The Gods of Narrative are in control!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

Drum defends one of the "bad guys:"
The Gods of Narrative will be honored within our floundering, immature discourse.

We'll be told that nothing has worked in our public schools. For all those years, we were told that the Social Security trust fund was just a bunch of worthless IOUs. In a desk drawer in West Virginia!

In our presidential campaigns, the narratives will most commonly turn on the press corps' assessments of character. We're speaking about the mainstream press corps. We're not zeroed in on Fox.

The history here may date to the character problems widely ascribed to President Nixon. But by the time of Campaign 1988, the press corps knocked two major candidates out of the race on the basis of perceived character problems (Biden and Hart).

At that time, the hunt was general. As someone who had known Candidate Gore way back in college, we fielded many phone calls from journalists eager to know all about his possible teen-aged transgressions.

Had he ever smoked marijuana? Were there any "academic incidents?" Journalists were eager to explore their deeply withered concept of "character."

Four years later, Bill Clinton arrived on this rather peculiar scene.

As Matt Yglesias suggested in his recent piece at Vox, the mainstream press will often tilt its coverage of major political figures on the basis of perceived character. The "good guys"—that's the term Yglesias used. Despite its childishness, it's highly appropriate—will have their conduct examined in a rather permissive manner.

(For our previous report, click here.)

Other figures will become targets. Within the novelized world of our national press, everything these Others do will, by the rules of the game, display their lack of character.

This brings us to Kevin Drum's recent post, which we strongly recommend. Yesterday, the post appeared beneath this sadly appropriate headline:

"Sigh. Yet Another Non-Scandal at the Clinton Foundation"

Sure enough! Politico had spotted another non-scandal scandal at the Clinton Foundation! This latest non-scandal concerned the conduct of Bill Clinton, who has now been widely defined, by the Gods of Narrative, as someone with character problems.

Does Bill Clinton have "character problems?" To some extent, we'd assume that pretty much everyone does. But in the Kingdom of Narrative, the "good guys" are seen as wonderfully pure. As for the Others, let's recall Woody Guthrie:

Every crime in Oklahoma will be added to their names.

Lies and misstatements will be invented. We'll be told that the targeted pols uttered these lies. Things will devolve from there.

In this case, Bill Clinton is accused of yet another act of misconduct at his foundation. We'll suggest that you read Drum's complete post, but this is the way he ended his post about Clinton's alleged misconduct:
DRUM (9/1/16): This is not just "not illegal," it's the way pretty much any similar kind of operation works. Even me. Mother Jones pays me an annual salary, but if I write an op-ed or something, I bill that time to whoever I wrote the op-ed for.

Go ahead and read the whole thing. There's really nothing even remotely blurry or scandalous or shady or anything else. It's just the standard way anyone operates who has multiple interests, multiple funding sources, and staffers who do work for multiple organizations. There's no hint that any of the charges were incorrect, or that any of the purchases were misallocated. As near as I can tell, it was all entirely above board, and the GSA was actively involved in scrutinizing everything.

Basically, the reason for headlines like this is because Bill Clinton decided after his presidency to set up a large and active foundation that raised a ton of money for exceptionally worthy causes around the world. If he had decided to just lounge around instead, none of this would ever have come up. It's a little hard to believe that he's getting so much grief for this.
Before we're done, we'll return to one key part of that passage. But this is very typical stuff in our current Kingdom of Narrative, where so many mainstream press corps story-lines involve perceived issues of character.

We mentioned Yglesias' appropriate use of a childish term—"good guys." Starting in 1992, the mainstream press has adopted a steady succession of pols who were defined in this way.

Again and again, these people have been presented as straight-talking truth-telling straight-shooters. Childish fairy tales have been told about how truthful these "good guys" are.

The mainstream press corps has tended to tell these childish tales as a group. Their judgments have routinely turned out to be wrong, as fairy tales always are.

In 1992, the designated truth-teller in the Democratic race was the late Senator Paul Tsongas. As far as we know, Senator Tsongas was a good, decent person. That said, he wasn't a character from a fairy tale.

For whatever reason, Bill Clinton was quickly defined that year as the guy with the character problem. For that and other reasons (Tsongas was a deficit hawk), Tsongas was therefore cast as the "good guy" truth-teller.

Twenty-four years of powerful narrative got its start in this fashion. As it turned out, Paul Tsongas died in January 1997, two days before his first term in the White House would have ended. It was fairly clear that he had misled the public and press in 1992 about the cancer which killed.

From that time forward, the press corps' official "good guys" have routinely taken advantage of the kid glove treatment their designation afforded them. Quite routinely, this has produced awkward insults to Narrative.

In his piece at Vox, Yglesias correctly identified Colin Powell as one of the press corps' major "good guys" of the past several decades. As far we know know, Colin Powell is a good, decent person. That said, did you see the presentation he made at the U.N. in the run-up to war in Iraq?

In real time, the nation's pundits stood in line to affirm what the great good man had said. When it turned out that his assessment had been weirdly, gruesomely wrong, the nation's news orgs worked rather hard to avoid an obvious, awkward question:

How in the world did Colin Powell manage to get it so wrong?

At least since 1992, the nation's mainstream press has persistently offered us silly, novelized group fairy tales built around perceptions of character. They tend to invent and disappear facts to keep their tales alive.

Many of their "good guy" exemplars have been Republicans and conservatives. For quite a few years, Paul Ryan has been an official straight-talking truth-teller. So was Michelle Rhee, as is anyone else who supports "education reform."

So were Bill Clinton's sex accusers. Kathleen Willey was widely declared a god of truthfulness on first sight. In a profoundly absurd display, pundits stampeded into line to affirm her obvious truthfulness.

A few years later, Kenneth Starr's successor, Robert Ray, stated in his formal report that his office had considered charging Willey with perjury. This fact was widely disappeared. Narrative mustn't be mocked!

From the late Paul Tsongas on, an array of major figures have been defined, in these group fairy tales, as straight-talking truth-tellers. Meanwhile, who have been diagnosed as the ones with with the "character problems?"

According to the Gods of Narrative, Clinton, Clinton and Gore have been among the era's largest offenders! If we might borrow from Teddy White, this has been coloring all the reporting of the current White House campaign.

Does Hillary Clinton have some sort of character problem? We'll assume that everyone does. But Yglesias' piece, and Drum's post, show the way reporting is colored by the power of narrative, especially that about character.

To that, we'll only say this:

When it comes to matters of character, the press corps has had its thumbs on the scale since 1992. This has been especially true concerning Clinton / Gore / Clinton.

The liberal world has tolerated this state of affairs every step of the way. It's hard to avoid an obvious thought: career journalists have tolerated this because these highly destructive themes have largely come from the major mainstream organs. Career journalist have tolerated this because it served career interests.

Ever so slowly, we would say that this has possibly started to turn. That Yglesias piece comes extremely late in the game, and we'd say it's quite polite. But it starts to define the way the mainstream press has worked for the past many years.

We said we'd return to one part of Drum's post. Here's the part we had in mind:
DRUM: Basically, the reason for headlines like this is because Bill Clinton decided after his presidency to set up a large and active foundation that raised a ton of money for exceptionally worthy causes around the world. If he had decided to just lounge around instead, none of this would ever have come up. It's a little hard to believe that he's getting so much grief for this.
The highlighted statement isn't "wrong." In a rational world, it would be hard to believe that Bill Clinton, or anyone else, would get so much grief of this type.

But in our world, this has been the journalistic norm since 1992! These kinds of character attacks were aimed at Candidate Gore for twenty months during Campaign 2000. He was Bill Clinton's chosen successor! Within the mainstream group fairy tale, that made him a bad guy too!

This remarkable journalistic behavior has been the norm since 1992. In the current campaign, whatever one thinks of Candidate Clinton, all reporting of her "character problems" is being colored by the power of this decades-old narrative line.

As we liberals ever-so-slowly turn, we find ourselves asking this:

This has been the journalistic norm for a very long time now. What will it take before liberal journalists like Yglesias and Drum reflexively make this blatantly obvious statement? Before they start calling out names?

Let's borrow some language from Candidate Trump. When will our anger harden? Our sense of duty as citizens? How about our resolve?

71 comments:

  1. Joe Biden's comments about the Foundation yesterday, his unwillingness to defend the Clintons, is unhelpful and comes across as spiteful. He is earmarked as a good guy so what he says (or doesn't say) has extra weight. There are so many ways he could have deflected the question that his remarks seem deliberate and petty.



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  2. Trump told the American Legion that he wants kids to be taught patriotism in school. Who does that remind you of?

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  3. Bob is really stretching to defend the Clintons. He writes, "Kenneth Starr's successor, Robert Ray, stated in his formal report that his office had considered charging Willey with perjury." In other words, Willey was NOT charged with perjury, let alone convicted. OTOH Bill Clinton WAS convicted of perjury, a fact Bob would rather not mention.

    Anyhow Bill Clinton's sexual misbehavior, and the lies about that misbehavior, tell us nothing about the problems of the Clinton Foundation. Even the New York Times said that the Clinton Foundation was problematic. They acknowledged at least the appearance of corruption. The Washington Post reported that organizations donating to the Clinton Foundation got better access to the Hillary Clinton State Dept. This is shocking for two reasons.

    We've all heard about corrupt building inspectors who take bribes, either to ignore structural problems or to expedite their inspection. But, we've never heard of the foreign policy of the United States handled this way.

    Secondly the amounts of money are shocking. As I recall, the Clinton Foundation collected something like two billion dollars.

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    1. One Spammer Responding to AnotherSeptember 3, 2016 at 4:57 PM

      love my husband so much but he was cheating on me with another woman and this makes him broke up with me so that he can be able to get marry to the other lady and this lady i think use witchcraft on my husband to make him hate me and my kids and this was so critical and uncalled-for,I cry all day and night for God to send me a helper to get back my man

      Delete
    2. Willey made accusations then denied them when under oath. That's why it seems clear she was not telling the truth when she accused Clinton. She knew she would be exposed to serious repercussions if she repeated her lies on the record.

      Hillary Clinton was not connected to the Foundation when she was Secretary of State. She had no idea who was a donor and who was not. There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that she ever performed a favor for any donor as a quid pro quo for that donation.

      The emails reveal the contrary to your assertion (and the headline, which doesn't say "better" access and thus is technically true because anyone can call or send email to aides at the State Dept). The emails clearly show that the response by the State Department was no different than to anyone contacting them, and that no favors were done, in fact, the opposite was true. Attempts to get special treatment were refused (when you look at what the actual response to the request was).

      Those who have looked into this in detail describe Clinton as exceptionally clean when it comes to both her dealings with the Foundation and with others as well. That is the irony of this concerted effort to smear her.

      Not only is Trump's Foundation being ignored, but so was Powell's and Bush's and the foundations of all Republican politicians. Only Clinton gets this scrutiny.

      The Foundation has been examined by Charity watchdogs and given an A rating. The money has gone toward charity activities and the Clintons themselves have not even received salary from the Foundation. It is not being run as a slush fund for their activities but has funded other organizations carrying out the goals of their charity, primarily involving health care in poor countries.

      It takes a very thick skin to pursue this as an attack on Clinton knowing that many people will suffer as a consequence of any political attacks that take down a charity doing major good in the world.

      Trump has no empathy. You now demonstrate that same characteristic. You've been set straight on this numerous times yet you persist in trying to hoodwink readers here. It is a very ugly way to spend your spare time.

      Delete
  4. There's no evidence they got better access. None.

    And love the "appearance of corruption." Yeah, that's evidence.

    Trump meanwhile gets caught using intermediaries to bribe the Florida AG over Trump University and it's a big yawn.

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  5. Anon 4:10 -- the Washington Post, a Democratic newspaper, reported, "Emails reveal how foundation donors got access to Clinton and her close aides at State Dept."

    Read the article at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/emails-reveal-how-foundation-donors-got-access-to-clinton-and-her-close-aides-at-state-dept/2016/08/22/345b5200-6882-11e6-8225-fbb8a6fc65bc_story.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One Spammer Responding to AnotherSeptember 3, 2016 at 4:59 PM

      ove my husband so much but he was cheating on me with another woman and this makes him broke up with me so that he can be able to get marry to the other lady and this lady i think use witchcraft on my husband to make him hate me and my kids and this was so critical and uncalled-for,I cry all day and night for God to send me a helper to get back my man

      Delete
    2. Shorter troll with his long-refuted Wapo hit piece: I'm flailing once again.

      Delete
  6. Josh Marshall of TPM and one of Bob's bĂȘte noires has a post up today fulfilling one of Bob's ingest request, he takes on the NYT for their terrible reporting about the Clintons over the last 25 years. Yes, that's right. He details their transgressions, their mainstreaming of conservative opposition research to drive bogus narratives about the Clintons and ends the piece by calling the NYT, "Chumps." He notes that the Times' execrable coverage has an institutional cast that transcends individual bureau chiefs, editors and journalist.
    He calls them out.
    Now, the question is simply why now? If Josh was as craven and as money driven as Bob has claimed that he has been, why would he post this article? From my POV, Josh isn't the grasping wanna be that Bob makes him out to be in his blog posts.
    The world has changed since 1998. I wish that this blog would reflect those changes more often. The Yglesias post was a baby step. Let's see if a bit more reality-based commentary can occupy some space along with the criticism of our press.

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    1. Why now? Because Hillary is the designated candidate. There was no incentive to do this when Obama was the preordained candidate. Marshall didn't say this before because it didn't serve his purposes.

      Marshall didn't suddenly find a clue. He understands that Trump cannot be permitted to win. He deserves no credit for doing the right thing. He is just doing the necessary thing. He is the same old Josh Marshall.

      Delete
    2. Where was Marshall when Hillary needed him?

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    3. OMG. So a thorough take-down of The Times' coverage is a big nothing burger because he didn't do it 8 years ago? That's all you've got? What nefarious "purposes" are driving Josh's analysis now?

      Delete
    4. @@ 6:02 & 6:03 - damned if you do and damned if you don't here in Bobworld.

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    5. Marshall doesn't get props for coming late to the table.

      Delete


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    ReplyDelete
  8. Today the Huffington Post is calling Trump a cheapskate for failing to pay his campaign staff. That implies he is tight-fisted or cautious about spending. In truth, it is illegal to fail to pay workers for their labor. He is a criminal when he fails to pay wages earned by his staff. They are being too kind to him.

    He should be fined and his wrongdoing should be called what it is: theft.

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  9. The Clintons behave so brazenly that one cannot believe what they did. One example is Bill Clinton selling Presidential pardons just before leaving office. The pardon of Mark Rich got the most publicity, but other unsavory characters got pardoned as well. It was reported that many of these pardons were purchased by paying money to Hillary Clinton's brother.

    For the Clinton defenders here who will deny any charge against them, I recommend you read what the New York Times and Democrats in Congress said about these pardons at the time.

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  10. Although the Times has been critical of Hillary, they've been more unfair to Trump. E.g., Times on line currently says, "Donald J. Trump expressed empathy with African-Americans, but did not address what has so made him unpopular with them, like his real estate company’s discriminating against black tenants."

    However, the linked article merely says that Trump's real estate company was ACCUSED of racial discrimination. Racial discrimination in real estate is illegal. If you follow the links, you learn that the real estate company was NOT convicted of racial discrimination. So, the Times headline is false and slanderous.
    http://www.nytimes.com/

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    1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-governments-racial-bias-case-against-donald-trumps-company-and-how-he-fought-it/2016/01/23/fb90163e-bfbe-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html

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    2. Thanks for the link hardindr. There appears to be some evidence of racial discrimination, although the government's failure to convict suggests that their case wasn't conclusive.

      This is what the Times says on their front page today


      "Donald J. Trump expressed empathy with African-Americans, but did not address what has made him so unpopular with them, like his real estate company’s discriminating against black tenants."

      This statement is misleading, as can be seen by filling in the key omitted words:

      "...like [46 years ago] his [father's] real estate company [accused but not convicted of] discriminating against black tenants."

      The accurate version is awfully weak. Should a black person automatically vote against a candidate because his father was accused of racial discrimination 46 years ago? I don't think so.

      I think the Times's front page quote is intentionally misleading. It's the usual ploy of tarring conservatives as racists.

      P.S. an analogy would be to refer to Bill Clinton as a "rapist", based on Juanita Broaderick's mere accusation. It would be very wrong for the front page of a newspaper to write:

      Hillary Clinton expressed empathy with women, but did not address what has made her so unpopular with them, like helping her husband commit rape.

      Delete
    3. What a piece of work you are!

      How about Trump clearing the casino floor of black employees before he arrived because he and his high rollers didn't want to see them? Or his comments about the inferiority of black people? Like father, like son.

      I am Trump's age. I was fighting for civil rights when he was collecting rents for his father, in his slumlord properties, implementing the racist rental policies of his father. He was A-OK with what his father did because he worked for his father (unlike his brother). He had a choice and he made it.

      Trump's racism is evident in every sentence he speaks about race. That's why his visit to Detroit this week was such a farce.

      Your references to the Clintons and rape are beyond the pale. You don't belong here. These debunked smears just provoke readers here and you are not doing anything to earn votes -- you are just trying to upset people.

      Delete
    4. DinC, please consider reading this book. It is widely available and should be in your local library...

      http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/the-making-of-donald-trump/

      Delete
    5. Also...

      http://wyso.org/post/book-nook-making-donald-trump-david-cay-johnston

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    6. Anon 10:44 -- I'm glad to hear that you worked for civil rights in the early days.

      It's incorrect to call that rape accusation "debunked". It's a he-said, she-said story that cannot be proved or disproved.

      hardindr -- I believe that Trump has a shady background. He wouldn't be my choice for President. The same is true of Hillary IMHO. What a miserable choice we voters have. We got better candidates when party insiders made thet selections secretly in proverbial smoke-filled rooms.

      The current system gives a big advantage to someone who is well-known, or somone like Obama with a unique story. The primary process doesn't give enough time for someone without a national reputation, like Jim Webb. I think Webb would have trounced Trump.

      Delete
    7. You cannot prove a negative. So Bill Clinton cannot prove he never raped anyone. However, the women who made those accusations have been discredited in a variety of ways. That you keep raising these claims, over and over, in a liberal website makes it clear you are just a troll.

      Hillary does not have a "shady background" and she is an excellent choice for president. When you put her in the same sentence with Trump, you offend me and the others who are her enthusiastic supporters.

      A monkey would trounce Trump.

      If Hillary Clinton were not saddled with overcoming sexism as well as her Republican opponent, she would be much further ahead of Trump and the lameness of his candidacy would be more evident. He is only as close as he is because too many men cannot stomach voting for a female candidate.

      Webb is unacceptable to Democrats because of his positions on many issues, and his personality is repellant in much the same way as Ted Cruz. He would never have become the Democratic nominee, absent Hillary, because someone else would have been chosen. Perhaps Biden or Sherrod Brown or one of the others who clearly stepped aside to give Hillary her shot.

      People generally become well known for their accomplishments in public service, not for being reality TV stars. Obama wasn't popular because of his "unique story" but because of his ability to give hope to a generation, his party service, and his solid Democratic platform.

      Someone without a national reputation should not run for president. It indicates he or she has not put in the time, done the work to qualify for the job. Webb is known among Democrats and they don't like him.

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    8. People generally become well known for their accomplishments in public service...

      What were Obama's accomplishments in public service when he first ran for President?

      Getting elected to the Senate as a black person is the only public accomplishment I can think of. And, that was more of a personal accomplishment.

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    9. What on earth are you talking about? You think being black is a personal accomplishment?

      Obama had several terms in the state senate in Illinois, then the US Senate, plus community organizing before that (in Chicago).

      These all indicate a desire to serve people.

      If you want a list of Obama's bills sponsored and passed, google him (or see Wikipedia).

      Obama worked his way up in the Democratic party to the point that he was asked to speak at the Democratic Convention (where Kerry was nominated). His speech was a barn-burner and gained him considerable national visibility. During his time in the Senate he formed relationships with important Democrats that helped him when he decided to run. These connections do matter, as Bernie Sanders later discovered. Trump is having problems now because he eschews such relationships and even alienates members of his own party. It is part of why he is losing despite the charisma and name recognition he seems to have for some Republicans.

      To be elected a leader, you have to show some leadership in a capacity similar to the office you are seeking.

      Trump shows only self-aggrandizing opportunism and no genuine concern for helping people or serving them. He looks bored and gets restless whenever he has to do anything remotely like the job he is seeking. It makes me very nervous about who would actually do the work, were he elected.

      Delete
  11. And, the alleged discrimination occurred 43 years ago, when Donald Trump's father was running the real estate company. And, the Times acknowledges that "there is no evidence that Mr. Trump personally set the rental policies at his father’s properties."

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    1. You are incorrect. Trump was working for his father by collecting rents, processing rental applications, etc. There is no evidence Trump ever disagreed with his father, refused to discriminate, helped renters in disputes or in any way indicated he was not on board with his father's racist policies. This all happened at a time when civil rights was in the news and anyone with a conscience was helping instead of working against change. Trump lived in NYC, so he would have been well aware of the movement toward racial change.

      His father was not only racist, but his grandfather was in the KKK. Trump continues an appeal to white supremacists that is part of his family heritage. He isn't against any of this. He is fully comfortable with racism and the attitudes that go along with it because they are his family legacy.

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    2. Trump's grandfather trafficked in women (ran prostitutes). Trump himself ran an Escort Service. He comes by his misogyny naturally too. Melania is claiming she was never an "escort" but she was certainly a model, treated in the exploitive way Trump treated his other models. The only difference between the way his model agency worked and pimping was the lack of sexual services (that we know of). There is plenty of evidence Trump doesn't like women either.

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    3. Trump continues an appeal to white supremacists

      I'm unimpressed by a candidate's unsavory supporters. Hillary has been endorsed by the Communist Party of the USA. So, what? Hillary is herself, not her supporters.

      Trump's grandfather trafficked in women (ran prostitutes).

      Nobody cares about this sort of wild accusation against a candidate's forbears. Kennedy family money supposedly came from rackteering. That rumor didn't affect people's love for JFK and the rest of the family.

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    4. The problem is not Trump's unsavory ancestors but his continuation of their legacy. Kennedy didn't continue his grandfather's rum-running. Trump continues to traffic in women (his escort and model agencies), skirts immigration laws, cheats his contractors and doesn't pay his staff, displays bigotry in the workplace and his campaign, refuses to show us his tax returns (to make transparent his ties with Saudis, Russians and China, among others), lies constantly about his opponents and his own accomplishments, and has weird sexual urges toward his daughters that make him enormously creepy. If I believe Ivana, he has also engaged in domestic violence and he is being accused of raping a 13 year old (with an eyewitness testifying to it). All of this is before you even consider his erratic policy positions, ridiculous budget and tax proposals, and his desire to undo previous treaty agreements with allies and give Russia whatever it wants, including the Ukraine.

      Trump's dog whistles to white supremacists are the least of his failings, but they are real and ugly and would on their face disqualify him for anyone concerned about improving race relations.

      I see very strong parallels between Trump and Adolph Hitler, but also some differences. Hitler actually read books, although he didn't understand them well. He also worked hard and did his own firing, not having been born into the lap of luxury. He was also not a lecher, as Trump is. He seemed to have a longer attention span and be much less concerned about making a lot of money. I think it is a toss-up who could do the most damage to our nation if elected its leader.

      Delete
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  13. It's truly amazing (but not surprising) in how many ways David in Cal proves himself to be wrong and dishonest in this particular comment thread.

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    1. Why is he here?

      Delete
    2. It's really bone simple: he's a troll, and trolls gotta troll.

      Delete
  14. What else can i say rather than to thank Doctor Okpamen who God used to reunite my marriage. Each day of my life, i ask God to bless Dr. Okpamen for he has made my life complete by bringing back my husband to me and for this reason, i made a vow to my self that i will testify on the internet to let the world know that Dr. Okpamen is a God on Earth. My husband and i had a fight for three days which led to our divorce. On this faithful day, i came across a testimony of how Dr. Okpamen helped a lady in getting back her lover. So, i contacted him and explained to him and he told me that my days of sorrows are over that my husband will come back to me within 12 to 16 hours.. Could you believe it, my husband came home begging that he needs me back. Do you need any kind of help? Contact him now via email: ( Doctorokpamenspelltemple@hotmail.com ), call and whatsapp him via +2348135254384 OR for more confirmation call or text me on my cell# +1 (914) 517-3229. Becky Nolan USA.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well-written criticism of Washington Post fact-checking by an admirer of Bernie Sanders (who now supports Trump). It includes specific examples of bad reasoning. Here's one example:

    Trump: “Hillary Clinton has pledged amnesty in her first 100 days, and her plan will provide Obamacare, Social Security and Medicare for illegal immigrants, breaking the federal budget”

    WP: “Trump falsely says Clinton’s plan will provide Social Security to illegal immigrants. We awarded this claim Four Pinocchios. In general, people in the United States illegally are not eligible to collect Social Security benefits”

    Four Pinocchios? I award 40 Dumbos to the Post. Trump was talking about amnesty, which by definition means that the illegals turn in to legals. Is the Post that logic-challenged?


    Other equally flagrant flaws at https://normsaysno.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/spin-checking-the-fact-checkers/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hillary has not promised amnesty.

      Delete
    2. I wouldn't trust anything said by a supposed Bernie supporter who now claims to be voting for Trump. That person is called a conservative, from the beginning, and was only for Bernie in order to undermine Hillary. This is another garbage comment from DinC.

      Delete
    3. She has promised to pursue a bill to grant amnesty in the first 100 days.

      A new Clinton administration would pursue a bill to legalize illegal immigrants in “the first 100 days” of her tenure, vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine told Spanish-language network Telemundo in an interview Monday, presenting a deep contrast with Republicans.

      http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/288740-clinton-maps-out-first-100-days

      Delete
    4. 6:07 PM -- You don't have to trust me or trust Prof. Matloff. You can check WaPo's criticism yourself and see its failure of logic.

      Delete
    5. On her website, it states that she has pledged an immigration reform bill within 100 days that will provide a pathway to citizenship, among a variety of other fixes to our broken immigration system. She does not use the word amnesty anywhere. That comes from The Hill (and you and conservatives). Amnesty is a hot button for conservative voters, the same word Trump used to attack other candidates during the primaries. There is a reason why Clinton doesn't use that word. She does provide many specifics about her plans for reforming immigration processes, something both parties agree is needed.

      Delete
    6. David, many undocumented workers have social security and other taxes taken from their paychecks even though they are not eligible to receive those benefits. It is money going down a hole because they are ineligible for those programs.

      If someone suddenly became a citizen, whether they collected social security or not would depend on their contributions to the system as workers. You don't get social security unless you work and pay into it.

      Giving undocumented workers Obamacare would be an improvement over the current situation where they use emergency rooms for all health care, at much greater expense to our health care system. Medicare, like social security, is only available to those who make payments for a required number of years and thus qualify for it. It doesn't depend solely on immigration status but also on whether you have made medicare contributions through payroll deductions over time.

      Why don't Republicans know this stuff?

      Delete
    7. "You don't have to trust me or trust Prof. Matloff."
      Don't worry, I don't. You are the last person that should be criticizing anyone's logic, even a Wapo reporter's.

      Delete
    8. 8:19 -- I think that's a quibble. A "pathway to citizenship" for people here illegally would be what's meant by the word "amnesty".

      8:24 -- the point being made was the the WaPo fact-checker made a dumb or biased finding to claim that Trump was lying. You are right that the only people receiving social security are those who have paid in.

      You say that treating illegal immigrants better would be an improvement. I agree, BUT only if something is first done to prevent more of them. Reagan gave amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants; we now have an estimated 11 million. After they're given amnesty, we'll have untold millions more, unless something is somehow fixed going forward.

      P.S. I find the term "undocumented worker" offensively euphemistic. First of all, someone who loses their documents, but otherwise has a legal right to be there, is what "undocumented" means. Second, the illegal immigrants are not all working.

      Delete
    9. It all depends on what their occupation is, David. Here's the results of Mother Jones' inquiry into the Trump Model Management agency:

      Donald Trump, the scourge of illegal immigrants who are taking away jobs from hardworking Americans, owns a modeling agency that has knowingly employed...illegal immigrants. MoJo's James West has all the deets, including this strong and gutsy non-denial:

      Trump's campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined to answer questions about Trump Model Management's use of foreign labor. "That has nothing to do with me or the campaign," she said, adding that she had referred Mother Jones' queries to Trump's modeling agency. Mother Jones also sent detailed questions to Trump Model Management. The company did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls requesting comment.

      Delete
    10. Questions like that also need to be directed to Trump Escorts.

      Delete
    11. There's a difference?

      Delete
  16. Today Bernie is insisting that Clinton must cut Foundation ties (something she has already stated she will do). Is this how he supports her candidacy and campaigns for her? What a guy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think she shouldn't capitulate. It doesn't matter what she does or doesn't do. Aided by the cuck media, the GOP will spin it as they always have since the late '80s.

      F*ck em!

      Delete
  17. John K. Wilson, author of "Trump Unveiled," says:

    "When Trump was building Trump Tower, a general concrete strike by workers shut down almost all the worksites, but not Trump’s building, because he had hired a mobbed-up concrete firm. So most businessmen weren’t involved with the mob. Trump was an exception."

    Why has there been no attention to Trump's mob ties?

    ReplyDelete
  18. A commenter wrote, "Trump's racism is evident in every sentence he speaks about race."

    Jesse Jackson disagrees entirely.

    On the contrary, Jesse Jackson praised Trump in 1999 for a lifetime of helping the African American Community. Listen for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K1-nzxzzug

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be THIS Jesse Jackson?

      5/11/16 Huffington Post:

      Reverend Jesse Jackson has found himself at the center of political controversy in France after dining with Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the country’s extreme right-wing National Front party.
      ....
      News of the meal he and Le Pen shared surfaced after the French politician tweeted a photo of the two men along with an autograph from Jackson made out to Le Pen and his wife.
      Jackson first attempted to diffuse the controversy by saying that he coincidentally ran into Le Pen at a restaurant. But Le Pen’s camp pushed back. An aide to Le Pen told Agence France-Presse that Jackson was aware of who Le Pen was.
      “There was no trap, and there was even an agreement with their mutual Moroccan friends that the dinner was not private,” the aide said. “The photos were taken by a professional photographer.”
      Reached for comment by HuffPost France, Jackson conceded that the dinner had been pre-arranged. The former Democratic presidential candidate admitted to accepting an invitation to dinner on May 8 from “old friends” who had also invited Le Pen and his wife, he said. Jackson claimed that he wasn’t warned about the former French presidential candidate’s political pedigree.

      Delete
  19. How to Get an Ex Back
    My boyfriend broke up with me its been 4 days now. We have been dating sense he was 18 and I was 22. She has just know turned 21. We have been dating for 3 years and 2 and half months. Through the years we have had a really good relationship it was serious and we really wanted to be with each other forever. Of course we had are arguments but nothing too bad. I know that these past 3 months I had taken him for granted thinking he would always be there but was wrong. he told me he didn’t want to be in a relationship that he wanted to take time with himself. But he was still kissin me and hugging me and telling me that he will always love me and I hold a special place in her heart. I realized that right before he done this that I needed to get my act together but I guess was too late. I really love this boy there is something different about him he is the love of my life and I want us to have a better relationship then ever before and I wouldn’t ever take him for granted ever again I really do want to marry this boy and he wanted that too but idk how to get him back with out being clingy and desperate. Obviously he needs his space because he cheated on me and this time I really need help to bring him back and marry me, one day i was searching online and i saw a good testimony of how Dr Joy a real Africa spell caster help to restored back broken marriage, getting ex back, fix broken relationship. so i copy his email via??? joylovespell@gmail.com and told him all my problems so he ask me not to worry that my problem are solve that with 2 days, i will get him back which i believe in and put all my hope on and to my greatest notice, after the spell my boyfriend who broke up with me gave me a call to apology and feel so sorry for what he did so my dear ones that is how i got my boyfriend back with the help of Dr joy the real spell caster so also email him now on via joylovespell@gmail.com????

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hillary Clinton has nearly all the black vote but today the NY Times tells us young black voters don't like her because she represents the establishment. Can there be any more blatant attempt to help Trump's initiative with black voters?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Clinton has supposedly disappeared and is "running out the clock" and yet she made a major speech on defense and the military to the American Legion last week and announced a health policy on mental illness. The week before that, she attacked Trump on his extremist ties and racial attitudes. Where do they get these narratives? She is doing debate prep and fund-raising for down-ticket races. They make it sound like she is sitting at home, knitting, or worse, hobnobbing with the millionaire class (to which Trump obviously belongs).

    ReplyDelete


  22. My ex and me were together for Two years and 4 months, we were very happy to be husband and wife, last month we went to California and stayed with his family, after we got back he started acting distant, then he started hanging out with a girl, and kept sneaking off to go hangout with her, so i got upset, i could not endure, i tried to do everything to please him but it got worst, one day he left the house and never came back, i tried reaching him but no way i could reach him, because of the heart break he has put me into, i went into search of a real spell caster but I was scammed several times, but I never relented in my search because I want a happy life with my boyfriend, when i saw testimony about spell caster on the internet, so i contacted him and to my greatest surprise (((manifestspellcast@yahoo.com))) restored my relationship, my boyfriend came back to me, i took him back and I am now settled with my him by the magic power of Manifest Spell cast.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Just few weeks ago I saw a comment about Dr. Ekpen Temple, someone talking about how he has help him in his relationship break up, I also contacted him because i was facing the same problem in my relationship, today i can boldly recommend Dr. Ekpen Temple to someone who is also facing break up in his or her relationship to contact him for help today because he has help me restore my relationship back to normal, here is he contact details (ekpentemple@gmail.com) or WHATSAPP him on +2347050270218

    ReplyDelete
  24. I never believed in spells and magic until I experienced one sometime ago and it really worked for me.I was in love with this guy and he was in love with me too for 2years and we where making preparations to get married but to my surprise,his parents didn’t want his hand in the marriage cos of the religious difference.I was about loosing my man to another lady under the influence of his parents until I met a spell caster on net that claimed he can help me out.He helped me cast a very strong spell that helped change his parents mind and i noticed also that my mans love for me has greatly increased. We are happily married now. People with similar problems can contact the spell caster via eduduzadsontemple@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello, I'm here to introduce someone to you all, his name is Dr.Ekpen Temple a spell caster that help me restored my broken relationship, I saw an article on the Internet someone talking about him how he help her in her relationship, today I'm a beneficial of that article, so that is why I'm also talking about how he has helped me so that someone out there that is facing the same challenge can also contact him for help. Here is DR EKPEN TEMPLE contact info: ekpentemple@gmail.com or on Whatsapp number +2347050270218.

    ReplyDelete

  26. hello My name is laura moor. am from texas city, i want to give thanks to dr.ekuku for bringing back my ex husband.No one could have ever made me believe that the letter I’m about to write would actually one day be written. I was the world’s biggest mistake. I never believed in spell powers before or anything like this, but I was told by a reliable source a very close co-worker that Trust is a very dedicated, gifted, and talented person,It was one of the best things I have ever done. My love life was in shambles; I had been through three divorces and was on the brink of a third. I just couldn't face another divorce, and I wanted to try harder to make our relationship work, but my husband didn’t seem to care. and he brake up with me again.I was confuse and do not no what to do again,rather them to get in contact with dr.ekuku. He did a love spell that make my husband come back to me. we are now very much happy with our self. dr.ekuku make him to realize how much we love and need each other.This man is for REAL and for good.he can also help you to fix your broken relationship. I had my husband back! It was like a miracle! He suddenly wanted to go to marriage counseling, and we’re doing very, very well,in our love life.contact email(ekukuperfecthome@yahoo.com) or visite his website on : http://ekukuperfecthome.wixsite.com/dr-ekuku tel:+2348110150018)

    ReplyDelete
  27. hello My name is laura moor. am from texas city, i want to give thanks to dr.ekuku for bringing back my ex husband.No one could have ever made me believe that the letter I’m about to write would actually one day be written. I was the world’s biggest mistake. I never believed in spell powers before or anything like this, but I was told by a reliable source a very close co-worker that Trust is a very dedicated, gifted, and talented person,It was one of the best things I have ever done. My love life was in shambles; I had been through three divorces and was on the brink of a third. I just couldn't face another divorce, and I wanted to try harder to make our relationship work, but my husband didn’t seem to care. and he brake up with me again.I was confuse and do not no what to do again,rather them to get in contact with dr.ekuku. He did a love spell that make my husband come back to me. we are now very much happy with our self. dr.ekuku make him to realize how much we love and need each other.This man is for REAL and for good.he can also help you to fix your broken relationship. I had my husband back! It was like a miracle! He suddenly wanted to go to marriage counseling, and we’re doing very, very well,in our love life.contact email(ekukuperfecthome@yahoo.com) or visite his website on : http://ekukuperfecthome.wixsite.com/dr-ekuku tel:+2348110150018)

    ReplyDelete
  28. hello My name is laura moor. am from texas city, i want to give thanks to dr.ekuku for bringing back my ex husband.No one could have ever made me believe that the letter I’m about to write would actually one day be written. I was the world’s biggest mistake. I never believed in spell powers before or anything like this, but I was told by a reliable source a very close co-worker that Trust is a very dedicated, gifted, and talented person,It was one of the best things I have ever done. My love life was in shambles; I had been through three divorces and was on the brink of a third. I just couldn't face another divorce, and I wanted to try harder to make our relationship work, but my husband didn’t seem to care. and he brake up with me again.I was confuse and do not no what to do again,rather them to get in contact with dr.ekuku. He did a love spell that make my husband come back to me. we are now very much happy with our self. dr.ekuku make him to realize how much we love and need each other.This man is for REAL and for good.he can also help you to fix your broken relationship. I had my husband back! It was like a miracle! He suddenly wanted to go to marriage counseling, and we’re doing very, very well,in our love life.contact email(ekukuperfecthome@yahoo.com) or visite his website on : http://ekukuperfecthome.wixsite.com/dr-ekuku tel:+2348110150018)

    ReplyDelete
  29. In our simple life, love plays a very specific role.Now you are able to make your love life healthy and it has no space for any type trouble. These all are possible with the help of AGBAZARA TEMPLE OF SOLUTION. He helped me cast a spell that brought my long lost lover back withing 48hours who left me for another woman. you can also contact him on ( agbazara@gmail.com ) or whatsapp or call him on +2348104102662 and be happy forever like am now with his experience.

    from USA.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hello.. I am not here to tell you about myself but i just want to share my experience with this great man called Dr.Kabasa, I lost my lover to another guy i was so confused because i really needed her back but i didn't know how to get her back till i came across Dr. Kabasa email and my lover was back to me within 48hours. Any body that is heartbroken can get his or her lover back through the great powers of this great spell caster called Dr.Kabasa whose email is kabasaspell@gmail.com for a real confirmation of what i just said... Alexanda Poland

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello.. I am not here to tell you about myself but i just want to share my experience with this great man called Dr.Kabasa, I lost my lover to another guy i was so confused because i really needed her back but i didn't know how to get her back till i came across Dr. Kabasa email and my lover was back to me within 48hours. Any body that is heartbroken can get his or her lover back through the great powers of this great spell caster called Dr.Kabasa whose email is kabasaspell@gmail.com for a real confirmation of what i just said... Alexanda Poland

    ReplyDelete