Trump's campaign is broke

From Daily Cos:


Another broke effort by serial business loser Donald Trump.

Donald Trump's campaign has alerted Senate Republicans that he won't have much money to spend fending off attacks from Hillary Clinton over the next couple months.

The notice came when Paul Manafort, Trump's senior advisor, met with a group of Senate Republican chiefs of staff for lunch last week, sources familiar with the meeting told the Washington Examiner. The admission suggests that Trump will be far more dependent on the GOP brass for money than he has led voters to believe [...]

"They know that they're not going to have enough money to be on TV in June and probably most of July, until they actually accept the nomination and get RNC funds, so they plan to just use earned media to compete on the airwaves," one GOP source familiar with Manafort's comments told the Examiner.

Let's vote Republican if we can oust the Tea Baggers

By SJ Otto

I have just re-registered Republican. This way I can vote in the Republican primary this summer and try to oust as many of Brownback's despicable minions as possible. So if you are not glued to the Democrats, file as a Republican and lets trash out the Tea Baggers.

If you care to join me it is necessary to register by June 1. That gives potential voters Monday and Tuesday to make the switch.

I know there are a lot of voters who read this that are die-hard Democrats. But some of us realize that label holds us back. If the voters of Kansas are that stuck in their ways that they absolutely won't vote for a Democrat then some of us need to run as Republicans. The important thing is to get the Tea Baggers out of office. We need to do that anyway we can. That means if we need to steal their party emblem then let's do it.

I plan to post as much as I can about the contested primary elections so we can try and vote in moderate Republicans.

Another Memorial Day heads our way

From Otto's War Room:

We are just about 2 days away from Memorial Day. It is a major holiday, although not as major as Labor Day, Christmas or Thanksgiving. A lot of people will get the picnic baskets and food out for a happy day of getting the family together for an outing in a nearby park or just someone's back yard.

Some of us will visit cemeteries, as I will since my brother died back in the 1990s and my Mom died a few years ago. I have no family that died in combat. My wife's dad, who died about 15 years ago and he was a vet of World War II. He was a military career man. He fought in D-Day. on the beaches of Europe. He never liked to talk about that. He fought in one of the last "good wars." A war that had some justification to it. Adolf Hitler not only fought America and Europe, be he also wanted to get rid of the Soviet Union. It was for that reason that the international communist movement and all its parties supported the war effort.

Some people will got to some vet honoring event, such as a parade or service in one of Wichita Kansas's many pro-vet parks. I lived through the 1960s and 1970s when it was not cool to be pro-military. Today it is real cool to be pro-military or in the military. Many young people can't wait to join the military and play soldier. I heard a young woman on the radio a few months ago who was asked why she wanted to fight in the military: "To kick the bad guy's ass!" she gleamed. Yes for many today, war is our chance to kick the bad guys ass, who ever that bad guy is and what ever he/she did to be labeled a "bad guy."

So as I prepare for Monday's festivities I will concentrate on honoring those who died, were wounded or were tortured by our pro-imperialist military.US or NATO empire and lost their lives!" I oppose a nation that takes on the position of "world cop" and will enforce politics that this country and most of Europe have decided that ALL people in the world must agree to. This is not a world were people of a nation can decide what ideology they want to believe in and support. They must support "free enterprise" and all the belief systems that comes with that, including pre-packaged political parties designed to keep the system from ever changing.

"To those who stood up to the

I will also join in with those who want to honor those black people who died at the hands of our police. With those two goals in mind, I will celebrate the lives of those who died at the hands of our imperialist army and racist police.

So pass the hamburger buns and the ketchup.

Congressman Pompeo has faith in the military but plays his own people as cowards

From Otto's War Room:

By SJ Otto

While US Representative Mike Pompeo R-Kansas is one of the most pro-military politicians of the US House of Representatives, he seems to believe that his constituents are all cowards.

And while he likes to glamorize the military and its heroic efforts to save us from terrorists in the middle-east, he thinks his followers in Kansas are chicken-shits.

 In a recent statement to his constituencies:

"This past week was very important for my fight to help keep the people of Kansassafe.  I’m talking specifically about the fight to stop Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) detainees from being transferred to U.S. facilities such as Ft. Leavenworth.

During the first half of the week, Congress voted on numerous amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that sets policy forAmerica’s military for the coming year.  Many of the proposed amendments focused on the detention facility at GTMO, and the detainees held there, including one an amendment that I introduced....

Taking questions from Kansans this winter about the potential transfer of GTMO detainees to Kansas

But before I could do so, I joined fellow members of the House of Representatives to stop an amendment that would allow President Obama to move GTMO detainees to the United States, including potentially to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.  These terrorists are the worst of the worst.  Data shows that when released, they return to terrorism at a rate that would stun most Kansans. I took to the House floor to forcefully push back against the amendment and protect the people of Kansas from such reckless action."  

After all, this state is not afraid to put serial killers and insane criminals of all types on trial. He implies that Kansans are not safe with Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) detainees. These are the detainees that are denied due process of law. They have never been before a judge...never allowed to challenge the accusations against them, that they are terrorists. Pompeo said they are the "worst of the worst."When we consider that we give serial killers trials, we let some of the worst mass murderers of history get trials, we must wonder how bad these people can be. And while many Kansans are willing to join the military and fight, he assumes the rest of Kansas' people are cowards...too afraid to let these "crazed-criminal-foreigners" a chance at a trial. He says it is way to dangerous to take a chance on giving them a fair trial. These people might win. And then what? And our own system of justice may simply not work. That means it was too flawed to allow foreigners t have trials in the fist place.

Some of the danger cold be that this country would realize that our people also commit war crimes. We assassinate people. We bomb hospitals. And worst  of all, no matter what these "detainees" did, they deserve their day in court.

To continue Pompeo's tirade:

"I’m pleased to report that the amendment was defeated.  I countered this with an amendment of my own, which aims to provide Americans with information on just how committed the GTMO prisoners are to violent jihad.  My NDAA amendment would require that the administration review the terrorist activities of former GTMO detainees, and release to the American public any information on the detainee’s past terrorist activity that can be safely declassified. 

My amendment would require the Obama administration to look Kansans in the face and tell them exactly the type of radical terrorists they are bringing into our state.  With resounding support, this amendment was adopted.  Then, with strong provisions included to keep GTMO open and detainees out of the United States, the House passed the NDAA." 

 No Matter what these detainees actually believe, Pompeo has played the people of Kansas as cowards. And the people of Kansas deserve better than that!

Do we REALLY want Trump to win?

By SJ Otto

New polls are showing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a dead heat for the upcoming presidential elections. These new poll numbers are being posted by several news organizations including the Inquisitr article below. Nearly all the pundits are pointing to the fact that Bernie Sanders is still in the race. While Sanders is not likely to win the Democratic nomination, he can stay in the race until he no longer has a chance to win enough delegates. In the mean time Trump has not had the usual bad publicity that eats away at his credibility and Hillary has had an image problem for a long time.

There are also the "Bernie or bust" Crowd of mostly young people who refuse to support or even agree to vote for Hillary. Bernie seems to be running on issues and seems to want to push for changes at the upcoming Democratic Convention this summer.

Trying to push for badly needed change is a great idea. But there is the possibility at this point that our next president may be Donald Trump. Can we really let this happen? Do we take our chances as to what this man will do to our country? A lot of people have a lot to lose. Many immigrants worry, with legitimate cause that they may be deported. I will soon need insurance. What will I do if he actually gets rid of Obama care. I seriously can't believe he will come up with a better program. And I have health problems. I'm old and my wife wants to retire. This could lead to serious problems for us. I really don't want trump to win.

So people in this country need to seriously consider what will happen if Trump wins.

From the Inquisitr:

A new pair of presidential polls pitting Republican Donald Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton appear to show that the continued presence of Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary has damaged Clinton. At the same time, Trump has benefited from a “bump” in the polls since he became the presumptive Republican nominee early in May....

.....The Sanders campaign and the “Trump Bump” have combined, along with other factors, to close the gap between the two candidates, with one new poll released Sunday showing Trump with a lead of two percentage points over Clinton.

For the first time, the polling average compiled by the site Real Clear Politics shows Clinton and Trump in a virtual tie, with Trump averaging 43.4 percent support across all polls and Clinton at 43.2.

For more click here.

President Trump? Really?

Pix by www.sltrib.com.

Time to fight back against repressive abortion laws from Oklahoma’s political yahoos

From Julie A. Burkhart, Founder and CEO of Trust Women Foundation:

Today (May 19) the Oklahoma Senate passed SB 1552, which, if signed into law, would make it illegal for a doctor to perform an abortion in our neighboring state. As you know, we are putting the finishing touches on a new clinic in Oklahoma City to give women access to their reproductive rights. Oklahoma City is the largest metropolitan area in the country without an abortion provider, 

Please reach out to Gov. Mary Fallin to ask her to veto this blatantly unconstitutional bill. Your voice is crucial. She has five days to sign or veto the bill. Please help us make sure she chooses the latter. You may call her office at (405) 521-2342.

While we've been busy prepping for our new clinic, we've also been meeting with a lot of journalists and writing opinion pieces. 

I wanted to share some recent news coverage in case you hadn't seen it. 

Marie Claire takes an in-depth look into what it takes to provide abortion services in the Midwest in its June issue. It would be great if you would buy a copy to show support for the magazine tackling difficult issues. 

The Wichita Eagle published an opinion piece about the state of women in Kansas. Spoiler alert: Women don't fare well in the Sunshine State. How can you help us get out the word that women deserve access to and control over their reproductive rights? Write letters to the editor. Write your legislators. Be sure to like Trust Women and Trust Women South Wind Women's Center on Facebook. Follow @trustwomen on Twitter and connect with South Wind on LinkedIn. The more people we can reach, the more women we can help. It's that simple.

First it was Trump- now it is Bernie's people learning that the primary and caucus systems are rigged

By SJ Otto

Now the Bernie Sanders supporters are realizing what Donald Trump learned last month; the primary and caucuses are not very democratic. They are run by the political party elites and voter participation is not their main purpose.
Recently I ran an article on Trump's realizations that the Republican Party selection of candidates was rigged in favor of party leadership. Now Bernie supporters are realizing the same thing in the Democratic Party. The candidate selection process is rigged in their party also, designed to allow "super delegates" to act as trump cards, to over-ride a candidate the people chose in favor of a candidate that is acceptable to party leadership.
In the Wyoming caucus Sanders won a clear majority of the votes, but Hillary Clinton got the majority of the delegates. According to the Wyoming Tribute Eagle;

"Critics – inside and outside Wyoming – have questioned the system that allowed Clinton to come out ahead in the delegate count. They’ve also knocked the state Democratic Party because absentee ballots sent out by the Clinton campaign had a return address of the Wyoming Democratic Party’s Cheyenne post office box – which some say gave the appearance of the party officially endorsing the former U.S. secretary of state."

And in Nevada Yahoo News reported;

"Nevada's Democratic party on Monday warned the Democratic National Committee that Sen. Bernie Sanders' supporters have a penchant for violence and may seek to disrupt the party's national convention in July, as they did during the Nevada convention Saturday.

The allegation is the latest fallout from a divisive Nevada Democratic convention that had to be shut down because security at the Paris Las Vegas hotel could no longer ensure order on Saturday night. The gathering closed with some Sanders supporters throwing chairs; later, some made death threats against state party chairwoman Roberta Lange.

Sanders' backers had been protesting convention rules that ultimately led to Hillary Clinton winning more pledged delegates. Clinton won the state's caucuses in February, 53-47, but Sanders backers hoped to pick up extra delegates by packing county and state party gatherings."

Violence from Sanders' people have not been happening in earlier caucuses. Many of these people are young and new to the presidential campaign system. The unfairness to Sanders has clearly upset many of them. It may not be a good course of action, but there is some logic as to why such violence broke out. People need to take back control of the political system. This is more evidence that our presidential campaigns lack real democracy and a real choice of candidates in the primary election and caucus systems. This is a major problem with having a two-party system. This is why we really need a multi-party system.

In a Saturday, May 14, 2016 photo, supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders react as U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., speaks during the Nevada State Democratic Party’s 2016 State Convention at the Paris hotel-casino in Las Vegas. The Nevada Democratic Convention turned into an unruly and unpredictable event, after tension with organizers led to some Bernie Sanders supporters throwing chairs and to security clearing the room, organizers said. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) 

Wichita Kansas- Remembering Naomi Johnson

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An event in Wichita Kansas

Join us May 20- Friday 5:30 to 8:30pm at Kirby's

3227 E 17th St N

Wichita, KS

(316) 239-7990

to remember Naomi.

Naomi died on April 12. She was preceded by her husband Tim Pouncey, a well known popular Kansas Writer.

Tim died Feb. 7. 

Although Naomi was not as well known as Tim, she also did some writing including a novel of science fiction.

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Rachel Maddow- Bizarre fakery scandal hurts Trump character

BernieOrBust? Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Bill Maher Have Some Advice For You

From Daily Kos:

By  Scan

Feeling the #BernieOrBust these days? Let's talk about that for a second.

I understand the enthusiasm for Bernie because I'm equally as enthusiastic about Hillary. But holding your vote hostage if your candidate doesn't win the nomination is not an option.

Certainly not this year. Probably not any year.

And rest assured that don't exclude myself from this principle: If Sanders somehow makes the most unlikely of comebacks to defeat Clinton, I will certainly vote for him in November. Because Donald Trump is not an option.

This also held true for me in 2008, when (after healing a heart broken by Hillary's defeat) I proudly supported and voted for Barack Obama. Because McCain/Palin was not an option.

But you don't have to take just my advice, because several very influential, high-profile voices on the left have been saying the same thing.

For instance, Michael Moore loudly endorsed Bernie on the eve of Iowa caucuses and continues to have plenty of differences with Hillary. But when it comes to the general election, it's a no-brainer:

Michael Moore is an avowed Bernie Sanders supporter and has been for years. But while the outspoken filmmaker and liberal activist says he’s with Sanders till the end, he quickly notes he’ll support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she’s the nominee.

“Oh absolutely. She’s better than the alternative and she will do some good, "Moore said in an interview on Sunday.

Then there's this philosophical giant who uses the same a-word when it comes to his support in November:

Noam Chomsky would “absolutely” choose Hillary Clinton over the Republican nominee if he lived in a swing state, but her primary challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, “doesn’t have much of a chance," the MIT professor and intellectual said in a recent interview...

“Oh absolutely…my vote would be against the Republican candidate,” Chomsky told Al Jazeera English’s Mehdi Hasan...

Chomsky cited “enormous differences” between the two major political parties.“Every Republican candidate is either a climate change denier or a skeptic who says we can’t do it,” Chomsky said. “What they are saying is, ‘Let’s destroy the world.’ Is that worth voting against? Yeah.”

Bill Maher has also repeatedly made clear that he supports Sanders for the nomination, but he can see the writing on the wall and used a different a-word regarding the choice in November.

Last week on Real Time with Bill Maher, the brazenly liberal host tore into Sanders supporters who claim they’d rather vote for Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton. After outlining key differences between a Trump and Clinton presidency, Maher proclaimed, “That’s your choice. Don’t be assholes about it.”

These are just three examples, but there's plenty more where that came from and much more on the way shortly. All you have to do is listen.

Bernie or bust? Are you sure about that? Because what it really means is that you're fine with our entire country going "bust" in every way imaginable (economically, morally, judicially...you name it) for many years to come under the disastrous rule of *shudder* President Donald J. Trump.

If you care about what Bernie Sanders has stood for his whole life and what he continues to fight for to this day, "bust" is simply not an option.

Democrats have their eyes on the Kansas House and Senate — Saturday night fundraiser

By SJ Otto

This Saturday Night members of the Kansas Democratic Party met for a fund raiser here in Wichita. They have reason to be optimistic this time around. Sam Brownback's approval rating is as low as it has ever been, about 17%. People in Kansas know that he has the help of many Tea Party Republicans in the Kansas Senate and House. So this is a good chance to finally get rid of his "rubber stamp" minions.

Democratic Leaders at this event believe that these Brownback supporters are extremely vulnerable to being defeated by Democrats.

Several candidates addressed the crowd, such as Jim War, a Kansas House Representative in the 86th district. Elizabeth Bishop will be running for House district 88.

"I'm going to win," she said confidently. She is running against Joseph Scapa, a Tea Party Republican.  

Also running and in attendance is Dan Giroux who is running against Mike Pompeo, one of the most militaristic candidates to ever hold an office in Kansas. He is so pro-military that he has neglected his non-military constituencies. He is a major imperialist lackey and getting rid of him will be a great achievement. 

Here Dan Giraoux and Kansas Senate candidate Lynn Rogers pose at the Democratic fund raiser this last Saturday Night.

It’s going to be Trump or Clinton—the lesser of two evils

By SJ Otto

Now that Ted Cruz and John Kasich have dropped out of the Republican Primary race, Donald Trump is on the way to being the official candidate of his party. There are no obstacles to his way, so there is no reason to believe he won’t get the nomination at the Republican Party Convention this summer.

Even though Bernie Sanders has not thrown in the towel for the Democrats, it is looking like it will be Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump next fall. As can be expected, this site will support Clinton over Trump. This blog has never been supportive of Republicans so our  readers know what to expect. Some obvious issues will be immigration. Clinton is likely to have a more favorable policy on immigrants, especially dealing with Hispanics. Then there are women’s issues. Hillary will support abortion rights. Clinton will be the first women president in the entire history of the US. That will be a big step forward for this country, even if it is only symbolic. One really important issue will be health care. Clinton will save Obama Care (Affordable Care Act) while Trump has threatened to get rid of it all together.

However this is not the slam dunk it might appear to be to some people. Clinton is not a leftist or liberal. She is close to Wall Street, just as Bernie has said. Worst of all is that Clinton’s foreign policy might actually be worse than Trump’s. She has been a real hawk on foreign policy. Trump has hinted that he may actually scale back some of the worst of this country’s imperialist foreign policies.

"America first will be the overriding theme of my administration," Trump was quoted by CNN for his remarks at Washington's Mayflower hotel, delivered from a prepared text.

"Under a Trump administration, no American citizen will ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of foreign countries….

…..My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people and American security first."

The phrase “America First” came originally from the isolationist organizations of the 1930s and 1940s by those who opposed getting involved in World War II. If that is what he is proposing it will mean scaling back the imperialist policy of “nation building” that has been the general foreign policy direction since the George W. Bush Regime.  

"I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary and I mean absolutely necessary, and will only do so if we have a plan for victory with a capital V," Trump emphasized, according to CNN.

He also referred to the "legacy of the Obama-Clinton interventions" as one of "weakness, confusion and disarray."

And with all his anti-Muslim comments throughout his campaign:  

"We're going to be working very closely with our friends in the Muslim world, which are all at risk for violent attacks," he said.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who supports Clinton, described his comments as a "simplistic" mixture of slogans and contradictions.

"He just underscored the fact that he is running the most reckless and dangerous presidential campaign in modern history," Albright said on a Clinton campaign conference call (reported by CNN).

However Clinton’s policies are well known by all of us by now and she has embrace nation building and has backed President Barack Obama’s hawkish attempts to interfere with such nations as Syria and Saudi Arabia’s reckless meddling in such countries as Yemen.

Another problem for Clinton is that a lot of the young people who came out to vote for Bernie Sanders may not come out at all for Clinton. Between polls and conversations I’ve had with local people, there is a reluctance to vote for Clinton by young people who are clearly attracted to Sanders left-leaning anti-political establishment policies. That is going to be a real struggle for her. Sanders and Clinton are miles apart on the most basic domestic policies.

And yet Clinton is still the better candidate than Trump, despite her terrible imperialist foreign policies. The need for Obama Care alone makes this election important. There are people who may literally die without the medical coverage they now get from Obama Care. We don’t need American citizens dying from neglect.

However we must acknowledge that foreign affairs will be a major struggle if Clinton is elected president. Even if Trump wins the election his foreign policy is not going to be an actual break with imperialism. His policies may be better, but he is not going to end the struggle against US imperialism.

We are once again left with the choice between the lesser of two evils. That doesn’t mean the election is meaningless. We still need to take part and prevent the Republicans from wrecking America.

May Day event held in Wichita, KS

By SJ Otto

We had a small but enthusiastic gathering for May Day 2016. I gave a history of May Day, with the fight for an eight hour work week, in 1886. The whole world was supporting that effort. There was also the Haymarket affair, with a riot and bombing, in which four people were sentenced to death for giving speeches during the bombing.

Janice Bradley pointed out this it was struggles like this where Americans actually fight for our freedom.

"When the military says they are fighting for our freedom that is the biggest crock," she said.

Members of the group recalled a big May Day celebration with Mexican Americans, focusing on immigrant reforms, a few years ago, where the numbers were huge. 

Out May Day event was held at the Peace and Social Justice center in Wichita.