How Much Worse Can It Get?
As we enter the final leg of the 2016 presidential race, we get mounting evidence that neither front-runner is fit to be elected dogcatcher, much less president.
I feel as if we are a nation of trapped rats because I see little or nothing that realistically can be done at this point. Electing Johnson/Weld is simply not going to happen, no matter how much I approve the idea. People are simply too ignorant to see what is about to happen. Massive protests would only enable the Obamanation to declare martial law and cancel the election. Moving Pence to the top of the GOP ticket might work but Trump is far too egotistical to do the right thing and resign the race. Ergo, it seems inevitable that we will elect either a known criminal who has now been exposed as a traitor as well, or, increasingly less likely, we will elect an egomaniac who, if elected, would most likely cause a global trade war while violating every aspect of our Constitution as well.
BTW, I am less bothered by Trump’s adolescent sexual chatter because the Republic has already survived two other sexual predators (Kennedy and Clinton) although I do think that such behavior did contribute to the failing moral character of the Republic.
I see from the polls (which I do not trust in the least) that the top issues in the minds of our citizens are the economy and terrorism, with illegal immigration close behind. If this is truly what concerns us then we should be very ashamed because the most obvious (IMHO) real issues confronting us are corruption and a failed education system.
Corruption pervades our Republic at every turn: corrupt government at all levels; corrupt businesses, especially in the financial sector; corrupt individuals at every level of our society.
The so-called “dumbing down†of America is making us an international laughing stock and has rendered the average American too ignorant to effectively participate is his/her own self government.
Our society, in addition to being morally corrupt, is sharply divided into makers and takers with the latter group growing significantly year to year. One hope for a better future is for the makers to revolt, either by actual physical resistance or by simply refusing to continue producing. Either way, the system would quickly collapse, offering, one might hope, the opportunity to “institute new government†as Jefferson foresaw in the Declaration. However, we have allowed the overall international situation to deteriorate to the point where there are too many “wolves at the door†waiting to devour us as soon as we appear weak enough so we can hardly expect to be allowed the luxury of a rebuilding.
What hope do we have then? As I have suggested before – none (unless you are content to exist as a powerless, rights-deprived subject in a brutal dictatorship).
Were I young and healthy enough, I would immediately head for New Zealand. Alas, in my current condition, all I can do is sit here and wait to be discarded by the coming juggernaut. I hope that each of you have better plans and prospects and would be encouraged to hear what they might be. Realistic ones only please.
Think about it.
Troy L Robinson
Troy. Trump is not running for Pope. Compared to Clinton he is a Pope. We didn’t need a gay blade as President but we got one that is muslim too boot. Or a old bag that just wants the title and the money that comes with the title. So Trump bragged in a locker room setting. Ever been in a locker room?
BINGO!
I wrote about this earlier today:
http://usa-wethepeople.com/2016/10/donald-trump-locker-talk/
I have been in many locker rooms. I have engaged in quite a bit of less than flattering talk. Yet I have never spoke of groping a woman uninvited or intentionally trying to bed someone else’s wife. Talk of sex is one thing. Talk of a lack of common decency is another. Your giving him a pass on things that you think are common. Most men don’t go where he went and I’ll tell you why. Most men one would talk to also have wives and daughters.
Chris I don’t want to shock you but I have been around and counseled many women (and men) over my 74 years.
No doubt you have heard the saying “it takes 2 to tango” … have you not?
What you say might be your standard … trust me when I tell you that is not the case with the majority (married or single) then or now.
By the way when I was single (out and about) 80% AT LEAST of the men who hit on me WERE MARRIED.
Many who had taken off their wedding rings looking for a quick score and that was some 20 years ago. Two that lied to me and that I dated for a few weeks before I found they were indeed married. When I found out I SAID NOTHING but promptly called their wives and ratted on them. I gave the little wife my telephone number so they could have a little chat after if they had further questions.
It is 100 times worse today.
So a pass?
Hardly!
Reality is more like it.
You think any of those Millennials give a flip about what Trump said?
They have grown up with 1,000 times worse.
You are confusing what people do and what people say they do. There is probably nobody around who hasn’t done something they wouldn’t brag about. That at least indicates some level of remorse or at least acknowledgement that it was inappropriate. Apparently that bar is pretty low for Mr. Trump. Stand by. There’s more to come. We have yet to see how low the Donald would go.
Now does this sort of thing matter in an election? Should it? I myself don’t care. I hope they all go down in flames. I can only think back to the primaries. You know when the suggestion of infidelity was a pretty big deal according to Trump. I suggest he should simply be held to his own standards. Is that too much to even ask?
Jerry, As I said in my article, I am not that much bothered by Trump’s sophomoric sexual chatter. I am, however, bothered by his obvious lack of self control, his obvious lack of judgment, and the fact that accomplishing much of what he promises would require further trampling on our Constitution.
Sorry but, while Pence comes off presidential, Trump comes off like a fool.
Troy
My plan? Continue being a “maker” for the next couple years or as long as they will let me. Then become a “taker” for as long as I can, hoping they don’t notice and decide to end that. Even though I have provided for my own basic needs for probably as long as I will need I actually don’t see it as taking though. I figure by then contributing consistently for fifty years they must owe me something. I’m just worried that they won’t pay up. Otherwise I don’t give a rats ass what they do.
Yeah, I am a net ‘Taker’ now myself. We have zero to worry about them ever stopping SSI payments. Codgers vote, and it is just fiat funny money anyway. They will keep printing it for our foreseeable lifetimes. 😉 â—„Daveâ–º
Surely we all know the difference between participating in a “system” where one both gives and takes -and- living one’s entire life as a leech feeding on the labor of others.
Troy
The SSI “system” is, and always has been, a Ponzi scheme, which we are coerced into “participating in” at the point of a gun. I don’t know about you; but I never contributed a dime to it voluntarily, and quite frankly never expected to get a dime back out of it. Of course, it was just beyond my ken that they could simply keep printing ever more worthless currency, and promising that our grand-kids would eventually pay the tab. â—„Daveâ–º
Just my thought but there would be no “Trump Movement” if the mass was not concerned about “corruption”.
The CLEARLY FAILED educational system is moot if we are blown to smithereens by terrorists be they foreign or in house.
The “moral corruption” will take a couple generations to correct … how that happens at this point escapes me since exactly where that could have been avoided it was not (in the home).
NO PRESIDENT is capable of fixing that.
What to do?
Be prepared for anything and if that has not already occurred it is likely too late to catch up.
No it is not nor was it ever going to be.
Thinking Johnson had what it takes to fix anything has to be one of the largest pipe dreams I have ever encountered. He does not appear to have the wit to fix a dripping faucet. Fixing this nation is far above his pay grade.
Was the pun intended? (you surely know that Gov. Johnson made his fortune from what started as a handy man home repair business?)
You have to see Johnson in a more personal setting, as we did at FreedomFest last July, to appreciate what he is all about. For sure, he is not much of an on-stage entertainer but his principles (those which would drive his decisions) are spot on. Likewise, his refusal to promise things that simply cannot be delivered. IMHO, the major failure of our election process is that far too many of us are focused on the circus rather than on the substance in the campaigns.
An American president actually does NOT need to know a lot of detail about anything. Such they can command almost at the snap of their fingers. What matters are: 1. the ability to quickly absorb and process information, and, 2. an inner foundation of values and principles that will help guide their decision making process in the right direction. Note that item 2. is spectacularly lacking in both Clinton and Trump, both of whom are totally self-absorbed.
Troy
To be fair, much the same is said about Trump, and even Hillary, by those who have had the opportunity to interface with them on a personal level. Your own remarks seem to belie that such observations mean much in the real world, as it is how they present themselves, and are perceived, on the world stage that counts in national politics.
Please give me an example of a decision that you might require a politician of any demeanor, core principles, leadership qualities, or level of integrity to make for you. Personally, I prefer not to outsource my life’s decisions, or allow anyone to claim a collective right to direct and regulate it, for the good of the herd. 😉 â—„Daveâ–º
How about the decision to attack another country simply to appease domestic anger after a terrorist attack? (think GWBush and Iraq)
Troy
It surprises me that you would wish for someone to start a war for you, out of revenge for religious atrocities. Personally, I would prefer to eradicate any dangerous religious nuts I might find in my own neighborhood myself, than to permit politicians to sacrifice blood and treasure in foreign wars. It seems to me that in the absence of a government to protect them from an intolerant native population, few Jihadists could even exist hereabouts. 😉 â—„Daveâ–º
The libertarians had a chance if they nominated Austin Petersen. He was a “pragmatic libertarian” that realizes what the landscape looks like now and that it takes time to change. They went with the failed retread.
It is good to see your input here for a change, Troy, even if it consists mostly of despair. I was anxious to comment on much of it; but then your caveat, that alternative ideas and future plans for dealing with the demise of this country must be “realistic,” effectively took the lead out of my pencil.
At the risk of irritating you again, I will again point out that every ill you have cataloged above, would be instantly solved, if the Federal government were simply abolished, in favor of more local efforts to secure individual Liberty, to live our lives as we choose to live them.
Of necessity, my plan for the future is to live the life you think New Zealand offers, right here on the coast of California. I will simply continue to bob and weave anytime I leave my hermitage, and ignore that the United States of America even exists. Harry Browne taught me how to do that almost 40 years ago, and it still serves me well. â—„Daveâ–º
In the absence of a thumbs up or like button I’l give it a “YUP!”
I hate to deny you pleasure but nothing you can possibly write would irritate me. The pain from my spreading arthritis does that so completely that there is nothing left for other sources.
Not instantly but perhaps eventually. Once you dump true responsibility back into the laps of the sheeple, it will take time for the lesson that they must learn to help themselves to sink in.
As to trying to continue to live under the radar, we obviously have no choice. We live 60 miles from a major metropolitan area and I once thought that was enough. Now I wonder…
I am sorry that the pain (and the depression that comes with it) make me a rather dull correspondent these days.
On the brighter side, we are booked for a Viking River Cruise next summer, from Amsterdam to Budapest, and, I am really looking forward to it. I am also looking forward to visiting CA next month (oldest daughter and family live in Berserkly).
Thank &deity for opium!
Troy
Troy
Fair enough. I meant to imply only that the cause of our malaise would be instantly eradicated. I admit that it would take time to actually heal the wounds; but at least we would have stopped traumatizing them.
I am sorry to hear about the worsening arthritis and attendant pain. Tell St. J9 to keep you well-medicated, for her own sake. â—„Daveâ–º
I’m finding it really difficult to care about the scandal. There is an issue with the treatment of women, and some abuse of power. Those are ethics issues, which do matter. The rest of it is morality, which is the realm of churches and individuals, and hypocrisy, which I despise in a politician, but with him it’s so transparently tactical, that I almost don’t care.
In my experience, about 5% of men act like this. I’m guessing that to women it feels more like 50%. Personally, I think it was worse in his generation than it is now. Having worked with guys who talk like that, and listening to the tape, I think half of it was joking. I don’t see the presidency as a position that has an especially strong impact on women’s issues, nor do I think they are the big executive issues of the day. If women disagree, they’ve got us outvoted. I’m guessing women’s lives under Hillary would improve about as much as black lives have improved under Obama.
In some ways, this scandal is actually a plus. Part of the problem with Clinton was the blackmail potential of exposing his affair. Can you imagine trying to blackmail Trump? He thrives on scandal, and he is surrounded by so many allegations that one more is nothing. Also, he should be done backpedaling during the debate. There’s really nothing he can say that will convince us that he is an upstanding guy. He needs to quit trying to defend himself and hit her hard on her issues. Her lack of vision, ethics, accountability, transparency, honesty, sincerity, and health. Her secret server, destruction of evidence, paid speeches, assault on the women her husband has cheated with, Benghazi coverup, tailoring of news articles, social media tampering, and the fixing of the primary. That ought to be enough to get through the debates, so long as he ignores the questions, moderators, and Hillary herself.
If Democrats wanted to be outraged by this sort of thing, they should have thought of that before they allowed their party to crown the one candidate who can’t use this opportunity to remind us that electing him could lead to a repeat of the Bill Clinton scandal.
Incredibly well said, Steel, and this observation:
…was brilliant! â—„Daveâ–º
Get real Dave. You know very well that I don’t want anyone “starting a war for me”. I was merely trying to furnish an example where good principles might help a president avoid such a decision as the Iraq War.
Troy
Then you misunderstood my question/challenge:
[emphasis added] 😉 â—„Daveâ–º
I don’t expect or want anyone in government to make any personal decision for me. However, whether we like it or not, some folk get to make decisions that affect us all. I would like the person making such decisions to have strong pro-liberty principles.
Troy
It’s a valid point, but in the case of W. Bush, who did attack another country during a time of misguided public outrage, he didn’t do it because he was a hothead. He did it because he was a puppet, and it was desired by those holding his strings. In theory, it isn’t the president who starts wars, it’s Congress. In practice, whatever is desired by those who have more power than accountability, will be done.
Hillary is a hawk and a puppet. Trump doesn’t seem to have a trail of destruction behind him from hothead rages. He’s actually shown himself happy to embrace former rivals once they are on the same side of things. I would love to see some support for third party candidates, but it has yet to materialize, and strangely enough, the more we hate the big 2, the less likely the rest are to get any votes. I’m not one to vote for a lesser evil, but I find the politics of outrage, whether from the family values crowd, or the microaggression left, to be tedious in the extreme. If Trump can win, it will be the ultimate symbol that those tactics no longer rule the nation. Maybe if the populace shows enough fatigue with the politics of false outrage, we can get back down to business.
Well said again, Steel. Yet, I still say that we could never vote our way back to the Constitutional Republic we thought we once were. Unfortunately, tyranny is a ratchet function against Liberty. Its progress may creep along slowly; but it never reverses without real revolution. The sooner we let it collapse completely, the sooner our posterity may get a chance to reestablish Liberty, as an ideal in this land of our fathers. â—„Daveâ–º
Understood. I too once believed that all we needed to do was awaken and/or educate enough sheeple to vote the right way. I even naively thought that with enough effort, I might be able to assist in that process; but:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q63h59hFcX0
…I have been persuaded otherwise. 🙄 â—„Daveâ–º
As I predicted elsewhere:
From the looks of his face, things did get a little worse for Bill last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPpzdmQo650
#Most entertaining 90 minutes of TV ever! 😀 â—„Daveâ–º
It was worth watching if only to finally see someone talk to those two and treat them as they should be. Trump had a good night for anyone willing to accept the argument “Yea, I’m a sleazy scumbag but I’m not Bill and Hill scumbag.” That is the face of American politics these days. A choice between someone who would grab your ***** and someone that would actually take it.
One mistake Trump made. They got him to say he never actually did what he said. I thought he was going to get past and ignore the question but something wouldn’t let him do it. Cue the 5th avenue parade of women that say he did. Ticker tape and all.
I can’t really call that a mistake on Trump’s part. Sure they trapped him into committing to something they can argue is untrue, but they still have to prove it, and he kept his momentum in the debate.
Hillary on the other hand did something similar that I think might be a mistake. She acted like she had just heard the Trump tape for the first time. I’d be surprised if that were true. At least with the beauty queen stuff, her campaign had bought that info a year ago and waited till now to release it. if she has been holding it, then that was an unforced error.
My favorite moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XoKszBCJ4E
…my uncharacteristic outburst really confused my dog. 😉 â—„Daveâ–º
Seems the audience appreciated it too. It was the true “mic drop”. BOOM and your done.
My favorite moment too!
Now that was the debate everyone has been waiting for! She did fine, but he really took the gloves off. Usually town halls are about dumb questions answered with canned answers about some little orphan girl they met in a small town who was made to starve by the opposition party. With the exception of moderator Martha Raddatz deciding to take the place of Hillary to argue one of the questions, the candidates rose above the format.
I don’t think many minds were changed, but I still say the election is about turnout, and he did a lot to help his and hurt hers.
I liked his comments about campaign contributions. He caught her off guard, reminded people that she’s gotten rich and had her campaign funded by doing favors for all manner of unsavory types, and put her so far on the defensive that she changed the subject and stalled until the moderator could rescue her.
I get the feeling he and Bill aren’t going to be golfing any time soon, but Trump didn’t start that fight.
My take away. Since the end of the primary all I have asked for is a reason to vote FOR Trump other than the tired “he’s not Hillary”. The fact that he came out and actually strung two thoughts together without endless rambling and word salad helps. Taking it to Hill and Bill the way he did helps more. Putting to bed rumored ties to Putin and Russia helps. Reinforcing his commitment to appoint judges in the model of Scalia helped. Calling out Obamacare for the garbage it is helped. Staying out of the “social issues” weeds helped. Last night he put me in the position that I can be persuaded that the half hour trip to the polls might be worth while. If he can continue to do that he’s got a shot.
I searched for how much worse can it get and when I ran onto Troy’s comment I read it and some more. I agree with much that he said but agree more with George Carlin, ranting about politicians and people. We are a nation/world of sheeple and that means we generally get what we deserve (to be shorn).
Thanks for stopping by, Buck, and the impetus to reread an enjoyable thread. Carlin was the best! 😉 â—„Daveâ–º