The Curious Case of The Winner Who Didn’t Act It

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Yes. Yes. You are in fact getting a bonus post. And today of all days. (I never function at my best on 9/11.)

Why are you so blessed, you might ask. Well, I have certain skills. Skills that make me more adapted than the rest of you to live in our present all propaganda all the time now.

Last night when I went to bed my group of people who were paying attention to the debate was mixed on the result. As was the consensus of the net. It was all “Trump could have behaved better” and “Kamala was good.” (Spoiler Que Mala wasn’t good. She smirked and made faces like a bad actor at a community theater audition, lied egregiously and needed the help of the two moderators not to implode. But she was better than Biden’s debate, which I think is what many people were expecting.)

But this morning, the right blogs (granted my sample leans heavily DeSantist — and would you lot get over it. No, Ron would not have done better in that incredibly rigged scenario. Again, I question his political judgement in running at all this year.) were in full Doom! Gloom! Abandon all hope!

Since it’s 9/11 and I’m mildly depressed and — yes, thank you for asking — still dealing with dual country bureaucracies, I kind of settled down to not read politics today.

But then…. but then something was working at the back of my head.

Last night in the PJM liveblogging, it was taken as fact that Kamala was winning because her team was already demanding another debate. This didn’t make much sense, except under “oh, she wants to rub his face on it” maybe. But even so–

It wasn’t till this morning the full stupid of this hit me.

So, Kamala managed not to Biden it on stage. Great.

And yes, she, personally, might be stupid enough not to realize how much help she had from the mods and likely from her little friend in her ear. And think it would be fun to do it again.

But Que Mala’s team isn’t Que Mala. I suspect they treat her about like Biden’s team treated him. And they’re the same people.

They know she’s not that great. And they know that in the primaries in 16 she imploded in the debates. They’ve been carefully keeping her away from any opportunities to interact with press or even the public. And please keep in mind they allowed BIDEN to mingle. So, this is their estimation of her intellect and ability.

And yet, despite a supposedly HUGE bump from the debate in the polls, a bump such as puts her out of reach…. She’s asking for another debate, and apparently pressing the point.

People! I raised children. The kid who follows the other going “I demand a rematch!” is not the winner. Ever.

Period.

At the same time, regardless of what Nancy Grey Goose Pelosi says, you know Trump is not a coward. Heck, we have photo evidence of it. If Kamala really were that far ahead in the polls from the debate, Trump’s team and frankly Trump would want a rematch. Also, Trump, right? He’d be spoiling for a fight, going “I demand a rematch” even if his team were trying to hold him back. Say what you will of him, if he ran from a fight he wouldn’t have thrown his hat in the ring this year, despite everything they’ve thrown at him. Or he’d have quit after the failed assassination attempt. And his ego is big enough if he had bombed, he’d want to show how great he really was. And again, his team would really just have to get out of the way.

Instead Trump is saying “Only on Fox and with my chosen moderators.” I.e. he’s putting CONDITIONS on it.

Guys?

This is not how a loser acts.

In fact, the roles are reversed and require not just that Kamala be brutally stupid, (which I’ll buy) but that her entire team also be too stupid to remember to breathe out after breathing in. And it breaks character for Trump.

So…. As during the covidiocy, what do we do when what people are DOING doesn’t match what we’re being told? Well, we weigh what they’re doing more, because that is more consequential, right?

Which brings us to: Who won the debate? Who lost?

First, admit that we’re not normal people. None of the commenters are. And most of my blogs are people who are functionally over-educated and can’t help interpreting things in the way the university class does. (And they almost all fell for the covid mania too.)

Are they/we interpreting the interaction properly? Are they seeing what normal people saw? You know, I rather doubt it? Just …. I listen to total strangers talk. It’s a writer thing. Also a PTSD thing. I like to be aware of my surroundings. And in one quick trip to the store…. the impression I got is that people really found the moderators over the top assists telling and almost comical.

Second, we know campaigns have internal polls that are more accurate than the ones used for propaganda. Like in 16 we all thought Trump was nuts for acting like he was going to win…. but I’m sure he had internal polls.

…. All I can say is the internal polls must be LIT.

Now, could I be wrong about all this? Sure. Trump could have had a personality transplant from Mitt Romney and Kamala could be handled by people so dumb they can guess the day of the week two times out of three. COULD happen, I suppose.

But somehow I don’t think so. Even in clown world there should be some congruence between reality and words. If there isn’t, look to the actions, not the words.

The words are usually propaganda.

214 thoughts on “The Curious Case of The Winner Who Didn’t Act It”

  1. Go watch the vid of the 9/11 event at ground zero. There is no crowd noise, people shouting, nothing, for Kammy. No “You Go Girl!”, no “Yaz, Queen!”, no “WooHooKneepads!” Nada.

    No matter where the recording mic was in the throng, if there were shouts and counter shouts from fans of both candidates something would have been picked up. Listen. It’s all for DJT.

    Liked by 3 people

        3. Is that Bloomberg standing next to him? I didn’t recognize him at first. It’s interesting that the two men seem to be getting along quite amiably there in the line. Trump is polite to Harris, but seemingly quite friendly with Bloomberg. And Bloomberg is clearly more interested in Trump than he is in Harris. Has Bloomberg said who he’s voting for this year?

          I feel a bit sorry for Biden. Yes, I know, he’s a terrible man. But here he is as the supposed most powerful man on the planet, and literally every single person present is ignoring him. He likely deserves it and lots more. But it’s still a bit sad.

          Liked by 2 people

          1. Joe built that boat for sail from day one. He’s always been high on the unliked list among his “piers”. If the tool is not needed, and now he isn’t needed at all . . . go away ya bother me, son. One of the few times Que Mala has been right was when she called Joe out as a racist POS in their debate.

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          2. Bloomberg is an anti-Constitution globalist. That makes him a prime enemy to Liberty. The old saying, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer” works, but requires being alert and extremely mentally agile. Trump seems to have those qualities still. And he has an ability to remain respectful and cordial with his opponents, unless they first try to attack him. Then he has no problem with doing unto others, only better.

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    3. Totally just New Yorkers being partisan for their neighborhood boy.

      Californians love Harris, especially in Oakland, and will for sure carry her over the top.

      Especially her friends around Sacramento.

      Anyway, if it were at a Sacramento area KKK or Nazi rally, Harris’s policy positions on Jews would be much more popular than Trump’s, so there would probably be support in her favor.

      Yuuup. The Nazis are completely in the bag for Harris, and there are totally enough of them to hand her the victory.

      You betcha.

      Seriously, I do doubt New Yorkers at a terrorism memorial as a truely representative sample, but I do find things a wee bit suggestive.

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  3. The one criticism I think has some merit is that he apparently let Laura Loomer “help,” him. The main thing I know her for is trying to start a rumor that Casey DeSantis was faking breast cancer to get sympathy. Just awful instincts. And of course it goes back to Trump tending to choose advisers….poorly.

    Then you’ve also got all the usual suspects suffering from TDS in full cry, plus the, “If we diss our guy everyone will praise our courage and integrity,” types.

    Plus people who will vote for him, reluctantly, because they realize just how bad Harris is, and are sincerely offering what they see as constructive criticism.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. And who knows how she was contributing. Perhaps she was being annoying.

        If you were practicing for a debate against a weird, weird, annoying, daft woman, who would you get to play that part?

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Now she’s put up a tweet saying if Harris wins the White House will smell like curry, and all complaints will go through a call center and end with a customer satisfaction survey noone understands. Doesn’t she think Indian-Americans vote?

          She’s definitely in the, “With Friends Like These,” category.

          Amusingly, Marjorie Taylor Greene called her out on it.

          Liked by 1 person

    2. And of course it goes back to Trump tending to choose advisers….poorly.

      Which might have something to do with the pool of prospects he has to choose from.

      Would YOU volunteer to put yourself and your family / friends through this?

      https://townhall.com/columnists/larryoconnor/2022/07/06/criminalizing-conservatives-n2609752

      They are sending a warning shot to any conservative who might entertain working on a Trump 2024 campaign or in a potential Trump Administration. 

      Having spoken to several high-ranking officials in the first Trump administration, it’s clear that the “Russian Collusion” hoax was drummed up in part to scare off potential members of Trump’s nascent presidency. Long-time Washington Republicans didn’t want anything to do with a presidency that would eventually end up under the scrutiny of a special prosecutor. They took a pass on joining the administration for fear of endless subpoenas and committee hearings. 

      Because of this, many of Trump’s appointments never got confirmed, and many of his administration’s jobs never got filled. For those who did stand up and dedicate several years to his presidency, they’ve been rewarded with stigma from the corporate world and subpoenas from Congress.

      Part of the Jan. 6 hearings is to provide a two-year-in-advance, preemptive strike against Trump’s prospects to staff his administration in January 2025. 

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Yeah, that’s a reason why I shouldn’t have a position in the Administration. Come after me on bogus charges, I’m not going to play the lawfare game. I’m going to go for the throat and exterminate the attacker, permanently. And none of this dark of the night crap that Clinton uses either. The problem is the ammo box only holds so much, and the opposition might get lucky.

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    1. This line from the post also covers it:

      the impression I got is that people really found the moderators over the top assists telling and almost comical.

      You can only behave one way (as a partisan hack) while claiming to be another (neutral truth seeker) and have people believe it.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Please don’t confuse cartoonist Chris Muir and DNC operative David Muir. Though the idea of a debate moderated by Chris Muir does have certain appeal.

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  5. Honestly, the lowered expectations of this debate were such that all Kamela had to do was not screw things up.

    She had the support of both moderators and you could tell that they were trying to keep her between the lines.

    And whoever did Trump’s debate prep should have been training him to respond better when people hit his vanity button. Some more general prep as well, but he was facing off against three people and didn’t fail.

    People said that “Kamela owned Trump,” and most of these people hate Trump and there is nothing that will ever change their minds.

    And yet…

    Reuters had ten undecided voters watch the debate, and out of those ten people, six decided to vote for Trump and one was undecided. For what had to have been a “slam dunk” debate that people kept saying Trump wasn’t ready for, wasn’t prepared, Kamela was ready for him…

    I’m hoping for a huge blowout this election. And I’m even volunteering to help for the first time ever in an election. Don’t give up, but don’t stop fighting, either.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. As long as she didn’t mumble, avoided cackling, and no blood leaked from her eyes, the script said to claim she won.

      Frankly, even if all of that happened, and she fell down on stage while fire spewed from her ears while she spoke in tongues, they’d say she won, because that’s what the prepared script said. Look at the immediate post-debate commentary on Joe’s debate disaster.

      Liked by 3 people

      2. if policy discussions were *allowed* in political debates, that might have been useful.

        Look, the whole Progressive movement that dominates both political parties has the ethos that citizens are supposed to listen to the experts, and do what they’re told.
        The news media is a part of that, and adds the twist of shilling to the lowest common denominator.
        As such, debates aren’t about conflicting views and implicit trade-offs. They’re simply an exercise in marketing.
        (Shrug) I recall being absolutely flabbergasted when the state campaign managers for Hillary and Obama had a proxy debate at the beginning of the state caucus, and it was glaringly obvious that neither one had read their candidate’s platform, or had even listened to a single one of their speeches. It was all a pose of “because I support [fakir x], I am the superior person.” I was mortified for both of them, until I realized that it was me who was missing the trick.

        With that being the case, Que Mala certainly hit her marks and established herself as “brat”. But it seems to me that coming across as a smug, condescending brat is something you’d want to actively avoid, especially if you’re trying to shed the image of being entitled, irresponsible, and unlikable. The moderators gleefully imploded the media’s pose of neutrality and impartiality. Meanwhile, how was Trump attempting to market himself, and was he successful at doing so? He’s a very good salesman, and understands marketing very well indeed.
        At best, Que Mala and the media got a tactical victory and a strategic defeat. But I think that’s an overly optimistic assessment on their parts. (Shrug) It’s not that Trump plays 4D chess, it’s that his opponents self-destruct.

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    3. I’ve been thinking about this “lowered expectations” thing for a while now — but I’ve been starting to wonder “who’s setting these expectations anyway?”

      I know a lot of this “expectation setting” — perhaps most of it — is done by pundits. For Pretentent Biden, the pro-Biden forces were insisting they “just” needed to show up and be competent, because of all that the Right has been saying about Biden having a “fictional” dementia. For President Trump, the “expectation” by the pro-Trump crowd was that he needed to be “Presidential”.

      But these are the expectations of pundits. What expectations do normies have?

      I strongly suspect that “normies” are looking for things like “what policies do these jackasses have, that will help me, and help America?” and “sure, the candidates are acting like jerks, but can I tolerate them? Will they be jerks to America’s enemies?”, etc.

      I sincerely doubt that “normies” are going into the debate thinking “If Trump can show he’s Presidential, maybe I’ll vote for him” or “I heard that Kamala is a cackly airhead, if she can demonstrate she can stand for herself without giggling or smirking, maybe I’ll vote for her” or “I heard that Biden has dementia, if he can stand up against Trump and forcefully mumble through talking points, I’m going to vote Biden over Trump”.

      How many people really think this way?

      The primary reason I didn’t listen to the debate is because whenever I tried tuning in, I’d hear Kamala, her voice would grate on me, and I’d tune out after about 15 seconds. (I felt the same about Trump, but I’ve come to realize it’s because Trump has a “New York Salesman” personality that rubs me the wrong way, but now that I see it, everything he says makes a lot more sense!) The secondary reason I didn’t listen to the debate is because I don’t like listening to political things — they are cheesy and awful, and the lies and missed opportunities make me angry — but the other side of this is that my reaction is meaningless. I already know how I’m voting as November approaches, and I fully know I’m too close to the situation for me to “see” how other people will see it.

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    4. For some odd reason, this was posted as from “generalmusicd32848bf54”  and thus “Your comment is awaiting moderation.” I’m going to try posting this again.

      I’ve been thinking about this “lowered expectations” thing for a while now — but I’ve been starting to wonder “who’s setting these expectations anyway?”

      I know a lot of this “expectation setting” — perhaps most of it — is done by pundits. For Pretentent Biden, the pro-Biden forces were insisting they “just” needed to show up and be competent, because of all that the Right has been saying about Biden having a “fictional” dementia. For President Trump, the “expectation” by the pro-Trump crowd was that he needed to be “Presidential”.

      But these are the expectations of pundits. What expectations do normies have?

      I strongly suspect that “normies” are looking for things like “what policies do these jackasses have, that will help me, and help America?” and “sure, the candidates are acting like jerks, but can I tolerate them? Will they be jerks to America’s enemies?”, etc.

      I sincerely doubt that “normies” are going into the debate thinking “If Trump can show he’s Presidential, maybe I’ll vote for him” or “I heard that Kamala is a cackly airhead, if she can demonstrate she can stand for herself without giggling or smirking, maybe I’ll vote for her” or “I heard that Biden has dementia, if he can stand up against Trump and forcefully mumble through talking points, I’m going to vote Biden over Trump”.

      How many people really think this way?

      The primary reason I didn’t listen to the debate is because whenever I tried tuning in, I’d hear Kamala, her voice would grate on me, and I’d tune out after about 15 seconds. (I felt the same about Trump, but I’ve come to realize it’s because Trump has a “New York Salesman” personality that rubs me the wrong way, but now that I see it, everything he says makes a lot more sense!) The secondary reason I didn’t listen to the debate is because I don’t like listening to political things — they are cheesy and awful, and the lies and missed opportunities make me angry — but the other side of this is that my reaction is meaningless. I already know how I’m voting as November approaches, and I fully know I’m too close to the situation for me to “see” how other people will see it.

      Oh, and WordPress Delenda Est.

      Liked by 1 person

    5. What the heck is going on? Why doesn’t this just post as “Alpheus” like it used to?!? This is my last attempt to post without moderation … and WordPress Delenda Est, times three, now!

      I’ve been thinking about this “lowered expectations” thing for a while now — but I’ve been starting to wonder “who’s setting these expectations anyway?”

      I know a lot of this “expectation setting” — perhaps most of it — is done by pundits. For Pretentent Biden, the pro-Biden forces were insisting they “just” needed to show up and be competent, because of all that the Right has been saying about Biden having a “fictional” dementia. For President Trump, the “expectation” by the pro-Trump crowd was that he needed to be “Presidential”.

      But these are the expectations of pundits. What expectations do normies have?

      I strongly suspect that “normies” are looking for things like “what policies do these jackasses have, that will help me, and help America?” and “sure, the candidates are acting like jerks, but can I tolerate them? Will they be jerks to America’s enemies?”, etc.

      I sincerely doubt that “normies” are going into the debate thinking “If Trump can show he’s Presidential, maybe I’ll vote for him” or “I heard that Kamala is a cackly airhead, if she can demonstrate she can stand for herself without giggling or smirking, maybe I’ll vote for her” or “I heard that Biden has dementia, if he can stand up against Trump and forcefully mumble through talking points, I’m going to vote Biden over Trump”.

      How many people really think this way?

      The primary reason I didn’t listen to the debate is because whenever I tried tuning in, I’d hear Kamala, her voice would grate on me, and I’d tune out after about 15 seconds. (I felt the same about Trump, but I’ve come to realize it’s because Trump has a “New York Salesman” personality that rubs me the wrong way, but now that I see it, everything he says makes a lot more sense!) The secondary reason I didn’t listen to the debate is because I don’t like listening to political things — they are cheesy and awful, and the lies and missed opportunities make me angry — but the other side of this is that my reaction is meaningless. I already know how I’m voting as November approaches, and I fully know I’m too close to the situation for me to “see” how other people will see it.

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  8. 202o More continues. A coworker’s dad had a stroke on Friday. She’s flying out to Seattle in the morning. My wife’s uncle in Georgia had an aortic aneurysm rupture on Monday. He’s still in the hospital, but they’re hoping he can go home next week.

    As far as the debate goes, I didn’t watch it. I figured all the MSM would announce Commie-Ho as winner regardless, and try to gaslight us all. So nothing unexpected there. My baseline now is if they say it, they’re lying.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks. I’m just trying to hang on. Someone talked about how being a fan of SF/F allowed for being more mentally adaptable to things rapidly changing in odd and unexpected ways. As things have progressed this year, I feel like we’re living examples of that.

        Liked by 2 people

            1. Worse. Gotten two notices that “Combined Flu and Covid vaccines are now available.” (Fred Meyers, i.e. Kroger, and Costco.) No thank you.

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        4. More hugs.

          I’ve lost count of all the times some, “new, look at this!” thing has happened and I’ve. Said, “What? We weren’t doing that already?”

          Liked by 1 person

  9. The conversation amongst the Obama fans at my school today was, ” Are Immigrants really eating pets? I saw something about that on X.”

    Trump won, people.

    Liked by 3 people

    2. That they were talking about it means that not only did Trump get the word out, but that the people talking about it don’t believe the press, which is rabidly insisting that the claim is false.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. ”The Press” is not where that entire generation gets news. Big issues there, but it does mean the “WaPo debunked” or “NYT says” or “CNN anchor opined” carries zero weight with all of those folks.

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      2. It appears a top search on Google since the debate is “Haitians eating pets”. It’s not on the top hot page now but the N1 Earrings are.

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    3. It is and is not as bad as it sounds.

      America’s meta-culture is culturally wide. So we have long had people keeping as pets species that other Americans count as food. But, we did not eat pets, for the most part, because we understood property, and that our neighbors will kill us if we cross lines in destroyign their stuff.

      The root problem is not immigrants, but people in government being deliberately destructive stupid assholes with immigrants, and not making any effort to acculturate them, because they want to see violence. Somewhat very toxic cultures and groups as a source of illegals, but mostly government and private assholes who want to use the illegals.

      The consequence ‘problem’ that we are apparently seeing is that the traditional left voters are finding it a little too much.

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        1. Legally, half of a goose belongs to Canada, the other half belongs to the U.S.; at least according to the migratory game bird treaty. If you haven’t paid for your hunting license, or paid for your duck stamp, or harvested during the proper season, or with the proper firearm, or aren’t allowed to have firearms (illegals do not have that right under the Constitution), or with the proper ammo, or during the proper hours, or have more than the maximum allowed number of birds, then you’re a poacher, a criminal, and F&G gets to take everything you have with you when you were poaching.

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          1. Times get hard enough, I foresee Game Warden becoming hazardous duty.

            Remember that the Sherriff’s Men of Robin Hood fame were Game Wardens, and sprouted clothyard shafts on a regular basis.

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            1. “Game Warden becoming hazardous duty.“

              …………

              Becoming? Wow are you behind. Game Wardens already is a hazardous duty. Has been for years. So is Park Rangers, whether law enforcement or not. As well as any Foresters on public land (non-seasonal USFS started unofficially concealed carry in late ’70s, by ’80s it was legal for them to carry. Wasn’t entirely because the crew was working in heavily infested rattlesnake canyons.)

              Liked by 1 person

                1. 😝🤣

                  Yes. Both kinds.

                  The natural kind has a function. Best take their warning and avoid them.

                  But the other kind was also a problem, at least the grow patches. Are they now? Since growing is actually legal? Probably. How else are they going to avoid paying the state governments their money? With the fires? The cost of business?

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  11. Cameltoe the whore dealing with Muslim leaders as the head of the USA, They will just ask her to get down on her knees and cackle for them. Nor will they respect a nation that elects a whore as a leader, that goes for every nation on earth led by a man.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I’m not convinced that it matters one way or the other whether it is a man or a woman — we have a whore as a leader right now (even if he isn’t the type to get on his knees for his whoredom), and it’s clear how the rest of the world currently looks at us!

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      1. “even if he isn’t the type to get on his knees for his whoredom”

        And your evidence for this is…?😉🤔🤔

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        1. I’m not sure if I have any evidence for this, one way or the other. I just know he’s the type who sells his country for a mess of pottage and a pat on the back — and that’s far worse.

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          1. Sorry; I was unclear. I agree with you about his personal level of honor; my point was that IMHO there’s literally nothing he wouldn’t do to maintain power, including “doing a Que Mala”, on his knees or otherwise, on anyone who could help him do so.

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      2. The radical Muslims that influence that part of the world would treat Kamalalambadingdong and any thing she represents, like dog shit on their shoes, its in their culture so ingrained they would be repulsed even by her presence.

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        1. I fail to see how this is different from what we have had for the last three and a half years with Pretendent Biden at the helm — not just with Muslim countries, but with countries the world over, including our former allies.

          Liked by 1 person

  12. I didn’t watch it. I didn’t bother the pundits.

    But while the markets have priced in a 25 bsp cut next week from the Fed target I started hearing calls for a 50 bsp cut today and 100 bsp by year end.

    That told me at best it was a draw and probably some degree of loss for Harris. If she was 5%+ up they wouldn’t be pushing the Fed to juice and get called out for election interference. The Fed wants to look neutral badly.

    Liked by 3 people

  13. I didn’t watch the debate (my liver can only take so much), but the analysis I’ve heard (with clips and after-the-fact interview clips to support) that makes the most sense is that while Trump didn’t do spectacularly except for a few moments, Kamala utterly shot herself in the foot with the voters she needs by coming across as a scolding HR Karen. And the fact that her team convinced her that she needed not to laugh, ever, because the cackling was killing her, took away her only tool for dealing with things she didn’t want to deal with, which left her with a smug, ugly look on her face.

    Kamala had to convince voters she can handle the role of figurehead President. Mostly she convinced them that she demands to speak to the manager. And that’s with the active interference of the “moderators”, who also rubbed people wrong by taking her side, and only hers.

    She came across as a bitch. To people she needs on her side. Like black men.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. That’s exactly how she came across to me, every female Girlboss YAH! that I’ve ever had in any position of authority who hates any male that is “her enemy.” Which includes anyone that says a word that is against her.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. And that should be a warning to people. A VP staff position is the potential golden ticket to higher things, only thing bigger is the President’s staff.
          And 90% of them left should be a terrible warning to people who are willing to look.

          Liked by 3 people

                    1. Exactly. And the replacements should have known what they were getting involved with, and how her management style [mismanagement style?] operated.

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                2. Wasn’t she demanding her “people,” address her some weird way? Not, “Your Majesty,” but with a title, not a simple, “Yes, ma’am.”

                  Liked by 1 person

                  1. Could be, but are you possibly conflating her with Definitely A Doctor Jill, who demanded her own fanfare? Both witches, of course, just like The Shrill One, whose SS detail despised her.

                    I suspect it’s endemic in the breed.

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                    1. Oy…So she thinks(?) it’s a rank?!? I’d bet she says “mother-in-laws” and “attorney generals” for the plurals.

                      “Vote For Cackling And Stupid! Vote Que Mala!”

                      Liked by 1 person

    2. Actually since 2020 coming across as a Karen Bitch (redundant but sometimes it applies) is bad. Very, Very, Very, Bad. Ouch. Oops.

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  14. I am a very political person, having held minor elected office. I was counterpointing Kamala’s lies throughout the debate (especially on the abortion issue – go see how many of these crazy blue states like IL have something in their reproductive laws that say a) no fetal rights at all; and b) the definition of abortion expands to cover the full point in time when all of the uterine contents associated with pregnancy are expelled, which any woman who has given birth knows extends for days post-birth, which is why Trump was absolutely correct to say some state laws facially allow infanticide), and bemoaning all of the points Trump left on the table to zing Kamala.

    Spouse and sister, however, are not political at all; spouse leans vaguely right (more for being a practical no b.s. person versus philosophy), sister leans left (a creative, so she can’t understand why we can’t have free health care for everyone and be nice). Neither is particularly fond of Trump. Both watched the debate.

    Spouse thought both sucked. But the moderators being so obviously in the bag for Kamala, offends spouse’s sense of fair play. That Kamala had no good answer to, you and Biden and Obama had 12 years and things went to crap, Trump had 4, so how can you say the current crap is all his fault? Why not sign the order (Trump called it a bill, ARRRGH – EXECUTIVE ORDER, Trump!) to shut the border down now when you know we have a problem?

    Sister screeched, “oh my god, I might actually have to vote for Trump,” because she is anti Hollywood/media industrial complex (she lived in LA for many years), big pharma, bad food and thinks the whole political game is rigged. She is just in principle not into the notion that she should say “Yass Queen!” and find a role model for women in the form of someone who couldn’t even answer a simple direct question.

    So I think a reason from my decidedly small and slanted anecdotes why you might see independents/low information people split for Trump, is because if you believe both Trump and Kamala are vying to be king of the dipshits, you’ll vote for the person who, when he was in office, meant your world was on the whole better even though he’s a jerk; versus Kamala “well, why isn’t she doing that now? Oh, she isn’t? So she’s lying.” And go with the devil you know.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. We know both devils, and one is much worse than the other.

        Kackling Kamela keeps telling us “On Day One, blah blah blah. On Day One, yada yada yada.” DAY ONE WAS 3 1/2 YEARS AGO!! Today is day 1,330 of the Biden-Harris Regime and Biden is AWOL. What have they accomplished? Besides soaring crime rates and a crashing economy?

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Re Brandon AWOL, well he was at the beach a lot, and hey, now he’s back.

          But however much you may think Brandon’s head is mush, by all evidence he’s a vindictive SOB of a pol and always has been.

          One thing you learn hanging out with folks who have started off down the dementia path is how major parts of their personality are so persistent. It is very clear Brandon did not want to quit, but he was forced to do so.

          And he’s been a politician, and as such intensely aware of the cameras at all times, for fifty years.

          I think the Trump hat photo opportunity was completely on purpose, he sought out that table and that person to trade hats with, so it’s a knife thrust into the kidneys of the Kammy campaign while he can claim to have just being nice, and besides they kicked him off because he’s senile, so he can’t be held accountable.

          That knife in the kidney move is so totally in character for him it’s not even a question.

          Liked by 2 people

          3. And he put the hat on on top of another hat. Something is wrong with that man. Like we didn’t already know, but…

            Pray someone out there doesn’t seize the opportunity to hurt us, bad, while we have no real leader.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. There are two or three issues with that fear.

              1. Our international enemies and ‘friends’ do not really understand us well enough to do a good job of preparing harmful overt acts. Covert, they are better at, but what they do most isn’t the sort of thing where our ‘leaders’ matter much.

              2. Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine was an attempt to eventually harm us, while they had the opportunity that our leadership was absent.

              3. Lead time. Stuff that is easy to do, they try to do fairly constantly as ‘covert’ action. Something overt, that they do not routinely do, tends to take some prep time. There’s a minimum of four more months to act in, and they’ve had at least two already. Yet, Putin prepared for soemthing like two years, or mroe, and how well did that work out for him?

              Liked by 1 person

    2. And the ABC fact checkers out and out lied. Minnesota, Tim Walz’s state for God’s sake, had 8 very late term abortions in the recent past, where the babies were delivered, alive and unharmed, and left to die in the specimen pan. These were children that could have been considered preemies and lived.

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  15. Look, this was Kobayashi Maru scenario, no way for Trump to win. If he didn’t do the debate, he was afraid of a powerful woman. If responded forcefully and dynamically, he’s a mansplaining bully (remember the Clinton-Lazio debate? he had the goods on her but all that was talked about was his mannerisms). If he confronted the biased moderators, he’s just unhinged. So, he’s boxed in and he probably plied the best course letting her display all her idiosyncrasies and the moderators playing a hopelessly one-sided game.

    As campaign strategists the ABC twerps were awful. They missed several over the plate chances to establish (falsely) their neutrality. The Charlottesville lie, for instance. That would have been a free fact check since it’s been declared (kicking and screaming I’m sure) false by Snopes. Another is when she started the trial, they should have stopped her and reminded her that Trump was still under a gag order and cannot comment. And the outrageous Jan 6th the worst thing since the Civil War comment, they could have at least asked her “Worse than Pearl Harbor or 9/11?” (of course the Civil War and Jan 6th were both about the Democrats illegitimate use of government power, so may it is second worse to them).

    Liked by 4 people

    1. There are women leaders that people hate, but are effective leaders for their causes. Then there are women that think they’re leaders, but who everyone laughs at because they’re so inept that people can’t even bring themselves to hate. Thatcher and Pelosi are two in the first category from opposing sides of the political spectrum. Commie-Ho and AOC embody the second.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. OMG These women are why I worked in male dominated industries, as a female. I’ve worked with good women, the few I’ve worked with. FYI, every single one of us would have had the same response to heavily dominated women work places. (Run screaming.)

        Liked by 2 people

  17. Thanks! I needed to read that. I had a weird cognitive dissonance moment last night watching Trump in the spin room like he was taking a victory lap while Kamala ran away and hid, but I couldn’t quite land the thought that late at night.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. That debate was the longest I have ever heard her speak. And, my God, the punishment my eardrums took.

    Fingernails dragged across the chalkboard while a car with bad brakes goes by with a bad fanbelt all while sand squeaks and crunches in my mouth sounded more melodious and thoughtful than her.

    As to the debate monitors, totally biased. That whole “authorities say no pets eaten” thingy when we’ve seen videos of park ducks and geese being carried away…

    Sad, very sad.

    I couldn’t watch more than 20 minutes of it as I felt my sanity leaking out of my ears.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Agree.

      We watched maybe 20 – 30 minutes before getting dinner. Could not come back to it when we were back (it was just finishing up). It is saved. Just can’t go an watch it. Would rather read about overall reactions.

      The more vehemently she and her puppet masters say something is true, then it is 100% false.

      The more vehemently her and her puppet masters say something is false, then it is 100% true.

      I was impressed with President Trump’s ability not to smirk. He would have been 100% justified. Wrong to do so. But 100% justified.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I was impressed by Trump as to suppressing him bleeding from the ears having that noise right next to it.

        As to the actual debate topics, there has been enough analysis. You can and should, for your own good, let it go…

        Liked by 1 person

        1. 100% Not watching the rest of it.

          On the “eating cats, dogs, pets, etc.” debunk. Saw a mem on FB today. Lets see if I can get it right. Or at least the punch line.

          So “Not true now. 1 day from (forget). 2 days from (forget). 1 week from (forget). 3 weeks from “Not eating pets is racist.”

          Sound about right?

          Then this came up –

          https://scontent.fhio2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/459414765_1240434977140370_324677223893953098_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aa7b47&_nc_ohc=CUoo2uJ168AQ7kNvgHU5HPi&_nc_ht=scontent.fhio2-2.fna&oh=00_AYDWQblZC7gQrjSVt1kcANBKqxerqMdfDx0rei5eF7PMmg&oe=66E85A65

          With “not the first time she’s served up her … never mind.”

          Like

            1. Could be. Most the groups I’m part of are private.

              Montage footage of cats high wiring, climbing buildings, high on top of fences, etc., to prevent capture, to the music associated with Mission Impossible.

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            2. Sorry should have looked at the JPG.

              AI generated of Trump in a roman cape, in the arena facing 3 big lions surrounding him.

              Like

    2. Someone posted—and I actually saw—a video on Fb of Springfield cops questioning a woman about what she was doing with a cat she’d apparently killed. Based on the captions (already included, thankfully), the woman apparently had pretty poor command of English, and the cat was partially eaten.

      (No, they did not hold the cat up for the camera.)

      Like

  19. I primarily work with a single co-worker. He’s an immigrant from Nepal, and is a US citizen. I’ve never asked his political leanings, so I don’t know if he’s pre-disposed to favor one party over the other. But one of the first things he did when I got in today was to ask me whether I’d watched the debate (I hadn’t; but he knew I’d watched the first one), and then mention that he had, and he thought Trump won.

    I didn’t ask for details, in part because I’m generally very careful talking about politics at work (I live in LA County). But I think that was a good sign.

    Liked by 2 people

  20. This is your occasional reminder that the Japanese people knew they were losing the war not because the government admitted it, but because the Great And Glorious Victories against the dirty imperialist Americans kept getting closer and closer to the home islands.

    Well, that and the Honorable Death of the Hundred Million plan. Telling everyone that they had to commit suicide when the “emperor” ordered it, in order to shame America in front of the world? Kind of a sign that the war ain’t goin’ well.

    Liked by 2 people

              1. That’s the one I haven’t tried yet. It’s on the list, but with some of the people I play with being PS5 only, the immense amount of stuff I need to go through in SM2, and HD2 getting both the big balance patch on Tuesday and the ‘Geneava Suggestion’ Warbond on Thursday, it’s probably going to be a bit before I get to trying it out.

                (And horror of horrors, I’m wondering if I might actually want to get into WH40K tabletop. There is apparently a massive store/game center near me too, for actual human contact with actual humans. The budget numbers are unsettling though.)

                Like

                1. I encourage you to go down to the FLGS, and see what people in your area are actually playing. I haven’t done much wargaming for many years, but WH40K wasn’t played very much when I developed other priorities. Also, none of the 3 FLGS near me have 40K leagues. (I forget what they do have leagues for.)

                  Like

                3. Really, strongly suggest that if you’re thinking of getting into WH40K, buy a decent resin printer and subscribe to the One Page Rules Patreon instead. There are other decent mini-making companies as well, but OPR is the only one I’m actually familiar with enough to recommend, and I do strongly recommend them. For $10/month you get all the minis they put out in a month (typically 1/3 of two different armies each month). Do watch some videos on resin printing first, so you know what to do with it (wear gloves, don’t let the liquid touch bare skin or it gets quite irritated, and have decent ventilation in the room so you’re not breathing the fumes for a long time. OTOH once hardened, it’s perfectly safe).

                  You’ll save SO much money printing minis (that you’ve acquired legally) as opposed to buying from Games Workshop. With a resin printer, tabletop wargaming actually becomes an affordable hobby: some upfront costs, but ongoing costs are only $25-50 per month.

                  You can still play WH40K rules with One Page minis (the mini lines are designed to be mostly compatible), but the basic rules from One Page Rules are free (advanced rules are $5 for non-Patreon subscribers, and included for free with your Patreon subscription). And they’re really GOOD rules, too.

                  Don’t get into WH40K without first checking out the competition that provides the same experience for a tenth the cost. Then, if you decide “Nope, I’d rather pay 10x more for WH40K than for OPR”, at least it’s an informed decision.

                  Like

            2. Helldivers 2 has been having some issues. For example, the people the developers put in charge of the game’s social media and forums stuff were SJW tyrants. So…

              The jury’s out for them at the moment.

              Like

            3. The First Descendant looks tempting, but I’m too busy trying to complete an X-COM2 campaign on Legendary difficulty to switch to it. Plus, while it’s technically Free To Play one complaint I’ve heard is you have to buy something to avoid a lot of grinding. (It’s possible to get all the unlocks w/o paying the store, but it will take a LONG time.)

              So I guess I’ll defer the waifus with assault rifles (and sniper rifles for the new character) for now.

              Liked by 1 person

    4. “…kept getting closer and closer to the home islands.”

      I remember a line in Eric Frank Russell’s “Wasp”; “For months we have been making triumphant retreats before a demoralized enemy who is advancing in utter disorder.”

      I wonder if Russell got the inspiration for that from the Japanese propaganda in WWII?

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Has anyone here noticed the price of gasoline is suddenly dropping fast? At our Kroger affiliate today regular was $2.89/gallon, down from IIRC $3.03 last week, which was down at least 6¢ from the week before. While it hovered around $3.59/gallon for most of the summer. Wtf? Are they draining the SPR just to bribe us?

    Like

      1. Regular seasonal fluctuation. The demand is always highest during the summer months when everyone likes to go on road trips, so the price is higher. The high prices tend to last until they change to the winter blend of gasoline, which is happening right around now. So I am assured by people in the ‘downstream’ side of the oil industry, which, mind you, was the end that I never worked in.

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        1. In the Glorious People’s Bear Flag Republic it is standard and predictable that in election years summer gas prices are relatively lower compared to previous years. The general assumption I have always had is that the refiners for California’s unique captive blends know which side their bread is buttered upon (the left side) and just happen to not schedule refinery maintenance or suchlike upward price pressure activities in election years. Totally random and coincidental, no collusion or price fixing, nothing that just happens in an election year that helps the CA Dem Overparty.

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          1. So what the heck is up with Chevron? They’re 30¢/gallon more expensive than their usual parity with other higher-end blends. (Seriously, $5.20/gallon for 87 last week, similar bump everywhere I went through.) Did they have an issue somewhere?

            Like

          2. Mind you, I was talking about parts of the country where the price has dipped below $3 a gallon. I’m pretty sure Soviet California isn’t one of those.

            Like

            1. Not here either, southern Willamette valley, worse on the coast or north to the Columbia. Still sitting at $3.29/gal regular at Fred Meyers (Kroger). Which means Costco is $0.10 – $0.15 cheaper. Yes, we can get fuel cheaper at Freds, because we use our fuel discount points to get it lower. Shopping 4x fuel point Friday’s builds that up to the max $1/gal discount quickly (works out to $15 – $17/fillup discount). Add that to the 4% kickback for using the Verizon CC for fuel (can be applied only to Verizon bill, but I’ll take that).

              Like

            2. Here in Silicon Valley today per Gas Buddy the closest Chevron to me is at $5.31 for regular, and the discount station a mile or so distant where I usually fill up is at $4.59.

              Like

    2. “Are they draining the SPR just to bribe us?”

      …………

      Yes. Okay, do not know if they are draining the SPR, but they are making sure fuel costs drop to bribe us, or the gullible. Oh. I’ll take it. But I’m not changing my mind about the slime.

      In 4 years the democRATS will claim that the fuel costs was already dropping. But Trump’s policy’s will drop them down to below $2. Nothing they can do to do that.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. The answer is both yes and no. They do drain the SPR to bribe us. However, it’s questionable how much actually remains in the SPR. I suspect that it’s far lower than being reported, if not seeing the actual bottom of the barrel.

        Like

    4. The Reader notes that the price of oil is down roughly 20% since July 1. To him, that either indicates a world wide slump in demand or big time manipulation of the market (or both). The Reader wonders if BGE has any thoughts here.

      Like

      1. Oil consumption in China is down sharply because their economy is cratering. The IEA has lowered its global demand forecast by 1.2 million barrels per day, most of that because China is buying less. That’s easily enough to account for the price drop.

        Liked by 1 person

    5. Typically, gasoline prices drop after Labor Day. They go up for the summer driving season, and jump up a bit more right before the Labor Day weekend. Then they drop noticeably for fall.

      Normal.

      If the economy slows enough, demand drops. “Stay-cations” and “no job, no commute” are examples.

      Like

    6. Gas here has gone from mid-to-high $4’s to $4.16 this week. I figured the Democrats were doing something stupid to drop prices temporarily, but seasonal variations also make sense. They’ll claim credit for it, though. Loudly.

      Just like they blame the recent hot weather on ‘Glowbull Wormening!!’. Uh, it’s called summer, you dumbasses. Most folks have learned to expect hot weather in the summertime.

      Like

      1. Actually. Overall summer here in the southern Willamette valley, has been cooler this summer. I think we’ve had one day approaching 100, and that was just recently. Until mid-August, it was around 92 or less. Had a lot of rain too. Granted accompanied with a lot of lightening, which means a lot of fires. Even the problem fires are relatively small, none of the wilderness ones are even manned. “Hwy 126 and 242 are CLOSED! OH NO!” (yea, because the fires are right there, and this time, no question lightening started). Locations inconvenient. Exception are the eastern fires that include sage, bitterbrush, junipers, manzanita, snowbrush, all of which fire runs through like grease lightening.

        Liked by 1 person

          1. Yes. Which is why wildfire is like greased lightening when it gets started. Especially east of the Cascades putting fires out on the high plateaus is difficult because of this. Yes there are steep portions, but nothing compared to the actual mountain ranges themselves. In contrast fire “runs” slower in the Cascades or Coast Ranges (although Scotch Broom doesn’t help, also bad to have in wildfire) there isn’t the ability to put in lines with bulldozers, it is hand lines. Forest roads will stop a ground fire, won’t touch one that is the trees. Our recent rains helped on the Oregon fires the rain touched (Hwy 126/Hwy 242) but it is going to take a lot more rain and preferably snow, to actually put them out. You’d think the fires in Canyonville along I-5 would be “easy to put out”, if so you’ve never driven that section of I-5 (seriously, except for main downtown, along the river, the area is a deep river canyon, with narrow flat land). Note, Canyonville does not get deep snow. The situation east of Tiller on Hwy 1 (also closed), is worse.

            Like

            1. I hope you get some more helpful rains soon. That wildfire smoke can be quite nasty. I hate the stuff.

              Visiting Rocky Mountain National Park this past July, we were treated to the smoke from the distant wildfires in California and Canada. Visibility was so bad the first night that we couldn’t even see the Rocky Mountains until we were near Lyons, literally about to start driving up into the foothills. That first night we probably could see about five miles before even giant peaks disappeared into the wildfire haze. We were coughing for days even after it got a little better and we headed south out of the haze.

              About a decade back our vacation to Sedona was rapidly rearranged due the wildfire that started there about five miles north of where we had reservations, less than a week before we were scheduled for. Drove through the smoke for a day trip. Nasty coughing for the next half hour or so, but nothing like northern Colorado a couple months back. Same trip, visiting the Grand Canyon a wildfire broke out on the North Rim while we were visiting, but thankfully winds were in our favor there.

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              1. “That wildfire smoke can be quite nasty. I hate the stuff.”

                …………

                It is. I used to be on the lines (not big fires, just little one acre, lightening fires at the districts I worked at).

                2020 locally was really bad. We’re a good 8 – 10 air miles from the nearest Level 1 evacuation (eastern Springfield), which was a good ways from the actual (visible) fire line, for the Holiday Fire. We were seeing not only visible smoke, but ash, and the ash was not always “cold” (not embers). This year we’ve had bad smoky days (can barely see foothills to east or south) but nothing as bad as that.

                Like

      2. The prediction here is for below-100 temps this week, for the first time since sometime in mid-late June. These temps have generated much wailing and the gnashing of teeth among those with attention spans in days numerically less than their IQs. Or hat sizes.

        It’s the Arizona desert, you twits! It does this, or close to it, every damn year!

        Oh, yeah; and move your weather stations away from the Phoenix heat island!

        Sheesh…

        Like

  23. Perhaps. It is just that I cannot remember gas being below $3.00/gallon for like the last 2-3 years or so. I do remember it being real close to $5.00 and we are in flyover country where our price is on the lower side. 

    Like

    1. Driving through Kentucky and Tennessee along I-75 around Christmas I have often seen it a bit below $3 the last few years. Out West is summer, in the Western Great Plains and Intermountain West, it was closer to $4. It was often over that if I wanted 87 octane rather than the 85 octane they try to foist on people as “regular” out there.

      Like

      1. Though I suspect Sarah is correct in that current prices are also being impacted by reduced demand due to the declining economic state. Prices locally have dropped about eighty cents in the last two weeks, which is somewhat sharper than normal seasonal decline, if I recall correctly.

        Like

  25. An interesting comment on the debate struck me.

    Apparently one of the networks had a room of undecided voters watch the debate and grade it.

    The majority said Kamala won.
    And the majority said they were now voting for Trump.

    We may have a skewed definition of what the winning actually means with respect to changing votes.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Or maybe they know what “winning” means in this scenario. After all, you can “win” a chess game with a .45 Auto, or even by having two minions hold the oppponent down while you kick him.

      I saw the same regarding a group of 10 “undecideds” who watched the debate; IIRC most said Que Mala won, then 6 went to Trump while 3 went to Que Mala.

      Liked by 1 person

  26. I think most voters are basically 1 or 2 issue voters … now the abortion single issue voter doesn’t need a debate to decide … they are a lock for Kamela … but for everyone else it comes down to 1 or 2 issues … so while someone can watch the ENTIRE debate and decide Trump or Harris won the DEBATE as a whole when it comes to their 1 or 2 issues they focus in on those in the debate … so if you are most concerned about the economy you focus on the economic portions of the debate etc. etc.

    So it quite easy for someone to watch the debate and saw Harris won the debate but I’m voting Trump because of the economy or immigration or foreign wars …

    Trump gives a votes multiple reasons to vote for him … Harris’s main reason is “I’m not Trump” … which doesn’t answer questions voters who want some amswers are looking for …

    (I do believe that at this point in time anyone who is undecided is simply not paying attention and I doubt they even watched the debate …)

    Like

  27. I just heard one of the best phrases regarding the debate. From the Valliant Renegade YouTube channel: “Donald Trump and America on one side, Kamala Harris and the Walt Disney Company on the other.”

    Liked by 1 person

  28. There’s a hip-hop (I guess) song titled, “Eat the Cat.” Someone has done a remix with Trump’s, “They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats,” added and it’s going viral. The only time it shows Harris, she and her husband are dancing and laughing as the soundtrack repeats, “Eat the cat. Eat the cat.”

    I don’t think this is meant to help her…

    Like

  29. I hate to be a pettifogger but when you misspell a word in the title it cannot be ignored as hastiness. The proper spelling is Whiner.

    Rgrds,

    RES

    Liked by 1 person

  30. There was a focus group watching. They came away less likely to vote for her. They came away less likely to vote for her because they were hoping to hear actual policy and got a tap dance instead. That’s not winning. In terms of what the common folk care about, she could have won simply by lying. She waffled instead and lost even more credibility. furthermore it took almost 24 hours for the internet to point out how drastically and shamefully ABC was on her side. If that’s victory, show me a loss. I just hope she’s stupid enough to go on Fox and I look forward to to Vance vs Walz because no matter who the mods are, Vance is brilliant at this and I guarantee Tampon Tim will lose his cool.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. I cannot disprove it, but he strikes me more as a “sell my country for a mess of pottage and some adoration” kind of guy — which, to me at least, is far worse than someone who is willing to be paid for what he does on his knees.

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  32. I cannot disprove it, but he strikes me more as a “sell my country for a mess of pottage and some adoration” kind of guy — which, to me at least, is far worse than someone who is willing to be paid for what he does on his knees.

    Like

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