Got lots of shit on my mind to talk about today. Lots! And very little of it has to do with poker. If you want that, go read Jonathan Little's blog, where you can listen to him break down hand history for an entire cash session or tournament until your eyes bleed.
As for my poker...I have played about 4 cash sessions over at IP since I last posted. It's been a lot of ups and downs. And the players have mostly been good guys who are nice to play with...mixed in with the occasional annoying player, and the mentally unstable once or twice, which was a real adventure. I knew as I was sitting there that I could write a very long blog post about each cash session, but somehow, as a couple days go by, they just don't seem that newsworthy.
My 'staking operation' which has taken on the look of a new occupation, continues with the WSOP-Baltimore event...which starts this week. Hoping my guy Mike Bratovich can keep up the good work. I'm also considering staking a player I won't name in the upcoming event at the Beau Rivage. As for me, I have always wanted to play 'The River' event up at Win Star...but never have. There is an above-average chance that I will venture up there and give that a shot. Then in September, is I can talk Squirrel into it, and get her to get some time off of work (read about MGM Beau Rivage's latest 'slick move' later in this post) I have a guy who plays my pools and also invests in the Minions who owns a bunch of condos down in West Palm that has offered us a free place to stay if we come down and play. So I'm trying to get Mike's wife and kids and my family to stay at a beach condo and play that Palm Beach WSOP event while the girls and kids play! I'm really rooting for that to happen.
The Beau Rivage. They (from what I read) have moved the poker room this week to accommodate the high limit area while they remodel, and were closed for a couple days. I guess the poker room is going to be over there by the Coast nightclub. Nice and loud (and smoky) for those who enjoy a quiet poker experience! A couple weeks ago, Squirrel came home exasperated. She goes on to tell that they introduced a new machine...a robot basically, that makes the cocktails in the service bar. They have removed the bartender completely, and now the waitress not only takes the orders...but then gets to go back there, program the robot, set up all the drinks with glassware and ice...then essentially make the drink with the assistance of Robo-Tender. This led to long wait times (and even more bitching than normal) for the customers waiting for their drinks.
So, it was supposed to be a 'trial' period to see how it went. Pffft...sure sure...they spent all that money on that machine to 'see how it went!' Well, this week...the other two service bars were equipped with those machines! Of course...all the service bartenders, some who have worked there for years...are now unemployed! Isn't that awesome!??? So...if you are gambling over there, and your drinks seem to be taking a little longer than usual? Keep this story in mind, and take it easy on your waitress. She is just as frustrated, if not more, than you are! Meanwhile...lets hope all those unfairly laid off bartenders find another job somewhere right away.
Is there a conspiracy at play with Caesar's Entertainment? Since quite a few people know of my plight with the Evil Empire...they seem to enjoy sharing their stories with me, either finding comfort in sharing it with someone in their shoes, or thinking I will be able to provide some kind of a solution to their issue. This is rather eerie, but I have had FOUR...yeah...four people in the last 7 months, tell me about them getting 86'd from Caesar's properties. And 3 of those 4 didn't even really know why. ALL FOUR of those people? Are 7-Star members. You know what that means? It's their highest tier of card holders...and to achieve that status you have to play and spend a lot in their casinos. In exchange, they receive a lot of benefits that make spending all that money worth it. Why would it benefit them to ban those people from their property? Well, when your company is currently mired in debt and several forms of bankruptcy with your various casinos, it would benefit a LOT, if you weren't having to give away tons of goodies to people who had earned it one way or the other. Right? And as we all know, casinos have this magical power of simply 86'ing you with little to no reason and you have almost zero recourse. Slimy? Oh yeah...super slimy. And I know there are 'two sides to every story' blah blah blah...but some of these stories I'm hearing are just ridiculous. I feel like something slimy is taking place in the Evil Empire. Just my opinion.
Meanwhile, speaking of top-tier card levels...you STILL can't wrangle a Red Bull from the waitresses at IP unless you have an Emerald level card or something like that. Rock Star only!!! Ridiculous. Can't even PAY for one. I will never understand how some of these Beverage Supervisors keep their jobs.
Can anyone remember the last time we had a hurricane on the Gulf Coast? I can't. And frankly...I'm ready for another one. I am a big fan of storms, and hurricanes are something I find to be very exciting. Watching them develop out in the Atlantic...it's just fun to me. So as I say this...we finally have something brewing out in the Atlantic...moving very slowly, and I'm gonna watch anxiously and hope we get something to get everyone a little excited next week!
Carley is growing up way too damn fast. She started dance class this week. We bought her a tutu a few weeks ago, and her dance shoes last week, and she's been putting them on constantly, excited to get started. And she did great, and had fun. Her best buddie, Pressley, from her daycare class...is also there. I had that proud feeling I guess you get when you see your kid doing something like dance, or piano, or little league, or whatever. I love being a daddy.
Which leads me to another topic. Pedophiles. How any man could ever bring oneself to have sex with a child is beyond me. In fact...just the mere thought of it makes my blood boil. So with today's news that Jared from Subway was discovered to have 3400+ videos of kiddy porn on his computer, and had been paying children to have sex with him while out of town...I just scratch my head and wonder, where does it all end? As I watched the news develop further on his case, I noticed he had a charity that was supposed to benefit children. Interesting. I believe that scumbag Jerry Sandusky also had a similar charity set up. So what...were they just setting up places where they could prey on kids?
Earlier this week, I was responding on a thread on Facebook that talked about how a certain cross-section on Muslims in the Middle East take their little boys, dress them up as girls, and sexually abuse them. Somewhere during the thread, someone (Arab, I believe) decided to toss in Protestant and Catholic priests and compare the two as equals. Kind of a reach, I thought, but still....sufficiently fucked up. A while back, it was the actor from 'Seventh Heaven' Stephen Collins being taken down by pedophilia charges. And don't let me forget that douchebag Josh Duggar...who was molesting his own fucking sisters. And in a rather amusing twist of fate, he was named today in the most recent computer hacking drama: the Ashley Madison kerfuffle! Yeah! He was a registered user and just got outed on there as well. So not just a child molester before he married his wife...but now a guy looking to cheat on his wife as well! Solid guy there, real straight shooter!!!
I just do NOT get it. I really don't. Is that only because I'm not wired that way that I can't understand it? How many people ARE wired this way? It freaks me out as I try to raise my beautiful little girl, and shield her from all the evil in the world. I'm hopeful that living in a place like we do will help...but man, I don't know...maybe we need to move to somewhere like Montana or Wyoming. Because what we have been dealing with lately, all the racial strife, has me equally concerned.
Doesn't it seem like anytime you log onto Facebook...lately especially, all you see are inflammatory posts that are related to bad cops, Black Lives Matter shenanigans, or why everything that has happened in the last 8 years that is bad is because of Barack Obama? This country is a mess. And I don't see anything getting any better. Is this a simple problem with leadership at the top levels? Or is it just tensions that are simmering to a breaking point? I don't know. I know living in the south, you see a lot more racial tension than living on the West Coast...or in the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up. Is the election of a new president next year going to help (or hurt!!!) matters any?
POLITICS
And this is where the post title comes from. We are in the midst, absolutely, of a political revolution. Fortunately not quite as severe as the Arab Spring of the Middle East a couple years ago which led to bloody coups. What we are undergoing is something that is incredibly intriguing, and a direct result of all the years of frustration of voters in our country from the collective shit storm of politicians and their modus operandi. The lobbyists, the special interest groups, the lying, the stealing, the corruption. People are fed up...the smart ones, the stupid ones, the informed ones, the ill-informed ones. It has led to something that is nothing more than fascinating. I'd love to be a college student right now sitting in on some of the lectures that the Political Science professors are giving around this nation's campuses.
Add to the frustration that Americans feel with their politicians the rampant PC society we have cultivated over the last ten years. I personally feel that social media is about 99.7% to blame for this. Why? Because, before social media...what you said was only going to hurt you if it was said on camera...and played on TV. Now? Your words and actions are slapped right there on your Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see, then scrutinize! A person misspeaks now and there is no, "oops, I didn't really mean that." Now its out there...and you are destroyed in a nano-second! And with the advent of social media, the manifestation of political correctness has been a bi-product. It has led to an almost paranoia in people, where they will balk at saying something due to how it will be perceived by others. And when we are talking about politicians? It is magnified immensely, because not only do they have to avoid making that one, single fatal sound bite, but they have to consider all the people they have in their back pockets! Where one statement about one thing, might offend one of those groups, even while appeasing the other. What can they possibly say that is 100% safe? When people ask the question: "Why can't this guy just answer the fucking question?" Well...that's WHY! Because they have too many people to answer to, and their responses are held to such scrutiny that they are forced to answer questions as vaguely and ambiguously as possible. You follow me?
Where am I going with this, you ask? I'm going here:
DONALD TRUMP!
The Donald has been a part of our nation's culture for 3 decades now. He has been a lot of things, media mogul, blowhard, casino boss, bankrupt and disgraced, TV reality show sensation, husband of multiple gorgeous women...there are very few people on the planet that don't know the name Donald Trump. There have been teasings by him in past election years, 'threatening' to run for president. It was typically laughed off.
But this time is different. He's ALL IN! (there you go, a poker term for you!) He's turned in his tax records. He has the website. He's selling t-shirts and those hideous hats. Every sound bite that the TV pundits thought would ruin him, have only made his approval rating climb higher. He was ambushed by America's media sweetheart, Megyn Kelly...and she came out looking like the villian. All the things that the political experts think are going to torpedo his campaign, are only making him stronger. This is incredible.
Don't take this as me 'supporting' Donald Trump. I am not a big Trump guy. I think he is pompous, egotistical, and lacks the ability to effectively negotiate with world leaders because of his massive ego. I also think he's too bombastic to hold the office, an office where he is the holder of the 'nuclear football' which gives me a little uneasiness. However...I am extremely excited by what he is doing to the political environment. He is his OWN MAN...with no one in his back pockets. No one to answer to. No one to worry about cutting their donations. Political correctness? He has none. And what he is doing is exciting the silent majority in this country. The people who are sick and tired of having to worry about offending any and everyone with every word that comes out of their mouth. He has rallied a large base of people who are sick of politicians in their current form, and of talking heads on TV who profess to know who should be the candidate, and gear their coverage to steer us sheep into the voting lanes.
What Trump is doing to the entire political process is starting a revolution in our entire political system. Even now, already...you can see some of the candidates taking cues from The Donald, being a little more 'risky' with their comments. Can Trump win? The election is still so far away from now...will one of his 'doozies' eventually sink him? Or just keep making him stronger?
Then you throw in Hilliary Clinton. It was thought to be a foregone conclusion that she was the Democratic-nominee in waiting. And even before all this email shit started, I was appalled by her as a presidential candidate. I've always thought she was a liar...and if you can't sit and watch her (especially as fellow poker players who are supposed to be able to spot tells!) recent Q&A with some media members over her knowledge of transmitting classified documents and not come away KNOWING she is full of shit...then I am seriously losing my faith in all humanity. Her and Bill are two of the dirtiest humans to ever splash around in the political swimming pool in our nation's history. The trail of scandal, of lies, and of dead people who either threatened them or posed a risk to their political aspirations, is long...verrrrry long, and well-documented. I have been shaking like a leaf at the thoughts of this demon winning the White House...but a full year from election time...it finally...FINALLY appears that the American public, as well as the media, is discovering just how awful and unequipped to be president this woman is.
The other thing that Donald Trump has done, is get people as interested in the voting process as they ever have been, at least in my lifetime. When 24 million viewers tune in to see the FIRST presidential debate of the year...where 2.5m was the typical audience for such an event...you KNOW that Americans are standing up and taking notice. I've spent a little too much time on Facebook debating with or just observing the views that people have on the current candidates...and it is fascinating. To say the least. I don't have a clue who the eventual candidate will be, and I certainly wouldn't want to bet on it...so for those of you who keep challenging me to a wager, STOP IT...I'm not that stupid. Nor am I close to being committed to any candidate on either side.
This brings up another angle. The dark, mysterious puppet masters who live behind the scenes...kind of the Wizard of Oz's of the political system. We know a few of the members of this 'political mafia,' the infamous Koch Brothers and George Soros among the most easily recognized. Add to that the billionaires who are also members of that notoriously mysterious group called the Illuminati, who some argue are the real operators of our country, and our banking system especially.
There are murmurings that they won't allow Donald Trump to become the eventual candidate for the GOP. Why? You can draw your own conclusions...but to anyone with half a brain, we realize that for decades now, the presidents who are elected to the top office have been helped, even steered...to that position by extremely powerful people. Once in that position, they have no choice but to answer to these people on a lot of things. A guy like Trump in the White House would most likely pose a huge threat to these people...as they would lose all of their influence...since The Donald answers to nobody but himself. Interesting concept, don't you think?
What do you think of the proposed 'deal' that our Commander-in-Chief and his lap dog John Kerry have made with the people in the Middle East who make a habit of chanting 'Death To America' and who's Premier Leader tells his followers "its one thing to say Death to America, and another to act on your words?" This might be the biggest joke I've ever seen about to be perpetuated on the American public in the history of our nation. I tried really hard...I really did, to see the possible wisdom in this deal when it was first hatched. I listened to Barack's speech in support of it, and tried really hard to find the positive in it. But then I dug...deep, and did some research, and listened to the opponents of the deal...loud and clear and without bias...and it just became more alarming, the more I heard.
Mere days after the pact was announced (but not ratified-pending approval by our Congress) their military strongman, who was on a heavily enforced 'no-fly' list and branded a terrorist, just hopped on a plane and skipped off to Russian to negotiate an arms deal with Putin! Huh? WTF???? It barely made a ripple in the US...people were/are too busy wondering what Brucelyn Jenner is wearing to lunch, or which Kardashian is taking a selfie at a fashion show to notice. Are we really THAT fucking tuned out to what is going on right under our noses? Then it got more ludicrous this week...as the UN nuclear inspection people announced that the Iranians...yes, the FUCKING Iranians...would be responsible for conducting their OWN inspections of their most scrutinized nuclear site at Parchin! That isn't even 'questionable' that is a fucking joke of the highest magnitude! And what does Barack...who I'm becoming more and more convinced is a wolf in sheep's clothing who has done nothing but weaken us from the inside out (think Manchurian Candidate!) while he's been in office. It just defies logic, some of the stupid shit he has been responsible for. If this deal isn't voted down by Congress...I might...I don't know, now that I think of it...nothing with this administration would surprise me anymore. And even if it gets voted down...that jackass will likely just veto their decision.
In closing...I'd like to recognize Jimmy Carter for being a MAN! Sure...he wasn't a very good president, in fact, some have called him one of our worst. But since he has been out of office, that guy has spent his whole life doing great things for humanity. He could have simply slipped off into the sunset like some have done...but he didn't. He's been active in so many avenues of society. He's given so much of himself to advance our world. To find out he has cancer...and then find out it's spread to his brain, at 90 years old, you have to think his days are numbered. But he sits there talking about his diagnosis with a cheerful smile on his face, and an upbeat tone in his voice, speaking of all the great people who have called him to wish him well. That is how you are SUPPOSED to be when death is on your doorstep! Knowing that you have given all you have to give to your fellow man while on this Earth, and being prepared for the next life. It's similar to how Chad Brown...my good friend who passed last year...acted before he died. Courageous as hell! Zero fear! No regrets! It made it hard for me to cry when he died...because he made me believe that he was okay with it. I hope Jimmy Carter miraculously recovers from this cancer that has affected him...but if not, I'll be the first to salute him in death.
MONKEY
As for my poker...I have played about 4 cash sessions over at IP since I last posted. It's been a lot of ups and downs. And the players have mostly been good guys who are nice to play with...mixed in with the occasional annoying player, and the mentally unstable once or twice, which was a real adventure. I knew as I was sitting there that I could write a very long blog post about each cash session, but somehow, as a couple days go by, they just don't seem that newsworthy.
My 'staking operation' which has taken on the look of a new occupation, continues with the WSOP-Baltimore event...which starts this week. Hoping my guy Mike Bratovich can keep up the good work. I'm also considering staking a player I won't name in the upcoming event at the Beau Rivage. As for me, I have always wanted to play 'The River' event up at Win Star...but never have. There is an above-average chance that I will venture up there and give that a shot. Then in September, is I can talk Squirrel into it, and get her to get some time off of work (read about MGM Beau Rivage's latest 'slick move' later in this post) I have a guy who plays my pools and also invests in the Minions who owns a bunch of condos down in West Palm that has offered us a free place to stay if we come down and play. So I'm trying to get Mike's wife and kids and my family to stay at a beach condo and play that Palm Beach WSOP event while the girls and kids play! I'm really rooting for that to happen.
The Beau Rivage. They (from what I read) have moved the poker room this week to accommodate the high limit area while they remodel, and were closed for a couple days. I guess the poker room is going to be over there by the Coast nightclub. Nice and loud (and smoky) for those who enjoy a quiet poker experience! A couple weeks ago, Squirrel came home exasperated. She goes on to tell that they introduced a new machine...a robot basically, that makes the cocktails in the service bar. They have removed the bartender completely, and now the waitress not only takes the orders...but then gets to go back there, program the robot, set up all the drinks with glassware and ice...then essentially make the drink with the assistance of Robo-Tender. This led to long wait times (and even more bitching than normal) for the customers waiting for their drinks.
So, it was supposed to be a 'trial' period to see how it went. Pffft...sure sure...they spent all that money on that machine to 'see how it went!' Well, this week...the other two service bars were equipped with those machines! Of course...all the service bartenders, some who have worked there for years...are now unemployed! Isn't that awesome!??? So...if you are gambling over there, and your drinks seem to be taking a little longer than usual? Keep this story in mind, and take it easy on your waitress. She is just as frustrated, if not more, than you are! Meanwhile...lets hope all those unfairly laid off bartenders find another job somewhere right away.
Is there a conspiracy at play with Caesar's Entertainment? Since quite a few people know of my plight with the Evil Empire...they seem to enjoy sharing their stories with me, either finding comfort in sharing it with someone in their shoes, or thinking I will be able to provide some kind of a solution to their issue. This is rather eerie, but I have had FOUR...yeah...four people in the last 7 months, tell me about them getting 86'd from Caesar's properties. And 3 of those 4 didn't even really know why. ALL FOUR of those people? Are 7-Star members. You know what that means? It's their highest tier of card holders...and to achieve that status you have to play and spend a lot in their casinos. In exchange, they receive a lot of benefits that make spending all that money worth it. Why would it benefit them to ban those people from their property? Well, when your company is currently mired in debt and several forms of bankruptcy with your various casinos, it would benefit a LOT, if you weren't having to give away tons of goodies to people who had earned it one way or the other. Right? And as we all know, casinos have this magical power of simply 86'ing you with little to no reason and you have almost zero recourse. Slimy? Oh yeah...super slimy. And I know there are 'two sides to every story' blah blah blah...but some of these stories I'm hearing are just ridiculous. I feel like something slimy is taking place in the Evil Empire. Just my opinion.
Meanwhile, speaking of top-tier card levels...you STILL can't wrangle a Red Bull from the waitresses at IP unless you have an Emerald level card or something like that. Rock Star only!!! Ridiculous. Can't even PAY for one. I will never understand how some of these Beverage Supervisors keep their jobs.
Can anyone remember the last time we had a hurricane on the Gulf Coast? I can't. And frankly...I'm ready for another one. I am a big fan of storms, and hurricanes are something I find to be very exciting. Watching them develop out in the Atlantic...it's just fun to me. So as I say this...we finally have something brewing out in the Atlantic...moving very slowly, and I'm gonna watch anxiously and hope we get something to get everyone a little excited next week!
Carley is growing up way too damn fast. She started dance class this week. We bought her a tutu a few weeks ago, and her dance shoes last week, and she's been putting them on constantly, excited to get started. And she did great, and had fun. Her best buddie, Pressley, from her daycare class...is also there. I had that proud feeling I guess you get when you see your kid doing something like dance, or piano, or little league, or whatever. I love being a daddy.
Which leads me to another topic. Pedophiles. How any man could ever bring oneself to have sex with a child is beyond me. In fact...just the mere thought of it makes my blood boil. So with today's news that Jared from Subway was discovered to have 3400+ videos of kiddy porn on his computer, and had been paying children to have sex with him while out of town...I just scratch my head and wonder, where does it all end? As I watched the news develop further on his case, I noticed he had a charity that was supposed to benefit children. Interesting. I believe that scumbag Jerry Sandusky also had a similar charity set up. So what...were they just setting up places where they could prey on kids?
Earlier this week, I was responding on a thread on Facebook that talked about how a certain cross-section on Muslims in the Middle East take their little boys, dress them up as girls, and sexually abuse them. Somewhere during the thread, someone (Arab, I believe) decided to toss in Protestant and Catholic priests and compare the two as equals. Kind of a reach, I thought, but still....sufficiently fucked up. A while back, it was the actor from 'Seventh Heaven' Stephen Collins being taken down by pedophilia charges. And don't let me forget that douchebag Josh Duggar...who was molesting his own fucking sisters. And in a rather amusing twist of fate, he was named today in the most recent computer hacking drama: the Ashley Madison kerfuffle! Yeah! He was a registered user and just got outed on there as well. So not just a child molester before he married his wife...but now a guy looking to cheat on his wife as well! Solid guy there, real straight shooter!!!
I just do NOT get it. I really don't. Is that only because I'm not wired that way that I can't understand it? How many people ARE wired this way? It freaks me out as I try to raise my beautiful little girl, and shield her from all the evil in the world. I'm hopeful that living in a place like we do will help...but man, I don't know...maybe we need to move to somewhere like Montana or Wyoming. Because what we have been dealing with lately, all the racial strife, has me equally concerned.
Doesn't it seem like anytime you log onto Facebook...lately especially, all you see are inflammatory posts that are related to bad cops, Black Lives Matter shenanigans, or why everything that has happened in the last 8 years that is bad is because of Barack Obama? This country is a mess. And I don't see anything getting any better. Is this a simple problem with leadership at the top levels? Or is it just tensions that are simmering to a breaking point? I don't know. I know living in the south, you see a lot more racial tension than living on the West Coast...or in the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up. Is the election of a new president next year going to help (or hurt!!!) matters any?
POLITICS
And this is where the post title comes from. We are in the midst, absolutely, of a political revolution. Fortunately not quite as severe as the Arab Spring of the Middle East a couple years ago which led to bloody coups. What we are undergoing is something that is incredibly intriguing, and a direct result of all the years of frustration of voters in our country from the collective shit storm of politicians and their modus operandi. The lobbyists, the special interest groups, the lying, the stealing, the corruption. People are fed up...the smart ones, the stupid ones, the informed ones, the ill-informed ones. It has led to something that is nothing more than fascinating. I'd love to be a college student right now sitting in on some of the lectures that the Political Science professors are giving around this nation's campuses.
Add to the frustration that Americans feel with their politicians the rampant PC society we have cultivated over the last ten years. I personally feel that social media is about 99.7% to blame for this. Why? Because, before social media...what you said was only going to hurt you if it was said on camera...and played on TV. Now? Your words and actions are slapped right there on your Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see, then scrutinize! A person misspeaks now and there is no, "oops, I didn't really mean that." Now its out there...and you are destroyed in a nano-second! And with the advent of social media, the manifestation of political correctness has been a bi-product. It has led to an almost paranoia in people, where they will balk at saying something due to how it will be perceived by others. And when we are talking about politicians? It is magnified immensely, because not only do they have to avoid making that one, single fatal sound bite, but they have to consider all the people they have in their back pockets! Where one statement about one thing, might offend one of those groups, even while appeasing the other. What can they possibly say that is 100% safe? When people ask the question: "Why can't this guy just answer the fucking question?" Well...that's WHY! Because they have too many people to answer to, and their responses are held to such scrutiny that they are forced to answer questions as vaguely and ambiguously as possible. You follow me?
Where am I going with this, you ask? I'm going here:
DONALD TRUMP!
The Donald has been a part of our nation's culture for 3 decades now. He has been a lot of things, media mogul, blowhard, casino boss, bankrupt and disgraced, TV reality show sensation, husband of multiple gorgeous women...there are very few people on the planet that don't know the name Donald Trump. There have been teasings by him in past election years, 'threatening' to run for president. It was typically laughed off.
But this time is different. He's ALL IN! (there you go, a poker term for you!) He's turned in his tax records. He has the website. He's selling t-shirts and those hideous hats. Every sound bite that the TV pundits thought would ruin him, have only made his approval rating climb higher. He was ambushed by America's media sweetheart, Megyn Kelly...and she came out looking like the villian. All the things that the political experts think are going to torpedo his campaign, are only making him stronger. This is incredible.
Don't take this as me 'supporting' Donald Trump. I am not a big Trump guy. I think he is pompous, egotistical, and lacks the ability to effectively negotiate with world leaders because of his massive ego. I also think he's too bombastic to hold the office, an office where he is the holder of the 'nuclear football' which gives me a little uneasiness. However...I am extremely excited by what he is doing to the political environment. He is his OWN MAN...with no one in his back pockets. No one to answer to. No one to worry about cutting their donations. Political correctness? He has none. And what he is doing is exciting the silent majority in this country. The people who are sick and tired of having to worry about offending any and everyone with every word that comes out of their mouth. He has rallied a large base of people who are sick of politicians in their current form, and of talking heads on TV who profess to know who should be the candidate, and gear their coverage to steer us sheep into the voting lanes.
What Trump is doing to the entire political process is starting a revolution in our entire political system. Even now, already...you can see some of the candidates taking cues from The Donald, being a little more 'risky' with their comments. Can Trump win? The election is still so far away from now...will one of his 'doozies' eventually sink him? Or just keep making him stronger?
Then you throw in Hilliary Clinton. It was thought to be a foregone conclusion that she was the Democratic-nominee in waiting. And even before all this email shit started, I was appalled by her as a presidential candidate. I've always thought she was a liar...and if you can't sit and watch her (especially as fellow poker players who are supposed to be able to spot tells!) recent Q&A with some media members over her knowledge of transmitting classified documents and not come away KNOWING she is full of shit...then I am seriously losing my faith in all humanity. Her and Bill are two of the dirtiest humans to ever splash around in the political swimming pool in our nation's history. The trail of scandal, of lies, and of dead people who either threatened them or posed a risk to their political aspirations, is long...verrrrry long, and well-documented. I have been shaking like a leaf at the thoughts of this demon winning the White House...but a full year from election time...it finally...FINALLY appears that the American public, as well as the media, is discovering just how awful and unequipped to be president this woman is.
The other thing that Donald Trump has done, is get people as interested in the voting process as they ever have been, at least in my lifetime. When 24 million viewers tune in to see the FIRST presidential debate of the year...where 2.5m was the typical audience for such an event...you KNOW that Americans are standing up and taking notice. I've spent a little too much time on Facebook debating with or just observing the views that people have on the current candidates...and it is fascinating. To say the least. I don't have a clue who the eventual candidate will be, and I certainly wouldn't want to bet on it...so for those of you who keep challenging me to a wager, STOP IT...I'm not that stupid. Nor am I close to being committed to any candidate on either side.
This brings up another angle. The dark, mysterious puppet masters who live behind the scenes...kind of the Wizard of Oz's of the political system. We know a few of the members of this 'political mafia,' the infamous Koch Brothers and George Soros among the most easily recognized. Add to that the billionaires who are also members of that notoriously mysterious group called the Illuminati, who some argue are the real operators of our country, and our banking system especially.
There are murmurings that they won't allow Donald Trump to become the eventual candidate for the GOP. Why? You can draw your own conclusions...but to anyone with half a brain, we realize that for decades now, the presidents who are elected to the top office have been helped, even steered...to that position by extremely powerful people. Once in that position, they have no choice but to answer to these people on a lot of things. A guy like Trump in the White House would most likely pose a huge threat to these people...as they would lose all of their influence...since The Donald answers to nobody but himself. Interesting concept, don't you think?
What do you think of the proposed 'deal' that our Commander-in-Chief and his lap dog John Kerry have made with the people in the Middle East who make a habit of chanting 'Death To America' and who's Premier Leader tells his followers "its one thing to say Death to America, and another to act on your words?" This might be the biggest joke I've ever seen about to be perpetuated on the American public in the history of our nation. I tried really hard...I really did, to see the possible wisdom in this deal when it was first hatched. I listened to Barack's speech in support of it, and tried really hard to find the positive in it. But then I dug...deep, and did some research, and listened to the opponents of the deal...loud and clear and without bias...and it just became more alarming, the more I heard.
Mere days after the pact was announced (but not ratified-pending approval by our Congress) their military strongman, who was on a heavily enforced 'no-fly' list and branded a terrorist, just hopped on a plane and skipped off to Russian to negotiate an arms deal with Putin! Huh? WTF???? It barely made a ripple in the US...people were/are too busy wondering what Brucelyn Jenner is wearing to lunch, or which Kardashian is taking a selfie at a fashion show to notice. Are we really THAT fucking tuned out to what is going on right under our noses? Then it got more ludicrous this week...as the UN nuclear inspection people announced that the Iranians...yes, the FUCKING Iranians...would be responsible for conducting their OWN inspections of their most scrutinized nuclear site at Parchin! That isn't even 'questionable' that is a fucking joke of the highest magnitude! And what does Barack...who I'm becoming more and more convinced is a wolf in sheep's clothing who has done nothing but weaken us from the inside out (think Manchurian Candidate!) while he's been in office. It just defies logic, some of the stupid shit he has been responsible for. If this deal isn't voted down by Congress...I might...I don't know, now that I think of it...nothing with this administration would surprise me anymore. And even if it gets voted down...that jackass will likely just veto their decision.
In closing...I'd like to recognize Jimmy Carter for being a MAN! Sure...he wasn't a very good president, in fact, some have called him one of our worst. But since he has been out of office, that guy has spent his whole life doing great things for humanity. He could have simply slipped off into the sunset like some have done...but he didn't. He's been active in so many avenues of society. He's given so much of himself to advance our world. To find out he has cancer...and then find out it's spread to his brain, at 90 years old, you have to think his days are numbered. But he sits there talking about his diagnosis with a cheerful smile on his face, and an upbeat tone in his voice, speaking of all the great people who have called him to wish him well. That is how you are SUPPOSED to be when death is on your doorstep! Knowing that you have given all you have to give to your fellow man while on this Earth, and being prepared for the next life. It's similar to how Chad Brown...my good friend who passed last year...acted before he died. Courageous as hell! Zero fear! No regrets! It made it hard for me to cry when he died...because he made me believe that he was okay with it. I hope Jimmy Carter miraculously recovers from this cancer that has affected him...but if not, I'll be the first to salute him in death.
MONKEY
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1 comment:
Chad Brown always lives in his teammates hearts...all class, great personality, and true compassion. Nice tribute.
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