Monday, October 31, 2016

One of the faces of good America: Robert Reich



"America is great because America is good, 
and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
Alexis de Tocqueville

By Patrick

America is a very confusing country, maybe more than ever. One the one hand, it is home to millions of highly educated people. Many of the best universities are located in the USA - no less than 17 American universities can be found among the best 25 universities of the world. On the other hand, contempt of education, ignorance and the fanatic belief in authoritarian solutions have become popular, endangering the foundations of democracy. In this incredibly diverse country, a clash between several cultures is taking place. The outcome has yet to be determined.

Robert Reich is a prominent representative of the highly educated, and may I say, "good" America. He wrote many books which surely are excellent, but these days, the public conversation mainly takes place on social media. Books are not as influential as they once were. 

Social media however has become incredibly influential. That's where we spend many hours a week, where we form our opinions and communicate with others. Places like our blog, but most importantly, the conversation can be found on facebook and twitter.

Therefore it is a good thing that somebody like Robert Reich has become very active on facebook as well. He usually publishes several facebook posts every day, and they are often very thought provoking as well as fascinating. They are worth reading.

Here are some examples.







We will never stop believing in "good America." After all, there is something special which distinguishes America from many other places. People like Robert Reich are wonderful representatives of this free world with liberal values - a world which is now under threat. 

Friday, October 28, 2016

Songs about Donald Trump


By Patrick

Donald Trump aspires to be a dictator who wants to throw his domestic enemies in jail, wants to throw millions of people out of the country, wants to end the concept of a free press and media, wants to torture his "foreign" enemies  and kill their families, wants to "shoot first and ask questions later", wants to punish women for abortions, and wants many more obscene things which I have forgotten about right now.

Donald Trump is obscene.

Therefore, it is fully justified to publish hard-hitting, even "outrageous" anti-Trump music-videos, like the Russian band "Pussy Riot" did yesterday. It appears that only those people who for example already experienced the humiliating life as a prisoner in an autocratic country can truly imagine what life in "Donald Trump's America" would be like. Three members of "Pussy Riot" had to endure nearly two years imprisonment in Vladimir Putin's prison camps, and they know very well what the very harsh reality would look like. No doubt in my mind that Donald Trump deeply admires Vladimir Putin's brutal system...

(h/t silver_desert)

Watch:




More interesting songs which are "featuring" Donald Trump in one way or the other can be found on the internet. Here is a small collection of songs which are worth watching.

CLIP 1:




CLIP 2:








However, there is no doubt in my mind that American democracy will triumph over the forces of evil in the end.

Have a good and pleasant weekend, everybody!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

"Saturday Night Live" with Tom Hanks - Looking for yuuuuuuge fun?


By Patrick

We need a new post, I am a bit "trumped out" at the moment, so I will keep it brief. Donald Trrump's campaign will probably go down in history as the worst presidential campaign ever, but this is hardly a surprise, as "the Don" is also the worst presidential candidate ever. 

Maybe the "Trump-wing" of the Republican party should just form a separate party. They could call themselves "Huge Nuts Party." Haha, I came up with this myself.

Anyway, Tom Hanks, a man I really admire, teamed up again with the good people at "Saturday Night Live", and the results are glorious, as was to be expected.

Tom Hanks is a great person and a real role model. The "antidote" to Donald Trump, so to speak.

Watch and enjoy!








Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Finally, the third and last debate - It will soon be over, and the Constitution will have saved the American people


By Patrick

Yes, almost done!

Don't worry, very soon, the nightmare will be over.

I am confident that America will recover, although it may take some time.

What I hope is the following: America will realize (again) that the Constitution has been created to protect us from ourselves. This year, the Constitution has to protect us from Donald Trump and his minions.

We need to have faith in the strength of American democracy.

The debate will probably just be as terrible as the last one, but at least it will soon be over.

Starting at 09.00 ET, as usual.

Here are two interesting clips.

Steve Schmidt, a man who redeemed himself, makes some stinging comments:




Stephen Colbert talks to "Melania Trump":






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BONUS:

Randy Rainbow interviews Melania Trump:



Saturday, October 15, 2016

The Apocalypse has to be postponed - Donald Trump will lose the election in a landslide, but what will happen then?

Albrecht Dürer, "The four horsemen of the Apocalypse", 1498

Revelation 6:1-8

The Seals

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder,“Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creaturesay, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

By Patrick

Yes, Donald Trump really is like a biblical plague. Fortunately, he will lose in such a huuuuuuge way that it will be very memorable, no doubt about it.


The question, however, is the following: What consequences will the election have, once it is all over? Will it make the US democracy stronger, or will it weaken it?

There is no doubt that Donald Trump unleashed a dangerous, radical, destructive and poisonous "movement." It is obvious that this movement cannot win a general election. There are simply not enough fools around.

However, will these people who threaten the media and crave an authocratic ruler like Donald Trump continue to have an impact, or not? This is the question. Much will depend on the self-confidence of Democrats, and it remains to be seen who finally takes over the Republican party, because right now, they are at war with each other.

I do hope that Trump's loss will make democracy stronger, and it should. Democracy can be very fragile, and it can be at risk. However, if America forcefully rejects Donald Trump, voters will send a huuuuge message. Any future populists will be compared to Donald Trump, and hopefully his evil "brand" of populism will then be tainted forever.

The USA still is in a massive crisis, as far too many pressing problems are being ignored. It is not enough that for example the economy recovers. There is more work to do. The USA are in dire need of a healthcare system which covers all their citizens and won't bankrupt them if they have serious diseases. The gun culture is literally "killing" US society. It is also not a distinction that 25% of all prisoners worldwide are being imprisoned in the USA. Poor people should not be just left to themselves, but should receive a minimum standard of state support which allows them to live a dignified life without crime and despair.

That's at least my opinion. I am living in a country where all these above mentioned problems actually have been solved or do not exist, and we have a very, very good life here. It would be great to see if all Americans could receive the same standard.

I know of course that there are many wealthy people in the USA who have a great life. But life should be great for everybody, not just for the wealthy. Currently, from what I have seen, and I have seen quite a lot, this is not the case in the USA. Far from it, actually. There still is a lot of work to do. In particular, the "War on Poverty" is far from over.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the USA was in a fantastic position. The USA was the biggest winner of WWII, as the war had propelled to economy and the military to "superpower" status. It should have become an incredibly wealthy country with no significant problems in society. Unfortunately, through many mistakes over several decades, things turned out differently. Today, we see that one of the results of the many mistakes which were made is the fact that the US society is deeply divided. This is pure poison for a country, which now becomes also very obvious as Donald Trump roams the land.

So this was a more serious post - although we also desperately need comedy for our mental health sometimes! :-)

Will the big problems be addressed, even after Hillary Clinton wins the election in a landslide? This remains to be seen. I certainly hope so, however, the previous eight years were also full of disappointments. We can only pray that the Democrats win the House as well as the Senate and then actually do something.



Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Donald Trump humor post - we have deserved a good laugh!

The upcoming issue of the UK satire magazine"Private Eye"

By Patrick

Guys and gals, let's face it: Donald Trump already lost the election. Still, don't forget to vote! ;-)

In addition, the GOP is toast as well, Cheers!

Therefore we can relax a bit and have a good laugh!

Randy Rainbow's new clip, I love it:



In New York, a "Trump Zoltar Machine" appeared at various locations, it's hilarious! Look out for new clips, on facebook, youtube etc!






CLIP 2:



More cartoons:



Fill in the blank, LOL:



Finally, a previous cover from "Private Eye":


Sunday, October 9, 2016

Let's brace ourselves for the town hall debate - this one should be interesting!


By Patrick

OK, so I think, by now, we have "seen it all"...! Or have we?

The "town hall" starts today at 09.00 pm ET, and it promises to be interesting. "The Don" against Hillary. What could possibly go wrong.

Therefore, have fun, everyone!

Here are some cartoons and clips to "get you in the mood."

I will be sound asleep, as always! But I guess Kathleen will be watching.

Have fun, and maybe have a strong drink as well. ;-)









These are golden times for SNL, which comes as no surprise:

CLIP 1:


(here is a better link, but I believe that this link works only within the USA)

+++

CLIP 2 (works only in the USA):


+++

Finally, the SNL-clip from the first debate (this link also only works for US viewers):


Friday, October 7, 2016

Will this shameless pig called Donald Trump be the next US president? No way, my friends, never! - UPDATES


By Patrick

Dear female readers,

you will be very offended, but you definitely have to watch this clip, which was revealed today by the Washington Post - the transcript alone is not enough, you have to listen to it yourself:


This is the next huge scoop by Washington Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold (interview here), to whom we will be eternally grateful.


The tape obtained by the Post includes audio of Bush and Trump’s conversation inside the bus, as well as audio and video once they emerge from it to begin shooting the segment.

In that audio, Trump discusses a failed attempt to seduce a woman, whose full name is not given in the video.

“I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it,” Trump is heard saying. It was unclear when the events he was describing took place. The tape was recorded several months after he married his third wife, Melania.

“Whoa,” another voice said.

“I did try and f--- her. She was married,” Trump says.

Trump continues: “And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’”

“I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married,” Trump says. “Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.”

At that point in the audio, Trump and Bush appear to notice Arianne Zucker, the actress who is waiting to escort them into the soap opera set.

“Your girl’s hot as s---, in the purple,” says Bush, who’s now a co-host of NBC’s “Today” show.

“Whoa!” Trump says. “Whoa!”

“I’ve gotta use some tic tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump says.“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful -- I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”

“And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

“Whatever you want,” says another voice, apparently Bush’s.

“Grab them by the p---y,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

No, my friends, this pig won't be the next US president, no way, never.

+++

UPDATE:

The clip has now been uploaded to Youtube, for easier sharing:



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UPDATE 3:

Donald Trump has always been a misogynistic pig.

On the internet, on "Google Books", you can find an original copy of "New York Magazine" from November 9, 1992. They wrote a major piece about Donald Trump back then, and there already Trump is on the record saying for example that you "have to treat women like shit." The whole article is very revealing.

Also, interestingly, the New York Magazine observed:

"Women are two types for him - 
those of use, and those he beds."

(h/t junasie14 - many thanks!)

Screenshots from the article:



I tweeted about it here.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Now for something not so different: Let's all try to survive the vice presidential debate together! - Bonus: Politicalgates has achieved more than 10 million pageviews since January 2011!


By Patrick

The vice presidential debate will start today at 09.00 ET, and I smell more embarrassment for the Republicans. It should be pretty good. The debate will be shown on all major networks, and there will also be live streams on the internet.

Let's all watch America becoming sober again!

In other news, Politicalgates has achieved more than 10 million pageviews since our start in January 2011. Kathleen and I are really grateful for having so many fantastic readers, who make America great again every day of the week by supporting freedom, democracy and the pursuit of happiness!


Together, we will all survive the Trump-madness in good health and good spirits!

Finally, some more great cartoons. They also help to lift our spirits, so I am very grateful that the USA is populated by so many excellent cartoonists: