The Electoral College Problem

The Electoral College Problem

By D. S. Mitchell

Losing While Winning

I believe whoever wins the most popular votes should become president of the United States. Unfortunately, with the Electoral College system that is not what happens. Twice in the last five elections the candidate that became president of the United States lost the popular vote. Donald Trump, won by less than 80,000 votes in four key electoral college states. He simultaneously lost the national popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.

The GOP Solution

The Electoral College system has become a tool for the Republicans in their effort to lock in one party control of government. Elie Mystal in a recent editorial in The Nation magazine wrote the GOP solution to changing demographics is to “forge a new theory of government where the rule by a white minority can withstand the popular will”. The nature of that effort was clear during Trump’s recent impeachment trial. Republicans desperate to acquit Trump wrapped their arms around a group of discredited legal theories. The Senators embraced a view of executive power and privilege, that ultimately denies our democracy and anoints a king.

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Our Primary Responsibility

Our Primary Responsibility

By Wes Hessel

We Have A Choice To Make

The run up to the presidential election, this year on November 3rd is two tiered. The last pair of events in the process are the conventions of the two main political parties, where they nominate their candidates for president. Interestingly, the delegates to those conventions are chosen by a system of state primaries and caucuses.

Primarily Choosing Or, Caucus Talk-ups

To clarify the nominating process; most states hold primary elections,  a few others hold caucuses. Presidential primary elections are held by the states that have them, with primary elections for state, county or municipal offices. Caucuses however, are “private” events, run by the party whose delegates are being chosen.

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SILLY TRUMP WORD CHAIN

SILLY TRUMP WORD CHAIN

By D. S. Mitchell

Change Gears

Let's change gears

Time to change gears, it’s Saturday afternoon

For at least a couple of hours every Saturday and Sunday I try to come up with fun distractions; for myself and my readers. So, it’s playtime again here at Calamity Politics. I love word chains. So today I have decided to play with some words, with a little politics thrown in for fun. Hope that doesn’t bother you. Of course, I know you love politics, or you wouldn’t be reading Calamity News and Politics.

Rod L. Evans, Word Magician

A word chain consists of a group of words arranged so that each word differs by only one letter from the words directly before and after it. So here we go. I have to admit that I cheated today and I am using  Rod L. Evans, Ph.D. ‘Tyrannosaurus Lex’ for today’s’ game. Thanks, Mr. Evans. Please check out his several books on Amazon.

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Windsor Mann: Asking The Right Question

Windsor Mann:

Asking The Right Question

By D. S. Mitchell

Introducing Windsor Mann

If you haven’t heard of  Windsor Mann (@WindsorMann), please, let me introduce you. Windsor is a well-known opinion and commentary  writer.  If you read The Week, Politico, Huffington Post, you have probably had an introduction. I love his stuff.  In one recent piece he envisioned a time in the near future when ex-president Trump will call into Fox & Friends and no one will pick up. Prediction of a humiliating end for Trump is not the only thing Mr. Mann is writing about. Today, in The Week magazine, Windsor Mann asked a necessary question.

How Old?

Trump has  been Tweeting for six months about serving more than two terms (yeah, I know he’s already as old as Methuselah). If he wins a second term he will be 80 at the end of the legal terms of service. He already has so many symptoms of dementia I hope the younger generation steps in and says, “Hell, NO”! People have been questioning Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders age and acting as if Trump is in his right mind. What about Trump’s age and his physical and mental shortcomings? He has been crowned, in a backroom somewhere, king of the moronic sentence.

Threats And Bullying

Trump has warned of socialism, economic collapse, treason, the loss of Christianity, the 2nd Amendment, and Civil War 2 if he is not re-elected, or if he is impeached and removed from office. Hmm. Quite self-serving. Just like his proclamation that “only I can fix it”. This is narcissism at its most outrageous. Continue reading

OPINION: Trump Keeps Up The Shock Treatment

Calamity and Lucifer Can't believe what they are hearing?

Are you listening to the “National Moron”? Trump is in full meltdown. Don’t worry Lucifer, the guys in white jackets with injectable medication are on their way, I think. Careful, kitty, I’ve read he’s “pathologically dangerous”.

OPINION:

Trump Keeps Up The Shock Treatment

By D. S. Mitchell

“Unhinged” In Real Time

I had to get off Twitter, to write this post. I’ve watched the ‘National Moron’s’ press conference. What an embarrassment to our country. His misdirected anger, his contentious behavior, his defiance, his lies, his betrayal of our country, his vile insults against an elected congressman, his cursing, even his attempted fondling of the Finnish president’s leg. Anyone watching this horror show, can’t continue to support this very damaged man. He is as #Omarosa said, in her book about her time in the White House, “Unhinged.” In addition to the Omarosa book, I refer my readers to, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” from 2017. Available on Amazon.

“The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump”

The “Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” was a compilation of 27 essays written by no less than 37 psychiatrists and a variety of mental health professionals. The book  published in 2017, came early in Trump’s administration. The book describes Donald Trump as “psychologically dangerous”.  Using the “duty to inform and protect” the co-authors lay out the dangers a Trump presidency. These mental health professionals see Trump as “a clear and present danger.”  What we saw this morning in the Oval Office was a president in mental collapse. ** (That book has been updated, though I admit, I have not yet seen it).

“Perfect Call”

Trump and the White House have totally implicated themselves. They admitted to the crime and then provided proof of that criminal activity. Now we’ve got Trump claiming the whistleblower is lying. The truth here is, that Trump has confirmed nearly everything in the whistleblower complaint. How can the president be allowed to continue his smear of the whistleblower and private citizens. It is outrageous.  This call was not “perfect”. Nor was it placed by a “perfectly stable genius”. Instead we have a glass-chewing maniac, performing as a mafia boss, extorting an underling.

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“No Whitewash At The White House”

By D. S. Mitchell

In 1973, Richard Nixon declared, “there can be no whitewash at the White House.” That was all theory, not reality.

Then And Now

After, protests and investigations, Nixon finally resigned, before impeachment.  I wonder if President Trump will resign?  It’s possible he will order military defense of his position.  Don’t laugh.  Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it can’t, or won’t.  Thank you Founding Fathers, for the Second Amendment.

In My Defense

In defense of myself, the information is coming so fast it is hard to make sense of it

In defense of myself, the information is coming in so fast it is hard to keep track of it all.

I started Calamity Politics because I wanted to express my  frustrations as to the direction I saw the country going.  It was necessary to keep from losing my frigging liberal mind. I try to focus on news and facts. I try to support my statements with at least two sources. With this post, there are so many sources I can’t count them all.  I’ve thrown all previous behaviors to the wind, and this post is from the gut, as the guys say.

I Had A Husband Once

I had a husband once.  He believed, “if you repeat a lie,  enough times, most people believe it.”  Or, at least believe, there must be something behind all the smoke. On the other hand, I am more of the, “You can fool all the people some of the time.  You can fool some of the people, part of the time,  but you can never fool all the people, all the time.”  I believe we are about to find out which theory holds water.  I’ve got my fingers crossed.  There’s a lot at stake here; 240 years of our constitutional democracy.

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What Flag is Flying Over the White House?

By D. S. Mitchell

A Long Relished Impeachment

I went to bed, watching MSNBC’s The 11th Hour w/Brian Williams. I don’t know when I fell asleep. The station played while I slept fitfully, visions of impeachment dancing in my head.  The thoughts of the long relished impeachment of Donald J. Trump seemed to be sharing stage with another vision. Red, white, and blue, spun polyester twisted weirdly on a brisk breeze. Even in my confused sleep, I knew something was wrong.  Something was very wrong.

What Flag Flies?

I couldn’t make sense of it.  What the fuck?  Confused, I twisted my head back and forth trying to clear the distorted image. Why does the flag look so strange?  The stars; where are the stars?  OMG.  The stripes aren’t the stripes of My flag, and My country.  The flag flying over this nightmare White House is strange to me. Suddenly, in my restless dream I identified the tri-stripe red, white, and blue of Russia.

Ukrainian Special Envoy Resigns

My eyes flew open.  Joe and Mika were talking with the usual crowd at the “Morning Joe” conference table. The topic centered around Ukrainian Special Envoy, Kurt Volker’s sudden and unexpected resignation.  I shook my head. The rest of the commentary centered on Trump officials and outliers like Rudy Colludy making a sweating fool of himself on numerous cable channels over the week-end.

Rudy Colludy

“Since when does the personal attorney for a president become an arm of the U.S. State Department?” I found myself asking. It seems Rudy has mixed several roles in his Ukrainian campaign. Official, unofficial, who the hell cares, he says. I think a whole bunch of us care, Rudy. Since when does the personal attorney to a sitting president change hats from hour to hour. Rudy’s conflict of interest is blinding. The intent to interfere in an American election is screaming for attention. Rudy has gone from an admired former mayor of New York City to a social pariah. He has cemented his legacy as a treacherous colluder.  I am curious; just who is paying him?  I doubt it is Donald Trump.

Nightmares

I know there is a lot of political wrangling going on in the Congress. The Trump coalition is claiming another “witch-hunt”. The Dems are claiming treachery, obstruction of justice, bribery, and election tampering, for starters. Impeachment is becoming a reality. Personally, from what I can see, Trump went on national television and admitted that in his “perfect” conversations with the Ukrainian president Zelensky he tried to blackmail and coerce a foreign official to dig up dirt on a political opponent. What are the Republicans claiming? That Trump didn’t say it? Please. After a criminal admits his guilt his attorney cannot deny culpability; as long as the criminal is deemed to be sane.

Putin The Beneficiary

The conversation seems focused on Trump’s conversations with Ukrainian officials. Yes, the Ukraine is a major player, but certainly not the single most important participant in this scandal. Behind the curtain is the true manipulator of our foreign policy, Vladimir Putin. Trump has spoken to him via telephone no less than 12 times. He has met personally with the Russian president at least twice. I want to see those conversations. When we do, I’m sure we will find Putin behind Trump’s activities. Impeachment is unavoidable. Trump won’t permit anything else. He cannot be constrained by the Constitution, so it is up to the Congress to bridle this out of control dictator, while we can still claim a government.

RESIST, CONFRONT and VOTE.

D. S. Mitchell

30 Things To Smile About; Despite Trump

30 Things To Smile About

By D. S. Mitchell

I Underestimated His Evil

I have to admit, I underestimated The Donald. I had predicted a disastrous presidency if Trump won the 2016 election, but I had no idea how totally incompetent and evil his presidency would quickly become. Every day newspaper headlines blast his criminality, his race baiting, his sexism, his xenophobia, his mob-style behavior, yet the Jester of Crime continues to break the law and his supporters do nothing but deflect and promote his lies.

Six Blog Posts A Day

I am finding that there is enough scandal, dirt, and disgust to give  enough fodder for at least half a dozen blog posts every day. It is more and more obvious that the scurrilous and scandalous actions of Trump and his corrupt and sycophant cabinet and his prostituted DOJ needs to end. Sooner, than later.  But I thought, before I start today’s rant on the collapse of American law, dignity and civility, I should deliver something positive and uplifting.

I’ve had a bit of a problem with positivity these days, but here goes;

“30 Things To Make You Smile; Despite Trump”

(1.) Building sand castles, (2.) Coming in 1st, (3.) Kids in sunglasses, (4.) Puppies & kittens, (5.) Kite flying, (6.) A freshly painted room,  (7.) “Fish On!”, (8.) Blowing the wrapper off the straw, (9.) Pumpkin pie, (10.) Farmer’s Markets, (11.) Bar-hopping, (12.) Old jeans that fit just right, (13.) My mother’s brilliant smile, (14.) The clatter of skis being loaded, (15.) The aroma of bacon cooking, (16.) The sound of rain on the metal roof, (17.) The imagination of a six-year-old, (18.) Margaritas at midnight, (19.) Finishing the Sunday crossword (without cheating), (20.) Those really BIG M & M cookies, (21.) A shiny, new car, (22.) Roller Derby antics, ( 23.) A job well-done, (24.) A good book, (25.) Daddy’s  quiet wisdom, (26) Another, “Fish On!”, (27.) Day hikes, (28.) A good Twitter fight, (29.) Watching Elizabeth Warren work a rally crowd, (30.) A day at the lake.

How about a few more?

I could probably come up with a few more.  How about ? (31.) Autumn leaves, (32) Michelle Obama (33.) Popcorn and a movie, (34.) Family reunions, (35.) Protesting, (36.) Playing toe Tango, with you know who, (37.) Having the right answer, the first time, (38.) Old time rock-n-roll, (39.) Time alone, (40.) Quiet times, (41.) Teddy bears, (42.) Documentary films.  Ok, enough, enough.

A Sunday Morning

Just a minor distraction for a rainy Sunday morning, but it did take my mind off the continuing chaos and treachery of the Trump administration. If you got a couple of minutes respite, that’s a good thing. Have a gem of a day-D.S. Mitchell

Get Involved

Be sure to get involved politically. Start by registering to vote. Make a promise that you will never miss an election. Every single election will have a very real effect. We can’t save the country from the Don of Crime if we don’t support anti-corruption laws. We must back our investigators in the House, men like Adam Schiff, who are leading the investigation into the underbelly of Republican operatives and dark money contributions.

JOIN THE RESISTANCE. VOTE BLUE.

 

“Every Heartbeat Hurts”

“Every Heartbeat Hurts”

By D. S. Mitchell

“Imagine a child trying to describe how trauma physically feels and saying to you, “Every heartbeat hurts.” Our government is tearing children apart and using their pain for political purposes”. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley (Twitter 9/5/2019).

If you are ignoring the plight of the immigrant children at our border, shame on you.  The manipulation of their immigration tragedy for Trump’s political base is both alarming and  disgusting. There are many days between now and the 2020 presidential election. These kids can’t wait. Call your Senator and demand that these children be released to family members in the United States, or other suitable foster care.

I called. So should you.

 

 

Trumpism Is Unsustainable

Calamity face

I am on a mission to make sure that Donald Trump is a one term president. Voter Blue.

Trumpism Is Unsustainable

By D. S. Mitchell

My Personal Mission

Trumpism is unsustainable. Donald Trump has been in office for two and a half years. Since November 9th, 2016 I have made it my personal mission to call out our faux president every chance I get for his scandalous and corrupt behavior. I challenge anyone, Republican or Democrat to name any president in our 200 year plus history that was worse than this guy. Trump is in fact a risk to the country, in every way imaginable.  He is a reckless and hate filled demagogue.

Temperamentally Unfit

Trump’s chaotic thinking and his emotional volatility are, in fact, a danger to the country he administers. In my most wild nightmares, I never imagined the potential of such a soulless narcissist ever being elected to any office in the country, much less the presidency. His behavior over the last week has raised both tempers and eyebrows. The local volunteer Fire Department has had to stop by my house several times to put my ‘hair fire’ out.

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