1856, and he’s going to get killed in Butler County. He is going to get killed in the Cranberry Township suburbs in Butler County. Because people are going to look at him and they are going to think, “No Way.” You watch, suburban women in Cranberry Township are going to bolt [from] him in droves. And the same thing’s going to happen… replicate that times 100 in the Philadelphia suburbs. It’s going to be an absolute slaughter."  -- h/t The National Memo



So yes, please proceed, Mr. Trump. We've been telling the Goops for months that you are a disaster not just for the country, but for the Republican Party, however, your supporters and other disaffected, angry voters will have none of it.  Your supporters have said they want to burn the place down and destroy the party that's been lying to them and ignoring them for decades. So here's their chance to do that very thing by continuing to support a disaster like you.

They're sticking with you like a Man-O-War sticks to its victim.

We wish you well, and we hope you get your way and lead the Goopers to the electoral humiliation they will so richly deserve.

I will make America Grrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

Dear America...

this is the best the TGOP is offering you for POTUS.

Seriously.

We're all embarrassed that the Republican Party keeps sinking lower and lower in the sewer.  Now the two front runners for T-GOP POTUS nomination are engaged in...

WIFE WARS!

What did you think would happen when a reality teevee billionaire with no class and a loud mouth went one-on-one with an "Anointed-by-Daddy-To-Bring-The-Spoils-Of-War-To-The-Chosen" political hack?

WIFE WARS!

"The Republican primary has become a national disgrace. It is humiliating for the country for this bad soap opera to be unfolding in one of the nation’s two major political parties. The Republican primary is now centered on Donald Trump’s attacks on Ted Cruz’s wife. Republicans have abandoned any illusions of talking about policy, and how they would run the country if elected." --Jason Easley, PoliticusUSA

 

Doubling Down, Donald Trump Tweets a My-Wife's-Prettier-Than Yours Meme Featuring Heidi Cruz – and Ted Fires Back




Donald Trump says he'll "spill the beans" about Ted Cruz's wife 

Melania Trump and Heidi Cruz are the latest victims in 2016 presidential campaign mudslinging.



Nation! This is the sort of behavior -- slut-shaming and name-calling  --  you'd expect to see on low-class, slimey blogs where they trash Mrs. Obama for fun, not from two men who are both hoping to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world!

But who could have guessed that Donald Trump and Rafael "Ted" Cruz would wallow in the same sort of slime like certain T-GOP bloggers do?

Oh, wait.



Superman, after reading the Trump/Cruz wifey cat fight during the presidential campaign of 2016:

Thursday Tango and Educating Rafael Cruz

President Obama dances the tango, the national dance of Argentina, during a state dinner:











 President Obama educates Sen. Cruz on his harebrained idea of patrolling Muslim neighborhoods.

Wednesday is Trump Hump Day

If you haven't read any of the transcript from the Trumper's interview with the Washington Post, you should do so asap.  Why? Because it will reinforce what we already know:  Donald Trump isn't fit for any elective office, and certainly not the presidency. When asked serious questions about serious subjects, The Trumper dissembles, redirects, or talks about himself.  He has no grasp of facts on any crucial matter.  He's had plenty of time to read up on the issues, foreign and domestic, but is obviously too lazy to do so, or he believes the power of his personality is all that's need to govern a country as vast and diverse as this one is, and he must also believe our enemies are shaking in their boots thinking about a Trump presidency. In fact, our allies are the ones who are fearful at that prospect. Our enemies would relish the thought of this narcissistic buffoon leading America.

Here are parts of the Washington Post interview -- a miasma of self-aggrandizement, childish ignorance, and embarrassing egotism:

Fred Hiatt, editor of the WaPo editorial page, Ruth Marcus, columnist for the WaPo:


[FRED] HIATT: Just back to the campaign. You are smart and you went to a good school. Yet you are up there and talking about your hands and the size of private …

TRUMP: No …

 HIATT: … your private parts.

TRUMP: No, no. No, no. I am not doing that. 

HIATT: Do you regret having engaged in that?

TRUMP: No, I had to do it. Look, this guy. Here’s my hands. Now I have my hands, I hear, on the New Yorker, a picture of my hands.

 MARCUS: You’re on the cover.

TRUMP: A hand with little fingers coming out of a stem. Like, little. Look at my hands. They’re fine. Nobody other than Graydon Carter years ago used to use that. My hands are normal hands. During a debate, he was losing, and he said, "Oh, he has small hands and therefore, you know what that means." This was not me. This was Rubio that said, "He has small hands and you know what that means." Okay? So, he started it. So, what I said a couple of days later … and what happened is I was on line shaking hands with supporters, and one of supporters got up and he said, "Mr. Trump, you have strong hands. You have good-sized hands." And then another one would say, "You have great hands, Mr. Trump, I had no idea." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "I thought you were like deformed, and I thought you had small hands." I had fifty people … Is that a correct statement? I mean people were writing, "How are Mr. Trump’s hands?" My hands are fine. You know, my hands are normal. Slightly large, actually. In fact, I buy a slightly smaller than large glove, okay? No, but I did this because everybody was saying to me, "Oh, your hands are very nice. They are normal." So Rubio, in a debate, said, because he had nothing else to say … now I was hitting him pretty hard. He wanted to do his Don Rickles stuff and it didn’t work out. Obviously, it didn’t work too well. But one of the things he said was "He has small hands and therefore, you know what that means, he has small something else." You can look it up. I didn’t say it.

MARCUS: You chose to raise it …

TRUMP: No, I chose to respond.

MARCUS: You chose to respond.

TRUMP: I had no choice.

MARCUS: You chose to raise it during a debate. Can you explain why you had no choice?

TRUMP: I don’t want people to go around thinking that I have a problem. I’m telling you, Ruth, I had so many people. I would say 25, 30 people would tell me … every time I’d shake people’s hand, "Oh, you have nice hands." Why shouldn’t I? And, by the way, by saying that I solved the problem. Nobody questions … I even held up my hands, and said, "Look, take a look at that hand."

MARCUS: You told us in the debate ...

TRUMP: And by saying that, I solved the problem. Nobody questions. Everyone held my hand. I said look. Take a look at that hand.

MARCUS: You told us in the debate that you guaranteed there was not another problem. Was that presidential? And why did you decide to do that?

TRUMP: I don’t know if it was presidential, honestly, whether it is or not. He said, "Donald Trump has small hands and therefore he has small something else." I didn’t say that. And all I did is when he failed, when he was failing, when he was, when Christie made him look bad, I gave him the – a little recap and I said, and I said, and I had this big strong powerful hand ready to grab him, because I thought he was going to faint. And everybody took it fine. Whether it was presidential or not I can’t tell you. I can just say that what he said was a lie. And everybody, they wanted to do stories on my hands; after I said that, they never did. And then I held up the hand, I showed people the hand. You know, when I’ve got a big audience. So yeah, I think it’s not a question of presidential …




That passage is horrendous enough, but THIS is vomit inducing:


"Fred Ryan, the paper's publisher: 

[W]ould you use a battlefield nuclear weapon to take out ISIS? 

TRUMP: I don’t want to use, I don’t want to start the process of nuclear. Remember the one thing that everybody has said, I’m a counterpuncher. Rubio hit me. Bush hit me. When I said low energy, he’s a low-energy individual, he hit me first. I spent, by the way he spent 18 million dollars’ worth of negative ads on me. That’s putting … 

 Ryan interrupted, trying his best to get The Donald to focus. 

"This is about ISIS," he reminded Trump. "You would not use a tactical nuclear weapon against ISIS?" 

 TRUMP: I’ll tell you one thing, this is a very good-looking group of people here. Could I just go around so I know who the hell I’m talking to?"

Terrorist Attack in Belgium

At least 34 dead after suicide bomber detonates near American Airlines check-in desk at Brussels Airport before a SECOND blast hits Metro station just yards from EU headquarters 

Evangelicals and Trump

I'm amazed at the number of Evangelical Christians who support the vulgar, violent Trump -- a man who brags about loving the Bible but has demonstrated he knows nothing about it; a man who admitted that he doesn't like to ask God for forgiveness for transgressions, and who made jokes about eating crackers and drinking wine. 

IOW, he's everything one would think a devout Evangelical Christian would be repulsed by, yet they cling to him and his xenophobic, violent rhetoric as though he were the second coming. Apparently tribalism trumps deeply held values, especially religious values; and as long as Trump promises to smash and destroy the status quo and cause mayhem around the world, the Evangelicals -- (the majority, not all), who make up the base of the GOP, will continue to support him. By doing so they show the world that they are willing to betray everything their religion stands for to gain earthly power. None of this makes sense, unless one looks at this betrayal of their values as plain, old fashioned, hypocrisy.

Poll: Utah would vote for a Democrat for president over Trump


SALT LAKE CITY — If Donald Trump becomes the Republican Party's nominee, Utahns would vote for a Democrat for president in November for the first time in more than 50 years, according to a new Deseret News/KSL poll. \

"I believe Donald Trump could lose Utah. If you lose Utah as a Republican, there is no hope," said former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, a top campaign adviser to the GOP's 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney.



Conservative writer, Michael Gerson

Sometimes I want to shake people (intellectually,not physically) who favor political “disruption” and ask: Disruption in favor of what? Look at what you are doing!

Look at what you have done! The Republican Party is now firmly harnessed to the wild, uncontrollable horses of fear and exclusion. It has already sustained damage with Latino voters that may take a generation to undo.

And now many Republicans will find rationalizations to support Trump. That is natural — the reality of politics in every time. Many people simply go with the winner.

But this isn’t a normal time. I believe that the decision to support Trump, like an embarrassing tattoo, will follow them the rest of their lives. Republicans are not merely making a choice; they are looking into the abyss.

In a separate column at The Washington Post, to which Gerson also linked in the Facebook piece, he concluded that voting for Trump would be so immoral, he might even have to do something truly outrageous — vote for Hillary Clinton:

“All this leaves completely horrible options: sitting the election out, supporting a third-party candidate, contemplating a difficult vote for Clinton."





Meanwhile FEEL THE BERN!

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders attracted huge crowds in Seattle, Washington, and didn't have to threaten to break anyone's head:



Thousands lined up in the drizzle at Seattle Center on Sunday to hear Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders bring his anti-billionaire message to Washington ahead of this week’s caucuses.


Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders brought his message of a “political revolution” to a boisterous rally at Seattle’s KeyArena on Sunday, avoiding mention of Hillary Clinton — his rival in this week’s Democratic caucuses — while trashing Republican front-runner Donald Trump. 

 Taking the stage at 5:40 p.m. to deafening cheers, Sanders immediately launched into an attack on Trump, saying the U.S. will never elect someone “who insults Mexicans, who insults women, who insults African Americans.” 

 “If we stand together and we don’t allow the Trumps of the world to divide us up, there is nothing we cannot accomplish,” Sanders said. 

“This campaign has enthusiasm and the energy to carry us to victory, because we are doing something very unusual in American politics: We are telling the truth.” 

 Crowds lined up early in the drizzle at Seattle Center to hear Sanders’ anti-billionaire message. 

Sunday Science Blog

HAPPY SPRING!

March 20, 12:30 AM, Boston, Mass.

The Vernal Equinox

The March equinox signals the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere – earliest spring since 1896 – and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks that special moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator going from south to north. In 2016, this equinox arrives on March 20 at 4:30 UTC, or on March 19 at 11:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Here’s what we in the Northern Hemisphere know about this equinox. Our sunrise is earlier now, and nightfall comes later. Plants are sprouting. Winds are softening. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, people are enjoying the warmer days of spring. Meanwhile, south of the equator, autumn begins. Follow the links below to learn more about this vernal equinox. 

Here comes the sun:

Saturday Night Funnies

This is politically incorrect. And in very poor taste.

But Donald Trump and his supporters are sick to death of political correctness, and we can all agree that the Trumper has taken poor taste to its highest echelon.

So Trump and his supporters will love this and not think it a bit offensive or tasteless. 
This is for the Trumpistas and their devotion to political incorrectness.

Enjoy!

Donald Trump: The Self-Absorbed Man-Child

Here's the Trumper on who he consults on foreign policy:

Just how incredibly dangerous Trump’s personality is if he were to get into the White House became scarily clear on NBC’s Morning Joe recently when host Mika Brzezinski asked Trump about his foreign policy team,

“Who are you consulting with consistently so that you’re ready on day one?”

Trump replied,

“I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things. … My primary consultant is myself, and I have a good instinct for this stuff.”

The Thug With Money

Go ahead Trump supporters, give him the nomination, and forever be associated with the worst candidate to seek the office of the presidency in recent history:  The Thug With Money.

That thousands of people support the Trumper doesn't change the fact that he's a repulsive, violent, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, anti-veteran, serial lying, bigot. 

I say let the Goops own this walking disaster -- forever. 

Let the people who believe he'd make a swell president vote for this charlatan just like they supported and voted for that other walking disaster from Alaska. They've learned nothing these past 8 years, still falling for loud-mouth, empty-headed fakes, who know nothing about governing but everything about stirring up the discontented with xenophobic and violent rhetoric.

We couldn't think of a better person to represent what the Party of Lincoln has become:

"The Republican Party, under Trump, is headed for a combustive breakup. Ronald Reagan envisioned a shining city on a hill. Trump represents nothing more than a thug with money. Can the man who shouts “I’d like to punch him in face!” and “Knock the crap out of them!” about protesters possibly quote Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower or Reagan in his acceptance speech? He could, but it would be no more plausible than a fish doing a tap dance.

 In temperament and judgment, this is now Trump’s party. And take him at his word: His supporters will riot, as he predicted this week, if he doesn’t get his way. 

Sane Republicans, perhaps a third of the party, have no choice but to plot an honorable discharge. The exit polls in Ohio found that 42 percent of Republicans said they would consider a third-party candidate. They can also support Hillary Clinton, or sit this one out. But they cannot show up in Cleveland and have their principles paved over by Trump’s bullies." --T. Egan, NYTimes

"We are the goon squad and we're coming to town beep beep."

Violence and Arrests At Trump Rallies Are Way More Common Than You May Think





‘Lion’s Guard’ Group Forms to Bust Heads for Trump, Then Disbands 


For a few hours, cowardly lion Donald Trump had a "Lion's Guard" to defend his supporters from "“violent far-left agitators.”

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY

Dr. Ben Carson Explains Why He Endorsed The Trumper

What was I thinking?!

Ben Carson:  I didn't really want to endorse Trump, but he promised me a job.


Retired brain surgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, the candidate so many TeaPublicans pinned their delusional hopes on, has just admitted that the Trumper violated the law when he promised Carson a job in his administration, if he endorsed Trump.

Politics as usual, pay to play, the old boys' backroom deals -- everything Trump's supporters say they hate. They say Trump's different, not like the horrid pols they've been sending to Washington. But here we have an example of typical backroom deals to get Trump what he wants. How will he be different as president when the stakes are much, much higher? What will Trump ask for to get things done? And what sort of illegal terms will he offer anyone to get them?



What Trump did is illegal:


U.S. Code › Title 18 › Part I › Chapter 29 › § 59918 U.S. Code § 599 - Promise of appointment by candidate



Whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 721; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(H), (L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)







Trump The Wrecking Ball of the Republican Party is a hot mess. 

He's insulted women, POWs, whole cultures, promised to break the law by unConstitutionally barring people of certain religions from entering the country.  He flirted with the support of the KKK, bragged about the size of his johnson, and his political rallies have become nothing more than a version of the Fight Club with goons and thugs punching people in their heads, and all manner of crazy out-of-control rants spewing from his purdy little pink mouth. 

And now he's promising failed Republican candidates for the presidency a spot in his administration if this country is insane enough to put him in the White House.

A majority of Republican voters do not think the Trumper is honest. 

 Donald Trump is an American disaster. 

"Sure, most Rs will line up behind him if he is not the nominee, but: Across the five states voting today, in preliminary exit poll results, slightly more than half of GOP primary voters say they’d definitely vote for Trump; two in 10 say they’d “probably” support him – and about a quarter of primary voters within his own party say they would not vote for him. That is a lot of voters."

There’s no state today where a majority of voters sees Trump as honest and trustworthy:

The Trump voters are head over heels in love with a dishonest, untrustworthy con man.

This Is What Trump Has Said About Women

Throw his words back in his face:

This Is How A President Handles A Heckler

President Obama outclasses Trump in every way.  And here he shows us how a person with decency and intelligence handles a heckler. Since Trump has neither decency nor intelligence, he's failed every time he's been challenged.   (From 2013):

Violence Only From The Left?

There's a meme spreading around the internet that claims only "the left" deals in violence and thuggery. Of course, that's b.s. of the highest order and an attempt to lay blame elsewhere for Donald Trump's fascistic political rallies. Trump has been inciting his supporters to violence since his first "MEXICANS ARE RAPISTS AND CRIMINALS!"  What we've witnessed is the reaction to his thuggery.

Also those who claim only the left engages in violent demonstrations are, like good little truthless bots, wrong. And here are just a few violent Tea Party rallies to show how wrong:

Here’s how the rest of the world views Trump and campaign nastiness

Canada:

For the last 7 1/2 years, we've heard the extreme Obama haters on the right bellow that we are not respected around the world since the president took his oath of office. That, of course, is a blatant lie, nurtured in their extreme little minds. In fact since George W. Bush left office, the U.S. has gained respect around the world, and President Obama, overall, is more respected than his predecessor.

Now we're in the middle of a presidential election with the leading T-GOP candidate embarrassing himself and America in front of the world, and few on the extreme right seem to notice.

There are exceptions, and former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, tells us:


“Colin Powell...said that the nasty tone of this presidential election is hurting the image of the U.S. abroad,” Tapper quoted. “He said, ‘Foreigners of the world looking at this are distressed.’”




And here, in a series of political cartoons, is what several countries around the world think of the U.S. as it flirts with the idea of electing a belligerent baboon as the leader of the free world and the world's most powerful military:

Sweden:





The Netherlands:





Spain:







Australia:




Bulgaria:





Brazil:





Ireland:






For more images go HERE.

And HERE.



So my question to the Trump supporters is:  Why were you so concerned about how the rest of the planet perceived the U.S. during the Obama Administration, but you're now oblivious to the world's opinion of Donald Trump? 

Sunday Science Blog

It's been an overloaded Trump week, which put me in mind of this curious creature:

The Bony-Eared Assfish 

A creature with a tiny brain and a big mouth.

Trump's Thugs and Mobs

Who was surprised by the cancellation of a Trump rally in Chicago?  Since he started his campaign -- trashing all Mexicans as rapists and criminals -- Trump has incited and encouraged his supporters to mayhem and violence. 






Or as Pm Carpenter put it:


"Nary an American soul nor any world observer had, before last night, failed to perceive what populist Trumpism would someday ignite: factional ferocities, street swarms, reflexive hostilities, fists flying, mobs and counter-mobs."

*********

When a peaceful Muslim protester merely stood up, said nothing, at a Trump rally, he ordered her OUT! He will tolerate nothing but absolute allegiance to his campaign, as any efficient despot would.






Pm Carpenter:

What we were witnessing last night was, in Trump's always objective view, merely the outpouring of years-long, snowballing, and, most of all, understandable fury at what's become known as the traitorous "Establishment." 

Trump's thuggish, overt encouragement of brown shirted violence had nothing to do with last night's brawl of a rally, because, as his surrogates fanned out to proclaim, Trump has never encouraged any such thing — not even on undeniable video tape.

This:

"Men Brutally Assault Hispanic Homeless Man, Say They Were Inspired In Part By Donald Trump. Boston police arrested two brothers on August 19 for allegedly attacking a Hispanic homeless man as he slept outside of a train station. The Boston Globe reported that "his face was soaked, apparently with urine, his nose broken, his chest and arms battered." One of the suspects told the police that "it was OK to assault the man because he was Hispanic and homeless," claiming that "Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported."


And this:

"On Wednesday, a protester being escorted out of a Trump rally was sucker-punched in the face by an audience member. This was not the first incident in which protesters had been physically attacked -- not even this month. At the Republican debate the following night, Trump was asked about incidents of violence at his rallies, and he blamed the protesters. At a press conference on Friday morning, Trump repeated the same argument he'd made in the past." 

*********

The government didn't shut down Trump's First Amendment right to speak in Chicago, the mobs that he and his campaign have incited to violence did. 

But I hope that doesn't continue during the nightmare circus that is the Trumper campaign.  I hope the protesters understand they're making things worse by feeding into the violence Trump and his mobs are inciting. 

Protest all you want, but do it peacefully, like the brave Muslim woman did. Don't give Trump's brown shirts any more fuel to attack those who reject his racial hatred and violence.


Or as Pm Carpenter urges:


"Protest the beasts — from afar — all you like, but avoid their violent belly. The speech they are free to embrace may indeed be absolute "shit," and by now, in the 21st century, it may fairly be characterized as "unAmerican." But it is more and lastingly unAmerican to shut down speech, any speech, even shitty speech — including speeches by shitheads like Donald Trump."

The Hyper-Sexualization of Little Girls in Beauty Pageants

France has outlawed beauty pageants for children.  Can we follow France's lead and do the same? 

Cue the anti-government screamers who'll howl about the Nanny State interfering with a parent's right to exploit and abuse her child. Parents who make their little girls participate in these beauty pageants claim they teach their children confidence and poise. 

Really? 

They want to teach their little girls, sometimes as young as three years, that strutting around in heavy make-up, fake eyelashes, and sexy costumes will give her confidence and poise?

This gives a little girl confidence?

And why would a child that young need to learn poise? They should be rolling around in the grass in their backyards, running around with their dogs or climbing trees with their siblings and playmates.  

This teaches a little girl poise?

Beauty pageants build confidence? 

How about making a perfect mud pie, learning to ride a two-wheeler, helping mom or dad bake a dozen cookies, or read a book all by herself? It's a pretty good bet that those activities will contribute to a child's confidence much better than having her compare her tarted-up face to other little girls, while wiggling her little tush at the audience.

What is this child projecting????

 And what does losing a contest based on strutting around half naked teach a little girl?  I've never understood beauty contests for children and babies.

What kind of parent puts make-up on a 3-year old?

And I've never understood the parents who do this to their little girls.

Some parents don't know better, and they don't see these ridiculous pageants as child abuse. What choice does a baby or little girl have? At that young age, most children want to please their parents. These pageant parents take advantage of their little girls, who want to make mommy and daddy happy, by parading them in front of the public, looking like strippers.

OMG!

It's awful and it's degrading.  These contests don't teach poise or confidence. How does competing for best in show in looks make a child "feel good" about herself?What sort of parent would think it's appropriate to have these little girls perform pseudo-strip poses and dancing? This is what these pageants essentially are -- the hyper-sexualization of little girls and an ego trip for their mothers. 

Good for France for outlawing these abusive "beauty pageants" for babies and children. I hope we follow their lead.





France Outlaws Beauty Pageants Involving Children

Beauty pageants have a proud tradition in France but there are limits to what French lawmakers will accept. On Tuesday senators banned children's beauty contests to prevent the "hyper-sexualisation" of kids, promising tough sanctions for those who break the law. 

 Judging children under the age of 16 on their physical appearance in so-called “beauty contests” will become a criminal offence in France, the French Senate ruled on Tuesday night. 

 The new law forms part of the new “equality bill” presented to the French Senate on Monday by France’s Minister for Women’s Rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, which also included legislation to tackle unequal pay, domestic violence and to encourage fathers to take parental leave. 

Beauty pageants have a proud tradition in France but they are not to everyone's liking, especially these involving young teenage girls, known as "mini miss" competitions. In the Senate on Tuesday centrist Senator Chantal Jouanno, author of a report "Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality" proposed an ammendment to the bill, banning the underage contests, which was backed by 196 senators, with 146 voting against it. 

The sexual equality law will return to the lower house National Assembly for a second reading in November where deputees will have the final say on the so-called "Mini Miss" contests.



Here's a discussion on beauty pageants for children.

Would you want your daughter or granddaughter tarted up like this?

From the show, no longer on cable, Toddlers and Tiaras.