Trump / Biden Debate

Sass vs. Class

It was billed as a debate but that's not what we saw. A little Latin is appropriate:

"Veni. Vidi. Clamavi." OK my Latin is a little rusty but loosely I think it says: "I came. I saw. I cried." A lot of America did also.

Trump likes names like Sleepy Joe. How about one for The Donald? I suggest "D3" or "D cubed" - Daffy, Dopey, Donald. He really blew it last night showing his true colours (that spelling is correct, just not American.) for those who did not already know.

If there are more debates there must be one more element in the setup. If anyone continues to interrupt the way Trump did, their microphone gets turned off until they conform. I don't think Wallace would have been up to it even if he could have done so.

In the past when Joe went past his time he stopped immediately mid-sentence and even apologized. He could handle this. However, imagine Trump if his microphone went silent! He would either go nuts or walk out. It would be great either way and completely deserved.

How about it networks? Are you up for that? The people deserve a chance to hear at least one of the candidates who has something to say to them. Biden tried. Trump did not.

Dump Trump - Daffy, Dopey, Donald. Make The Presidency great again.

#thebrewsterblock

How Did Snoopy or Peanuts Know Trump Would Be President?

No Deep State or Conspiracy Here!

I can't say it better than Charles M. Schultz and Peanuts.

I hope Joe Biden and a lot of other Americans - even Republicans - have seen this. If not read it several times. Take it in before you watch the President / former Vice President debate September 29, 2020.

#thebrewsterblock

The Only Way Trump Can Lose This Election ...

Right Idea Mr. President - Wrong Verb

The Donald says "The only way we can lose this election is if it is rigged." Well he got about 94% of that statement correct and let's face it - that is exceptional for him. Usually 100% of all his statements are fake news - blatant lies.

The problem is the verb - "lose". It should read "The only way we can WIN this election is if it is rigged." He has been in the process of rigging it for some time now as have his spineless cronies. He should have been out on his butt after impeachment.

America please, THROW HIM OUT! Your future as a democracy depends on it. NBC had the nerve to do this for things he said - now it is your turn.

You can create the headline of the year: "You're FIRED Mr. President!" Imagine! The American voter on the cover of Time magazine.

Do it - while you still can.

#thebrewsterblock

 

What Current American Leader Do These Definitions Describe?

If it walks, sounds, and looks like a duck, it is probably a duck!

I did a quick search for the meaning of the word "sedition". There are lots more but here are some findings:

Sedition is speech, writing, or behaviour intended to encourage people to fight against or oppose the government. (Harper Collins)

Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or resistance against, established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition. (Wikipedia)

Incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority (Merriam Webster)

Of all the Presidents of the United States of America you have known which one do these words describe the best?

If Bill Barr wants to charge protestors with these or other offences then he had better charge his boss as well. Begs the question, can he charge himself?

Remember this on Election Day.

#thebrewsterblock

Trump Glower Power

Say Cheese Please

TRUMP the GRUMP. Where did that infamous glower come from? How many hours did he practice that in the mirror? 

Early pictures of DJT showed at least the beginnings of the self-centred smirk of a smart ass. Is he really trying to look mean and tough? What a sourpuss! On rare occasion if you do manage to catch a genuine smile from The Donald, like most people it changes his entire appearance. He is not a bad looking guy. But have your shutter finger at the ready because you have a better chance of catching Big Foot in your lens.

Think of celebrities whose pleasant and constant smile or at least their up beat look define your lasting image of them. Would this small change in his persona have increased his following? Possibly.

For sure if someone insults me or belittles me while they are wearing a smile it does not lessen the pain. However a smile can start the conversation on a positive note. There is no desire to strike back.  As it is his dour glower is apparently contagious and most of the White House staff seems to have been infected.

So "Over Here Mr. President. Watch the birdie!" is probably a waste. His metaphoric bird has gone the way of the Dodo bird. (Google it Mr. President. It is extinct. Extinct? OK. Google that as well.)

#thebrewsterblock

CNNTown Hall with Biden.

Not bad Joe but you need a little polish

Last night we saw Joe Biden on CNN in a refreshing and well run parking lot Town Hall event. Anderson Cooper did a good job of keeping him sharp as did ABC moderator George Stephanopoulos with Trump, if sharp is even applicable to The Donald. Shucks - now I sound biased.

Overall I saw what I expected. Biden was cordial and warm. He smiled genuinely and connected with his questioners. Without question it was obvious how much more comfortable and experienced he was in such an environment than is POTUS. This was lamb vs. mutton; orchid vs. ragweed; filet vs. stewing beef. Biden was in control of his ship; Trump was a fish out of water. Damn - there I go again.

Ironically, both were told not to interrupt by one of the questioners. I guess all politicians share some qualities! That was about all the two forums had in common. What we saw was Uncle Joe and Joe the guy next door - exactly what America needs.

Having delivered the kiss, here are the slaps. Close advisors and campaign managers please:

1. Tell him to ratchet down the emotion. He still got himself all tongue tied. Trump will lever this every chance he gets.

2. Please get him to stop using the term "in fact" in every other statement. It is in fact, annoying as hell.

3. Another big one. Biden constantly gets on a roll and is making an important logical argument of some kind responding to a specific point and then like an LP needle jumping he says "by the way .. " and roars off in another direction on some adjunct, never returning to finish his original point. It is a real killer making him look like he can't keep track of his thoughts.

4. He still carries on too long and then has to stop mid-sentence to apologize for it, running out of time. We all know his opponent never apologizes. Thankfully, Trump will likely force more moderator interruptions than Biden.

5. This is a tough one. Everyone feels for him and his extremely devastating personal losses of family members. Yes it is very emotional for all of us when he recounts them and does show him to be human. But it is beginning to be almost expected every time he speaks. Some will think he is playing for sympathy. I think in any face to face with Trump he should avoid this line of discussion.

So there it is. The bar is indeed low when I say he out shines Trump on almost every level but it is true. If he can focus on these points he will trounce Trump. Trump is an expert at hanging himself so just let him do it

I have said this should be his campaign slogan since Biden announced: "I will make the Presidency great again!" He should repeat it in front of the Donald as many times as he can. Whenever Trump lies, he should just point out that The President is once again indulging in "extemporaneous prevarication" (Churchill). Trump will have no idea what he means.

#thebrewsterblock

ABC Town Hall with Trump

Keep That up Mr. President and You Are History

I only saw the last few questions on ABC last night and I was not impressed. If he debates Biden and performs like that he will make a fool of himself - again.

I heard a well spoken black man ask when America was ever great for the black community in reference to Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again." The President failed to give a good answer. His only comeback was to refer to employment / unemployment statistics late last year when he said they were the best ever for the black community. Since that moment I have heard others last night and since state that unemployment statistics for black people were even more impressive under Obama.

He missed an opportunity and should have agreed with the questioner acknowledging that the greatness really has been primarily for the white community to date. Then he could have said - probably lied - what he is going to do to make sure they get to share it this time. Trump was not sharp enough to do that.

The black lady who questioned him about pre-existing conditions in insurance policies scored a huge point when he answered her prematurely. Her point was that she could die without her medicine. This would probably happen if the "pre-existing conditions" clause went in favour of the insurance companies. It was made immensely more poignant after he had to keep quiet. His response was an old one - that "great things" were coming just around the corner. He also said that he would not destroy pre-existing clauses under the Obama ACA even though he has campaigned on a promise to repeal the AMA.

In a third example a lady who appeared to sound Latino asked what he was going to do to make sure that people like her and her now deceased mother could come to America more easily. Here he at least made an attempt to be sympathetic to the lady who was in tears because her mother had recently passed, telling her to take her time and showing uncharacteristic patience. His response was that he would make sure that people could indeed come here as long as they did it legally. The problem is that his past actions and declarations defied his words. He has disparaged Mexicans and all Muslims and put newly arrived children in cages.

In a well run debate like this with Biden he will not do well. He never does well when he has to wing it alone.

HOWEVER...

On a stage with Biden he will have a target and he does do better in such circumstances. All he has to do is lie more and blatantly throw unending insults at Biden to get him mad and stuttering. Trump can't t win on facts and charisma alone.

If Biden is to win any debate however he has to STAY CALM! Trump will throw anything at Biden including insults about his son, Beau. That will REALLY make Joe pop a cork. The second thing is that Biden has to fire back well known facts at Trump which Trump can not defend. He will call it fake news but if that is his only defence he is toast. Too many have heard that claim too many times.

If Trump's base has shrunk at all I think he will be gone with the wind - his own!

@thebrewsterblock

Donkeys vs Elephants or Jackasses vs Dumbos?

Would You Rather Be Kicked By A Horse Or A Cow?

Most people would try to answer "Neither". Both are going to hurt, injure, or probably kill. This election poses a similar dilemma only with a donkey and an elephant.

I have written a lot about Trump. This is simply because I have never experienced - even as a non-American - a less suitable or more despicable person occupying the White House. So I would prefer Biden by a long shot.

On election day however I have always felt that most people vote on emotion and the charisma of their chosen person. What they and their party have promised for months matters little. The accomplishments, errors, and controversies to date are forgotten overall. Sad but I believe it is true.

So ignoring the big and important items like the economy; foreign policy; readiness and willingness to protect the nation; taxation; employment; immigration; climate; and international standing to name a few, here are the items in my view which will determine the next President:

Trump's base will vote for him because:

1. He comes on like a tough guy who is capable of anything
2. He speaks at about their education level - high school at best
3. He hurls insults and mocks other people
4. He has no idea what established diplomatic behaviour is and does not care
5. He goes out of his way to thumb his nose at the establishment at home or abroad
6. He is at heart a white supremacist whether he denies it or not
7. He has zero respect for women in high places
8. He will never ever admit that he is wrong or that he made a mistake
9. He thinks he can rule like a dictator
10. He appeals to the more base instincts of human beings

Biden's supporters (not sure who his base is) will vote for him because: 

1. He has openly and publicly suffered great personal losses which makes him real
2. He has proven his empathy for other people because of 1.
3. He speaks like an educated man despite a personal stutter he had to overcome
4. He understands the COVID crisis and he will try to overcome it
5. He has a warm and sincere smile
6. He does know how to use diplomacy in all of its forms
7. He has a great relationship with his partner who is as much a people person and as hard a worker as he is
8. He listens and will continue to listen to others and take their advice frequently
9. He cares deeply about others - far more than himself
10. He appears and sounds like a person you can trust

Others will have their own lists or perhaps just one point on which they will decide.

Regardless of who wins, the other side will feel like they have been kicked and there will still be lots of Jackasses and Dumbos in power. If that looks like a zoo and sounds like a zoo, it is probably a zoo. Why aren't more of its inhabitants behind bars?

#thebrewsterblock

The New Trump Book Club

Me Too Books

A book club to me is normally a group or organization which reviews and recommends to its members certain books as a good read. Only under this President has it taken on a new meaning.

Now everybody and their pet are writing a Trump book and there are more to come. In this club you have to author a Trump book to be a member. Maybe I should write one! Today on CNN, Brian Stelter interviewed as guests many of the new authors. Sounds like a banner year.

There will probably be another about Trump BY Trump. It will be entirely fake news and as most of us know, he will have to hire a ghost writer since he is incapable of writing a book alone. One word of advice to that writer - get the money up front and scan every bill or insist on certification.

This POTUS will indeed have a legacy although who would want it. I suspect it will probably go something like this:

1. The most books - mostly negative - written about him while in office and probably after.
2. The only President whose ardent followers would jump into an active volcano if asked. He would be somewhere safe and call them suckers and losers after the event. They would be.
3. Hopefully a one term President.
4. The President who has lied to Americans the most times eclipsing any other including those with two terms.
5. The highest turnover of staff including those with two terms.
6. Probably the best looking First Lady.
7. The President who is the most crass; has the least class; is the most immature; is the most ignorant; is the biggest bigot … OK let me make this easy. The president with the longest list of the absolute worst adjectives describing him of any other. I feel safe here until someone explains the noun "adjective" to him. Add to that "noun."
8. Apparently he has appointed some 200 plus judges - lifetime appointments no less. This could be a big one.
9. The President with the longest ties and the worst hair.
10. Probably the only President who will ultimately spend time behind bars.

It is a tough and demanding job. That is why he should not have accepted it.

#thebrewsterblock

Is This The Straw That Breaks The GOP Elephant's Back?

Lie Your Way Out of THIS Donald

We keep getting lulled into thinking "Finally! Surely people will see the truth about him this time and withdraw their support?" Then it does not happen.

This time it is recorded for the entire world to hear - the voice of DJT talking to Bob Woodward back in February 2020. This is NOT fake news. He said then he knows this is a very serious virus; that it is transmitted by air without contact; that this one is very tricky; probably a lot of other things we have not yet heard.

A couple of the best are:

1) He informs Bob that normal flu kills over 25,000 Americans annually. Then months later you see a video of him at a meeting saying that he did not know that so many American lives are lost to flu each year!
2) You see Kayleigh McEnany telling her audience The President has NEVER played down the virus. Then you hear him months earlier stating himself that he deliberately plays it down - his words, not mine. I acknowledge that Kayleigh might not have heard those tapes when she spoke. If she had, she violated her "I will never lie to you" vow.

Trump knew. He tried to ignore it and wish it away. He misled all Americans.

Added to that are Generals who say he is actually totally disrespected by the military brass and that they hate the things he says about front line members of the armed forces.

We all suspect and some of us hope that there will be a lot more on the remaining Woodward tapes - more of what I and many others always said Trump would do - hang himself, shoot himself in the foot, or lie himself into a corner.

Mr. President - this man brought down Nixon during Watergate. Let me supply the logic: Nixon was smarter than you are; Woodward was smarter than Nixon was; that makes Woodward smarter then you. Ask one of your staff to explain it (then fire him/her I suppose.)

Oh yes - the final piece: Trump is smarter than his base and all the sycophant Republicans who are too gutless to speak out against him.

I am becoming increasingly convinced that some day soon whether he wins or loses the election the military brass will have to remove him forcefully. If that happens The American dream really will be a nightmare.

#thebrewsterblock

One Small COVID Event of Note

No Politics Here  - Just a Tough Break in Tradition for 2020

I need a break from DJT and the US elections etc. So here it is.

I was raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada - now a suburb of Toronto - as were my colleagues who shared the subject milestone. Most of us are now somewhere north of 70. - probably south of Studs Ville but still north of Viagra Village!

Remember when you were in primary school? For me that was kindergarten to grade 8. High school was grades 9 to 13 - the thirteen requirement was dropped long ago. In those days when you were, for example, 8 years of age, if you had siblings 2-3 years older or younger they were in a different social group altogether. Generally you did not hang out with your older brother's friends or younger sister's. Naturally -  those 2-3 years were 20 - 25% of your life. They were "little" brothers/sisters or "big" brothers/sisters.

Now fast forward 55 to 65 years. That age difference is minimal. So for over 25+ years (we can't really remember how long - sign of the times) a group of some 14-15 plus guys have an annual golf tournament for fun. One of the youngest of the group built a golf course - Spring Creek in Claremont, Ontario. There you go Cork - a free plug. 

We loosely call it the Scarborough Village Public School Open - as traditional as the Masters. The school was long ago demolished but we live on. So far we have only lost one member and toast him every year. I don't think any of our parents are still alive - my own mother being the last whom we lost last year at the ripe age of 100.

Originally it was for students of that school. It happened to have the only shop for the males and home economics room for the females in the area. So we expanded qualifications to include guys who took shop there. The intent of shop was to help males learn a trade or learn how to do basic DIY tasks. The girls learned to cook; look pretty for their men; feed and raise the kids; clean the house; shop; entertain guests; ask her man how his day was and get his slippers so he could crash on the couch and watch whatever HE wanted on the TV! Yes, THOSE days!

Weather permitting, we play 18 holes usually in September - used to be October but ice on the green one year changed that. Then we relax for drinks and a Bar-B-Q and a lot of reminiscing. Those 2-3 years don't matter much any more. We have been rained upon; hailed upon; scorched; frozen; but still we met and played, even for only a few holes.

In our generation we still faced corporal punishment (the strap) whether at school or at home. We joke about that remembering the hard rocks on whom punishment had no effect. But for the rest of us it worked. We learned about consequences and are none the worse for it. Since those days look what has happened - look at a kid the wrong way and he/she shoots you! But that is a subject for another day - one about which I have already written.

We give out a small trophy annually with the names of the four guys lucky enough to win. The game is "Best Ball" so even the worst golfers (like me) have a chance of winning. Overall it is a blast and I think quite unique.

But in this year, 2020, after feedback from all and a vote, the SVPS Open had to be cancelled. We can't joke about those tough guys killed in bar fights or prison. We can't talk about our first experiences with the opposite sex and times when unfortunately standards were so-o-o different in terms of "Me too"; gender preference; racial issues etc. We can't discuss getting drunk or stoned or "scoring" or not. We can't talk about our favourite teachers - usually the tough ones who were then permitted to kick your desk across the room with you in it! We can't talk about who got "the strap" and who didn't.

We will all miss it greatly, brought to a first time halt by some microscopic molecule we will never see with the naked eye. This was my year for an Ace - I could feel it. I don't think any of us have accomplished that yet.

Despite all the events in the world this year, this one is special for a small group of guys. Hopefully we will be drinking and talking about it one year from now. A special Thanks to Dave for all the organizing and to Corky for the course.

#thebrewsterblock

Those Who Say "That's Just the Way Donald Trump Is" Are Missing The Point

Bad Behaviour Catches Up To You

Too many times I have heard Republicans who support Trump mouthing the old line about some despicable thing he has done or said: "That's just the way he is. Look at his accomplishments". Most of them have already sold their own integrity to kiss ass and keep their job or play to his base whether they think like that base or not. "Think" is being generous.

His accomplishments are the subject of another story - many stories. It is his crass, classless, boorish and childish behaviour that is my subject today. No leader anywhere but especially The President of the United States of America should behave like Trump. 

It is the way he is that offends his very office and he does not belong there. This is like saying that we should ignore the killings, muggings, turf wars and executions - some "swimming with the fish", of a mobster because "really his intentions are very admirable". 

It is the reason there is so much Trump bashing. When he swears that he is offended that he is alleged to have called brave soldiers suckers and losers, he is too late. It is all of those past statements and gestures that make it so believable. The man is just offensive, full stop.

Did he really say "what's in it for them?" or "what was in it for him?" or "I don't get it" to a general? We all know he could have. Too bad big Don but protesting now is like the boy who cried wolf. It is an appropriate analogy because you act so immaturely - just like a boy. "Mine was better than HIS was'; mine is bigger than HIS was; this is far more important than HIS was …".

If these remarks about those who lost their lives or were captured are true, they are indeed FAR more important than Obama's because that dignified and classy man never said any such thing about those who serve. Only one man I can think of is capable of such ignorance.

I imagine you won't GET that either DJ. Hopefully the one thing you WILL get is removal from office. If you then say it was rigged it will have been you who attempted it - and FAILED. Yet again.

That's just the way you are.

#thebrewsterblock