"They'll get weaker." No, President Genocide. You will get weaker. And so will America, who you are making a loser.

[stevenkesslar]

Trump, under pressure on Iran, takes his Cabinet to the woods

Quote

When Trump did address Iran, he did not offer a clear picture of his plan to get out of the war.  "They'll get weaker. They'll get a little stronger maybe now, but they'll get weaker and then they peter out," he predicted, vaguely.

I'm not sure whether to view this as comedy or tragedy.  It's obviously both.

President Genocide nods off more and more every day.  As @RockyRoadTravel noted, he's less dangerous when he's asleep.  When he is awake, he says things even Pete Hegseth can't make up good lies about.  About how we didn't burn Iranian school girls to death.  And how the zealot Gay murdering theocrats will just "peter out" after half a century.  LOL.  Trump is visibly petering out after more than half a century.

Maybe Trump thought the symbolism of Camp David would add seriousness to what could generously be called "deliberations" and "planning."  But it really is putting lipstick on a pig named Trump.  The advisors who told him this would go badly are now telling him how well things are going.  And how much courage he has in between naps.   Pete did say "courage" ten times, the article spells out.  At least Pete has testosterone, and a Trumpian vocabulary.

I should end here.  But I will add thoughts about who and what Trump is really empowering.  The action is always in the reaction, said Jewish Saul Alinsky.

It is my opinion that Trump is making "democratic socialism" stronger.  Whatever you want to call that movement, and whatever it really stands for, and whatever crazy ideas it has at the margin, I think two ideas are getting stronger by the day:  1) the economy is unfair and unaffordable to many if not most people, and 2) the Iran war is a very unpopular mistake, and we are losing.

There is a new poll out today that shows El-Sayed will do a better job than Haley Stevens of beating his opponent.  In this poll Stevens and Republican Rogers are neck and neck, and El-Sayed is three points ahead in the general election.  Meanwhile, survey says he is over 10 points ahead of Stevens in the primary.  I don't know if I buy that.  The RCP poll average suggests the opposite, by a fraction.  El-Sayed is 0.7 % behind Rogers, Stevens is 0.7 % ahead.  In other words, it's a tossup.

I will always wonder what would have happened in 2016 if Bernie Sanders, the voice of left wing populism, had run against Donald Trump, the voice of right wing populism.  Looks like in 2024 we will get an approximate answer.  Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania have been swing states for a long time.  Wisconsin is near and dear to my heart.  It's where my family always went on vacation. 

Wisconsin gave us Joe McCarthy.  And then Bill Proxmire, an everyman liberal populist.  I adored Bill Proxmire because he was the nation's anti-redlining and affordable homeownership champion.  Had Proxmire been POTUS, I believe he would have stopped subprime.  My conservative Dad loved Proxmire's "Golden Fleece" awards singling out small but stupid government boondoggles.  Turns out most Americans think the Iran war is a big government boondoggle.

 

It does not surprise me that Jim Carville is wetting his diapers about this.  So am I.  Even though I'll send money monthly to El-Sayed as soon as he wins a primary.  Carville's boss Bill Clinton came closer than any US President to a two state solution.  I blame that failure squarely on Arafat.  And whether that is true or not, it is for sure true that Palestinians ended worse off and Israel ended better off, measured by power and wealth.  Arafat was a shitty leader with no courage and no vision.  Trump is the same.

So it's more than risky for El-Sayed to frame this the way he is doing it.  But we won't know how well it will work if we don't try.  And Democratic voters are speaking with their votes:  they seem to want to try.  At lease in more urban areas and states.  THIS is what President Genocide is making stronger.  THIS is what the Genocide Jew is making stronger.

Jim Carville is missing something.  He says EVERY Democrat will have to explain what El-Sayed and other progressives mean.  That is true.  But it also means El-Sayed and like minded progressives will have to explain what THEY mean by "democratic socialism" or "Israel's right to exist."

I brought up Proxmire because El-Sayed is actually running a Golden Fleece campaign.  Part of what he's saying is the Genocide Jew is a government boondoggle.  And we're better off spending our tax dollars on kids in Michigan.  My conservative Dad, who grew up in Michigan, would probably agree with that idea.

He's also running in a primary.  My guess is if he wins the primary, the thing he says above that is buried inside an argument will probably become the argument:

Quote

I think the question we ought to ask is does everyone have equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination?  That's Jewish Israelis and Palestinians.

Most liberal Jews I know would probably say that's a pro-Israel statement.  I'm not a Jew.  But I do think America should defend Israel's right to exist.  I think that statement is consistent with my beliefs. I think the Genocide Jew is Israel's worst enemy. 

And I think Trump is America's worst enemy.  He is weakening America.  He is making America lose again.  This is Viet Nam.

We'll learn soon what Michigan thinks.

[RockyRoadTravel]

5 hours ago, stevenkesslar said:

Trump, under pressure on Iran, takes his Cabinet to the woods

I'm not sure whether to view this as comedy or tragedy.  It's obviously both.

President Genocide nods off more and more every day.  As @RockyRoadTravel noted, he's less dangerous when he's asleep.  When he is awake, he says things even Pete Hegseth can't make up good lies about.  About how we didn't burn Iranian school girls to death.  And how the zealot Gay murdering theocrats will just "peter out" after half a century.  LOL.  Trump is visibly petering out after more than half a century.

Maybe Trump thought the symbolism of Camp David would add seriousness to what could generously be called "deliberations" and "planning."  But it really is putting lipstick on a pig named Trump.  The advisors who told him this would go badly are now telling him how well things are going.  And how much courage he has in between naps.   Pete did say "courage" ten times, the article spells out.  At least Pete has testosterone, and a Trumpian vocabulary.

I should end here.  But I will add thoughts about who and what Trump is really empowering.  The action is always in the reaction, said Jewish Saul Alinsky.

It is my opinion that Trump is making "democratic socialism" stronger.  Whatever you want to call that movement, and whatever it really stands for, and whatever crazy ideas it has at the margin, I think two ideas are getting stronger by the day:  1) the economy is unfair and unaffordable to many if not most people, and 2) the Iran war is a very unpopular mistake, and we are losing.

There is a new poll out today that shows El-Sayed will do a better job than Haley Stevens of beating his opponent.  In this poll Stevens and Republican Rogers are neck and neck, and El-Sayed is three points ahead in the general election.  Meanwhile, survey says he is over 10 points ahead of Stevens in the primary.  I don't know if I buy that.  The RCP poll average suggests the opposite, by a fraction.  El-Sayed is 0.7 % behind Rogers, Stevens is 0.7 % ahead.  In other words, it's a tossup.

I will always wonder what would have happened in 2016 if Bernie Sanders, the voice of left wing populism, had run against Donald Trump, the voice of right wing populism.  Looks like in 2024 we will get an approximate answer.  Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania have been swing states for a long time.  Wisconsin is near and dear to my heart.  It's where my family always went on vacation. 

Wisconsin gave us Joe McCarthy.  And then Bill Proxmire, an everyman liberal populist.  I adored Bill Proxmire because he was the nation's anti-redlining and affordable homeownership champion.  Had Proxmire been POTUS, I believe he would have stopped subprime.  My conservative Dad loved Proxmire's "Golden Fleece" awards singling out small but stupid government boondoggles.  Turns out most Americans think the Iran war is a big government boondoggle.

 

It does not surprise me that Jim Carville is wetting his diapers about this.  So am I.  Even though I'll send money monthly to El-Sayed as soon as he wins a primary.  Carville's boss Bill Clinton came closer than any US President to a two state solution.  I blame that failure squarely on Arafat.  And whether that is true or not, it is for sure true that Palestinians ended worse off and Israel ended better off, measured by power and wealth.  Arafat was a shitty leader with no courage and no vision.  Trump is the same.

So it's more than risky for El-Sayed to frame this the way he is doing it.  But we won't know how well it will work if we don't try.  And Democratic voters are speaking with their votes:  they seem to want to try.  At lease in more urban areas and states.  THIS is what President Genocide is making stronger.  THIS is what the Genocide Jew is making stronger.

Jim Carville is missing something.  He says EVERY Democrat will have to explain what El-Sayed and other progressives mean.  That is true.  But it also means El-Sayed and like minded progressives will have to explain what THEY mean by "democratic socialism" or "Israel's right to exist."

I brought up Proxmire because El-Sayed is actually running a Golden Fleece campaign.  Part of what he's saying is the Genocide Jew is a government boondoggle.  And we're better off spending our tax dollars on kids in Michigan.  My conservative Dad, who grew up in Michigan, would probably agree with that idea.

He's also running in a primary.  My guess is if he wins the primary, the thing he says above that is buried inside an argument will probably become the argument:

Most liberal Jews I know would probably say that's a pro-Israel statement.  I'm not a Jew.  But I do think America should defend Israel's right to exist.  I think that statement is consistent with my beliefs. I think the Genocide Jew is Israel's worst enemy. 

And I think Trump is America's worst enemy.  He is weakening America.  He is making America lose again.  This is Viet Nam.

We'll learn soon what Michigan thinks.

What annoys me about "establishment Democrats" is they have this lazy attitude when it comes to candidates such as El-Sayed and defending their right to run for nomination, win nominations, and run in elections.  There's this lazy knee jerk reaction of "anti-Israel" when it's about the more complicated and truer issue of "anti-Zionism".  The establishment is just lazy to taking on the fallacy of mixing up a religion with a political movement, as if they were the same, when they are not.  Lazy.  

[stevenkesslar]

Intellectually, I completely agree with you.

Emotionally, it's a different story. 

I've had a bias about Jews pretty much my whole adult life.  They tend to be empathetic.  They tend to look out for underdogs.  They tend to be fierce advocates of social justice. 

As I like to repeat, in the same way that Fauci likes his touches with stardom, I consider my mentor to be Paul Wellstone, a Jew and a famous and beloved progressive US Senator.  I mostly knew him as a college professor, but one of my best friends ran his campaigns.  He talked about his family background a lot.  His grandparents fled anti-Semitism in Europe.  He had a heart of gold and great values.  And you could not understand his values without knowing about his family background.   In the Senate he was a strong supporter of Israel, and a two state solution.   That's typical for lots and lots of Jews I have been friends with and worked with as paid staff or volunteers on social justice causes.

So using the term "Genocide Jew" seems odd, and frankly almost anti-Semitic.  But I use it a lot these days.  When I talk about my life experience with Jews, I have sorted out now in my mind that I am mostly talking about liberal American Jews.  When I say "Genocide Jew", I refer to one specific individual.  That said, the Genocide Jew gets elected and gets away with genocide because a lot of Israeli Jews keep voting for him.

68 % of Democrats now say "Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians."  That number blows my mind, even though I am one of the 68 %.  

45 % of Independents say Israel is committing genocide.  Perhaps more important, only 15 % of Independents say Israel is NOT committing genocide.  The rest are undecided.

This is just going to get uglier, and more awkward.  Most Jewish members of Congress are Democrats.  I think most Jews are Democrats.  So I think it is important for Democrats to have this debate.   Because on an emotional level it does have this feeling like it is being against Israel.  Or, on a more personal level, being against these people I respect and admire.

I have mixed feelings about what El-Sayed is saying.  Precisely because, as you say, I have had a way of thinking about this my whole life.  If El-Sayed wins the nomination, my guess is he will shift toward the center.  Democrats can not equivocate about Israel's right to exist OR Palestinian's right to be free from genocide.  On the face of it, these numbers about Democrats and Independents do not suggest El-Sayed is off on some extreme.  If anything, they suggest why he is beating Stevens.

Even 17 % of Republicans say Israel is committing genocide.  Exactly half say Israel is NOT committing genocide.  This is a problem for Republicans as well.  Which I'm pretty sure JD Vance is aware of.   Add the horrors in Iran.  The Republican leaders of the US have a lot of deep problems that won't go away.  Like Robert Pape says, thanks to Trump's stupidity I think there's a decent chance Iran will test a nuclear bomb while Trump is still President.

I worry that this could split the Democratic Party.  But I could build just as a strong a case that it will split the Republican Party.  In a way it already has.  Some Republicans do not want JD Vance to be their President.  And this is part of the reason why.

I think it's a plus that Democrats get to work this out now, in primaries and general elections.  And we have some of the best Jewish Congressional leaders on this issue.

It was catnip to me, as a liberal Democrat, when Warnock and Ossoff ran and won in Georgia.  Lots of people thought a fiery Black preacher might be a riskier candidate in Georgia than a moderate White - aka the kind of Democratic candidates who lost for decades.  The winning ticket was a Black and a Jew moving the South toward what I would call social justice.  And grace.  That is a very good part of America's DNA.  I would not mind a Warnock/Ossoff ticket in 2028.

But imagine an Ossoff/El-Sayed ticket.  I'm not suggesting it.  But it would be a very powerful thing to have a Jew and a Palestinian running together for President of the United States.  Yeah, identity politics is now passe.  But it would say something important about what Democrats stand for.  Which is what so many Democrats want.  And feel our party lacks right now.  And both Ossoff and El-Sayed are talking about schools and kids in their own states.

Then again, if El-Sayed wins the nomination and loses the election, and that means Democrats lose the Senate, the wrath of the Old Testament God will descend on democratic socialists.    Plagues?  Locusts?   Hopefully we'll never know.   😉

But if he wins, I think El-Sayed can thank Donald Trump and his stupid war.  Like I said above, the action is in the reaction.

[RockyRoadTravel]

1 hour ago, stevenkesslar said:

Intellectually, I completely agree with you.

Emotionally, it's a different story. 

I've had a bias about Jews pretty much my whole adult life.  They tend to be empathetic.  They tend to look out for underdogs.  They tend to be fierce advocates of social justice. 

As I like to repeat, in the same way that Fauci likes his touches with stardom, I consider my mentor to be Paul Wellstone, a Jew and a famous and beloved progressive US Senator.  I mostly knew him as a college professor, but one of my best friends ran his campaigns.  He talked about his family background a lot.  His grandparents fled anti-Semitism in Europe.  He had a heart of gold and great values.  And you could not understand his values without knowing about his family background.   In the Senate he was a strong supporter of Israel, and a two state solution.   That's typical for lots and lots of Jews I have been friends with and worked with as paid staff or volunteers on social justice causes.

So using the term "Genocide Jew" seems odd, and frankly almost anti-Semitic.  But I use it a lot these days.  When I talk about my life experience with Jews, I have sorted out now in my mind that I am mostly talking about liberal American Jews.  When I say "Genocide Jew", I refer to one specific individual.  That said, the Genocide Jew gets elected and gets away with genocide because a lot of Israeli Jews keep voting for him.

68 % of Democrats now say "Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians."  That number blows my mind, even though I am one of the 68 %.  

45 % of Independents say Israel is committing genocide.  Perhaps more important, only 15 % of Independents say Israel is NOT committing genocide.  The rest are undecided.

This is just going to get uglier, and more awkward.  Most Jewish members of Congress are Democrats.  I think most Jews are Democrats.  So I think it is important for Democrats to have this debate.   Because on an emotional level it does have this feeling like it is being against Israel.  Or, on a more personal level, being against these people I respect and admire.

I have mixed feelings about what El-Sayed is saying.  Precisely because, as you say, I have had a way of thinking about this my whole life.  If El-Sayed wins the nomination, my guess is he will shift toward the center.  Democrats can not equivocate about Israel's right to exist OR Palestinian's right to be free from genocide.  On the face of it, these numbers about Democrats and Independents do not suggest El-Sayed is off on some extreme.  If anything, they suggest why he is beating Stevens.

Even 17 % of Republicans say Israel is committing genocide.  Exactly half say Israel is NOT committing genocide.  This is a problem for Republicans as well.  Which I'm pretty sure JD Vance is aware of.   Add the horrors in Iran.  The Republican leaders of the US have a lot of deep problems that won't go away.  Like Robert Pape says, thanks to Trump's stupidity I think there's a decent chance Iran will test a nuclear bomb while Trump is still President.

I worry that this could split the Democratic Party.  But I could build just as a strong a case that it will split the Republican Party.  In a way it already has.  Some Republicans do not want JD Vance to be their President.  And this is part of the reason why.

I think it's a plus that Democrats get to work this out now, in primaries and general elections.  And we have some of the best Jewish Congressional leaders on this issue.

It was catnip to me, as a liberal Democrat, when Warnock and Ossoff ran and won in Georgia.  Lots of people thought a fiery Black preacher might be a riskier candidate in Georgia than a moderate White - aka the kind of Democratic candidates who lost for decades.  The winning ticket was a Black and a Jew moving the South toward what I would call social justice.  And grace.  That is a very good part of America's DNA.  I would not mind a Warnock/Ossoff ticket in 2028.

But imagine an Ossoff/El-Sayed ticket.  I'm not suggesting it.  But it would be a very powerful thing to have a Jew and a Palestinian running together for President of the United States.  Yeah, identity politics is now passe.  But it would say something important about what Democrats stand for.  Which is what so many Democrats want.  And feel our party lacks right now.  And both Ossoff and El-Sayed are talking about schools and kids in their own states.

Then again, if El-Sayed wins the nomination and loses the election, and that means Democrats lose the Senate, the wrath of the Old Testament God will descend on democratic socialists.    Plagues?  Locusts?   Hopefully we'll never know.   😉

But if he wins, I think El-Sayed can thank Donald Trump and his stupid war.  Like I said above, the action is in the reaction.

There's a current ad circulating in Michigan claiming that El-Sayed has trouble with women.  Lazy politics leaning into cultural stereotypes. 

El-Sayed wrote an Op-Ed years and years ago acknowledging Michelle Obama's initiative on kids eating more healthy, saying it was a good effort and it probably wouldn't be successful - not because of her, because of the larger cultural and political context.  This is being characterized as being "critical of Michelle Obama".  The lazy cherry picking you'd expect from MAGA conspiracy nuts.  

[Suckrates]

8 hours ago, RockyRoadTravel said:

There's a current ad circulating in Michigan claiming that El-Sayed has trouble with women.  Lazy politics leaning into cultural stereotypes. 

El-Sayed wrote an Op-Ed years and years ago acknowledging Michelle Obama's initiative on kids eating more healthy, saying it was a good effort and it probably wouldn't be successful - not because of her, because of the larger cultural and political context.  This is being characterized as being "critical of Michelle Obama".  The lazy cherry picking you'd expect from MAGA conspiracy nuts.  

Campaigns are always ALL about digging up garbage on your opponent,  and Everyone has a history with some garbage in it....EVERYONE......

The problem is that the garbage is usually re-mixed into a message the opponent wants to send,  and often doesnt retain a speck of Truth....   Its up to US to do our vetting of candidates, and know who they are,  not listen to partisan noise and misinformation....   This is difficult to do,  but usually the truth surfaces about people,  like in the Platner case, where the truth circulated from the start,  but people CHOSE to ignore it.....   We often make these people into WHAT WE WANT THEM TO BE in our minds.....  We do ourselves a huge disservice.

As for Michigan,  I have a problem with Hayley Stevens, she makes me barf.....   Could be the reason she is currently trailing El-Sayed in double digits ?    

[stevenkesslar]

6 hours ago, Suckrates said:

Campaigns are always ALL about digging up garbage on your opponent,  and Everyone has a history with some garbage in it....EVERYONE......

The problem is that the garbage is usually re-mixed into a message the opponent wants to send,  and often doesnt retain a speck of Truth....   Its up to US to do our vetting of candidates, and know who they are,  not listen to partisan noise and misinformation....   This is difficult to do,  but usually the truth surfaces about people,  like in the Platner case, where the truth circulated from the start,  but people CHOSE to ignore it.....   We often make these people into WHAT WE WANT THEM TO BE in our minds.....  We do ourselves a huge disservice.

As for Michigan,  I have a problem with Hayley Stevens, she makes me barf.....   Could be the reason she is currently trailing El-Sayed in double digits ?    

I think these podcasters make it worse.   I get the idea that the mainstream media has an agenda, and always did.  Duh!  But this is out of the frying pan, into the fire.

This Tik Tok bullshit about Joe Rogan amazes me.  I think there's no doubt that Rogan helped Trump win in 2024.  And he helped legitimize the idea that Elon Musk was opening the coffins at USAID so we could see the vampires inside finally - to use Rogan's colorful and totally bullshit language.

I think it's true that if you listen to the whole podcast, you learn that these brief Tik Tok clips are often taken out of context.  So Rogan is popular because he is a skeptic, especially of government.  And he will talk about how it's not black and white.

But with Musk and USAID, Rogan just keeps getting the facts wrong.  Again and again and again.  Everything from the WaPo to AI is saying Musk never documented the fraud he said existed.  Rogan likes to say Musk claimed there were "no receipts", so you couldn't even find where USAID was sending the money.   In fact, Musk's "receipts" of how much DOGE saved turned out to be total bullshit.

What is not bullshit is that, as argued, hundreds of thousands of poor people - lots of whom are kids - are dying all over the world thanks to Elon Musk.  Rogan will have Bono on his show and say this seems to be resulting is mass preventable death.  Rogan will say somebody should have spelled that out.  No, Joe.  You should have spent five minutes on the computer fact checking Musk's lies.

As you say, Rogan no doubt is just going for the ratings.  But this is worse than the mainstream media.  At least Fox News and MSNBC fact check.  If only to avoid getting sued.

I watch Steven Bartlett's Diary Of A CEO a lot.  BBC has claimed Bartlett spreads lots and lots of unsubstantiated and dangerous information on health.  He definitely airs lots of out their opinions.  So it's probably true that in the course of their rants his guests manage to say things that are not true, intended or not.  And they are probably often not fact checked.

None of this is new in the history of politics or news.  But right now is a particularly bad period for facts.  And Rogan is one of the worst.

[RockyRoadTravel]

12 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

I think these podcasters make it worse.   I get the idea that the mainstream media has an agenda, and always did.  Duh!  But this is out of the frying pan, into the fire.

This Tik Tok bullshit about Joe Rogan amazes me.  I think there's no doubt that Rogan helped Trump win in 2024.  And he helped legitimize the idea that Elon Musk was opening the coffins at USAID so we could see the vampires inside finally - to use Rogan's colorful and totally bullshit language.

I think it's true that if you listen to the whole podcast, you learn that these brief Tik Tok clips are often taken out of context.  So Rogan is popular because he is a skeptic, especially of government.  And he will talk about how it's not black and white.

But with Musk and USAID, Rogan just keeps getting the facts wrong.  Again and again and again.  Everything from the WaPo to AI is saying Musk never documented the fraud he said existed.  Rogan likes to say Musk claimed there were "no receipts", so you couldn't even find where USAID was sending the money.   In fact, Musk's "receipts" of how much DOGE saved turned out to be total bullshit.

What is not bullshit is that, as argued, hundreds of thousands of poor people - lots of whom are kids - are dying all over the world thanks to Elon Musk.  Rogan will have Bono on his show and say this seems to be resulting is mass preventable death.  Rogan will say somebody should have spelled that out.  No, Joe.  You should have spent five minutes on the computer fact checking Musk's lies.

As you say, Rogan no doubt is just going for the ratings.  But this is worse than the mainstream media.  At least Fox News and MSNBC fact check.  If only to avoid getting sued.

I watch Steven Bartlett's Diary Of A CEO a lot.  BBC has claimed Bartlett spreads lots and lots of unsubstantiated and dangerous information on health.  He definitely airs lots of out their opinions.  So it's probably true that in the course of their rants his guests manage to say things that are not true, intended or not.  And they are probably often not fact checked.

None of this is new in the history of politics or news.  But right now is a particularly bad period for facts.  And Rogan is one of the worst.

The current rant-fest.  Is this pre-season training for the September/October shit storm of analysis we can expect from usted? 

[RockyRoadTravel]

6 hours ago, Suckrates said:

Campaigns are always ALL about digging up garbage on your opponent,  and Everyone has a history with some garbage in it....EVERYONE......

The problem is that the garbage is usually re-mixed into a message the opponent wants to send,  and often doesnt retain a speck of Truth....   Its up to US to do our vetting of candidates, and know who they are,  not listen to partisan noise and misinformation....   This is difficult to do,  but usually the truth surfaces about people,  like in the Platner case, where the truth circulated from the start,  but people CHOSE to ignore it.....   We often make these people into WHAT WE WANT THEM TO BE in our minds.....  We do ourselves a huge disservice.

As for Michigan,  I have a problem with Hayley Stevens, she makes me barf.....   Could be the reason she is currently trailing El-Sayed in double digits ?    

The ad that I saw felt like whoever created it was trying to echo the Janet Mills ad in Maine about Platner, but in Michigan there doesn't seem to be any there there.  The ad is really cherry picking obscure fractions of quotes from years and years ago.  

[stevenkesslar]

17 hours ago, stevenkesslar said:

But imagine an Ossoff/El-Sayed ticket.  I'm not suggesting it.  But it would be a very powerful thing to have a Jew and a Palestinian running together for President of the United States.  Yeah, identity politics is now passe.  But it would say something important about what Democrats stand for

 

15 hours ago, RockyRoadTravel said:

There's a current ad circulating in Michigan claiming that El-Sayed has trouble with women.

 

So since I am whining about fact checking, I will fact check myself.  El-Sayed is not Palestinian.  He is Muslim, and his parts are immigrants from Egypt.

By coincidence I read El-Sayed's Wikipedia page right before you posted that, @RockyRoadTravel .  I was curious how far out there El-Sayed is.  He has been married since 2006 and has two kids.  Haley Stevens was married for one year, and got divorced.  That's gossipy.  But nothing bad jumped out at me about El-Sayed.

El-Sayed was asked if he is a socialist.  He said, nope.  I'm a capitalist.  Not all lefties are into democratic socialism.

The other thing that jumped out at me is he was team captain for wrestling, football, and lacrosse in college.  If he were a right winger, he could be Pete Hegseth.  

If "democratic socialist" becomes a scary label, @Pete1111 has offered us a creative solution.

Perhaps Democrats could run Ossoff and El-Sayed on the BDE Party ticket?  And make wrestling singlets their campaign uniform?

[RockyRoadTravel]

2 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

Perhaps Democrats could run Ossoff and El-Sayed on the BDE Party ticket?  And make wrestling singlets their campaign uniform?

 

I've been thinking of this for a while now and don't know where to put it so I'll put it here.  When the Democrats ran Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024 and both lost, the conclusion for many people was that the USA is not prepared to elect a woman.  I think there is more to it than that.

American's didn't elect the Clinton/Kaine ticket, or the Harris/Walz ticket.  What else do these two tickets have in common - SDE.  If the Democrats run a woman again for President, the Vice-President has to have BDE. 

The 2024 election was concerned mom (with her insipid partner) versus angry dad, and Americans chose angry dad (well, angry lying cheating dad).  Not the first time that mistake has been made.  

[stevenkesslar]

4 minutes ago, RockyRoadTravel said:

The current rant-fest.  Is this pre-season training for the September/October shit storm of analysis we can expect from usted? 

I'll leave that to Allan Lichtman.  

Since he got 2024 badly wrong, it probably increases the odds that he will get 2028 right.

Mark Halperin trashed Lichtman at one point in 2024 as just being too formulaic.  And Halperin turned out to be right. 

I have my own rant about that.  Lichtman has a key about being in a recession.  And he said, correctly, we're not in a recession.  But it felt like one to lots of voters.  He also scored Ukraine as a foreign policy for Team Biden.  That proved wrong too, I think.  Trump proved quickly that a lot of Americans did not see Ukraine as worth the effort.  So it's sure not a victory.

I think Lichtman's Keys are still a very good model for analyzing why people vote the way they do.  But nobody's analysis is perfect.

Not totally unrelated:

A lot of smart market analysts, like perma-bull Tom Lee, have been saying midterm election years are always rocky in the stock market.  So he's been correct about the market all year, so far.  He correctly anticipated a first quarter sag and a second quarter rally.  He and others have been saying the market usually tanks around now, and September in particular is a bad month.  But he just did a webinar a few days ago where he said maybe the bottom to this recent modest tech sell off is in.

This is probably just a blip on the screen for most voters.  But if the war continues to drag on, or get worse, and the market sags or tanks into the midterms, that will have an impact.  Who knows?  i don't.

[RockyRoadTravel]

2 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

Mark Halperin trashed Lichtman at one point in 2024 as just being too formulaic.  And Halperin turned out to be right. 

I have my own rant about that.  Lichtman has a key about being in a recession. 

I will repeat my "rant" about Lichtman.  He's keys were fine for the age when they were created, and in the instant dispersed media landscape we now live in, they are less relevant.

The fact (yes fact) that Biden was basically a very competent president, who brought in some far reaching policy and program initiatives that brought America back from the economic collapse we had under Trump, didn't matter, because Biden was a shitty campaigner. 

Biden was the most transformational president since  Lyndon B Johnson (in a good way) or Reagan (in a terrible terrible way). 

Biden needed to accept the hard truth that he was a shitty campaigner/communicator (and old). If he could have just realized that and accepted it, he could have stepped back after one term and spent the last two years of his term promoting the next generation of leadership.  He'd have been remembered as the happy generous warrior, rather than the old guy who wouldn't let go. 

Lichtman's keys don't factor in the importance of campaigning and vibes.  

[Pete1111]

28 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

 

 

So since I am whining about fact checking, I will fact check myself.  El-Sayed is not Palestinian.  He is Muslim, and his parts are immigrants from Egypt.

By coincidence I read El-Sayed's Wikipedia page right before you posted that, @RockyRoadTravel .  I was curious how far out there El-Sayed is.  He has been married since 2006 and has two kids.  Haley Stevens was married for one year, and got divorced.  That's gossipy.  But nothing bad jumped out at me about El-Sayed.

El-Sayed was asked if he is a socialist.  He said, nope.  I'm a capitalist.  Not all lefties are into democratic socialism.

The other thing that jumped out at me is he was team captain for wrestling, football, and lacrosse in college.  If he were a right winger, he could be Pete Hegseth.  

If "democratic socialist" becomes a scary label, @Pete1111 has offered us a creative solution.

Perhaps Democrats could run Ossoff and El-Sayed on the BDE Party ticket?  And make wrestling singlets their campaign uniform?

 

Frankly, I did not consider BDE a Democratic trait.   But it's a new world!   You two sisters-in-cock (and TMZ) have opened my eyes.

Ossoff's mother is an Aussie, and not Jewish, while his father's Jewish line goes back to Russia and Lithuania.

Ossoff is 39.   He and his wife have two young daughters.  He could be the next Obama.  😃

IMO, he has all the right stuff to be a Democrat leader in the Senate, or US President.

 

 

 

[stevenkesslar]

1 hour ago, RockyRoadTravel said:

The 2024 election was concerned mom (with her insipid partner) versus angry dad, and Americans chose angry dad (well, angry lying cheating dad).  Not the first time that mistake has been made.  

I really am just into into spontaneous political ranting now.  But it is fun.

You reminded me of Republican consultant Alex Castellanos.  I think he is one of the smarter and more successful consultants out there.  While Republican, he is basically an old school bipartisan-leaning political whore.

Quote

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski used to represent the political battle of the sexes, daddy-bear Republicans versus the mommy-party Democrats. 

Castellanos has used that formulation for decades.  He is also credited with the term "soccer Mom."  That rant piece is from 2018.  It's 2026, and Morning Joe is doing just fine.  

Castellanos argues Republicans are always the daddy bear party.  I think the best example is both Bush 41 and 43 leading the nation into war in scary times.  Trump as Daddy Bear?  Maybe.  If we stipulate that Daddy is a rapist and serial liar and narcissist.  🫢

Castellanos says something interesting in that essay that is quite relevant today.  Trump may get the facts wrong, but he gets the truth right.  The media may get the facts right, but they get the truth wrong.

That is how our bad stupid dangerous barking dog feels, no doubt.  But that is what makes him stupid and dangerous.  

Facts are facts.  The bad stupid barking dog, Joe Rogan, and Elon Musk can not produce facts about fraud.  All they can rant is that they are not murderous.  And Musk smugly laughs away criticism by saying there have been zero deaths.  Even though the facts suggests clinics closed and pills stopped being delivered and lots of people are dying. 

But Bono is one of those guys who comes across as more "mommy party" than  Joe Rogan, who is clearly "Daddy Bear".  Why believe Bono, just because he has the facts?  So Rogan kind of concedes that he was wrong about cutting things that save lives.  But then he proceeds to spout more bullshit about trillions of dollar in fraud.  Rogan has no clue he is arguing that USAID fraudulently allocated more money that it ever received.  

Rogan is a serial moron.  As you say, it is an emotionally safe space for a stupid and dangerous dog to bark in.

The bad stupid barking dog is dangerous and even murderous.  Even though "murder" suggests an intention the bad stupid barking dog is too stupid to have.

Here's another bizarre example of lie stacked upon lie upon lie that the bad stupid dangerous dog posted.

Is Robert Kennedy, Jr. a Daddy Bear or the fallen away voice of the mommy party?  Maybe eating bears makes you a Daddy Bear?  Or does it just make you untruthful and dangerous and weird?

Fauci’s Ailment Falsely Linked to Vaccine

RFK Jr. and other conservatives claim that Anthony Fauci suffered a serious complication from the COVID-19 vaccine: NewsGuard’s False Claim of the Week

 

It's not that the bad stupid dangerous barking dog wants people all over the world to die. 

It's just that he is too stupid to know he is dangerous.  He is a fool, and most of us - but not him - know he is a fool who is dangerous and stupid.  Poor thing.

Every idea in that RFK, Jr. says in that brief Tik Tok video is wrong. 

One thing I like about AI is it fact checks pretty well, more often than not.  So AI confirmed what a human fact checker said above.  Fauci's side effect was not "highly expected."  AI says the risk of the so-called side effect is "incredibly low."  In the rare instances that it has occurred, it typically occurs in days or weeks.  AI quotes an expert saying it can be considered a side effect if it happens in 30 days.  Fauci's medical problem occurred five months after vaccination.  RFK Jr is wrong about everything anti-vaccine he says.  Who knew?

What's weirdest about it is that the Evil Fauci dogma suggests that every Us President since Reagan was fooled by this guy.  Millions of people with HIV whose lives were saved by a program started by Bush 43 and this guy were fooled by this guy.  He got a shot that endangered his own life, five months later, goes the theory.  Why?  To endanger YOUR life.  That is what RFK, Jr, and the bad stupid dangerous dog want us to believe. They are stupid, and dangerous.

The facts are clear, as you pointed out.  The US COVID death rate was almost double that of Canada, and 4 times that of Australia.  There may be many reasons for that.  But a big one is that people who listened to Fauci and got vaccinated were more likely to live.  And people who did not get vaccinated were more likely to die.  Australia proved the point.  A lot of people who were vaccinated died.  Because the vaccine does not stop old people from dying.  Fauci never claimed it did.  His own health problem seems to be related to his age, not being vaccinated.  Go ask Lindsey Graham about aging and heart issues.

The stupid bad dangerous dog is too stupid to know he is dangerous and too dangerous to know he is stupid.  He really doesn't care that this bullshit, in both cases, is getting hundreds of thousands of people killed - whether they are seniors in America or kids in Africa.  The stupid barking dangerous dog could care less.

 

 

I'll end this sad rant by going back to Alex Castellanos and Joe Rogan.

 

 

At the time, and in retrospect, I view that as two expert political whores at their best.  But, in retrospect, Trump won.  And Castellanos was right about what RFK, Jr. added to the ticket.  Castellanos did not say this.  But arguably RFK added some "mommy party" spice to Trump's "Daddy bear" appeal.  As the host noted, RFK did talk about healthy food and kids.  And also low-interest rate affordable mortgages.  I thought RFK, Jr. was spot on about affordable housing.

Brownstein was right that college educated women who RTFK, Jr. turns off are way more likely to vote than young men who didn't go to college.  Rogan and RFK, Jr. helped get enough of those young men to vote that Trump could win a close one, again.  Brownstein was right that Trump still could not get to 50.0 % of the vote.  And a lot of those young men now regret the way they voted, which is why Trump is so disapproved of.

No more Forever Wars?  Right!

And back to Rogan.  If Talarico wins Texas, which polls suggest he could, that in itself is a political revolution.  Here he is on Joe Rogan giving what might be considered a textbook definition of what it means to be a guy running in the "mommy party."  But I don't think Talarico has BDE. 

If Ossoff, El-Sayed, and Talarico all win, it confirms that having a big dick is an optional feature in the Democratic Party.  Lucky for some of us!  😉

 

[Suckrates]

1 hour ago, stevenkesslar said:

 

If "democratic socialist" becomes a scary label, @Pete1111 has offered us a creative solution.

Perhaps Democrats could run Ossoff and El-Sayed on the BDE Party ticket?  And make wrestling singlets their campaign uniform?

YES, sis, you KNOW THIS works for me !     Muscles, VPL, singlet, and THOSE legs......   And I love a "short king"....

[Suckrates]

52 minutes ago, Pete1111 said:

 

Frankly, I did not consider BDE a Democratic trait.   But it's a new world!   You two sisters-in-cock (and TMZ) have opened my eyes.

Ossoff's mother is an Aussie, and not Jewish, while his father's Jewish line goes back to Russia and Lithuania.

Ossoff is 39.   He and his wife have two young daughters.  He could be the next Obama.  😃

IMO, he has all the right stuff to be a Democrat leader in the Senate, or US President.

 

 

 

 

He certainly has a throwback John F. Kennedy vibe......

[Pete1111]

8 hours ago, Suckrates said:

Campaigns are always ALL about digging up garbage on your opponent,  and Everyone has a history with some garbage in it....EVERYONE......

The problem is that the garbage is usually re-mixed into a message the opponent wants to send,  and often doesnt retain a speck of Truth....   Its up to US to do our vetting of candidates, and know who they are,  not listen to partisan noise and misinformation....   This is difficult to do,  but usually the truth surfaces about people,  like in the Platner case, where the truth circulated from the start,  but people CHOSE to ignore it.....   We often make these people into WHAT WE WANT THEM TO BE in our minds.....  We do ourselves a huge disservice.

As for Michigan,  I have a problem with Hayley Stevens, she makes me barf.....   Could be the reason she is currently trailing El-Sayed in double digits ?    

The Dems need to circle their wagons and learn to employ counter measures to GOP campaign lies.  Wake me up when that happens 

I liked Mallory McMorrow although I realize she had some political weaknesses.  I used to watch her guest appearances on MSNow.  She seemed reasonable. 

Sounds like Haley Stevens has received enough AIPAC funds to help push Mallory out of the race.   Knowing that, will El-Sayed be the better choice?

[Suckrates]

16 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

 

And back to Rogan.  If Talarico wins Texas, which polls suggest he could, that in itself is a political revolution.  Here he is on Joe Rogan giving what might be considered a textbook definition of what it means to be a guy running in the "mommy party."  But I don't think Talarico has BDE. 

If Ossoff, El-Sayed, and Talarico all win, it confirms that having a big dick is an optional feature in the Democratic Party.  Lucky for some of us!  😉

 

Well Sis, I agree that Talarico comes off more skinny "twink" than BDE,  but from my expansive research and experience, I found that its usually the skinny "twinks" that have the biggest cocks...   So, do not underestimate Jimmy.  

But Talaricos power, for me, has nothing to do with his dick size.   He's smart, informed, speaks powerfully, and seems genuine enough to make a change for the country.

And he's a Holy boy, for those that "believe"....    That's BDE for me !   

[stevenkesslar]

1 hour ago, RockyRoadTravel said:

Lichtman's keys don't factor in the importance of campaigning and vibes.  

 

Where Lichtman totally lost me is this.  He argued that his analysis and prediction was correct.  The problem is too many voters are stupid.   They buy this bullshit or "vibe" on social media.  So they just don't have the correct analysis, like he does.

So, great!  A pundit who is identified as Democrat and is an academic is telling Trump voters they are stupid.  How novel is that?

It is the equivalent of Brownstein saying that RFK is a negative for Trump.  All Brownstein's arguments were correct, to a degree.  But Trump won the election. And Castellanos won the argument.  Especially in retrospect.

I'm of course the pot calling the kettle black.  Since my rant is that the bad stupid barking dog is dangerous and .................... well .................... stupid.  

Playing to stupid, or the related feature of "strong and wrong", works in politics, for a while.  Especially if you are dealing with low information voters and barking dogs who watch sound bites on Tik Tok.  If Fauci opens his mouth, he confirms he is Evil Fauci who wants to kill himself, and us.  If Fauci does not open his mouth, he confirms that he is Evil Fauci, who wants to kill himself, and us.

That only gets you so far.  I think Fauci's reputation is intact.  Rand Paul and Mark Halperin and a stupid dangerous barking dog only make themselves look petty and jealous when they rant like they do.  But this worked for Trump, twice.  Albeit with less than 50 % of the vote each time.

I do think Lichtman is fundamentally right.  His basic argument is that elections are not about vibes.  And they never were.  They are always about things that matter.  It's the economy, stupid.  No More Forever Wars. 

My main point about Lichtman in 2024 was that his analysis was wrong.  It was the inflation and prices, stupid.  Ukraine and Israel both hurt Biden more than they helped.  Because people who saw them as Forever Wars voted for Trump.  If El Sayed wins Michigan and Hong wins Wisconsin - huge IFs - it suggests that Biden and Harris were off message in 2024.  As you note, Biden was just too old, anyway.

El-Sayed and Hong have way better messages than saying lots of people who vote for Trump are stupid.  Even though lots of people - and dogs - who vote for Trump are stupid.  And dangerous.  And completely full of shit.

 

 

[RockyRoadTravel]

2 hours ago, Pete1111 said:

The Dems need to circle their wagons and learn to employ counter measures to GOP campaign lies.  Wake me up when that happens 

I liked Mallory McMorrow although I realize she had some political weaknesses.  I used to watch her guest appearances on MSNow.  She seemed reasonable. 

Sounds like Haley Stevens has received enough AIPAC funds to help push Mallory out of the race.   Knowing that, will El-Sayed be the better choice?

By July, 2026 the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (and it's affiliated Super PACs) spent over $30 million dollars backing Haley Stevens.  Making it the most expensive primary election in USA history. 

That's as much money as every candidate and every political party spent for the entire election campaign in the last national election in Canada in 2025. 

For this reason alone El Sayed deserves consideration. 

[stevenkesslar]

On 8/2/2026 at 12:14 PM, stevenkesslar said:

Perhaps Democrats could run Ossoff and El-Sayed on the BDE Party ticket?  And make wrestling singlets their campaign uniform?

 

22 hours ago, Suckrates said:

YES, sis, you KNOW THIS works for me !     Muscles, VPL, singlet, and THOSE legs......   And I love a "short king"....

 

22 hours ago, Suckrates said:

Well Sis, I agree that Talarico comes off more skinny "twink" than BDE,  but from my expansive research and experience, I found that its usually the skinny "twinks" that have the biggest cocks...   So, do not underestimate Jimmy.  

But Talaricos power, for me, has nothing to do with his dick size.   He's smart, informed, speaks powerfully, and seems genuine enough to make a change for the country.

 

Republicans want to talk about James Talarico’s manhood. Talarico says let them.

 

Why am I not surprised?

Sis, your taste in singlets - and cocks - is better than mine.

Can you design Jimmy a singlet that shows off his manhood?

You know the old line.  Speak softly.  But carry a big dick.

 

If Republicans have to argue that Talarico is not a man, and Fauci is Dr. Frankenstein, it shows how weak and stupid they are.

This could backfire on them.

Quote

“They fear his strength, especially since he’s running against the most notorious scumbag in American politics,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said.

I came.  I saw.  I BDE'd.  😉

Quote

The growing cost-of-living crisis — exacerbated by the deeply unpopular military conflict in Iran — and Trump’s low approval ratings may mean the GOP’s masculinity attacks fall flat this cycle, Luke Warford, founder and director of Texas Public Opinion Research, a nonpartisan public opinion research firm, said in an interview.

The top issues for men and young men in Texas center on affordability, the cost of living, economic growth and job creation, according to an aggregate of data shared with POLITICO from the group’s latest surveys in May and June.

 

[Suckrates]

59 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

 

 

 

Republicans want to talk about James Talarico’s manhood. Talarico says let them.

Sis, your taste in singlets - and cocks - is better than mine.

Can you design Jimmy a singlet that shows off his manhood?

 

Some Choices for Talarico.....

 

Patriotic Americana.....

 

Kneeling to SERVE you.....

 

Hairy Texas Trailer Park.....

 

BDE ?    Maybe not,  but big VPL will do......

 

And just IMAGINE Talaricos team

[RockyRoadTravel]

4 hours ago, Suckrates said:

 

Some Choices for Talarico.....

 

Patriotic Americana.....

 

Kneeling to SERVE you.....

 

Hairy Texas Trailer Park.....

 

BDE ?    Maybe not,  but big VPL will do......

 

And just IMAGINE Talaricos team

Jim Jordan would love this post, in the dark, in his room in the basement.

[stevenkesslar]

5 hours ago, Suckrates said:

 

 

Have you tasted any of them, Sis?

 

 

Just asking for James, of course.

[stevenkesslar]

6 hours ago, Suckrates said:

BDE ?    Maybe not,  but big VPL will do......

As always, Sis, your sense of fashion and glamour exceed all expectations.

Given your exceptional talent,  I do have a teeny tiny little favor to ask.

There have been various complaints about the authenticity of The Odyssey.  But, given it's financial success, I'm guessing we can expect a sequel.

Perhaps you could serve as costume designer?  Or if not, at least fashion consultant?

For example, lots of people complained that the armor didn't look authentic to the time.  

My complaint is a bit different.  Nolan was obviously going for a more modern interpretation.  I'm fine with that.  Still, there were things that just seemed inauthentic.

 

We get to see Tom Holland's gorgeous biceps and underarms.  But am I to believe his pecs and 8-pack really look like that?

You can't fool me!

Perhaps in the sequel Nolan could instead use wrestling singlets for the warriors.  It's not as novel as a Black Athena.  But it's something.

 

 

And, as you note, a little VPL goes a long way.

I think Chris Nolan would find this kind of interpretation to be brilliant.

In fact, he'd probably come up with some kind of Cyclops or whatever that would want to just eat these guys up!  🫢

 

Anyway, sorry for digressing.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled post about a weak and genocidal President who is failing.