The Weekly Standard is a reliably conservative magazine owned by Rupert Murdoch. Stephen Hayes, one of its regular contributors, wrote after the GOP convention that “Donald Trump is crazy, and so is the GOP for embracing him.”
He focuses on Trump’s remarks the day after the convention ended, when he addressed the volunteers who worked the convention. He rambled on about his hatred for Ted Cruz, that he didn’t want his support, that he would reject his support, that he might start a PAC (after he is elected president) to defeat Cruz. He restated his claim that Cruz’s father was an associate of Lee Harvey Oswald and was somehow involved in JFK’s assassination. This is not what you call “moving on.”
He castigates Republicans who pretend that he is normal. Hayes says he is “not of sound mind.”
His amplification of the Cruz-Oswald conspiracies is part of a long pattern of embracing crazy. He hinted that Antonin Scalia was murdered. He’s suggested autism is linked to vaccinations. He claimed “thousands” of Muslims celebrated in the streets of New Jersey after 9/11. He said many people consider Vince Foster’s death a “murder” and called it “very fishy.” And before he ran for president, his deepest foray into politics was a campaign to prove that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. (It failed.)
Trump has praised Alex Jones, whose radio program is to conspiracy theories what ESPN is to sports. Jones, a prominent 9/11 truther, claimed there was a “98 percent chance” that the 9/11 attacks were controlled bombings perpetrated by the U.S. government. In an appearance on Jones’s radio show last year, Trump offered the host deferential praise. “Your reputation is amazing,” Trump said. “I will not let you down.”
He urges his fellow Republicans to speak out against Trump. He is not a normal candidate.
This is a man who has been repeatedly suedfor discriminating against blacks in his rental properties. The Washington Post says he is a threat to the nation and the world.
And yet Trump is tied in the polls with Hillary Clinton. Many Americans like his fear-mongering and conspiracy theories. They want him to protect them. They believe it when he says he will bring back all the lost jobs. They believe it when he says that he alone can “fix” the problems.
This man could be elected president. Think about that.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“And yet Trump is tied in the polls with Hillary Clinton. Many Americans like his fear-mongering and conspiracy theories.”
The other half of that equation is that many Americans *don’t* like Hillary and her ties to Wall Street, her war-mongering, her repetition of her admitted “mistakes”, her willingness to say anything to get elected even though we all know what she will do (TPP anyone?), her bending in the wind to pretend to be a progressive, only to pick Tim Kaine and move DWS to her campaign, the list goes on. So, yeah, some people like Trump. But the bigger factor is that people don’t like Hillary. Bernie has been trying to explain this to her but just keeps spitting in his face.
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Choose. This is a choose or lose moment in history.
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I have chosen: neither of the above.
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Dienne, Hillary is a weak, establishment candidate. She fails to inspire and ignores the middle class. I agree, many do not like Hillary. But I am willing to pull the lever for Hillary then barf later. Trump’s actions are disturbing. I do not think he is mentally stable. My hope is in four years Democrats can muster up a better candidate in a primary. I also want Democrats to win down ballot. And SCOTUS needs rebalanced to the left.
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Trump has praised Alex Jones!!!!!! Jones is the troll of all trolls, the god of the trolls, he’s the absolute worst. Trump was also a heavy-duty birther, that alone should disqualify him.
The cruel math is that it will be Trump or Hillary unless some huge scandal surfaces in the next few months. Both of these people are unpopular, both parties are riven with internecine disputes and full blown insurrections. Not good. A vote for Jill Stein will end up being a vote for Trump but it’s anybody’s guess how this election will play out.
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” A vote for Jill Stein will end up being a vote for Trump but it’s anybody’s guess how this election will play out.”
I’m a thinkin I smell something and it ain’t peach pie in the oven.
Your “Nader votes gave the election to Georgie the Least” theme is dead wrong. And no a vote for Stein is not a vote for the Trumpster. How can that be. A vote for Stein is a vote to eventually break up the oligarchical duopoly that are the dims and rethugs. It’s going to take time but it is bound to happen eventually-and I may be dead by the time it happens but at least it will be better for my children.
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There conceivably may not be any “democratic” government to be reformed after 4 years of Trump. Unless he gets bored with governing, he will certainly spend the time/money/etc. to make sure he gets 8 years, and by the end of year 8, it is possible that we will have a dictatorship — military or otherwise — or some other form of non-representative government. Al it takes is one disaster (not hard for someone thin skinned and easily insulted who has the codes to the nation’s nuclear arsenal) of a magnitude that will allow him to impose martial law. Then, you start jailing dissidents, silencing the press, etc. Why would we think we are so special that this cannot happen to us? It took Hitler (and Putin) far less time than Trump would have. Go back through his speeches and look at the threats he has already made — against the press, against judges, etc.
There are times to pitch a fit and demand immediate change — and there are times NOT to. I suggest that this election — with this Republican nominee — is a time NOT to.
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This is no choice election, i.e., we have no choice.
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Unfortunately, Raj, that’s nothing new as far as I’m concerned.
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Personally, I look forward to the election of the first woman U.S. President. Sadly, I sincerely hope it does not happen in 2016. The overwhelming dishonestly from the top – down of the current Democratic leadership will irrevocably mar Hillary’s presidency should she manage to be elected. This would cast a terrible shadow over this significant event now and throughout history. She will be continually investigated. This would be a disservice to women everywhere. This cannot happen.
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If people don’t vote or vote Green, Trump could win. He’s far worse than Hillary and could trigger a mini civil war in this country not to mention all his crazy plans for this country.
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Thank you, Joe!!! I’m voting for Clinton to eliminate Trump and I will work to carry on Bernie’s progressive policies.
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See my response above to you, Joe!
I refuse to live and act in fear. Fear has been constantly drummed into the American psyche since we were practicing getting under the desk in case the Commie’s dropped the big one. Ay ay ay! And the Trumpster causes no such fear in me.
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Actually if anything I worry more about the BS Clinton than I do about the Trumpster.
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Duane
I assume nothing you value is at risk with a Trump Supreme Court.
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Not a good assumption, Diane. I haven’t seen anything one way or the other on what he might do so I don’t know about what he might do. I worry about her because of her bellicosity and willingness to wage war. At least he has stated that the Iraq war was wrong.
I worry about both pretty much equally which is why I will continue my streak of not voting for the oligarchic duopoly candidates for president in this century.
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Duane,
Listen to Trump. He is very clar about what he will do.
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Please, I can stomach a fair amount but Trump? Sorry can’t, although I will read about what he says and the GOP’s platform.
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Diane, you don’t seem to understand what’s at risk with a Clinton presidency. Things cannot continue as they are – it’s simply unsustainable. Obama has made things steadily worse over the past 8 years and Hillary will do more of the same if not worse.
My personal situation, for instance. I have owned the same house (a modest house in a low-rent suburb of Chicago) for 11 years (re-fied in 2011), and I’m *still* underwater despite making regular on-time payments because of the bipartisan bank crash and mortgage fraud issues that have kept property values permanently suppressed (until, that is, some fat cat buys up property, then it’s magically worth much more). I have two kids who attend private schools because there are lines painted on the floor of my local public school and private school is the only place they can be treated like human beings. Our tuition goes up 4% a year; my salary goes up about 2% and my husband’s may or may not go up at all. My stepdaughter arrives in a week and I have to hope that our local high school is at least as good as the school she came from in Ghana. I have no idea what we’ll do about sending any of them to college – even if we can afford it, it might not do any good if there are no jobs available afterward. We have an 80/20 high deductible health care plan with an HSA that has about $6,000 in it. My last surgery, which was outpatient laproscotic surgery, cost over $6,000 out-of-pocket – we can’t afford for anyone in my family to get sick or injured. And we’re among the “lucky” ones – we both still have decent, reasonably secure, reasonably well-paying jobs. An awful lot of people don’t – that’s why Uber and Walmart are doing so well these days.
Yes, there’s a lot to lose with Trump, but don’t pretend there’s nothing to lose with Hillary. Would you rather die of an aneurysm or pancreatic cancer? I’m not so sure the answer is obvious.
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I think you’ve got to go with aneurysm.
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I voted for Bernie. I’ve long argued that the centrist approach of the Clinton’s and their allies, their abandonment of working people, embrace of wall street and deregulation, their abandonment of integration, multi-racial unity and unions, and their embrace of market-driven education etc, are responsible (at least in large measure) for Republican success. They enabled the business wing of the GOP to hide uncover of racism and social conservatism. All that said, I agree that Trump poses an entirely different level of existential threat to democracy, dissent, and decency. In that context, voting my conscience does not mean refusing to vote for Hillary… even in so-called safe states. I am not willing to take the risk of considering any state safe. Maybe we need a third party. But that is a long-term movement-building endeavor. It will not happen by voting for Jill Stein for president. Building a movement under Clinton will be tough. Building a movement under Trump may be impossible.
http://www.arthurcamins.com
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“But that is a long-term movement-building endeavor. It will not happen by voting for Jill Stein for president. Building a movement under Clinton will be tough. Building a movement under Trump may be impossible. ”
I don’t know why anyone would expect instant turnaround after several decades of trickle down philosophy. It is certainly time to signal a change, but to think it will be handed to us is foolish. So we march and shout because Bernie didn’t win the nomination (no matter how unfair we deem the system). We didn’t get our way, but Bernie doesn’t seem to have given up. Does anyone honestly think that Bernie thought he was going to remake the country in one fell swoop? It is going to take a progressive revolution on the local and state level as well as at the federal level that is not going to happen overnight.
Does anyone remember Rachel Maddow’s praise of the long term Republican strategy to slowly build support at the state and local level which over time led to their increasing strength on the national scene? Their propaganda machine has done a terrific job of controlling the narrative. While I am not a particular fan of Hillary’s, I know my thinking has been shaped by a well crafted attack on her credibility even if some of the criticism is spot on. I can spout off a string of things said about her that should have derailed her candidacy long ago if she is as dirty and incompetent as claimed. Interestingly enough, though, I cannot give you credible and irrefutable evidence of her perfidy. The sound bites define her. We are a nation controlled by sound bites.
Bernie gave a rousing speech tonight about the reasons he can support Hillary and the platform. Now he is being dismissed because everybody knows that the platform will be ignored after the election.!? It strikes me as incredibly naive to think that the battle would have been won if Bernie had secured the nomination. Either way there would be years of work, and if we are smart and honest about the whole process, we will realize that there is no easy path and never will be.
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Diane ,
The infuriating part is that Hillary refuses to acknowledge the tsunami she is facing .
I get it , Trump is not an alternative. For weeks the message has been “in your face ” Does she feel that the same demographic dynamics apply in the general that propelled her victory over Bernie? They do not.
Defending her lack of a hearing aid, does not do her any service. Hopefully Sanders and Warren can reach out with a compelling enough voice to reach not just the Democratic base ,but those independents who are leaning to Trump . Because Hillary has demonstrated that she is not capable of seeing reality. This has been apparent to most of us for quite sometime. The fact that few on this site have any any confidence on her position about education is magnified on many other issues.
She has done nothing but exasperate this . She needs a water cannon not a 4 once bottle of water to extinguish this flame. That requires a sincere apology and definitive statement that acknowledges past mistakes as well as promises a new future . A future that neither Trump or Republicans have any intention of delivering. Instead she will add Russia to the vast righting conspiracy against her.
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Exacerbate oops
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Hi Joel Herman:
In political arena, winning at all cost is the name of its game.
We only can observe and analyze politician’s background of how (s)he was brought up, his (her) long time friends and foes, his (her) educational and relative activities in his/her major, and his (her) actions in both voluntary and controlled by party of interest.
We can obviously draw a conclusion on certain character of all politicians and their personal view on their tolerance, belief in humanity and admiration for certain people or professionalism in society.
If there are flood of bad things come out from nowhere to smear on politician who has been chosen to be Presidential candidate, I must investigate these make-believe smearing tactics.
I do not defend for Secretary Clinton, but I truly admire her political skills. She truly deserve to be leader with a beautiful mind-set and patience. She has helped her spouse to be where he was and is now. There is no doubt about it.
If educators are not cultivated, they all fall into republican’s trap.
Republicans have their last laugh on their way to completely control American legal system from local, to state, and all the way to Supreme Court. Republicans will say that we did not hide you anything, but we JUST did not emphasize that all voters are losers.
There will never be a chance to form any party under dictatorship because people with the ultimate power exercises their power to impose law-less for their own profit without legal punishment .
I prefer to die with a clear conscience and no regret even if i am in pain because of pancreatic cancer.
i refuse to die in a confused mind-set because of an aneurysm that caused by my own adamant principle but not realistic yet in American Presidential election in November 2016. Back2basic
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“The Weekly Standard is a reliably conservative magazine owned by Rupert Murdoch.”
This line alone has to call into question the validity of this post.
As a conservative I despise these so called “conservatives” who are so ready to use government to create an economic system designed to favor the wealthy and well-connected over all other competition. The politicians, both Democrat and Republican, are easily bought and do the biding of these crony crapitalists.
The Weekly Standard would be spending ALL its time bashing Hillary Clinton if Jeb Bush were the GOP nominee. Now they see their rigged system threatened, and they see HRC as a better option.
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I’m trying to think under what other circumstances I’d take advice from The Weekly Standard and I’m not coming up with any.
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I don’t suggest anyone take advice from the Weekly Standard. I posted that piece because I was impressed thAt there are conservatives who recognize DT is a menace
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Bernie is a progressive and he’s supporting Hillary and will campaign for Hillary. Bernie will still be a powerful and influential senator. You are right, the WS is right wing and its motives are suspect. But who knows, maybe they are just as appalled at Trump because he’s a threat to democracy?
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Every time I post on one of these political posts I have this running thought that I am wasting my time. Then I get a reply like Joe’s, and my intuition is confirmed.
Joe, you think that the people at the Weekly Standard care about democracy? You think President Obama cares about democracy? You think HRC cares about democracy? LOL.
We live in a republic. Democracy is a secondary principle, and its invocation is over used. There is very little that is democratic about the federal system of governance. Trump can’t threaten something that does not exist.
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“We live in a republic. Democracy is a secondary principle, and its invocation is over used. There is very little that is democratic about the federal system of governance.”
This is such a useless cliche. Who are you, James Madison? There’s nothing wrong with referring to democratic principles as “democracy,” or describing the U.S. system of government as a “democracy.”
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FL teacher: a republic is a representative democracy. Even Lincoln and FDR referred to the US as being a democracy. Libertarians hate democracy (I am not calling you a libertarian). Rep Steve King nearly had a stroke when a fellow rep referred to America as a democracy. Steve King said that America was not a democracy and thank God for that. He said it’s a republic, not a democracy.
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“Trump can’t threaten something that does not exist.” In so many words, you say that democracy does not exist in the US (if I’m mistaken, my apologies) and that we live in a republic. Then would you conclude that Trump was a threat to republicanism (small r)?
Trump is a threat above and beyond whatever Hillary can do.
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This is going to get really ugly before November.
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People have a right to their opinions What you think is fear and threatening, someone else may consider not fearful and not threatening. You may not like Trump and prefer Hillary but to criticize, bad mouth and say in so many words that they are crazy, is wrong. POlitics in our country means you can believe what you want and you should respect the other person;s point of view. You may not like it but you still have to respect it. One cannot be one sided either–it’s wrong.and yet one ignores the fact of the despicable Wasserman Shultz’s actions against Bernie Sanders…you ignore the collusion between lying Hillary and sneaky W-S emails sent to get Bernie Sanders out of the race…
She got elevated for doing a great job for Hillary as she told her colleagues to do what they could to throw Sanders out of the race.This article says trump’s been discriminating. Are you saying that Hillary has not?
In her convention Hillary will show discrimination when she brings in the mothers of those whose sons were shot by police officers. Do you think that action will not incite racism–blacks against the police officers..
If you really want to be honest about this election, it is an election of blacks vs whites…I thought we got over that hurdle but apparently it seems we have been time warped to back in the 70s ….with Black Lives Matters acting like the Black Panthers. Protest non violently yes…protest where you block roads by protesting on highways and public streets blocking the rights of others and protesting violently is not the American way and when the Dem Convention starts this evening, my words will be validated because you will see unhappy protesters (esp Bernie protesters who really got thrown under the bus by him) disrupt the convention in Philly. People’s emotions take over and often times this creates a chaos that cannot be undone. The protests have already started. And the ironic part to all of this was Bernie Sanders believes in free trade and that it was Wasserman-Schultz who got fired…kinda imitating Trump’s theme from his show “You’re fired.” Hillary is not lily white as sometimes this column makes it out to be…She is into charters and is Wall Street. We must not paint a false picture of her.
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Probably the first time i have agreed with the Weekly Standard.
I am deeply troubled and frightened when I read some of the blogs above concerning Hillary.
Trump might win. Michael Moore believes it is possible along with others. George W won by shenanigans I believe. We will NEVER EVER be the same nation again. Trump according to every knowledgeable,credible personage I know believe that Trump would finish ruining our country.
I understand the frustration. I pulled for Bernie. For the first time in well over 80 years I sent a politician, Bernie, money. I will hold my nose and vote for Hillary because to withhold a vote MIGHT make the difference. Voting for Jill [Stein?] would be my choice if it were not for the possibility of Trump ascending to the White House. Remember Ralph Nader taking away votes from Al Gore and what a disaster he has been.
I know that someone on this blog some time ago thought differently, that had he won his home state Gore would have won.
Actually he did win. The Florida debacle kept him from winning but the point is, think twice or thrice or more before allowing Trump to win.
Have y ou seen the agenda the Republicans have written on education? THAT alone should caution you.
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Jill Stein is polling at 3%
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It’s not difficult to see why Trump has praised Alex Jones. Here are some of the top stories right now on Alex Jones’s Infowars.com:
ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA: PUTIN AND TRUMP WORKING TOGETHER TO DEFEAT CLINTON
DNC and neocon talking points: Trump is a Putin tool
TRUMP: HILLARY VP PICK IS “BOUGHT AND OWNED BY THE BANKS”
“He’s in favor of TPP and every other trade deal that he’s ever looked at.”
ANN COULTER: PEOPLE HAVE TO GET COMFORTABLE WITH THE IDEA OF TRUMP
Republicans must accept Trump as the candidate who will beat Hillary Clinton
INFOWARS DOMINATES DNC COVERAGE BY ILLUSTRATING DEM DIVIDE
Report shows party more split than Republican party
DEMS TURN AGAINST HILLARY OVER TPP
Bernie supporter admits Dems may back Trump over Hillary
TRUMP: HILLARY VP PICK IS “BOUGHT AND OWNED BY THE BANKS”
“He’s in favor of TPP and every other trade deal that he’s ever looked at.”
DNC APPROVED PLANTING SATIRICAL CRAIGSLIST AD TO MOCK TRUMP, LEAKED EMAILS SHOW
Fictitious job listing says Trump “may greet you with a kiss on the lips or grope you under the meeting table”
REVEALED: TRUMP PUTS GLASS STEAGALL & PEACE IN GOP PLATFORM
The Trump campaign continues to promote economic reform and non-interventionist policies
TRUMP: “LEGACY OF HILLARY CLINTON IS DEATH, DESTRUCTION, TERRORISM AND WEAKNESS
“Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.”
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Did you see that video of Alex Jones crashing The Young Turks coverage of the GOP convention? Jones is a disgusting liar and prevaricator, he claimed that he was invited to visit TYT’s convention coverage area. Cenk stated that Jones was not invited and purposely disrupted the TYT program while it was in progress. Jones is a despicable human being and he’s doing massive damage with all his lies and conspiracy theories. Who the hell cares what Jones has to say on his vile web site.
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I can’t watch any video of Alex Jones without having a stroke.
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NYT Journalist Nicholas Kristof asks the question, “Is Trump a Racist?” Here is a partial quote from one of his writings:
“…As Trump moved into casinos, discrimination followed. In the 1980s, according to a former Trump casino worker, Kip Brown, who was quoted by The New Yorker: “When Donald and Ivana came to the casino, the bosses would order all the black people off the floor. … They put us all in the back.”
In 1991, a book by John O’Donnell, who had been president of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, quoted Trump as criticizing a black accountant and saying: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.” O’Donnell wrote that for months afterward, Trump pressed him to fire the black accountant, until the man resigned of his own accord.
Trump eventually denied making those comments. But in 1997 in a Playboy interview, he conceded “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true.”
The recent record may be more familiar: Trump’s suggestions that President Obama was born in Kenya; his insinuations that Obama was admitted to Ivy League schools only because of affirmative action; his denunciations of Mexican immigrants as, “in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists”; his calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States; his dismissal of an American-born judge of Mexican ancestry as a Mexican who cannot fairly hear his case; his reluctance to distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan in a television interview; his retweet of a graphic suggesting that 81 percent of white murder victims are killed by blacks (the actual figure is about 15 percent); and so on….”
……………
I don’t understand why people accept what Trump does. He is a racist.
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I look forward to the coming installments in this important series by Nicholas Kristof, including Is Hillary Clinton a Racist?, Is Bernie Sanders a Racist?, Is Woody Allen a Racist?, and Are You a Racist?
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Trump is both a racist and an idiot. Laziness is not a trait; it’s an insult and an excuse, but not a trait. It’s a completely manufactured idea. There are reasons, biological and psychological, for anyone to lack motivation or be conflicted toward action at any given time or over any period.
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Another idiot we know so well.
I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.
Bill Gates
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If anyone has followed the Billsries history, then …. I have.
While Drmph is nuts at least he’s against the boondoggle TPP.
And $illary is well …
I cannot support either $illary or Drumph.
Both are HUBRIS to the max.
Vote 3rd Party (Green) or write in Bernie.
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I read an interesting post tonight: http://teacherpoetmusicianglenbrown.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-righteous-mind-why-good-people-are.html. Worth the read.
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