https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkMaBy6EX0w

"Well, it's going to be fun watching Biden try to bring America together."

Sadly Elizabeth I don't think that is possible any longer even for Biden, for several reasons:

1) The recent behavior of too many Republican politicians (with the exception of the Republican never Trumpers who have already jumped ship to the Democrats) who have sold their souls to Trump, and who vowed to make Obama a one term president. Bipartisanship is dead in Washington and America for the foreseeable future.

2) The 40 percent of voters who support Trump, live in a different reality than the rest of us. They really believe that Trump is a patriot despite all the evidence that he's a traitor and a Benedict Arnold instead.

3) The rising threat of armed militias intimidating voters at polling places on election day, something we never saw even during the tense Bush vs Gore debacle.

The 60 percent of us (hopefully) need to make sure that Biden wins in a landslide and takes the Senate with him, and then have the Democrats play hardball from then on out, instead of trying to make nice with the Republicans who are only double dealing anyway and who no longer act like a loyal opposition.

And I regretfully say all of this as a political science student and observer, not just as a liberal. The loss of a principled conservative political party and it's replacement by or with a divorced from reality and delusional cult of personality is not healthy for any democracy.

Well, I lost money on that one! I was sure that it had to be Kelly Anne Conway. Oh well, guess I can go back to disliking her if she wasn’t working as a “double agent”.

I really think that he's not even getting the bad news anymore (because he gets so angry when they show him the real numbers), so he actually believes that "more cases just means we're doing great on testing!"

I believe it goes even further than this. I think they have told Trump that our tests are so much better than the tests used in other countries that THAT explains why we have so many more cases than the other countries. Their numbers would be much greater if they weren’t using such faulty tests.

I also think that Trump believes people can be “only slightly infected” and those people are the ones who have it but never show symptoms or experience negative effects from the virus. Our tests, therefore, find anyone who is even slightly infected — unlike tests in other countries that cannot detect them. We have so many more infected because we test so many using tests that outperform other tests. If you focus only on how excellent our tests are, it starts to make sense what he is pitching!

Great article from Politico on the likelihood of Trump making a run for the border when he loses. Written by former Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack who spent 35 years in military intelligence.

Right on! Paul Simon/Simon & Garfunkel have always been my fave recording artist. I was more bummed about S & G breaking up than the Beatles.

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him 'til he cried out,
In his anger and his shame:
"I am leaving, I am leaving,"
But the fighter still remains

:-)

-CW

Simon and Garfunkel put it best ("The Boxer"):

I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocket full of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jests
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest

-CW

I'll concede that he hears what he wants to hear, but do you think he's heard about the latest outbreak in his administration? I do. It's hard to believe that he believes that the pandemic is under control while that's going on. He's just lying.

BTW - Timothy Olyphant's character on the new season of Fargo is nicknamed Deafy because he hears what he wants to hear.

Elizabeth Warren says vote for Biden.

AOC says vote for Biden.

Noam Chomsky says vote for Biden.

Ralph Nader says I’m not openly supporting Biden. You have got to oppose Trump. I think we can read between those lines even when he adds I believe people should only vote their conscience.

There is no upside to allowing Fat Donny to win. The only message sent by voting for anyone but Biden is that you just don't give a damn and the vulture capitalists and white supremacists have won. Voting is momentary and not especially taxing for most of us. Activism is more work. The teabaggers used the primary system to transform the GOP into an overt hate group and death cult. Lefties need to change the Democratic Party. AOC is showing the way. So is BLM. Activism doesn't end on election day. Voting does.

I would much rather vote for Hawkins, but once again, there is no upside to that this time around.

The Death Harris position is absurd (and self-serving).

Well, it's always a fool's errand to get inside Trump's mind, of course, but the Woodward thing was back in Jan or Feb. I think that since then he's complained so much whenever people show him negative numbers that for the past few months or so they've been very carefully cherry-picking any stat they can find that makes us look good, or at least not as bad as all the other numbers show. Hence his obsession with... um... "mortality rate"?... whatever the one he always quotes whenever pandemic numbers is the question.

I really think that he's not even getting the bad news anymore (because he gets so angry when they show him the real numbers), so he actually believes that "more cases just means we're doing great on testing!"

I mean, he's lying about a lot, and "we're rounding the corner" is almost certainly a known lie (known to Trump when he utters it), but I do wonder about what exactly he even gets briefed on anymore.

-CW

I hear you, but there's a certain point where "Iffn I don't laugh, I thinks I'm a-gonna cry," if you know what I mean. That's more what I meant when I said "amusing." Like Trump acting like a five-year old when they invite him behind the wheel (still parked, of course) of a fire engine or semi. That's kind of what I meant.

-CW

Don't sweat it. No harm done. Actually, people do it all the time and I find it very useful.

Plus, I like Olberman. I believe he's the only TV cable host who has ever mentioned one of my articles on the air (back when they appeared in HuffPost), so he's obviously cool with me.

:-)

-CW

Oh yeah?

So who are you voting for, Death Harris? Neither? In that case you don't effing matter either way. Or are you going to vote for Trump after his negligence killed 200,000 Americans needlessly?

Gowan will be performing live on stage Thursday October 29 at 8pm sharp. When I say prepare to be blown away, I am not exaggerating. Gowan is an entertainer extraordinaire who, since 1999, has brought brand new life to STYX and who also continues his illustrious solo career.

Gowan is live streaming this phenonemal concert for free but donations are being accepted to support the live event community and venue.

There will also be a live chat so I hope to see you all there - consider it an extension of our CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party!

This performance will give you a taste of what's in store tomorrow night ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ceiyHuW-JQ&list=RD-4eT_0tnj1w&index=2

Donald Trump is a strange animal, that I know.

And, this goes out to the president and to all of his devoted followers,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4eT_0tnj1w

one of the characteristics of a number of forms of mental illness is that one can concurrently have beliefs that conflict with one another.

i.e. just because donald was able in a moment of clarity to state the truth doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't also believe his own lies at the time he told them.

JL

If Trump wins, that whole "fantasy world" thing gets a lot more compelling. Also, ether soaked rags.

Elephant, reading a newspaper: Is that an elephonkey?

Donkey holding a coffee cup: Hmmm.

Elephonkey: Hey guys! Is there room in the middle?

Elephant and Donkey: No ... as they put the newspaper and coffee cup on the bench between them.

Elephonkey: Okey, dokey.

Heh.

Well, it's going to be fun watching Biden try to bring America together ...

That was part of a grip of them that I posted under CW's last column.

Wanted to add one more to the great ads you shared. This one got to me!

Last Call from the Lincoln Project
https://lincolnproject.us/video/last-call/

Chris, I can't agree with that at all. Bob Woodward's tapes proved pretty conclusively that he doesn't believe the things he says. This is one of the things I hate when I hear reporters talk about him on TV. They say "He believes . . ." when they should be saying "He says . . ."

He believes that he can convince us that his lies are true. That what he believes.

Well, OK. I didn't and don't find any of Trump's insanity amusing, whatever the immediate impact, and despite the soothing influence of the 'adults in the room' who shielded the nation from the worst of his irrationalities (so they assure us).

The guy is president of the United States. How is "denial of reality" as working principle in directing the federal government amusing? Particularly if you don't watch Saturday Night Live, or other outlets that created a clown persona for him that actually shielded his disabilities from being taken seriously.

President. Of. The. United. States. And out of his mind most of the time. Not amusing at all, ever.

Can't Trust Lindsey

Bullock for Montana

Pebble

I like it that LP is cutting ads against Repug Senatorial candidates. Unlike the Obama-era idiot Democrats, LP knows we've got to get all three branches of government out of Repug hands if we hope to undo this latest Repug President's mess.

Crap! I just realized that I should have asked you prior to promoting someone else’s site on YOUR blog. I am truly sorry for not seeking your permission prior to posting the above! I meant no disrespect and do not believe you should have to tolerate people pushing sites on YOUR blog that you do not support!

—Russ

Here’s a link to today’s rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9aJ_tTPwPY&t=311s

It is beyond sad, but I fear there will be many peaks and vallys and high level plateaus before America will ever crush the curve down to a low and manageable number of cases where y'all can have fun again.

Even another lockdown to bring the case numbers down won't solve the problem unless you are prepared to do what is really necessary to get this virus under control - smart and quick turn-around testing, isolation of cases, tracing all contacts and quarantining contacts, cluster investigations and all of the other fundamental public health measures that need to be taken, both at a government and individual level.

I really feel for you guys.

:-(