The old saying is that sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.  Apparently, that maxim does not apply to politics.  More specifically, it doesn’t apply to Republican political candidates, and especially not to Donald Trump.  Now, I am not about to try to argue that the vulgar language used by Trump in a television interview in 2005 isn’t objectionable.  Of course it is.  The problem I have with the reaction to this “revelation” is the seemingly universal media judgment that the fact that this language came to light finally spells the end for Trump.  First of all, let’s not perpetuate the charade that this interview just magically came to light two days before the second debate.  Clearly, it was planned by the Clintons, and gleefully reported by the media.  Simply put, it’s a set up.  Last Saturday, I even heard commentators musing that Trump might not even make it to the October 9 debate.  That has become the new media theme for this election: “Trump said a bad word 11 years ago, so he can’t be President.”  Once again, it’s far from a positive development, but is it really anything new?  After all, at the last debate, Ms. Hillary recited a litany of negative comments made by Trump in the past.  So what’s new?  It never ceases to amaze me that so many people seem to harbor the fantasy that public officials never utter an unkind word about anybody.  Do people really believe that politicians no less (and trust me there are no less), exist on a higher plane than the rest of us mere mortals?  Poppycock (and I cleaned that up).  Let me assure you my children that, despite their genteel public personae, politicians know all the bad words and are just as, if not more, vulgar than what humorist Jean Shepherd used to call “your average, walking around slobbus americanus.”  This is not a recent development.  I learned this at an early age.  As a student, I never dreamed that the teachers might use foul language, until I became a substitute teacher and got into the teacher’s lounge.  The things they said about some of their students was shocking.  I worked at a trucking company and not surprisingly heard some interesting language there.  Later, I worked in the New Jersey State Senate.  Some of the things that came out of the mouths of the Senators would have curled the Teamsters’ hair.  But what about Presidents? Harry S. Truman was quoted calling General MacArthur a “dumb son of a bitch.”  Hillary says she’s worried about Trump’s demeanor.  How would he deal with foreign leaders?  LBJ famously told the Greeks and Cypriots,   “F*ck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant.  Cyprus is a flea.”  That’s telling them.  In addition to his liberal use of the “N” word, LBJ was fond of explaining the difference between chicken salad and chickenshit.  In one conversation, Nixon called Mexicans “dishonest,” said that blacks lived “like a bunch of dogs” and that San Francisco was full of “fags” and “decorators.” Why do you think there were so many “expletive deleteds” in the Watergate transcripts.  George W. Bush called a New York Times reporter “a major league asshole.”  I can’t argue with that one.  But not the sainted Clintons, right?  Wrong.  Here are some quotes from Bill: “What’s all the fuss about?  It was just a goddamn motherf**king Pig” (at the funeral of a black State Trooper); “That little Greek motherf**ker!” (on Michael Dukakis);  “I can do any goddamned thing I want.  I’m the president of the United States.  I take care of my friends and I f**k with my enemies. That is the way it is.”  But he wouldn’t demean women, right?  Wrong.  “He couldn’t get a whore across a bridge.” (on Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick).  “What does that whore think she’s doing to me? … [She’s] a f**king slut.” (on Jennifer Flowers).  But Hillary is a lady, she would never use foul language.  Yeah.  I saved the best for last.  What follows are all published quotes from Hillary.  I had to delete a few expletives.  Hillary on police officers and Secret Service agents:  “F**k off!  It’s enough that I have to see you shit-kickers every day.  I’m not going to talk to you, too.  Just do your goddamn job and keep your mouth shut.”  “If you want to remain on this detail, get your f**king ass over here and grab those bags.”  “Get f**ked! Get the f**k out of my way! Get out of my face!”  “Stay the f**k back, stay the f**k away from me! Don’t come within ten yards of me, or else!… Just f**king do as I say, okay?”  Hillary had kind words for her husband Bill too.  She was overheard calling Slick Willie  “a sorry son of a bitch;”  “You f**king asshole;” “You stupid motherf**ker;” and  “You stupid f**king moron.”  Again, I can’t argue with that.  That’s not all.  She called Bills gubernatorial campaign manager “You fu***ing Jew bastard” and referred to Jews as “Stupid kikes.”  That should wrap up the Jewish vote.  What about her stance on women?  Hillary referred to women (most of whom her husband was shtupping) as
“Bimbos,” “sluts,” “trailer trash,” “rednecks,” “whores” and “shit-kickers.”  Hillary thinks women who complain about men should be believed, unless they complain about Bill.  “These women are all trash.  Nobody’s going to believe them.” “We have to destroy her.”  Ready for Hillary?  Hillary also loves the media.  She once called New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd “a short, Irish bitch.”  One more.  Hillary’s looking out for the children, right?  This is Hillary at an Arkansas Easter Egg hunt for developmentally disabled kids, “When are they going to get those f*****g retards out of here?”  Look, Donald Trump is no saint and he’s no politician, but neither is Hillary Madame Cleanliness.  This election isn’t about some bad words uttered by Trump 11 years ago.  It should be about the economy, taxes, Islamic terrorism and border security, but neither Hillary nor the media want to talk about any of those things.  I wonder why?

Federal law requires that the electors who will choose the President be appointed on one specified day; the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.  This year that’s November 8.  That doesn’t mean, however, that everyone must vote on that one specified day.  States long have had procedures for absentee voting.  There was a time when you had to give a reason for an absentee ballot, but no more.  Most States have adopted “no excuse” absentee balloting.  In some States, Oregon, Washington and Colorado come to mind, all voting is done by mail.  The mail-in absentee voting has transformed in many States into early voting in voting machines weeks before the election day specified by federal law.  For some reason, presumably because Democrats believe they benefit from early voting, this is permitted.  The number of people who cast their votes early has grown  over time.  Since 2000, the number of people voting early has doubled to more than 30%.  There’s reason to expect that number to increase this year, so upwards of one-third of the eligible (and ineligible) voters will have voted before November 8.  Of course, come election day, we will still have to hear Democrat complaints about long lines at voting places.  We will be told that the lines are the work of evil Republicans who seek to discourage minorities from voting.  Democrats will cry foul and demand that the polls be kept open for extra hours.  The fact that this is nonsense will not be entertained.  If you are a voter in a big city who has to wait hours to vote, blame a Democrat.  They run your city.  They decide where the polling places are, how many poll workers are present, and how many machines are available.  If the ballot is too confusing or complicated, blame a Democrat, because they prepared the ballot, and decided where your choices will appear on it.  If you’re a Democrat in New Jersey, they make it easy for you.  Although ballot position is decided by drawing lots, somehow, defying the laws of probability, the Democrats appear on “Line A” at the top of the ballot every year.  If you want to vote for a non-Democrat candidate and can’t find him or her on the ballot, you’ll have to see the head of our complaint department, Helen Hunt.  Translation – if your not looking for a Democrat on the ballot, go to Hell and hunt for him.  But I digress.  Turning to our upcoming election, forgive me if I am discouraged.  I have mentioned in these pages that traditionally,  when I, a voter who enjoys nothing better than voting for a Republican, is not enthusiastic about the Republican candidate, that candidate is doomed.  This year I am far from enthusiastic, which does not bode well for Mr. Trump.  I have grave doubts about what we will get from him.  However, I have no doubt that what we will get from Hillary Clinton is all horrible.  I’m weighing my doubts against that certainty and voting for Trump.  If this election is like most others, it will not end well.  Trump claims this year’s different.  We’ll see.  One could argue that we’ve already seen.  One of the very few things about which I believe Bernie Sanders is right is that the system is rigged so that the insiders get to stay forever and run everything.  Crazy Bernie threatened to overturn the establishment apple cart.  Look what happened to him.  Ted Cruz talked about the “Washington Cartel.”  Look what happened to him.  Trump is from outside the Washington establishment.  Big wigs in both parties are deathly afraid of him, and he’s being denounced by both sides.  And it’s not just those in the government.  The media is part of this charade.  So far we have had two debates, a presidential and a vice-presidential, and the media has voted early.  Hillary wins.  In the first debate, Lester Holt started the conversation by asking, “Now that there’s no unemployment and everybody’s income is rising dramatically under Obama, what’s so bad about the economy Mr. Trump?”  It went down hill from there.  Lester Holt has voted.  The moderators (a strange name for wild-eyed leftists) took every opportunity to challenge and interrupt Mike Pence in the vice-presidential debate in order to help Tim Kaine.  Let’s face it, Kaine needed the help.  If Hillary gets sick and that clown has to take over we are in big trouble.  And it’s not just the debate moderators.  After the debates, I turned to Fox News and the Fox Business Channel for commentary.  Megyn Kelly has voted.  She hates Trump (maybe with good reason).  She’s interviewing Clinton shill Lanie Davis.  On Fox Business, they’re getting reactions from Jessie Jackson.  What do you think he thought of the debate?  And it’s not just on TV.  The Wall Street Journal; the paper I subscribed to when I couldn’t stand anymore reading the God-awful Red Star Ledger, publishes column after after column trashing Trump.  The wonder is that, for all the condemnations from politicians and the media, and for all the attempts to distract voters from the disgraceful and corrupt train wreck which is Hillary Clinton, the polls are close.  Maybe the voters just aren’t listening anymore.  Maybe Trump is right and this year is different.  Will the relative unpopularity of both major candidates result in a low election turnout, or will the desire to vote against one or the other send more people to the polls.  I don’t know.  If I had to guess, I’d guess that many voters who like neither Trump nor Hillary will just stay home.  It’s what political scientists call “cross pressure.”  Of course, I could be wrong.  This year it’s hard to be right.

We already know about Donald Trump’s television career.  Trump has hosted The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice for more than 10 years.  He is a known quantity, at least as far as his television personality goes.  Hillary Clinton is something else again.  She is an enigma, not because she is new to the public stage, but because, for 25 years, she has taken great pains to hide her actions, cover her tracks, deny, dissemble, and destroy any evidence that might contradict her version of the “facts.”  Simply put, she is a liar from way back.  Hillary is that rare politician who, rather than seeking the spotlight, seeks to avoid any scrutiny.  It’s almost as though she has something to hide.  Remember, this is the woman who, as First Lady, ordered White House staffers not to look at her should they pass her in the hall.  Not a bad deal when you think about it.  So, I was thinking, if Trump’s TV image is The Apprentice, then what kind of TV image best suits the elusive Ms. Hillary? This is an important question, because the TV networks will want to help President Hillary in any way they can.  After all, she’s only a presidential candidate now, and CBS already has had the show Madam Secretary running for two years.  It’s about a female Secretary of State who expertly balances her public duties with her family responsibilities.  Who do you think CBS had in mind when it put that show on the air?  So, if we are so unlucky as to have Hillary elected President, there will have to be more TV programs on the schedule to try to make her appear popular.  But what will it be?  Madam Secretary could start doing episodes based on Hillary’s accomplishments as Secretary of State.  They could have Hillary destroying Libya.  Hillary destabilizing Syria.  Hillary giving the advice that led to Iran getting nuclear weapons.  Then there’s Benghazi.  That could be a two part show.  The first week would cover Hillary ignoring the Ambassador’s pleas for extra security, and failing to respond to the attack that killed four Americans, including the Ambassador.  Part Two would be the coverup.  Hillary blaming some unknown schlemiel who created an unwatched video, and then telling Congress that four men may have died, but “WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!”  But that’s not enough.  Political shows have been popular.  Remember The West Wing?  Hillary’s show could be called The Worst Wing.  It couldn’t be an hour long show, though.  Since Hillary never has a press conference and avoids public events that limits the story lines.  The upside is that, since Hillary never tells the truth, the writers could just make up any story, and it would be closer to reality that any statement from the White House.  Crime shows also are very popular.  Hillary’s perfect for that genre.  How about CSI-HILLARY.  That could be a great show.  It practically writes itself.  The CSI team would be busy trying to reconstruct cell phones that Hillary’s henchmen smashed with hammers.  Hey, maybe the show should be called Smash.  No, I guess that’s already been done.  Anyway, the CSI investigators could dig into the corrupt dealings of the Clinton Foundation, following the money trail from foreign banks to Hillary’s pockets.  Maybe the geniuses from Scorpion could make a guest appearance and they could figure out what happened to Hillary’s deleted emails.  Then, in the season finale, all of Hillary’s staffers could take the 5th, the FBI could grant them immunity, and then announce no laws were broken.   That’s clearly must see TV.  What else?  Medical shows are as popular as they’ve ever been.  How about Hill’s Anatomy?  That show could run for years.  Every week, the doctors would tackle another of Hillary’s ailments.  Every specialty could have an episode.  Neurologists for her concussion and transverse sinus venous thrombosis.  Opthamologists could look into her double vision, and determine why one of her eyes sometimes goes West while the other one is going East.  Nose and throat doctors for her persistent coughing fits.  Endocrinologists for her hypothyroidism.  Pulmonologists for her pneumonia.  Then there’s plenty of work for orthopedists, because Hillary falls down a lot.  You know, one medical show might not be enough.  Maybe there could be another show called Hillary’s House.  They could bring back Dr. House as the White House physician, and  when Hillary has one of her “spells” Dr. House could figure out what’s really wrong with her.  We can’t leave out the reality shows either.  If Trump had The Apprentice, then Hillary needs one too.  Perhaps it could be called The Menace.  Every week President Hillary would be faced with one of the world’s problems.  A team of experts would be on hand to advise Hillary.  In the final segment, Hillary would screw things up, and make the world a more dangerous place in which to live.  Then, she would lie about what she had done, and instead of saying “You’re fired!” she could screech “WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?”  So tune in again next week, same bitch time, same bitch channel.  Fade to black.

The weekend before election day on November 8 we will be turning our clocks back an hour.  That certainly seems appropriate because the Democrats always like to warn voters that, if elected, Republicans will “turn back the clock.”  Democrats have to say things like that.  As a Party with nothing to offer, all they can do is repeat their bread and butter lines.  “It will be another Vietnam” (any military operation). “It’s the worst economy since the Great Depression” (not Obama’s –  any Republican’s).  “The rich should pay their fair share” (the top 5% already pay 60% of the taxes, but that’s still not fair enough).  And of course, “Don’t let Republicans turn back the clock.”  The Democrats fancy themselves Progressives, you see, and the only way to “progress” is to change things.  The way that works is, anything that came before is no good and must be changed.  Changed to what?  Whatever they say.  “Hope and change,” right?  That’s progress.  Only it’s not.  Progressives don’t know better and their way is not the right way.  We are just finishing up 8 years of rampant progress under Il Duce Obama, who promised to “fundamentally transform” America into a socialist wonderland.  Nothing got better.  It got worse.  But, “don’t let Republicans turn back the clock.”  Why?  Well, that would hurt education.  Schools in big cities are failing and have been failing for 60 years.  Who’s been running the schools all that time?  Democrats.  But, the Republicans wouldn’t take care of people in the cities.  Big cities, and some not so big cities, are riddled with corruption and are going bankrupt.  Who runs all the big cities?  Democrats.  Yeah, but the Republicans would just give tax breaks to the rich, and tax cuts are just “trickle down” economics anyway.  Pardon me, but it’s the Democrats, under Il Duce Obama, who have artificially held down interest rates for 8 years, a policy which has enriched already rich stock traders, and hurt the poor and the elderly, who now get 0% interest on their savings.  Cutting taxes doesn’t work?  It worked in the 1920’s.  Coolidge cut taxes and government revenue increased.  In the 1960’s Democrat Lyndon Johnson cut the 90%  top tax rate to 70%, and government revenue increased.  In the 1980’s Reagan cut the 70% top rate to 28%, and government revenue doubled.  Incomes for working people in all groups increased dramatically.  But don’t turn back that clock.  Folks, the Democrats have stopped the economic clock, it’s now running backwards.  Yeah, but the Republicans, they would stop progress on civil rights.  Forgive me if I fail to see the progress.  Many people, many Republicans included, were positively giddy in 2008 over the election of Obama.  Here it was, the long struggle for equality was over.  An African-American President would end racial strife and bring us together.  There was even talk of a “post-racial” society.  How sweet that would have been, and I truly believe that Obama had an opportunity to do just that, if he’d had a mind to do it.  He didn’t.  Instead of bringing us together, Obama has taken every opportunity to tear us apart.  Henry Louis Gates got arrested.  Obama blamed the cop.  Travon Martin?  Obama stoked that fire.  Ferguson, Missouri?  Don’t burden him with the facts.  Obama sided with Black Lives Matter anarchists.  As I write this, there have been 2 days of rioting in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Barack Obama, the man who believes he’s in charge of everything, has not uttered one word about it, much less tried to defuse the situation.  Race relations are in worse shape now than at any time in the past 50 years.  In the last couple of years of Obama “progress,” we’ve had riots in Missouri, Maryland, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, California, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana and Utah.  Donald Trump keeps telling black voters, “vote for me, what do you have to lose?”  He’s not wrong about that.  But don’t turn back the clock.  If you’re a Democrat, there’s a good reason not to turn it back.  If they did, people might remember that it was Democrats who supported slavery, enacted Jim Crow laws to deny black citizens the protection of the Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution, and stopped every attempt to enact civil rights legislation for 100 years.  Democrats claim to have the solutions to all the problems that they, themselves, created.  They say that they’re progressive, but they refuse to acknowledge progress that’s right in front of their faces.  I’ll give you an example.  It’s what I like to call the 2 Sheriff Clarks.  When I was a kid, in the 1960’s we had Sheriff James Clark of Alabama.

Now this Sheriff Clark was a good Democrat.  He was also a virulent racist, who liked to release attack dogs and turn fire hoses on black people who dared to aspire to having basic human rights, including the right to vote.  The Democrats never complained about this Sheriff Clark back then.  He was too powerful.  And, of course, they don’t like to talk about him now.  Mustn’t turn back the clock, right?

Today, we have a new Sheriff Clarke.

That’s Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.  Progressives must be thrilled that a black man has been elected, and 3 times reelected, to such a position of responsibility, right?  Wrong.  Democrats hate and constantly criticize him.  What’s wrong with this Sheriff Clarke?  Well, it seems he doesn’t stand for lawbreaking, regardless of the race of the lawbreaker.  This Sheriff Clarke calls the cities, “cauldrons of anarchy and hatred” created by leftist policies.  He opposes Black Lives Matters.  The other day, he described what’s going on in North Carolina as “primitive, sub-human behavior.”  Worst of all, this Sheriff Clarke had the temerity to speak at the Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump.  What, an African-American man who holds public office, is not afraid to speak his mind, who rejects the liberal Democrat orthodoxy, and who’s unwilling to toil on the Democrat plantation?  Outrageous.  That can’t tolerated.  Sure it can.  To coin a term, let’s just call it progress, and we won’t even have to turn back the clock. 

Hillary Clinton has never been one to tell the truth when a simple lie will do.  This no doubt is the reason why some 70% of voters have concluded that she is untrustworthy.  Now, as Hillary’s presidential campaign, also known as, The Good Ship Lyingpop,  begins to sink, the lies are coming fast and furious, and even some in the media are finding it difficult to accept them at face value.  The main focus of the latest “Hilla lies” concerns her health.  Now, only a week ago, this was a subject that leftist media assured us was fodder only for right-wing kook conspiracy theorists.  After all, the Hillary camp had announced that she was in excellent health, and that was good enough for the media.  Indeed, any question about Hillary’s health was unfair, we were told.  As recently as September 12, we were warned that any question about Hillary being ill was also sexist.  Surprising this commentator not at all, the public has put no more credence in Hillary’s health lies than in any of her other falsehoods.  There’s no reason why we should believe anything she says, because the Clintons have been habitually lying to us for almost 25 years.  Let’s recap.  Dick Morris composed this list in 2008.

• She didn’t know about the FALN pardons.
• She didn’t know that her brothers were being paid to get pardons that Clinton granted.
• Taking the White House gifts was a clerical error.
• She didn’t know that her staff would fire the travel office staff after she told them to do so.
• She was instrumental in the Irish peace process.
• The White Water billing records showed up on their own.
• She thought Bill was innocent when the Monica scandal broke.
• She negotiated for the release of refugees in Macedonia (who were released the day before she got there).
• She was under sniper fire in Bosnia. (A girl presented her with flowers at the foot of the ramp.)  That was 8 years ago.  Hillary has labored on her lies since then.  Hillary lied about Benghazi.  While testifying before Congress about the killings, she even lied about having been subpoenaed to testify before Congress.  Her email scandal?  Let me count the lies documented by FBI Director Comey:   She didn’t send or receive any e-mails that were classified “at the time;”  she turned over all of her work-related e-mails; she wanted to use a personal e-mail account for convenience and simplicity, streamlining to one device; her use of a private server and e-mail domain was permitted by law and regulation; there were numerous safeguards against security breaches and “no evidence” of hacking; and she was never served a subpoena on her e-mail use.  All proven to be lies.  Hell, this is a woman who even lied about her own name.  While visiting Nepal, Hillary claimed she was named for Sir Edmund Hillary, who climbed Mt. Everest.  Only problem was she was born in 1947, and Sir Edmund didn’t become famous until 1953.  Oops.

Against this backdrop, why should it come as a surprise that Hillary Clinton is also lying about her health?  At the 911 memorial on Sunday, Hillary Clinton had one of her “spells” and had to leave abruptly.  While waiting (2 minutes) for her car, Hillary had to be supported by three people.  As she tried to enter the car, she took one step and collapsed.  Had the three people not been holding her, she would have face-planted in the street.  No problem, we were told.  She’s not sick, she just got over-heated and felt dizzy.  Later, when even the NY Times didn’t believe that story, we were told she had pneumonia.  On September 12, campaign staffers told reporters that the same pneumonia bug that got Hillary had sickened other campaign workers.  “Everyone’s been sick,” they claimed.  But there’s a problem.  Hillary’s doctor said she diagnosed the pneumonia September 2nd.  Then, when people questioned why Hillary would expose others, including children, to pneumonia, the doctor declared that Hillary has “non-contagious bacterial pneumonia.”  Only problem is that other doctors say there is no such disease.  Then there’s Chelsea Clinton.  On September 12, she said she didn’t even know her mother had pneumonia until she arrived at Chelsea’s apartment on the 11th.  Hillary supposedly had pneumonia for 9 days, and others in the campaign were sick, but Chelsea didn’t know?  How could Chelsea know before September 12?  It’s obvious that Hillary didn’t “contract” pneumonia until it became necessary to admit to some malady.  That’s when they decided on pneumonia.  It is equally obvious that Clinton is lying once again to hide the real cause of her falls, coughing fits and stumbles.  What’s the truth?  Who knows?  During the summer, information attributed to Secret Service sources alleged that Hillary suffers from seizures brought on by flashing lights.  This notion was quickly trashed by the media.  How dare anyone suggest such a thing?  Really?  Then why is Hillary wearing blue lens, anti-seizure eyeglasses on September 11th?

But we mustn’t speculate right?  Hillary has no neurological problem, just pneumonia since September 2nd?  Then why is she being helped up the stairs in August?

Something clearly does not add up.   To hear her tell it, in a short period of time, Hillary went from perfectly healthy, to dehydrated, to suffering pneumonia, to, but it’s only pneumonia from non-contagious bacteria.  Hillary practices a theory perfected by her husband.  It’s what I like to call “a movable truth.”  The truth is whatever they need to tell you at any particular moment.  Don’t like it?  Wait a minute, it will change.  We don’t know what we’ll hear next.  We only know whatever she says is bound to be a lie.  But we’re supposed to believe it.  Hillary treats the voters like children.  Her campaign has become a nursery rhyme.  “Mother, mother, I am sick.  Call for the doctor, call for the nurse.  Call for the lady with the alligator purse.”  They’ve already compromised the doctor and the nurse.  If a woman shows up with an alligator purse, look out.  Hillary’s spokes-stooge was right.  Everyone’s sick of Hillary’s bullcrap.