stevenkesslar

Thank you. That interview with Gen. Milley reminded me of another conversation he had with Nancy Pelosi. The real Nancy Pelosi. Not the one Trump gets confused about. This is another reason why most Americans won't rest easy with the idea that Trump, hater of democracy and breaker of cop bones, could have his finger back on the nuclear button. Nancy Pelosi Sought Assurances 'Maniac' Trump Couldn't Use Nukes After Election: Book

I loved it. Although it is not a feel good movie. The critics are all right. It is an emotionally evocative work about the enduring power of love. And the complications of that when you're a Gay man of a certain age. I also loved Red, White, and Royal Blue. And this is pretty much the opposite. RWRB speaks to young queers who want to and now can believe boy meets boy and they live in a fairy tale. All Of Us Strangers isn't about a fairy tale world. It's about the world we Gay men actually grew up in. Lots of discrimination, lots of AIDS, lots of death. Add some ghosts and it makes for one hell of a story. The Queer Kids Are All Right. And Now They’re Making Me Better. I don't know if that link will transfer, since someone posted it as a shared story from a New York Times reporter on a different site. It's a good read. In case the link doesn't work and you can't get it online, the phrase that really worked for me in that story about recent queer cinema is "emotional reparations." As in, a lot of recent LGBTQ film provides a form of emotional reparations for everything that we didn't necessarily get growing up. Like support, and understanding. I think RWRB and Heartstoppers are just sweet fairy tales. I took All Of Us Strangers, appropriately titled, as a form of emotional reparations for those of us who didn't grow up in a sweet Gay fairy tale. Fellow Travelers comes to mind as another recent and excellent example. The director and writer, Andrew Haigh, insists that the movie overall is a story about a Gay man accepting himself and overcoming obstacles to love. One could debate that, given the final plot twist. Haigh says he wanted to make a movie that made people think. But I think you settled the question for us, @unicorn. The fact that you can go see a movie like this WITH YOUR FIANCE (a man, I assume) settles the question. To quote the fairy tale heroes of Red, White, and Royal Blue, "We won." In real life, we got the happy ending. Congratulations! Even if Gay men like Andrew Scott's character in the movie, and Andrew Haigh in real life, paid an emotional price for it.

Hey, @Moses. You're a swell guy. Can I ask a favor? Speaker Johnson in increasingly tough spot on Ukraine Sad to say, my dear. But looks like we might have a second displaced Republican House Speaker in a row. And, no. Don't ask me to explain it. I'm a Democrat, and my Dad was a Reagan Republican. So how the fuck would I know? What with all this decency and good will in Russia, do you think maybe you could find Speaker Johnson a new home? 😉

And I have bad news for you, dear. I watched the interview. And poor Russia is stuck with an evil, lying prick who excels at turning Russian men into fertilizer in Ukraine. Poor things! If you take pride in the fact that people actually are concerned to know what an evil, lying, mass murderer like Putin is up to, then good for you. It could be worse for Russia. The US is stuck with Tucker Carlson, and the best economy in the world. 1 out of 2 ain't bad. 😉 At least you can get rid of Tucker. And speaking of getting rid of journalists, I thought the funniest part of the interview was when poor Tucker asked whether Vlad might see it in his heart to free Evan Gerschkovitch, the WSJ journalist Murderous Vlad detained as a political pawn. I'll quote MV directly: What a swell guy, that Murderous Vlad! And what great journalism on Tucker's part, digging the truth out or MV! And I am sure the millions of dead and displaced mothers and children of Ukraine would agree. Murderous Vlad appears to have run out of good will and decency. Although Vlad got one thing wrong. Ukraine is perfectly willing to "reciprocate" his good will and decency. Maybe that's why nobody wants to be Russian, or go to Russia. And Russia's wonderful economy is now built around sending its men to Ukraine to become fertilizer. Organized Tourism to Russia Drops by 90% in 2022 – Kommersant With all due respect to Tucker, I knew all these things already. I'll stick with the Wall Street Journal, I think. But I'm glad Vlad enjoyed his visit with Tucker. Oh, and me being me, have to make a final point, which the Wall Street Journal expressed accurately: Ukraine-Israel Aid Package Clears Major Hurdle in Senate Some GOP lawmakers join with Democrats to advance measure The vote was 2 to 1 for Ukraine, with 17 Republicans joining all Democrats. That happens to accurately reflect the 2 in 3 Americans who actually believe in standing by our principles, and our allies: Maybe when Tucker comes home he can interview our own evil, lying prick - Trump - about why he is so committed to undermining democracy, and brave people willing to die for it.

You're really going to be disappointed, aren't you? Anyhoo, Gov. Pelosi is calling her opponent, Trump, demented. And trying to push him out of the way, too. It ain't going so well. I'd assume the same with Biden. Except Dementia Joe doesn't have Gov. Pelosi running against him. And, besides, Trump can't defeat Biden. It's not possible. Ask Trump. Obama is still President.

You don't actually read, do you? You're going to be disappointed, aren't you?

From the Al Jazeera article on 2020: From the Fox story on 2022: No Democrat is claiming Hunt is a DEI House member, like Republicans are claiming Kamala is a DEI Veep. Yes, as a lifelong Democrat I'm proud of the fact that my party has been the leader (mostly) for racial and gender and LGBTQ equality for my whole life. But I take this as fruits of our victories. McCarthy knew the Republican Party could no longer be the party of White men. It's a work in progress, which has probably been set back by Trump. And I do think it is a good thing for America to be less polarized by race, gender, or sexual orientation.

Mostly. But I give them credit for this. US Republicans grow more diverse in newly won House seats Women and minorities predominate among Republican winners in 2020 House elections that trimmed Democratic control. House GOP majority younger, more diverse than it's been in years GOP ran historic number of female, African American and Hispanic candidates in 2022 This is probably giving Kevin McCarthy way too much credit. But he seemed to have this quaint idea that Republicans should focus more on recruiting female and Black and Hispanic and Asian conservatives. And less on breaking the bones of cops. Weird choices, I know. But this seemed to help McCarthy win House seats in 2020 and gain a slim majority in 2022. For that, they fired him. Why focus on building the future, when Trump wants to instead focus on the past? How could Nikki Haley (or was it Nancy Pelosi) make America great again? Loser! The plan for 2024 seems to be to make sure they stop Biden from doing anything, and call him demented. Same thing Pelosi is saying about Trump. 😉

I assume you mean the 2016 campaign. I was never thrilled with Hillary. And her Fall ads were mostly attack ads that did not worked as hoped. Whenever the gamble is that someone is unelectable (Reagan in 1980, Trump in 2016) and will be defeated if they are attacked, it simply has not worked. For the same reason, the idea that Biden is unelectable in 2024 because he is demented won't work, either. Especially if the alternative is Trump, as opposed to Haley. I found the 2020 campaign exciting. First, I was excited to get rid of Trump. Second, I think that race was about the future of the Democratic Party. But I would say that, of course, being a lifelong Democrat. It was more of a debate about hope and positive change than it was an attack ad to me. I do see both Biden and Trump as damaged goods. Biden did not look great tonight attacking a journalist for voicing how most voters, and even I think a majority of Democrats, feel about his age. I have an interesting running debate with one of my sisters-in-law that may be an irrelevant anecdote, or may help explain why Biden will win. Sorry in advance for being long-winded. In 2020 I was a fan boy of Elizabeth Warren. This sister-in-law is also a professor, so I thought she might like Warren. She didn't, at all. Her visceral reaction was negative. She liked Biden. When I asked her why, she couldn't really explain it. She's center/left. I think she probably liked the idea that Biden could win. And was more moderate than Sanders or Warren. I think a huge chunk of America felt that way. That really showed up on Super Tuesday, when Biden inexplicably won states he didn't even campaign or spend money in. Like Minnesota and Massachusetts. After Biden WON my sister-in-law reminded me of that conversation, where she couldn't really explain why she liked Biden. She said this is probably why she leaned toward Biden. He could win, and he'll be okay. Last Thanksgiving she made a point of saying how she really hopes Biden does not run again. Mostly because of the age thing. Being a bit of a bitch, I asked her what she was thinking in 2020. Because Biden seemed old then, too. But it's fair that in 2020 people were worried about 2020, not 2024. I get it. So I personally feel like I am stuck with the consequences of a choice my party made in 2020 I was never fully on board with. Now I feel I have no choice. I like Biden, and I mostly approve of his Presidency. But he is too old to be POTUS That said, he is still way better than Trump, who is also old and much scarier to me. There is no evidence in polling that dumping the incumbent for someone else would make it easier to beat Trump. The opposite. It would tear the party apart, most likely. Since the polls show Democrats are split about who that someone else might be. Whitmer is the only one who does a little bit better than Biden in polling against Trump. And even that's close. Newsom does no better, and Harris does worse in polls. Allan Lichtman, who has guessed every race for POTUS right since 1984, is saying loudly that dumping an incumbent and having a big party fight (like in 1980) is always a recipe for disaster. Stick with Biden if you want to win, is his message. So my guess is, in the end, the naysayers who Biden needs like my sister-in-law will fall in line. Right now they are telling pollsters maybe they like RFK or maybe they like someone else or maybe they won't vote. But the main reason why I think they'll fall in line is that the alternative is Trump. Literally, a little bit demented may be relatively better than a fascist who seems out of his mind. And is quite old, too, by the way. So 2024 will be all attack, all the time, in a way 2016 or 2020 or 2022 were not, I think. Trump and Biden both need to make the other look even worse. Every one of my nieces and nephews who are center or left think Biden is way too old. They can't wait for someone younger and better. So the good news about the negativity of 2024 is it probably does set up an election in 2028 that is about generational change. It's time. Most Presidents since 1992 have been Baby Boomers. Or older, in Biden's case.

You're right. People do have lots of concerns about the President: his leadership, his judgment, his temperament, his truthfulness, his emotional and mental state. That is why they fired him in 2020. But what's new? I thought this was a nice mildly race-baiting detail in the RNC attack on Dementia Joe on Twitter: Of course it's not enough to say Biden doesn't have the brains to be President anymore. They have to vaguely imply that Kamala, a Black woman, never had the brains to be President. And is only there because she's a Black woman. Former South Carolina Governor Nancy Pelosi, who is running for President against Trump, is apparently okay. 😉 Although Trump says Gov. Pelosi sucked at keeping the Capitol secure when he sent his mob over to break the bones of cops. Glad Trump is in charge of his facts and faculties! Meanwhile, Biden, Trump, and Harris are all viewed unfavorably by 55 % of Americans. Buckle up your seatbelts. 2024 is going to be a long and giant attack ad.

Obviously, that's a question for Kevin McCarthy! Or Matt Gaetz!

Obviously, that's a question for Mike Pence! While we are doing Bible study, I have a few other questions: 1. Where in the Bible does it say you should allow Trump thugs to break into Nancy Pelosi's home and crack her husbands skull open and then accuse him of being Gay? 2. Where in the Bible does it say you should allow Trump thugs to poop on Nancy Pelosi's office floor, even if they were apparently being held hostage on Jan. 6th by the cops they assaulted? 3. Where in the Bible does it say Trump's cultists should support such evil, reprehensible things?

Senators unveil long-awaited border deal It faces an uncertain vote in the Senate this week and even longer odds in the House. It would be more forgivable for Trump to say any compromise needs to be "perfect" or it isn't worth passing if he were simply the political gadfly he had been most of his life. But, as POTUS, he proved how bad he was at compromise. And getting any laws passed. Except for those deficit busting tax cuts for really rich people, like him. What makes this worse is it's pure political cynicism. Trump and his MAGA House-mates would rather see more fentanyl deaths and more border crossings than pass a bipartisan law to reduce the problem.

So much for MAGA's fake and cynical populism. Ted Cruz wants lawmakers to get security escorts through America’s airports Turns out there were "serious security threats" at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, too. But Cruz doesn't want to talk about that with constituents waiting in lines at airports, does he? Cruz voted against a bipartisan bill that got the support of 68 US Senators to prevent another Jan. 6th from happening by closing the wormy loopholes Cruz himself wanted to use to steal an election. Even more despicably, Cruz plotted with MAGA cultist Maria Bartiromo about how a Republican appointed commission could "legally" steal an election Biden won by 7 million votes. If there is any Republican other than Trump who has created good reason for angry mobs to protest the cynicism and phoniness of MAGA populism, it's Ted Cruz. I can only pray that some day I run into him at an airport. So I can walk up to him and say, "You are a cynical man with no principles. Other than your own empowerment, and giving huge tax breaks to the rich guys who fund your cynical campaigns."

Thanks for breaking up my text. 😉 There's one other polling thing I wanted to post that I think is vaguely relevant. But I figured I was way over my verbosity quota already for one post. So here I am, back for more. The Most Popular Public Figures (Q4 2023) # 19, liked by 48 % of Americans #46, liked by 41 % of Americans Let me tell you how I got to this listing, before I tell you why it may help explain why Biden will beat Trump again. I was thinking of how similar Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger are in important regards. #4, liked by 60 % of Americans In addition to both being Republicans, they have the rare distinction of having risen to the top in three different fields. Whereas most of us never get to the top in one. For Schwarzenegger it was bodybuilding, then entertainment, then politics. You could argue that is actually a step down each time. 😉 I tend to think the best time to be Arnie was when he was young and hot and unknown. And everything was ahead of him. Trump did close to the same thing: real estate, then entertainment, then politics. We can quibble over Trump's bankruptcies. But both men rose to the top despite obstacles. Arnie's biggest obstacle was a big waist in Career 1, and a funny voice in Career 2. He rose above that. Partly because he has always been good at people, and politics. Trump is mostly good at people and politics, too. He just proved that DeSantis is a rookie and introvert when it comes to people. Which is what politics is about. Now a bit about how they differ. Schwarzenegger is an immigrant. What I adore about him, as a Democrat, is his willingness to put politics aside and try to believe in what he thinks is best about America. Trump has none of that. He is a racist immigrant basher who consistently brings out the worst in America. That is what Trump, like his mentor Roy Cohn, excels at. Bringing out the worst in people. As Schwarzenegger himself argued in his great speech after Jan. 6th. He despises Trump and compares Jan. 6th to his experiences with pure evil as a boy in Nazi Austria. So what all that led me to is checking out polls on Arnie's popularity. Which I figured would be high. I was right. As a bonus, I found that poll above that actually compares Arnie, Biden, and Trump. Arnie is #4. Biden is #19, right next to Jill who is #21. Trump is #46, and actually below both his wife (#35) and his daughter (#41). People like Trump less than they like Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Condoleezza Rice, or Ben Carson. I think that says a lot about the dynamics of this election. Being the leader of a cult is not the same as people actually liking you. In this poll, 48 % of Americans say they like Joe Biden. Only 41 % say they like Donald Trump. I think Biden gets to 48 % despite the fact that people don't particularly like what he has done on inflation and immigration. I think Trump tops out at 41 % because of what people see he stands for. Meanwhile, Arnie is liked by 60 % in this poll. Maybe that's largely because of his Hollywood background. But I think it's also because people respect what he stands for. All three have won the top prizes they were eligible for in electoral politics. If Arnie could run for POTUS, which he can't as immigrant, he'd probably kick the ass of either Biden or Trump. It is easier to win an election when at least 50 % of the people like you. I think this poll will factor in in the end. In Spring 1980 Jimmy Carter was kicking Ronald Reagan's ass in the polls. Even by late Spring, when John Anderson was in the race as an Independent, Carter consistently had a lead of 5 % or more in a three way race. Not unlike what Trump has now, when you include RFK Jr. We all know that didn't hold up in November 1980. People may have liked Carter. But they didn't like a 20 % misery index. Again, the misery index now is LOWER than when Biden took office. Trump created more misery, based on Reagan's misery index, and Biden has lowered the level of misery - as of today. Why would people want more misery from someone they don't really like? Most Americans DO NOT LIKE Donald Trump. Almost half of all Americans, including just over half of women, think he should be disqualified for sending out his mob to beat the shit out of cops and try to kill democracy. I think this helps explain why Arnie has always been a winner. And Trump only wins some of the time. Being a narcissistic racist rapist pig, he of course does not understand his limits. So he pushes himself too far, and loses. That is what he is doing right now. It explains why he will probably lose the election. People just won't vote for a raping liar who they don't even like. A few interesting side notes. Arnie, like Trump, got into trouble for being incapable of keeping his dick in his pants. In Arnie's case, it was a consensual relationship with a maid, which resulted in a love child. People - but not his ex-wife - seem to be willing to overlook that. In Trump's case, it would have been rape if he could actually maintain an erection while raping. People, especially women, may be less willing to overlook that. This poll also suggest that America is either not racist, or less racist. And we can thank Democrats for that. Of the top five most popular public figures, one is the Queen and another is Arnie, a Republican immigrant. So the three that were born in America are MLK, Barack Obama, and Michelle Obama. (Fact check: Obama was born in America.) The fact that three of the five most liked public figures are Black, and all are closely associated with the Democratic Party, says a lot of good things about America. So does the fact that a White immigrant who loves America was able to rise to the top of the Republican Party in his state. I'd like to think that the party of Lincoln will soon be the party of Nikki Haley and Tim Scott. But don't hold your breath. When it comes to trying to be less racist, there is no question that Democrats let MLK and the Obamas in. With mostly open arms. (Well, there was George Wallace, who at least asked for forgiveness.) The Obamas, even more than the Bidens, stand for the Democratic Party today. Don't hold your breath for Nikki Haley or Tim Scott. Most of the Republican Party is rejecting them for a guy that Arnie, a Republican, compares to a Nazi. This is why I think Trump is going to lose.

Hate to rain on the parade of Trump insults with a dose of reality. But that joke about Trump's pussy grabbing true self made me think of this: Inside Trump's Election A-Team: Lean, Mean and Largely Unseen All of that rings true to me. It should come as no surprise that (__ immigrant or ___ Gay or ___ leftist) baiting Republicans can do worse than surround themselves with a bunch of mostly effective Roy Cohns. Trump learned that himself a long time ago, of course. It can certainly work well for a while. Maybe even through a whole election campaign. The obvious problem with this strategy is that it doesn't change who the person at the top is. And the person at the top, Trump, is still a total fucking mess. Technically, he is more of a total fucking mess than ever. You want insurrection? He's your guy. You want rape? He's your guy. You want to see cops publicly be beaten savagely, so you can see what it looks like when the bones of cops break on national TV? Trump is your guy. He is a total fucking mess. And the guy who rapes and lies and leads mobs to break the bones of cops when he loses an election is still there. He is almost certainly going to be the Republican nominee. So Trump, who hates losing, has been disciplined enough to allow a disciplined team to form around him. Who no doubt COULD help him win. Which is pretty much what happened after he won in 2016 and formed a fairly impressive Cabinet. How long did that last? The thing about being a disciplined subordinate to Trump is that you can't change Trump from being Trump. It may not be so obvious now, when people are mostly focused on all the things they don't like about Joe Biden. But it will become obvious soon enough. When Trump opens his mouth, it becomes obvious. When Trump sends mobs to The Capitol to savagely beat cops because he needs to lie about being a loser, it becomes tragically obvious to the whole planet. Here's a poll number that is brand new that shocked me. And that I think is very bad news for Trump. I will quote the question and answer verbatim. 30. Trump Disqualified Due to 14th Amendment According to the 14th Amendment, no person shall be able to hold office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion. Do you think Donald Trump should or should not be disqualified from holding office as a result of the 14th Amendment? Should be disqualified: 47 % Should not be disqualified 38 % Not sure 15 % How do you win the Presidency when 47 % of America thinks you should be disqualified from even running? That's not going to go away. The pussy grabbing and lies and rape and cop beating and chaos are not going to go away. Even if Trump has a disciplined team around him. The good news to the MAGA minority in that poll is that, in theory, that leaves 53 % of America that COULD vote for Trump. But the truer number is probably closer to 38 % that actually WANT to vote for him. It's shocking that only 38 % of Americans are certain that the Republican nominee should not be disqualified. And 51 % of Americans with grabbable pussies (aka women) think he SHOULD be disqualified. How do you win the votes of people who don't like you because you grab pussies, brag about it, and send people off to beat cops when you lose elections? That problem won't go away. A good campaign team can try to hide it. Especially while people are still mostly focused on how inflation or immigration suck, and Biden is to blame But the insurrection part is not going to go away. And the evidence from 2022, when inflation was a lot higher, is that Americans are much more likely to overlook inflation than they are to overlook insurrection. This is why Trump is likely going to lose, regardless of what the polls now say. This is what many smart Republicans who have won many elections are saying. That Republicans will probably lose an election they could have won if they had nominated a candidate people actually like. They are the same types of Republicans who were saying a year ago that DeSantis would turn out to be a weak, unlikable candidate with a flawed core strategy. They were right. They are probably going to be right again.

One thing that is definitely being overlooked here is the evil genius of Dementia Joe. For a guy with little or no functioning brain cells, he's incredibly good at creating Deep State conspiracies. Then again, if I had a superstar NFL player pushing vaccines that injected microchips in everyone making them loyal to AOC and the liberal America haters, I suppose I could do the same.

But if that's true, why did God create Trump? 🤔

Then again, maybe you don't. Why do you support Trump's effort to block solutions to the problem of fentayl deaths? Especially when Trump himself let fentanyl deaths get totally out of control? Fentanyl deaths almost TRIPLED under Trump. Biden has slowed the rate of drug death overdoses down. There is some evidence that, after the pandemic ended, he has at least stopped any additional increase in drug deaths. DONALD TRUMP IS THE LORD OF DRUG DEATH. IF YOU WANT TEENS TO DIE OF FENTANYL, YOU WANT DONALD TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE While Trump lied and whined about how Mexico would pay for a border wall, what Mexican drug lords gave us instead were these three things: 1) DEATH, 2) DEATH, and 3) DEATH. All thanks to the incompetent whining lying non-leader DONALD DEATH TRUMP Fentanyl was a problem Trump inherited. But instead of solving it, the impotent non-leader turned it into a TRUMP DEATH WAVE Fentayl deaths 2016: 19,413 Fentanyl deaths 2020: 56,516 Fentayl deaths up almost TRIPLE under Donald Death Trump. What did Trump do other than whine and lie and give tax breaks to himself and his rich friends while Americans died? If we want more fentanyl death and more tax cuts to the rich, we want Trump. If you want to do something to actually stop DEATH, @EmmetK, you should get behind this bipartisan immigration deal to actually do something about it. Not just whine and lie and misstate facts. Of course, Trump wants to kill any bipartisan law. Just like he killed anything bipartisan and good during his failed Presidency. Trump says he wants a "perfect" immigration law only. What a sick, cruel, mean, horrible joke. What Trump means is that he will tolerate MORE DEATH to win an election. And you just go along for the ride about the LIES, @EmmetK. You are so sloppy and wrong with facts that I assume you do not even know that you are comparing fentanyl deaths under Trump to all drug overdose deaths under Biden. The CDC article YOU hyperlinked said all drug overdose deaths went up 14 % from 2020 to 2021. Not double, as you incorrectly claimed. You can not be trusted with facts. Just like Trump. If you want to compare ALL drug overdose deaths, not just fentanyl, this is the correct data: with the fentanyl You use that number, 106,699, for Biden 2021. So you should use 91,799 for the last year of Trump. That a 16 % increase. Not double. You can not be trusted with facts. There is no doubt that fentanyl deaths have exploded as a percentage of ALL drug overdose deaths. That USAFacts death chart above says fentanyl deaths went from 19,413 in 2016 to 56,516 in 2020 to 70,601 in 2021 to 73,654 in 2022. So if you want ACCURATE percentages, fentayl deaths about TRIPLED under four years of DONALD DEATH TRUMP. They went up about 30 % under two years of Biden, with most of that increase in the first year. Which is worse, fentanyl deaths TRIPLING under four years of Trump, or going up 30 % under two years of Biden? Why would we want Trump's lies and failed leadership back? It's hard to get recent data on either fentanyl overdose deaths, or all drug overdose deaths. But the available data suggests that Biden has at least stopped the problem from getting worse. This 2022 report claims that under Biden drug overdose deaths actually went down modestly from the 2020/2021 pandemic spike: The most recent data I could find is from CNN. They reported that as of March 2023 12 month overall drug overdose deaths were at 111,355. It is very concerning. Biden is trying to do something bipartisan about it. The record is very clear. DONALD DEATH TRUMP FAILED, MISERABLY. If we use fentanyl deaths, they almost TRIPLED under Trump. Overall drug overdose deaths, including fentanyl, almost doubled. If I use 106,699 for 2021 - your number, @EmmetK - and the CNN number 111,355 for 2023, that's a 4.3 % increase. By any standard using actual facts and actual math, Trump let the problem grow wildly out of control. Biden has at least slowed down the increase in deaths. Or perhaps stopped any increase. He needs a bipartisan law to actually turn the numbers around and start a decline. Why is Trump and MAGA against bipartisan efforts to stop drug deaths? Trump is the Lord of drug overdose deaths in America. That is a fact.

That's one theory. It's also possible we just learned how Trump gets Melania to tolerate him.

There are a lot of smart people, both R and D, who say this is why Trump will lose in 2024. That, when push comes to shove, he is just so much of a big awful smelly piece of shit that people won't be able to vote for him. As much as they don't really want four more years of Biden. You can probably put Biden himself at the top of the list of people who feel this way. He has never said running against Trump gives him his best shot at winning. But everything he has said and done makes it seem like he wants to run against Trump. Who wouldn't want to run against a big awful smelly piece of shit? I know what the polls say. Mostly, they say the election is close, with Trump in the lead. But every election is about a decision to throw the bums out. The only time that really worked in Trump's favor is 2016. When people had no idea what he would actually be like as POTUS. Once that became clear - that he CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED - "throw the bums out" worked against Trump in 2018. And 2020. And 2022. People didn't really want what Trump and his devoted cult were offering. So it's not hard to imagine 2024 could end up the same way. I don't think it's something the polls can predict. Because people don't quite know whether Biden, who is unpopular, is worse than a big awful smelly piece of shit. The ace in the hole the MAGA crowd think they have is that the Biden economy sucks. I'm reading more and more articles about how Trump is the new Reagan. And Biden is the OLD and SENILE Jimmy Carter.. And all Trump has to keep asking is, "Are you better off than four years ago?" This confirms to me that MAGA types truly are fact free. And that they can't be trusted with truth, and ideas. The fact is, people are better off than four years ago. When Reagan asked that question, in 1980, the misery index peaked at 22. By the time Trump beat Hillary in 2016, it was a measly 6.4. By the time Biden beat Trump in 2020, it was a little higher, 7.9. Now it is 7. So the misery index is about one third of what it was when Reagan used it to club Carter to death. And it is lower than it was when Trump lost. And yet, somehow, a big awful smelly piece of shit who brought America more misery and CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED is still better? Somehow? Oh. And home prices and stock markets and average middle class net worth are at an all time high. Meanwhile, what Trump excels at is fleecing fools and giving tax breaks to rich people, including himself. So we're going to throw the bums out to get back a big awful smelly piece of shit we fired in 2020? Who we know for sure CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED? It doesn't make sense. MAGA folk are believing their own fact free bullshit, I suspect.

Okay. They're fucked. It was a heavy lift. But I did my job for 2024. Can we maybe just move on to 2028 and skip the ugliness of 2024? Maybe Kamala v. Nikki? That would be fun. By the way, thanks for being the long-winded one here. It takes pressure of me to have to write something verbose yet brilliant.. 😉

You completely missed the point. But then, that's predictable. Trump did three things with the border. First, he failed. Second, he failed. Third, he failed. Why bring back failure? Your argument is that a doubling of drug deaths is failure I agree. Trump failed. No matter how many lies Trump tells about winning elections or securing the border, he failed. There are broken cop bones and over 100,000 dead Americans from drug overdoses to prove it. All thanks to Trump. Trump is a loser. Trump failed. We need a bipartisan immigration deal. Republicans want it. Democrats want it. Centrists like Jon Tester are preparing for a big fight to win it. That is the best hope of stopping the fentanyl and stopping the drug deaths. And what does liar loser Trump want? He wants a "perfect" law, or no law at all. Just like his perfect Wall and perfect infrastructure bill and perfect ............................. NOTHING. The man failed at leading, and failed at getting laws passed. He opens his mouth and spreads hate and lies. But he can't get laws passed to deal with the border. Bringing this failed loser back simply means fentanyl deaths will double again. Just like they did when he was POTUS for four years AND GOT NOTHING DONE to stop the drug overdoses and fentanyl from flooding in. If Trump wants less fentanyl and less drug overdoses, he ought to get behind a bipartisan bill to deal with the problem now. Instead, all he wants to do is spread his own hate and lies and failure.

Exactly. And you are right that Biden doubled it again. We need bipartisan compromise on immigration to solve a problem that grew under both Presidents. The MAGA crowd ignores reality and believes in magical solutions. And breaking the bones of cops. Trump wants to block bipartisan immigration reform. Just like hard right Republicans have for a decade. Trump is saying Republicans should oppose any bipartisan compromise unless it is "perfect." Just like Mexico was going to pay for a perfect border wall. And instead fentanyl poured in and overdose deaths DOUBLED under DONALD TRUMP. Trump would rather have more drug overdoses than compromise and solutions. He is a failed leader who was fired.

Why did DONALD TRUMP let this happen? Answer your own question. Why did DONALD TRUMP let fentanyl deaths spike while HE was President? Why did DONALD TRUMP, failed POTUS who hates democracy and compromise, let this happen? Fentanyl deaths spiked in the US to the tens of thousands while this evil, lying, spiteful. democracy-hating brute was leader. Why did DONALD TRUMP let tens of thousands of Americans die of fentanyl death every year on his watch? Why does DONALD TRUMP hate democracy and bipartisan compromise? Factual notes to people who have problems with facts: In 2017, when about 28,466 Americans died of fentanyl, a huge spike from Obama days, Trump was POTUS In 2018, when about 31,335 Americans died of fentanyl, Trump was POTUS In 2019, when about 36,359 Americans died of fentanyl, Trump was POTUS In 2020, when about 56,515 Americans died of fentanyl, Trump was POTUS Trump, all talk and no action, let the problem get completely out of control. He sucks at leading, he sucks at compromise, and he hates democracy. Trump is a loser. He did nothing but spew hate and lies while tens of thousands of Americans died thanks to his horrific mal-leadership. Why would we want this hateful loser back? Trump is against the one thing that can improve the situation: bipartisan compromise from the top down.