Trump-Cruz Nightmare Scenario

If this comes true I can expect it to be the reason I die in a concentration camp.

The Senator was vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his "ideas" almost idiotic, while his celebrated piety was that of a traveling salesman for church furniture, and his yet more celebrated humor the sly cynicism of a country store. ~ Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are having a joint event this week to support a future war with Iran. This has led even more Tea Partiers to publicly masturbate to the image of them joining on a 2016 Presidential ticket. Cruz has displayed a level of asskissery toward Trump not seen since a near-sighted Bavarian chicken farmer started worshiping an unemployable Austrian painter. So, while Tea Partiers may want Cruz heading the ticket I am sure he would eagerly accept the second spot - to start.

All propaganda has to be popular and has to adapt its spiritual level to the perception of the least intelligent of those towards whom it intends to direct itself. ~ Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf

Their campaign will pitch hatred with the promise that they, and they alone, can cure everybody's problems. They will project strength, honor, and dedication to purpose that will be irresistible to racists, misogynists, and everyone who hates and envies his neighbors.

Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain't that a big enough majority in any town? ~ Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

They win a narrow election thanks to curious voting patterns in states like Florida and Ohio.

Every man is a king so long as he has someone to look down on. ~ Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

Trump and Cruz will settle down to two years of mass deportations, always claiming that they are being humanitarians doing their victims a favor. Things will get interesting a few weeks into Trump's third year in office.

The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination. ~ Voltaire

President Trump will die suddenly in February or March, 2018. Possibly of natural causes but more likely Trump will be killed by an assassin. Newly sworn in President Cruz will place the blame on one or more of the hated classes - gays, immigrants, or liberals - and will impose vengeance on all who supported the assassin by word, deed, or thought.

He loved the people just as much as he feared and detested persons. ~ Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

The timing of the assassination is vital. It will give Cruz plenty of time to impose his will. Two years completing the Trump term, a certain reelection by a still grieving nation, and, if he needs it, an additional reelection is available. After ten years in power there will be few people still alive willing to complain when Cruz declares himself President For Life.

When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a cross. ~ Attributed to Sinclair Lewis

I am not saying all this will or even might happen. It was, however, the dream I awoke screaming from last night.

Walker's Border Wall

Not wishing to fall behind in the crazy ideas race that is the Republican Party, Scott Walker is supporting walling off the US-Canada border.

At Stanstead, Que/Derby Lane, VT, the border runs through the middle of the library. Walker would have to wall off the fiction section from the non-fiction section.

• The land border is over 3,000 miles. The US-Mexico border is only 2,000 miles long.
• A wall with Canada would disrupt the migrations of numerous species, most notably the Porcupine Caribou herd. This would lead to mass starvation of native peoples in both Canada and Alaska.
• The water border is over 2,300 miles, mostly the Great Lakes.
• Crossing the water border takes a boat (or snowmobile as many of the lakes freeze over in the winter).

This is the border fence at the Pacific Ocean. All you need to cross is a boogie board and swimming skills.

• Assuming he doesn't want to build a wall on top of the Great Lakes, the only other option is building a wall along the 5,000 mile Great Lakes coastline of the United States. Say good-bye to Wisconsin's beach tourist season.

Great Walls In History
Donald Trump expects his "we hate Mexico" border fence will be named after him. Walker's anti-Canadian wall will definitely be named after him.

Great Wall of China

Great Wall ends at the Yellow Sea.

Walker's great wall of Canada would be as long as the one in China. China's wall was breached by invaders numerous times.

Berlin Wall

Only 87 miles long, it stood as a symbol of liberty to all East Germans for decades.

Hadrian’s Wall

Built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian for the same reason Walker wants his wall - to keep the northern barbarians from infecting his civilized culture. At 73 miles it is less than 2% of Walker's Wall.

Gum Wall

Seattle's 50 foot long Gum Wall would not be as silly as either Trump's Wall or Walker's Wall.

The Stange World of Dr. Ben Carson

If it weren't for The Donald, Carson would be the preeminent joke of the 2015 election season. Carson is a former brain surgeon. Having been caregiver to two elderly parents I have lots of experience with medical specialists. Most of them are merely skilled body mechanics. They see people the same way an auto mechanic sees a 280Z.

He made love to me like he was fixing a carburetor or something. ~ Roxie Hart, Chicago

You wouldn't want a surgeon with no government experience running the economy anymore than you'd want the lead mechanic at your Ford dealership fixing your spleen.

Carson's Tax Plan

Is straight out of the book of Genesis where Jacob promised to give God a tenth of what he has.  It's stunningly simplistic, befitting the education of someone born 30 centuries ago. Ben doesn't bother doing the math, studying the socioeconomic ramifications, or even thinking about it much. He just figures, if it's good enough for God it's good enough for him.

Carson also doesn't bother reading further along in the Bible. The book of Acts goes straight up Marxist and says that the wealthy sold all of their property and "laid it at the apostles' feet" who then distributed it to everyone according to their needs. How about a New Testament tax plan, Ben.

Carson on Women

Ben believes the biggest problem regarding violence against women is the demonization of the men. He believes that rape victims and children impregnated through incest must be forced to carry the babies to term. He calls cases of abortion to save the life of the mother "spurious" and not worth discussing. He recently denied there was a war against women but rather a war on "what's inside women." He hasn't explained that statement but I suspect he means their wombs, the only part of a woman he values.

Carson on War

There was a time when Ben was something of a pacifist. A couple years ago he wrote that the Vietnam War was wrong and the Iraq War immoral. But now that he's running for President, Ben has gone totally Cheney. He has more recently said that there should be no rules in war, any atrocity is acceptable, and we should wage a war of annihilation against ISIS.

Carson on Gays

Ben belongs to the "gays are icky" wing of the Republican Party. Like his tax plan, Ben has a 30 century old concept of civil rights and equality. I don't expect Ben to enter the 21st century but, God, if you're listening, that would be a miracle.

Lulu the Flapper

People who know me know I have an unhealthy love of century old music. Ragtime, early jazz, the Roaring 20s and Depression era music are gifts to my ear.

Don't Bring Lulu (1925)

Louise Brooks

Johnny White is hosting a party. You can bring Rose with the turned up nose or Lil even though she's an awful pill but whatever you do, don't bring Lulu.

It seems Lulu always wants to do what the folks don't want her too. There was the time she came to a party and started acting wild. When she danced the Charleston and all the boys just stopped and stared. When she struts her stuff around it's like London Bridge is falling down. Truth is, Lulu is the kind of smartie who breaks up every party.

Problem is, poor Johnny got to thinking about her too much. He concludes don't bring Lulu 'cause he's going to bring her himself.

Lulu's Back in Town (1935)

Clara Bow

Lulu's back in town and Mister Otis has problems. The chambermaid has misplaced his razor blade, his tuxedo is wrinkled and the vest is missing a button, his hair is messy, his shoes are dull, and his boutonniere is wilted. Damn, he even needs to find fifty cents someplace. And it's important because Lulu's back in town.

The song doesn't explain why Lulu left town to begin with although I suspect a consortium of wives and girlfriends chased her out. Anyway, Mr. Otis wants the listener to tell his other "pets" - Harlem coquettes in one version, blonds and brunettes in another - that he's not going to be around anymore. He also wants the mailman notified that he won't be home until at least the fall, maybe never.

Mr. Otis has a bad case of needing to go strutting with Lulu.

Miss Otis Regrets (1934)

Colleen Moore

Technically, the previous song is an homage to this song written by the great Cole Porter. But in telling a story the song belongs here.

Miss Otis regrets she is unable to lunch today. It seems she woke up last night and discovered her man, the love of her life, the man who had led her astray, had run out on her.

Miss Otis tracked him down to lovers lane where he was canoodling, and probably very much more, with some unnamed floozy. I think we can all guess her name was Lulu.

Miss Otis drew a gun from under her velvet gown and shot her lover down. It's not stated but probably true that Miss Otis also plugged Lulu with several rounds.

She got arrested and thrown into jail. Because she shot Lulu, a mob of outraged men came and dragged her out of the jail. They hauled her to a nearby willow tree where they lynched her.

Anyway, that's why Miss Otis regrets she is unable to lunch today.

Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1925)

Joan Crawford actually was 5 foot 2.

I like to think that the girl in this song is named Lulu. I learned it in elementary school. I didn't know then what a flapper was. I didn't know that "turned down hose" referred to a thing that loose women did with their silk stockings. I thought "could she coo" meant she was ticklish. And I certainly didn't realize "what those five feet can do!" might actually mean.

It took years for me to discover how my second grade teacher had corrupted me with this song.

Presidential Tout Sheet

Opinion poll are worthless until about two weeks before an election. They suggest a vacation dalliance is true love and they are about as accurate as a blind dart player. I prefer  the predictive powers of online betting parlors. My sources is Irish bookmaker Paddy Power (odds as of today in Blue) and my own analysis (in Red).

Democratic Race
Hillary Clinton (1 to 3.5) - (even money)
Real money wagerers figure Hillary has a 77% chance to be nominated. I thing she has no better than a 50% shot. She is the choice of the moneyed establishment but she has enough extra baggage to break an elephant's back. While momentum means little this early she also doesn't have much.
Bernie Sanders (5.5 to 1) - (5 to 1)
I love Bernie and in the privacy of the voting booth he is my choice. But as the anti-establishmentarian he is swimming against a strong current of cash. The romantic in me believes that passion can defeats capital; the cynical realist believes the power of the purse always beats the power of love.
Joe Biden (9 to 1) - (3 to 1)
Bettors stay away from someone who hasn't even decided to run yet. The truth is if Hillery's campaign crashes then the power brokers are going to turn to the Vice-President as their second choice.

Martin O'Malley (40 to 1) - (20 to 1)
You'd think an Irish betting parlor would think more kindly than to give one of their own a 5% chance at the crown.

Republican Race
Jeb Bush (1.6 to 1) - (4 to 1)
Like Hillary, Jeb is the establishment favorite so the smart bettors like him. He has lots of money but, God, do Republicans hate him. If Donald Trump is the summer fling then Jeb Bush is the maiden aunt your parents want you to take to the party instead.
Donald Trump (3.5 to 1) - (9 to 1)
Bettors are starting to believe in him. Me, not so much. Donald reminds me of a supergiant star, both eventually "become unstable, pulsate, and experience rapid mass loss." He is a wild summer affair that, come winter, will look more like a sleazy whore. Of course, a lot of Republicans prefer fucking whores.
Scott Walker (5 to 1) - (10 to 1)
Another case where I disagree with the bettors. Walker has proven himself the quintessential Not Ready for Prime Time Player. It's possible that he has been learning something these past few months but learning is not a skill Walker excels at.
Marco Rubio (7 to 1) - (5 to 1)
He's my number two in the race. If Bush fails to gain any traction by December then the Republican moneyed establishment will likely turn to Marco as a marketable commodity easily controlled.
John Kasich (12 to 1) - (12 to 1)
Running third in the Koch primary. If Jeb blows up and Marco continues to look like a child then the establishment will look to Kasich. He's an experienced politician with even less charisma than Jeb.
Rand Paul (14 to 1) - (25 to 1)
Ben Carson (14 to 1) - (25 to 1)
Paul looks tiny. Carson may be doing well in polls today but he lacks both gravitas and outrageousness.
Chris Christie (20 to 1) - (25 to 1)
Carly Fiornia (20 to 1) - (25 to 1)
Rumors are that Christie will be dropping out of the race soon and Carly will be stuck on the kiddie table for the CNN debate.
Ted Cruz (25 to 1) - (5 to 1)
God do I hope the bettors are right here and I am wrong. I rank Cruz third, behind Rubio, in the race. Cruz is the natural recipient of the anti-establishment white supremacist vote should Trump flame out. And Cruz is second only to Bush in the fundraising race. He can stay in the field long after poverty forces out others. Trump plays at being a fascist. Cruz actually is one.
Mike Huckabee (25 to 1) - (50 to 1)
Bobby Jindal (33 to 1) - (100 to 1)
Rick Perry (40 to 1) - (50 to 1)
Rick Santorum (40 to 1) - (100 to 1)
Adding them all together, I give them a 6% chance at the prize and that is being generous.
Mitt Romney (no odds) - (12 to 1)
Paddy Power doesn't list Romney but if there is a deadlocked convention then there is a possibility that Mitt will be drafted as a compromise candidate. It's the kind of thing that happened a century ago (Warren Harding, 1920) but its unlikely today. Still wackier things have already happened this election cycle.

China Phony Panic

The Chinese stock market has crashed to a level it hasn't seen since six months ago.

Its big boom started in February, 2015. In four months it climbed by over 60% then, in two months, lost all it had gained. Like a roller-coaster, it was a wild ride that just gets you back where you started.

This doesn't mean there weren't losers. Idiots who bought stocks at the peak of the rally have received a haircut deep into their frontal lobe. There were also winners who saw the bubble forming and sold their stocks to the aforementioned idiots in May.

Over a full year (August to August) Chinese stocks are up 45%. And stop calling China "communist," what we are seeing here is unfettered feral capitalism.

But, hey, let's all panic and sell our American blue chips.

Candidate Positions

Presidential candidates used to publish "White Papers" detailing their political ideology. But that is so 20th century. Today, even sound bites are too long, if it can't be Tweeted the position is too complex.

Bobby Jindal

If I had been President I wouldn't have allowed me to be a citizen.

Jindal is the text book definition of an "anchor baby." His mother was pregnant with him when his parents first arrived in the United States. He is eligible for the office because of "birthright citizenship." Yet Jindal hates the constitutional provision that granted him citizenship and wants to do away with it.

Scott Walker

I stand with you, just tell me where you want me to stand.

If you don't like Walker's stance on an issue, wait a few minutes and he'll change it. Pick an issue, any issue. Ethanol subsides - hates them in New Hampshire, loves them in Iowa. Immigration - tells billionaire donors he pro-amnesty, tells Tea Partiers he'll stop immigration. Gays - tolerant in private, hateful in public. Walker's political compass is a roulette wheel. Round and round he goes, where he stops nobody knows.

Ben Carson

I'll bomb the United States.

I kind of pity Carson. His poll numbers have never looked better but he has no actual political position on anything. So, he signed onto a wacky immigration proposal to use Predator drones to bombard the US-Mexico border.

Jeb Bush

I love minorities. I speak Spanish at home and my left hand is black.

While other candidates are immigrant bashing, Jeb claimed in an interview that Spanish is his principle language at home and English is his second language. A mailer sent out by Bush's super PAC clearly shows Bush has an African-American left hand. I'm waiting for claims of Bush having a Chinese character tattooed on the small of his back.

Donald Trump

Some of my best friends are thugs.

In Boston, two Trump supporters attack and beat a Hispanic and Trump's initial comments were to praise the passion of his supporters. A Trump supporter in Alabama suggests a $50 hunting bounty for the scalps of immigrants.

Killer Beauties: History's Prettiest Outlaws

It's hard to keep up a killer beauty regiment and a thriving career as a criminal yet some women manage to do it.

Old West

Etta Place ~ The Wild Bunch Gang, Companion of the Sundance Kid.

Whether a soiled dove or a schoolmarm, it's damn near impossible to be beautiful in the Wild West of the 19th century. Have you ever seen a photo of Belle Starr or Calamity Jane? Yet Etta prettied up very well in this photo taken at the DeYoung studio in New York 1901. One could make the case that Etta was prettier than Katherine Ross who played her in the movie.

Etta is known to have lived with the Wild Bunch in their southern Utah hideout and to have participated in robberies while living in South America.

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Rose Dunn ~ aka, Rose of the Cimarron

Far less famous than Etta but perhaps more beautiful given her life in the rough, lawless town of Ingalls, OK. She was taught to ride and shoot by her outlaw brothers and by the age of 14, Rose was the lover of George "Bittercreek" Newcomb. The story is that everyone in Doolin-Dalton Gang, which Newcomb rode with, worshiped Rose and that no man dare insult her lest he face the gang's wrath.

In 1893, the gang got into a ranging gun battle with US Marshals. Rose grabbed a rifle and raced into the street to join the battle and rescue her badly wounded lover. Rose's lover was killed two years later by her own brothers who had turned from outlawing to bounty hunting.

Gangster Molls

Bonnie Parker ~ the Clyde Barrow Gang

Let's see if I can find a few facts you don't know about Bonnie Parker.

She was tiny. Standing 4'10" tall and weighing only 90 pounds.
In 1933 her right leg was badly burned in an auto accident either by fire or battery acid. For the remainder of her life Bonnie couldn't walk and either hopped or was carried by Clyde.
Bonnie Parker was only 23 years old when she was shot 26 times by Texas lawmen who ambushed them in Louisiana. The first bullet that struck her had probably killed her.

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Virginia Hill ~ lover of mob bosses Joe Adonis, Frank Costello, and Bugsy Siegel

Virginia had movie star looks and slept her way to the very top of the Chicago Outfit. In 1934, she was sent to New York to seduce both Adonis and Costello and thereby spy on the Lucky Luciano crime syndicate. She added a fiery affair with Siegel just for the fun of it.

Bugsy Siegel named his Las Vegas casino "The Flamingo" after his nickname for the long-legged beauty. The rumor is that Bugsy gave the entire $2 million he skimmed from the mob building the casino to Virginia. And that Virginia set Bugsy up to be assassinated.

Masterminds

Gertrude Lythgoe ~ The Bahama Queen

After Prohibition passed Gertrude's boss, a London liquor importer, sent her to set up an importation (i.e. smuggling) network into the US. In short order she had an operation running rum to speakeasies from Long Island to New Orleans. Heaven help any mobster who thought her a helpless woman as sexual advances would be met with gun in his ribs and a threat to leave his body for the reef sharks.

She was arrest once but never convicted but her pictures often graced the glamour sections of US magazines and newspapers during the Roaring Twenties.

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Marllory Chacon Rossell ~ Drug Kingpin, aka "Queen of the South"

Operating out of Guatemala, Rossell provided the drugs to the notorious Mexican drug cartels and then expertly laundered there money. She started a massive private lottery that moved tens of millions of dollars drug profits every month.

Rossell surrendered to US authorities last year and was sentenced in May. The curious thing is that the entire court case is under seal for five years. Maybe she's ratting out her former partners or, if you are of a conspiratorial mind, maybe the Feds need that long to cover their collective asses.

Serial Killers

Myra Hindley ~ The Moors Murders, aka "the most evil woman in Britain"

Not really beautiful but the truth is women serial killers are a decidedly ugly bunch. For two years in the 1960's Myra and her partner Ian Brady captured youths aged from ten to seventeen years old, sexually assaulted them, murdered them, and buried their bodied on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester. Evidence at trial included a recording they had made of them torturing ten year old Lesley Anne Downey.

So hated was she that when she died 35 years after the last murder twenty undertakers refused to touch her body.

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Karla Homolka ~ The Schoolgirl Killers, "Deal With the Devil"

Canada is not known for serial killers but at the top of the short list is Karla and her husband Paul Bernardo. The pair kidnapped, raped, and murdered three teenage girls. The last of these was Karla's own younger sister.

Karla batted her baby blue eyes and convinced prosecutors that she was as much a victim as the girls who died and had been terrified of her husband. She got a plea deal of manslaughter in exchange for her testimony.

But the couple had video taped the rapes and murders and the tapes showed Karla was a willing, active, and brutal participant. But the deal had been done and Karla Homolka was released from prison after only 12 years confinement.

Chaos Is Funny

Note, I didn't say "fun." The Iraq War was a clinical definition of chaotic but it was the least fun had in Mesopotamia since the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258.

Although I'm sure the Mongols had fun.

Neither is Chaos the same thing as anarchy. Anarchy is the absence of law and order. Chaos can have a shitload of laws (Nazi Germany) and stifling order (Stalin's purges). What chaos has is an infinity of uncertainty where nothing makes sense. Chaos is a comedy of the absurd.

Republicans
The man who is still the odds on favorite for the nomination (Jeb! Bush) is polling in the single digits while the runaway leader in the polls is a sentient baboon.

Donald?

Every week the wise men of the Party declare that the baboon has gone "beyond the Pale" only to find that he is even more beloved by the unwashed masses of the Party. The Republican professional class are having their minds blown so often it sound like an Orville Redenbacher party. The only people not laughing hysterically at this are Scott Walker's paid consultants.

Climate
My second biggest fear is that I will not live long enough to witness the most devastating effects of climate change. God, what a hoot it will be. Preachers standing on a Texas beach praying to God to stop the tide. Rick Scott explaining in a press conference how Miami flooded under ten feet of sea water is no way his fault. The comedy has started, last Spring Republicans blamed environmentalists for the lack of rain in California.

San Diego burning, 2007. I was there.

My biggest fear is that I will live long enough to witness the most devastating effects of climate change. Fires and drought battering my home every year. Trillions spend globally to defend major cities like New York and Tokyo from the rising oceans. The destruction will certainly be funny in a horrible way while the satisfaction at being able to say "I told you so" will be tempered by the need to scrounge for drinking water.

Funny, but not fun.

Historic Port Explosions

The massive explosion in Tianjin, China got me thinking about three other port explosions.

Halifax, 1917

It was World War I and the French ship SS Monte-Blanc was transporting munitions from New York to Bordeaux with a refueling stop in Halifax. Halifax harbor is squeezed in the middle by the Narrows. Inching through the Narrows at just one knot, the Monte-Blanc collided with a Norwegian ship carrying relief supplies to the war zone. The collision started a fire that grew out of control. The Monte-Blanc crew abandoned the ship to burn. It exploded.

It was the largest man made detention in human history, not to be exceeded until the invention of the atomic bomb. Its three kiloton yield leveled large parts of Halifax up to a half mile away and tossed the 3,000 ton steamship over 1,000 feet out of the water. Over 2,000 people died but the French crew survived except for one man struck by flying debris.

Texas City, 1947

The largest non-military explosion in human history. Another French ship, the SS Grandcamp, was loading ammonia nitrate. Berthed next to her was another ship, the SS High Flyer, holding ammonium nitrate and next to both of them were warehouses full of the explosive chemicals. The fertilizer in the Grandcamp caught fire. Firefighting efforts failed so the captain ordered the hold sealed and steam injected. This was stupid as steam will not douse an ammonium nitrate fire but it will convert the chemical into the even more volatile nitrous oxide.

The fire was burning so hot the water in the harbor was boiling. Eventually, the ship exploded with a yield of nearly 3 kilotons, sending super heated shrapnel into chemical plants, refineries, and warehouses along the waterfront. The shockwave was so strong it tore the wings of two planes flying over the scene. And the explosion set the High Flyer on fire. She exploded 15 hours later completing the devastation.

Port Chicago, CA, 1944

Port Chicago is a few miles east of San Francisco and was the location of the US Navy's main munitions depot. All the explosives that were blowing the Pacific to hell passed through the port. The Navy was a solid bastion of segregation during World War II so the workforce at Port Chicago was 100% African-American.

The men had no training as stevedores. Their officers had no experience running a port. When the longshoremens union learned how unsafely the port was operating they offered to train the men. The commanding officers curtly refused help because military operations are always secret. Besides, working safely might mean working slower and the only thing the officers cared about was speed, speed, speed.

Now we can finally get to the night of July 14. We are approaching midnight and the SS E. A. Bryan was already fully loaded with fuel oil. Its hold were holding various munitions including live incendiary bombs and shock sensitive depth charges. Something happened, there was a small explosion followed by a massive explosion. The only people in a position to know exactly what happened were vaporized in the explosion.

The E. A. Bryan was obliterated and two others ships sunk. Nearly 400 people died, 202 African-American. A Navy board of inquiry laid the blame of the dead folk. None of the unsafe practices were changed so three weeks later 258 workers decided they would stop working until safety protocols were in place.

Remember, these were black folk so the Navy called it a mutiny and threatened to execute the workers. Fifty men were charged and found guilty of mutiny.

Lessons
Ports are dangerous places to live and work. Also, stay away from French cargo vessels as they have a nasty habit of blowing up.

The Republican War of Roses

Give Benito a comb over and, Trump!

I've been looking for historical parallels to the Trump Wars of 2015. I've toyed with Italy in the 1920's where Donald Trump is the reincarnated pompous asshole Mussolini who turned his media skills into a movement that took control of the country with his army of thuggish Black Shirt followers.

But better matching the complexities of the Republican field is England's Wars of the Roses in the 15th century.

♚ 

Let's start with Jeb! Bush who is playing the role of Henry VI. Bush has inherited the crown from the old royal line. He has all the old king's advisers and the advantage of a kingly purse and a royal entourage of sycophants. But he is also a hapless idiot who always seems to be getting trapped in one mess or another.

The Koch brothers are the Earl of Warwick, the Kingmakers. They don't want to be king, they want to own the king. Through their dark machination they manipulate affairs trying to insure that whoever is the winner is beholden to them. They don't care who is king as long as he follows their commands.

He wore a hairy crown.

Donald Trump is clearly Richard III.  Ruthless, blood thirsty, corrupted and corrupting, Donald is all the things that Richard longed to be. Like Richard, he is related to and a bitter rival of the Kingmakers. In this case the blood ties are billionairehood. The rivalry is only one billionaire can own the throne. Besides, of all the candidates in the race who else would you totally believe murdered two children.

The remaining question is who shall play Henry VII? Who will be the double-dealing, backstabber who will be standing on a pile of corpses on Bosworth Field? Will it be Marco Rubio, once an ally of Henry VI who betrayed his mentor when he reached for the crown? Perhaps it will be Ted Cruz, a sycophant to Richard III lurking in the shadows like a real life Wormtongue.

In the end this war won't matter. History will only remember fondly Good King Hal and Bonny Queen Bess.

Republican Debate Circus

I didn't watch the debate last Thursday. Actually, that is not true. I did catch about 10 seconds, Ben Carson was talking and I got so bored I switched back to the erectile dysfunction commercial I had left.

That fact is not a defect because had I watched it my opinions would have been colored by the general loathing I have for the whole gang. By studying various postmortems I can synthesize a clearer picture of the total effect than I could get by just watching it.

Donald Trump
Clearly, Roger Ailes had given his employees orders to cut Trump up like a hog at a Texas barbeque. Trump behaved as you'd expect, like the 14 year-old man-child he is. Still open is the question whether conservative men will like his combativeness or be angry he attacked Megyn Kelly because they all want to fuck her.

I couldn't find a similar photo of Walter Cronkite.

Whatever, the debate centered around Trump which makes all the others look small by comparison.


Bush, Walker: Biggest Losers
The best thing Scott Walker's supporters are saying about his performance is that he didn't suck so badly he can't recover. By all accounts ¡Jeb! Bush looked like a fawn standing next to the lion Donald. He was hesitant, nervous, and just plain looked scared.

Christie-Paul Cat Fight
The one bit of the debate I wanted to see was the Chris Christie-Rand Paul dust up. It was a fun bit of theater that could have been better if they had been standing next to each other and not separated by seven other men. May I suggest the September debate include a Christie-Paul cage match.

Cruz: Runt of the Litter
Poor Ted Cruz. The only thing people remember about him is that everyone, including the moderators, were ignoring him. He got the least time. Most of the Google searches were about whether he was even qualified to be President.

Carson: Ms. Congeniality
Ben Carson came off as a really nice guy (all I saw was boring guy). Unfortunately, as Leo Durocher once observed, "Nice guys finish last." Nice don't win Republican elections.

Kasich, Rubio: Pundit Popular
Pundits thought John Kasich did well with the audience forgetting he had the home court advantage. Pundits also think that Marco Rubio was the winner in that he was everything pundits love - he was polished and issue orientated. To normal people that translates to robotic and dull.

Kiddie Table Review
Carly Fiorina was the night's clear winner and boosted her chances of the Vice-Presidential nod. Not watching it, my impression of Carly is that I didn't realize that she's really short. Rick Perry forget how long he had been governor of Texas proving again that "smart glasses" don't make a dumb guy intelligent.

Biggest Losers
The Republican Party if the brutal assault on Donald Trump turns him into a spiteful third party candidate.

Jade Helm Crazies

Three weeks ago I wondered how long it would take before some "deranged, methed up, gun totting," mouth breather would shoot at an innocent servicemember because of the Jade Helm hysteria. Apparently the answer is 20 days.

Two so far unknown men took pot shots at military personnel near Hattiesburg, MS today. I was wrong insofar as I had predicted this to happen in Texas but Mississippi has more than its far share of illiterate, inbred pseudo-patriots.

I am not suggesting that the South Mississippi Outlaw Militia was responsible for the shooting. I am simply observing that such a thing exists. They are old-fashioned Lost Causers who are preparing for the day when the Confederacy shall rise again. Their symbolism includes the Rebel flag and the German Iron Cross. They have an affection for assault weapons and the Germanic Fraktur font.

That III% thing is from the belief that the Continental Army numbered about 75,000 men or 3% of the population of the colonies in 1776. The equivalent today would be a fighting force of 10 million. All the "militia patriots" in the country amount to less than 0.02% of the population.

Many of them would need mobility scooters to get up Bunker Hill.
 

The Blood Soaked Month of July

Americans were killed by the people hired to protect and serve them at an astonishing rate last month. Police killed 123 Americans in July. That is an average of four a day. For perspective, there were only two months where insurgents killed more US servicemembers during the entirety of the Iraq War.

On July 16, LAPD officers shot and killed Jason Davis, 41, for disorderly conduct while holding a knife.

The deadliest day was Monday July 13, when police killed nine people. That was the day the oldest victim died. Seventy-seven year-old Bud Brown's car was struck by a police officer speeding to join a drunk driving pursuit. Brown died of his injuries.

Brown was one of four to die from being hit by police vehicles. The vast majority of Americans were killed by police gunfire. Police also killed four people using "non-lethal" Tasers.

Not included in this total is Sandra Bland as her death in police custody is officially listed as a "suicide." At best, Ms. Bland killed herself because she was despondent after the needless abuse she had received from police. At worst, Ms. Bland was killed because her jailers decided to rid themselves of a troublesome Negress knowing that prosecutors never question jail "suicides."

Suicides are the hidden victims of the American Police State. Suicides are the leading cause of death in custody. Estimates are that an average of one American a day kills himself in his cell.  These are not the hardened criminals. It's innocents, like Sandra Bland, jailed for petty or non-existent crimes or juveniles locked up with adults that tend to kill themselves.

If we add in the suicides, police are responsible for ending the lives of 154 Americans in July.