Category Archives: media

all forms, i.e print, tv, radio, internet

setting the bar…

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Since President Obama took office it was evident that Right Wing extremists were never going to accept him. First, he was black; second, he had a Muslim name. The third strike was when he refused to bend to their will and give in to the “good ole’ boys,” white way of doing things. In Donald Trump, they’re back in their comfort zone. The man’s white. He’s got a normal, Christian name, and he’s golden with the “good ole’ boys.”

Obama has had an uphill climb from beginning to end. Nothing good that he has tried to effect lasts longer than a few days in the media spotlight, and even less in the public’s memory. The President saved us from an economic recession that could have backed us into another Great Depression, or worse. He enacted health insurance for millions unable to afford it. Under his orders, Osama bin Laden was killed. Gays and Lesbians were elevated to respectability under Obama’s administration. And not least of all, black families in the example of the First Family received a tremendous boost in the eyes of the nation and the world. A lasting impression, unlike the TV version embodied in the Huxtables which is unraveling with the diminishing reputation of Bill Cosby. While the President has not been able to overwhelm the NRA’s stronghold on Congress, he has taken what steps he could to stop certain guns from getting into the wrong hands.

Where most presidents occupying the White House are scrutinized from time to time, President Obama has had to endure the overbearing presence of a magnifying glass the likes of the Hubbell Space Telescope. He can’t take a step without Right Wing extremists already criticizing him for mis-stepping. In their eyes, Obama was always going to fail.

Like other presidents before him, Abraham Lincoln included, President Obama was not going to be all things to all people. With Right Wing extremists, he was never, ever going to make the grade. Ever. The fact that he won a second term is a credit to the man, and to all right-thinking people in America. The fact that he has continued to do what good he can to improve the lives of his countrymen is a testament to his moral compass and personal strength. He has not been deterred or derailed by any blockade, real or imagined, created by extremists. Like the birther movement, which continues to have a life of its own…its tentacles reaching out in search of prey.

If Right Wing extremists get their way, Trump will foul mouth his way through the hallowed halls of our forefathers. I for one will miss the dignity and class with which President Obama has conducted himself. In trying times, and there have been many, he has not publicly lashed out with verbal abuse. He may not have had the gift for negotiating the deal, but he did the best he could while remaining true to himself. Trump, by comparison, intentionally demeans any and all who stand in his path, remaining true to his essence…a bully without regrets.

When he leaves office, I will breathe a sign of relief…for the man who has had to endure so much, personally. And I will be happy for the life the First Family can finally enjoy…

…far, far away…from the maddening crowds.

………hugmamma.Image result for First family images

(photo…cnn.com)

 

a deserved dilemma?

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Wow! Republicans are running away from themselves. Trump and his followers are turning on the “establishment,” and the “establishment” can’t distance themselves fast enough…albeit a little late…from their presidential front runner.

Perhaps the Republican “establishment” have only themselves to blame for being done in by rogue candidate Trump. Former House Speaker, Bill Boehner, and current Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, could not control the right-wing extremists in Congress. As a result these mostly junior congressmen were able to unhinge the proverbial Pandora’s Box. And what did they find inside? Donald Trump!

Even Ted Cruz, the Tea Party’s darling, could not imagine anyone wresting the Oval Office away from him, least of all Trump, the darling of Wall Street investors. Evidently, Tea Partiers and others, among them White Supremacists, have combined forces to carry Trump all the way to the White House. They see him as the man who gets them what they want, once he’s ensconced in Washington. If, and that’s a big IF, they succeed in crowning Trump president, the Republican “establishment” will have a bigger fight on their hands than they did with President Obama or that they would even get from Hillary Clinton. Trump will steamroll any opposition to his agenda. Diplomacy is not his style, and negotiation is tolerable to a point. And as he has demonstrated time and again, Trump has a low threshold for opposition. He escalates to the “boiling point” pretty quickly.

“I’m going to get along great with Congress. Paul Ryan, I don’t know him well, but I’m sure I’m going to get along great with him,” the front-runner for his party’s nomination said during his Super Tuesday speech. “And if I don’t, he’s going to have to pay a big price.”

(Ben Kamisar…The Hill, online)

Showing himself to be a man who talks out of both sides of his mouth…while Trump was kind of disavowing David Duke and the KKK…a known racist leaves no doubt as to Trump’s campaign reaching out to white supremacists.

James Edwards, a notorious white supremacist and radio talk show host, is promoting a recent interview with the son of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that’ll air on Saturday.

Edwards talked to the real estate mogul’s eldest son and campaign surrogate, Donald Trump, Jr., last Saturday for his “pro-white” radio show, “The Political Cesspool.” Previous guests on the show have included Neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, and Ku Klux Klan leaders.

Edwards heralded the 20-minute interview in a blog post flagged by Little Green Footballs, that boasted about his access inside a Trump rally in Memphis, Tennessee, last Saturday, where Edwards was broadcasting his show live. He said Trump’s campaign gave Edwards and his co-hosts full press credentials and “VIP” parking near the event.

“We’re watching history in the making,” Edwards said at the start of his three-hour broadcast from the press area of the Memphis Trump rally.  “Donald Trump will be the first Republican nominee that I have ever voted for.”

Edwards said he and his co-hosts have attended three different Trump rallies in recent months: One in Illinois, one in Arkansas, and the rally in Memphis. With press credentials from Trump, the white supremacists feel “every bit as legit” as members of the traditional media, he added.

A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not respond to questions late Tuesday about how Edwards was credentialed, or why Donald Trump Jr. gave an interview to a white supremacist talk show. 

The question is…will the Republican “establishment” bend to the will of the people for whom Trump stands? Including…

…the KKK and white supremacists?

………hugmamma.

 

 

 

red flags…

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Americans for Trump are choosing to ignore all the “red flags” that are waving right in front of their faces. Apart from everything else we’ve seen…denigrating immigrants, including natural born citizens…verbally slamming protesters at his rallies…name calling any and all challengers…Trump’s henchmen, paid with taxpayer dollars, are strong arming the media.

Not a huge fan of the media myself, this is still America where freedom of speech is a constitutional right. The fact that for the first time in modern history, reporters are penned in like cattle at Trump rallies…is approaching what Middle East dictators have been doing for decades. Government control of the media. Yesterday’s altercation between a photographer and one of Trump’s guards is disturbing in that he continues to manhandle the other man even when he’s flat on his back.

Today, Trump’s surrogate New Jersey governor Chris Christie threw his weight around by refusing to answer questions not to his liking. Imagine if he’d become president?

Chris Christie held a press conference in New Jersey today and got pretty testy with reporters who asked him “off-topic” questions.

Christie announced his nomination for the New Jersey Supreme Court and had said ahead of time he only wanted on-topic questions. When one reporter tried to ask permission to ask an off-topic question, Christie said, “I won’t permit you to, I told you that there’s only going to be on-topic questions today, so permission denied.”

One reporter tried to ask Christie about another state issue, and Christie shot him down. When asked why not take the question, Christie said, “Because I don’t want to.”

…Josh Feldman/Media ITE

As I’ve said before, President Obama would be ballyhooed if he refused to answer questions so dismissively.

Why are Trump and Christy getting away with attempts to suppress the media? Because they’re a couple of…

…bullies!

………hugmamma.

(photo…media.salon.com)

 

let’s give ’em…

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…something to talk about.

That’s been the media’s mantra throughout the presidential campaign.

True, it’s what they’re about no matter the topic. Ratings drive the media. Whatever sells…is news.  And Trump’s been selling. Big time! So he’s always the headlines. The rest of the candidates have been orbiting around his sun, as far as the media is concerned.

So why would the media kill the “goose that lays the golden egg?” If Trump is elected president, the media is as much to thank as his herd of loyal followers.

Listening to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews…normally on the Democratic sideline…one gets the feeling that even he is rooting for Trump. Matthews likes that Trump is “having fun” during the presidential campaign. Great fun. At whose expense? Certainly not Matthews, nor the media at large. They’ll all be rolling in dough when the media ratings soar with Trump in the White House. There’ll be no lack of headline-grabbing news every time Trump bullies up to the podium.

Trump has matched wits with the media, ensnaring them into his web of open deception. Willing victims, the media have afforded Trump free publicity, even aiding and abetting in his lampooning the other candidates. The voting population-at-large would not be as tuned into Trump’s shenanigans if it weren’t for 24/7 coverage of his antics by CNN and the other major networks. They’re making a good living off of Trump and in return, he is reaping the massive exposure and raking in the votes.

So Trump wins!

…God forbid!

………hugmamma.

(photo…cnn.com)

what do you think…

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…about concussions and football?

I’m not a sports fan myself so I’d just as soon see the game go away. In theory. I say that because I understand that football, and other contact sports, are acceptable outlets for aggressive behavior. Since prehistoric times man has had to use brute force to survive. Times have changed, but man’s primeval behavior hasn’t gone the way of the dinosaurs.

The over-arching problem is the millions of dollars the NFL dangles before would-be prospects looking to play pro-football. Most concerning, however, is that parents wholeheartedly encourage their sons to play a game which, according to recent statistics, puts their lives at risk. Is the money worth it?

…about bringing trade schools back?

In our rush to outdo, or at least keep up with, China and other countries technologically, America has placed tremendous emphasis on math and science. Our children are pushed to excel academically in order to secure jobs with Microsoft, Apple and the like. As has always been the case, not every child is suited for college.

Trying to force square pegs into round holes is as implausible today as it was in generations past. A child who is more adept with his hands is not going to be happy sitting at a computer all day. Forcing youngsters to pursue careers in the hopes that they will be set financially, can set them up for failure in the long term. Besides which, all the jobs for which they might be better suited are being shipped overseas. Meanwhile, folks who might be happier in those blue collar jobs are beginning to form a new class of “have nots.” They are the ones clamoring for a return to the good, ole’ days when they could “pull themselves up by their own boot straps.”

…about life imitating art…or real life imitating reality tv?

With the media’s constant hype about Donald Trump’s steady rise in the polls, it makes one wonder…”What in the world?” This morning it finally dawned on me…reality TV may have more to do with it than we might like to think.

Look at Barbara Walter’s choice for the most fascinating person of 2015. Caitlyn Jenner!

(Photo…businessinsider.com)

Yes, I get that she champions the gay-lesbian community but that’s primarily because of her celebrity on reality TV. By comparison Johnny Weir, a well-known, gay American figure skater, does not share the same mega-watt platform as former Olympic track and field star Bruce Jenner aka…Caitlyn.

Who would have thought that the Kardashians and the Housewives and the Bachelor would still be with us…years later? And what about Abby Lee of “Dance Moms” fame? My daughter, a professional dancer, cringed whenever she caught a segment of that reality show. How those mothers could allow that evil woman to treat their daughters as she did is unfathomable.

I must confess to watching those shows now and then, especially since they dominate much of what’s available on TV now. I’ve done so with fascination and disbelief. And perhaps that’s what most viewers find intriguing about reality TV. How can these people put their lives out there for millions to see? Do viewers relate to the flaws…the gaffes…the ridiculous lives? Or are these reality stars so far outside our realm of what’s normal, that we watch in disbelief, our mouths wide open?

Is that then, Trump’s appeal? A reality star transcending the small screen into the arena of real life politics? Looking for our votes as…favorite reality star of all time? A vote for Trump as President is akin to saying he’s won the Oscar of all Oscars?

So again I ask you…

…what do you think?

………hugmamma.

 

 

from where i stand…

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Every 4 years I’m a media pundit, right alongside CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. While I’m not glued to the TV, I’m always within earshot of it. For those of you who just recently tuned in to hugmamma’s mind, body, and soul I’m referring to the U.S. presidential campaign.

I never mean to get so wrapped up in politics, it’s just that every nerve in my body cries out for relief from the insanity that’s reported nonstop. This time the man in the middle of the hurricane is Donald Trump. Eight years ago it was his female counterpart, Sarah Palin.

Buddying up with Russia’s Putin, Trump gives us an insight into his would-be presidency. If Trump likes somebody, he’ll do business with him or her; if he doesn’t, he won’t. Good place for billions of Americans to be…behind Trump’s eight ball. Something to think about.

As ridiculous as a president Trump would be, having Ted Cruz in the White House would be downright scary. He would take his Tea Party fight from the Legislature to the Oval Office. A stalwart champion of right-wing extremists, Cruz is a major player in Congress’s perpetual inability to act.

While Marco Rubio seems the lesser of two evils, what he and Cruz have in common is their strong Cuban pride. While Obama kept his promise to be president of all Americans, I have to wonder if Rubio and Cruz would be able to keep that same promise should the interests of their Cuban constituents ever conflict with those of our country. That’s a question only time could answer.

Ben Carson‘s tendency to speak his mind, while at times commendable, often reveals his naivete about politics and the world in which we live. It’s also difficult to imagine his soft-spoken demeanor in mortal combat with Putin, Isis, or even House Speaker, Paul Ryan. God Himself would have to fight those battles for Carson.

Jeb Bush is just not presidential material. He seems nice enough, in fact I’d probably like him better than his brother George W. Despite that I’m just not a fan of the Bush dynasty. I’m with Barbara, enough is enough. Let somebody else have a turn.

Carly Fiorina exudes potential presidential material, however her stiffness is somewhat off-putting. She reminds me of Dorothy’s Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz…in need of a heart.

During the Republican presidential debates, I’ve liked some of what I’ve heard from Lindsay Graham, Rand Paul, John Kasich and former NY Governor George Pataki. While I would never vote for Graham or Paul, I might consider Kasich or Pataki if the Democratic choice were as incorrigible as Republican Trump.

After watching last night’s debate among the Democratic presidential hopefuls, I’ll most likely cast my vote for Hilary Clinton. Unlike Fiorina, Clinton’s image has undergone enough of a transformation so that her softer side is glimpsed. Thankfully, she can still call up her muscular side as needed. After all, politics…as well as the rest of the world…still belongs to white men. It’s for sure however that Clinton would continue chipping away at the crack in the glass ceiling already begun by Obama.

As blustery as Trump is, Bernie Sanders is the Republican candidate’s match. Although everything Sanders says is substantive and rings true. The problem is he leans too far left to be viable for all Americans, namely the Tea Partiers. And while I may not agree with their politics, they deserve fair representation. My hope is that Sanders continues to fight the good fight for the poor and the middle class, unlike Trump who will continue to line the pockets of the wealthy. Something his followers overlook as they clutch desperately to a false god.

While Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley is a good option for president, he lacks the strong presence of Clinton and Sanders. It’s possible O’Malley could grow into the job, but in the current global turmoil we need someone who can “hit the ground running.” And for me the person most qualified is…

…madame secretary…clinton.

………hugmamma.

(Photo credit…Getty Images)

 

 

 

 

 

…new “normal”…???

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Politicians and the media are now calling gun massacres…the new “normal.” Unfortunately once our self-appointed mouthpieces put it out there, it sticks. Their favorite catch-all being…”the majority of Americans think.” I hate when they say that. None of them ever asked me for my opinion.

What’s scary is the fact that the new “normal” will become fodder for statistical data…namely racking up deaths of innocent folks in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s like a death lottery with names appearing on a draft list of the unlucky ones.

I don’t mean to sound morbid, but those who poison the atmosphere with sensational rhetoric make light of a horrific anomaly.

Personally I think President Obama has the right attitude. His focus is upon solving problems as they occur. He’s done it time and again, beginning with the financial crisis at the start of his presidency almost 8 years ago. The President is a deliberate problem solver which unnerves those wanting instant gratification which, in our current society, is just about everyone.

Since it first exploded on U.S. soil in 2011, terrorism has metamorphosed into what we are now witnessing…”mom and pop” type store fronts popping up willy-nilly all over the place. What Trump and others like him seem to overlook is that these types of terrorists have proliferated among us in the guise of white men, mostly young. Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy. James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King. Sirhan Sirhan killed Robert Kennedy. Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon. John Hinckley tried to assassinate President Reagan.

Then, of course there was Columbine, Sandy Hook, the Arizona Safeway attack…which almost took the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords…and the Umqua, Oregon shooting. In these mass shootings James Eagan Holmes, Adam Lanza, Jared Lee Loughner and Christopher Harper-Mercer were considered societal misfits. Their cases propelled mental illness to the forefront of America’s collective consciousness. Eventually however they, along with their victims, disappeared from view, resurfacing only annually on the anniversaries of those events.

By comparison with these forerunners of terrorist attacks upon American society, the recent San Bernardino massacre was the first carried out by a man and a woman…who HAPPENED to be Muslims. First and foremost as with the others mentioned above, this husband and wife were obviously societal misfits…even within their own Islamic community. Many of that faith, including those born in America, have decried the killers as abhorrent. Why then should the entire Muslim population world-wide be denigrated because of those pledging allegiance to Isis, a group as deranged as Hitler?

Consider that not even the brothers Tsarnaevs who carried out the attack during the Boston Marathon were railed against as Muslims, which they were. It’s clearly the timing in that the San Bernardino massacre occurred shortly after the Paris attacks…and in the midst of a contentious presidential campaign. It might also be Trump’s presence on the national stage…namely his big mouth…which has pointed the finger at Muslims in general. It served his purpose of keeping media attention, and free publicity, on him.

Mental illness and gun control are not high on Trumps agenda…getting elected to the White House is…and he’ll do ANYTHING, including lambasting an entire population…to serve his interests.

We shouldn’t be the dummies…

…in trump’s ventriloquist act.

………hugmamma.

 

 

 

reality tv is not…reality

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If you’ve ever watched The Housewives of Beverly Hills…Orange County…NYC…or NJ…you know those folks are larger than life. They’re not the real deal. They’re like the super-sized balloons flying overhead during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. All blown up with…mega-sized eyeballs, lips, hair and bodies.

The same applies to Donald Trump. Followers enamored of him imagine that as President of the United States, he will fire and hire employees exactly as he did on The Apprentice. That’s the individual they want running the country. They further fantasize that President Trump will stop illegal immigrants and incoming Muslims singlehandedly. They don’t ask how. They just know he’ll do it because he says so.

Trump’s presence in the presidential arena replicates exactly what has happened in Congress. Moderate Republicans and their extremist counterparts cannot see eye to eye. A President Trump would tip the balance of power in favor of the Tea Partiers. Where we escaped the same fate with a President Palin, we will now come face to face with an egomaniac far more maniacal and lacking in knowledge than Sarah ever was.

If Trump doesn’t like Mexicans and Muslims, how will he govern those who already live in this country as American citizens? Will he backtrack on his inflammatory rhetoric? Probably not enough to satisfy those groups. And it’s unlikely that the extremists who devour the “red meat” Trump holds out in front of them on a daily basis are going to allow their candidate to renig on his promise to cleanse the population of racial and religious misfits.

Today Trump’s focus and those of his Tea Party followers are upon the Mexicans and Muslims, is it possible that tomorrow they might want to distance themselves from Blacks? Asians? Jews? Catholics? Who knows. Once extremists gain momentum, America could be facing its own Hitler and the evil he wrought upon millions. What happened then in a land far removed, could happen here.

The KKK and the Skinheads are surely smiling at the turn of events…

…and their good fortune.

………hugmamma.

our freedoms…at a price

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For gun activists who refuse any and all efforts at having their rights to bear arms restricted, they must bear some of the burden for the mass killings that are taking innocent lives. Whether they care to accept the fact that each of these deaths is like a notch etched upon the grip of their guns, it is nonetheless an indelible mark upon their consciences. The only way to ignore this shared responsibility is to relegate those deaths to media statistics. Twenty-four/seven coverage blurs the faces of the dead until they are no longer recognizable as human beings, individuals whose lives were cut short. Their souls lingering on in the purgatory of memories of loved ones left behind.

Facebook, Twitter and other such media sites are similarly responsible for the massacre of innocent lives. Folks in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Acting as enablers of social connectivity, these billion dollar corporations accept no responsibility for crimes that are perpetrated through the use of their sites. The co-mingling of users whose sole purpose is elevated pen-paling with those intent upon murder is akin to seals swimming with sharks. It’s only a matter of time before the latter gets the upper hand.

What price freedom? Sometimes death.

A sad statement when we are willing to accept our lives as headlined in the news. We the people are responsible for what happens to us. We allow it to happen every time we scream our allegiance to our inalienable rights…to bear arms…and freedom of speech. We refuse to compromise our rights, to give an inch to save another’s life. Rights supersedes lives. Always. Either that or the wealthy and their minions who crowd out the silent rest of us are allowed to run roughshod over whatever stands in the way.

We reap what we sow…all of us. Those who buy and sell guns, and those who use social media. We support the framework of human demise.

…simple truth.

………hugmamma.

 

 

 

 

 

nurturing thursdays: love one another…

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In keeping with the season, I think it’s fitting to remember that we are all children of God.

That includes those among us who choose to turn their backs upon the rest, even going so far as to massacre innocent people.

God the Almighty Father will determine their fate.

We know not what lies deep within one another’s hearts…our sorrows, our anxieties.

Only God knows.

Rather than sit in judgment, we should rally with one another to heal any divisiveness.

Our fundamental humanity should bind us one with the other.

We should put aside our robes of many colors…racial, cultural, religious.

Those who would lead us astray and isolate us one from the other are themselves enemies of humanity and…of God.

“I am the Lord thy God…thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

“The Lord is my Shepherd…”

Let us not follow graven images eager to raise themselves up to be false gods.

They are only interested in amassing personal wealth and an army of followers to rival all that has been created by the one, true God of all people.

God does not choose one race over the other.

God does not choose one culture over the other.

God does not choose one religion over the other.

God created all of us  with love.

God will have the final say…

…about what we have done with His love.

………hugmamma.

(Note…more inspiration can be gathered from ladies of wisdom at…
https://beccagivens.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/nurt-thurs-peace/#comment-26089 )

stand-up comics…

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…Donald Trump and Kurt Schlicter. 

We know who Trump is, but have you ever heard of Schlicter? I hadn’t a clue until he popped up on CNN today in defense of Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson. Actually, Trump also defended his fellow Republican candidate for not being politically correct, and telling it like it is. They all agree on one thing…the second amendment, the right to bear arms.

Carson said about the Umqua Community College shooting…and continues to say…

“Not only would I probably not cooperate with him, I would not just stand there and let him shoot me. I would say ‘Hey, guys, everybody attack him! He may shoot me but he can’t get us all,'” Carson said.

Wow!

Okay. Maybe in our wildest fantasies as super humanoids we might automatically go there…take a bullet and die like heroes. In fact one brave soul did do just that.

Chris Mintz, a 30-year old veteran who served 10 years in the army wasn’t “…going to stand around and watch something this horrific happen,” according to his cousin, Derek Bourgois of North Carolina. He went on to say of Mintz ” ‘He was on the wrestling team and he’s done cage-fighting so it does not surprise me that he would act heroically.’ “

Carson had not heard of Mintz’s heroism when asked by a reporter.

It’s so easy for Carson, Schlicter or Trump to say that the Umqua victims should have taken Mintz down. Are these men so sure they would have done exactly that…in the heat of the moment…when your brain is still in shock, unable to make any sense of the situation, knowing in seconds you may be dead? How do you process all that information with a gun pointing in your direction? Unless you’re trained to fight back from the get-go, as Mintz was, flight is usually the first thing you think of.

Flight or fight? It’s not fight or flight.

Our brains are primed to flee. Fighting is not an automatic for those of us in normal daily living mode. It might be different if our children were in the line of fire, then we might go into mama bear/papa bear mode. The same could be said for a husband willing to die to save his family. But strangers barely connecting before a mass shooting? Especially students in a classroom who are sitting ducks.

It’s for sure these men who throw words around just because they’ve got an appreciative audience, would eat their own words if their children or wives were those same sitting ducks. I can’t imagine Carson thinking…”I hope my son (he has 3) volunteers to intercept a madman trying to kill others.”

In an online article, “What The Hell Is An Angry Conservative Suppose To Do?,” Kurt Schlicter, a conservative commentator, derides the various and sundry Republican candidates for president. Of Carson, Schlicter says…

The outsiders shouldn’t be president. Sorry. Dr. Carson is a nice man who has no instinct for ripping out his opponents’ jugular. I want to hear some liberal womyn lamenting the crushing of our enemies, Doc, but you’d probably go and comfort them.

And of Trump, Shlicter says…

And then there’s Donald Trump, whose embarrassing debate performance started the trend of people saying, “You know, it was fun for a while but this guy has become tiresome.”

Trump has the aggression – that’s the only thing I like about him – but it’s also the only thing he has. The polls are showing that his novelty is wearing off; people can only deal with so much whining. He’ll always have a hardcore set of minions, but for the first time in weeks I don’t think we have to seriously contemplate the notion of Ivanka the veep.

So what makes Schlicter an expert on presidential candidates…or for that matter, politics?

He is a successful Los Angeles trial lawyer, a veteran with a masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, and a former stand-up comic. …Kurt rose to the rank of Army colonel (Infantry), commanded a cavalry recon squadron, and served in Desert Storm and Kosovo as well as multiple disaster operations. He lives in the South Bay area of Los Angeles where his hobbies include red meat and red wine.

I think it’s what he said at the end of his article on being an angry conservative…that makes me dislike Schlicter intensely.

Which leaves Carly. She seems ticked off. I like that. She kicks tail. I like that too. She can put together a coherent sentence. Finally. I don’t despise her. That’s something new for a GOP candidate. And, best of all, I think the elite distrusts her and Hillary fears her – in fact, she could mop the floor with the Orange Pantsuit Lady.

Yeah, maybe Carly.

Maybe.

But if not her, and if there’s no one else, then I’m still ready to burn it all down.

That’s the trouble with the extreme rightists…

…they’d just as soon america go to hell…

…than work with obama and the democrats.

………hugmamma.

kanye west…for president???

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OMG!!! Just heard on CNN that Kanye West might be considering a run for the presidency in 2020??? Reality TV in the White House??? The Kardashians taking over Washington D.C.???

That is even more bizarre than Donald Trump as President of the United States.

Just because we can…all run for president…does it mean we should? 

Tea Party conservatism has dragged in all manner of folks thinking they know what our country needs. Forget the need for wisdom and self-control and experience.

For Heaven’s sake! If I had the energy…I could be President!

Not!!! I know my limitations and strengths. Managing the President’s “to do” list sure as heck isn’t something I’m up for.

What makes Kanye West think he can…interface with our military hierarchy?…world leaders twice or three times his age?…Wall Street financiers?…white constituents who hate black rappers?…and most of all, Tea-Party congressional reps who’d just as soon impeach him, as recognize that he is the executive branch.

Talk about a political stalemate!!!

And who, besides the Kardashian fans…many in other countries, would want to see those women parading around half-naked in the White House? Moreover, it doesn’t seem likely they’d give up their millions as reality TV stars to sit around twiddling their thumbs. I can’t see them volunteering to mingle with the underprivileged at homeless shelters. The sisters would stand out in their stilettos and bouffant hairdos.

The fact that sex is a huge part of the Kardashian brand won’t sit well with conservative evangelists, either.  Come to think of it, neither would liberals with good, old-fashioned values. 

Between Kanye West’s ego and Kris Jenner’s managerial skills, I’ve no doubt they’re thinking seriously about the presidency. After all, Donald Trump is just as qualified. 

Reality TV and real life…

…are they really one and the same???

………hugmamma.

…the world according to..

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…Donald Trump.

Trump paint’s the world around him with broad strokes. Just as he employees hundreds of Hispanics, Trump has lots of Muslim friends. However when asked specifically about derogatory statements he’s spouted…claiming Mexicans are “rapists and murderers,”…and agreeing with the birthers that Obama was not born in America…Trump refuses to acknowledge his stupidity.

Trump is like a blind man painting the world as he “sees” it. Not that the handicapped are incapable of creating beauty from seemingly nothing, it’s only that Trump is an ignoramus. He refuses to see what’s right there in front of him. He chooses to pick and choose what he sees…and ignores all the rest.

So where do the rest of us fit into Trump’s purview of the world?

Obviously we’re all dummies to Trump. Those of us who believe the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate, and those of us who believe in the goodness of individuals, refusing to lump them all together within an ethnic group.

And why doesn’t Trump counter the extremists among his own followers? Those who hate that the President is a black man, and worse that his name is proof-positive (to them) that Obama is Muslim. It’s because Trump, a supposed sophisticated man of the world, really is an uneducated bumpkin at heart. If not for his wealthy trappings, he would just as easily fit in with the right-wing element of the Republican Party who want to be left alone and have nothing to do with a society that believes we are all one people.

Donald Trump has a lot to say…much of it off the cuff. Whatever goes on in his head seems totally preoccupied with dollar signs and self-promotion. He does NOT represent Americans……me, most of all. So I wish he’d stop saying he’s what Americans want. He’s what a small minority wants. Thank goodness the majority of us sees the world…

…as it is.

………hugmamma.

…a man at peace…with himself…

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It could be said that President Obama is as unpopular these days as Donald Trump.

Where Trump spews volumes of empty words, Obama speaks only when he has something important to say. Both are equally bad in the minds of some.

There’s no doubt that Trump is an egomaniac. I’m sure The Donald himself would agree…and wholeheartedly. Some say Obama is just as arrogant, holing himself up in the White House, unwilling to glad hand Congress in order to wheel and deal.

Trump uses the media, as does Obama. Don’t all folks who find themselves in the glaring spotlight of 24/7 coverage?

It’s said the back story makes the person. Trump, the real estate prodigy with NYC in his veins. Obama, the interracial child nuanced in the ways of a tropical paradise. Both, strangers to main stream USA.

Trump, in his own convoluted way, is convinced he is what America needs. So too did Obama feel the need to bring Americans together for the good of the entire country. Just as the President fell short of the mark, so too would Donald Trump. Neither man can be all things to all people.

I didn’t expect much of Obama when he took office. I was just happy to see what I thought was a good man, occupy the White House. The fact that he was raised in Hawaii, where I was born, gave me hope that the Aloha Spirit could spread to all Americans. And maybe that’s what he thought too. Islanders can be naive that way. After all, we’ve not the sophistication of mainlanders who have experienced more of everything.

The fact that Obama was the first black president was a plus. How nice, I thought, to have someone other than a white man in charge of our country.

That Obama was an academic, was even more appealing. Finally! A thinking man. A man disinclined to pull the trigger first, and ask questions later. Of course that hasn’t sat well with the trigger-happy, gun-toting bullies who want our country back up on the pedestal, our God-given right in their eyes.

For me it’s enough that Obama has accomplished what he has…saved the country from fiscal armageddon…brought a halt to health insurances denying coverage to those with pre-conditions…returned the country’s focus to the need for quality education…rid the world of Osama bin Laden…made it possible for gay partners to legally unite…resisted the clamor to send our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, into harm’s way yet again.

Yes, it’s more than likely that the future president should be a glad-hander…a back-slapper…a social drinker…someone more akin to Bill Clinton, who refused to accept that he couldn’t make friends with his enemies. Next time around, I’ll probably vote for a person who’s a schmoozer, even though I’m not crazy about having to do it too much myself. But I’m not running for president.

What I am crazy about is my family…my husband and my daughter. And it’s obvious to me that Obama shares the same craziness for his wife and two daughters. Barring a national emergency, he has dinner at 6:30 every evening with his family. More importantly, he’s moral. Michelle is still the the love of his life…and his children remain uppermost in his thoughts.

Recently I wrote the President a letter thanking him for Obamacare. I explained that earlier in the year my daughter, who dances as an independent contractor, had had a surgery to repair a tear in her bowel wall, inflicted during a prior surgery to remove fibroids from her uterine wall. Thanks to the surgeon correcting the mistake, my daughter recovered completely. Unfortunately she was saddled with medical expenses in excess of $52,000 and unable to work for a couple of months. That meant no money coming in. Thank goodness she had obtained insurance coverage only 6 months before. It paid $49,000 of her $50,000 hospital bill.

I was surprised, and impressed, to receive a letter in return. While I’m certain it wasn’t penned by President Obama, I’m almost positive the signature is his. And even if it isn’t, my words of gratitude were acknowledged.

Politically, I’m only a constituent. Personally, however, Obama and I are “ohana,” having both grown up under the same rainbow in our beloved…

…hawaiian islands.

………hugmamma.

…not just my opinion…

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Folks younger than me, some even decades my junior, agree that Donald Trump would make a very bad president. I’d go so far as to say they consider him totally laughable in his quest to become the most powerful man on earth.

The fact that Trump is worth billions, according to him, seems his primary, if not only, reason for assuming he’s the perfect man for the job.

Mark Cuban, one of the wealthy entrepeneurs starring on TV’s reality show The Shark Tank explains why Trump is a “fake” billionaire in the youtube video below.

Trump’s net worth is north of 10 billion dollars, or so he says. However according to Cuban, Trump hasn’t got the cash to fund a presidential campaign. And after getting singed by numerous business bankruptcies, he’s not likely to trade in his personal stash to become our public servant, especially for a paltry presidential paycheck of $400,000 a year.

As we all know, going after the highest office in the land isn’t like getting elected high school class president. Money talks. Literally.

Look at what the networks are charging for ads…absurd figures like $3.5 million for a spot during the 2011 Super Bowl. Even 30-second spots on less visible programs cost in excess of $100,000 in 2011, according to AdWeek. It stands to reason that those costs have only escalated since then.

And with Trump bragging about his billions, who’s going to rush to give him more money?

The young woman in this youtube video and I have one thing in common…

…we can see past Trump’s giant-sized ego to the peaNUT he really is.

………hugmamma.