Trump Rally In Mobile

I actually didn't know about this until this morning, not that I would have done anything differently with my day. But as I read the accounts of the event I see some interesting things unfolding. Every news service is giving a different count of how many showed up, but nobody is seeking the local fire marshal, THE guy who has to know, for the number. They're all using estimates that vary considerably.

Also, a small single engine plane towing a "Jeb" banner flew over the stadium to taunt the Trump supporters. Minutes later, a large jet with Trump's logo circled the stadium. A big fat "suck it" to Bush. Most humorous.

But what I am really bothered to see are things like comparisons between Trump and George Wallace, which is absolute foolishness. Wallace is best known for his infamous "Segregation today, Segregation tomorrow, Segregation forever" speech and for standing in front of a school to protest the admission of black students. Few people understand that Wallace was just pandering for votes. Only a few years later and then for the rest of the time he was governor, Wallace pandered specifically for black votes. And he got them. Black voters kept him in the governor's mansion for many terms because he bribed them with enhanced state benefits and state-created jobs specifically set aside for black people. He sold this as his way to reconcile the past. And it worked.

I am also bothered by how many of the comments on these various news services are suggesting that Trump is trying to court the "Racist Southern Redneck" vote. This is bigoted and prejudicial on a grand scale. I can't believe that in the 21st century people still feel like they have some sort of right to bash people, fellow Americans at that, for simply living in the south. I'm from California and live in Atlanta. None of my family was ever near the Civil War and I was a baby when the Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery. But I'm old, white and live in "the Dirty South", so I MUST be a racist redneck. THAT is bigotry. But it gets a pass?

One of our neighbors has two daughters, adopted from Vietnam. They both have thick southern accents. I wonder how they will be received as they get older. I mean, who would expect to hear "How're y'all doing now" coming from a little Asian girl?

I admit that politics can really bring the worst out in people. Just wait for my chat room drinking game on the next debate. But I think we can all see that the US is in dire straits. Our people are at each other's throats, often spurred on by utter lies or conveniently skewed news stories that months later, after the blood has dried and the smoke has cleared are proven to be wrong. And of course the border/immigrant issue is being whipped around to the point it has been called "racism" to even question it. I can't think of another nation on the planet that is so good to people who simply walk in. How long can any nation remain a nation at all if everyone else is given a pass to arrive as they please? And the idea that they are "doing the jobs Americans won't do" is very misleading. The impact has been very bad for black people in the US.

I don't know if Trump has all of the answers, but I am certain the assholes in Washington/Congress do not. They live a fattened, country club lifestyle on both sides of the aisle, at the expense of the Americans. Americans of ALL colors. I voted for Perot because he was a successful businessman who was not afraid to buy prime time television slots to show everybody his plan in exact terms. He didn't have a hidden agenda, didn't make backroom deals and promised to put the important issues up to a vote of the people. But he was too weak to deal with the really ugly side of US politics. His opposition got to his family. And the votes he did get managed to draw votes away from Bush 1 (thank GOD) and paved a path for Clinton.

That won't happen of Trump decides to go 3rd party. Trump is very different from Perot and voters these days are not nearly as brainwashed by the parties as they were back in the 90s. I am not saying that I would endorse Trump. But I am very tired of the dynastic Washington cronies (which is why I voted for Obama). But this time around, I would like to see more reality and less political dodging from the candidates. So far only Trump seems to be doing this. The rest are hiding behind their usual rhetoric. I like the way he's shaking the tree, but as a person I don't care for Trump's abrasive arrogance. But if you think about it, that's exactly the sort of presidents we had in the 19th and early 20th century. "Professional Politicians" are a relatively new phenomenon which was not adequately addressed by term limits.

 

He certainly doesn't speak like a professional politician, which I suppose is refreshing in a way. The rest of them, Sanders excepted,speak

in the usual 'State Department' way of expressing themselves,as Lyndon Johnson called it. That is, Machine-like with the attitude and talking points of career politicians. Because that's what they are. Doesn't matter what they actually say because the game is to GET THERE and enjoy the lucrative perquisites of the "job."

As far as black people go, they've taken the shit end of the stick for 300 years and are still neglected as concerns catch-up. Vast ghettos
that have become virtually impossible to escape are common place and totally accepted. It's a wonder to me that there aren't constant riots or
continual demonstrations in Washington. What should millions of black folks do, when the government allows this to continue. (cue the rednecks
and their ever popular strains of=lazy, criminal, blah, blah)

There are terribly mean people in this day and age and I will give credit to the founders of over the top rhetoric, Joe Pyne and Morton Downey,(60s) down to their, if not philosophical attitudes, their outrageous behavior. Their brethren= Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Larson, et al,carry on. It's standard procedure now to say ANYTHING and everything, including outright lies, distortions and insults about anyone they determine to be anywhere to the left of them. Since people are so easily influenced and those blabbers are on 24/7/365, we are getting the extremely rude attitudes ALL through society. IMO, there are a few on here and they embody this same attitude. It's not helpful for this nation in the short or long term. No wonder the repubs wanted to rid themselves of that inconvenient statute-THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE.

Our politicians have sold us out big time by allowing big business to relocate with no repercussions for their lassitude concerning lost jobs for US citizens. They just don't give a shit, in the main. I don't know exactly how the democrats have had their nutsacks removed so cleanly from their fattened bodies, but it's obvious to me that ALL the gains they made for working people in the last century mean nothing to them now. The republican juggernaut rolls on.

With these trade "partnerships" (thanks Obama. Thanks Clinton.) it will get worse for us here. There's some ideas I think would help us. That is--shut the borders, stop all foreign aid, except emergency aid for catastrophic situations, FORCE companies to return to the US under penalty of huge tariffs, money OUT OF ELECTIONS, term limits, take away ALL tax loopholes and make that huge list of big businesses that not only pay NO taxes, but even GET money from OUR TAX DOLLARS ---start paying. And get serious about waste in government.

Hell, who knows---maybe that arrogant sumbitch Trump would do something for working people. But I highly doubt it. Wouldn't be a good deal for those like him. As the election nears, it's going to be crazier and crazier. Hang on.

 

I doubt very seriously Trump would do anything to help the working or middle class. I love how people like to pretend he never hired illegal immigrants or exploited workers in his business dealings. His view on immigration is nothing but a pony show and actually illustrates the REAL problem with immigration - the only reason in the entire world there is a job market for illegal immigrants is because businessmen/women, most who probably publically share similar views as Trump, CREATE the job market for them. I really don't understand why this point absolutely never comes up when discussing immigration policy.

 

I totally disagree with most of his polices. That said, he's pretty entertaining and can say whatever he wants, because he's self funded.

 

Oh you're right about that, we would not have an immigration problem if not for the employers who violate the Americans to fatten their bottom line. The H1B program was created to bring in doctors, physicists and other higher level talent that the US was lacking. Instead it has been perverted by companies like Microsoft, Home Depot and even Disney. They have made it into a path for very cheap IT labor. They can get a software developer with a PhD from India for less than $30K a year (which is about what the new minimum wage will be). An American with that same level of talent will expect at least $100K.

All of them, including Trump, have insisted that when they did have illegal aliens on the payroll, they didn't know about it. But this is because the very concept of a "job" in the US has been totally bastardized. We're a nation of contractors with no future. The days of putting in 20 or 30 years with a company, getting a gold watch and retiring to a fishing boat are GONE. These days an employee's loyalty is repaid around the 19th year 11th month with some scandal that has them sacked before reaching that mark. Slipping illegal workers into this scenario is very easy. And the top executives have all they need in terms of plausible deniability.

But consider also why Trump is running. He can see that as American productivity declines, so does he. If the economy continues on its present course, people like him will fail and not likely recover. As the middle class evaporates into top tier bonus checks, Trumps world gets smaller. His casino failures can be directly tied to the economies in the places where he had them. While a casino is a ridiculous expenditure for middle class people, they are the biggest collection of customers. They also play state lotteries (kind of a tax for sleeping through math class). People like Trump are not prepared to create a new business model during this kind of economic shakeup.

Look at the correction in stocks the other day. The Dow lost 500, which was a surprise to me since I thought it would be much more. This correction might have just been a speed bump for what's ahead. I feel sorry for anyone with a 401K that they hope to retire on. And I'm quite certain I'll never see a dime of Social Security. Trump thinks he can fix this from the top seat and I'm afraid he's dreadfully wrong. Obama proved that just being in the oval office doesn't make one a king. If Trump wins, he'll run into the same brick wall that congress created for Obama (it really had nothing to do with his race). For Obama it was about being a rookie and making a play for the white house after only 140 day in office. Washington is pure establishment and Obama challenged that. So will Trump.

In the end I see only apologies from Trump and more of the same favor trading in congress. As Americans, we are SO fucked!

 

I find it ironic that people dismiss the current politicians as living a 'country club' lifestyle, as if Trump didn't grow up rich and is somehow in touch with the people. This is a guy who bought a $100 million private jet and decided it wasn't good enough until it had gold-plated seatbelts for fuck's sakes. Think of how many jobs he could have created if he didn't buy those seatbelts.

He IS different, but for all the wrong reasons.

 

Things definitely CAN be worse.

The only reason anyone would ever think that they can't is because they don't know what it's like to be truly disadvantaged.

It's telling that even a lot of libertarians are terrified of Trump.
It's because he's a fascist.

 

At Mobile, Trump said he didn't want to wait till next year. He wants the election tomorrow. Is there anyone who seriously thinks Trump would win tomorrow?

Trump definitely has the Klan vote in his pocket.

 

Donald Trump is not going to be President.

 

If you're talking about that 1 nut who was calling out "white power", it's a little early to painting the other 29,000 people as his compatriots. Unless you're just taking the same convenient poke at southerners as the left-leaning press so enjoys doing. I live in both the north and the south, though I'm from California. I admit that I expected to see rebel flags wall to wall in the south and rude, foul-mouthed "yankees" in the north. Those stereotypes are very powerful. But the only KKK I have seen are the fools on the news and the northerners have been very decent overall.

I think either he was just a lone nut. Or worse, he was a plant like the ones who showed up at Tea Party rallies with Swastika signs. Freedom of speech can't possibly please everyone.

There is no more "The KKK", just a few small disconnected groups of costume wearing creeps. The "real" klan was called the "Invisible Empire" because it was packed with a wide cross section of people from farmers to mayors way back when. But even at its highest point the KKK was not supported by most of the population. Even in the south they were known more for disrupting everyone's lives with their shit. They were and still are outcasts. They get no sympathy from the law or the government, so they have faded into nothing more than a psychotic dream. Consider how many members they have on their various web sites. Stormfront, who claims to be non-klan, has only 300,000 members. That's on the whole planet. And I'd bet more than half are just former members who quit going long ago. Weak sites do that, make it where nobody can ever dissolve their membership.

One other thing about klan losers is that people with felonies cant vote in every state. So I just can't see them as much of a voting block or a concern. But I will say that they would be a great prop for destroying someone's campaign. Imagine if they suddenly aligned behind Hillary. Something similar was done to great effect with Eric Cantor.

 

If only money actually created jobs though. Need creates jobs, which create money. I agree though that our wealthy class has eclipsed the rest of us to the point another depression is surely around the corner. The stock market correction the other day was minor compared to the house of cards we call our economy. I fear a crash far more than I fear Trump.

 

And he's a psychopath. Like so many other "successful" corporate leaders. The rest of us are just bricks and paving stones.