The most surreal presidential press conference ever

Read the transcript here.  Trump is ranting at the media in ways that make extraordinarily clear how big and self-centered a bubble he lives in.  I cannot recall a weirder presidential press conference.

It is hard at times to remember that this strange White House reality TV show is in fact our reality.

I'm heading out tomorrow for three weeks in Europe.  I think I will do my best to avoid American news during that time and instead focus on art, food, culture, and doing my best to stay positive.

These days, staying positive in America is quite the challenge.

I mistakenly read some political news today

and of course couldn't avoid Trump's appointment of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist.  If you've missed this little jewel, check out this New York Times opinion piece on it.

Rather than think more about this topic, I'm going to look forward to diving into magic with this movie this weekend.



The world of fantasy is looking better and better.

Don't take any election as being a done deal. Vote.

You can't go far on the Internet without running into someone's election predictions.  Many of those predictions disagree.  Even those that strongly favor one candidate or the other have to admit that it's possible the race could go either way.

So do your part:  vote.

I want you to vote for Hillary Clinton if for no other reason than to keep Trump out of office.  (I actually believe Clinton will be a solid President, but you don't need to share that opinion to vote for her.  All you have to do is agree that Trump would be a bad President.)  Even if you want Trump, though, I want you to vote.  I want every eligible voter to vote.  Voting is a privilege and a responsibility that we should take seriously.

Vote.  Please.

I voted. You should, too.

Today, because I will be on the road next Tuesday, I voted early.

I'm always happy and excited to vote, because I consider it to be one of the greatest gifts and privileges that I enjoy as a citizen of the U.S.

If you've already voted or intend to vote, thank you, and good on you.

If you're considering skipping the polls this year, please don't.  Please.  So many elections are critical this year, with the most critical of all being, of course, the contest for the presidency of our country.  If you read this blog regularly, you already know that I desperately want to keep Trump out of that office, which is one of the many reasons why I voted today for Hillary Clinton for President.

If you also want to keep Trump far, far away from control of our country, vote for Clinton.

If, like me, you want to get rid of our state's awful HB2 law, vote in a new governor and new legislators.

Even, though, if you oppose me on every issue, I want you to vote.  If I'm going to lose, I'd far rather it be to the will of the overwhelming majority of my fellow citizens than to the decisions of a minority of them.

Vote.

Trump on the peaceful transition of power

From the debate earlier tonight:

Chris Wallace: But, sir, there is a tradition in this country, in fact, one of the prides of this country is the peaceful transition of power and no matter how hard fought a campaign is that at the end of the campaign, that the loser concedes to the winner. Not saying you're necessarily going to be the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and the country comes together in part for the good of the country. Are you saying you're not prepared now to commit to that principle?

Donald Trump: What I’m saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense, okay?

No, it's not okay.  It's really not.

Chris Wallace is a Fox News reporter, and even he was clearly incredulous at this declaration from Trump.

If you lose, you don't fight the election results; you concede and move on with your life.

At this point, Trump is so consistently outrageous that people joke about his behavior, shrug, and seem to accept it.  We should not.  We must not.

The only sure way to keep Trump from becoming the next President of the United States is by voting for Hillary Clinton.

I am voting for Hillary Clinton.

You should, too.

Trump's Second Amendment comment is not a joke

It is a horrifying reminder both of the kind of person he is and of how unsuited he is to President of these United States.  In case you missed it, here's a CNN bit on this latest bit of Trump horror.



If the video doesn't play for you, here's the transcript of the relevant text:

"Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."

As the video above shows, the Trump campaign is trying to explain that Trump was referring only to voting, but that's clearly bullshit.  If you or I were to make a comment like that about a candidate for President and the Secret Service heard about it, we would be in a world of trouble.

Don't believe me?  CNN reported here the following:

'The former head of the CIA, retired Gen. Michael Hayden, told CNN's Jake Tapper: "If someone else had said that said outside the hall, he'd be in the back of a police wagon now with the Secret Service questioning him."'

I know a lot of people who despise Clinton; that's their right.  With every passing day, though, we gain more proof--as if we needed more--that Trump is not only not fit to be President, he is also a dangerous man we should not trust with any elected office, much less the highest in our land.

The only way to make sure Trump does not win the election is to vote for Clinton.  We have only one sensible path here.  Take it.  Stop Trump.

WTF, Republican Party?

Donald Trump is now set to be your nominee for the role of President of the United States of America.  Wow.  Years and years of increasingly divisive campaign tactics have culminated in this awful moment.

Here's hoping the voting citizens of America have the sense to stop him before he wins that office.