Week of 10/17/2016

Karma’s A B-Word
– by David Matthews 2

I’ve been doing online commentary for over twenty years now.  Longer than MSNBC.  Longer than Fox News.  Back when Keith Olbermann was just doing sports.  Back when Lou Dobbs was just talking about money.  Back when Bill O’Reilly was still a hack tabloid host, and Sean Hannity was still serving as Newt Gingrich’s hemorrhoid.  Back when Playboy was in its final golden era.

So I cannot help but laugh at recent events in the 2016 Farce when it pertains to one Donald Trump, aka The Ego, aka Mister Narcissist, aka #WhinyLittleBitch.

You know, at first I wanted to stay silent about the whole “Grab ‘em by the...” audio tape.  I wanted to get above the discussion.  Yes, it was rude and crude.  I don’t even want to complete the quote, simply because it was rude and crude.  Context, people.  Context.  It’s not the word that makes it rude and crude; it is how that word was used.

But the biggest reason why I wanted to stay above it was because, at the time it first came out, it was just words.  The boasting of an egomaniacal clown-act who has long propped himself up to be something that he’s not.

What has changed is that women have started coming out and accusing the egomaniac of doing more than just boasting.  That he supposedly has been groping and otherwise imposing himself on countless women over the years.

And I cannot help but think back to what happened twenty years ago... when it was the GOP that were pulling women out from every possible corner to accuse a sitting President of the United States that he was far from faithful when it came to his marital vows.  One book written by a former Secret Service agent suggested then-President Bill Clinton of engaging in clandestine affairs in posh Washington hotels.  Clinton himself had already inferred, but not yet out-and-out admitted, that his marriage to Hillary wasn’t entirely “perfect”.

And then there were the women who stepped up and said they were involved with Clinton.  We knew about Gennifer Flowers during the 1992 campaign.  Then came Paula Jones.  There were whispered rumors of Juanita Broaddrick, but just whispers.  It was almost like a failed idea that never really took off, which was sad because hers was the most damning.

Then there was Kathleen Willey and her claim that Clinton imposed himself on her in the White House.  A Democrat being allegedly victimized by her Democrat idol during a time of distress and a time of need.  Of all of the accusers, I tended to believe her account more than others because she had very little to gain by coming out.

And let’s not forget Monica Lewinsky, whose stained blue dress and of being treated as a human humidor ended up finally doing Bill Clinton in.

But the knee-jerk (extra-heavy on the “jerk”) reaction from Camp Clinton was all the same for Bill’s accusers.  That they were liars, opportunistic political marks, or that they are – and, I am not kidding, this is the official name for it – “nuts and sluts”.  All of them, no matter who they were or what side of the political isle they stood with or how long ago it was, were supposedly lying and making it all up.

Fast-forward to today and the 2016 Farce, and the tables have turned.

Now the GOP’s self-absorbed champion is facing accusations of him groping and grabbing.  And – surprise, surprise – he doesn’t like it.  Oh boo-hoo!  He says that they’re all liars.  They’re just making it all up to “distract the public” and “hijack the message”.

And, I honestly expected Trump to act this way.  He is a narcissist and that is what narcissistic personalities do.  It is instinctive for narcissists to project their faults onto others and refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions.  Trump cannot be seen as doing anything wrong.  Ever.  We’ve seen that with all of his detractors.  Anyone that questioned him, anyone that ever challenged him, is instantly in the wrong as far as he is concerned, and he takes no prisoners.  Hell, he’s even going after members of the GOP for not instantly kissing his ass.

But the worst of the refuting of Trump’s accusers has come from the cabal of propagandists on Talk Radio.  Atlanta’s propagandists over at 106.7FM pretty much went over every single dismissive excuse on the playlist.  They called Trump’s accusers liars, actresses, charlatans, sluts, even prostitutes.

Sound familiar?

And then, just to top it off, Atlanta’s morning propagandist went so far as to say that it’s okay for Donald Trump to be this way because he is an “alpha male” and that is simply what they do.  So it’s okay for him to act like a disgusting pig because he’s an “alpha male”, which makes him superior over everyone else.

Or, to quote from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

So to recap: according to the GOP script, all of Bill Clinton’s accusers are credible, honest, truthful victims; Donald Trump’s accusers are all liars, sluts, hookers, and hypocrites; and, besides, it’s okay for Donald Trump to act that way anyway because he a superior human being called an “alpha male” and that’s just how “alpha males” act.  Oh, and that “alpha male” thing supposedly doesn’t apply to Bill Clinton because he’s just a disgusting pig that admitted to lying under oath about sexual favors.

Let’s get brutally honest here... the out-and-out hypocrisy concerning the GOP proves without a shadow of a doubt that they have no morals, no decency, and certainly no honor.  They are a disgrace to humanity and are unworthy of any kind of political status in America.   The fact that they have somehow managed to manipulate, convince, coerce, cower, brainwash, and otherwise cajole a sizable segment of the American populace to their way of thinking to the exclusion of any possible alternative only shows just how evil they are and to how stupid humanity has devolved into.

None of us will really know if Bill Clinton’s accusers are really telling the truth, mostly because those instances were largely a matter of “he said/she said”.  The only reason why Monica Lewinsky’s story got traction was because Clinton literally was sloppy.  But the same thing is also said of Donald Trump’s accusers.  It’s the nature of the offense.

So if you want to drag all of Bill Clinton’s accusers out from the past and demand that we accept their words, then you have absolutely no right or moral authority to dismiss any single one of Donald Trump’s accusers.  Period.

Like I said before, I really wanted to stay above this subject.  But the out-and-out hypocrisy of the GOP and the legions of Trump’s propagandists forced me to speak up, because what they are doing shows just how dangerous they are to the rest of humanity.

There is an old saying that I’ve seen proven true: those that fail to learn the lessons of history are forever doomed to repeat them.  It goes right along with another old saying that has just been proven true with recent events, and one that I really thought did not exist, but it certainly made a believer of me...

Karma’s a bitch.

Week of 10/10/2016

Anti-Protesters Are The Real Anti-Americans
– by David Matthews 2

There’s a memorable scene in the 1992 Al Pacino movie “Scent of a Woman” when Pacino’s character, a blind veteran, is speaking on behalf of a young college student who agreed to “babysit” him.  The young man was facing expulsion for not telling officials what he knew about a prank that he was not involved in.  Pacino’s character, seeing this injustice happen, steps up and blasts the “integrity” of the college and then gives his legendary quote “If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a flamethrower to this place!”

That’s where I am today when it comes to these so-called “’Muricans” that infest talk radio like an STD.

There’s a part of me that wants to run up to each and every one of these so-called “’Muricans” and give them the fight that they are seemingly spoiling for.  And if I was half the age I am now, I might’ve given it a good try.  But I’ll be turning fifty in November, and I sure as hell wouldn’t last against more than just a handful of these “’Muricans”, never mind the seemingly thousands that infest the local talk radio listening audience.

Granted, that’s not what I really want to do, but these “’Muricans” keep on carrying themselves like they’re wanting to have someone kick their sorry asses all the way back into their mother’s womb.

And all in the name of a perverted cultish extremist sense of patriotism.

The issue here is the surge of protests at public assemblies anytime the American Anthem is played.  Colin Kaepernick was the first to start this trend, refusing to stand for the American Anthem in protest to what he considers rampant police abuse and social inequality.  He started it, and then others followed suit.

And that has the so-called “’Muricans” in an uproar.  They hate Kaepernick with a passion normally reserved for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.  They hate him and they hate anyone like him.  Anyone who supports him.  Anyone who agrees with him.  And, most importantly, anyone who follows his example.

You hear this out-and-out hate on talk radio, especially here in the Atlanta area.  They don’t just want him to stand for the American Anthem like everyone else.  They want him to suffer.  They want him off the San Francisco 49ers, out of the National Football League, out of football in general, and out of the United States of America.

And if you think the no-talent overpaid jingoistic hacks on talk radio are bad, you should hear their listening audience.  Those inbred half-wit goobers have a sadistic streak in them that should sicken any real American.  And many of them claim to be veterans, which they use as their justification.  “I served!  That means you need to worship the ground I walk on and give me endless praise!”

So much for honor and dignity in our military!  They’re supposed to be making people into better citizens, not turning them into jackbooted B-movie dictators in search of a third-world junta to run.  Here’s a hint, Private Pyle: you’re not defending America when you do that!  You’re crapping all over it!

Oh, but we’re not supposed to question their stances!  Oh, no, they are the loudest to claim that they “respect” Kaepernick’s right to protest.  They might even say that they will fight for and defend Kaepernick’s right to do what he is doing.  They just don’t think he should be exercising that right.

And that is what I have to call them out on.  That’s where we have a problem.

These ‘Muricans claim to be patriots.  They claim to love America.  They claim to love it so much that they cannot stand anyone not expressing their sense of patriotism.  They cannot tolerate anyone… any-single-one… that does not march in lockstep with their arrogant self-serving sentiments.

Except that you cannot force someone to be patriotic any more than you can force them to believe what you believe.  And we know who pulls that sort of stuff don’t we?  Yeah, those very “radical Islamic extremists” that you so love to hate!

You see, you cannot force someone to have a sense of patriotism.  You can only force them to go through the motions, which makes it an empty gesture.  Worthless.  Pointless.  Hollow.  You want America and freedom to mean something?  Or do you just want empty pretenses to satisfy your equally shallow ego?

Let’s get brutally honest here… if you “’Muricans” truly respect someone’s right to protest, and that right is not interfering with you or with the game, then you let them protest and get it out of their system!  That is truly how you respect that right!  You don’t demand that person’s expulsion from sports or from making a living, and especially not from this nation that you claim to love so much!  That’s not what real Americans who love freedom do!

Oh, and before you chime in with “Kaepernick’s right only deals with the government, the NFL is a private business”, ask yourself this question: who really owns those stadiums?  If the 49ers pack up and move to Nevada tomorrow, do they take the stadium with them?  No, because that’s not their stadium.  That is paid for by the taxpayers.  That makes it a public forum.  That makes it a government-run facility.  That means that the Constitutional protections that you pretend to “respect” apply.

And I need to point this out: did it ever occur to you that all of your phony jingoistic dictatorial extremist rage is actually encouraging more and more people to follow Kaepernick’s lead?  The more noise you make about it, the more attention the media pays to it, and the more often they’ll point out other instances of people doing the same thing, because they know that you and your jackbooted tin-plated flag-waivers-and-flag-crappers will be talking about it tomorrow.  And the more you spin those jihadist fantasies of yours on talk radio to purify America of those you deem “unworthy”, the more others will see what you’re doing and will stage their own protests to stand up against you and your kind.  Because now you’re not the champion of freedom; you are the antithesis of it.

You want all of that to end?  Then you sit the hell down, you shut the hell up, and you let the whole thing die down!  When there’s no more attention, the whole matter will just go away.

You may hate the protest and certainly hate the protester, but if the only right you “respect” is the right that fits your personal bias, then you truly have no respect for that right at all!  You claim to be a “real American”?  Then stop acting like the very enemy that you claim to hate and start living up to that distinction that you claim to be so “exceptional”!