Trumpled (Alternative Leading)

[Lods]

If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck ...

It's probably a duck or maybe a goose... but not Adolf Hitler

[Mav]

Let's be politically correct and just say he's a racist demagogue who is trying to scapegoat minorities for political gain.

[Mav]

Bit of a slow burner, but it looks like the Zika epidemic is starting to become an issue: Republican Lawmakers Slam Indiana Abortion Bill As 'Overreaching'; House Approves It Anyway,11/3/16.

The bill, called HB 1337, would ban abortions sought because of fetal gender, race or abnormality. If signed into law, women wouldn't be able to seek an abortion because a fetus was diagnosed “with Down syndrome or any other disability.” (Presumably, this would include potential defects caused by Zika virus infection -- the first case of which was confirmed in Indiana just this week.)

It would also allow doctors who perform abortions under such circumstances to be sued for wrongful death.

It seems that the link between Zika and Microcephaly is growing stronger but it also appears that the Zika virus directly attacks the brain tissue of fetuses in the first trimester rather than just restricting the development of the skull and therefore the brain.

The rainy season due soon will exacerbate the spread of the virus.  In the US, warmer temperatures will soon favour an increase in the mosquito population.  The mosquito that is causing the spread of the virus in Latin America is restricted to the southern states of the US but researchers fear a more common mosquito in the US could spread the virus as well. 

The chances are pretty good that a mother-to-be in the US is going to be refused an abortion despite the brain of the fetus being severely damaged by the Zika virus and this will blow up before the first Tuesday in November.  At the very least, the ban on abortions now introduced by 2 states has raised the question of the constitutionality of such bans and made it a political issue anyway.

[Juddkreuzer]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/11/...ing-Matter

“So, if you know me or my friend, Seth Quackenboss, then you know that we often get ourselves into ridiculously wacky situations, especially when we're together. Yesterday was one of those days. We decided to drive down to Fayetteville in order to hear a certain orange politician speak. Yes, you guessed it. We went to a Donald Trump rally.

Now, I am not a supporter of Mr. Trump in any way, shape, or form. I'm quite inclined to a certain berning sensation that I've been experiencing for some time. But that's beside the point. The point is, we thought that we were in for a time of jokes and hilarity. And at the beginning, it was. There were a few speakers before Trump came out and they were not well organized at all. They were comical. One man, a veteran, said that he had shed blood on 7 continents. And unless I missed the great Antarctica War, I highly doubt that's true. Let it be known for the record, that I am not against veterans in any way shape or form. I just thought that particular comment was funny. Because I doubt he actually wounded someone in Antarctica. But a more plausible explanation would be that he was doing penguin research and accidentally pricked a penguin and it bled. Anyway…

One speaker also said that we needed to get rid of 911 calls and we all need to handle our problems ourselves. Well...that's highly unlikely. I can't imagine that people will start forgoing 911 calls when their house in burning down in order to try and extinguish the fire themselves. But, ya know, it's a nice thought.

So those were my laughable moments. Trump was about to come out. We had our signs ready. We were going to go all out. Yelling and screaming and whatnot.  Because, why else were we there if not to join the spectacle? He comes out. People go crazy. For the first twenty to thirty minutes I sat there with high expectations of hilarity. After half an hour, my feelings turned extremely grim. I was scared and upset. Let me explain...

Trump basically said the same few things the whole time. He knows exactly what will get a cheer from the crowd and he says it. He mentioned his wall several times. About five or six if I can remember correctly. At one point he said "We're going to build a wall. And who's going to pay for it?" And the crowd yelled, "Mexico!" and then they lost their minds. Now, we all know exactly why this is stupid. So I won't elaborate. It was just very unsettling. He mentioned ISIS several times. About ten. But not exactly how to stop ISIS. Just comments like, "We're gonna get ISIS," and "ISIS is going down." Blanket statements. He did say that for America to win again (any sort of winning, not just against ISIS) we have to go outside of the law and he isn't afraid to do it. And that's unsettling for several reasons. But I'm just reporting the facts. And that was all he said on policy. Completely void of content or substance. Just statements that would get the crowd cheering.
Now, let's talk about the protesters. There were many. I think throughout the hour long rally, there were roughly 15-20 groups of protesters. Some of them were individuals and some were in groups. They popped up throughout the rally here and there. And some of them were yelling and causing a raucous but some of them were just standing there with their anti-Trump shirts or their pro-whoever else shirts. They were all removed. Peaceful or violent.
One man had a shirt that said "Love is the answer," and he was thrown out. Trump's comment on this man was, "And love is very important but I mean, who's making love to that guy?" And my stomach churned. A few minutes later, a woman stood up not far from where the other man was and starting protesting. She was removed. Trump's comment was, "She was with the other guy. They're actually a couple. A *clears throat* beautiful *gagging noises* couple." And the crowd laughed and cheered. It was horrifying.

But out of everything I saw, the crowd was the worst part. I have never seen more hateful people in my life. Everyone was just filled with so much hatred. If a protester had a sign, even the peaceful ones, they would take the sign from them, rip it up, and throw it back at the protesters. Whenever a protester would get removed, the crowd would yell horrible things. Once, after a protester was removed, Trump said, "Where are these people coming from? Who are they?" A lady, sitting not 5 feet from me, said, "Well hopefully when you're president, you'll get rid of em all!" Get rid of them? Get rid of anyone who opposes Trump? It was sickening. I felt truly nauseous. And these people loved the protesters. They loved the drama and the chaos. And Trump fed upon it. It was easily one of the strangest and uncomfortable things I've ever witnessed. I could just hear the horrible things being spoken around me and it made my skin crawl.

Needless to say, there was very little laughter on my part. I thought this was going to be joke...and it was, but for a very different reason.
I implore you, if you're thinking about voting for Trump, reconsider. You are only promoting chaos and hatred. I witnessed it firsthand. And trust me, this is not something you want to see in person. This is not what you want to happen to our country.”

[Mav]

Yep.  How ironic he condemns the protesters for denying him his first amendment rights to free speech.  Let's leave aside for the moment that he never actually says anything about policy as the article pointed out.  This is the guy who played protester when other candidates were trying to make points in debates, shouting over them, insulting them and calling them names.  Unless we regard 3rd grader squabbles as free speech, he had no intention of letting any serious debate occur.  Then we have his penchant for penning the media together so they can't report on what his crowd is up to.  Of course, he tells us there were bad dudes punching his supporters but offers no proof of these Mandingos ripped out of the nightmares of white supremacists.  The media certainly can't confirm his assertions and strangely enough he never had his own videographers document these repeated outrages.  How many phone cameras would there have been in those crowds?  Surely, his ubiquitous son would have had one.  While he has the media penned up, he "jokes" about killing them.  But thankfully he hasn't promised to do so if he wins.  No, he only promises to pass laws that will make it easier to sue them if they publish hurtful opinions.  He even says he'll seek to amend the First Amendment to strip down its protections.  Yep, the very same First Amendment protections he says the protesters are preventing him from exercising.  And he is a big fan of using SLAPP suits to punish those who say things about him that he doesn't like, i.e. defamation actions he knows have no basis but threaten to financially weaken the target.  Big fan of freedom of speech ...

[cookie2]

The only thing that Donald Trump stands for is Donald Trump and getting Donald Trump elected. An empty vessel I'm afraid.

[ElwoodBlues1]

The only thing that Donald Trump stands for is Donald Trump and getting Donald Trump elected. An empty vessel I'm afraid.

60 minutes had a segment on Trump..scary the support he has from Redneck America.....if the Latino section of the population
dont vote then they can start ordering the bricks for the Trump Wall...

[Juddkreuzer]

Most dangerous yes, but not the only group.
If you start comparing him to Hitler or a dictator you're talking the politics of extremism.
It's that type of language that places "fear of the possibilities" in the minds of people....and fearful people can react in the same way as hateful folk.

Lods my late mother in law was a Ukrainian immigrant who was taken by the Nazi's to a workers camp during the German retreat from Operation Barbarossa. She told me many times how people used to laugh at this silly fool Hitler before he rose to power. And to be honest even she was sold on the anti Jewish propaganda until her death. I thought Dubbya was bad but Trump is more dangerous than any potential world leader I can recollect since Hitler. Obama needs to stop him now.

[Lods]

JK
It's a very emotive issue.....and nothing raises the emotions like the fear of another Hitler but....
Conditions in America are nothing like they were in post World War 1 in Germany. The American people are also a much more diverse group than the Germans. The elements of structured militarism don't exist. Scrutiny by the media means a wider range of opinions are able to be expressed, the internet adds to that...The key to Hitler's success was the environment at the time. There may be some similarities in the racist/nationalistic rhetoric but even if Trump was Hitler reborn he would have Buckley's chance of replicating the Third Reich in America.

A much better comparison would be with Joh Bjelke Petersen and the failed Joh for Canberra campaign. Like Joe there will be a time when the Trump campaign will just lose it's steam....there are signs it's happening already as forces align against him. If he does get the Republican nomination under the scrutiny of a general election he wouldn't be able to maintain the momentum. You see he has nothing of substance. If you listen to his rallies it's just a ramble of cliches that wouldn't make up a 30 second grab on the nightly news....but throw in a protester or two and you have a bit of attention.

Trump thrives on that...Chicago the other night was never really an issue. The crowd were pretty much well controlled by the police (only five arrests according to the report I read) and even mingled (even if in somewhat heated debate) around the venue. Very little violence ensued....(although Fox had a few fights on a loop that made it look a lot worse than it actually was ) and Trump was able to play the martyr.
Who benefited....we'll see on Tuesday (Wednesday  our time.) Will the incident(s) give Trump a further boost....or is it the beginning of the end.

The other issue is...While we're watching the clown are we actually missing the 'devil' that would be the alternative.

[cookie2]

I think it's clear that a large section of US society feels like it has lost its prosperity and the country has lost prestige pride and greatness of past years. Trump is tapping into that and using it to create disillusionment with the existing political order.