Trump The Mega Troll Lost Last Night's Debate Before It Even Began

Trump spits out more lies and deflections during last night's debate

In his masterful work,  'The Art of War', the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote:

"Every battle is won or lost before it's ever fought."

To the extent last night's Town Hall presidential debate at Washington  University was yet another battle in the "war" for the presidency - between Democrats and Republicans- Donald Trump blew it for his side. It may be difficult for many voters to process, but Donald J. Trump actually lost last night's debate before it began. He did so by virtue of the Friday release of the disgusting video where Trump bantered like a drunken jock with Bozo BiIly Bush about how to assault women.  He's heard at one point to assert: "You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."".   Even advertising reprehensible modes of assaulting married women against their volition, as when he admits: ""Yeah, I moved on her like a b*** but couldn't get there. and she was married. I tried to f*ck her but she was married." 

In the words of Major Garrett reporting this morning on last night's spectacle that hit new lows for any debate, even online in  trolldom:

"Donald Trump took the stage with the weight of his sexist comments dragging his campaign down"

As soon as that 2005  tape was made public it went viral and elicited 100 times more outrage than the claims of one Reepo lawmaker for "legalized rape" during the 2012 election.  It essentially jumped the memetic shark and became a point for judgment and exercise of citizen moral capacity, as well as civility.   It then became obvious even to the most uninformed political dunderhead that Trump had only one way out: Like a clawed Razorback hog fighting a wildcat he had to drag his opponent into his own shit pit and try to cover her with so much of it that it would  stick to both and he'd at least look like he gave as good as he got. But in the case last night, he didn't. All "Troll Trump" showed is that he really he is the deranged swine that emerged in that tape. (Confirmed in another audio tape released by CNN of a segment on the Howard Stern radio show where he's heard to agree with Stern that his daughter Ivanka is "a piece of ass". His daughter for god's sake!)

Since most  morally aware and civility minded citizens -- even among the 'undecided voters" (an incredible assumption as it is)-  judged Trump from his barbarous words in those released  tapes, he had already lost in the public court of opinion before the debate began.  Worse, he understood that he lost in the optics realm, and so knew he had to emerge as a smearing, deflecting, defensive, paranoid, to even make it appear to be debating.

Anyone with a grain of moral sense and an investment in facts saw through this, and it follows close on the heels of his 3:20 a.m tweets the weekend before asking Americans to "check out a sex tape" on Alicia Machado. As former Bush security czar Michael Chertoff put it on 'Morning Joe' four days ago, "there is no way a person with such manifestly poor judgment should be in the oval office."

And judgment is the key. Trump then, trapped by the horrific optics of that tape, had no chance to even try to appear normal  by smearing his opponent, trying to reduce her to his level.  This was especially in terms of his responses to the questions of Anderson Cooper. Indeed, after Cooper's question to Trump on his behavior to women after the release of the WaPo tape, all Trump could do is rant, disgustingly deflect and try to make Hillary the "bad guy".  As today's Denver Post Editorial bluntly put it:

"Only in a mind as unprincipled and undisciplined as Trump's does such an argument make sense".

Alas, there are evidently as many of those as there of the same genus that deny the reality of global warming via arguments that it is really a "climate alarmist conspiracy by the government".

Trump's  indiscriminate deflections, ad hominem, non sequiturs and red herrings grew so exponentially onerous and predictable I had to leave the TV room after only fifteen minutes, though I could still hear the answers from my office.

Richard Wolffe of the UK Guardian offered perhaps the  best summary take on what transpired last night for those who missed it:

"That banging sound you heard were the last nails being hammered to the coffin of the Trump campaign. Or it might have been the thumping of Donald Trump as he stalked the debate stage.
Either way, the Republican nominee treated the notion of a contrite, humble performance with all the subtlety of a subway train. Not for him was the usual shame we associate with someone caught in a moment of sleaze."

Wolffe went on:

"He prowled around Hillary Clinton, looming behind her when she approached the undecided voters in the audience. He hugged himself and hooked his hands in his belt. He inhaled so sharply through his nose that he sounded like he was snorting his own insults."

Snorting his insults is right. I pondered how much crack he took before his appearance, maybe mixed with opioids and Gin.  But then I understood he'd likely be declared the "winner" by his gratuitously ignorant zombie followers just for showing up and acting half way sane, and not trying to grope Hillary. I mean the bar for Trump was set so low that all he had to do was show up, not scream in that tinny voice every second - or dance on top of his chair while throwing paper planes at Hillary. He met that hurdle to his delirious Trumpie followers. (At least two polls in battleground states show that at least 90 percent are with Trump despite the tape.)

Especially after one read the TIME article 'The Truth Is Out There' (Oct. 17, p. 18) on how the whole notion of truth has been distorted in this country  and ended up being whatever anyone wants to believe.  As the TIME article puts it:

"In dozens of interviews voters made arguments based on claims unsupported by facts, often peddling debunked conspiracy theory as plausible truth"

Such as global warming being a planned "hoax", invented by "scientists paid off by the government" to spread alarm and "bring down Western financial systems and civilization". And that is the crap believed by the "intelligent" sector of voters, as reside in Mensa and Intertel.

In such an atmosphere, replete with PR and BS, anyone might believe Trump "stopped the bleeding last night". But don't be fooled or deceived.  To quote Richard Wolffe again:

"Wounded animals behave in strange ways, and Donald Trump was nothing if not strange at the second presidential debate. He went far beyond barking his usual interruptions and conspiracies from the darkest corners of the internet: he answered a question from a Muslim voter by saying it was “a shame” there was Islamophobia. Then, two feet away from his questioner, he stoked Islamophobia as much as he possibly could: “We could be very politically correct, but whether we like it or not there is a problem"

But Trump's derangement - again prompted by the release of the tape  didn't stop there, He blamed both Clintons for raising the issue of sexual assault, as if he was just a hapless victim.  The mark of  a total psychotic. He actually said:

“I think it’s disgraceful and I think she should be ashamed of herself, if you want to know the truth,”

But this is akin to a serial rapist blaming the prosecutor  when informed of his foul deeds in  the latter's opening trial statements. The trouble is, in the current atmosphere of inverse truth - where lies become truth and facts are negotiable, Trump's performance and verbiage might be accepted as sincere.  And in dismissing the 2005 tape exposing his sexual assault references many Trumpies - including women - may well believe "it's only words" - as if words don't matter. But to scotch that meme, let us recall that during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, one misinterpretation of a few words in one Russian cable could have unleashed a nuclear war.

The most vile tactic - again revealing this pig's lack of temperament and judgment for the job- was convening a clique of women accusing Bill Clinton of sexual transgressions. He seems not to have realized that for those with more than the memory of a gnat this was already prosecuted (by Kenneth Starr) in the late 1990s and Clinton was impeached.  Even Trump at the time - in recently released videos- was heard to proclaim Clinton "was a victim".  Even Starr's 'Whitewater' investigation  found that Juanita Broderick's charge of "rape" - back in 1978 - could not be proven.

So why bring this up now? Well to deflect attention from his own disgusting behavior!  A tactic as ancient as those used by Roman Senators caught with their hands in the till, or after raping one too many of their slaves.

But the perceptual moral abyss remains vast. It is as if the country is divided into two camps: the realist, fact-based citizenry , and the unhinged irrational deplorables who couldn't recognize civic standards and decorum if it bit them in the collective ass.  This is the segment who'd believe anything if Trump or one of his surrogates said it. If there really existed a gullibility quotient this lot would  produce the highest scores.

To sum up this debate Richard Wolffe puts it best:

"The nicest thing you could say about Trump’s performance was that it was bonkers. A Red Bull display of sheer madness all the way to the end".


See also Robert De Niro's blasting of Trump in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFpFDyKeqyA

And:

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/p-m-carpenter/69294/the-gops-gutter-with-trump-its-distance-or-death

The VA Scandal: It's About Too Many Long 'wars', Not Enough Gov't Employees

 As the Republicans continue screeching outrage and pique  - now about the VA hospitals that left dozens of vets on "secret waiting lists"- it is important (as with most things the 'pukes scream about, like Benghazi) to get a perspective.  The Republicans and their vocal media mouthpieces (like Hannity, Beck and Limbaugh) are all about how Obama and his administration left those patriotic vets hanging waiting for care, until the bitter end.

But polls show people don't buy it, at least the sensible ones. One poll cited yesterday (by Bill Maher)  disclosed only 17% blame Obama for the fiasco at the VA, but truth be told this should even be lower. It is, in fact, the Republicans who dispatched the country into two, extended wars of choice - that were totally unnecessary. Bush, Cheney and their minions then are to blame for launching these wars, while also CUTTING taxes instead of raising them.

This budgetary myopia showed they were more interested in starting unnecessary conflicts than looking ahead to the formidable costs, in medical and psychological terms. They wanted the pseudo-glory and bravado, such as trotting Dumbya Bush out in his flight suit to the "Mission Accomplished" idiocy, as opposed to constructing all the hospitals and hiring the VA staff that would be needed to care for the maimed vets they dispatched into harm's way ......on false pretexts.

The Reeps never talk about having been able to vote on a $24b bill that would have opened 27 new VA hospitals but punted. They felt it was "too much money" going to fuel "big government". Well, you get what you pay for.  The Reepos have also overseen the downsizing of VA staff - in tandem with their yen to "sink government in a bathtub" .

 Currently then, only 20,000 VA workers are there to take care of 100 million appointments a year - which is an outrage. There ought to be at least double that number, as there ought to be more Social Security offices (and workers too), instead of shuttering hundreds of S.S. offices across the nation - to make it much more difficult for seniors to get benefits.

The moral of the story in all this? Don't instigate or incite wars where you don't belong, and keep them going for a decade (or more) if you're not willing to pay for the projected medical costs. Don't cut taxes and call what you're engaging in a "war" if you don't increase taxes so that all citizens share in the sacrifice. Don't tell 98% of the nation to "go shopping" and tell the others they must "fight for the 98 percent's freedoms" - unless you want to make an ass out of yourself.

Sadly, Obama, in his visit to Afghanistan over the weekend, still doesn't seem to have gotten the message - indicating the Afghan conflict "must end responsibly" - meaning troops will remain there in harm's way past this year. WHY? There is no reason to keep them there, and doing so will not secure Afghanistan's future any more than staying in 'Nam would have secured its future from the North Vietnamese. As Sun Tzu would have put it, that war was lost before even begun. (His actual statement in 'The Art of War' is "Wars are lost or won before they begin").

The wise move here, given the unfolding VA crisis in inadequate medical care, is to pull those troops - ALL of them - by year's end. Then, there is some smattering of a chance (not much!) that the VA personnel needs can catch up to the urgent care and waiting vets. But it is clueless to risk many more injured vets - from Afghanistan- when the under-staffed and underfunded system obviously can't handle them.

Mr. Obama, end the Afghan fiasco now! Take note of Thomas Friedmann's words that it makes no sense to do nation building overseas if we don't do nation building in our own country first.

Our own country cries out for repair (of its infrastructure) and also creation of millions of new jobs not affiliated with weapons manufacture or warring. Not to mention, healing its own citizens-  from students' inundated by debt, to families barely eking by on food stamps.

Let us take care of our own country now, and the existing vets awaiting care, as opposed to adding thousands more that the downsized (thanks to Reepos) government  and VA simply cannot handle.

Just my two cents!

Thoughts on Winners and Losers....

Tony Sparano- below- Miami Dolphins head coach, downcast after the 18-15 loss which may well cost him his job.

Two teams, two tales: one of winning and going to 7-0 in their record, the other of losing, and now 0-6. The Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins! Both teams faced determined opponents yesterday afternoon, the Packers against division rivals Minnesota at their stadium, and the Miami Dolphins taking on the Tim Tebow (he of the John 3:16 balderdash) in theirs.

Miami was ahead 15-0 with 2: 55 left but lost, 18-15. Green Bay was ahead by only 33-27 with 2:41 left on the clock and won. So what happened?

In the case of the Miami Dolphins, one need only go to the famous Sun Tzu saying which also applies to the pro football arena:

"Wars are usually won or lost before they even begin"

The Dolphins lost their war after holding off Saint Tebow and his Broncos for 54:23 by giving in to the expedient way. The philosophy of "Just play not to lose!" Trouble is, when you play not to lose, you generally do because the thought or possibility of loss has already embedded itself in your consciousness. I mean why else play not to lose? On the other hand, by playing to win, you will generally ensure a win, all other things being equal.

So, with 5:37 left in the game at that point, the Dolphins' Offensive Brain Trust , in what turned out to be a key possession, chose to try to run the ball three times for all of 6 yards. Generally, running can be good at the end of a game, but ONLY if it's effective and: a) takes time off the clock and b) gets first downs. The Dolphins' efforts garnered neither, despite the fact had they at least applied some aggression via the passing game, and got to the 30 yard line, they could have sealed their win with a field goal. In that case, nothing Denver or Tebow did would have mattered.

They also would have done their Defense a favor, which until then had kept Tebow contained, going only 6-for 21, and mounted a serious pass rush - missing from their past 5 games.

But by going three and out, and using up only 4 seconds, they gave Denver new life, as well as their biblical star boy. Taking on the challenge, Tebow drove the Broncs down to score a relatively easy 6 points, then they tacked on 1 more to make it 15-7. There was now about 3:41 left. The Broncos then opted to try an onside kick, instead of punting and turning the ball back to Miami.

Generally, an onside kick must be displaced at least ten (forward) yards of the field to be valid. If recovered by the team that attempts it, it can turn a game around, as we beheld in the SuperBowl two years ago, when New Orleans' Saints did it to the Indianapolis Colts starting the 2nd half.

The defending team must put what is called their best "hands guy" on the receiving team, and that often means the guy with the literal largest hands - to ensure no mistakes. The Green Bay Packers, for example, generally use receiver Donald Driver for onside kick duties. He also has the largest hands on the team - at nearly 11" long.

The Dolphins didn't use such a hands guy but rather an ordinary special teams player, Marlon Moore, and so the result was predictable: Virgil Green of Denver knocked the ball loose from Moore's hands and the Broncos recovered it near the Miami 34 yard line and Tebow easily drove them down that short field for another score. It was now 15 -13.

Tebow and the Broncos now decided to go for two points, which would tie the score at 15 all. This meant getting the ball into the end zone once more. (The Dolphins already tried to do this in the 2nd quarter when the score was 12-0 Miami, but it wasn't needed. Indeed, the failure to convert, minus just the ordinary extra point, also ensured their defeat later).

Everyone in the stadium knew Mr. Bible puncher's M.O. and that meant running it up the gut into the end zone. Did the Dolphins? Evidently not! Tebow just waltzed 4 yards into the end zone like he was taking a Sunday stroll.. It was now 15-15. All was not yet lost. The game went to overtime.

Miami won the coin toss, so got first possession - but they muffed it and went 3 and out. The Broncos then got the ball and they also went 3 and out. Miami took the next punt and.....boffed it...fumbled with the Broncos recovering near the Miami 30. Game over! The Broncos' Matt Prater kicks the winning field goal and Tebow and the Broncos prevail 18-15.

Dolphins' fans are ready to hang themselves from the stadium rafters in the wake of the club's biggest choke in its 46-year history. Meanwhile, Tebow groupies - mainly from Univ. of Florida - are beside themselves with biblically proportioned delirium over their boy's heroics. One religiously-inclined fool reporter asks Tim after the game:

"Didn't this game ending embody the Christian spirit?"

Wonder what the goop will ask next week after the Lions of Detroit get done mauling Xtian star boy!

Now, flash to the Packers, at the end of their game with the Minnesotar Vikings -who have now scored 23 unanswered points and are within a touchdown and extra point of winning. The score if Pack 33 Vikes 27.

The Minnesota coach, facing 4th and 10 chose to let his D hold the Pack, which had meekly gone three and out twice before, and punted. With 2:41 left it was essential to retain ball control and not kick the ball back!

The Pack knew in order to beat this new kid on the block QB they faced, Christian Ponder (now emulating Dan Marino) they had to get runs AND 1st downs!

James Starks rose to the occasion running for 16 yds. in one go, and then nailing 2 more first downs by the end of which only :37 was left on the clock and it was fall down time.

Pack Wins 33-27.

They took care of the ball possession at the end and business, and why they are 7-0.

The Dolphins didn't, and that's one major reason they're 0-6.