Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

~~~

Saturday, July 30, 2016

This Guy

UPDATE BELOW






The Houston Chronicle, which endorsed Mitt Romney in the last presidential election, endorsed Hillary Clinton.  Here's why:


“These are unsettling times that require a steady hand: That’s not Donald Trump.” ‘

Any one of Trump’s less-than-sterling qualities — his erratic temperament, his dodgy business practices, his racism, his Putin-like strongman inclinations and faux-populist demagoguery, his contempt for the rule of law, his ignorance — is enough to be disqualifying. His convention-speech comment, “I alone can fix it,” should make every American shudder. He is, we believe, a danger to the Republic.’



Who are the people who continue to support Trump for POTUS? I wonder, do they know anything about our Constitution? Do they care? Does it bother his supporters that Trump is so grossly unqualified to be president and that many, many Republicans, who love country above party, have denounced him? 

Why do his supporters defend the indefensible Trump?  


UPDATE:

Great news:



Trump Reeling As Clinton Gets 10 Point Democratic Convention Bounce And 15 Point 
Lead 

By Jason Easley on Sat, Jul 30th, 2016 at 11:40 am 

A new poll taken after the Democratic convention revealed that Hillary Clinton had erased any gains that Trump made after the Republican convention, with a 10 point convention bounce and a 15 point lead.

RABA Research found: Among likely voters, Clinton garners 46% support to Trump’s 31%. Libertarian Gary Johnson now captures 7% of the vote, while Jill Stein sits at 2%. 

 A RABA Research poll conducted the day after the Republican convention showed a tighter race, with Clinton at 39% and Trump at 34%. Johnson was at 8% in that survey, while Stein found 3% support. …. 

 When asked if the Democratic National Convention was a failure or success, 38% of respondents called the convention a success, while 23% dubbed it a failure. 38% of respondents said neither, or that they were not sure. 

The RABA poll showed Clinton opening up a 7 point lead with men (42%-35%), a 22 point lead with women (50%-28%). 

Clinton also had 14% of the Republican vote, and she led by double digits with all age groups. 

 The poll was a bipartisan poll that was not paid for by any candidate, party, or organization.

Friday, July 29, 2016

The GOPs' Tweets of Despair After the Wildly Successful DNC Convention


I hope the Conservative pundits, radio talk show hosts, and other well-known GOPers are not defenestrating themselves today. But from what I've read in their tweets, it sounds like that's exactly what they wish they could do after witnessing the huge success of the DNC convention and thinking about what a miserable failure Trump delivered to the RNC last week.  

Far fewer people viewed the GOP convention than viewed the Democrats' telecast. It was an unreservedly shining success for the Dems. For the Repubs? Not so much. (Again, another hollow, broken promise made by Trump when he said the GOP convention would be THE BEST the country has ever seen.)

The RNC 2016 convention is now universally accepted as one of THE WORST!


Here are the GOPers' Tweets of Despair From Talking Points Memo:



Conservative writer Ron Fournier:
Well done, @realDonaldTrump. You made Democrats a party of sunny patriotism and values.
You sure @billclinton didn't ask you to run?
— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) July 29, 2016




National Review editor Jonah Goldberg:
Why this convention is better: It's about loving America. GOP convention was about loving Trump. If you didn't love Trump, it offered nada.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) July 29, 2016


John Podhoretz, former Ronald Reagan speech writer and Commentary editor:
Take about five paragraphs out of that Obama speech and it could have been a Reagan speech. Trust me. I know.
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 28, 2016


Fox News host Greg Gutfeld:
if repubs had championed their principles with specifics rather than embrace autocracy - they wouldn't have yielded this turf to dems.
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) July 29, 2016


Conservative blogger Erick Erickson:
For Republicans who are not social conservatives, I have to imagine last night and tonight at the DNC are having an impact on them.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) July 29, 2016


Conservative Iowa radio host Steve Deace:
So most of conservative media and the GOP spent the week rooting for Russia, and now the Democrats get to rally around the flag.
Dreadful.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) July 29, 2016


Conservative Wisconsin radio host Charlie Sykes:
Snark aside: GOP needs to understand what is happening to them tonight…
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) July 29, 2016


Do you know how old I am? Old enough to remember when speeches like this would've been given at GOP convention… Not Dem one. Brutal.
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) July 29, 2016


Rich Galen, press secretary for Dick Cheney:
How can it be that I am standing at my kitchen counter sobbing because of the messages being driven at the DNC? Where has the GOP gone?
— Rich Galen (@richgalen) July 29, 2016


Conservative ops veteran Matt Mackowiak
This Democratic convention has been an unmitigated disaster for the GOP. Very well produced. Unifying. Patriotic. Bravo.#DNCinPHL
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) July 29, 2016


Amanda Carpenter, former spokeswoman for Sen. Ted Cruz:
I am sure hearing a lot more about God and faith at the DNC than the RNC.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) July 28, 2016



Conservative blogger AGConservative:
Still stunned. Feel like I'm in the twilight zone. Obama just defended America & conservative values from attacks by the Republican nominee.
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) July 28, 2016

Commentary editor Noah Rothman:
Republicans could have stopped all this.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) July 29, 2016


Daily Caller Writer Jamie Weinstein:
Now an immigrant medal of honor winner? If the goal is to reach independents and conservatives uneasy w/ Trump, well done Democrats

— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) July 29, 2016

Congratulations to Hillary Clinton -- Another First for the Democrats and for America



An historic evening. 

A first for America. 














TPM LIVEWIRE:

Go read the tweets by GOP pundits and analysts. They're stunned by how patriotic and optimistic the Democratic convention was compared with Trump's "Doom and Death" message to America.  One of them observed that the DNC convention reminded them of Ronald Reagan's America!  Oh, my!

 The Reviews Are In: Conservatives Say The DNC Was 'Disaster' For The GOP













The most dramatic and heart-wrenching moment from last night's convention came when a Muslim-American, whose son gave his life for his fellow soldiers and for America, shamed Donald Trump and all those radical rabid right wingers who call for the mass deportation of Americans of the Muslim faith. Donald Trump has called for closing down all mosques -- Mr. Khan showed that Donald Trump knows NOTHING about the Constitution the presidential oath of office compels him to defend. 


Powerful:

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Trump Jong Un






A Post reporter was banned from a Trump-Pence rally yesterday. That should frighten you.

"Jose DelReal is one of a small team of people who cover Donald Trump's presidential campaign for The Washington Post. 


On Wednesday, he was in Milwaukee to cover an appearance by Trump running mate Mike Pence. DelReal was barred from covering the event as a reporter, in keeping with Trump's six-week-old ban on The Washington Post. DelReal then tried to enter the event as a citizen. He was told he could not enter with a cell phone despite the fact that other people were not held to that same standard. He put his phone and computer in the car and again tried to enter. 

He was refused — again — and patted down. “I don’t want you here. You have to go,” the security official told him. That should scare the hell out of you. It's easy to let this whole episode fall into a partisan trap. "He deserved it!" Trump allies will argue. "Reporters at mainstream outlets are biased against Trump! Maybe if you told the truth sometimes, he would let you in!" 

 Righto."

Trump and His BFFs





Day 3 of the DNC Convention: Unity



Unity

President Obama gave a speech for the ages.
















 PM Carpenter: 

 "Last night: thematic genius 

The unifying theme of last night's speeches was striking. Here was the modern Democratic Party, in its most left-leaning phase since 1972, making profound appeals to authentic conservatism. After Bernie Sanders' stabs at a leftist "political revolution," the party came together and offered itself as a conservative-progressive solution, much as it did under the tutelage of FDR. 

Under President Obama's ingenious guidance, the Democratic Party has again grown up. It's holding true to its progressive credentials and aims while appealing to the nation's genuinely conservative instincts, because — like it or not, Bernie-or-Busters — that is where the American electorate is. The conservative-progressive, or progressive-conservative, theme (viewer's choice) was unbroken throughout the evening. 

Former Republican and permanent billionaire Michael Bloomberg subordinated all ideologies and opted instead to portray the Republican Party's millionaire nominee as both insane and a world-class charlatan. "The richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy," said Bloomberg, adding, “Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s running his business. God help us!" 

His is a "record of bankruptcies and thousands of lawsuits and angry stockholders and contractors who feel cheated and disillusioned customers who feel they’ve been ripped off." Trump is a fraud, as is his self-proclaimed "conservatism."



Go read Bluebull!

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

I Agree With This



Andrew Sullivan: 

 One of the enduring questions of this campaign has been what, if anything, could Donald Trump do or say to be rebuked by his own party. Today, it seems to me, we reached peak insanity – when an actual nominee of a major party called on a foreign government to use the fruits of its espionage to help defeat his opponent. And this was not any foreign government. 

It was the government of Russia, a kleptocracy sustained by permanent war. Republicans once insinuated that Democrats were somehow soft on Moscow. And now we have the GOP nominee openly in league with the Russian dictator, brazenly saying he might not defend NATO allies from Russian aggression, suggesting he might recognize Putin’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and bizarrely claiming that Putin had called president Obama the “n-word.” 

 One candidate in this election is unhinged, treasonous, contemptuous of American liberties, and at war with the core interests of the Western democracies. And an entire political party is refusing to call this out. They are cowards and quislings and pathetic appeasers. Their party deserves to be eviscerated in this election. If it isn’t, if their nominee wins, it will be America that will be eviscerated.

Rational Nation USA blogged on this as well. Go read.

Trump Invites Russia to Commit Espionage Against the United States!



The GOP presidential nominee is a walking, talking, reckless disaster of an idiot.

We rational Americans knew this last summer.

Today he proves again how unfit, how utterly foolhardy and harebrained he truly is for the office of the POTUS.




Donald Trump: 

‘I Hope’ Russia Hacked Clinton’s Email Servers 


The Republican nominee broke a cardinal rule of American politics: Never root against the United States.


“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”
--Hillary Clinton

Well this is amusing...



I didn't have a post ready for today, because I'm busy with other things, so I didn't plan anything to replace the post below.  But when I went to my email account this AM I found the following, which I posted below.  Apparently it's a blast email going around, and it is hilarious. We need some fun. Read this and laugh:


A letter from Donald J. Trump:

 Dear Americans:

Your country needs two people at the helm who care about her, care about her constitution, and care about you and your family. However, let me point out right now that I shouldn’t be one of them, since I didn’t even know how many articles there are in the U.S. Constitution when I blathered out I would defend Article XII, and when I verbally raped the Constitution by calling for a religious test for people entering the United States, and when I suggested a national registry for a religion I don’t like. So there’s that.

Your country deserves to be making products here again, but don’t look to me for leadership on this issue, since I’ve been outsourcing my men’s wear products to China and Mexico, using foreign workers to keep my profits up, costs down, and me rich – well richer. 

The ridiculous notion of looking down on the rich and expecting them to carry our load is wrong and it’s dangerous, for them, obviously.  The rich hire, the rich buy, the rich, the corporations that go off-shore to avoid paying taxes, the producers in this country that manufacture overseas any time they can to drive down costs and drive up profits are thriving and only the top 1% share in that success. But I digress.  

YOU should thrive!  But you have to work hard and expect the best, not the worst for yourselves.  You need promise, you need true hope and a light at the tunnel that’s become dimmed these last few years, probably because you haven’t been able to afford to replace the light bulbs on your $7.50/hour minimum wage, which we rich Republicans believe should not only stay at $7.50/hour, but I myself, Donald J. Trump, believe there should be NO MINIMUM WAGE, so that poor people can more easily be exploited, and rich people, like me – and I’m really, really rich – can get richer off of their cheap, cheap labor -- that's if I decide to pay them at all!  Ha.


We need a country again whose people don’t turn to drugs because they see no future, but I’m afraid we’ll have a country that is drowning in drugs because it cannot imagine living with me as its president! We need a country that supports our kids’ learning the Pledge, and never being allowed to sit down during it, because nothing instills “love of country” like forcing a child, with threat of punishment, to swear allegiance to it. 

We must make our children learn all the tremendous goodness of America with honest discussions of her less than stellar things like slavery, Native American genocide, anti-Semitism, anti-Chinese workers, anti-labor, anti-Irish, anti-Italian, anti-women’s suffrage, anti-Catholic, anti-gay, anti-Muslim – those things – but only at age appropriate times.   God knows we don’t want to traumatize the children by telling them the truth about our country. Give them a nice sugary soda and some chips and wait until they’re, maybe 30 or 40 to learn our “exceptional” history.


Ask yourselves why our kids are killing other kids and ask yourselves why we blame the guns instead of the "you know -- dog whistle here -- what sort of families who raised kids who can even conceive of killing another!  We had a chance with our first Black president to hear him tell all kids, but particularly our at-risk black kids who need guidance, but not the white kids who slaughtered dozens of Americans in theaters, churches, schools, and shopping malls.  Yeah. We know both President Obama and Mrs. Obama have talked to the black community and all communities about doing the best they can in school, but we Republicans choose to pretend they never did, that’s why, as I write this poorly written letter, I continue the noble Republican tradition of lying to you, hoping you won’t fact check anything I say.

We are pro woman! Especially me!  Why else would I have married three times, and impregnated my 2nd wife while still married to my first wife, and bragged about many great affairs with married women all my life (and isn’t that a great role model for the black and white community!) Isn't that proof that I'm pro-women. But only if they're 10s and have large breasts because as I've said, you can't be a 10 if your boobs are small.  Pro-boobs means pro women in my book!  

Most of my executives at the Trump Foundation are women who report to men, and don’t believe what you hear from the media when they say otherwise!  We are also pro health care and we’ll fight to keep it affordable, going slowly to massage and tweak what’s worked and getting rid of what has not worked, like Obama Care! Because when we “get rid of” Obama Care, there’s nothing there to “massage and tweak!” Ha-ha! Hope you don’t notice that!

This country deserves to make its own energy, and under President Obama, we have become more energy independent than ever before! We have the ability to BRING OIL HOME and we can.   The Left denounced our country for going into Iraq and taking the oil.  We never did that, even though I said we should. But why shouldn’t we have taken the oil from people we fought hard for, lost precious soldiers for, spent billions of dollars for? Isn’t that what conquering imperialist armies do for Godsake! I’m going to change this attitude.  Why doesn’t America deserve anything and all IT can get? Isn’t that the thinking of conquering imperialist nations! Hail Caesar! Haha!    

And if anybody doesn’t think weather’s changing, they’re dumb.  Weather changes.  Of course it does. And most intelligent people understand the difference between weather and climate – I say most, but not the people in our quaint little Republican Party and that's why they love it when I say Climate Change is a HOAX! that was dreamed up by China! And my supporters love when I tell them that stupid lie. But we need to go slowly and methodically to explain things to them so that they can see what’s going on and what we can do.  But remember we have to go slowly, so that they will eventually “understand.”

We need a president that the world will respect and, yes, FEAR.  Fear isn’t a word we like to say anymore, but we're gonna make it an American value again, like we made the word GREED an American value!  But people have to understand that we’re fighting an enemy who operates solely on fear and we have to fight back with the same punch in the face! Or better, stronger, more long lasting, FINAL -- DEATH is final! So Kill Them All!  Yes!  We want to KILL them AND THEIR FAMILIES or anyone they speak to, TORTURE THEM! Not just with pussy waterboarding either! We need to bring back the Iron Maiden, The Breast Ripper, The Tongue Tearer, The Rack, burn them ALIVE! KILL! We want to become savage, blood curdling beasts just like them! That’s how we’ll be respected and FEARED. Believe me! We aren’t going to put up with foreign terrorists anymore.  We're gonna be just like them and make the world FEAR the USA! USA! USA!

And WHY SHOULDN'T WE? What kind of a leader sees Islamist radicals killing all over the world and decides we need more Muslims here?  And for that matter, why let anyone who isn’t a Christian in this beautiful welcoming “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” country? We need to SLIME the dirty Muslims, like good Americans! Kick 'em out! Kill 'em! Hate! Hate! Hate! That'll make America GREAT!

We will build a wall and we’ll make the MEXICANS PAY FOR IT!   As your Progressives would like you to believe, that supposedly means we hate.  TWO OF MY THREE WIVES were immigrants, white eastern European immigrants– not dark-skinned kind who come from Mexico, Central and South America.  America was built with the blood and sweat of white immigrants and black and brown slaves, we need immigrants, but not slaves! Ha! We need proud immigrants like those of older days, who came here thrilled to be AMERICANS, not to bring their culture here because Jiminy Crackers, who wants their culture?! Who wants spaghetti and pizza? Who wants St. Paddy’s Day parades?! Who wants Cinco de Mayo?! Who wants Kwanza or weird Indian restaurants or Polish sausages?! German Oktoberfests?! Nein! And what about those awful French who celebrate July 14 HERE IN AMERICA!!!!! While eating FRENCH FRIES!!!!!!! Who wants alien cultures like that to impose themselves on our beloved country that was settled by English, Scottish, German and, we hate to say, the Irish    That’s not going to work in America;  NOT WHILE I’M IN CHARGE. Nein! as my immigrant ancestors would say!


There are many things this country needs but the absolutely most important thing is PRIDE IN AMERICA again. Not equal rights for all our citizens, not equal opportunity for all our citizens, not access to quality health care, no matter if you’re rich or poor. NO! We need to be unequivocally PROUD. That’s what will make us a great country AGAIN!  Just run around the country waving the flag and yelling WE’RE PROUD! That will solve all our problems. We have always loved our country!   Stop allowing your schools to teach the next generations otherwise.  Stop it, read what your kids are learning from the internet AND ME, Donald J. Trump! Things like our President is not an American citizen, that he’s not a Christian, but a “secret” Muslim, That our president is a Communist, that our president secretly kills kittens, roasts and serves them at state dinners!!!.  Demand your children’s teachers teach the truth, not political ideology from the leftwing hate-America first crowd or the rightwing HATE ANYONE WHO ISN’T LIKE US CROWD!.  STOP IT.  

People have said I disparage the military by saying IT IS A DISASTER.  Those same people who say this are either totally stupid or totally dishonest, or both; anybody who’s heard how I feel about our military knows that I’ve made it clear that the way we TREAT our military is a DISASTER. THEY are not.  Support our military!  Even if I pretended I was in the military while attending some rich boys military school and claimed that was just like serving in Vietnam – which I got out of serving thanks to Dad and several deferments. I was too rich and too busy screwing around with women to bother with defending my country. Let the poor schmucks who have no power go and fight. But let me also pretend I’m a big military supporter, even if I never put my own richie rich-boy's ass on the line when my country needed me.  That's for people like John McCain -- who got caught by the way. I don't like people who get caught. POWs. Okay?

THE MEDIA IS THE NEXT THING:  A Democratic country doesn’t survive with a one-sided media and that’s why FOX NEWS is such a menace to our security and survival as an informed society. But it's been a very good stenographer for me. God Bless Roger Ailes. And by the way, he's a good man who's been misunderstood. He was only complimenting the women he demeaned! I know about that, believe me.

PRIDE IN AMERICA is what Mike Pence and I will work on every single day of our administration, of both of our four year administrations, God willing.  And, talking about God;  ask yourself why Christianity and Judaism are suddenly the bad guys and Islam isn’t. Even though no one has said or done anything that comes close to asserting that, we like to keep that claim in front of you in order to keep your anger and hate and fear nice and fresh in your hearts. Because that anger and hate and fear is what has propelled me into leading not only the Republican Party but it made me your nominee for the presidency of the United States! Imagine that! Ask yourself who’s propagated that ridiculous and dangerous turn of events.  

“Merry Christmas!” used to be a happy thing to say, now we worry about who’s going to hear it?  Well, actually we don’t worry a bit about who does or does not say “Merry Christmas.” This is just another diversion for the small thinkers to whine about, and we like to keep them thinking there’s a great conspiracy afoot to stop people from saying “Merry Christmas” so we can pass laws that benefit the 1% -- see, if you’re worrying about trivial nonsense like who says or doesn’t say “Merry Christmas,” we can do whatever we want!  Happy Holidays!

So even though I’m a pretend Christion, I like to say God bless America, because you- know-who laps it up and believes I know something about the Bible, y’know like, "Two Corinthians" and such. Ha!  But my friends……Be PROUD of this great country that has done so much for me, that has allowed me to get within spitting distance of the White House while breaking every rule of decency and insulting every American except old white conservative undereducated men!

My message to America and the world is “Let them fear us once again!” That’s a good thing. Fear, divisiveness, slander, repulsive, those are GOOD words that describe my candidacy, what I believe in and what I practice. I will work HARD to make all of you ASHAMED to be AMERICANS again.

Yours in FEAR and HATE,
Donald J. Trump, Almost President of the U.S. of A.!
Believe Me!


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Hillary Clinton is Officially the Democratic Nominee










Bernie Sanders is a class act.

Unlike the Goopers, who last week fed off of vitriol and hate and saw one of their own, Senator Ted Cruz, refuse to endorse their nominee, Bernie and the Democrats showed America and the world how it's done when a party deals in decency and unity.

The Democrats are united.

And the Republicans have Donald J. Trump, who couldn't get past leaders of the Republican Party, presidents, governors, senators, and representatives, to say anything in his favor.

The Democrats have made history.  Again.

The first woman to be nominated by a major political party to be POTUS.

We hope the American people compare and contrast what happened last week at the GOP convention, where hordes of seething, angry people were screaming to jail and, in some cases, execute, an American opposition candidate-- we hope the American people are watching how the Democrats comport themselves compared with how the Goopers behaved.

PM Carpenter:


July 26, 2016












Why Aren't We Surprised...





to read about another group who got stiffed by the "billionaire" Trump?

This time it's a group of kids. Doesn't matter to Donnie. If he can stiff people out of money owed to them, he'll do it. Those are his values. And the sort of values the rabid radical right admires. Old, young, working class, small business owners. Doesn't matter to Donnie. If he can get out of paying people who supply material or services to him, he'll do it. 

A real Christian Family Values guy if ever there was one, eh?


"The USA Freedom Kids, who went viral after performing at a Donald Trump rally, are now suing the Trump campaign for refusing to compensate them.

 The trio of girl singers and dancers made headlines in January, when they performed a routine honoring Donald Trump in star-spangled costumes at a Trump rally in Pensacola, Florida.

Jeff Popick, creator of the group and father to one of the children, told the Washington Post that while he initially requested $2,500 for their performance, the Trump campaign offered instead to give them permission to set up a table at the rally where the group could sell their albums. 

This never happened. Describing the event as “complete chaos,” Popick said, “They clearly had made no provisions for that.” Popick says the group’s most nationally visible moment wound up costing them, from the money spent on promotional materials for the table that was provided to losing other opportunities due to the group’s relationship with the Trump campaign. 

 After efforts to secure some other form of payment went nowhere, the Trump campaign called the trio offering them to perform at an even higher profile event: Trump’s highly publicized event for veterans that he threw to conflict with the Republican debate, which he had shockingly decided to skip. 

This offer came the night before the event, and the group rushed from Florida to Iowa to attend. When they arrived, they were not permitted to perform, and they were also stiffed out of compensation for their plane, rental car, and hotel expenses."







DNC Convention -- Monday Night July 25, 2016

America's wonderful FLOTUS.

Michelle Obama delivered one of the best speeches I've ever listened to. It certainly was a magnitude better than anything the GOP offered up last week. Her speech was full of grace, warmth, hope, and truth.  






Michelle Obama rocked it and stuck it to the Orange Talking Yam.


Stephen Colbert: "Michelle Obama's speech was so good I want to hear it again. When is Melania doing it?"





Cory Booker!  Wow!

"AMERICA! WE. WILL. RISE!"

But Donald Trump, the thin-skinned loud-mouth narcissist, couldn't let Cory Booker's speech go unanswered, so Donnie took to Twitter and lashed out instead of keeping his pie-hole shut:







Elizabeth Warren reminded us all of what a sleaze the GOP chose to lead it.


And Bernie hit one out of the park.

"Bernie Sanders' Night. He gave it all. Tonight, he became something he wasn't really before. A Democrat. Thank you sir, from the bottom of this Democrat's heart. You brought it. (And I know it wasn't an easy thing to do.)" -- Lee Arnold