The mediocre main stream media has been all aghast at San Francisco QB, Colin Kaepernick's snub of the national anthem. It is the top news story which is saying a lot when you have a buffoon running for president. Everyone, that is the bigots and political trolls, are screaming at Colin's lack of patriotism and his obvious hatred for America. One Uncle Tom even said he wasn't black because he was raised by white adopted parents, I suppose. But as always there very little substance to the shrills except to get headlines. They can never handle the truth.

For instance this passage from Clarence Darrow: True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else. Or from Secretary of State John Kerry: I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service. Now, none of the great defenders of patriotism will comment on those statements and neither will they confront the hypocrisy or extortion or simply blackmail emanating from the House GOP all of whom claim to be great patriots.

You haven't heard about it of course because our great media is too busy "exposing" Trump's lies and immigration plans. But briefly, the House GOP has demanded the following in order to provide funds to fight the Zika virus: 

1. It restricts funding for birth control provided by Planned Parenthood.
2. It exempts pesticide spraying from the Clean Water Act.
3. It cuts veterans’ funding by $500 million below the Senate bill.
4. It cuts Ebola funding by $107 million.
5. It rescinds $543 million from Obamacare.
6. It strikes a prohibition on displaying the Confederate flag that was in a House bill.

Now keep in mind that there have been 11,293 cases of the virus diagnosed in the U.S. and 1,400 cases affecting pregnant women according to CDC estimates. Yet the House GOP, the upright patriots that they claim to be, won't fund the research unless the above are attached to the funding bill. Well, I don't know about you but I have a difficult time equating sitting during the national anthem with extortion. Extortion just does not sound like patriotism to me.  

Colin, your refusal to stand and honor the blood-soaked American national anthem was brave and enlightened. Few of the ignorant bigots and patriotic hypocrites even know the history behind the flag or the anthem which is no surprise considering the ignorance of the American public. For one, the song was written by a slave owner and white supremacist, Francis Scott Key. Key was born on a plantation to his slave owning parents. Later, Key as a U.S. Attorney fought against abolitionists trying to end slavery. (Click here for more)

So why would you stand to honor a song written to defend a slave system that kidnapped, tortured, and raped Africans to build the capitalist system of America. A song written during the War of 1812 when the U.S. tried to annex Canada from the British. The fact that the stupid American would rather pay homage to a symbol of imperialism and hatred speaks more about them than you. The hypocrisy is stifling but that is the norm in America. From a national party running a bigot as its presidential candidate to forty-seven GOP senators committing treason, you cannot expect understanding or courage from a public uninformed and willfully ignorant about its own history.

The shame of the whole affair is that this country's claim of a moral high ground is as specious as its claims of equality and freedom for all. So hold your ground Colin and maybe your courage will filter down into the minds of people who realize that we need to rid ourselves of symbols of oppression and hatred.  

Today the Working Families Party endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. They had previously endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders but have decided to unite behind Clinton since she espouses many policies they support. At the same time Clinton was receiving that endorsement, she was selecting former Colorado Senator Ken Salazar to lead her transition. Salazar, according to The Intercept.com, is pro-TPP, supports fracking, and has always been a waterboy for the oil and gas industry.  

Clinton's VP choice, Tim Kaine, has almost the same resume. Most of her inner staff of lobbyists, and former Obama officials actually worked on policy proposals for promoting fracking, the TPP, weakening Wall Street reform and a host of neoliberal policies. But Clinton claims she is a newfound progressive or has always been progressive on some issues. 

Maybe I am just confused, when you tell me you have adopted a new way of thinking but keep hiring people who reflect your old policy ideas I don't believe you. I think you are conning me to get my support. I think you have realized that the GOP candidate is so bad that you can backslide on your progressive leanings and pursue the failed neoliberal policies of the last thirty years, especially those of your husband's. I think you are conning us because you are actively recruiting GOP donors and anti-Trump voters instead of exposing the racist, fraudulent, and treasonous GOP for what it truly is. You claim support from the war criminal, Henry Kissinger, and billionaire hedge-fund operators who normally support the GOP, and the fascist, Michael Bloomberg. None of these people has a progressive bone in their bodies, if anything they represent what is wrong with America.

Yes, you are conning us Hillary Roddam Clinton. You have said what we wanted to hear while campaigning against Sanders and with the dirty tricks orchestrated by Wasserman-Schultz won the nomination and should win the presidency. I hope you enjoy your one term as president and we can thank you for paving the way for a GOP candidate in 2020 to the Presidency. 

Now that Hillary Roddam Clinton has won the Demo nomination for presidency we are starting learn about her strategies for winning the White House, and unfortunately they don't bode well for governing. A recent (Friday) article at Alternet.org: "Hillary Clinton Is Tossing a Lifeline to Down-Ballot GOPers, but Is Pulling Punches Against Conservatism a Smart Idea?"
 
It shouldn’t be a radical proposition to say that Henry Kissinger, Meg Whitman, Mark Cuban, Robert Kagan and Michael Bloomberg have no place in any political program seeking to make the United States a better place. But yesterday, the campaign launched Together for America to coordinate a mounting outreach effort to the very frightened legislators, national security hawks and rich people who have made things so horrible for so many here and around the world. It’s a country-first campaign conveyed through a stunning display of elite unity, pining for the lost days of Washington consensus politics instead of putting forward a substantive transformational agenda.

Is this a policy/program that fosters progressive ideas that she claims to have adopted? How does seeking support from a fox to raise chickens help the chickens? Demos need to win a minimum of five senate seats currently held by Republicans and not lose any Demo senate seats to gain control of the Senate.

Does HRC think that encouraging Repubs to vote split ballots helps Demos? Also, the Repubs she is appealing to are not the low-information, rednecks who vote against their own interests all the time, she is seeking the Repub fat-cat insiders, the so-called moderates and fence-ridding independents whose only creative thoughts are to protect the status quo.

What about seeking the support of progressives? How about mobilizing a ground game in Florida which only had a 57% black voter participation in 2012 to defeat the fraud Marco Rubio? There are six key states identified as tossups by Larry Sabato's election projection and three states that lean Republican: Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. Is there a ground game designed to get the vote out in those states that emphasizes the party's goals and plans to benefit the "average" voter? 

Or is Clinton letting everyone know that she is not for the rank and file Demos. Her staff is already filled with Wall Street and corporate lobbyists .  Is her only interest winning the presidency at the expense of down ballot elections? If that is the case, how is she going to govern? Without at least returning the Senate back to the Demos, she will have four years of futility and obstruction just like Obama has. But then, maybe her real agenda is to promote Republican policies just like her husband did for eight years and distinguished himself as the worst Demo president since Truman. Whatever may be the real purpose it is destined to stymie turnout for the down ballot races and further demonstrate to all to see that the Demo Party is just another tool of the oligarchy.

Headlines from Politicus USA.com during the past week:
 
*Trump Crashes And Burns By Accusing Clinton Of Murdering Iranian Scientist With Emails
*Trump Proves He Can’t Stay Sane For A Single Speech By Calling Unemployment Numbers A Hoax
*Trump Tells Outright Lie During Economic Speech By Claiming Clinton Will Raise Taxes
*Trump Tries To Con Voters By Removing Tax Cut For Millionaires From His Website
*Trump Attacks Immigrants Not Married to or Working for Him: ‘We’re Dealing with Animals’
*Trump Admits He Did Not See Video of Plane Loaded with $400 Million for Iran
​*Clinton leads in North Carolina, but the big news is, 41% of Trump voters think she's the devil(Daily Kos.com)

What intelligent person would even consider a man who makes such statements as being fit for the presidency? The answer, obviously, is not a one.

But Trump has millions of followers: low income whites, Fox News followers, anti-facts people, and just plain stupid people. People who want to get the government's hands off their Medicare and Social Security. People who believe that reality shows are real like Trump's former show The Apprentice. People who believe it is anti-Christian to believe in science, evolution, or that the moon landing was real. They believe conspiracy theories about anything anti-Clinton, anti-Obama, and speak against social programs designed for the poor as government handouts even when they are qualified for them. 

They live in small segregated communities with little or no interaction with people different from themselves. Their opinions and "facts" are reinforced by others in the same community who believe as they do. Critical thinking is limited to deciding what movie to attend. Book-reading is confined to simple fictions, if at all. Their jobs are labor intensive and usually deadend with no unions which many of them are against. They almost always vote against their own best interest because they lack the ability, nor are they inclined to analyze the issues. Finally, they don't read history or seek the truth because they can't handle either. They live in a world consumed with racism, homophobia, religious hypocrisy, and ignorance.

Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) said: "if you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice your're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."  

Thomas Jefferson referred to them as "rubbish" in the 17th century, now we just call them: white trash.  

Hillary Clinton received a seven to ten point lead over Donald Trump after the Demo. convention and assuming it holds and she wins in November she becomes president. All the platform speeches and her promises sounded nice but her success in pulling them off depends on the down ballot voting outcome. If voters split their vote: vote for her as president and some worthless Repub as senator/house member, she risks obstruction in governing. Recall Barack Obama won by almost five million votes in 2012 and lost Senate and House seats to Repubs thanks to dumber-than-dog-shit voters and gerrymandered districts.

Hillary Clinton and the Demos must capture control of Senate, at a minimum. That means winning five seats and holding all current seats in November. Of course, even winning those seats is no guarantee that some sellout, like Joe Manchin of West Virginia or Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, does not vote with Repubs on key issues. If Clinton and the Demos are able to win the Senate, she will at least be able to block the insane proposals that emanate from the House and will be able to sustain vetoes easily. She, however, will have extreme difficulty in advancing positive legislation for the people: infrastructure spending, voting rights, healthcare reform, education reform, Social Security expansion, and filling Supreme Court positions all of which will require sixty votes for stopping Repub filibusters.

She has almost no chance of winning the House. She will not win in the Midwest or the South with voter suppression tactics in place and the fact that the racists, low-information voters, misogynists, and Tea Party types will vote for Repubs. Hence, the Repubs will continue their obstructionist ways as they have under President Obama. Another key problem she will have from the GOP House are the endless faux scandal investigations, their complete refusal to negotiate under their current leadership on Senate passed legislation, and their threats of impeachment. 

In conclusion, Hillary Clinton will be our next president but don't expect anything to happen except stagnation, faux scandals, and grandstanding at the expense of the country.