The Continuing Failure of the Establishment to Get Rid of Trump.

The hysteria in the news about Donald Trump continues to amuse beyond anything I have seen in my lifetime. Anyone who has read my blog for any amount of time should know that I am a liberal and not a conservative supporter. There are a lot of pundits writing about why they believe people support Trump and none of them seem to get it. Now the media has gone as far as to compare Trump to Hitler, that is irrational hysteria and demonstrates their fear of Trump; but, more importantly their fear of American opinion.

The term that is frequently used to classify Trump is "populist"; but, what does the term mean. It means unrestrained by political party, it means representing the views of the public rather than shaping them. He is more an outgrowth of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party then he is a representative of any political party or corporate interest and neither the media or the parties can accept that.

When the Occupy movement was going on a politician asked me what it meant and when would it end. After the Occupy movement was removed from public spaces across the nation I said it would only return in some new form. When the Tea Party was co-opted and destroyed, I said it would come back in a new form. Trump, and to a lesser extent Sanders, are the re-emergence of this frustration. The frustration with the fact that the opinions of most Americans are being ignored by business and politics.

Lets consider what Trump said when the Occupy Movement was going on.

Yahoo - Daily Ticker - Trump: Occupy Wall Street Indicates “There Is Something Wrong With This Country”. Here is a line from the article, "The movement, he believes, is a symptom of an unfair and unjust system that favors certain interests at the expense of ordinary Americans."

You may not understand why the media refuses to publicly recognize where his support is coming from; but, the reality is that through focus groups and interviews with Trump supporters, they do understand as the following article demonstrates.

Valuewalk - Donald Trump Channels Both Tea Party And Occupy Wall Street.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi

At first Trump was ignored as not a serious candidate, they he was ridiculed for everything including his hair, now for awhile they have been attacking him and it doesn't seem to be working either. Guess what comes next?

I have some Republican friends who support Trump and believe he might be assassinated to keep him from winning office. 68% of his supporters said they would vote for him even if he left the Republican party. The Republican party establishment itself has done everything they can think of to replace him as the front runner and nothing has worked. The options for getting rid of Trump are limited. If the Republican party removes him from the party, it will lose it's support and be incapable of getting a Republican elected. If the party fails to support him; but, he wins the primaries, he will run as a third party candidate and again the Republican party will be unable to elect the President. If it comes down to Trump versus Clinton people will join him from both parties because the hatred of Clinton is even worse.

Here is the real threat to the establishment and it is not Trump, it is why he has support. People are still angry that the country only seems to benefit others. People do not believe this country is fighting for it's own citizens. The elimination of the Tea Party and Occupy movements did not make the anger or distrust go away, it is merely expressing itself in a new way and will continue to until people believe the establishment has the best interest of Americans at heart in reality and not just more rhetoric.

As a side note, we have kept people out from other countries before. Asians were kept out during the 1800s, we all know about the Japanese being kept in internment camps during World War II and in the 1980s President Carter wouldn't allow Iranians in the country.

The Harvard Crimson - Carter Cuts Ties With Iran.

Life in the United States

New York Post - Bloody photo shows California shooter dead. I was watching television when the San Bernardino shootings happened. It was one of those things you knew would matter as it was happening. For the first few hours they had no idea what had happened, the first real hint was that someone had left the party angry. That was it. They then said a black truck may have been involved. They also said there may have been three gunman and that only one person got in the truck. Now, days later, we believe there were only two shooters and that both left in the truck. We don't know what the intent was yet, there is no proof and presumed facts change early in.

Cheat Sheet - 8 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore. The new reality says that the middle class cannot expect vacations, a new car, student loans to go to college, emergency savings, retirement savings, medical care, dental work, or to miss a paycheck. Read the article. In the United States middle class means no security no matter how hard you work.

Yahoo - The Fiscal Times - Is Trump Leading a Genuine Political Movement? The answer is yes and no. All of my conservative friends like Trump and for very specific reasons. None of them think he is their perfect representative, they are just happy that he is sincere in representing their views. That is what scares the establishment the most, not Trump; but, the fact that conservatives are mad at the party and their destruction of the Tea Party.

Can Atheists Be Married?

Can anyone be married if they don't believe in the Judeo Christian God? If God said that Solomon had hundreds of wives, can we marry more than one person? If Jesus said that a woman he met had multiple husbands, what is marriage? Do people who don't believe the bible have the right to marry? Jesus said they did have the ability to marry when he said the woman with many husbands had many husbands. So if Jesus didn't require his approval for people to marry. what is marriage and can people of the same sex marry?

Marriage is a commitment of people to one another. God believes in free will and allows people to make commitments. He also advises against swearing by anything that you will keep your commitments. If you should not swear to God about anything then why should you swear to God about your marriage? Your commitments are not God's commitments, they are yours and he doesn't want you to swear to him that you will keep it, he just wants you to keep your word for you.

Trump, Muslims and the San Bernardino Shootings

Huffington Post - Donald Trump Calls For 'Complete Shutdown' Of Muslims Entering U.S.

Donald Trump came out and said that until we can figure out what is going on with Muslim Jihadists we should temporarily not let any Muslims into this country. I will start by saying that I don't agree with that; but, that is not what I am going to talk about. The responses from the other Republican candidates and how the media is framing it is what I find interesting.

Lets start with this simple fact. All the Republican candidates have been saying for weeks that we should not allow any Syrian refugees in because some of them might be terrorists. All of them have said that Trump is out of line because he has basically said the exact same thing they have said. Rand Paul even introduced legislation in congress a year ago to prevent people from 30 Muslim countries from coming to the United States and Cruz supported it. As for Carson, he has said that he would never want a Muslim to be President and is for strictly monitoring all visitors to the United States. Most importantly, not one of them has said that they wouldn't prohibit Muslims from coming here. What a bunch of hypocrites. Now I have read many outraged pundits saying how Trump is crazy by saying this; but, the truth is that most Republicans probably agree with him. The other Republican candidates have made an insincere complaint and this will probably get Trump more support not less. This could really pay off for Trump at the next debate, all he has to do is ask which of the candidates is for allowing Muslims from Arabia into the United States. They would be between a rock and a hard place as they have all said they don't want Syrian refugees here because some of them might be terrorists. Will they take that back? I think not.

Now, I want to talk in more general terms about Muslims and terrorism. For background I am Irish and my family has always been Irish Catholic. I am not a Catholic. When I was younger and an agnostic I was sympathetic to the Irish Republican Army (IRA). For a little background, my great-grandfather was in the original IRA before Ireland was freed from English control. In Northern Ireland the Catholics are still treated as second class citizens. While I am now a pacifist, I still want to see Ireland as a single country again with the Irish in charge of their own lands. The war in Ireland has never been about religion, it has always been about political control over Ireland. Now the war with terrorists is not about religion either. It is about political power and who will control Arabia. If they all converted to Hindu, they would still be terrorists. In fact, they are not killing people in Israel because they are Jewish, they are attacking them because they want the land back under Arab control. MOST WARS are about power and money. World War II was not about religion it was about control. Hitler did hate Jews, kill them and use them as an excuse; but, he also hated Russians and Slavs and killed even more of them. Most Muslims are peaceful and law abiding. Most Muslims are just like you and me, they just want to have a decent life with their family and friends. One should also remember that their are more Asian Muslims than Arab Muslims and we don't seem to be afraid of them. Maybe they aren't mad at us because, now this is just a thought, we are not bombing their homes.

In regards to the shootings in San Bernardino, I am extremely disappointed in the media. I have read that it is now confirmed that the female had pledged her allegiance to ISIS. That has not been proven, anonymous sources are not confirmation and no proof has been released to the public. It has also been stated that the killers had a "large stash of weapons and ammunition". That is also nonsense, especially coming from Fox news. The killers had two guns and two assault rifles all bought legally and a few thousand rounds of ammo. If you believe that is a large cache, two people each owning a gun and a rifle then you have no idea of how many people in this country have even more weapons and ammo. There are gun dealers with over a half million rounds of ammo in the United States, look up FPS Russia on YouTube and look at the sort of weapons he has access to. By the way, he is not really Russian.

The shooters in San Bernardino were definitely Muslim with one shooter being of Arab decent and the other of Pakistani decent (Pakistan is in Asia, not Arabia and it used to be part of India). They were not sophisticated with weapons. The bombs they mailed failed to detonate because they were not made properly. It may turn out that these two radical Muslims on a Jihad; but, we don't know that yet and I myself am not convinced. The whole point of a terrorist act is to let people know what you are fighting for or against. These shooters did not say anything.

What is popular on YouTube

Here are some videos that you might find interesting. Personally I know that I am not aware of much pop culture anymore. I don't watch much television and I don't even know who most of the people I see on magazines are anymore. I hope these links amuse and help my readers to know what is popular in society today.

YouTube - Meat Feast Challenge at Foxton's Bar w/ Black Pudding, Haggis, & MORE!!

YouTube - ELDERS REACT TO JERSEY SHORE.

YouTube - Vegan Food Taste Test.

YouTube - Top 10 Controversial YouTube Channels - TopX.

YouTube - Top 10 Daredevil YouTube Channels - TopX Ep. 6.

YouTube - Top 10 YouTube Cover Artists - TopX Ep.7.

YouTube - Top 10 YouTube Entertainment and Alternative News Channels - TopX Ep.10.

YouTube - Top 10 Most Popular YouTube Channels of 2014 - TopX Ep.22.

YouTube - AA-12 Fully Automatic Shotgun!!!

Donald Trump and Additional Thoughts on San Bernardino Shootings

Fox - GOP memo suggests Trump reality check for establishment. The National Republican Senate Committee has written a memo outlining how Republicans running for office should emulate his look and feel; but, also chastise him for being anti-woman. I have a link to the actual memo below.

Fox - Panic city: The GOP's pipsqueak 'revolt' against Donald Trump. It is fairly clear that the Republican party establishment is more afraid of Trump winning than they are of a Democrat winning and that is sad. What they are really afraid of is politicians not following party dictates and policy.

Washington Post - Memo on Donald Trump from Ward Baker to NRSC senior staff. The memo is one of the most cynical things I have ever read and highlights the problem with party politics. Lets look at some quotes from it. "Trump says what's on his mind and that is a problem". "People talk about problems not issues". The memo says that candidates should use PR of regular people discussing their problems and how the politician fixed it; but, it hen says "Feature them in your issue phase while you assume the role of citizen-servant". In other words, act like you are actually out for them; but, remember it is just a role. Wow. "We may not like it, but Trump has connected with voters on issues like trade with China and America's broken borders". This should make it apparent to the most strident Republican party that the party does not have your concerns or issues at heart. The memo then says to talk about anything other than outsourcing jobs or trade and that politicians should instead focus on Chinese hackers and their industrial espionage. "Trump has been gaining Democrat adherents and he's solidifying GOP cohorts who feel they have been totally ignored by the Washington Ruling Elite".

UPDATE: I wrote this post a few days ago and today, 12/11/2015, I found someone else discussing it. The video is from YouTube by The Young Turks.

Basically the memo says that the party is experiencing a "populist wave" and to just adopt the illusion you are one of them and wait it out. Trump for his part didn't take much notice of the memo. He said that the memo was basically about people trying to emulate him and that they couldn't. He is right on both charges. He was not surprised because he already knew the politicians lied to their voters. Now you may like Trump or hate him and you may be a Democrat or a Republican;  but, what you should really take from this memo is how insincere the parties are. The parties are not here to represent you, they represent the party big wigs who pay the parties bills and reward the politicians that vote for what they want. Now do you understand why companies that outsource American jobs still get tax breaks?

San Bernardino Shootings Update:

Well two days have passed and the FBI has been reviewing everything that led to the shootings. They have been questioning the people that knew them, reading their e-mails, checking out who they called and every aspect of their lives. Fox news insists that they were Muslim terrorists; but, that hasn't been proven and is probably not true. The thing about terrorism is that you have to let people know that what you did was politically motivated. They covered their heads with masks and did not say one thing while shooting people. My first thought was that this was workplace violence; but, neither terrorism nor workplace violence quite make sense and I will tell you why. Firstly, why did they stop shooting people and leave so quickly? They could have stayed longer and killed everyone in that room. Secondly, why did they return home and then leave again? Where were they heading? If it was just to kill more people they didn't have to leave where they were and if it was workplace violence then why did they have bombs and ammunition? They had made a perfect escape, why go back out? What if what they did was meant to be a distraction for the police? The man made a scene of leaving the party angry, what if that was meant to be his alibi down the road for something else. What if they had planned to rob a bank or store? I am not saying that is what happened or even that they are not terrorists, we just don't know yet. What I find interesting is people assuming that they were terrorists because they were Muslims. Guess what, there are Muslim criminals and bank robbers too.

By the way, I am confused by people saying that the couple involved was sophisticated or trained because they made pipe bombs. Kids were making pipe bombs in the 1970s, it is just not that difficult. It requires no training. You don't have to go to a terrorist website to learn how to do it. Now the fact that the killers had GoPro cameras is interesting if true. The question is what was on them. I would think that the cops would have immediately reviewed what was on the cameras, why have they not said what was on them? We don't know what their motivation was and that is strange. Both workplace murders and acts of terrorism usually include the people attempting to explain their actions. It also turns out that the two stopped going to church three weeks before. Also consider the fact that if the man was truly a devout Muslim why did he attend Christmas parties because this one was not his first. Consider the vehicle was a rental due to be returned Thursday and they wore masks and didn't talk. They were hoping to get off without being caught. By the way, one of the shooters friends was a Messianic Jew.

Here is a listing of the people killed.

Huffington Post - These Are The Victims Of The San Bernardino Shooting.

Would You Allow Suspected Terrorists to Buy Guns?

There was a shooting today in San Bernardino. 14 people are reported dead and 17 reported injured. I was watching what was happening on Fox news. We don't know a lot about why or who just yet. While reporting on the event the Fox reporters continued saying that the perpetrators had "long guns". Later Bill O'Reilly said they used large caliber guns. Nobody uses these terms in the real world. The weapons are called assault rifles. Try going into a gun shop and asking for a long gun or a large caliber gun and the dealer will show you a 44 caliber pistol. It has been told to reporters at Fox that the police were looking for people with AK47s, those are assault rifles.

It turns out that at least one of the weapons was more like an AR15. It is an assault rifle. The term "long gun" turns out to have been in an answer that a police officer gave to a newspersons question. He told them that long guns were used. It was in response to a question if the perpetrators used guns.

UPDATE:

So I have continued watching the news reports during the day. That is what retired people do. It was interesting to watch Fox assume this is a terrorist attack and hearing their logic on why it must be. I doubt very much this was a terrorist attack. Hey, it may be; but, the facts do not indicate that at this time other than the fact that the killers were of Arabian decent. One of them was born here though. They were married and had a six month old child and the people they killed were co-workers of the husband who had even thrown a baby shower for him and his wife months earlier. Wait, he killed them at their annual Christmas party and had attended in prior years having worked for the County for five years. It has been reported from the beginning that he got in an argument at the party; but, Fox believes he only went to the party to scope out the victims. They say they cannot understand why the killer left the party and returned after preparing (changing clothes and getting weapons and his wife). I am shocked that they are not aware of such a thing as it has happened in many workplace violence situations.

I will tell you my "guess" right now and if Fox can guess then so can I. This was workplace violence. I have known two groups of people killed in separate acts of workplace violence. Both cases had racial aspects; but, neither was racial. They were both based on psychosis and persecution illusions. Both the perpetrators were lousy employees who were incapable of accepting responsibility for their work approach. I would like to know what the performance reviews were of the suspect in this case.

Here is my question for you. If it turns out that the killer was both a Muslim and was being disciplined at work for poor performance, which will you assume is true that he was a terrorist or a disgruntled employee? What if he killed them because he felt they were treating him poorly because he was an Arab or a Muslim? Look workplace violence is committed by Christians, Atheists, Hindus, Muslims and any other group you can think of.

COMMENT:

I will start by reiterating that I have been a preacher and am a pacifist. Okay, yeah, I have some biases on right and wrong. Now let me ask a question. I keep reading that guns don't kill, people do. Well, tell me guns did not kill these 14 people and wound another 14 (it is believed that 3 hurt themselves escaping)? For Ben Carson I will also ask a question, how do you get people to rush a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle within seconds of his entering a room? For the Republican candidates I ask how can you say, "We just have to accept this can happen?" Here is another question, why should it be easier to get a gun then vote? Now, the reason Fox wants to blame these killings on terrorists is clear; but, they bought the guns here and probably legally. If we are so worried about terrorists (foreign or domestic) then why let anyone buy a gun without checking their history out? Should it be legal for suspected terrorists to buy guns here?

Republicans are calling for investigating all Muslims extensively before letting them move here. Yet they are for no investigations into people wanting to buy guns or assault rifles or body armor. The guy that killed the people in San Bernardino was born here. Tell me how many foreigners have been responsible for mass shooting in the United States. Yeah. We do it to ourselves. Can we deal with that and think about that?

Here is the truth. San Bernardino is nothing, it is an uninhabited area of desert, not far away is Los Angeles, an area of millions. I remember after 9-11 driving back from the east coast to the west coast. I remember being in the Midwest towns and people being afraid that the next terrorist attack was going to be in their town, even if it only had a few thousand people. Muslim ground troops are not headed for Iowa or Ohio or any other meaningless place. Sorry if you are from the Midwest; but, if there are terrorists coming here, they are looking for New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Do you really believe Jerktown, Missouri is at more risk that New York?