The uproar over the Trump sex talk video is a whole lot to do about nothing. His apologetic response should close the matter completely.
Men have a way with them beginning with the onset of puberty. Studies have shown that healthy men have thoughts about sex frequently, very frequently. Those who don’t have such thoughts are either liars or eunuchs. Any male who has been on a team, in a locker room, on a golf course, or with male gatherings of about any kind know that sex talk and braggadocio pop up more often than not. And any man who notices the female gender has thoughts of sex at least from time to time. This is all normal in our society.
And for women, have you noticed at the check out line at the grocery store the number of magazine covers featuring some female clad in “sexy” fashion or about nothing at all? Do you see any covers with male models on them? I don’t. And what is this about? Have you noticed the number of magazine covers that feature some article about great or better sex? They are all over the place. And women in the United State of America don’t wear burkas that cover from head to foot; quite the contrary.
None of this means it is proper to act on every thought. Our culture is filled with sexual suggestion and allure, but talk is a universe different from actions. Donald Trump talked 11 years ago in ways that were meant to be private and between men as men sometimes are.
What gets me is the sanctimonious outrage from both women and men over what Trump said 11 years ago. I particularly question the character of the Republicans — including House Speaker Paul Ryan — who express shock and judgment, then go about back peddling or distancing themselves from the Republican candidate for President of the United States of America. They are like rats fleeing from a ship. One wonders about people who profess they are so much better than Donald Trump or are they just “posers” who were always looking for a reason to dive back into the Washington cesspool from which they have come and love so much.
I can not conclude without comment about the Clintons. Bill Clinton is a true sexual predator. Hillary Clinton was an enabler. She was the one who went about threatening Bill’s victims. Silence is golden or else.
Donald Trump never claimed to be an angel or perfect. He is a male human being with flaws like the rest of us. Maybe that is why the “rest of us” like him so well. He has apologized. Now let’s get on with the debate about the issues that are going to make or break this country.
Dallas Morning News Hook
Before Tribune readers swallow hook, line, and sinker the Dallas Morning News editorial supporting Hillary Clinton that was reprinted in the Tribune on September 9th, they should consider some facts.
Dallas, Texas, is Bush family country; got it? The Bush family hates Donald Trump. Even with mother Bush and brother George W. Bush support, poor brother Jeb Bush was pushed to irrelevance and obscurity after spending millions of dollars on campaign advertising. The Bush family was not happy. After all, they were sure the time was now for Jeb Bush to take the stage as the next President of the United States to continue the Bush family dynasty. Did not happen.
The Bush family and the Clintons have formed an alliance. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton refer to each other as “brothers with different mothers”.
The Morning News editorial goes at great lengths to excuse Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment, behaviors and lies. They conclude with comments about Clinton being in the public spotlight for four decades with 25 of them on the national stage. They write, “Clinton is a known quantity”. That is for sure. It is the “known” that shouts to me. Recent revelations about Clinton’s mishandling of classified information that put this country at risk on as many as 13 different devices speaks volumes. Hillary Clinton is not to be trusted. She is not qualified to be President of the United States.
KT verses Trump
The “Trump’s take dangerous” editorial from the Tribune Editorial Board is the worst and most irresponsible editorial I have ever read in this newspaper. That judgment comes from 20 years of past experience in management of the Tribune with four as its publisher.
This “editorial” – and I cringe in even assigning that word to what I read –is filled with distortion, speculation, and untruth. It is a work of fiction. Maybe the Editorial Board of the Tribune should now advertise itself as psychics and fortune tellers but not responsible journalists.
The piece says military personnel of Mexican descent and of the Muslim faith would be disparaged. Where did that conclusion come from? If one reference is to the Khizr Khan incident, maybe the Tribune should do some fact checking to learn Khizr Khan is an attorney who has written about and promoted the adoption of Sharia Law in the United States over that of the Constitution. And how about the illegal Mexican immigrant who served in the US military with the promise of a path to citizenship only to be deported after serving. That is the Obama administration, not Trump.
And “veterans are cheated and scorned”. You must be taking about Obama and Clinton. A centerpiece in Trump positions is the overhaul of a Veterans Administration that is a disgrace to this country. Vets are dying for lack of treatment. That is the Obama administration, not Trump.
And “our nation’s allies are cast aside”. Our relationships with “allies” are at a low. No ally can count on the United States wishy-washy word any longer. Clinton and Obama have seen to that. Trump simply wants other nations to pay their way, not ask the United States to shoulder an inequitable share of the financial or military burden.
Trump would be tough on terrorists including torture if need be. So was George W. Bush. The U.S. is in a fight to the death with radical Islam whether we want to admit that or not — and, clearly, the Obama/Clinton team does not and has not. They will not utter those words, “Radical Islam”, except under duress. Winning will not be via kumbaya moments and hand holding.
Trump has advocated closing American military bases. Given modern technology, we simply do not need a base in every nook and cranny of the world. Closing bases does not undermine anything. It does expect former host countries to step up to the plate to provide more of their own protection. And closing bases is not in any way dismissive of the time or talent of the thousands who have staffed outposts. Times do change and needs change. This is not 1940.
Trump did call the U.S. military a disaster which has nothing to do with compassion and respect for our armed forces. Unlike Obama and Clinton, he is a champion of our military. He sees our military has been abused, overused, and neglected. He sees we have planes that cannot fly without parts scavenged from others. He sees multiple deployments and rampant PTSD. He sees the suicide rate among vets. He sees our military has been degraded and weakened. It is Obama and Clinton who are responsible for that and that is what is profoundly disrespectful.
In short, you got about everything wrong you possibly could have. Donald Trump may be blunt, brash, inappropriate, and undiplomatic at times. I say, “Good for him”. We need to hear it straight out. His dry sense of humor may not be understood or appreciated all the time, but I say this is a problem for those who don’t get it, not for him. Wise up.
Seventy percent of the population of this country believes we, as a nation, are on the wrong path. The very definition of insanity would be to vote for a candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who promises more of the same and then expect a new and better path. That is what you are suggesting.
Kokomo Tribune Editorial Board Judgment
So, the members of the Kokomo Tribune Editorial Board are going to vote for Hillary Clinton and they believe we all should do the same. I believe this to be an incredible demonstration of poor judgment and complete naivete. The KT Editorial Board would have us vote for a blatant liar who, along with Barack Obama, is largely responsible for the deaths of thousands and setting the world on fire.
Hillary Clinton is in the pocket of Wall Street, large corporations, big donors, lobbyists, foreign governments, and anyone who would feather her nest. What Wall Street giant would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a 30 minute talk unless they are buying influence and favor? What foreign government would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions, into the Clinton Foundation unless they are buying influence and favor? It stinks to high heaven.
Hillary Clinton is responsible for the deaths of 4 Americans at Benghazi. She has lied about what happened and who is responsible time and time again.
Hillary Clinton put the United States at security risk for nearly a decade with an email server in her home, a fact clearly stated by the Director of the FBI. She has lied about emails time and time again.
Hillary Clinton is all about Hillary Clinton. Hillary Rodham Clinton should be in the jail house, not the Whitehouse.
Donald Trump may be blunt, brash, and undiplomatic at times. I say, “Good for him”. We need to hear it straight out. His dry sense of humor may not be understood or appreciated all the time, but I say this is a problem for those who don’t get it, not for him. Wise up; get smarter.
As for your comments claiming Trump disrespects our military, he is the one who believes the VA is a mess and is not taking care of vets as they should be. This is one of his primary issues. And he is the one who thinks it is pathetic we have planes that can only fly having scavenged parts from others. He is the one who believes our military has been abused, used, and allowed to degrade. He is a champion of the military, not one who disrespects it. Ask the vets.
Many of us are fed up with the Washington political elite of which Hillary Clinton is a decades long card carrying member. We are tired of politicians who dance around the issues and do nothing. We are tired of getting screwed with abusive trade agreements. We are tired of “do nothing” about illegal immigration except to open the doors wider. We are tired of incompetency and self-serving. We are tired and fed up.
I, for one, will be voting for Donald Trump in November. I hope and pray Indiana will join the states needed to put him over the top. Frankly, I strongly believe if we do not elect Donald Trump as President of the United States but rather put Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Whitehouse, we can kiss this country good-bye.
You Be the Judge
Are we at war with Islam? Are the tenants of Islam compatible with Western civilization and the United States Constitution? Are the tenants of Islam compatible with living in peace with Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other world religions? You be the judge.
Some history:
In 732 AD, the Muslim army, which was moving on Paris, was defeated and turned back at Tours, France, by Charles Martell.
In 1571 AD, the Muslim army/navy were defeated by the Italians and Austrians as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to attack southern Europe in the Battle of Lepanto.
In 1683 AD, the Turkish Muslim army, attacking Eastern Europe, was finally defeated in the Battle of Vienna by German and Polish Christian armies.
More current history…..
In 1968, Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male.
In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, Israeli athletes were kidnapped and massacred by Muslim males.
In 1972, a Pan Am 747 was hijacked and eventually diverted to Cairo where a fuse was lit on final approach. Shortly after landing it was blown up by Muslim males.
In 1973, a Pan Am 707 was destroyed in Rome with 33 people killed when it was attacked with grenades by Muslim males.
In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim males.
During the 1980s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim males.
In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim males.
In 1985, the cruise ship, Achille Lauro, was hijacked and a 70-year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim males.
In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim males.
In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 was bombed by Muslim males.
In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim males.
In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim males.
On September 11, 2001, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by passengers in Pennsylvania. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim males.
In 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and beheaded by Muslim males. Other journalists have been beheaded.
In 2013, the Boston Marathon bombing resulted in 4 people killed and over 200 injured by Muslim males.
On December 2, 2015, 14 people were killed and 22 seriously injured in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, by a Muslim male and female.
On June 12, 2016, a mass shooting terrorist attack occurred at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 and seriously injuring over 50. Attack was by a Muslim male.
What dozens of other attacks, kidnapping, and killings have you seen on the news or read about all over the world in recent times? All carried out by Muslim males.
Did you know that over 60% of the population of the Muslim dominated world, mostly the Middle East and parts of Africa, is less than 24 years old? Did you know that the population growth rate in the same parts of the world is the highest on the planet? Where do you imagine “invasion” or pressure for migration will occur? And, of course, there is to be no profiling in airport security screening or by other law enforcement. What do you think about the civil rights of people who live in countries dominated and governed by Islam?
Time to wake up or lose. How stupid are we? Can you say, “Radical Islamic Terrorists”?
As President Barack Hussein Obama II says in his book, nothing sounds so beautiful as the Muslim evening prayers from the tower.
Dunn
This presidential primary has witnessed droves of voters from both parties flocking to voting booths or caucuses to express their anger with the direction of this country. Many have called this a movement while others have seen this as the result of decades of neglect of the true interests of this country by entrenched Washington politicians bloated with payment from special interests.
In keeping with the law of unintended consequences, much more has been revealed to the average American this election cycle. Americans have seen the ridiculous dress and behavior of delegates at recent Presidential conventions. They erroneously thought the delegates were casting votes that reflected the will of the populace.
The publics’ desire for outside candidates, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, has forced the “establishment” of both parties to reach into their bag of heretofore more hidden dirty tricks to assure the will of the people would be denied in favor of the desire of the “establishment.” More shockingly, the establishment of both parties extends well beyond Washington into cities, counties and Congressional districts of each and every state.
Few establishment officials have ever earned a single vote for public office but hold the absolute power to select the delegates to “represent” the people at conventions. To insure the peoples’ choice will not prevail, each party has created a block of delegates called super delegates by the Democrats or at-large delegates by the Republicans. There are more of these delegates than represent actual voters. One of the at-large delegates, Howard County Republican Chairman Craig Dunn, appeared on C-Span on Monday.
One might remember Dunn from his infamous declaration to Politico: “If the race came down to Satan and Donald Trump, and I was the last vote, I might consider voting for Donald Trump.” One saw no such bravado in his C-Span appearance. While telling more untruths than “lyin’ Ted Cruz,” he tried to appear knowledgeable and fair.
He now says his is for Kasich whom he described as reasonable, fair and adult; and expressed a hope he could get to cast his vote for him. For all the virtues he believes Kasich has, Dunn failed to mention Kasich has fallen far short of votes already cast for other candidates who have subsequently honored the vote of the people and dropped out. Dunn also failed to mention Kasich left Congress after the Clinton impeachment debacle and went straight to work in a special office created for him by the infamous Lehman brothers. Lehman started the financial disaster that nearly took this country down in a single weekend.
According to Kasich’s tax records for that year, he took home a cool 1.4 million dollars while the rest of us lost our life savings. Oh, well, it was on to bigger and better things for him. He decided to join the Tea Party and become governor of Ohio. Ohio flourished under Kasich from the now questionable use of fracking. Oil prices have since collapsed and with it so has the Ohio economy.
Dunn shows the same poor judgment in being a Kasich supporter as his flippant comment to Politico reflected. For all of his half-truths and slippery answers, one thing was glaringly absent in Dunn’s presentation and defense of his vote as a Delegate At Large—the will of the many residents of Indiana who cast those pesky little things called votes.
[written by Marcia and Kent Blacklidge]
A "Man of God and Country" he is Not
The collusion between Ted Cruz and John Kasich to deny the will of the voters in Indiana is the final straw. For the life of me, I do not understand why anyone would support Cruz for President. Senator Ted Cruz is seriously character flawed. He is dishonest. Cruz supporters have gone blind to the facts. Let’s review them.
To begin, Ted Cruz duped Texas voters when he ran for the Senate. Right out of the gate he did not tell anyone he held dual citizenship in Canada and the United States. Then a requirement to make that run was to disclose certain financial facts. He did not. He wanted voters to think he was against Wall Street, so he did not disclose a nearly million dollar loan from Goldman Sachs, one of the worst of the Wall Street offenders. How was that loan possible? Seems that Heidi Cruz, Ted’s wife, is a long time investment banker with guess who: Goldman Sachs. Additionally, Cruz secured a line of credit from Citibank, another Wall Street giant. But he told none of this to the voters. He claimed he and Heidi had liquidated their personal savings to fund his campaign. He did not. He lied.
Cruz calls himself a lifetime evangelical Christian. This paints a picture of a person generous with donations to a church and charity. Not true. For a many year period, Cruz and wife donated less than one percent to charity and NONE to churches. Looks phony to me.
Cruz calls himself honest. Then came the dirty tricks pulled on Dr. Ben Carson and Marco Rubio. Politics as usual.
Cruz paints himself as an outsider when the question of Washington insiders is raised. More false stories are told. Cruz was educated at Princeton and Harvard, two of the most “insider” schools in the country. He clerked at the Supreme Court and practiced law — all East Coast. He worked for President George W. Bush as a domestic policy adviser and in the Department of Justice. He has never created one job nor managed a darned thing — including a hot dog stand. He is about as Washington an insider as they come; but he does not want you to know that. To win this election, with his self-professed “golden tongue”, he wants to fool you into believing he is an “outsider”.
Cruz is very similar to our current President when he, Obama, ran for President. Cruz has less than one term as a United States Senator, yet he declares he is the ideal, experienced candidate for the Presidency. And by the way, his colleagues in the US Senate do not like him at all. They know him well.
So, be duped if you are among the gullible. Ted Cruz refuses to bow to the will of the people. Millions of voters have already spoken, but like all other insider politicians, their voices fall on deaf ears. The most recent dishonest act: collusion. He reminds me of the Joker in the movie, Batman. A “man of God and country” Cruz is not.
Pigs VS Produce
The smell. That is the big one between rural residents and pig factory production facilities claiming to be farms. Those facilities are also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, CAFOs, where thousands of pigs or hogs are crowed together in high numbers, by the thousands, in buildings where they are fed out for eventual sending to slaughter to such as the Indiana Packers Corporation plant in Delphi.
Carson Gerber, Kokomo Tribune reporter, had it right in his April 23rd KT article: it is a battle between pigs and produce. Hog CAFOs are anything but farming in the traditional sense. The concentration of hogs in one location produces huge amounts of urine and feces (that’s bowel waste or “crap”) that must be stored in lagoons or tanks until pumped out and taken elsewhere for disposal. In the meanwhile, the operation stinks.
It would be one thing if the stink stayed on the site where it originated. The problem is that it does not. The stink travels miles subject only to the whims of the wind. And it is offensive. Ray Reichard is worried about his flower and vegetable operation that is near where new hog CAFOs are proposed. He worries about people being offended by the odor from hog waste wafting into his greenhouse or lingering on the produce and flowers he takes to farmers markets. He should be worried.
There is a fact that most people do not get. If you can smell something, it means that molecules or “pieces” of whatever is causing the stink are in the air and that these molecules are being drawn into your nose and lungs. Crap and urine in. Reichard worries about his produce carrying the stink to market. What he is really saying is that feces and urine molecules from hogs will have landed on the food and flowers he has produced and have stuck there. Somehow, I do not think people want to be eating this produce or having these flowers in their homes.
Have you ever driven behind a semi-truck hauling hogs? It stinks. Waste and bacterial molecules are being blown off of the truck and hogs into the air and into the air intakes of your car. If you do not want these molecules in your lungs, you need to back off and put your car air system on interior air only, not take air in from the outside.
Hog operations are not what they once were. In the old days, farmers (not animal factory operators) raised hogs, cattle, chickens and other livestock in balance with land that was cropped with a variety of corn, soybeans, and more. Crops were rotated. The waste from animals became fertilizer for fields. All in balance.
If you have not noticed, there is movement toward more local production of healthy food. Farmers markets are more and more popular. People want farms to be healthier with use of fewer chemicals and antibiotics. CAFOs are not compatible with this trend. CAFOs stink.
Pesky Things
[Post written by Marcia Blacklidge]
Primary candidates have dominated news cycles since last June. Voters are fired up and turning out in record numbers. On May 3rd Hoosiers will finally get their chance to vote. There’s only one problem. Both parties would prefer to act untethered by those pesky things called votes.
Mainstream media have cashed in on voter involvement and eagerly promote the myth that votes count. Despite voting irregularities, dirty tricks, Super PACS, and those pesky things called votes; each party will nominate the candidate of its choice this summer.
Both party establishments still face a few hurdles. The Democrats have to quench the unexpected fire created by party regulars “feeling the burn.”
The Republican establishment is determined to “stop Trump.” Many want to do this even if it costs them the election or destroys the party. None of them like to discuss those pesky things that keep piling up for Trump called votes.
The “burn” and Hillary’s “security review” have disturbed many Democrats but Trump has driven establishment Republicans into hysteria. Rove and others are boldly calling for a “fresh face.” Ryan protests too much of his disinterest in the nomination while Romney’s just plain desperate to get it. To heck with those pesky things called votes!
Indiana’s Republican primary has grabbed the attention of the National Media, but for all the wrong reasons.
Indiana has 54 delegates. Becoming a Republican delegate is a steep climb. One must have filled out an application by March 15th and pledged to provide $2000 to participate. All Republican delegates will be selected before a single primary vote is cast.
Politico interviewed numerous party leaders and officials involved in the delegate selection process. Those interviewed displayed openly hostile anti-Trump attitudes.
“One of my criteria for filtering out candidates was whether or not they supported Trump,” said one district GOP leader.
“If Satan had the lead on him and was one delegate away from being nominated as our candidate, and Donald Trump was the alternative, I might vote for Donald Trump,” said Craig Dunn, a Kokomo resident and GOP leader hoping to represent Indiana’s 4th district. “I’ve always wanted to own a casino, but he couldn’t give me a casino and have me vote for him.”
Thank God for delegates who can’t be bribed.
“Donald Trump doesn’t represent what I want my party to represent,” said Tom John, chairman of Indiana’s 7th Congressional District. John is running for one of the 27 at large delegate slots. He declared the three delegates selected to represent the 7th Congressional District were unlikely to be Trump supporters.
John further reported that a grass roots effort had been launched to get Trump supporters to become 7th District delegates. Their effort produced a handful of applicants, but all were rejected.
The Indiana Republican Party claims to be the party working for Indiana. However, the fervor displayed against Trump by each of the party officials interviewed was shocking. Not a single official mentioned concern for those pesky things that will be tallied on May 3rd.
Clearly, the Indiana Republican Delegation is determined to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention.
The citizens of Indiana shouldn’t have to pay for a primary negated by such blatant self-absorption. Let the delegates pick up the cost of collecting those pesky things called votes.
Trump Trump
If it was up to the GOP District Chairman from Howard County, Satan would make a better choice for the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America over Donald Trump. This is what Craig Dunn, the Chairman, told Politico in an interview. According to Politico, Dunn said, “If Satan had the lead on him (Trump) and was one delegate away from being nominated as our candidate and Donald Trump was the alternative, I MIGHT vote for Donald Trump. I have always wanted to own a casino, but he couldn’t give me a casino and have me vote for him”.
If it were just Dunn, this might be dismissed, but it is not. The GOP in Indiana has it totally backwards. Most of the 57 delegates, three from each Congressional District and 27 at-large, that will represent Indiana and its citizens at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland have already been chosen. If you wanted to be considered for a spot in the delegation, an application had to be filed by March 15th; long before the citizens of Indiana will vote on May 3rd. One requirement for eligibility to be selected as a delegate is a promise to provide $2000 to participate. This selects out people of limited means. One GOP district leader who is involved in delegate selection also says, “One of my criteria for filtering out folks was whether or not they supported Donald Trump. I didn’t care whether they supported Ted Cruz or John Kasich”.
The final choice of delegates is made by Party insiders. Delegates have one obligation and that is to vote on the first Convention ballot for the Presidential candidate chosen by the people of Indiana. Beyond that, they have no obligation or loyalty. They can vote for whomever they choose. Politico says that according to interviews with a dozen party leaders and officials in the delegate selection process, an anti-Trump sentiment runs “hot” among the GOP leadership in Indiana. This means that if Donald Trump does not secure the nomination for President on the first ballot, they will be free to “vote their conscience” regardless of the outcome of the vote by the citizens of Indiana.
In other words, the dice are loaded. Your vote may come to mean nothing, particularly if it was for Donald Trump and even if the majority of voters in Indiana voted for Donald Trump. The only vote that would matter would be those of Republican Party insiders; the system as usual.
People in the United States are angry. They are fed up with politics as usual. They are fed up with party insiders and politicians who for decades have feathered their own nests. They are fed up with the loss of millions of jobs and the decline of the middle class. They are fed up with political manipulation and skulduggery. They want America back.
If the Indiana GOP engages in back room politics as usual, which it appears is happening, there will be consequences. The voters of Indiana, regardless of who wins the vote in our state, should be represented by delegates loyal to the will of the voters; not their personal whims and interests. They should stand fast for the voters regardless of the outcome of the first Convention ballot.