1/ It's been about two weeks, and the media is already "normalizing" the President-elect, but don't be fooled - there is a very real possibility 25% of America have elected a would-be dictator....read this excellent story from Bob Cesca to see how we could be in for a most unpleasant future.....
(Credit: AP/Evan Vucci)
It feels like we’ve inadvertently jumped into an alternate timeline. It’s as if Biff Tannen traveled back in time with Marty McFly’s Sports Almanac and, yada-yada-yada, we’re suddenly faced with a crisis in which Biff is running everything rather than merely washing and waxing Marty’s truck. Only this wrinkle in time is far worse than anything Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis ever conceived in any “Back to the Future” film. President-elect Donald Trump is an anomaly that should never have occurred — a disruption of time and history with which the world is unprepared to cope.
The fear and uncertainty accompanying Trump’s victory has a lot to do with not really knowing exactly how Trump plans to govern; whether he’ll remain confined within the strictures of the Constitution and the rule of law; whether he’ll govern as a somewhat normal political leader; or whether his regime will push well beyond those boundaries and into uncharted despotic territory. What we know, however, is that Trump campaigned as a screeching populist autocrat, and so we really have no choice but to steel ourselves for him to govern accordingly. Therefore, the foolish attempt to normalize his behavior during the transition only serves to misinform voters who have a penchant for deluding themselves into believing everything will be fine. If Trump governs the way he campaigned, we’re in for a long, dark era in history, and one that won’t be easily mitigated.
2/ Frank Bruni with a column every Democrat should read....
We geniuses in the news media spent only the last month telling you how Donald Trump was losing this election. We spent the last year telling you how the Republican Party was unraveling.
And here we are, with the Democrats in tatters. You might want to think twice about our Oscar and Super Bowl predictions.
Despite all the discussion of demographic forces that doomed the G.O.P., it will soon control the presidency as well as both chambers of Congress and two of every three governor’s offices. And that’s not just a function of James Comey, Julian Assange and misogyny. Democrats who believe so are dangerously mistaken.
3/ This is the SNL cold open that Trump was tweeting about the next day saying how unfair it was. Just to clarify this, our President-elect is watching late night TV and complaining about satire......
This is not a good sign for the freedom of the media....anyway, five very good minutes with Alec Baldwin nailing his Trump impression....
Kate McKinnon rocked the Kellyanne Conway fright wig and expression of dread and regret on the “Saturday Night Live” cold open last night as she ushered in a series of guests to meet with President-elect Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) and express their enthusiasm for seeing his wildest campaingn promises all come to fruition.
The result? Trump frantically googling ISIS (wouldn’t he make Barron do it?) and entertaining — for a long, silent moment — the possibility of bringing Mitt Romney (Jason Sudeikis) aboard his administration.
Bobby Moynihan played a campaign chair from western Virginia who expects Trump to restore all of the jobs that have left his county. “Every single one?” Trump asks, his face a rictus of panic and confusion.
4/ This was recorded a few days after the election, and I just saw it today, two weeks after our world changed....it's powerful and oh so relevant....seven incredible minutes....
Tess Rafferty on the election of Trump.
Most of you have likely seen this video but it’s important enough that I’m posting it here to make sure it’s seen by as many people as possible. The essayist is Tess Rafferty, a TV writer, comic and author. Most of the comments I’ve seen about are some version of, “It’s like she’s in my head, speaking with my voice to every American who voted for Donald Trump and all that he represents.”
5/ Benjamin Studebaker with a scholarly but interesting analysis of the link between economics and racism....
So when we talk about immigration, xenophobia, or racism as causes of the Trump win, we need to remember that these are second order causes–people are more xenophobic and racist right now because they have lost confidence in the governing economic ideology and in the political parties and institutions that continue to maintain that ideology.
6/ The Daily Show with Trevor Noah with a startling premise - Donald Trump is really an African President.....an amusing seven minutes....
No one really knows what President-elect Donald Trump will do once in office, but comedian Trevor Noah has some ideas.
“The Daily Show” host says Trump shares many similarities with South African President Jacob Zuma, whose reign has been marred by repeated scandals. Noah, a South Africa native, explained qualities that Zuma and Trump share on Tuesday night’s show.
Like Trump, Zuma has a large rural base, lashes out at the media, threatens to jail rivals and has been accused of serious financial conflicts of interest.
One big difference: Zuma doesn’t have influence over the South African court system the way Trump will over U.S. courts.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be the same here as it is in a third world country,” Noah said. “Of course not. I’m saying it could be much worse.”
7/ The excellent Bill McKibben with a test for Trump.....will he as promised scrap the Paris climate agreement, or will he see some sense and keep it....it's a test folks, so lets see if he passes it come January....
If he keeps the agreement intact there's hope for the environment - if he cancels it as he promised his supporters, our planet is toast and much faster then you think....
Think, if you will, of the Paris agreement as a toy painstakingly assembled over 25 years by many of the world’s leading lights. It has now been handed, as a gift, to the new child-emperor, and everyone is waiting to see what he’ll do.
His buddies – the far-right, climate-denying, UN-hating renegades who formed his campaign brains trust – are egging him on to simply break it, to smash it on the floor for a good laugh. In fact, they’re doing their best to give him no way out. “President-elect Trump’s oft-repeated promises in the campaign are fairly black-and-white,” said Myron Ebell, head of his Environmental Protection Agency transition team, last week. (Ebell believes that the Paris deal is an attempt to “turn the world’s economy upside-down and consign poor people to perpetual poverty” – and that climate science is done by “third-rate, fourth-rate and fifth-rate scientists”.)
On the other side are the world’s business leaders, 365 of whom just signed a letter asking Trump to keep America engaged in the Paris process to provide “long-term direction”.
Trump created a job last week!
8/ Thomas Frank on CNN on why the Dems lost, and how Trump has destroyed both parties.....four minutes you probably don't want to hear, because sometimes the truth hurts....
Thomas Frank, author of "Listen Liberal," dissects why "the best-qualified candidate of all time" lost to "the least qualified of all time."
9/ Timothy Egan with a very insightful column in the Times.....
This is a very dangerous man, our next president. Dangerous in his certitude about what he doesn’t know. Dangerous in his ignorance of history, his antipathy toward reading, his inability to sort fact from fiction. The last man to play things by the gut while in control of the world’s most powerful military left a mortal mess.
But welcome, for now, President-elect Donald Trump. It feels, in much of the nation, like the death of a loved one — the sudden, unexpected kind. I haven’t felt this way since the nuns told our second-grade class that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. Still, grief is an emotion that has little power in politics.
A majority — well, not from the popular vote, which Hillary Clinton won — chose radical change over reasoned predictability. They’re going to get plenty of change, much of it chaotic and cruel. Those who think Trump can be contained, or trained by seasoned K Street hacks to act reasonable, are deluding themselves. He’ll do it his way.
10/ This SNL skit is incredibly true.....it's three minutes, amusing and with a great kicker at the end.....
Do you watch cable news? Do you feel like it’s way too repetitive? Well, SNL does too, and tonight it revealed the reason why…
Anderson Coopermoderated a panel with Kayleigh McEnany, Van Jones, Gloria Borger, David Axelrod, and Dana Bash, featuring all six of them giving the same exact takes on a whole range of Donald Trump scandals.
Scarily similar......
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11/ There's billionaires, bad billionaires [Kochs] and there are batshit crazy billionaires.....meet the lunatic and his daughter behind Steve Bannon......
Steve Bannon (Credit: Getty/Mandel Ngan/Shutterstock)
Perhaps the most unnerving aspect of Donald Trump’s presidential victory is watching the media immediately mainstream his white nationalist lieutenant, former Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon, whom Trump has appointed as White House strategist. It’s not a symbolic position; in previous administrations, it was held by the likes of Karl Rove.
According to Kellyanne Conway, Bannon is a “brilliant tactician” and the “general” who ran the winning campaign, so he will have immense power and access to the Oval Office. This is an amazing turn of events. A man who was a fringe player on the far right a year ago is the new president’s Rasputin.
Ken Blackwell, Ohio’s notorious former secretary of state and a member of the Trump transition team, described the division of labor between Reince Preibus, the outgoing Republican National Committee chairman who has been named chief of staff, and Bannon this way:
Bannon is going to be keeper of the image of Trump as a fighter against the status quo, and Reince is going to utilize his personal connections with the speaker and others, to make the trains run on time.
12/ John Oliver's last show of this year was a pean to Trumpism, and how we got here.....
Despite his viral takedown earlier this year of the GOP nominee, Last Week Tonighthost John Oliver was faced with the realization Sunday night that he must now put the phrase “President-elect” in front of the name Donald Trump.
America proved, according to the comedian, that “no grandpa is too racist,” to become the world’s most powerful man. Oliver uniquely devoted his entire show to examining the impending presidency and the implications of Trump — the man Oliver once famously mocked as Donald “Drumpf” to widespread appeal — getting to nominate as many as three Supreme Court Justices.
13/ This election was stolen by the dubious tactics of "Crosscheck", run by Chris Kobach of Kansas and one destined for a high position in the Trump administration........
The Election was Stolen – Here’s How…
Friday, November 11, 2016
Before a single vote was cast, the election was fixed by GOP and Trump operatives.
Starting in 2013 – just as the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act – a coterie of Trump operatives, under the direction of Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, created a system to purge 1.1 million Americans of color from the voter rolls of GOP–controlled states.
The system, called Crosscheck, is detailed in my Rolling Stone report,
“The GOP’s Stealth War on Voters,” 8/24/2016.
“The GOP’s Stealth War on Voters,” 8/24/2016.
Crosscheck in action:
Trump victory margin in Michigan: 13,107
Michigan Crosscheck purge list: 449,922
Trump victory margin in Arizona: 85,257
Arizona Crosscheck purge list: 270,824
Trump victory margin in North Carolina: 177,008
North Carolina Crosscheck purge list: 589,393
On Tuesday, we saw Crosscheck elect a Republican Senate and as President, Donald Trump. The electoral putsch was aided by nine other methods of attacking the right to vote of Black, Latino and Asian-American voters, methods detailed in my book and film, including “Caging,” “purging,” blocking legitimate registrations, and wrongly shunting millions to “provisional” ballots that will never be counted.
14/ South Florida just had a king tide which coincided with the "Supermoon" and as usual a lot of streets and neighborhoods flooded.....
How real estate still sells in Miami is beyond me.....the sea level rise is accelerating....
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In an enclave of a city known as the Venice of America, where dream-big houses look out over a maze of picturesque canals, the comparison to the Venice of Italy no longer seems so appealing.
On Monday morning, shortly after November’s so-called supermoon dropped from view on Mola Avenue, it was easy to see why. The tide swelled on command. Seawater gurgled audibly up through manhole covers and seeped from the grass. Under a sunny sky, the water drowned docks and slid over low sea walls. By 8:15 a.m., peak tide, this street in the Las Olas Isles neighborhood was inundated, just like the Venice across the pond.
Sergio Lafratta, an independent business consultant who moved in just three months ago, stood shirtless in tall waders, watching the saltwater seep into his new lawn.
15/ "Manchester By The Sea" is the new critically acclaimed movie from Director Kenneth Lonergan.....for movie aficionados, and fans of great acting........
In each of the three movies Kenneth Lonergan has directed, characters move through their everyday lives under the shadow of death. The brother and sister played by Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney in “You Can Count on Me” (2000) had, when they were children, lost their parents in a car crash, a trauma that rippled unspoken beneath their mundane adult interactions. The coming-of-age of Lisa Cohen, the New York teenager (Anna Paquin) at the center of “Margaret”(2011), was complicated by a fatal bus accident and colored by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Early in Mr. Lonergan’s new film, “Manchester by the Sea,” Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is summoned back to his hometown by news that his older brother, Joe, has died. Joe, an affable bear of a man (Kyle Chandler, in flashbacks), had had congestive heart failure for a long time, so his death, while wrenching and sad, could not have been entirely unexpected. What Joe’s 16-year-old son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), and Lee face together might fall under the heading of ordinary grief: tragic to be sure, but manageable.
Todays video - a tribute to Peter Seller's wonderful Inspector Clouseau....five minutes....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HMSnfeNf8c
Todays golf joke
Tiger Woods & Stevie Wonder are in a bar...
Tiger says Stevie, "How's the singing career going?"
Stevie replies, "Not too bad. How's the golf?"
Woods replies, "I've had some problems with my swing,
but I think I've got that right, now."
Stevie: "I always find that when my swing goes wrong,
I need to stop playing for a while and not think about it.
Then, the next time I play, it seems to be all right."
Incredulous, Tiger says, "You play GOLF?"
Stevie: "Yes, I've been playing for years."
Tiger: "But -- you're blind! How can you play golf if you can't see?"
Stevie: "Well, I get my caddy to stand in the middle of the fairway and call to me. I listen for the sound of his voice and play the ball towards him. Then, when I get to where the ball lands, the caddy moves to the green or farther down the fairway and again I play the ball towards his voice."
"But, how do you putt" asks Tiger.
"Well", says Stevie, "I get my caddy to lean down in front of the hole and call to me with his head on the ground and I just play the ball towards his voice."
Tiger: "What's your handicap?"
Stevie: "Well, actually -- I'm a scratch golfer."
Woods says to Stevie, "We've got to play a round sometime."
Stevie: "Well, people don't take me seriously, so I only play for money, and never play for less than $10,000 a hole. Is that a problem?"
Woods thinks about it and says, "I can afford that; OK,
I'm game for that . . . $10,000 a hole is fine with me.
When would you like to play?"
Stevie: "Pick a night."
Tiger says Stevie, "How's the singing career going?"
Stevie replies, "Not too bad. How's the golf?"
Woods replies, "I've had some problems with my swing,
but I think I've got that right, now."
Stevie: "I always find that when my swing goes wrong,
I need to stop playing for a while and not think about it.
Then, the next time I play, it seems to be all right."
Incredulous, Tiger says, "You play GOLF?"
Stevie: "Yes, I've been playing for years."
Tiger: "But -- you're blind! How can you play golf if you can't see?"
Stevie: "Well, I get my caddy to stand in the middle of the fairway and call to me. I listen for the sound of his voice and play the ball towards him. Then, when I get to where the ball lands, the caddy moves to the green or farther down the fairway and again I play the ball towards his voice."
"But, how do you putt" asks Tiger.
"Well", says Stevie, "I get my caddy to lean down in front of the hole and call to me with his head on the ground and I just play the ball towards his voice."
Tiger: "What's your handicap?"
Stevie: "Well, actually -- I'm a scratch golfer."
Woods says to Stevie, "We've got to play a round sometime."
Stevie: "Well, people don't take me seriously, so I only play for money, and never play for less than $10,000 a hole. Is that a problem?"
Woods thinks about it and says, "I can afford that; OK,
I'm game for that . . . $10,000 a hole is fine with me.
When would you like to play?"
Stevie: "Pick a night."
Todays blond jokes
As the crowded elevator descended, Mrs. Simpson became too furious with her husband, who was delighted to be pressed against a gorgeous blonde. As the elevator stopped at the main floor, the blonde suddenly whirled, slapped Mr. Simpson, and said, "That will teach you to pinch!" Bewildered, Mr. Simpson was halfway to the parking lot with his wife when he choked, "I...I...didn't pinch that girl." "Of course you didn't" said his wife, consolingly. "I did."
A blonde is overweight, so her doctor puts her on a diet. “I want you to eat regularly for two days, then skip a day, and repeat the procedure for two weeks. The next time I see you, you’ll have lost at least five pounds.” When the blonde returns, she’s lost nearly 20 pounds. “Wow, that’s amazing!” the doctor says. “Did you follow my instructions?” The blonde nods… “I’ll tell you, though, I thought I was going to drop dead that third day." “From hunger, you mean?” said the doctor. “No, from skipping,” replied the blonde.
One day a blond walks into a doctors office with both of her ears burnt. The doctor askes her what had happened. She says, "well... when I was ironing my work suit the phone rang and I mistakanly picked up the iron instead of the phone. "Well that explains one ear, but what about the other." "The bastard called again"
Todays college football jokes
Ohio State's Urban Meyer on one of his players: "He doesn't know the meaning of the word fear. In fact, I just saw his grades and he doesn't know the meaning of a lot of words."
___________________________________________
Why do Tennessee fans wear orange?
So they can dress that way for the game on Saturday, go hunting on Sunday, and pick up trash on Monday.
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What does the average Alabama player get on his SATs?
Drool.
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How many Michigan freshmen football players does it take to change a light bulb?
None. That's a sophomore course.
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How did the Georgia football player die from drinking milk?
The cow fell on him.
___________________________________________
Two West Virginia football players were walking in the woods.
One of them said, "Look, a dead bird."
The other looked up in the sky and said, "Where?"
___________________________________________
A University of Cincinnati football player was almost killed yesterday in a tragic horseback-riding accident.
He fell from a horse and was nearly trampled to death.
Luckily, the manager of the Wal-Mart came out and unplugged the horse. ___________________________________________ ______________________________ _____________
What do you say to a University of Miami Hurricane football player dressed in a three-piece suit? "
"Will the defendant please rise."
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If three Florida State football players are in the same car, who is driving?
The police officer.
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How can you tell if an Auburn football player has a girlfriend?
There's tobacco juice on both sides of the pickup truck.
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What do you get when you put 32 Arkansas cheerleaders in one room?
A full set of teeth.
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University of Michigan Coach Brady Hoke is only going to dress half of his players for the game this week;the other half will have to dress themselves.
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How is the Indiana football team like an opossum?
They play dead at home and get killed on the road.
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Why did the Nebraska linebacker steal a police car?
He saw "911" on the side and thought it was a Porsche.
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How do you get a former Illinois football player off your porch?
Pay him for the pizza.
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