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JD, You are No Dick Nixon–at least not yet

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The other day Vice President JD Vance compared himself to President Richard Nixon. I think it is strange that he would compare himself to Nixon. In the very least Nixon is someone like Charles Dickens’ Fagin character in Oliver Twist. The leader of criminal gang. I am not sure if JD has risen to that level of malevolence.

To be clear, Nixon was a burglar. And a burglar, like Bilbo Baggins, no matter how honorable or lovable, is someone who breaks into a building with the intent to commit a crime. Is JD telling us that he intends to commit a crime; or maybe he already has.

With that said, Nixon himself did not break into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in the Watergate Building. He had Bill Sikes and Fagin do it for him.–E Howard Hunt and James W McCord, ex CIA operatives, to plan and take care of that. These guys along with G Gordon Liddy, an ex FBI agent, led a group that was known as White House “plumbers”. The original Mario and Luigi plumbing brothers leading a bunch of bungling burglars. I am not sure who was Mario and who would be Luigi in that group. Their original intent was to find out who was leaking info from the White House. I guess their investigation led them to the Democrats. From there it morphed into stupidity. Or as ex White House Attorney, John Dean, testified at the time: “a cancer on the presidency.”

Staying with Vance comparing himself to Nixon, I take it Vance could be comparing himself to a more gentler kind of criminal, a thief, maybe. A thief unlawfully takes another person’s property without consent. Maybe he should be comparing himself more to Dickens’ Jack Dawkins, “the Artful Dodger” than Nixon. After all, Nixon was breaking and entering. The Dodger was a pickpocket.

Politicians can easily fall into the pickpocket/thief category. The big difference is that politicians can legislate their thievery; as Trump is trying do to with the 2026 mid-term elections. Although I would not put Trump in the pickpocket class of thief, more like grand theft auto.

What is happening in our government now is a premeditate heist, an Ocean’s Eleven, one we are watching live right before our eyes. JD should be comparing himself to Rusty Ryan while Trump could be Danny Ocean. But stealth has never been one of Trump’s strong suits. What Nixon and the plumbers were trying to do through covert operations Trump and his merry band of Trumpsters are trying to do legislatively and judicially–or legalizing the actual breaking and entering.

I have never been one to try and figure out the various Generations used to describe the demographics of our country. And I am not sure if JD is a true representative of the Millennials in this country. It is obvious that this 42 year-old Vice President has a different take on Nixon’s clandestine- criminal organization that was run out of the basement of the White House. I think conservative revisionist history has mesmerized him. I think like the 18 minute gap in the Nixon Tapes, Vance has a historical gap in his understanding of American history.

To some current GOPers, Nixon is the subject, object and the predicate nominative of a deep state witch hunt. I think maybe they have watched too many X-File reruns. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were not real FBI agents being tailed by the Cigarette Smoking Man, The mysterious operative who worked for a “Syndicate” that according to Fandom allowed him “top level access to both the FBI and the Pentagon.” All this to thwart our heroes and conceal the truth from the American public.

Nixon’s use of former CIA operatives and various government agencies to help cover up his criminal missteps was a big breach of faith in our government at the time; and a step way out of bounds. It seems we take that for granted now because we have blown right through that X-File phase of our history and living in Jackass Forever.

Today, there is no need for a “deep state.” Now you just buy an entire political party, brow beat GOP legislators, let billionairs lose in the bowels of government and try and pack courts with sycophants like, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to throw downfield legal blocks. Now you simply bypass the covert ex CIA and FBI agents; because, who needs them when the agencies are now being run by a never drained pool of boot-lickers and cronies. No more stealthy midnight raids busted by a minimum wage security guard. Just send the FBI in to raid whomever you choose in broad daylight. Oh, and get the Supreme Court to rule that presidents have broad range of immunity from prosecution that places the office above the law. We should check the US Geological Survey for strong earth tremors emanating from the Nixon gravesite in Yorba Linda when that decision was handed down.

Sorry Dick. You were 50 years too early for that one to save you. But your spirit lives on in JD Vance.

When Real Estate Moguls goes to War

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One of the key concepts about Hitler’s Nazi philosophy was Lebensraum–living space.

Lebensraum was a geopolitical concept the Nazis used “to justify military domination of Central and Eastern Europe and then the USSR.” According to World History Encyclopedia, by taking lands in Eastern Europe, Germany “would gain vast new space and resources and ensure economic prosperity and autonomy for Germanic peoples.” Hitler simply annexed Austria, he took over Czechoslovakia and then invaded Poland before rolling onto Russia.

That concept of “living space” gets swept up under the rug when discussing Hitler’s attempt at a Thousand Year Reich. To sit back and call World War II one man’s redevelopment dream would be making light of the War and its subsequent atrocities. But I would say that if we looked back in time a large percentage of wars were fought over land; or were just out right land grabs, like Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Sure Russia does have some ancient civil claims to the land–but those claims would probably not stand up in court.

Modern day current events are never as simple as political pundits make them out to be. Take Trump’s reasons for bombing Iran. Prima facie the bombing of Iran and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks like justifiable homicide to Israel and the West. Iran, since the Islamic Revolution has been sticking it to the West, particularly “The Great Satin,” America. Starting in 1979 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s Islamic revolutionaries captured the US embassy in Tehran, which eventually led the toppling of the Carter Administration. Since then Iran has been funding terrorism and developing long range missiles with nuclear capabilities which makes sense for a regime change. It would be an understatement to say that diplomatic relations between the two countries have not been good. In fact some would say that some sort of quasi war has been going on for the better part of 46 years.

Iran, or as history once knew them as Persia, has tangled with some mighty empires in its past. They were one of the original players in the Middle East that included Egyptians, Summaries, Assyrians and Babylonians. They took on the Greeks, Alexander the Great, and the Romans in their day. And now a 250 year old upstart–the United States. However, the United States is not ruled by your ancient or even modern run-of-the-day leader.

Enter the real estate mogul and golf course developer Donald J. Trump. If Donald Trump knows one thing, it is a land deal when he sees one. And the number one rule in real estate is location, location, location. Location trumps all other needs. In some case in order to redevelop land it needs to be condemned. According to US Law Explained, “Condemnation is the legal process used by the government to either take private property for public use under eminent domain or to declare a property unsafe and uninhabitable due to severe code violations.” Gaza falls into all of those parameters. Those living in the condemned area do have Constitutional rights. But since Gaza is not under US jurisdiction Palestinians will have to file their complaints elsewhere.

The first phases of redevelopment have already taken place. Israel has already condemned Gaza, they have already demolition a good portion of the buildings and they have relocated the people. Trump enters into the deal and manages to get the first phase of peace agreement in place, his Board of Peace–a de facto planning council. But any good redevelopment needs money, investors and as long as Hamas and Hezbollah are in the area nobody wants to put any money into the pot.

But before any real redevelopment and any major investing can take place, Iran and its proxies need to be knocked out of the equation. Hence, the bombing of Iran and Israeli bombing of Gaza and Lebanon–the forceful eviction of squatters and other undesirables is a prerequisite.

What makes the whole bombing war contraversial is the Trump administration has not given us a real definative reason for its intentions. Sure Iran needs to be punched around–a good thrashing is in order. However, all the of the reason the Trump Administration is giving for kicking Iran’s ass are excellent reasons that nobody can really argue with. But those reasons are side show reasons. Trump’s real interest are he wants to redevelop Gaza. That area: Gaza, Lebanon and Iran are sitting on the new Silk Road. The Interchange that links Europe to the Far East.

Various routes of the Silk Road (PublicDomain)

At the New Delhi G20 Summit in 2023 the India, Middle East European Corridor (IMEC) was created. According to the Indian Express the IMEC was created “to stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe.” This would be a modern day Silk Road.

According to Ancient Origins Unraveling the Mysteries of the Past, “The Silk Road is arguably the most famous long-distance trade route in the ancient world. This trade route connected Europe in the West with China in the East, and allowed the exchange of goods, technology, and ideas between the two civilizations.”

Depending on the route taken a variety of factors had to be dealt with along the Silk Road. The 4,000 mile route from China to Europe was a monumental task in itself. Merchants had to deal with environmental conditions, disease, political instability and bandits. As Ancient Origins states: “Although merchants could make huge profits if they succeeded in bringing their goods to their destination, it was not without risks, as certain stretches of this route were extremely dangerous.”

The re-invention of a modern day Silk Road requires that certain bandits are removed and political stability along the IMEC are dealt with before and redevelopment takes place. This global trade route requires some geopolitical redevelopment.

Don’t let a Dime hold up a Dollar

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In my younger days I worked during the summer for my Uncle Don as mason’s tender. A fancy word for a laborer. As teenager working among men I found out the different styles of foremen and bosses. Some were great yellers throwing off epitates on your job performance as fast as a dog can shake off water. A throwback to the old straw bosses overseeing a bunch of gandy dancers working on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Uncle Don was different. He was always good for the quick witty, some might say sarcastic jab aimed like a rabbit punch to the gut. He let you know right away on how well you were doing your job. At the time I didn’t particularly care for the jabs. One day I overheard him say to another laborer that he was dime holding up a dollar. Basically, whatever the laborer was doing at the time was not as important in keeping bricklayers laying bricks.

Now that we are in the midst of government shutdown, I believe we can apply the dime holding up a dollar to what is happening in our nation’s Capital. It just seems to me that we are hung up on a paltry number–$350 billion. That is not even close to the top Powerball payout of $2.04 billion in November 2022. According to Economics Insider, for 2025 the US federal “government plans to spend a total of $7 trillion.” Seven trillion in the general number scale is not a paltry number. But for the moment let’s just think about what $7 trillion does and consider all of the things that are not getting done during the shutdown anything from say cleaning toilets to training air traffic controllers.

And now let us turn our attention to what I have been able to glean out of the nonsense and obfuscation being pushed upon us from on high. The best I can determine is that the Democrats want to extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act enacted under the Biden Administration. The GOP and Trump not so much, particularly if it has anything to do with Biden. The Congressional Budget Office says by “Permanently expand(ing) the premium tax credit structure as provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and later extended through calendar year 2025 in the 2022 reconciliation act—increasing the deficit by $350 billion from 2026 to 2035 and the number of people with health insurance by 3.8 million in 2035…” The CBO lost me somewhere back in 2022 with a reconciliation act, which is whole different bowl of Congressional gumbo. And it is here is things get sort fuzzy quickly. Watching Congress do its thing is not as simple as watching a Pickleball match or Scottie Scheffler lining up a putt. For the average person it becomes hard to mix and match years and money let alone what is going to happen in 10 years.

But let’s just hold things static for one second. We are talking about a country that spends $7 trillion dollars and we are going to shut the government down for a measly $350 billion because it might increase the amount of people by 3.8 million to the 40-50 million already getting coverage from “Obamacare.” There are 330 million people living in this country and we are going to shut the government down because about 15 percent of the population is getting some sort of tax break for health care. Talk about a “dime holding up a dollar.” It seems to me that we are talking about a 10 year rounding error. Even if you compare the $350 billion to the $1.8 trillion deficit it would be like trying to calculate Mercury’s gravitational impact on the Sun.

Losing the tax credit would have an immediate impact. According to CBS News, “The cost of premiums for people who buy their insurance through the ACA marketplaces could more than double, rising from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.” Another four million people would likely drop their insurance.

It seems as if extending tax credits for healthcare to middle-to-lower income families is too high a hurdle for the government to jump. It knocks the pinions right out from under the government–the proverbial straw, the want of a nail. One really has to wonder about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law on July 4, 2025. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C said, “The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill signed into law by President Trump on July 4 is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a total $117 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.” I am not sure, but I think the $350 billion healthcare tax credit is spread out over 10 years is meager compared to nearly $120 billion to millionaires and billionaires in one year.

If anything can be said about our government they sure know how to make numbers crow about something. Congress is like a murder of crows, you have no real idea what all the squawking is really about. But they are squawking nonetheless. Here is where logic breaks down.They have no problem giving 3.3 million people $117 billion tax break. It is just a toss of a stone in a game of hopscotch. But giving $350 billion to 40 or 50 million people is game of Deal or No Deal.

My Uncle was full of poignant sayings. Once there was a man sitting down on the job. When my Uncle showed up and saw him sitting he told the man he had a job as long as he was sitting down. When he stood up he was fired. Of course he didn’t fire the man but my Uncle got his point across. Maybe we should address the Congress and the President in the same manner. You have a job as long as the government is shutdown. When you open it back up you are all fired.

“Oh with your fussin’ and your fightin’,” Trump’s Tonkin Gulf Moment

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It would be hard to find a time when we as a nation were blessed without all “your fussin’ and your fightin’.” I think the key word in this is “your.” How easy it is to get dragged into someone else’s fussin and fightin’ that then has you hip deep into their feud. If you are one with a limited amount of common sense, to often you gladly jump into the melee feet first; if you are lacking common sense, you dive in head first. This the way I see the immigration nonsense taking place in LA.

I will admit that this country’s immigration policy is out-of-whack, but hardly a Mars Attacks assault. This so-called immigration invasion in Los Angeles has stirred up a lot “fussin’ and fightin’.” Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents are rounding up day laborers at Home Depot–the low hanging fruit of snatch and grab–has gotten a lot people excited, particularly those at The White House. In fact, they got so excited they decided, not only to call out the California National Guard, but the Marines. Who better to call out then the Marines. Marines have a history of dealing with Central American insurrections that goes back to the early 1900s, the National Guard not so much. And who better to guard our streets against an immigrant insurrection of landscapers, dishwashers and a hodgepodge of day laborers then those who cleared the streets of Fallujah in 2004. This is Trump’s domestic surge to push back alien invaders from our streets. It may literally become overkill.

Listen to the radio, talkin’ ’bout the last show
Someone got excited, had to call the state militia–Creedence Clearwater Revival: Travelin’ Band

I am not condoning violence and the burning of driverless cars or surrounding federal buildings. But if there were a Richter Scale for measuring riots what is happening in LA is a 1.0: A microriot not felt, but recorded by main street news (and other bloviators). Take Detroit in 1967, that was a riot. That five-day riot was a magnitude 8.0 Riot: More than 40 people were killed, 1,100 injured (figures for injured vary), 7,200 people arrested and 2,000 buildings damaged or destroyed, its tremors were felt across the nation. Ironically, this riot started with similar early morning police raid on an after hours-bar that went amiss. A side note, the 1992 LA Riot was a 9.0 Riot.

The 1967 Detroit Riots were among the most violent and destructive riots in U.S. history. By the time the bloodshed, burning and looting ended after five days, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned and some 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops had been called into service.–History.com

The Paramount Riot seems like Trump’s Tonkin Gulf Resolution to escalate his deportation war. The big difference is there is no Congressional authorization, which today is a wink and a nod and a hardy “go for it!” It is a hyped up reason to bring out Title 10 U.S.C. 12406 and the military, which says “the president may call into federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws.” In other words, the Administration just put a hiring freeze in Home Depot parking lots across the nation. Some poor drywaller is going have a hard time finding locals to carry in sheetrock up to the second floor addition. Boards that can weigh from anywhere from 30 to 100 pounds depending on the size, and usually bundled in twos.

Our immigrant problem began when the first European immigrants in 1617 brought in African immigrants to pick tobacco. (Native Americans’ immigration problems started in the early 1500s.) On a more positive note, in the late 1600s William Penn actively sought out Europeans to settle in Pennsylvania. According to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, “William Penn had proselytize among Rhine Valley dissenters and invited them to settle in his colony…Between 1727 and 1775, approximately 65,000 Germans landed in Philadelphia.” And they had to travel hundreds of miles just to get to a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Benjamin Franklin wrote “that at least one-third of Pennsylvania’s white population was German.”

Immigration is a part of our natural history as a country. We cannot deport our way out of 400 years of immigration. It runs as deep in our veins as tax avoidance; both have been necessary to sustain the growth and expansion of our country. It is interesting, however, to note, that the current Administration is trying to tackle both issues at the same time with The One Big Beautiful (tax cut) Bill and rounding up 3,000 immigrants a day–but not to carry drywall. It will be interesting to see if this administration can walk and blow bubble gum at the same time.

If our country is a melting pot of culture, our immigration policies have been a recipe created over time reflecting the singular view of White Anglo Saxon beliefs of race, religion and economics at various points along our history. According to heinonline.org, “The Naturalization Act of 1790 established that foreign-born residents of the United States could apply for citizenship provided they had lived in the U.S. for two years, had remained in their current residence for one year, and were free, white, and of “good moral character.” If we went by “good moral character” for being a citizen today, we might easily lose half the currently elected and appointed members of our government, to include Supreme Court justices–they could easily be DOGE(d).

Since then we have had a twisting immigration policy that has encouraging Chinese laborers to work on the railroads to then outright excluding them in 1882 from not only becoming citizens but denying those that were here the path to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Exclusion Act was renewed every 10 years until it was finally repealed in 1952. In 1980 immigrants could now claim refugee status and could enter the immigration maze. And, In 1986 the Reagan Administration basically outsourced the control of immigration to business.

Prior to Reagan, Congress had created a niche out for businesses. According to The Congressional Quarterly Almanac, “it was illegal to enter or work in the country without proper papers, did not make it illegal for employers to hire undocumented workers.” It seems the government closed the front door but left the back door wide open to hiring immigrants no matter what their status was. In reality it is an economic problem of supply and demand in getting the cheapest labor possible.

That changed with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. It was now illegal to hire illegals “knowing that such person is unauthorized to work…without verifying his or her work status.” Employers could now be subjected to fines and jail. The new law also allowed a pathway for amnesty and legal status for undocumented aliens. Since then we have had Dream Acts that set requirements and conditions for illegal immigrants to apply for residential and permanent status. And of course there has been wall building and border openings and closings along with barbed wire across the Rio Grande. But that has not stopped businesses from hiring illegal immigrants.

A major problem with immigration is that we have had a Congresses that is too cheap to buy new underwear. But not so for foreign owned 747s. Our policies in dealing with immigration has a time-worn elastic band, it is ragged, and it is full of holes. You dare not put it in the dryer and you damn sure don’t want to hang it out on the line to dry after washing it in the sink.

“If you have a problem you can solve by throwing money at it, you don’t have a very interesting problem.”— American novelist and nonfiction writer Anne Lamott.

For the better part of 40 years Congress and various Presidents have created a very interesting political/economical problem” out of immigration. Businesses like agriculture, meat packing and construction run on cheap labor immigration provides. Employment for immigrants for decades was wide open. As a nation we have not invested the necessary money to control and accommodate business needs nor screen immigrants at the border. If we did, why are we deporting so many now? Instead, We have allowed our country to become a Walmart on Black Friday every day.

What I am sick and tired of is the political extremes on both ends of the spectrum creating all the insane fussin’ and fightin’. Without a doubt we have had a long running challenges with immigration. But now we have a president that has decided that things are out of hand. Have things drastically changed from 1980 to the present? If so, it is because immigration is part of our historical DNA. The problem today, is that this administration’s policy on immigration could be compared to a doctor using a guillotine to treat patients suffering from migraines. It is a bit radical and obvious not the best solution for the patient or his family.

Meanwhile, those of us that are in the middle looking for real solutions to immigration watch the ends never meet.

The MAGA Drama Continues with The Return of Trump

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In August of 2018 I made a political prediction that Trump would win the 2020 election. It was 20/20 that Trump would win in 2020. I was wrong. However, I am double downing on Trump. I predict Trump will return for the final MAGA Saga act. In 2018.

I felt that all the drama that Trump created would propel him to another four years. in 2020. Instead viewers, and make no mistake we are no longer voters, canceled Mr. Trump goes to Washington after six seasons. Season one premiered with the Golden Escalator ride in June of 2016: Gold Digger of Manhattan. It ended dramatically with lost tourists storming the Capitol in quest of public restrooms in “Who left the Dump Cake?” So much of the saga was left untold. And here we are eight years later anxiously awaiting Trump’s Washington return.

The shocked Trump, and the GOP, was surprised that a show with such a large following was canceled. So many questions. How did a bunch of pointy-headed liberals turned woke warriors manage to pull off an Ocean’s Eleven stealing millions of votes in so many swing states? How could a vast empire be brought down by just several million viewers scattered in key swing slots? How did they turn off the MAGA channel? It had to be election legerdemain. It is impossible to dupe so many Americans.

However, there was still a well-funded PAC production companies a (Fox) studio and plenty of advertisers to keep a Trump show on the air. Undaunted, the GOP tried several Trump spinoffs that flamed out: Dr. Oz Medicine Man bombed in Pennsylvania. And in Georgia the remake of the movie Running Man starring Hershel Walker had a good opening in Georgia but could not get enough market share in Atlanta to get a coveted Senate seat. Other spin offs never got beyond the pilot production.

Despite losing Washington DC production rights, the GOP decided that what MAGA needed was slight face lift, a new location, like so many CSI spinoffs. It needed some glitz beyond the Trump Tower. And despite Trump’s cancellation for a second running, the GOP looked at is a stolen victory. They decided that Mr. Trump goes to Washington would be the first show in the trilogy of The MAGA Saga. Production moved to South Florida and within weeks the second series, It’s Always Sunny in Mar-a-Lago became a hit. But despite the cheery title the show is film noir. The writer cast Trump as the the cynical hero seeking out retribution, a hero standing up for the common man who can take the law into his own hands.

The plot is loosely based on the 1956 film The Searchers starring John Wayne. In this classic John Ford Western, Wayne is searching across Texas for his niece kidnapped by Comanches. In this remake Donald Trump portrays a modern day Ethan Edwards seeking revenge on raping, pillaging and dog eating immigrants. Writers of the show do not deviate from the main themes of Mr Trump Goes to Washington. By now that Trump is unbogged from the Washington swamp, he can now show how truly the demented liberal agenda is in turning the United States into North Mexico.

The final series in the trilogy is The Return of Trump, MAGA Strikes Back. It is set to premiere in late November. The GOP has combined two Star Wars film titles for dramatic cinematography effect. It begins with the triumphant Trump returning to Washington with galactic powers. Backed by a Supreme Court that, in its judicial wisdom, has bestowed total immunity for Trump. He is finally allowed to rule as a modern day Caesar. Who needs executive orders when laws become mere suggestions. Most of the scripts are still works in progress but episode one: Mass Deportations will be followed by the creptic: “Tales from the Swamp: How Federal Bureaucrats Resisted President Trump.” Cut loose of the bothersome bureaucracy America will finally be able to embrace its true conservative, Christian values.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Running_Man_(1987_film)

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-searchers-1956

Trump was Turned Inside Out

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Like 50 to 60 million other Americans, I watched the Presidential Debate between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. I also watched the first Presidential Debate where Joe Biden’s political career dissolved much the way the Wicked Witch of the West fizzled away in The Wizard of Oz.

To many MAGA people, and many on the right, there was reason to cheer the demise of the leftist leader. “Socialism is Dead,” “Hail to Trump!” Trump was all set to grab the burning broom and fly into history. The polls were tight but Trump seemed to have a solid edge in the presidential grudge match. Biden’s quick exit from the ring was like some sort of pro wrestling cage match where the loser leaves. And this could literally be true. With Trump in control of the broom, and the Ruby Slippers, most of the criminal charges against him go away, along with his political antagonists. Trump has made it clear retribution will be swift, unlike his court cases. And sticking with the movie theme, Trump may start to channel mob boss Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

But not so fast, as different as the two debates were, there are some stark comparisons. The two debates could have similar endings. After Biden’s debate, I would say crash and burn but that would mean he actually left the runway and got airborne. The Democratic Party pulled Biden out of the pilot’s seat and managed to park that plane quickly showing Biden the door. Biden was Chauncey Gardiner, Peter Sellers, in the movie Being There, leaving the garden he worked in most of his life. Whatever your political bent is, it was sort of sad to see Biden’s slow, mental meltdown, like a bowl of ice cream in a sauna. I believe it surprised Trump that after 90 minutes he was debating a man who could have been described before the debate as Rocky Road but was now just warm, sticky, mushy Cookies and Cream.

The Trump/Harris debate was different. As the debate went on I thought Harris was channeling Bugs Bunny, leading Trump down a series of rabbit holes as if he were Elmer Fudd wondering if he should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque. To some, Trump is a Looney Tune, but no Elmer Fudd. The longer the debate went on the more he reminded me of Anger, the Lewis Black character in the movie Inside Out. I could visualize a blue blaze of jet flame shooting out of the top of Trump’s head. The only time he opened his eyes was when he was mad.

As for Harris, when she added to the Bugs Bunny rif, she expanded her persona. If we stick with the Inside Out motif, I would say she added equal parts of Fear, Disgust and Joy. During the debate she may have been short on specific policies, but she played upon the Democratic Party’s anti-Trump emotions: Fear, if he gets reelected and the disgust of actually having to live through another Trump administration. But most of all the joy if he loses.

In the first debate we saw President Biden fall off the stage and carried away. In the second debate we may have just witnessed another president exiting the stage. It is hard to judge the impact of the debate on November’s election today. The question is: Will the debate be a reason American voters shove Trump off the stage for good.

Trump: the Nation’s Sweet Tooth

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Way back in August of 2018 I wrote, “Its 20/20: Trump in 2020.” I was wrong. Or maybe I was just off by six years.

And here we are in 2024 watching an election rerun like it was an old TV show canceled by one network now being picked up by a another–or so it seems. The 2024 election is like the animated Fox comedy Futurama, a TV show that aired on Fox from 1999 to 2003; but found new life on Comedy Central, where it lived on until 2013.

I am not sure anyone thought former President Donald Trump would just fade away and settle for reruns of his show. Without a doubt the Trump brand has unique selling and staying power. Unlike Enron it is a brand that defies all economic and social laws. In fact, it is beginning to have a shelf life like a package of Hostess Twinkies.

Like everybody, Trump knows that Twinkies hit the sweet spots. We also know, intrinsically, that something that tastes that good has to have some serious downsides. A package of Twinkies has 32 grams of sugar. And according to Eat This, Not That!, of those “32 grams of the sweet stuff, 31 grams are added sugar.” The American Heart Association recommends that men consume about 36 grams of added sugar while women should keep it to around 25 grams. Just do the math. Scarfing down that much added processed sugar adds no nutritional value to the diet.

I have seen cooking shows where a stick of butter was melted with a cup of sugar and then added to the mixing bowl. I could make the A Section of The New York Times taste palatable with a stick of butter, a cup of sugar and several teaspoons of vanilla extract–even the for most hardcore MAGA-man. (It is probably the only way MAGA would consume the NYT) We may be to the point where we are over indulging in Trump. There is no nutritional information coming from his campaign; and that is saying something when talking heads do not stray far from their talking points.

The former president, in reality, is peddling Hostess Twinkies to the American public in double doses. He knows he has hooked the American people, and in particular the media into delivering Twinkies on demand. We are, as a viewing nation, consuming a package or more of Twinkies a day. We are addicted. We have gotten fat for his crazy, zany antics. In fact, we crave them, hunger for them. We have become obese from Trump sugar nuggets. He has created the ultimate media show and it is presented across multiple media platforms. A show that is impossible to cancel, despite its lack of informational fiber.

Netflix originally introduced streaming in 2007 and debuted its first inhouse-produced programming in 2013; that show, House of Cards, exploded in popularity. While not true crime, its success — and the spotlight it shone on the appeal of binge-watching a series — helped open the coffers for Netflix-produced true crime content to come.

Sheila Flynn Independent

Because Twinkies lack fiber, which helps in digestion, gives us a fuller feeling and can help keep sugar levels stable, we remain in this fiberless hungry state craving more. Cable news networks, social media, late night talk shows, ego bloated bloviators and advertisers adding their own sugar to the mixing bowl of so-called news. They are the sugar delivery device–they package the Twinkies. It makes no difference if you are MAGA, A Never Trumper, a RINO or a far left socialist; there is a good chance you are addicted to cable news or scrolling about on social media for Trump Twinkies. We are like sugar-starved humming birds flapping around a feeder.

The Trump saga has way too much drama to walk away from. And this is not by accident. Particularly now with so many court cases. Cable news and social media have their very own Law & Order Trump spin offs. According to NBC “Law & Order dramas have a decades-long legacy. There are seven U.S. shows total in the franchise, which translates to well over 1,000 episodes — with more on the horizon.” America loves crime stories. The more morbid the better, especially if some celebrity is involved. The OJ Simpson case is an example. Accused of a double murder, Simpson’s trial lasted the better part of eight months. People were riveted to evening news shows for the latest up date. Today, Trump has multiple trials in various stages starting with state cases and federal cases with appeals reaching the Supreme Court. You want drama? Tune into Fox and Friends or Morning Joe.

It’s been 20 years since more than 150 million viewers —57% of the country — tuned in to watch the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial at 10 a.m. on Oct. 3, 1995. The massive viewership of the verdict’s live broadcast was a fitting end to the saga that had captivated the entire nation since the infamous white Bronco chase of the previous June, and its legacy in the media still lasts today.

Time Magazine

We have been led to believe that the Trump drama will end with a conviction in at least one of his trials. But don’t bet on it. So far, Trump’s lawyers have managed to push every trial into the future. And with each court appeal or Supreme Court ruling Trump is creating more processed Twinkies for the American public to feed on. Whether it is additional drama by talking smack about the judges or looking into the sexual escapades of prosecutors it creates more melodrama for all to feast on. Trump may shoot your blood pressure up several notches or flood your brain with dopamine, we are all hooked in to see the next Trump sugar nugget drop–and he knows it.

And if you think the election is going to settle anything, you are wrong. The Trump Saga could run 10 more years with multiple spin offs and thousands of episodes playing across multiple media platforms. There is no cancelation in sight.