Hillary, Trump, Election 2016. What did we do to deserve this?

This is the worst of times. Fear and despair hang like Damocles swords above our heads, Trumpageddon, Hillarygate, Russians snooping around to unlock our weakest link, the rising tides of climate change, the newfound freedom by Deplorables to bash anyone's head in who they deem, from their point of view, deplorable. What else? There's more but you can fill in the blanks. The brutal toll this election has taken on our fragile psyches, not to mention our physical health, well, it'll be a long time coming til we get over it. Heal, no. There is no healing when we face the prospect of what's ahead. To put it quite simply, we're fucked.

But wait! Close your eyes and meditate in your time machine back to 2008, three days before the election. Damn! Life was electric! We were in a state of euphoria! Higher than kites with Hope and Change just around the corner! Our adored and esteemed candidate, Barack Hussein Obama, on the cusp of becoming the next President of the United States! OMG, life was good, life was happy. There was no question who we were going to vote for. Working side-by-side for two solid years with love and respect for our fellow volunteers - all over the country I may add - giddily, we went to the polls, thrilled to be able to vote for a candidate we believed in. What a difference eight years make.

Everyone has a Story of Self about those amazing years of passionate activism. There will never be another time like that. Yet, here we are. Battle weary from an insanely long campaign, do we have the energy to fight on? We must. We must push back from the status quo, from the DNC stranglehold on the electoral process, from the malodorous corruption within and we must push hard for the 'progressive' platform adopted to appease Bernie supporters because who can believe they really meant it. Massive props for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, our progressive shadow Presidents.

Say, can we pass a bill about the length of campaigns? Other countries manage to elect leaders with way shorter election seasons. This is just ridiculous. Campaigns costing ONE BILLION DOLLARS. The absurdity of it all.

From now until Tuesday, I will busy myself with books and cocktails. Yes, the choices are beyond regrettable but that is what is before us. Take nothing for granted. Just GET OUT AND VOTE and gear up for the fights ahead.

Dear Hillary - An Open Letter Regarding Your Presidency

Dear Hillary -
You are one tough cookie! I'm saying that admiringly after watching you walk on the hot coals of this campaign, not once flinching, your tight smile and death stare resolute. Grrrl, you've been tested by fire whose burning embers have scorched your opponent leaving him in a pile of ashes. Good, let's sweep him away. (Did you get lucky or what to have him-who-shall-not-be named as the candidate!) You are about to finally summit the highest office in the land, a Sisyphean feat if there ever was one and for that you are to be congratulated! Let's hope all the October surprises have been spent and the next two weeks are a snooze. Somehow, I doubt it but I know you are well-prepared to deflect any onslaught.

I have to admit, I haven't always seen you in this light. Yes, you've been a tenacious combatant skillfully dodging the slings and arrows that came with scandals (self-inflicted or not) and the intense scrutiny of public life. But you have also been very adept at holding your finger up to read the zeitgeist - being 'flexible' with your positions, adept at mis-remembering, being tone deaf to the actual day-to-day misery of the majority of the citizenry and of having a miscreant love affair with Wall Street bankers. I'm still not sure where you stand on climate change. Fracking and the TPP still seem to be in play despite your come to Jesus pivot. The need for middle class jobs and taxing the wealthy are, hopefully, a revelation. I don't doubt your genuine benevolence for children and families, as you often mention, but all that caring cannot divert attention from your record on these other things. And it is your record that keeps me from lining up behind you, not, as some have implied, your hair or your voice or your pantsuits. It's a matter of beliefs and policy that are at issue for me.

As you probably can tell, I am a #stillBernie supporter and I will forever grieve for our country that Bernie wasn't allowed to become our candidate. Forces behind the scenes made sure of that but since you are the least objectionable candidate for President, I will vote for you because...Trump.

Here is what I would like you to do once you have been elected President. Since the DNC has ostensibly adopted the 'most progressive platform ever' and you have promised to follow through with everything you said on the campaign trail...no flipping...it would be great if you followed through by starting with your appointments. Your new BFF, Elizabeth Warren, is the perfect person to consult with about that. You know, no Wall Street snakes in any positions whatsoever period. And consult with Bernie because we know he has his finger on the pulse of the disaffected masses. Absolutely do not disregard the discontent of Trump supporters. They offer valuable lessons on what is not working in this country. Both Bernie and Trump have tapped into the seething rage over a 'rigged' economy, lost jobs, no jobs and terrible trade deals to name a few.

So, this is the way I hope it plays out: At the first meeting of your Clinton Cabinet, all - and I mean ALL - the uncomfortable issues that came up during the campaign are put on the table, analyzed and really 'go deep'. Look at every issue in a new light, from a new angle with creative out-of-the-box thinking. Challenge each other. Upend the status quo. Whether you like it or not, 2016 is a whole new world both culturally and economically. To understand the importance of our disparate American cultures, our distinct tribes - and they are plainly obvious - study them just as I assume you studied the distinct tribes in Iraq: Shia from Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Yazidis, Iraqi Turkmens. The United States is a hot bed of multiculturalism and must be examined accordingly. The Democratic 'most progressive platform ever' is a perfect road map.

Progressives will be watching you very closely and will keep pressure on you and your administration like a tourniquet. We have seen what establishment politics has gotten us - Donald Trump - so don't be doing the same crazy stuff over again hoping for a different outcome. I'm sure after the schooling of this campaign you recognize that.

As the campaign winds down and it pretty much looks like you're going to win - Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power, has already paid out on your win! - you are looking great, relaxed and full of stamina! I wish you the best of luck in your Presidency, Hillary. Your fortitude will serve you well because this is going to be one hell of a ride.

I wrote a long time ago that if people think the Republicans gave Obama a hard time, just wait until Hillary is President. They hate her to their core (sorry), they hate women and the thought of Bill Clinton roaming the halls of the White House...well, they will all suffer everlasting apoplexy. Not much will get done I'm afraid.

We know you have a penchant for secrecy, playing things close to the vest, but it would be advisable to be as transparent as possible. We, the people, deserve to know what's going on. You're going to be our President and our lives depend on you. That's no small responsibility. I'm rootin' for ya!

Hey, if you ever want some advice or ever need to vent, I'm here for you. Just email me. I'm on a secure server.

Queen of Illusion, Hillary Clinton, Pretender to the Presidency

Whirling dervish, Hillary Clinton, spins her 'convictions' faster than a monkey can climb a tree. Whatever's expedient that's what she'll say. Yes, people do evolve and change their minds but that's a whole lot of fast track evolving and it feels like just a big con. Her polling shows it: New Poll Shows 60% of Americans Think Hillary Clinton is Untrustworthy and Dishonest (11/6/15) Aren't 'untrustworthy' and 'dishonest' kind of euphemistic for 'liar'? So, you have the Democratic frontrunner for President of the United States who is considered a liar by a majority of voters. That is just sad. Especially if this comes down to the 'lesser of two evils' vote, yet again, instead of voting for a real desirable candidate.  

"Hillary Clinton has always been viewed as the Democrats' best general-election candidate. But new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls of Iowa and New Hampshire show that Bernie Sanders outperforms Clinton in those two general-election battleground states."

You know, it would be great to have a woman President but I think it would be the ultimate feminist decision to wait for the right one. Supporting someone because of their gender is as sexist as it gets.

Does Hillary Rodham Clinton have no shame? It's not like she's a magician with amazing sleight of hand. Her tricky record is right in front of us. Just google Hillary flipflops. Why, here's a good one: 6 flip flops from Hillary ‘Real Person’ Clinton An example: “We’ve got to do several things and I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants,” channeling Donald Trump, the Democratic frontrunner "adamantly" tells a talk radio host in 2003. And, she bragged about this just yesterday, November 9: “Well, look, I voted numerous times when I was a senator to spend money to build a barrier, to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in. And I do think you have to control your borders.” Read about it here. So, is she the 'neocon' Rand Paul said she was?

People say, "Oh, isn't it great. Bernie's moving her to the left." Honestly, she'd move to Mars if it that's what it took. But what is troubling about her 'move to the left' is that she can't be trusted that what she says today is what she would do IF she is in office. Watch this video of Elizabeth Warren talking about Hillary back in 2004. Buyer beware.

Martin O'Malley said it best: "Leadership is about being clear about your principles." But does she have any? The same lack of conviction was the reason I didn't vote for her husband, Bill Clinton. I felt there was no there, there; no center. They're well paired. Two smart people blowin' hot air in the wind.

Why hang your hat on a lesser comet when you can have a shining star? Bernie Sanders has been talking about his meaningful principles for the last thirty years. He has a center, he has a conscience, he doesn't hold his finger to the wind to decide what he should think. Take a minute to watch a mashup of Bernie's speeches over the the last thirty years. Watch this and know you are listening to someone who believes what he says, who has been fighting for the good fight for years, who has predicted what this country has become: "at 3:25 (1993) Bernie talks about how our country is evolving into an oligarchy." He said that nineteen years ago.
Bernie is our best hope to tackle the problems of the 99%. Fuck the establishment.

And, this is the most troubling. Don't think for a minute, if Hillary is the nominee, that the GOP won't eviscerate her. She can barely beat Ben Carson, for chrissake, by 1%. When they're finished with her...we will have a Republican President. Let's say for a minute, by some miracle she makes it. Well, if you think the GOP hated Obama and effectively obstructed anything he wanted to get done - imagine for a moment how they would work with Hillary. Racism for him, sexism with Clintonism thrown in for her. There is no match for Hillary in the  divisive public figure department. A do-nothing Congress would do less than zero with Hillary. They couldn't stand to see her accomplish a thing. Her supporters are in denial if they think 'she'll show them!' Yeah, just like she marched into her good friends at Goldman Sachs and "told them to cut it out". Boy, they must have trembled in their boots at such an admonition. (Those are her words. True.)

We should be so lucky to have Bernie as our President.
This is what winning looks like! Bernie 2016!