Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Not Confronting Sexism: Not An Option

A Clinton victory also promises to usher in four-to-eight years of the kind of down-and-dirty public misogyny you might expect from a stag party at Roger Ailes’s house.

As head of the Australian Labor Party, Gillard served as prime minister from 2010 to 2013. Her tenure was turbulent and notable for what Gillard termed in her exit speech the “gender wars.” What surprised the former PM most about the experience: that the sexist attacks grew worse as her time in office progressed. “I expected the maximum reaction to my being the first woman prime minister to come in the first few months,” she told me. “What I found living through the reality was that the sort of gendered stuff actually grew over time” as she tackled tough policy decisions. (Gillard too was derided as a “menopausal monster.”)

Then there were the two hecklers at a New Hampshire rally who waved signs and chanted, “Iron my shirt!” Clinton laughed it off, and the incident was reported mostly as dumbass 20-something guys acting like dumbass 20-something guys. But if someone had yelled an equivalently demeaning remark at Obama—like, say, “Shine my shoes!”—the public response likely would have been very different.

Why a Hillary Clinton Presidential Win Means a New Era of Public Misogyny - The Atlantic

Trump’s Rabid Racism

The dude talks about Blac (Black Latino Asian Coalition) people with the mouth of a mad dog. The world has changed under his very feet and he doesn't even know.

Last August, Trump took issue with Bush’s statement that many undocumented immigrants came to the U.S. as an “act of love,” seeking a better life for their families. “There’s no act of love. It’s tough stuff,” he said at an Aug. 25 news conference. “They’re gonna be gone so fast if I win, your head will spin.” Weeks later, during a raucous rally in Dallas, Trump railed against “anchor babies” and vowed to boot undocumented immigrants if elected president. “You people are suffering,” Trump told the Texans. “I’m in New York, but they’re in New York, too. They’re all over the place.”

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Trump Should Lose Balance In The First Debate

Then never recover.

Hillary Clinton Piles Up Research in Bid to Needle Donald Trump at First Debate http://nyti.ms/2c3Q0Be

Her team is also getting advice from psychology experts to help create a personality profile of Mr. Trump to gauge how he may respond to attacks and deal with a woman as his sole adversary on the debate stage...... he can barely conceal his disdain for laborious and theatrical practice sessions.

To Hillary this is about the House, and cementing a new American majority, to last a generation, of progressive whites, colorful people, millennials, and women of all ages. This is not about the electoral college. Much is at stake.

I trust her to slam dunk it.

Trump Won't Prepare For Debate. Clinton Hunkering Down. | Daily Wire

Trump's just gonna wing the debates / Boing Boing

Clinton at fundraiser: 'I do not know which Donald Trump will show up' at debates - CNNPolitics.com

Sounds like she’s got this… | Balloon Juice

Nehru And The UN Security Council


When Nehru Refused American Bait on a Permanent Seat for India at the UN

One cannot underestimate how imminent Nehru and others felt a conflict of at least an equal degree to the Second World War was. 

Monday, August 29, 2016

Trump’s Racism

Trump has made racist comments like I have not heard coming out of a major politician. Going back to the apartheid era.

And then he says, I am not a racist. He attempts "outreach" to "the blacks," rehashing every possible black stereotype in the process.

There is a policy vacuum. It is his entire head. That hissing sound? It's the vacuum.

Men of Trump's worldview used to run empires, jail the likes of Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King. In that case Trump is good news. He did not invent this racism. It has been going on for centuries. But what a caricature it has become! These are the dying embers of a once potent hate machine.

Anti-semitism is a strain of the same virus. So is sexism. God says love one another. Satan says hate each other. Trump has satanic impulses.

If anyone told you he is running for president, you have been misinformed! This dude never had a chance.

And the run has been detrimental to his various businesses. The foot traffic is down everywhere.

So why is he running?

Satan worship.

Just like those who truly worship God are not deterred by material setbacks, the truest Satan worshippers are the same way.

His daughter, reports say the person he loves the most, is Jewish, and that did not prevent him from tweeting an anti Semitic image. The likes of Reverend Jackson and the other dudes in Harlem be damned.

Somewhere in Idaho, Wyoming, somewhere over there the likes of Trump are migrating to form a community of their own. And you thought segregation was over!

It is the leftover neanderthal brain. It is biology. Got to be. Trump can't help it. Is there a surgery for it? Or no?

The worst part is this might not be over in November. This dude is going to keep showing up on TV for at least four more years. His title is he is the duly elected leader of the Republican Party, or whatever is left of it. He is keeping that title for four years. Who is to argue?

I Miss Policy Talk

Hillary Clinton is rolling out a comprehensive plan to address millions of Americans coping with mental illness. She's pointing to the need to fully integrate mental health services into the nation's health care system.

I am absolutely sick and tired of Donald Trump's insults. I wish the two candidates were sparring over policy.

The guy does not know policy.

Hillary Needs To Confront The Sexism

Trump’s new aim: Poison a Clinton presidency

But instead of engaging his conspiracy theories, Democrats respond by attacking his character.

Hillary confronted racism in her Nevada speech. She needs to confront sexism the same way.

The women of America (and the world) don't need to watch a woman get beat up with sexist propaganda. They need to see the woman fight back and win.

Sexism is an ideology, a worldview. It has to be confronted.



Donald Trump Is A Clown

Donald Trump is a clown. If he were to become president he would be a dangerous clown. But he is not going to be. And so he is a dangerous clown.

Donald Trump is the head of the Republican Party for the next four years, duly elected. Nobody can take that away from him. Until someone else becomes the Republican nominee for president, this guy is it.

He is going to lose but he is going to be the country's opposition leader. Nobody can take that away from him.

With Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan both slated to lose their leadership positions in Congress, it is not like there is going to be another claimant to the throne.

Brace yourselves. You are going to be seeing Donald Trump on TV for four more years, likely on his own TV network. This guy is going to make a billion dollars for having run for president.

Donald is Zhirinovsky. Donald Zhirinovsky. Putin sits in a glass house himself.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Pakistan Day Parade, India Day Parade

आज पाकिस्तान डे परेड को हो आया। एक हफ्ते पहले इन्डिया डे परेड था। अमिताभ तो नहीं आए थे। बिजी रहे होंगे। अभिषेक और योग रामदेव आए थे।

दो परेड देख के पता चल गया भारत के तुलना में पाकिस्तान काफी छोटा पावर है। अमेरिका ने साथ छोड़ दिया, अरब देशों ने।

तो भारत को बनता है बड़प्पन दिखाओ। बड़े भाई की तरह। Generosity. Bigness of heart. क्षेत्रीय शांति के लिए। Don’t try to rub Pakistan's nose in the dirt.

Mitch McConnell:More Dangerous Than Donald Trump

Donald Trump is never going to be president. But Mitch McConnell has been the reigning racist in the US Senate. The whole world is watching, but he doesn't care. McConnell dislikes the idea of the first black president so much, he has put the US constitution into the acid tank. What's up with no Senate hearings for Obama's Supreme Court pick?

Donald Trump is a racist. That is the only thing he is. But he is not in a  position of power. Although this dude might start a war somewhere without even getting elected.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Hillary Should Give A Gender Speech

Hillary gave a wonderful speech on race in Reno. It felt to me like she was reading out of a catalogue. Everything racist Donald has said and done, she read it all out loud. It is good to have it all in one place.

Hillary should now give a gender speech. The first woman president has to talk some gender.

In Defense Of Hillary

My current conviction is that the main fuel that powers the anti-Hillary crowd is sexism.

The most thorough, profound and moving defense of Hillary Clinton I have ever seen.

Overt sexism is significantly more likely to be tolerated in our society than overt racism. It is a low-risk form of bigotry and discrimination that rarely damages professional or political careers. 

Unlike men, women who make demands are still often seen as unfeminine and inappropriately aggressive, bordering on deviant. And if the people most aggressively pushing against the glass ceiling are “broken” or “deviant”, it’s easier to justify dismissing both them and their concerns.

In the early 90’s her polling was great, which was typical for an incoming First Lady. But Hillary had no interest in being a typical First Lady, and soon took charge of one of the most important policy initiatives of the Clinton Presidency: Universal Health Care. If you look at the first large red arrow I have on the graphic, you’ll see that as soon as she did that her negatives skyrocketed. And yes this was before Whitewater.

She was at one of the most popular periods of her life, but as soon as she declared a run for the Senate her favorables plummeted while her unfavorables rose sharply. 

Nearly exactly at the same time she withdrew from the Presidential race her favorables took off again, rising to levels that many considered remarkable. 

And her polling stayed high right up until she decided to run for President again.

So what do we see in this data? What I see is that the public view of Hillary Clinton does not seem to be correlated to “scandals” or issues of character or whether she murdered Vince Foster. No, the one thing that seems to most negatively and consistently affect public perception of Hillary is any attempt by her to seek power. Once she actually has that power her polls go up again. But whenever she asks for it her numbers drop like a manhole cover.

the predictable swings of public opinion reveal Americans’ continued prejudice against women caught in the act of asking for power…”

In fact there is very little dispute that Trump has been SIGNIFICANTLY less honest on the campaign trail than Hillary. According to Politifact he is in fact the least honest candidate they’ve ever analyzed! 

Are scandals still scandals if nobody actually did anything wrong? And I think that’s a fair question, because Hillary’s political foes love to point out all the times she has been implicated (directly or indirectly) in scandals. Not surprisingly, however, they fail to point out that she has always been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Did you know that Republicans once spent 10 days and 140 hours investigating the Clinton’s use of the White House Christmas Card list? Because that is a real thing that actually happened. As the Atlantic recently pointed out, “No other American politicians—even ones as corrupt as Richard Nixon, or as hated by partisans as George W. Bush—have fostered the creation of a permanent multimillion-dollar cottage industry devoted to attacking them.”

before he ran for President in 2007, Rudy Giuliani was making about $700,000 a month in speaking fees with an average of $270k per speech. It’s estimated that in the 5 years before his run he earned as much as $40 million in speaking fees. Nobody cared, no accusations of impropriety were made, and there was almost no media interest.

after leaving the Florida governor’s office Jeb Bush made millions of dollars in paid speeches. This includes large sums he collected from a South Korean metals company that reaped over a BILLION dollars in contracts from his brother’s presidential administration. Speaking to an Indian newspaper about this type of thing Bush said, “This is the life of being the brother of the president.”

I’m going to need someone to explain to me why we only seem to focus on it when the person making the money has a vagina.

Am I supposed to not notice that we are now in an election season in which Donald Trump, a proud scam artist whose involvement in “Trump University” alone is being defined by the New York Attorney General as “straight-up fraud”, is regularly calling Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary” and getting away with it?

presidential campaigns favor men, and the men who campaign in them are rewarded for those traits perceived as being “manly” - physical size, charisma, forceful personality, assertiveness, boldness and volume. Women who evince those same traits however are usually punished rather than rewarded, and a lot of the negativity aimed at Hillary over the years, especially when she is seeking office, has been due to these underlying biases. There is simply no question that Hillary has for years been on the business end of an unrelenting double standard. And her battle with societal sexism isn’t going to stop because of her success anymore than Obama’s battle with racism stopped once he was elected. 

In the entire history of our nation, only 6 Presidents have also served as Secretary of State. Only 3 have served both as Secretary of State and in Congress.

Trump is not merely a bad choice, he is (as many leading Republicans have already admitted) a catastrophic choice, unfit in every possible way for the office of the Presidency.

she will make history by shattering the very highest glass ceiling, and in doing so forever change the way a generation of young women view their place in our Republic.

Hating Hillary - The New Yorker

Great Speech On Race By Hillary


Reno Speech Transcript

This Is What Women "Coming Out" Looks Like

She and a team of organizers and student volunteers had spent the week before school started handing out 5,000 dildos in varying sizes and shapes (some with balls, some without) to UT students, in hopes that they would zip-tie them to their backpacks and walk onto campus openly brandishing veiny, phallic dildos to prove a point about gun control. If it seems absurd and ridiculous, that's because it's supposed to be. The slogan of "Cocks Not Glocks" — the gun protest that had Zander wielding a giant dildo and has drawn international attention to UT Austin — is "fighting absurdity with absurdity."

To Protest Guns on Campus, Students in Texas Are Carrying Big, Fake Penises to Class

​"If you're packing heat, we're packing meat."

Nobody has a right to bear arms. Guns have always been a gendered issue. Guns are patriarchy's number one tool. When they are not fired they are used as scare tools. Guns are the Confederate Flag targeting women.

95% of African Americans (or "the blacks," as Trump might say it.... Thanks to Trump's "outreach" to "the blacks" now I know more about black stereotypes than I thought was possible) voted for Barack Obama. Where are all the womens at?

Thursday, August 25, 2016

The World Is Failing Syria

The son of a World War II refugee myself, I’ve been researching the anti-refugee hysteria of the 1930s and ’40s. As Bekink suggests, the parallels to today are striking.

The reasons for the opposition then were the same as they are for rejecting Syrians or Hondurans today: We can’t afford it, we should look after Americans first, we can’t accept everybody, they’ll take American jobs, they’re dangerous and different.

Some readers are objecting: But Jews weren’t a threat the way Syrian refugees are! In the 1930s and ’40s, though, a world war was underway and Jews were widely seen as potential Communists or even Nazis. There were widespread fears that Germany would infiltrate the U.S. with spies and saboteurs under the cover that they were Jewish refugees.

News organizations didn’t do enough to humanize refugees and instead, tragically, helped spread xenophobia. The Times published a front-page article about the risks of Jews becoming Nazi spies, and The Washington Post published an editorial thanking the State Department for keeping out Nazis posing as refugees.

History rhymes. As I’ve periodically argued, President Obama’s reluctance to do more to try to end the slaughter in Syria casts a shadow on his legacy, and there’s simply no excuse for the world’s collective failure to ensure that Syrian refugee children in neighboring countries at least get schooling.

Anne Frank Today Is A Syrian Girl

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Hillary's "Health" : Sexism In 2016

Hillary looks like she might be 10 times more fit than Donald Trump. She is younger than Trump. She does not eat McDonald's two to three times a day. She exercises. Trump has never believed in physical exercise all his life.

Compared to Donald Trump it can be said Hillary Clinton is an Olympic athlete. But only in comparison. Objectively speaking do I think she is an Olympic athlete? No.

So why is Donald Trump bringing up health as an issue? In 2008, it was "cleavage," written up by some journalist. This year it is "Health." Both times it's about the body. It is about objectifying a woman.

There are about 160 million women in America who could wake up. Shed the diffidence. Gay people came out of the closet. Women should do the same.

Donald Trump is not like Bob Dole. Dole actually knew policy. This is not like 1996.

This time it is about a wave election to take the House.
 
The Republicans are one with Donald Trump on the so called health issue. Tie Donald Trump around the Republican neck. They are with him.

Education And Health: The Costs Are Supposed To Go Down

If you own a smartphone today you look a millionaire to people from the ancient era of 1969-1989. Your smartphone has a ton of free stuff all of which used to cost a ton of money, if the services were even available, that is.

The entire world is to enter a knowledge economy. Lifelong education has to become true for all human beings.

When you say that some people start doing their back of the envelope math and start seeing a bill for tens of trillions, money that they claim does not exist.

They are thinking in terms of a million dollars worth of services. They are not thinking in terms of a smartphone.

Costs are supposed to go down dramatically, for both education and health. The Internet is the new classroom. All textbooks and lectures are to be digital and mostly free.

There has to be education in every language. Artificial Intelligence will make everything available in every other language. There will not be a total emphasis on literacy. Where literacy does not cover the ground, oral will do.

With a tablet and internet access you should be able to get a high school anywhere.

Teachers don't go away. People are not meant to go away. Human interactions are a big part of the education process.

There is a need for a fundamental rethink. Human capital is the very center of hypercapitalism.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

BNN: Bernie News Network

Bernie Sanders should launch a news network. It might not even be cable. It could be a YouTube channel. Considering his crowd is a social media crowd. But it has to be a for profit corporation. It has to be an act of entrepreneurship.

The reason Trump is so buoyant is because he does not feel like he is losing. Trump was never a real estate guy. That was his father. And the world knows Trump is not much of a public policy guy either. Trump has been a brand builder. He has been building that one word: Trump. That's his track record. If you are Donald Trump, you have never been more successful before. Right after he won the Republican nomination he said as much: "This is not about the Republican Party. This is about me."

Trump has been sizing up his crowd. He thinks there are 10-20 million people in the country who can’t get enough of him. That would be enough to sustain a cable news network. That's a billion dollar empire right there. Who says Trump is losing? Or so Trump thinks.

Nothing wrong with launching a cable news network. Except this so called white nationalism is plain ignorant racism. One should take pride in language, culture, religion, heritage. That's positive, that is legitimate nationalism. But hatred and bigotry is not nationalism. But free speech is free speech.

The Bernie crowd needs to run for public office at all levels. And it needs a news channel of its own. It can be set up for little on YouTube. A small staff feeding on a decentralized network of volunteers could do it. The thing is on YouTube there is no limit to how much you can upload, and people can watch on their own schedules. A 10 million strong crowd would bring bumper profits to the ad supported YouTube channel.

This is the crowd that will put in place the Universal Basic Income. This is not the socialism crowd. This is the hypercapitalism crowd that puts human capital, financial capital and technological capital on equal pedestal.

The world is about to enter an era of unprecedented productivity gains, largely technology driven. Jobs disappearing is great news. But there has to be accompanying political innovation. Considering where America can be in 2050, America is Third World today.  

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Hillary, Putin And Trump

The rest of the world has no idea someone who might become president of America is a guy who reads tabloids for "research" and TV is the only policy coach he has, and mostly he talks to himself, and the divorce between facts and his speech happened a long time ago. He never bothered to remarry. Donald Trump is poli fi, as in, political fiction. He is the American Boris Johnson, or Zhirinovsky. Every talking democracy has a bomb thrower. All in the name of free speech. Different men react to the political ascendancy of women in different ways. Some faint. Trump intends to fall flat on his face.

It is possible Putin might do something idiotic to test Hillary's resolve during the first year, but he would be mistaken to do so. Hillary can be a hawk, as necessary. But mostly she is just a cool headed decision maker, kind of like Obama. She looks at the facts, listens to opinions, deliberates, and decides. It is not about being male or female, black or white, it is about doing a job. She has the brains and plenty of spine.

And never forget the Political Spirit, Bill Clinton. The president, the vice president and the political spirit. Two Clintons in one White House is a cocktail.  

One hopes Putin does not attempt some kind of a stunt in Ukraine before November to try to influence the US election. Trump is losing Texas, nothing anyone can do about that. The guy is going to look like he is doing stand up comedy during the debates.
 

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Putin Meddling For Trump Via Ukraine

Russian Military Forces Staging Near Ukraine

Trump did the unthinkable when he invited Russia ("Russia, are you listening?") to meddle in the US election on his behalf.

And Putin is taking that invitation rather seriously.

The Ukrainian release of damning information on the Trump campaign manager, guess what, Putin did not like that.

And now you are looking at a possible war.

Looks like not only the words of a sitting president but also someone running for president has immediate consequences around the world.

Hezbollah is saying, look, I told you America founded ISIS, and now you have proof.

If all this were not so dangerous it might even be funny.

Donald Trump is a clown, a dangerous clown, and hence a madman.

300,000 Gun Deaths In America Every 10 Years


15 Statistics That Tell the Story of Gun Violence This Year

There are 300,000 gun deaths in America every 10 years. In any other country you would call this a civil war situation.

When there is a mass shooting somewhere in America people get all riled up for a few news cycles. But nothing gets done. No rectifying moves are made. In a democracy if a majority of the people want better gun laws they should get better gun laws. Maybe America is not a democracy. False information has been passed around. That America is a democracy.

In no civilized society or country should human beings have a right to bear arms. Human beings have a right to safety, but that's what police officers are for. A response time of three minutes or less is possible every place in America. It is so much easier to carry a smartphone than a gun. There is a need for a world government and a global 911 and a response time of five minutes or less everywhere.

If hunting is a sport, it should be regulated like a sport. Why do you need artillery that can blow up buildings to go deer hunting?

The tobacco lobby also used to be very strong. The gun lobby is strong. Follow the money. Drug gangs across Latin America use American guns. It is almost always American guns that get used in civil wars across the world. This is madness.

The gun lobby has an ongoing civil war in America and numerous civil wars across the world. This is barbaric.

Domestic violence is the number one security threat on the planet right now. In that as well in human trafficking American guns play major roles, not to say in the global drug trade.

The joke on the Soviets was they would dig up ditches and fill up the same ditches to show a lot of work got done. Has America been fighting both sides of the drug war?

Limit guns to police officers and soldiers.

America could use a healthy dose of yoga and meditation. Human beings are supposed to be moved by consciousness not driven by instincts.  

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Target Texas


Trump leads only by 6 points in Texas

 In a head to head contest Trump leads Clinton 50-44 in the state, which Mitt Romney won by 16 points in 2012..... Trump's lead is based entirely on his holding a 63-33 advantage among seniors. ..... Trump has a 69/25 lead with white voters but the reason the state's so competitive overall is that among non-white voters Clinton has a 73-21 lead, including a 68-27 edge with the state's booming Hispanic population......  'just' 35% of Trump supporters think Barack Obama founded ISIS....... Finally we polled on Texas secession. Overall 26% of voters would support leaving the United States to 59% who want to stay, and 15% who aren't sure either way. Among Trump voters support for secession goes up to 37%, with only 49% opposed to exiting. If you look at the Presidential race in Texas only among voters who are opposed to seceding from the United State, Clinton leads Trump 54/41. But that's offset by Trump's 72/20 advantage with the secession crowd. If Clinton is elected President this fall, the Trump voters really want out- in that case 61% say they'd support seceding from the United States, to only 29% who would stick around.

Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine, Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, everybody should go spend a few weeks in Texas. Texas is the big prize. Texas can be had. The entire South can be had if Hillary is willing to play the abortion card.

Preparing For The Debates

Clinton preps for Trump's Lewinsky attack

For a guy who intends to be "unpredictable," I expect Donald Trump to be very predictable during the debates. His strategy is going to be to spend as little time as possible on policy and all possible time on sleaze.

Hillary's strategy should be to have stock answers for the predictable sleaze (Lewinsky, email and Benghazi.... with Trump you never know, he might also bring up Whitewater and Vince Foster), to bring up some specifics like Trump University herself, shaming Trump for going after a Gold Star family, not filing taxes, bankruptcies, but all the time trying to get back to policy talk.

The debate format favors her policy advantages. The moderators do a good job of steering policy.

The good news is Donald Trump is not the moderator.

I am looking at a slam dunk for Hillary.

This guy is going to wish he had run for City Council first. The only policy he learned he learned from watching TV.

The 10 point lead now is going to become 20 points after the three debates are over. Hillary Clinton has all the qualities of a good student. And it is going to show.

Donald Trump is a high school bulley now wanting access to the nuclear code. Shame on Donald Trump.

Hillary should attempt her own dog whistle to the 170 million women. Something tells me a lot of women are going to break in Hillary's direction during the final two weeks.

Racism Can Kill A Political Party

The Republicans tried to sink Obama. Instead, the party imploded 

His name is Barack Obama. And he can thank the freak show that is Donald Trump’s Republican party for restoring his stature as a unifying, national leader with a moderated and mature approach to a complex and unstable world.

Obama’s biggest threat was that he could realign American politics, shifting it fundamentally towards progressives for a generation. He and his campaign aides talked privately of being the Reagan of the left: a transformative figure who would leave an indelible legislative mark at home and restore America’s position on the world stage.

If your political priorities are the total defeat of a single politician – not the advancement of your own policies through debate or legislation – then you are already in pretty desperate shape. You render it impossible to compromise with your opponents, and you fan the flames of extremism that will burn anyone in the center.

the only point of unity inside the GOP is its gleeful hatred of Hillary Clinton

Be afraid, Donald Trump. We're about to see the best of Barack Obama | Richard Wolffe | Opinion | The Guardian


Monday, August 15, 2016

Barack Obama And Black Men In Jail

Between November 9 and January 29, or whenever Hillary's inauguration is, Barack Obama needs to commute the sentences of tens of thousands who are languishing in jail for minor drug offenses, for nonviolent crimes.

The so called War On Drugs has been white America's attempt to bring back slavery. This is the 21st century. Slavery is old fashioned. We are going to have robots.

Africa is the next China. Africa is coming along strong. Releasing black men from jail would be good foreign policy.

The racism in America's criminal justice system is a UID offense, Under the Influence of the Devil. The evil elements of law enforcement are preparing to go to hell. Why? Why would you want to go to hell? It ain't pretty down there. 

The first black man president needs to mean liberation for a few tens of thousands of black men. And he will get to see the second black president.

B for black, b for resilience.

But true liberation is in forgiveness. The black population needs to actively forgive. Together forgive. Whites repent. Blacks forgive.

Trump And Buttons And Deals

“Indian Brahmins Worshipping Donald Trump” @paramendra

Putting Donald Trump into the Oval Office would be like putting Donald Trump in the cockpit of an airplane, or next to a surgery table, or in front of the command of the Space Shuttle.

He would be like, "What are all these buttons? How do I "deal" with these buttons?"

It is half time at a World Cup Final, and when the Hillary team came back from the break, it is like the other team has vanished!

Trump And The Far Right


Trump’s Crazy Talk

Let’s assume that what he’s really focussed on isn’t winning this year’s election, a task he now realizes is beyond him, but creating a long-term Trumpian movement. A nationalistic, nativist, protectionist, and authoritarian movement that will forever be associated with him, but which also has the capacity to survive beyond him. A movement that in some ways would resemble other right-wing political parties around the world, such as France’s National Front, Austria’s Freedom Party, and the U.K. Independence Party, but which would also harken back to earlier moments in American history, such as the rise of the anti-immigrant Know Nothing movement of the eighteen-forties, and the formation, a century later, of the isolationist America First Committee, which sought a negotiated peace with Hitler.

The Most Popular Politician In The World Speaks

Narendra Modi's speech on Independence Day 2016: Here is the full text 

This guy Modi is India's Deng Xiaoping. The Indian economy is being transformed.

2016 Self Styled Nixon Brings Watergate Before Getting Elected

The Daily 202: Can Trump chairman Paul Manafort survive new Ukraine revelations? 

Trump is no mere buffoon. He is a foreign agent, looks like.

This is way bigger than Watergate. America's chief foreign adversary is in cahoots with the Republican nominee, looks like.

Is this really happening? So brazen!

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Hillary Will Get Bigger Bounce From The Debates

Hillary Clinton got a big boost from the convention. What happens next? 

Hillary got a big, stable bounce from her convention. She should get a bigger bounce from the debates. If there are debates. The debates require Trump actually showing up.

90 minutes of policy talk. Trump can't handle. The most unqualified candidate in history is up against the most qualified candidate in history.

Donald Trump is going to make Rick Lazio look like a gentleman.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Bihar Prohibition

I don't know what to make of it.

They tried it in the US in the 1930s, and they ended up with Al Capone.

But in India this might be more of a political pendulum swing. If you are going to ban beef, I am going to ban alcohol. Is it true that beef has been banned in Maharashtra?

Hindus not eating beef is totally understandable. But how can you ban beef in an entire state? That is like imposing one religion on members of another religious group.

I have been curious about the details and the logistics. How did they do it? What happened to all the alcohol the day the ban went into effect? Were they destroyed?

Bihar (or India) is not exactly known for great, efficient law enforcement. There is much corruption. So how well has the ban been implemented?

In America Nixon launched a War On Drugs. But today it feels like a way to bring back slavery upon the blacks. There are so many blacks behind bars for small drug offenses, it does feel like slavery is back full force. It has been a racist endeavor.

Domestic violence is a valid, serious concern.

But why do people drink? Why do people smoke pot? Why do people do drugs? Not all of it can be explained as bad choices.

I think in Bihar the number one reason people drink is because there is malnutrition. People are hungry. Also, the abject poverty and the pressures of life could be causing mental health issues. And by mental health I am not suggesting Ranchi levels. Mental health is a spectrum, just like physical health. Physical health does not have to mean cancer. It can also be a cough.

After ban, in a state of low spirits

Friday, August 12, 2016

Donald, Go To Brunei

Donald Trump would like to go on a "nice, long vacation" on November 9. That's what he said.

Donald, go to Brunei.

He might not know it's a Muslim country.

Virginia, West Virginia

Crazy Idea: Hillary Clinton Should Stop Campaigning Immediately  Never interrupt your enemy when he is an ongoing garbage-star supernova of unprecedented incompetence.

I think it is fair to say if you don't know Virginia and West Virginia are two different states you should not be allowed to run for president. It should not be legal.

Just an opinion.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Donald Dumb Says Obama Founded ISIS

As in, literally. Obama founded ISIS.

After killing Bin Laden, President Obama started abhorring the vacuum, apparently.

Obama was born in Kenya. And if he founded ISIS, he must have done so in Kenya. Because there is no record he was born in Syria.

After he founded ISIS, he figured this is as good a time as any, and he converted. He became Muslim, and has been ever since.

But I am not sure he is a socialist. That would be Bernie. Bernie owned up to it.

So if he was busy founding ISIS, when did he create Obamacare? When and where?

It is very possible Obamacare has been written in Arabic. That is why Mitch McConnell doesn't seem to be able to read it. Neither Rudy Giuliani, who is a proud Non Muslim.

As for Donald Dumb, he has no faith, because faith requires reading. A book.

The First Female President Must Be A Really Big Deal

I have been astounded reading some of the commentaries.

I think Indira Gandhi was the first Indian Prime Minister I became conscious of. And I was Barack Obama’s first full time volunteer in New York City. To be honest before that 2004 convention I did not imagine I would see a black guy in the White House in my lifetime. But it happened and he has been astounding, but even then I felt bad that Hillary had to be running at the same time.

As far I am concerned Hillary is the women's Barack Obama. She will be the first and she is talented. 93% of blacks voted for Barack Obama. Why aren't 93% of women voting for Hillary? How about 83?Even 73 would be nice. Wake up, women.

For me Barack Obama was about 500 years of world history. The only thing he needed to do for me personally was get in there, plant the flag, and I personally had no other expectations. For women it ought to be about 5,000 years of history.

God has given the women of 2016 the astounding gift of the most incompetent man to ever have run for this office. And women are still so subdued, it is astounding.

More astounding are some of the members of the commentariat. It is being suggested the only reason to vote for Hillary is that otherwise the republic might not survive. I guess that takes the sting out of the idea of the first woman president for some people.

This is not because India is a less sexist country. It is the most sexist country in the world, Indira or no Indira. This is not a East West thing. Look, Angela Merkel and Theresa May, and Europeans have managed to say every possible wrong thing about Google.

So what's going on? What is it about America? It feels like breaking some kind of a sound barrier. I am expecting to feel the thud.

Never mind we have a woman president now but at least the republic survived!

Golley.

Hillary gets pilloried for running for office, for doing what politicians do. If she were a swimmer at the Olympics, people would be like, I don’t like her, look at her, she is moving her limbs, and you can't trust her, she has the goggles on, why would you have the goggles on unless you are hiding something?

Donald Trump: Lucifer's Change Agent

Sexism Is 100% Lucifer, Sexism Is Satanic

Donald Trump is Lucifer lunging for the nuclear code. The truth is in black and white.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

This Is Secret Service Territory

Donald Trump knows he has lost this election and he intends to be a bad loser.

Donald Trump Suggests 'Second Amendment People' Could Act Against Hillary Clinton 

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Trump “makes death threats because he’s a pathetic coward who can’t handle the fact that he’s losing to a girl.”

Former Secret Service Official: Donald Trump Is ‘Pretty Close to the Edge’ | TIME

A presidential candidate is not above the law. Trump just sent a message to tens of gun owning mentally unstable people to at least make the attempt. My knowledge is this is illegal. The Secret Service needs to do its job and have a sit down with this guy.

One-in-five U.S. Republicans want Trump to drop out: Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters

NYTimes: Donald Trump’s Support Among Republican Women Starts to Slide

Democrats: Trump costing GOP in key House districts - POLITICO

Trump’s loaded words fuel campaign freefall - POLITICO

“You aren’t just responsible for what you say; you’re responsible for what people hear,” said former CIA director Michael Hayden during breaking news coverage of Trump’s comments on CNN.

Trump's Assassination Dog Whistle Was Even Scarier Than You Think
Republican nominee engaged in so-called stochastic terrorism with his remarks about "Second Amendment people" and Clinton
Donald Trump uttered perhaps his most outrageous – and dangerous – ad-lib yet. And that's saying something for a campaign in which he's criticized John McCain for being a prisoner of war, characterized Mexicans as rapists, called for banning Muslims from coming into the country, picked a fight with a Gold Star family and urged Russia to hack his political opponent. ..... given what we know about people taking up arms in this country, there will undoubtedly be some people who think he was serious and consider the possibility. ....

Stochastic terrorism, as described by a blogger who summarized the concept several years back, means using language and other forms of communication "to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable." .. we can predict that there could be a presently unknown lone wolf who hears his call and takes action in the future. .... Trump puts out the dog whistle knowing that some dog will hear it, even though he doesn't know which dog.

.... He has 1) demonized her whenever he can by calling her "Crooked Hillary" and constantly degrading her; 2) organized a convention around which the central theme, repeated over and over, was that Clinton is a criminal who needs to be locked up, clearly using fear and moral disgust as motivators; and 3) is now using violent metaphors (or "jokes," if that's what you think his statements were) against her, just short of an explicit call to arms. Now we just have to hope that #4 doesn't come about – that violence does not erupt.

Tuesday, August 09, 2016

India's Northeast Is Unsettled Territory For Democracy

Iron Lady of Manipur breaks fast, wants to be CM 

The Muslims are not in the mainstream. The Dalits are not in the mainstream. The women are not in the mainstream. The people in the South are not in the mainstream. And the people in the Northeast are not in the mainstream.

So who runs India? India remains a fundamentally flawed democracy. Vast swathes of the population stays marginalized. Is India even a democracy?

Friday, August 05, 2016

Not Socialism, But Hypercapitalism

I have talked of the Age Of Abundance, I have talked of a Universal Basic Income. To the untrained especially the latter might smack of "socialism." That would be misleading.

This is talk of a new reality that asks for a new grammar. A lot of old rules are going to get junked.

Socialism has had two strains, one absolutely appalling, the one where there is no human rights. There has been another, the left of center variety that has been ridiculed for not knowing the fundamentals of wealth creation. I am not talking about that.

I am a small d democrat, which basically means taking the one person one vote one voice to all its logical local, state, national and global conclusions.

I am a free marketeer. Economics to me is like physics. Just like physics can come up with astounding technology, I believe economics as an academic discipline is capable of coming up with intellectual frameworks for massive wealth creation. If I am a capitalist I am one likely to speak of human capital in the same breath as financial and technological capital.

It is said in physics if you go to a high enough energy level all four basic forces are the same. The physics of liquid water is fundamentally different from the physics of steam.

Talk about being at the right place at the right time. It is about this point in time, this point in history, lucky you, lucky me.

The productivity gains driven almost entirely by technological innovation are about to be so astoundingly astronomical that many of the old rules will no longer apply. But there is a need for accompanying political innovation, and accompanying advances in economic theory. I lost a lot of respect for the discipline in 2008. They were royally surprised.

The most obvious thing to do is create a world government. That is knowledge we already have. Europe has suffered for attempting an economic union without a political union. Globalization is unstoppable but you go off the wheels if you don't create a world government.

The 2008 meltdown happened because politicians had stayed light years behind globalization. Banks go global but the governments are all still only national.

In a democracy everyone gets to vote, everyone matters. In a market there is free competition, there are no monopolies.

America is uniquely positioned to take the lead. It is the oldest modern democracy with mature institutions. It has a young about to be ex president. It is the most diverse country. Just in New York City you could find at least one person from every town on earth.

These are exciting times, even though Planet Earth right now is Titanic, on course to hit the iceberg in terms of Climate Catastrophe. But the same collective will that will steer humanity away from the iceberg will also usher the Age Of Abundance. It will be like a new birth to humanity. There is no parallel in history to what is about to happen. I am wildly optimistic.

Kumar: Wake Up To God

The Diamond Triangle: The Voters, The Politicians, The Academics

It really is just about one person, one vote, one voice. Democracy can be magic. And if you just keep building the matrix, the lattice, there is no upper limit to how big your party can be. It is power. It is also in-built humility.

The voters are required to vote, go above 80%. That is all you really need to do. But you do have to do that much, every two years, by the clock. And if your rear end can't move that much, do not have expectations, do not complain.

The voters also should be part of the conversation. This happens in person. This happens in small groups. This happens on social media. This happens at rallies. You voice your opinions. You consume information. You learn more about issues and the political process. You ask questions. You have your questions answered.

The politicians are to ziggy withit the government machinery, the political machinery, are to connect the academics and the voters. Running the government machinery is brain surgery, it takes a lot. Only the most qualified can do it.

And then there are badly paid academics. They are the ones who think the thoughts and connect the dots, but they don't much care for retail politics, and most of them don't much care for politicians either. But even the most obscure academic is part of some social network or another, and there is no dearth of academics who are fond of glamor. If the academics are part of the diamond triangle then running the government becomes like physics and engineering. You are looking at data, you are collecting data, academics are making sense of it all. Academics should always, always, always be three steps ahead of politicians and voters.

You can really quicken the heart and the pace of the political process by forming this diamond triangle. It is the political machinery's job to take the academics to the voters in digestible formats. Some might want to read journal articles. Most might prefer summaries. Some might like a minute long YouTube video. You give it to them.

With this matrix/lattice in place, you can have a vote share of 60% or more and still not suffer the mindless, irrational, quirky pendulum swing two years after snatching a massive mandate. You keep delivering and you keep looking forward.

Either you will eventually have an opposition that is also finally into evidence based decision making and is past bigotry, xenophobia, racism and sexism or America will stay a de facto one party state for a while. Doesn't hurt.

Building A Democratic Structure For A Lasting Majority

People coming together in small groups and large groups, people voting religiously and in large numbers and unfailingly every two years, people doing their civic duty, the civic duty of showing up to vote every two years and not just during presidential elections, people meeting in person and talking policy, people being heard by the national leadership, because technology now makes it possible, building a structure of one person, one vote, one voice, the national leadership passing a constitutional amendment to take money out of politics, the national leadership doing away with the nonsense called voter registration, a country that is capable of knowing who its taxpayers are is capable of knowing who its voters are, the national leadership getting rid of the agricultural era concept of an "election day" and instead putting in place an election week, making it possible to vote on smartphones through biometric IDs, you press your thumb and you vote, and taking the voting percentage to 80%, voters should not have to get organized and register and canvass and make phone calls, people should simply have to vote, 80% plus: the work will merely begin when Hillary takes all 50 states in November.

Hillary needs to appoint three female progressives to the Supreme Court. The only way the first female president is amazing is if women holding office after that is not news. America should have 30 women governors. 50 female Senators.

The Dean/Obama/Bernie/Warren crowd needs to run for public office at all levels. Bernie lost fair and square. Now how much you get of what you want is going to be in direct proportion to the size of the mandate. Work your heart out. Sweep all 50 states.

I hope someone from that crowd, preferably a female, becomes mayor somewhere, then Governor, and then president in 2024, and puts in place the Universal Basic Income, an idea Bernie never talked about, but an idea whose time will have come.

The Green Party is bonkers. They are afraid too much of what they want they will get if Hillary gets too large a mandate. They are out to steal votes from the only person who stands between Donald Trump and the White House. I accuse them of political illiteracy. They need to get out of the race and get behind Hillary. Trump is Mr. Climate Change Denial. If you are helping him you are Ms. Climate Change Denial. And if you are helping him and are not even aware you are helping him, well, you are a fool.

The most qualified candidate in history is up against the most unqualified candidate in history. This election is a no brainer for any thinking person regardless of party or gender. The most unqualified candidate is also the most dangerous. Not even in the 1930s did America come anywhere even remotely close to electing a fascist. Trump is a fascist. Trump is a sociopath. I can't imagine someone asking, why can't we use nuclear weapons? This guy is going to think the nuclear suitcase is his lunch box. Trump is insane.    

Bill Clinton, My Man! Sharp As Ever

Bill Clinton is badass! Sharp as ever.

Bill Clinton Urges Immigrants To Vote

Speaking directly to illegal aliens, Clinton stated to an applauding audience of delegates that “if you love this country, you’re working hard, you’re paying taxes and you’re obeying the law and you’d like to become a citizen, you should choose immigration reform over somebody that wants to send you back.” 

Thursday, August 04, 2016

GST Bill Just Guaranteed Modi Re-Election

GST may have just handed Modi govt a $200-billion cheque 

The passage of the GST Bill has now made it much more likely India will have hit a 10% growth rate by the time Modi goes back to the voters in 2019. At 10% he will win.

Hillary 2016: How Not To Gloat

If Hillary sweeps all 50 states and the House, this is not about Hillary. This is about getting things done. The Hillary team has to give the best two years anyone ever gave. And they have to build the grassroots organizational infrastructure. The people have to stay involved. The people have to keep feeling they are getting heard.

The Republican Party is dead. It might be a few cycles before the Libertarian Party takes that vacant spot in this two party system. In the mean time the Democratic Party is going to have to do the democratic work of two parties.

Hillary should nominate three progressive women to the bench. And the goal should be to retain the House in 2018. You do that by delivering and by staying level headed.

I Did Predict 10

Hillary Clinton Holds Big Lead Over Donald Trump in New Hampshire, Poll Shows 

"Nationally, according to a new Fox News poll, Mrs. Clinton holds a 10-point lead over Mr. Trump."

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

Toughest Job In The World

The US presidency can be said to be the toughest job in the world measured by how much harm or good a POTUS is capable of. A surgeon can harm (or cure and save) only one person at a time.

Is Trump your surgeon? What are you telling me? This election is now in the bizarro phase.

Mad Man


Is Donald Trump Just Plain Crazy

Also within the week, Trump lied in complaining about the presidential debate schedule and its conflicts with professional football. He told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos, “I got a letter from the NFL saying, ‘This is ridiculous. Why are the debates against — ’ because the NFL doesn’t want to go against the debates.”

I Say 50

Utah Could Vote Democrat For First Time In 50 Years

"Utah has been the most Republican state for 40 years but that could change with Trump's run toward the White House."

Putting The Khans On The DNC Stage

Strictly politically speaking, whoever came up with the idea of putting the Khans on the stage in Philly, hear ye, that was a master stroke, an act of pure genius. This is an attack from which Trump can not recover.

It is also an attack on groups like ISIS.

Monday, August 01, 2016

Trump: A Candidate From The 1930s

Hillary Clinton endorsed by Houston Chronicle, Trump 'danger to the Republic'

I have a theory. Donald Trump came to run for president in a time machine. He is from the 1930s.

The Republican nominee is supposed to run against the Democratic nominee, but this guy is running against the US Constitution. He is running against the Republic. He is running against the Bible. And the Koran. He is running against decency and good manners. The list is long.

I have been googling and googling. Trump seems to have no policy proposals. Or he forgot to put them on Google.