"...Let's Be Honest...We Think Somebody Falling Down Is Funny....Now, Imagine That "Somebody" Is The Entire Country...."

Thousands of voices coming at you from a thousand different directions from a thousand different names in this surreal season of electoral entertainment.

Here's two more to add to your dancing and dining pleasure.

Bill Hicks.

And Guess Who.

No, not guess who?

Guess Who.

Hang in. I'll clear that up for you in a few minutes.


(CNN.com) A former spokesman for Hillary Clinton is sounding off on Donald Trump -- and warning Democrats not to underestimate him.

Jay Carson was Clinton's 2008 press secretary and worked for her family's foundation, and he recently took to Instagram to sound the alarm on the GOP presumptive nominee. 

"Here's the bad news -- this guy can win the general election pretty damn easily," Carson, who is now a producer on the Netflix series "House of Cards" and a Principal at Bloomberg Associates, wrote on his private account. "I hear far too many of my liberal friends calling him a 'joke' and acting like the general (election) is in the bag which is nuts because he's dangerous and he has a path to victory."

Carson told Democrats that underestimating Trump would be perilous. 

"Being profane and not reading the New Yorker are not disqualifying characteristics to many Americans," Carson wrote. "Remember, the NPR crowd thought George W. Bush was a 'joke' too and GWB looks like Thomas Jefferson compared to Trump in terms of danger for our country. We underestimate this guy at our peril."

Carson is the latest in an inevitably long list of people who have taken on the role of Jor-El in this little sci-fi/fantasy epic that "Decision 2016" has become.

For those not up on their DC Comics devotion, Jor-El was a member of the Science Council on the long ago planet of Krypton who was forced to send his baby son Kal-El to the planet Earth in a small prototype rocket when Krypton, as Jor-El had repeatedly warned, blew up. The rocket was small because it was only a prototype and he had not had time to construct a larger one before the big blow up what with all the time he had spent trying to convince the elders of the planet that the planet was, in fact, gonna blow up.

Baby Kal-El, of course, arrived safely on Earth, was found and adopted by a loving farm family and grew up to be a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fighting a never ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.

Now, while the possible success of Trump overtaking the Oval Office isn't exactly on the same scale as an entire planet blowing up (or, come to think of it, it could very easily end up going that way, what with the mouth and the lack of tact and all that, I mean, come on, let's not kid ourselves, right?), the analogy of the voices and/or voices warning of the possibility of disaster here is pretty spot on.

And, Jay...and Jor-el.....well, now, they both start with "J" right?

What? Crazy and ridiculous, you say?

Oh...wait....you're talking about my little J joke there?

I thought you were talking about this election thus far.

Meanwhile, back to Jay.

No, not J.

Jay.

I'm down with what Mr. Carson has to offer here.

Not quite as down as George Costanza does with doing a little rock climbing with Tony, but pretty down.

With one little nit in need of a pick.

Carson's P.O.V and ominous sharing of same are, for my soon to be at risk dollars, valid and true.

What's not dead center true, though, is his aim.

Because I've been saying all along that the potentially damaging force at work in our little CNN/FOX meets SyFy drama here isn't the individual Earthling known as Donald J. Trump.

In fact, the potentially damaging force at work here is, in fact, a larger, and growing larger by the minute, chunk of that wacky, zany, never predictable mass of mob known as "we the people".

Although, with every good justification for doing so, I'm referring to them, of late, as "they, the people."

They, of course, being the mass of mob who are voting for this guy with every fiber of their being, every string of their heart, every lobe of their brain every chance they get.

Regardless of what the man says, does or how he represents himself as a potential leader of the free world.

"I hear far too many of my liberal friends calling him a 'joke' and acting like the general (election) is in the bag which is nuts because he's dangerous and he has a path to victory. Being profane and not reading the New Yorker are not disqualifying characteristics to many Americans,"Remember, the NPR crowd thought George W. Bush was a 'joke' too and GWB looks like Thomas Jefferson compared to Trump in terms of danger for our country. We underestimate this guy at our peril."

Again, the gist of all this is genuine and germane.

But the peril isn't so much in underestimating "this guy" as it is underestimating what "they, the people" are doing.

And, very possibly, will continue to do.
 

Vote for him.

Every one of the once upon a time Republican candidates took for granted, somewhere along the way in their appeals to the voters, that those voters were good people, caring people, strong people, compassionate people, reasonable people who only want what's best for America.

Let's review that theory for a moment.

1. Good. Check.

2. Caring. Check

3. Strong. Check

4. Compassionate. Check

5. Reasonable people who only want what's best.....

Awp. There it is.

What kind of reason is involved, exactly, in hysterically clamoring to climb aboard a train engineered by a sexist, misogynist, racist, narcissistic, meglomaniacal blowhard bully who is never ever wrong or apologetic about anything, who offers no specifics about what he will do once elected, who shows every reasonable symptom of someone who doesn't have a clue about what he will actually do once elected and, yet, got more than enough votes each and every time out to instantly eliminate every single one of the once upon a time other candidates with an efficiency that made that egg spawned thingy wiping out Sigourney Weaver's peeps on the Nostromo look like a warm and fuzzy puppy?

Jay Carson writes eloquently about what a foolish mistake it would be for Hillary and/or her brain trust and/or her supporters continuing to think of Donald Trump and his candidacy as a joke and, even more foolish, to underestimate the man.

Again, it's not the man that Hillary and her brain trust and her supporters need to stop underestimating.

It's "they, the people" that have proven time after time, after primary after primary, after caucus after caucus all the way to the front door of the convention center in Cleveland that what's happening in this country right now, while maybe fairly described as a fantasy, or even disaster, film is about as far from a snarky, satirical comedy as you can get.

And while it's perfectly understandable to find some, or all, of this plot amusing, the story line has long ago moved past the point of allowing us the luxury of laughing it off.

A once upon a time comic voice expressed it best.

Bill Hicks.

"It's always funny until somebody gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious."

Too much sarcastic snark about the Donald and "we, the people" are liable to see just how hilarious "they, the people" can make the ending turn out.

And, of course, to put the musical cherry on top....

Guess Who.

No, not guess who?

Guess Who.

"...Since This Thing Is Really More A Conquering, How About Khan On The VP Short List?...."

America is big on brand names.

Partly, I imagine, because they're usually simple, catchy and easy to remember.

Key word there, of course, being "easy".

We are, after all, a hard working, nose to the grindstone, git er done nation , aren't we?

Sorry. Auto Correct just took a couple of minor liberties with that last sentence.

Should have read "we are, after all, a fat, spoiled, selfish, overindulged, self absorbed, let somebody else do the work, we're busy watching 2 Broke Girls nation, aren't we?"

Oh...and we're big on brand names.

So much so that brand names for many items have actually become the word we use to describe and/or define the item in our daily conversations.

When's the last time you asked somebody to pass you a facial tissue?

Hey, give me a Kleenex.

Or how about we all relax with some alcohol infused gelatin in the whirlpool bath together?

Yo, we're doin' Jello shots in the Jacuzzi.

The list goes on.

Jeep. Frisbee. Chapstick. Popsicle. Scotch tape.

All brand names. And not the generic description of the applicable item.

Sometimes, simply because it seems to be a hard wired in the DNA human trait that well enough should never be left alone, brand names get revised, refurbed or even completely re-named.

After Pepsi, for example, offered up a sugar free version, it became Diet Pepsi and, then, when the decaf version arrived, that arrival was announced as Pepsi Free.

By the way, the satirist and comic Gallagher once insightfully offered that Pepsi Free was "the dumbest name for a product ever.....Pepsi FREE means there's no Pepsi in it....that's a Coke....:"

Lately, it occurs that there's at least one well known, generations old brand name that is clearly teetering on the edge of a revise, refurb and/or complete rename.

GOP.

Given the current state of things, it's as inevitable as the Pavlovian salivating at the ringing of a bell, that the immediate, knee jerk recommend for a new name would be...

TRUMP.

Truth is, though, all due respect to the man ("...and, Mr. Dennit, I said with all due respect.."), the name itself is neither visually, or even aurally, appealing.

Seems less like the inspiring title of something and more like the sound something makes.

Besides, the actual acronym, G.O.P, has been in the lexicon since, give or take, the 1870's.

Seems unlikely that TRUMP, and what it represents, will have a 240 year long impact.

One can only hope.

Clearly, though, whatever else it may, or may not, be, the brand name GOP is clearly no longer in fashion.

What's going on is grotesque, not grand.

It shows, sadly, little signs of growing old.

And "party"?

Only if you think of "party" when you picture angry villagers with torches storming into town with burning things to the ground on their to-do list.

So...hmmm....what's to do?.......

Wait....I think I've got it.

Stand by.

Frank Knotts is a local political activist, blogger and friend, by way of his calls and contributions to my hosting stints on local news/talk radio.

He wrote the following on his blog site recently.


.......old and the new Trump supporters will tell you, Trump will make America great again, by building a wall to keep out the “Mexicans”. That by imposing tariffs on imports he will bring back manufacturing jobs. That he will make us safe by banning all immigration of Muslims.

So to all of the libertarian, and small government Republicans, let me say this, all you will get from Trump is walls and laws. And most likely no wall, just laws. Trump, in order to do even half of what he says, will need to grow the size of government. The wall will never be built. Trump says he will make Mexico pay for it, but it will need to be funded during construction, how?

Tariffs on imports will first raise the cost of products to the consumers, that’s you and me folks, and will be met by tariffs placed on American products exported to other countries, that will cost us jobs.  Wait until we can’t sell our Delmarva chickens in China. But even if it could bring back manufacturing to the U.S.A, it would take decades, if not a century. And his ban on all Muslims, is in my opinion, the greatest threat to, not only our religious freedom, but all Liberty. For if government can pick and choose winners among faith, what is to stop it from banning faith all together. And once that wall is down, what Liberty will be safe?

Now consider the damage just his mouth could do to world markets. The President of the United States carries a lot of weight in just what he says. Now imagine Trump and one of his mouth trips about tariffs, or imports and exports. Imagine the sell offs in our markets and the world markets in reaction to comments made by this chooch, before the comments can be walked back. A Trump administration has the potential to keep the stock markets in a constant state of confusion. But of course there is the possibility this would be good for a billionaire, whose companies could take advantage of wild swings, especially if they knew they were coming.
 
........does this mean I think Hillary Clinton will be a good President? Do I think she will hold to conservative values? Do I think she will appoint Supreme Court Justices who will share my values? Absolutely not, anymore than I think Trump will. What I don’t think Hillary Clinton is capable of, is destroying the GOP, or this nation, which I fully believe Trump is capable of.

So to all of you Trump Jumpers who will call me liberal, who will say I don’t care about the people killed in Benghazi, and all of the other things you will think of, let me say this, you have chosen your taste of evil, others will have to choose theirs.

Maybe the safest thing for the GOP and the nation is to vote for Hillary Clinton for President, and then pull the ticket Republican for the rest. This would keep the mad man out of the Oval Office, and give a balance to government to keep Hillary Clinton under control, until such time the GOP finds its senses again.


As regular listeners of my radio shows, as well as any of you who read my work or watch these vidcasts with any regularity will attest, I'm not a Trump Jumper.

And, given that, for what it's worth, I'm in line with everything that Frank has to say here.

As well as elsewhere. For more to know from Knotts, check out his blog site, delawareright.com

All of that said, though, I'm more and more of the opinion, with each passing day, that those opinions are of little or no value or relevance.

Because the rise, but never, although perpetually expected, fall of Donald Trump isn't about logic, facts, reason, rhyme or, even, reality.

It's about a mindset.

A tidal wave of hormones and testosterone and adrenaline and endorphins that has those who are aboard for the ride feeling the kind of invincibility, and the rare opportunity to use it, that comes along maybe once in a lifetime.

I've heard it described as a movement, an upheaval, a revolution and a dozen other heroic and/or swashbuckling literary adjectives.

I don't use those terms because they romanticize what is, to my POV, not that different from your garden variety lynch mob.

And once the lynch mob is loose, anything and everything that stands in its way is a threat to be eliminated.

Have you noticed the lack of any Trump campaign ads or slogans or even speeches from herr leader himself that invite people to come along in support with those charming, old fashioned terms like "join us" or "come be part of something" or "hey! let's stand together!".

With Trump, you're not enlisted or solicited or even recruited.

You're either fer.

Or aginst.

And if you're aginst,  the snarky, smug, snotty, arrogant mob mentality is that there's no need to be bothered with any reasonable, insightful, cogent, measured alternative position you might have to what the mob takes.

Because, to their way of thinking, there's simply no need to find a way to get you convinced.

Come November, you will be assimiliated.

Which brings us back to brand names.

And what I've recently, and cleverly, if I do say so myself, come to think of as the perfect re-branding for that Grand Old Party that is no longer grand, has suddenly grown very old and, again, is only a party like that slang term the cowboy shows used to use for a slam bang hangin'.

A necktie party.


Ladies and gentlemen, after 240 years of tradition and accomplishment, the Republican Party, at least the Republican Party with Donald Trump at the helm, proudly announces a brand new name for a brand new era.....

out with the old....

GOP

in with the new...

BORG

The election in November will be remarkably lacking in something that has been a major part of elections since time immemorial.

Undecideds.

Not a lot of that to be found in this eccentric election cycle.

And the outcome will come down, simply, to whether Donald or Hillary has the larger number of committed voters.

Because when it comes to convincing anyone who is already humping Trump that there might be a reason, a single, reasonable reason to defer from voting for the D man, you would be wasting time, energy and space.

Don't forget. Your input is irrelevant.

And you will be assimilated.

Resistance is futile.
 

"...The D Word Wants To Be Elected The P Word Even If Every Now And Then, He Slips Up And Calls Women The C Word...'

Decision 2016.

A game of strategy and cunning, played with passion and power, but seeking to bring the masses to new heights of societal accomplishment?

Not so much, no.

A Game Of Thrones?

Played with axes and hatchets and a lust/hate relationship with the wenches amongst us?

Bet yer arse, there, middle agers.

Friday, Donald Trump  accused Hillary Clinton of being "an unbelievably nasty, mean enabler" of her husband's alleged affairs and accused her of destroying the lives of his accusers.

The remarks are the first time that Trump has raised the former president's alleged affairs and Hillary Clinton's behavior amidst a flurry of accusations since becoming the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. Trump had previously accused Clinton of being an "enabler" to her husband's behavior, but he ramped up his rhetoric on Friday.

"She's been the total enabler. She would go after these women and destroy their lives," Trump said, adding, "She was an unbelievably nasty, mean enabler, and what she did to a lot of those women is disgraceful."

Trump did not expand upon what he believes Clinton did to "destroy" the lives of those women. A message left with the Clinton campaign Friday night was not immediately returned.

The brash billionaire on Friday sought to get ahead of what he believes will be an onslaught of attack ads against him, focusing specifically on sexist remarks he has made.

"So what they're doing is $90 million of ads on Donald Trump and it has to do a lot with the women's issue. But I'm saying to myself, nobody in this country and maybe in the history of this country politically was worse than Bill Clinton with women," Trump said to cheers at a rally here.

Trump predicted the Clinton campaign would use crude comments he has made about women and sex in interviews with talk radio host Howard Stern against him in attack ads.

Trump has used a range of words to describe women he's disagreed with, such as Rosie O'Donnell and Arianna Huffington, including "fat pig," "slob" and "dog."

"Don't forget, I was never going to run for office," Trump said in his defense.

He also retweeted a tweet calling Megyn Kelly a "bimbo" earlier this year, and in the first GOP debate, suggested that Kelly was on her period as the Fox News anchor asked him a prodding question.

And he suggested that then-GOP presidential rival Carly Fiorina was too ugly to be elected last fall: "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?" Trump said during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Trump defiantly defended himself Friday: "Nobody respects women more than me



Wow.

First off, with his irrefutable history of "respect for women" on display, a paraphrase of the old saying immediately leaps to mind.

"With respect like that, who needs disrespect?"

Second, speaking of display, this latest "sneak preview" into the forthcoming "high road" route Mr. Nobody Respects Women More Than Me" obviously hopes will take him to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, puts on display one of Trump's more unique, but certainly no less honed, skills as a mass marketer.

Give the people what they want.

Whether or not it has anything even remotely to do with what the people need.

And what the people, at least's Donald's People, want right now is not a seat at an energetic and inspirational political pep rally.

What they want is front row center at a WWE grudge match.

Or, for the more NPR/PBS types amongst us, a couple of court-side seats at Ye Olde Roman Coliseum.

Complete with lions and tigers and bitches.

Oh my.

One in search of spirited, but salient, debate or discussion on the issues of the day might reasonably question what Bill Clinton's testosterone soaked behavior has to do with the price of the tea in China, let alone the future of America.

If for no other reason, pretty sure that Bill's name is going to be nowhere to be found on any ballot in any voting booth come November.

But in the slash and burn and slash and slash world of Trump's America, that distinction matters less than not at all.

I mean, get real, okay? Roman Reigns and Big E and the Miz don't waste a moment bothering with laying out specific plans for growing the middle class, providing reasonably priced health care or point-counterpointing the finer points of who might best both lead and serve the nation, let alone conduct the contest to achieve leadership with grace, style, gamesmanship or, here's an oldie but goodie, statesmanship.

They just smash the shit out of each other with folding chairs and send the crowd into an orgasmic frenzy with an adrenaline rush that makes heroin seem like saline solution.

But, hey, it's all just part of the show, right?

Given that domestic abuse is ostensibly an issue high on the priority list of a lot of thoughtful and concerned Americans, it has to rank as one of the great ironies that the first Presidential election in American history in which one of the two major candidates is, for the first time, a woman also pits that woman against a brutish, graceless, abusive man.

Of course, we should pay no attention to all of that abuse we've heard him spewing for the last six months/twenty years, though.

Because he was "never going to run for office."

Just our sorry sad luck that he changed his mind.

Fortunately, turns out "nobody has more respect for women."

Frankly, I think we should hold him more accountable and demand that he prove worthy of our respect for his, thus far, non existent respect for women.

At the very least, Donald, put it on a cap.

That way, we'll know you mean it.

"...Only One Part Missing...But Kinda Like If The One Part Missing Was The Propeller".....

The election of 2016 has it all.

With one exception worth mention.

Exception forthcoming.

(CNN) Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump just moved much closer to a general election match-up. 

Trump swept the Republican primaries in five East Coast states on Tuesday, while Clinton won in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware, dropping only Rhode Island to Bernie Sanders.

It's still only April, and their opponents swear they're not going anywhere. But Trump and Clinton both used their victory speeches to pivot towards the general election, giving a preview of the clash we might see between them over the next five months.

 So, as the title of one of pop singer Michael Johnson's lesser known but, undeniably, catchy tunes goes...

"That's that."

Or, for those of you from that generation who march to the beat of a different drummer, say, like the one who laid down the groove for the Chairman of the Board...

"That's life."

Here's a thing, though.

Actually, a number of things.

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
                                                                                          ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.”
                                                                                         ― Aristotle

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”
                                                                                        ― Albert Schweitzer

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership.”
                                                                                          ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

“I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.”
                                                                                         ― Robert E. Lee

“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.”
                                                                                        ― Orrin Woodward 


 I found all of these quotes in less than five minutes simply by giving the ol' Google a little clickin'. It didn't occur to me until more than a few minutes later that it was than  a little ironic, and, yeah, even a little funny that I was using a search engine looking for "leadership."

And finding a whole lot of insightful and cogent interpretations of what leadership really is.

While Google and the rest of the Internet, in fact, the rest of anywhere you choose to search for it, actual leadership isn't really to be found anywhere.

Certainly not among those who, at this writing, are left standing in a reality show I'd be inclined to call "The Underwhelming Race."

Just so we're clear here, I'm not talking about a lack of personalities or causes or promises or even qualities, even, arguably, a few virtues to be found amongst those who want "we the people" to be convinced they are our best hope to lead "we the people".

There's plenty of causes being championed.

There's plenty of emotions being stirred.

There's plenty of flags being unfurled and waved, banners being hung, yard signs proclaiming allegiance and bumper stickers rear ending us with attempts at persuasion.

And in any, and all, of those who are left of the five who are left there are, at least, a few good intentions, even a little genuine potential.

Even in the pile of narcissistic gibberish that Donald sees as "speeches" and "addresses" there are some points well made that deserve to be made.

But leadership?

Not so much.

I don't begin to profess to possess a hint of the wisdom or perception that those notable folks I quoted earlier offer.

All I can offer is my perspective based on sixty plus years of life, fifty plus years of reading and learning and witnessing and paying attention to many who have come and gone deserving, and not deserving, of being acclaimed as a real leader and what I look for when I'm searching for leadership.

When trying to define and/or articulate it, I'm reminded of what Justice Stewart said when asked to give a definition of obscenity.

"I can't specifically define it...but I know it when I see it."

 In that spirit....

Leadership is about inspiring.

Not inciting.

It's the ability to energize your mind, your spirit, even your soul to make you want to be better tomorrow than you are today.

Not just promising that things will be made better for you tomorrow if you just give your vote today.

It's the skill of getting you to help fix what's broken, make what works work better and lend a hand building cities on the hill.

Not just play on your angers and fears to incite you to burn down the village.

It's the ability to teach you that "telling it like it is" is a sledge hammer. If it's used correctly and skillfully, it can contribute to the construction of magnificent things.

And if not, it can, and will, do irreparable damage.

It's a talent for bringing out the best in people.

Not fueling a campaign train with the power of their hatred.

I was born in the 1950's and came of age in the 60's.  Given that timeline, it was almost inevitable that I would grow up a Kennedy kid.

And while that sixty plus years of life I mentioned earlier, along with that fifty plus years of reading and learning and witnessing have long ago faded any rose color that may have once shaded my glasses, I am, often, these days, reminded of one of John Kennedy's more familiar quotations.

"Ask not, what your country can do for you....ask what you can do for your country."

A little dated, a little yellowed with age?

Sure.

A little hokey, even, given the "me, myself and I' era of self where we find ourselves in 2016?

Yeah, probably.

Telling it like it is?

Not so much.

But telling it like it oughta be?

Bet your ass.

Because Kennedy, in 1961, understood leadership.

Real deal leadership.

Leadership that makes no other promise than the promise to see that our collective reach always exceeds our collective grasp.

Leadership that doesn't simply pander to us by caressing our egos with how wonderful we are and what a great nation we are and, like a loving, but strict coach...or father...or mother, demands of us what is required to be better tomorrow than we are today.

Because just like the most remarkable coaches...and fathers...and mothers in our history and in our very own lives, the most remarkable leaders, in fact, the only real leaders, understand that their responsibility to us is not to get it done.

Their responsibility is to get us to do it.

Together.

As one nation.

You know the rest.

And if, by chance, the whole Kennedy reference set off your "uh-oh, more bleeding heart, candy ass, lefty left wing, liberal in the house" alarm, try this quotation on for size.

From somebody very likely on your list of the most revered.


 “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
                                                                                          ― Ronald Reagan



The election of 2016 has it all.

With one exception worth mention.

We've got liberals..and conservatives...and ultra right wingers...and ultra left wingers..

We've got braggarts and blowhards and bloviators.

We've got narcissists and socialists and feminists.

We've got office seekers "fighting for us", "burning for us" and guaranteeing they will "make America great again" for us.

We've got five left standing.

And now we've got two front runners.

We've got it all.

With one exception.

And if Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy were alive today, I'd feel safe in betting a big pile of cash they would agree what that one exception is.

A leader.

"...No, Ma'am, PC Matic Won't Help....What You Need Is DC Matic...."

Most people don't really understand a lot of what politics is all about.

And that's totally understandable.

Understanding, that is to say, the kind of understanding that reflects knowledge, perception, comprehension, even, daresay, some wisdom on the matter, requires an effort that the aforementioned "most people" don't include in their daily to-do lists.

Or on any list of any kind, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.

Or not at all.

That would be the effort involved in reading and researching.

Not only the primary structure of the political system and how it operates in this country but the history of politics in, at the very least, this country since, oh, say, 1900.

Yes, thank you, I'm jiggy wit da knowledge that the country has been around 130 more years than that, give or take, but I'm pretty sure that a citizenry overwhelmingly populated with those who couldn't name their own state's senator(s) and/or Congressional representatives, let alone name, say, the current Speaker of the House or Vice President of the United States but could, bet your light sabre, explain in great detail how difficult they're still finding it to come to terms with Han Solo being offed by his own offspring, Kylo Ren is not going to be inclined to begin their study of the political history of this nation starting with the beginning of this nation.

Actually, 1900 is massively, and overly, optimistic.

Because, when it comes to the work involved in becoming an informed voter, I mean, come on, there's only so many hours in the day, right?

And once you factor in work, eat, sleep, weeknights devoted to binge watching Game of Thrones and weekends devoted to infinite posts on social media on how exhausting the past work week has been, there's just not a lot of tick tocks left for mundane, dry, let's just say it, okay? B O R I N G activities like self educating on the subject of the process by which we choose those whose decisions will affect the lives of Americans for generations to come.

Yeah, yeah, leader of the free world, blah, blah, future of our nation, yada, yada....whatever...say, let me ask you, do YOU think that Elizabeth Keen is really dead and is Red her father or not?

Historical readings aside, it would be useful, daresay productive, if a a majority of "most people" simply took the time to seek out valid information about the assorted candidates asking for their vote.

And by valid, we're talking impartially documented fact, not whatever sliver, bit, piece, chunk and/or steaming pile of gab, gossip and/or garbage gets dumped into the informational mainstream like so much toxic waste in our rivers, streams and/or spacious skies.

In other words, 99.99% of what's shoveled at us from 99.99% of contemporary news and/or social media.

Well, hell, man.

If 99.99% of what we see, read and/or hear from 99.99% of news and social media is to be discounted, then, sounds like we're gonna actually have to do some work and put in a few hours each week in order to find enough valid information on which to base our very important decision.

Yeah.

Right.

Yesterday, in one of those moments that usually occur for me right after I've read the latest hate spew from someone from that ever wacky, zany group known as "we the people", I offered up my two cents as to what I honestly believe is the problem we're facing when it comes to choosing a new occupant for that historic house there in downtown D.C.

Or, to be more precise, what isn't the problem.


the problem isn't Donald...the problem isn't Hillary....the problem isn't Bernie, Kasich, Cruz, Harpo, Chico or Zeppo....the problem is a system in serious need of an overhaul....a system that gives the power of selecting its "leaders" to a general population overflowing with people who

1. require a minimum of ten minutes to discuss/debate/argue in order to agree on where to go and/or what to have for lunch

2. spend up to five minutes trying to sort out who goes next at a four way stop

3. don't know (don't care about) what's actually required to inspire/motivate/ and/or show productive leadership, but can name five great Prince songs before you can say "party like it's 1999..."

4. consider themselves smart/informed/educated enough to understand the intricacies of running a nation in a global context and choose a President accordingly but aren't smart enough to know the difference between "to" and "too".

we can't seem to function without updating our Internet browser system, at least, every year or two.....meanwhile, we struggle along with USA 1.0 DOS....

the dreaded blue screen? only a matter of time.....

The "dreaded blue screen" for those who don't understand the reference, refers to what suddenly, and most often unexpectedly, appears on your computer monitor when the system suffers what the system self reads to be a potentially fatal glitch, flaw and/or meltdown and puts itself into a sort of instant abort mode in order to prevent a complete and irrevocable system self destruct.

I know that because it's happened to me before.

And I read a little from time to time.

Well, okay, the truth is that I read a lot.

And with all of that reading, I still can't say that I understand all the intricacies of the system that I depend upon to keep my computer operating correctly and efficiently.

Imagine how ignorant I would be if I didn't take any time at all to read and learn and self inform.

Now....wait for it....let's pretend that the computer is actually the country.

And between working, eating, sleeping,  binge watching Game of Thrones and weekends and infinite posts on social media on how exhausting the past work week has been, there's just not a lot of tick tocks left for mundane, dry, let's just say it, okay? B O R I N G activities like self educating on the subject of the process by which we choose those whose decisions will affect the lives of Americans for generations to come.

It's just easier to pick a simple slogan to hang my hat/support and/or vote on.

Working for Us.

Feel the Bern.

Wait.

Here's one that sounds like what I'm looking for.

Make America Great Again.

Yeah.

There we go.

I'll just flip the lever next to that one in the voting booth come November.

Hold on.

Where did this blue screen come from?

"...Johnny Has Three Apples, Mary Has Two Apples, How Many Apples Do The Superdelegates Have?.."

No one has ever accused me of being a math genius.

Truth be told, back in the day, based on the S.A.T. scores that were the "back in the day" simple method that universities used to determine both freshman acceptance and class placement of those freshmen, I found myself, in my own freshman year, sitting in junior year level English classes.

And remedial math.

By the way, not to cast aspersions on the whole conventional wisdom when it comes to teaching mathematics in the first place, but it will be 47 years in June since I graduated from high school and I have not, yet, lived a single day finding myself in need of algebra.

Regardless of my own eventual lack of need for co-efficients and constants, that's the way mathematics has been taught, at least here in the good old U.S. of A since Alexander Hamilton unwisely got on the wrong side of Aaron Burr.

Until, of course, common core came ca-ca-calculating along.

Now, I don't profess to even beginning to understand why the "powers that be" when it comes to calculating curriculum, especially when it comes to the curriculum concerning calculating, felt the need to fix what I and most of those who came along with, and before me, honestly didn't see as broken.

And, of course, I'm a pretty smart guy, given that based on my S.A.T. scores, I found myself, in my freshman year, sitting in junior year level English classes.

Well, that was that remedial math thing, but, whatever.

And I have no problem at all (no pun intended, but it's fun how things work out sometimes) at confessing that I've looked over the common core methodology of time-zas and ga-zintas and I have neither the time, patience or brain tissue to waste in trying to figure out what in hell they've done with the simple act of subtracting twelve from thirty two.

A quick glance makes one think that this kind of wandering around, in what seems like a totally wasted time version of trying to get to a simple solution to something could have only originated at the ground zero of totally wasted time versions of trying to get to simple solutions.

Congress.

But, no, it turns out that the Feds had very little to do with the mutating of all we of previous generations had come to know and love when it comes to readin', writin' and 'rithmetic.

It's actually a long and somewhat interesting story.

But too long and not nearly interesting enough to offer right now, so here's a link to a long and somewhat interesting article about that long and interesting story.

http://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/1132015-top-ten-origins-common-core-curriculum

You might want to get right on that and jump over there now before some other bright light decides to upend everything that has to do with the new way of doing math that took the place of what we all felt pretty sure was a perfectly acceptable way of doing math before they got their hands on it.

Just sayin.

Obviously, I could have put that in a much simpler, easier to arrive at the conclusion style.

But that's not how we do things anymore is it?

Meanwhile, back at the blackboard.

Turns out that Common Core has not just seeped and/or sneaked into classrooms from sea to shining sea.

The methodology of turning what might look as simple as two plus two into something that isn't even close to as simple as two plus two has very cleverly, or deviously depending on what your voter registration card says, found its way into the big mama of all things in need of a simple solution in this country.

The American presidential election process.

The whole powder keg over percentages showed up, most recently, in this little chitty chat on Joe Scarborough's MSNBC morning show.

Couple of random thoughts watching that.

First, it's hilarious, right up to and slightly over the line of insanity, that a large part of the "debate" there is basically nothing more than an argument over what to call what's going on.

Joe says "rigged".

Mark Halperin says "disenfranchised".

Potato, pahtato, chicken shit, bullshit.

Let's call the whole thing off.

Second, though, sitting and watching the way the process has diabolically turned losing into winning rang a little bell somewhere in the strange and strangely unique place that is this cerebellum.

And, suddenly, it came to me.

Fisbin.

There's not a whole lot of point in discussing, debating, dissecting or even diddling with the logic, of lack of it, when it comes to why a candidate can get more votes from more people than the opponent and still walk away with more delegates.

Or the whole she-bang.

Al Gore.

George W.

Ring a bell?

And it's also a waste of time to go into laborious detail about why voters feel disenfranchised or frustrated or annoyed or even angry about the game of fisbin that the electoral process in this country has become.

Because voters in this country are like the students in those math classrooms.

They don't get to choose the way that things get added up.

The "powers that be" are in charge of those calculations.

Truth is we should probably just be grateful that two plus two still, eventually, equals four.

Except on Tuesday.

Which, probably not coincidentally, is a very special day.

Election Day.

"...Make America Great Again....With Some Hard Work, A Little Luck...And Just The Right Rope..."

Time for another edition of "clear grasp of the obvious."

Not a big Donald Trump fan.

And like a lot of other writers, commentators, pundits, talking heads and/or guys and gals with two cents to throw down on the matter, I've spent a lot of time and printer ink and video time writing and commentating and punditing and head talking and throwing down two cents on the matter when, if I'm blunt honest about it, the bottom line always boils down to the same six words.

Not a big Donald Trump fan.

This time out, though, rather than plotting a course for Starbase Same Old Yada Yada and firing off a couple of thousand words at warp speed, I'm gonna keep it simple, get down to basics, in essence, I'm going to do exactly, no more, no less, than the very same thing that people who worship this guy say they admire most about him.

Tell it like it is.

With a little help from an old fashioned Saturday morning style Western.

In my version, though, the part of the little frontier town in need of brave, bold, decisive, but mature, measured and intelligent leadership is played by America.

The townsfolk who are needing, and looking for, just such a brave, bold, decisive leader are played by...the voters....or as the candidates like to lump em'...."the American people."

And the wanna be leader who has decided to take matters into his own hands, cleverly manipulating the situation by forgoing maturity or measure or intelligence and simply stirring up the emotions and passions and frustrations of the townsfolk?

Well, we don't need a list of the cast of characters to figure out who's giving an Oscar worthy performance of that role, now do we?

After all this time and everything that Trump has said and done, the townsfolk, in numbers no one could have predicted, still want to follow him.

I'm not one of them.

And not because I think things are fine the way they are.

Or even that there's anybody riding into Dodge who I think deserves to wear the shining star and protect us from the bad guys.

I just grew up wanting and hoping to be, dreaming of being, part of the group.

Part of the club.

Part of the community.

Part of the family, even.

But not then, now, or ever....

...part of the mob.

There are, literally, hundreds of books written, fiction and non, that you can sit down and read to understand the damage that has been done throughout history when the masses have been seduced and stirred up at the same time, whipped up into a frenzy that had them following a charismatic wanna be leader right down a road to what they thought was going to be paradise.

Only to suddenly, somewhere down that road, too late come to their senses and realize, to their horror, where they actually were.

And what they had actually done.

I get it, though. That we don't live in a culture that has a lot of time left to sit down and read thoroughly and thoughtfully, what with there being only twenty four hours in a day and so many sporting events, reality shows, video games and Facebook posts eating up those hours.

So, skip the long read.

And go for a quick movie.

It's entitled "The Ox Bow Incident."

It's a western.

About a small group of good, honest people who let themselves get seduced and stirred up by a charismatic wanna be leader.

Only to suddenly too late come to their senses and realize to their horror where they actually were and what they had actually done.

All because the wanna be leader convinced them that he could make the town great again.

By nothing more than telling them what they wanted to hear.

Which they heard as telling it like it is.