Presidential Campaign Review (And Trump)

This presidential campaign has been painful to watch.  Let's review the candidates.

Ben Carson was/is weird
Carly Fiorina was in over her head and a pathological liar
Lindsey Graham was Lindsey Graham
Little Ricky Santorum reminded everyone why they hated him
Mike Huckabee just seemed too desperate - I actually thought he was going to resort to self immolation to get attention
Jeb Bush seemed like he really didn't want to be there
Marco Rubio bless his heart has no idea about anything and thinks that if he is just a blank slate he can win
John Kasich pretends to be from the sensible center, he really is not but he will govern from the extremes
Ted Cruz believes that G-D has chosen him to lead this country and he actually believes in his talking points
Martin O'Malley (who was my first choice) just could not get any oxygen in the Sanders/Clinton world. He tried to run from the right of Sanders and from the left of Hillary - a place that does not exist
Bernie Sanders is a great guy - I don't think he is running on issues that can be achieved - I wish they could be but he is not in the real world
Hillary Clinton who has the best resume of all the candidates but people just can't warm to her

And, then there is Donald J Trump - the MSM darling (they continue to give him a free pass)
I initially thought with Trump in the race it would be hilarious, I thought he was going to be a few months of bluster and drama and he would announce his latest reality show.
But no; it is Trump who has made this race painful.
In his speeches he says nothing, he rambles from topic to odd topic and insult to insult.
He is thin skinned
He is self absorbed
He really believes in nothing other than Donald J Trump
His opinions on the great issues of the day are not based on research or taking the time to think about them He is all impulse and says what he thinks is going to get the best reaction.
He is for traditional marriage and yet he has been married three times
He is all about using the military at every instance but when this country called him to serve, which it did 5 times he applied for and received 5 deferments (rich kid)
He said he learned more about the military from attending a military styled boarding high school than men who actually served in the military.  Remember the 5 deferments
He claims to be self made but  his father was a millionaire and he took over the company
He says he is a great and successful businessman but the companies that are called Trump have filed for bankruptcy 4 times.
He talks about the working class in very racist terms
At what point in is climb to celebrity status has he ever tried to relate to working people?
How is going to make Mexico pay for that wall?  Go to war? (see 5 deferments)
He is fomenting violence by Islamic extremists
I am convinced that he won't release his tax information because we will find out he is not as rich as he tells us he is. Think about - he earned a large pay check from NBC and convinced them to pay his children as well.
He and his children needed that those paychecks
And, then there are his events.
They started out as raucous and he encouraged it and now they have become violent and he has clearly encouraged it.
Very soon a supporter will shoot off her gun at one of his events but that won't stop him.
A week later a white man will shoot and kill a person of color at a Trump event and then and only then will Trump's campaign come to an end

Callahan Endorsed by E-T - My Own Endorsement Coming Soon

I am not convinced that newspaper endorsement have an effect on the outcome of an election or that people take it into consideration when voting but getting an editorial board endorsement is better than not getting one.

The newspaper of record for Northampton County The Express - Times / LehighValleyLive has endorsed my friend and excellent Mayor John Callahan for Northampton County Executive.

I will be blogging this week about who I am voting for and why and we all know that my endorsement is the kiss of death so important to the masses that I am sure you will all be waiting on pins and needles for my inspired pronouncements.

Since I have been accused of thinking I am better than most people, I am compelled by my own sense of over blown grandeur & self importance to tell you all how to vote.

Super Power Success in Africa

U. S. Forces in broad daylight near the capital of Libya capture the Al Qaeda leader who was behind the 1995 embassy bombing in Tanzania and Kenya. 

U. S. Navy Seals take out the Al Qaeda affiliated Shabab leader behind the Westgate Mall massacre last week.  

While the Republicans try to deny health care to millions of Americans, while their shut down causes harm and distress to the dedicated government employees and those small and large business owners who do business with the government and in and around government related sites; the defense of this nation continues.

Will Darryl Issa and Ted Cruz call for hearings about these successes?  Of course not they only call for hearings to make the government of this country look bad.

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Congressman Dent Leading - Glad to See It!

Could this be the act of leadership from Congressman Charles Dent that I have been looking for his entire career?  According to reports and his office our GOP Congressman is urging his colleagues to go along with the Senate and fund the government through a truly clean continuing resolution.


As you know the government is set for a partial shut down at midnight tonight unless a bill makes it through both chambers and is signed by the President.  The Democrats in the Senate will only pass and the President will only sign a free and clear straight forward spending bill.  The House is being held hostage by it's extreme right wing and the Speaker is so weak and powerless that he is unable to lead.


So, into the vacuum steps my Congressman Charlie Dent.  I have not always been kind to Mr. Dent but I do always acknowledge when he does the right thing.

Everyone always says what a great guy Mr. Dent is and how nice he is.  I don't really care if he is nicer than what Pope Francis appears to be what I want and expect from our Congressman is leadership.  Mr. Dent has always seemed to be happy being a back bencher and going along to get along.  My theory is why enter politics unless you are ready, willing and able to lead.  To this date the Congressman has shown little inclination in that direction.  I may not always agree with where Mr. Dent is headed but I just want him to show some guts and stand up for what he thinks is right.

Last week Mr. Dent issued a statement claiming he was from the governing wing of the Republican Party and was opposed to shutting down the government, even as he went along with legislation that would have in the end done just that.  But, I didn't comment about it because I was hoping he would be a man of his word.

I am pleased to see that Congressman Dent is just that; a man of his word and is working to ensure the federal government does not shut down.

Good on you; Congressman Dent

Boehner - Extremists Matter More Than Country

John Boehner has proven to be the worst and weakest House Speaker by capitulating to this . Like many Republicans he has decided that power trumps governing, truth, justice and the American way.


Speaker Boehner has agreed to support Teabaggers in their efforts to allow a government shutdown rather than fund The Affordable Health Care Act.

John Boehner has decided keeping his office is more important than anything else. Historians will write that he has been one of the weakest and least effective Speakers in history but apparently that does not matter to Mr. Boehner.

He has coveted this role for such a long time and he will do anything and everything he can to keep it. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the second in line to the Presidency has decided that the extremists in his party are more important than his country.


There can be no worse political humiliation than being tossed out as Speaker by your own party (ask Newt) and if John Boehner does not bow to the extremists he is in danger of that happening. So, instead of doing what is right for the country Speaker Boehner is falling in line with the people who gave him the Speakership because being Speaker means more to Boehner than anything else.

NY Times Endorses Christine Quinn Mayor.

"But don’t worry, New York. Mr. Bloomberg’s is hardly the only way to run a city, and the excellent news is that there is a candidate who is ready to carry on at least as well as he did".

The New York Times has strong praise for Christine Quinn as it endorses her for Mayor.



"Ms. Quinn has been an impressive leader since her days as a neighborhood advocate and her early years on the City Council. We endorsed her for the Council in 1999 as someone “who can both work within the system and criticize it when necessary” — a judgment she has validated many times since. She has shepherded through important laws protecting New Yorkers’ health, safety and civil rights, including measures banning public smoking, protecting tenants and small businesses, and battling slumlords. She sponsored the sweeping 2007 legislation that made the city’s exemplary campaign-finance laws even stronger. She pushed successfully for a state law making kindergarten mandatory for 5-year-olds — giving thousands of poor and minority children a better start on their educations."

I am excited about the nations largest city and arguable the most important city on the planet having and out, loud and proud Lesbian as it's chief executive.

Quinn For Mayor

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Montgomery County & Equality - Perfect Together!

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes has decided to issue a wedding license to a lesbian couple.  The couple contacted him and after reviewing the request with both his office's solicitor and the county's solicitor it was decided to issue the marriage license because to do other wise would violate their civil rights.

It was not all that many years ago that Montgomery County, which is a suburb of Philadelphia was a bastion of Republican Conservatism.  Granted they were more George HW Bush Republican than Rick Santorum Republican.  It is now a little more blue than red but it is still a fairly moderate conservative type of county.

I am glad that this move has come from this county and not Philadelphia.  A suburban county sends a stronger message about the march to equality then a similar move from the a big city.

The ACLU has already filed a suit in court challenging my Commonwealth's desire to deny me full citizenship.

The real question now that The Supreme's ruled for equality is;

If the federal government can not discriminate should the various states be allowed to discriminate?

Well done you!  D. Bruce Hanes.

Mr. Hanes press release as reported by Main Line Times
http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2013/07/23/main_line_times/news/doc51eecae35360b015385105.txt

From The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2013/07/24/penn-county-prepares-issue-same-sex-marriage-licenses

From Raging Chicken Press
http://www.ragingchickenpress.org/2013/07/24/breaking-news-montgomery-county-commissioners-office-issues-first-same-sex-marriage-license-in-defiance-of-pennsylvania-law/

A Prosecutor For The SEC

The President nominates Mary Jo White, a former Federal Prosecutor in New York City to monitor Wall Street. 

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/mary-jo-white-to-be-named-new-s-e-c-boss/?smid=pl-share