Revealed now: The scathing documentary about Donald Trump that he didn't want the world to see

New York Magazine from September 4, 1989

By Patrick

This is officially our first major post about Donald Trump. It took us a long time, I know. After all, for far too many Americans, Donald Trump is the "real deal" these days. If you read the comments on articles about Trump, it is more than obvious that he already developed a real "cult-following" among right-wingers, and one has to wonder where this will all end. He is the new Sarah Palin, just louder, richer, and without the irritating speech impediments.

Donald Trump also has a rich history. This now comes to light again where suddenly an "old" documentary about Donald Trump is being "re-published", which is called "Trump: What's the deal?" 

However, the documentary has actually never been published in the first place, as Donald Trump threatened absolutely everyone involved back then. This was enough to suppress the film, although no lawsuits were filed back then.

Huffington Post has the best article about it:

Our story starts in 1988, in the decade of greed.

Leonard Stern, a New York pet food mogul and real estate developer, decided to finance a series of documentaries about celebrity businessmen. He did a smart thing --for the first documentary, he chose Donald Trump, who was then riding his bestselling book "The Art of the Deal" and beloved by the media.

I was called in to write the piece after the filmmakers shot the footage. It was easy work, because they had remarkable stuff: Donald working with the mob in Atlantic City, intimidating tenants, hiring illegal immigrant labor, verbally assaulting his family and underlings, trying to move a Florida airport because jets flew directly over his home... the list goes on and on.

Perhaps most interesting from a political point of view, the filmmakers revealed Trump to be the opposite of a small-government conservative. He got his start with his father's money and political connections, and he made money the same way his father did: on the backs of taxpayers.

But most upsetting to Trump was the film's revelation that he hadn't made as much money as he said he had. The producers were among the first to show that his financial empire was built on braggadocio... as recent reports show it to be to this day.

The revelations about Donald never seemed to end. There was so much for the filmmakers to learn about Trump --- his exaggerations, distortions, near-criminal behavior and, most of all, his deepening financial disaster --- that the documentary was three years in the making.

"Trump: What's the Deal?" was never shown on television. Donald Trump went after Leonard Stern --- in a big way. Lawyer's letters. Threats of lawsuits. Personal attacks.

Stern decided he didn't need the trouble and canceled the series. The producers finished the film. But no broadcaster would touch it. Trump had done his work.

Now a new website went up, where the full documentary can be viewed for free.

This website, and also a new facebook page about the documentary provides even more background details:

This film was suppressed 25 years ago.

July 2015 and Trump is running for president....So it's time this exclusive content comes out for the first time.

Why was the film never distributed before now?

The film was commissioned in 1988 by Leonard Stern as the first of a series on celebrity businessmen and finished in 1991. Back then, the only way for a film to be seen was on television or in the theater. Donald threatened to sue any broadcaster or distributor that took on the film. In effect, it was suppressed. It was screened twice in back-to-back standing room only showings at the Bridgehampton Community House on July 3, 1991, the same day that Donald announced his engagement Marla Maples.

Why it's important and why we should care now.

Now that Trump is running for president, it is time for the American People to meet the real Donald and learn how he does business. The old Trump and the new Trump?

They're the same Trump.

A context about the 80's and the beginning of the "me generation" of billionaires.

The 80s was the first modern "decade of greed". Donald Trump was the most visible of a handful of businessmen who became celebrities, a trend that has continued to this day.

What's happened with Trump since?

Since the completion of the film, Trump’s Atlantic City Empire is gone --- sunk into bankruptcy, and he is best known as the star of "The Apprentice," for building golf courses and slapping his name on buildings that others build and acting a superstar real estate agent. Oh, and he is still trying to move the Palm Beach airport.

Well, what happens to him right now is that he has a real chance to win the Republican nomination.

Many from the Republican base, people who have been brainwashed by Fox News for many years (as can be seen in the classic documentary "Outfoxed"), now view Donald Trump as their hero and savior. This is almost unbelievable, and it is also very dangerous. If being a disgusting loudmouth is enough these days to win the hearts and minds of these people, then virtually anyone could win the Republican nomination, however outrageous this person might be.

Therefore this documentary needs to be seen, and needs to be spread far and wide.

The documentary can watched for example on the new website for the film, but I also embedded it for easier viewing:

 

The direct link to the video can be found here.

On the website about the film, old newspapers old articles about the documentary have also been published.

Let's hope that this documentary will get a lot of attention.

Please share this post in order to spread the word.

It's time to show the world the real Donald Trump.

Today's GOP: The Inmates are Still Running the Asylum - UPDATE: Daniel Schulman's book on the Koch Brothers

by Sunnyjane

The Republican Tea Party is in disarray, and oddly enough, that's a good thing.  It's a little late in coming, but hey, at least the moderate Republicans have become frustrated with the Baggers and the Democrats are becoming bolder in calling them out on it.  More citizens who have always proudly aligned themselves with conservatives are stepping out of that dark hole and seeing the light of liberal policies.

We constantly fight that battle here at Politicalgates.  Let's see what others are saying on the issues in succinct and sometimes humorous ways -- ways that make you nod and think, That's right!

Gun Control

As governor, Ronald Reagan was all for gun control when the Black Panthers were making uncomfortable noises about armed revolution for social change in the 1970s.  Then Reagan decided to run for president in 1980 and reversed course and said citizens should be well-armed.  The NRA endorsed him.  He was shot by John Hinkley two months after his inauguration.  A lesson learned?  Unfortunately, NO.

See Ronald Reagan, above.

Energy Independence

One of the biggest Drill, Baby, Drill fallacies in this country is that by sucking oil out of every available piece of land in North America that we will decrease our dependence on foreign oil by standing next to the rigs and pumping it directly into American gas tanks.

Canada is particularly keen to run the XL Pipeline right smack-dab through America's heartland.  You get that, right?  Americans assume all the risk, Canada and the Kochs get all the money   From the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska through Native American sacred tribal lands, somewhere that sucker is going to spring a devastating leak; it's too late then.  And Americans benefiting from the pipeline?   Really?  Here's the truth...

Let's sail, boys, before these idiots figure out they've been lied to!

Immigration Reform -- or the Lack Thereof

One Montana county Tea Party group wants absolutely nothing to do with candidate Drew Turiano.  It seems Mr. T has gotten into a lot of trouble with this bunch for slinging around a heap of racial slurs, aimed primarily at Hispanics.  It is his contention that the U.S. should not just adopt a pathway to citizenship, but should also just send undocumented immigrants -- and their American-born children -- back to where they came from, via Operation Wetback.  [Note to Mr. Turiano: It's illegal to do that, you ignorant creep.] 

Of course, he's not the only GOP asshole to use the term wetback.  So have Don Young in Alaska and Chris Mapp in Texas because in both cases, it's perfectly normal.  Does this sound like your teenager saying, But Mom, everybody says it! 

Priorities, priorities, priorities.

Equal Pay for Women

   

     














  

Now, About the IRS Targeting the Republican Groups

Oh, and that Imperial President and His Executive Orders?

The Far-Right and Voting Rights

It's always dangerous when Tea Partiers start using big words.  You  know, like constitution and sovereignty, for example.  Rep. Ted Yahoo Yoho of Florida is no exception.  He loves his pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution, but has obviously never read it.  He cares about the sovereignty of this country, but has no idea that it necessitates a moral imperative to do right by its citizens.  Yoho was recently heard opining that only property owners should be allowed to vote.  Um, I recommend checking out the 15th Amendment, Congressman.  Oh, and he's awfully fond of voter ID laws.

Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi

And we'll take it all the way to 2016, if necessary!

Climate Change?  No Such Thing!

They don't know where babies come from, either.

Raising the Minimum Wage?  No, No, NO!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

End Note

+++

UPDATE (by Patrick):

I received an email-message by Daniel Schulman, a senior editor in the Washington bureau of "Mother Jones", in which he promotes his new book about the Koch brothers which was published yesterday, called "Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty", and it is my great pleasure to bring this email-message to your attention:

Hi everyone,

Excuse the email blast, but I wanted to alert you that my biography of the Koch brothers, Sons of Wichita, hit book stores this week. I poured the past (almost) three years of my life into this project, so needless to say I'm pretty excited to see this book leave my computer's hard drive for the real world. The early reviews have been great. Vanity Fair calls Sons of Wichita "never less than engrossing" and "a stylishly written saga." The American Prospect says "despite Schulman’s often-superb eye for the revealing and/or juicy detail…he never stoops to caricaturing his subjects as the Koch Ness Monsters of popular lore." If you'd like a preview, Vanity Fair published a short excerpt on Monday that chronicles my surreal visit with the elegant, elusive, eldest Koch brother, Frederick. Mother Jones published a longer excerpt Tuesday that covers the brutal legal battles among the four Koch brothers. (You can also catch me on NPR's Fresh Air today chatting about the book with Terry Gross. See here for air times in your neck of the woods.)

It takes a village to launch a book, so I'd certainly appreciate your help in spreading the word. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Talk loudly about it at crowded places where strangers will overhear you. Tweet it. Tumble it. Facebook it. Forward this email to anyone you can think of. Anything helps. And, if you're so inclined, buy a copy of the book. You can purchase it online from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or via iBooks. It should also be available at your local book store (and if it isn't, ask them why not!). If you do buy the book, please make sure to let me know what you think.

Best regards—and thanks,

Dan Schulman

I also want to use this opportunity to promote my video-clip about the Koch Brothers from 2011, which features the secret recording of one of their super-secret meetings:

April 2014: A Big Month for Right-Wing 'Common Sense'

by Sunnyjane

The pervasive stench of right-wing lies, hypocrisy, deceit, fraud, hatred...

It's as if the earth stopped spinning on its axis for seven-hundred-twenty-hours and the entire month of April became one big, bad Tea Party Fools Day -- even with the House of Idiots in recess almost half of that time.  What, did John Boehner send out a memo reading: Just continue acting stupid until we get back.

From bigotry to indictments to more plagiarism to cruelly bungled prison executions, to an outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease, the GOPers seemed to find it necessary to further demonstrate what total fools they are.

So, in no particular order, let's review why April 2014 was a terrible, no-good, very bad month for the far-right idiots in this country.

Racism, The Musical

♫♪ Brothers, brothers, we go together like no others... ♫♪

-- Cliven Bundy, who made his Politicalgates debut just recently, has made it necessary to once again receive our attention.  In the ongoing saga out at the Bigot Ranch, where the cattle roam free on public land, there's now a clash between rival militias as to which of these anti-government groups will make the bigger asses of themselves because there's a civil war a'comin', y'all.  Well ain't that just dandy.

Similar to the Jets and the Sharks in West Side Story, the Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers are staring into the opposite gangs' gun barrels.  It seems that Oath Keepers are persona non grata because they walked away from the ranch after the BLM showdown, and the Three Percenters are calling them out for deserting the cause.  In fact, the leader of the Three Percenters has threatened the deserters with shooting them in the back.  This, um, leader, one Mike Vanderboegh, has also threatened to castrate Harry Reid.  It's all pretty icky, don't you think?  One peculiar thing, however, is how Mr. Vanderboegh is able to lead a gang of anti-government hooligans into onward-Christian-soldiers battle when he's been receiving a $1,300 a month disability check from, uh, the same government he says he doesn't want or need.  I admit it: I'm confused.

Residents around the area are being harassed and endangered by roaming gangs of well-armed out-of-state militiamen, and local law enforcement refuses to get involved.  In fact, à la Gov. Pontius Pilate, Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has pretty much washed his hands of the whole thing.   

-- So then along came Donald Sterling -- who should know better -- telling his African-American/Mexican mistress, oh excuse me, personal assistant, that he doesn't want her to put photos of herself with The Blacks on any of her social media pages.  And gracious goodness, do not bring them to one of the Clippers games!

The NBA fined Sterling $2.5 million and took away all his basketballs for life.  Now both parties in this affair are speaking out.  Sterling wishes he'd just paid her off, and Stiviano says that while he should apologize for his remarks, he's actually not a racist and she is merely his silly rabbit.  I mean, does it get any tackier than this?

Actually, I have it on somewhat dubious authority that Sterling wants to sell the Clippers to  Bundy, who plans to rename the team the ShuckNJivers.  No, seriously...sort of.

Never Let that Christian Stuff Get in the Way of Your Stupidity

The Gospel According to Sarah Palin.  Amen.  Also. Too.

Possibly more blasphemous and cringe-inducing than her blood libel spoutrage after the January 2011 shootings in Tuscon, Sarah Palin earned herself a huge, well-deserved media wedgie recently by screeching that water-boarding (also known as torture) is the way America would baptize terrorists if she were in charge.  (Translation: If you numbskulls had just elected John McCain and me!)   The world over, those of every religion or no religion are breathing great sighs of relief and muttering, Well, thank God she's NOT in charge.

Granted, I'm no Biblical scholar, but I'm sure we'd have all heard about it if there were a passage where Jesus said, Let he who is without sin be the first to water-board people in my name.

Makes you wonder what Maverick Mac -- who was himself tortured in a Vietnam prison --  thinks of his North Star Nutjob now.  Looks like the Tea Party Republicans may need a new brand of diva.  Dontcha think?

Still Behaving Badly -- Very Badly

So how are those 2016 presidential aspirations going for you, Governor?

-- The fecal matter just keeps falling on Chris Christie's head these days.  There is now a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into a little fund-finagling going on in New Jersey.  Seems that in 2011, Christie had $1.8 Billion transferred from the Port Authority to New Jersey so that he could use it to fix some crumbling structures issues, thereby keeping a 2010 campaign promise not to raise taxes.

-- Congressman Michael Grimm from New York has been indicted on charges of mail and wire fraud, filing false tax returns and health care payments, hiring undocumented workers and obstruction of justice.  Of course, he's innocent because he's a moral man and this is all just a political witch hunt.  But you knew that, didn't you?  I guess he was also being a moral man when he threatened a reporter that he'd throw him off the balcony in the Capitol Building.

-- Crazy old Steve Stockman is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for some sort of, um, reporting error he made with the Federal Election Commission.  Of course, it probably doesn't make much difference, since he's not running again.

-- Congressman Vance McAllister, the guy who was caught on video in an extended lip-lock with a campaign staffer, has decided not to run for office this year.  Good idea.

--  It seems that North Carolina con artist pastor and senate candidate Mark Harris, who doesn't believe in the separation of church and state -- he openly begs his congregation for love offerings for his campaign -- has been lifting text from Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey's website for his own use.  You know, sort of like Rand Paul's little game of plagiarism?  Well, Paul got a little of his own back when Greg Brannon lifted text from his website.  Does it ever end?  Perhaps it doesn't matter; both Harris and Brannon (who was endorsed by Sarah Palin, of course) lost in their respective primaries.

When Voter Suppression Becomes a GOP Voter Obsession

Voters in two states got some relief in April from the repressive far-right ID laws.

--  In Wisconsin, the judge ruled that the requirement that voters show state-issued IDs imposed an undue burden on poor and minority voters.  He also pointed out that Gov. Scott Walker's team could not point to even one instance of voter fraud in Wisconsin in the recent past, saying, ...virtually no voter impersonation occurs in Wisconsin and it is exceedingly unlikely that voter impersonation will become a problem in Wisconsin in the foreseeable future.

--  Democratic Governor Mike Beebe vetoed the original bill, stating that, I cannot approve such an unnecessary measure that would negatively impact one of our most precious rights as citizens.  However, both chambers of the Arkansas legislature voted to overturn the veto, and opponents of the bill took it to court.  However, the court agreed with the plaintiffs that not only was it aimed unfairly at young, low-income, and minority voters, it was simply against the state constitution, which reads ...no power, civil or military, shall ever interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage; nor shall any law be enacted whereby such right shall be impaired or forfeited, except for the commission of a felony, upon lawful conviction thereof.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment is Unlawful -- Except in Oklahoma

Rabid pro-death penalty Governor Mary Fallin is so anxious to catch up with Rick Perry's execution numbers that she screwed the pooch on one recently.  After a panel of judges ruled that the execution should not take place because the potpourri of three drugs needed to do the job had not been tested, Fallin overruled them with an Executive Order.  (Why is it that when President Obama uses EOs he's an Imperialist, but when a Republican governor does it...well, never mind all that.)

With that sharply worded The Show Must Go On directive, the prisoner was strapped to the execution table in a timely manner and the death drugs were administered.  Well, everyone knows what happened, so I shall not repeat it.  Suffice it to say, it ended badly.  Fallin has called for a review of the procedure, but has stated that the next execution will take place as scheduled. Perhaps she is asking Perry for his recipe; I dunno.

Sick of the whole bunch yet?  Yeah, me too.

End Note

 

When Will Alison Grimes Declare 'Game On!' Against Mitch McConnell?

by Sunnyjane

Since you asked, Mitch:  Repealing the Second Amendment, Defending Obamacare, Ending the War on Clean Energy, and Protecting the Living. There.  How's that?

In about seven months, Americans will vote to keep or replace their congresspeople, all four hundred and thirty-five of them.  There are also thirty-three gubernatorial races and thirty-three senate races to be decided on November 4. Personally, with the 2012 general election, Virginia's gubernatorial election in 2013, and this year's election, I feel like all I do is vote. 

While the University of Virginia professor and director of its Center for Politics Larry Sabato dismisses the Kentucky senate race as hardly one worth watching -- he believes there's no way McConnell can lose -- there are plenty of others who disagree. 

Waaa...I Wanna be the Senate Majority Leader!

All right, Mitch, you had your fun, now let go.  Stop it!  I said, LET GO OF THE GUN!

Perhaps Grimes is waiting to see what happens in the Republican primary election in May between McConnell and his loudest opponent, Tea Party darling Matt Bevin before she starts fighting in earnest.  Bevin has support from all the right places (pun intended), including Jim DeMint's Senate Conservative Fund.  The McConnell campaign seems less than impressed by this support: Matt Bevin now has the dubious honor of standing with a self-serving D.C. fundraising group that made its name by recruiting and promoting unelectable candidates that ensured Barack Obama a majority in the Senate.  (Ouch!)  The Bevin-McConnell kerfuffle is more than just a newbie trying to oust a long-time senator: it's a battle between the Tea Party and the establishment Conservatives.  The Tea Party  big-wigs would support a maggot-infested Twinkie if they thought it would send another Ted Cruz/Rand Paul/Mike Lee, etc., to the Senate.

McConnell also faces the likelihood of being ousted from his Minority Leader position if the GOP does not win control of the Senate.  Even if they should somehow gain control, an even bigger threat is that he would not be allowed to become Majority Leader.  That would leave a bruise.  Mitch has a lot of issues facing him this election and his campaign is going to have to navigate each one of them.

So, Alison, time to get serious.  It's not like there's nothing in Mitch's legislative record to criticize.  And giving him a poke about how he holds a gun -- KY women do it better -- ain't gonna cut it.

Running in Place -- Backwards

OK, Turtle-head, which part of "paycheck fairness" don't you understand?  The "paycheck" part or the "fairness" part?

That Sen. McConnell is a leadership-weenie is hardly worth my typing that fact.  The Tea Partiers in the Senate ignore him, and he has little following from so-called regular conservatives.  He follows before he leads.

And such was the case with the Paycheck Fairness Act when he harrumphed that  At a time when the Obama economy is already hurting women so much, this legislation would double down on job loss, all while lining the pockets of trial lawyers. It's just another Democratic idea that threatens to hurt the very people that it claims to help.  This is, of course, so much bullshit balderdash.  President Obama did win the gender gap in 2012 by eighteen percentage points, after all, and has done everything allowed by law to make women's lives easier.  The same can hardly be said for the Tea Party Republicans.

We Can't Afford to Give Those Slackers More Money!

Yeah, so $4.9 trillion for real important stuff.  But the President is trying to bankrupt the country!

After trying -- but failing, fortunately -- to add an amendment to the unemployment benefits extension that would, ahem,  boost job growth by approving the Keystone XL pipeline, reducing taxes on small businesses, and eliminating the 30-hour workweek rule in Obamacare, the Senate passed the bill on April 7 and sent it to an empty House; they decided to go on vacation until April 28.  Great work if you can get it, I suppose, to do nothing while earning $174,000 a year.  Now, has it occurred to anyone on the Hill that this could have been done last December?  No, I suppose not.  They don't give a damn anyhow.  Makes you wonder if they understand that part of their mission as elected representatives of the people is to Promote the General Welfare.

Obamacare is a Disaster, Too Expensive, and Must be Repealed!

HUH?  You're telling me Obamacare is working?  Even in KENTUCKY?

Not only is the Affordable Care Act working -- yes, even in Kentucky -- it is becoming more, well, affordable.

The Tea Party-run GOP has been all over the place on the ACA.  Ted Cruz is beginning to sound like a badly stretched 8-track tape with his We'll repeal every word of Obamacare! mantra.  This, of course, is one of the brilliant people who said two years ago that Americans don't need health insurance because that's what Emergency Rooms are for.  Now, he's joining forces with those who are pushing the idea that ERs should turn away people without health insurance, but offers no solution as to how they would obtain that health insurance.  OK, I know this makes no sense, but indulge me: we're talking about the Tea Party here.

Alison Grimes has welcomed the support of former president Bill Clinton, who told Democrats back in March that they should not run away from Obamacare in the 2014 elections.  But even though Kentucky has signed up almost four hundred thousand of its citizens for the ACA,  Grimes seems bent on taking the advice of Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who cautions: Don’t defend Obamacare.  Say it was flawed from the beginning, and we’re going to fix it.

If Alison Grimes cannot stand in front of her supporters and stick up for a program that has allowed four hundred thousand Kentuckians to be enrolled in the ACA and Medicaid, perhaps she shouldn't be running for the U.S. Senate after all.

Maybe she's seeking counsel from the horoscope column in her local newspaper.  I dunno.

Fortunately, There is GOOD News for Grimes

Just before publishing this post, there came late-breaking news that Grimes is taking in a good amount of money -- she's topping the Turtle -- through her grassroots campaign.  Looks like Kentuckians really do hate Mitch McConnell.

End Note

  

What to Expect When You're Expecting the GOP's Worst in 2014

by Sunnyjane

John Boehner:  Congress should not be judged on how many laws we pass.  Congress ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal.

A House Divided

House Report Card: Members do not work and play well with others.

It's hardly breaking news that the House session ending in early January 2014 has been the least productive in history.  Speaker John Boehner has accused at least three different factions for this dubious recognition:  President Obama for not working with the congress; the Democratic-controlled Senate for not doing its job; and the battle royal between the Republican pragmatists and ideologues that force him to leave the office early and go sprinting to the nearest D.C. watering hole for an injection of Merlot. 

This year is one of elections for all members of the House of Representatives, some senators, and a few governors.  Karl Rove and Scott Reed, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief political strategist, are planning to spend tons of money to see that no losers end up as Republican candidates in 2014.  Scott told the Wall Street Journal recently, That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket.

As Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post says, Wanna bet?

Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone also has a hilarious post on this topic, at one point wondering if Ted Cruz will choose Phil Robertson as his more moderate running mate.

Speaking of Fools...

It's easy to understand why Scott Reed and Karl Rove might be a tad anxious about idiots running on the Republican ticket in 2014; there is already too much irreconcilable imbecility in both houses of congress.  A brief review of some typical Tea Party Republican legislators making fools of the entire party in 2013 confirms that these two strategists have every right to be uneasy.

Rep. Joe Barton, TPF- (Tea Party Fool) TX:  It should be noted, first and foremost, that Rep. Barton serves on the House Energy and Power and the Environment and Economy subcommittees.  Given those responsibilities, he has a long history of making the most outlandish anti-science statements ever heard from a representative who has to make policy on energy.   To wit, on wind energy technology, he has offered the notion that wind is a finite resource and harnessing it would slow the winds down, which would cause the temperature to go up.  (There's so much wrong with that statement -- beginning with wind being finite -- that I refuse to waste my time dissecting it.)  And on the causes of climate change, he suggests strongly that If you believe in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change.  That certainly wasn’t because mankind overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.

Rep. Trent Franks, TPF-AZ: Trent took exception to exempting pregnancies caused by rape and incest from provisions of an anti-abortion bill, because of course, ...you know, the incidences of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.  But when you make that exception, there’s usually a requirement to report the rape within 48 hours.  And in this case, that’s impossible because this is in the sixth month of gestation. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert, TPF-TX:  On immigration, Gohmert said, We know that people that are now being trained to come in and act like Hispanic when they are radical Islamist.  (He failed to explain exactly how one can act like Hispanic, but I'm sure that his remark warmed the hearts of Republican moderates trying attract the Latino vote.)  And of course, this is the same Louie Gohmert who was outraged that Attorney General Eric Holder was trying to cast aspersions on my asparagus. 

I know the U. S. Constitution forbids any sort of religious test for folks running for elected office, but heavens to Murgatroid, might it not be a good idea to check out a candidate's basic knowledge of science and biology?  Oh, and vegetables.

What Can We Expect from the Media in 2014?

The extra 20% is those Fox News viewers who don't even  know what scientists are.

Oh, just a couple of things to consider here: 

1.  Will Jim DeMint work it so that David Gregory of NBC is replaced by Phil Robertson?

2.  Will not-running-in-2014 Michele Bachmann replace Sarah Palin on Fox News?

3.  Will Alex Baldwin land a reality show on A&E, where he'll fit right in?

4. Will Sarah Palin, political pundint, get Willow a job styling birther honcho Donald Trump's hair? 

     4A: Can Willow possibly teach her stupid mother the correct way to wear a wig?

5. Will Chuck Todd learn the difference between a finicky website and an excellent healthcare insurance plan?

6. Will every political analyst, commenter, and guest expert on news shows cease the obnoxious  habit of beginning every response to a host's question with Well, I mean, look...
      
    6A: Will the media learn the difference between less and fewer?  Hint to media talkers and writers:  Less traffic, fewer automobiles.  See, isn't that easy?

   6B:  Will the media ever learn that the past tense of sink is sank, not sunk?  It's OK, media; sank is not a dirty word.

Can the RNC Ever Get Its Minority-Vote Thing Right?

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is going to slip a disk if he continues to bend over backwards to lure African Americans -- and other minorities -- to vote for his party.

On December 1, the fifty-eighth anniversary of Rosa Parks's brave act of defiance in Birmingham, Alabama, the always-racially-tone-deaf RNC sent a tweet out that read Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism.  It's too bad no one told James Earl Ray, who killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., thirteen years later.

Right on the heels of that little social-media faux pas, Priebus sent Rand Paul parachuting into Detroit to open the GOP's first African American Outreach office -- or something like that.  They invited people to show up and hear Sen. Paul speak on the subject of how Republicans are going to do more for African Americans than Democrats.  People showed up.  They were white.  The end.

And just recently, Chairman Priebus and Co-Chairperson Sharon Day (I guess including Day was to show how much they Love you women!) sent out a Happy Kwanzaa statement commemorating an event that celebrates African history and culture.  Even conservative media called it pandering to blacks.

Wait for the RNC to tweet Happy Chinese New Year (celebrated in all Asian countries) on February 9, and Happy Cinco de Mayo on May 5.  

These meaningless gestures and transparent platitudes insult the intelligence of those targeted demographics and those white in this country who fight for the civil liberties of ALL Americans. 

Let's face it: the only difference between a gun-totting, Bible-clutching white supremacist and a Tea Party member of the GOP is the number of tattoos emblazoned on their bodies.

Will Ted Cruz Continue to be a Lying Obstructionist?

Yes.  Yes, he will.

Sen. Cruz has denied that he caused the government shutdown by threatening that identical action back in September if the Affordable Care Act was not defunded.  He stood in the Senate Chamber and read Green Ham and Eggs for -- I don't know, twenty-one hours or so.  We know the results and the ensuing backlash it caused.

President Obama's response to that bit of showboating was: One faction of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government doesn’t get to shut down the entire government just to re-fight the results of the election.  The idea of putting the American people’s hard-earned progress at risk is the height of irresponsibility and doesn’t have to happen.  You don’t get to extract a ransom for doing your job.  

Cruz is getting as bad as Sarah Palin when it comes to makin' stuff up, many times for no reason at all.  During his filibuster, he included (for no apparent reason and to no one's interest whatsoever) the, um, fact that My father invented green ham and eggs and talked about watching his father prepare the dish. This is quite interesting, since Dr. Seuss wrote that book in 1960 and Ted wasn't born until 1970.  (Even if Raul really told him that, most children outgrow these little stories their parents tell them, like thunder is just God doing his thing at the Heavenly Kingdom Bowling Alley located right behind the Harps R Us store on Pearly Gates Road.)

He is still calling on his fellow Republicans to block immigration reform because it would mean the GOP has no chance of winning the Senate in 2014.

Yes, Cruz will continue to lie and obstruct.  And every time he does, another conservative donor will write a large check to the Democratic Party.

Will Darrell Issa Finally Stop Talking About Benghazi?

Keep digging!  There's gotta be a way to blame Obama and Clinton!

No.  No, he won't.

Just for the record, Darrell Issa is a nasty, dishonest, scheming, mean, vile human being with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  Any one who believes he has reformed after his criminal activities before getting into congress needs a cerebral MRI -- stat!

Democrat Anthony Clark, who worked on the GOP's House oversight committee, summed up Darrell Issa quite well in an excellent post at Salon: If Darrell Issa says something – based on the record, his statements, and my personal observations of him up-close – there is a strong likelihood it will be baseless and easily disproven.

Clark goes on to reveal that Issa is an inept Chairman who doesn't even know the rules under which he is to hold hearings or the legal powers accorded him in  that position.  He also lets it be known that Issa is a bully: The more bombastic he is, the more he hungrily seeks out the cameras, the more he promises “explosive revelations,” the less he actually has. Bullies don’t win fights; they win defaults. Push back just the tiniest bit, and it’s all over. 

Darrell Issa is so sleazy that when he demanded that Health and Human Services turn over highly sensitive documents to him regarding the Healthcare.gov website, he was refused because of his track record as an untrustworthy guardian of secrets.

On Benghazi, Issa has always insisted that the anti-Islam American-made film, Innocence of Muslims, had nothing to do with the rioting at the American Embassy that resulted in the death of four people.  Regardless of the source, evidence presented to him will not satisfy his lust to bring some scandal raining down the Obama administration. 

The Republican-controlled House twice cut funding for better security at American embassies worldwide, in 2011 by $128 million and in 2012 by $331 million because, You have to prioritize things.  And, obviously, security at embassies is not a priority.  Pointing one's finger and yelling Bang, bang at a well-armed horde of terrorists is hardly an effective deterrent.

And, of course, the Benghazi conclusions reached in the New York Times' recent article was simply to absolve Hilary Clinton. 

It matters not to Darrell Issa; he doesn't believe in real evidence.  Despite the fact that he has called President Obama one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times, but has never succeeded in making one accusation stick, he will continue to waste the tax payers' money and congressional time in trying.  Please proceed, Mr. Chairman.

Will Republicans Continue to Try to Impeach the President?

Of course they will.  

The first meeting of the committee to Get Obama the Hell Out of the White House came to the conclusion that The president has ignored laws, failed to enforce laws, undermined laws and changed laws, all contrary to the Constitution.

And the President's response? 

Heh. 

A Personal Indulgence, If I May

This is one of my favorite images of 2013.  No words are needed, except to say that Pete Souza certainly knows how to capture the most powerful and significant moments during the President's time in office.

End Note -- Happy New Year, GOP!