here's to hoping his "Brand" soon follows suit

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Saturday November 07, 2020 · 3:46 PM PST

2020/11/07 · 15:46

Can I take a moment to fantasize about something I’d like to see go away with the loser of the 2020 election?

His Brand

For 14 years, this failure of a businessman used a TV show to prop up an image of success and wealth. It was never like that. 4 (or is it 5) bankruptcies, constant defaults, and a man so leveraged the banks were scared to cash in the loans for fear of how much money they would lose. Sounds like somewhere the Russians gave him a hand and I’m still looking forward to see how much laundry they did.

But the longer he stays in there and pounds the tiny fists on the table, the more damage he does to the one thing he still had of any value, the Trump name and brand

Buildings have already been removing it, and with the exceptions of the ones he owns, I’m hoping no one wants to ever put his name on another building again, no failed universities, no shitty steaks, no airlines

He is a small and petty man, and nothing would bring me further joy than to see him lose what he loves the most, his image and reputation. (well, and Jail time, but I’m realistic — he can and probably will protect himself with pardons)

But let no one ever buy his crappy books, or his condos, or stay in his hotels again — Let his presidential library be a bedroom replica with a stained bathrobe, a greasy Iphone, and an empty KFC bucket — it’s all the legacy he deserves

May his name be a curse like Benedict and Adolf, and may the name Trump become synonymous with failed businesses here on out and in my lifetime I hope and expect to see every other building bearing his name taken down and removed.

Last night, we lost - but so did the other side, methinks

whiskeytown

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Wednesday November 09, 2016 · 11:52 AM PST

2016/11/09 · 11:52

There’s going to be a thousand books written on this campaign, for a hundred years or more.   If I had two short takeaways, though, it would be this.
1. — Democrats lost — obviously you don’t need me to tell you this, but we lost due to lower turnout This is on us — there’s a thousand fingers that will be pointed, but if we couldn’t match our 2012 turnout, that’s on us cause Trump didn’t break Romney’s or McCain in many places, and we lost badly downballot as well — Russ Feingold would have been a wonderful asset back in the Senate. Today we lick our wounds

2. — Today, Trump supporters think they won.   They celebrate and rejoice because they won this round
But Trump has one skill, really only one skill — he’s good at suckering people. But he is unable to follow thru on his promises.   Ask investors in his University, or the employees of his casino, or the hundreds of people who claim he’s cheated them out of payment, or the bankers stuck with him in his 4 Bankruptcy proceedings

He cannot help the working middle-class, and will only seek his own gain and profit.   He has no plan, his advisors are just the same ol’ shitty Republicans who were around 4 and 8 years ago, and he’s got to get everything by a congress that thinks Government should do nothing but pay their salaries and shrivel and die. Even if he had a good idea like expanded infrastructure spending that would help working class Americans, I don’t see Paul Ryan allowing it thru

Remember how this loss of hope and fear feels today, and maybe the anger a little too — because Trump supporters are going to be feeling it in droves in 2 years, and again in 4 years — we won’t get the racists or xenophobes to change their tune, but people looking for hope and finding nothing will look once again for someone ready to stand up for Middle-Class and Working-Class Americans

Let’s have a bullpen ready to go and waiting for them —

today, and maybe tomorrow and maybe for a few days I grieve, but then I’m coming back to fight

---------—
P.S. — and because not everyone’s saying it, I will — Thank you Hillary Clinton — you were like Gandalf standing in the breech in front of the Balrog there, and not everyone in this forum today appreciates it, but I did and I think you would have made a wonderful President — godspeed

Confession: I don't want Donald Trump to drop out

whiskeytown

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Friday October 07, 2016 · 4:36 PM PDT

2016/10/07 · 16:36

Is he one of the worst fucking human beings to ever inhale air — I’m kinda thinking so
Are his Alt-right nazi and white nationalist supporters utter deplorables — hell yes

Do I want him to lose the election in a blowout that does incalculable harm to his business ventures and his reputation? Hell yes.

SHOULD he drop out? If he had any honor, yes

But I don’t want him to — I want him to be the anchor that sinks the GOP, his businesses, and his followers — and based on an initial check on Twitter, the deplorables are nowhere near abandoning their messiah — to them this is a free speech issue, and they are accusing it of being a distraction against the Wikileaks release today — let’s face it, if they idolize the holocaust, they’re not going to give a shit about Trump’s encouragement of rape culture

good….please proceed, deplorables...please proceed

and make sure you’re registered, people

www.vote.org/… pax

Watching the Media eviscerate Donald Trump has been a true pleasure this week

whiskeytown

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Thursday June 02, 2016 · 7:12 PM PDT

2016/06/02 · 19:12

Trump has a number of ways to explain the several contradictory positions he’s taken this campaign. In some cases, he claims to just be making suggestions or evolving (build a wall, ban all muslims? I didn’t mean that — I was just speculating — kinda the way I did about Obama’s Birth Certificate) — in other cases he says he’s being made to do things by higher powers like take SuperPAC money cause the RNC asked him when he told his supporters he wouldn’t.

(side tangent — really, the RNC made him DO something? — REALLY?)
but my favorite is when he makes a claim, and makes a totally different one a few weeks later, due to his utter lack of grounding in things like Foreign Policy. Let’s give Japan Nukes and walk away from the Asian Theater….no wait, I never said that and anyone who says I did is a goddamn liar — and let’s give a 40 minute speech whining about how much they lie

except...well, no the Video and transcripts are pretty clear. This is what happens when you don’t actually know anything about policy and just make shit up all day long. Sooner or later you’re contradicting yourself and looking a little dumb.
I’m thinking at this point most news organizations are going to take the attacks as an attempt to bully free speech and will be much more critical of his statements in the weeks to come — it won’t alter that 20-30% of the electorate that likes bullies and will embrace him even if he DOES shoot someone in Times Square, but by going after a free press, and making it personal, it’s my hope that they begin holding him to the fire for his constantly shifting and made-up positions and Americans really have a good indication of what kind of despicable human being he really is

I don’t want him beaten this fall, I want him electorally crushed and his reputation in ruins — bullies deserve no less

In theory, Bernie could win the Democratic Nomination...key word being "theory"

whiskeytown

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Thursday May 19, 2016 · 4:50 PM PDT

2016/05/19 · 16:50

I often use that word when illustrating a point — let me give you an example.

In theory, I could see every child old enough to hold a 9mm handgun armed and carrying one on their hip 24/7 — for example, if we were invaded by ALIEN TIGERS, who liked to eat kids, and could teleport in and out of places at will, it would make total sense to put a Beretta 9mm in every kid’s hand and kiss them on the forehead as we send them off to school — I mean, let’s not fuck around here — we’re talking alien tigers now. This is bad shit — only secondary to those temporal king cobras.
BUT to make that argument, I have to basically result to an “ad absurdm” argument — which is to say IF a bunch of improbable conditions are met, then it’s possible, therefore I should prepare for that contingency.

so in THEORY, Bernie and his “if we can’t have it, no one can, burn the motherfucker down” supporters can win. A meteor may hit a building full of super delegates — Hillary might be caught doing a line of Coke on camera — yes, even Alien Tigers could come and make her look weak on gun control. Virtually any outcome is possible, but virtually all of them are so improbable as to make the likelihood at this point negligible.

We know that the more combative he gets, he makes it less likely a super delegate would switch their vote even if they had their doubts and that is the sole source of votes going forward after June 7th — going all “well, you should vote as the state voted” is both a bogus argument and a disingenuous one. I recognize this is Bernie’s first Democratic Campaign rodeo, but he knew how the rules worked when he got onboard, and yes, the process is such where almost no one can lock up a nomination without superdelegates, and he should have known that from the outset. Hillary has won a majority of State contests, and a majority of both pledged and unpledged delegates, and 99 times out of 100, she’s going to be the nominee every time at this point in the process.

Things have to be taken away from the process, and lessons have to be learned, but Bernie should realize this campaign is about to wrap up, and he should be getting his supporters ready, and he should be out there on the stump railing against Donald Trump — the current rhetoric he and his supporters are floating out there threaten to turn him into 2016’s Ralph Nader, and we all know how much we loved THAT guy after 2000. It would be a shitty ending to a great campaign and legacy and I hope he smartens up.
In Theory, could he win the nomination — yes, and in theory, I could marry Rihanna — but it’s time for realism to prevail on both issues and just admit it’s pretty likely it’s not going to happen and move forward with beating a man who represents the worst parts of America, the authoritarian thug Donald Trump

An open letter to my friends who are supporting Donald Trump

whiskeytown

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Wednesday May 04, 2016 · 5:14 PM PDT

2016/05/04 · 17:14

I’ll probably post this on my Facebook wall tomorrow morning and leave it up for a couple days — then I’ll go off Facebook and ride out the shitstorm at a bookstore or something

An open letter to my Republican friends supporting or thinking about supporting or voting for Donald Trump

Hey guys, WT here - I know we have our differences - I see your FB feeds with the latest right-wing conspiracy theories and the Anti-Obama and Hillary memes. I know most of you would rather burn your houses down than see a President Hillary Clinton, and that's fine, I get it. She excites me as much as getting a dental crown before I found out about the Nitrous Oxide.

I also THINK Hillary will probably win a match-up over Donald Trump. He could get lucky, and that's not good, but he'll probably lose. So what I have to say PROBABLY doesn't even matter. Many of my Republican friends think I should be happy and excited because there's a better than even chance that down-ballot candidates are going to also take a beating with Trump at the top and that Democrats could retake one or both houses of Congress

But I'm not happy about it. I'm actually bummed - what bugs me is friends and a political party I used to support falling for a snake-oil salesman. What bothers me is friends embracing the closest thing to an Authoritarian thug either party has put up in my 30 years of following politics. What bothers me is that as Trump debases American discourse, so he also debases those who support him as President.

And to those Evangelicals and Christians that I know, I would charge that he also debases Christianity when he tries to wrap it around him. I feel like I have to repudiate and denounce his version of Christianity the way people ask Muslims to denounce the act of Islamic Extremists. I know the voice of my Shepherd, and it sounds nothing like Donald Trump.

I don't say this because I want Hillary to win. And I'd never say it about any other Republican candidate, including Ted Cruz (although most of his colleagues would.) I'm not thrilled about her, and would have honestly given a couple Republican candidates a closer look had it been them heads up against Hillary.

At this point, I would understand if you chose to not vote, go Libertarian -(I heard searches for Gary Johnson are way up) and you could certainly write me in if you wish. :D I'm like 100% certain I was born on American soil and wouldn't be disqualified.

But don't support Donald Trump. Do not soil your soul by association with that piece of crap. I think history is full of people who voted for candidates out of fear or party loyalty and later came to regret it. I think authoritarians can be elected to power as easily as they can take it with a gun. And in my deepest darkest paranoid thoughts, I think the walls he wants to build to keep the "others" out are the same ones that can be used to keep you in after he started a trade war and tanked the American Economy.

He offers nothing and lies to your face then turns around two days later and says "No, I didn't say that" He preys upon your fears, your loss, and promises you the moon but won't say how he'll get you there. He's like one of those pick-up artists who keeps trying to get you to say yes to things you like until it feels so good you'll want to say yes to falling into bed with him. It is the ultimate con job, and you can do better than this in 4 years.

if I didn't care I'd just shut the heck up and go back to my video games or technical study...heck, it probably won’t even matter cause he’ll probably bomb the general election. But I do care about you guys and should you choose to support him in November, you will get to remember that vote for the rest of your lives and I think many if not most of you will look back on it with shame. And on a personal note, I feel like I have to be one of those who stands up and says #NeverTrump and be on record saying it for now and future generations.

Remind everyone - $174,000/yr is what we pay those bums

whiskeytown

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Wednesday February 24, 2016 · 2:30 PM PST

2016/02/24 · 14:30

there is an excellent article by Josh at TalkingPointsMemo about the weakness of Mitch McConnell’s position regarding his obstruction of President Obama’s SCOTUS nominees.   It’s also been noted by several people, including Edward Snowden, where I first saw it, that this could drive voter turnout this fall, and that historically, Democrats do better with increased voter turnout.

What we need to do now is remind everyone from now until election day that we pay Mitch McConnell and his ilk $174,000/yr to literally do nothing.   We pay them to not do their job, and we pay them a ridiculous amount of money to do it.

For that kind of money we could buy 5800 Garden Gnomes at $30 apiece, and put one in Mitch’s chair and get the exact same level of leadership and commitment to doing the job.   From now until election day, on social media, in our feeds, and our conversations — we need to remind everyone how much we pay these men and how little we get from it

I believe part of the anti-establishment wave that Trump and Sanders represent is caused by the utter ineffectiveness of this Republican Led Congress who chose obstruction and self-interest over competent governance.    I think Congress currently has an 11% approval rating and I’d like to see it get into single digits before Nov.
Throw the Republican bums out, donate to your candidates, back Democrats even if they aren’t our first choice, and take back the country — we need leaders, not Garden Gnomes running the senate

Every time I see an "Obama wants my guns" post on Facebook, I think "Chickenshit"

whiskeytown

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Tuesday January 05, 2016 · 8:17 PM PST

2016/01/05 · 20:17

I live in AK now and I own guns. This is reality — we are not in a state with the most plentiful law enforcement and we have more than a few unhealthy critters around that could be dissuaded as well as a few that could be consumed.   We may also have drunk drivers occasionally in our back yard who are hostile. Having said that I’m all for common sense gun controls — background checks for example. I also realize that while I may want a gun or two, I do not need twenty, and I don’t need to carry them on my hip for the world to see, and I don’t need them because I am shitting my pants in fear all day long.
Every time a Republican opens his mouth, he says “we don’t need more laws — we need better enforcement” — well, they’re partially right about that — and that’s what President Obama is spelling out. It also needs funding and every one of those Republican douchebags will vote against that cause u know, funding government is the devils work, or at least not healthy when it comes primary time. And they’ll fund raise against it, and fume, etc.

But when I see my facebook feed full of “Ehrm Ma Gawd — Dictator Hussein Obama gonna take my guns — ‘ Murica, Jesus, and Smith and Wesson forever” — I just want to say the same thing over and over….”you chichenshits”

“You chickenshit — are you really so afraid you’ll give up intelligence for a .44? Are you so fucking scaredy pants you need to find ways to buy guns on the black market so the Government won’t find them?   Are you such a coward you feel the only way to feel any power left in the world is to strap a pistol on your hip and let everyone see what a bad guy you really are?   Are you so fucking blind you don’t see part of the feeling of powerlessness you have isn’t because of Muslims, or War, or Government but because the Corporate structure is squeezing every drop of middle class income out of you and putting in their drinks and that owning 30 guns won’t change that?”

but my wife is in a job where appearances matter, and Republicans make choices on employment and judgements based on Spouses sometimes — I am a free man but she is not a free woman —

so maybe I’m a bit of a chickenshit too —

But I will say it here “All you gun-fetishists are a bunch of cowardly chickenshits
C-H-I-C-K-E-N-S-H-I-T-S”
God bless ‘Murica

and So the 2nd debate ends

whiskeytown

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Thursday September 17, 2015 · 12:51 AM PDT

2015/09/17 · 00:51

And so the 2nd Republican debate ends – (well, 4 hrs later for me)

first off - none of this is to be taken as an endorsement - I did this for my Republican friends - Go Bernie! - (well, maybe but anyways) - read my previous post for my reason to watch tonight's debate.

My initial takeaway is there are going to be a lot of hedge fund managers who are going to be crying in their chardonnay and caviar tonight – no one likes a special tax break for a guy who just manages other people's money, apparently.

But this was about the Candidates – Here's what I remember mostly off the top of my head – in the order I remember them from left to right

whiskeytown

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Wednesday September 16, 2015 · 4:24 PM PDT

2015/09/16 · 16:24

A Republican Friend has asked for Liberals and Non-Republicans to give their opinion on the Republican Debates and the Candidates- I am a bit of a political junkie and I figured I'd give him my fair (and what will try to be unbiased) assessment of the 2nd Presidential Debate tonight and I told Dallas I'd try to give it before watching any punditry or web assessments of the candidates so as not to cloud my judgment.

Just to give u an idea where I'm coming from

until 2004 I voted Republican. After 2004 I consider myself a left of Center who wants more Democratic policies put into place. I think the pendulum has swung too far to the right (as it sometimes does) and needs a course correction

I tend to stick to NPR, Fareed Zakaria, and some of the CNN Pundit shows as well as PBS for most of my news sources - I recognize the bias in MSNBC and Fox and don't waste too much time there.

I was a Broadcasting Major in College (where is where I met Dallas) and I have a pretty high B.S. detector - but I'll try to leave it turned off during the debate :D

I also have a general idea on elections that I'm looking for tonight. I believe that to win a presidential election you have to be FOR something. I believe both parties (Kerry in 2004, Romney in 2012) tried the "Vote for me, cause I'm not that other guy"" hey, that'll get you 40-45% of the way there for sure. Inspiration on the other hand will drive it over the edge - I think this is why if Saunders gets the nomination, he actually has a shot to drive voter turnout on the D side to new levels of involvement.

I'm looking for someone similar on the Republican side who inspires. It seems the best they've been able to do the last few cycles is drag out the bones of Ronald Reagan and say "vote for us, and we'll be like him" Chris Christie had an open door and the Koch's/Kissinger were trying to push him thru it in 2012 and he snoozed and I think he'll regret that till the end of his days in office.

I think Trump is trying to tap into that Tea Party Populist anger to get elected but has no clear definable purpose other than self-glorification. I hope someone hands his hair to him tonight, quite frankly. So if I have immediate bias on the candidates, it is against Donald Trump - should he be elected, every bad and cynical thought I've had about the intelligence of humanity gets validated - so let's not let that happen, R's

Interested in Rubio and Carly even though the narrative of the last 8 years has been that Obama is too inexperienced as just a one term Senator. Hard to see how Rubio and Carly overcome that hump but no one seems to care past the Primaries anyways. At least Romney had real Governor Executive experience, which I believe is different than CEO experience but some skillsets transfer and Carly is here because of her last debate performance so let's see if she shines.

Ben Carson....he probably won't get it but I trust his evangelical credentials over anyone else on the stage. Curious if he renews his attacks against Trump's faith or lack thereof.

Jeb Bush - what happened? What will u do and how will u fix it?

More to follow and if I can I will try to catch the early debate as well

A friend of mine released an album - reminds me of Robert Reich meets Steinbeck meets Woody Guthrie

whiskeytown

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Tuesday May 05, 2015 · 3:33 PM PDT

2015/05/05 · 15:33

A friend of mine recently released an album - he's done about 60 in the last 20 years, but what struck me about his new release is how populist and relevant it feels to the present day.

His name is Bill Mallonee, and he's played under the moniker of the Vigilantes of Love in the 90's for Capricorn, was an Americana folk hero in the early 00's, and has become a friend of mine over the years.. Label and band woes have plagued him since day one and now he's firmly in the DIY workethic and album distribution..

whiskeytown

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Monday November 17, 2014 · 8:52 PM PST

2014/11/17 · 20:52

as per the local Anchorage press and his facebook wall

https://www.facebook.com/...

"Serving Alaska in the U.S. Senate has been a tremendous honor. Today I spoke with Dan Sullivan and encouraged him to adopt a bipartisan resolve in the U.S. Senate.

I will always be involved in my community, and the results of an election have never diminished my desire or passion to make Alaska a better place."

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here's to hoping his "Brand" soon follows suit

Last night, we lost - but so did the other side, methinks

Confession: I don't want Donald Trump to drop out

Watching the Media eviscerate Donald Trump has been a true pleasure this week

In theory, Bernie could win the Democratic Nomination...key word being "theory"

An open letter to my friends who are supporting Donald Trump

Remind everyone - $174,000/yr is what we pay those bums

Every time I see an "Obama wants my guns" post on Facebook, I think "Chickenshit"

and So the 2nd debate ends

Going to review the Candidates tonight

A friend of mine released an album - reminds me of Robert Reich meets Steinbeck meets Woody Guthrie

Mark Begich offically concedes in AK