WARNING!! Trump's Guilt Is Not A Campaign Message

As FBI special investigator Robert Mueller moves closer to something there there, Donald J. Trump, president, is behaving more and more like a man in full blown meltdown mode.

It isn't necessarily his awful handling of Sgt. LaDavid Johnson and his grieving family. It's not even his inability to be nice to a room full of reporters and their kids, pointing out how SHOCKED he was that any of them were cute based on their horrific parents, and then questioning the kids if they get tough interviews and coverage at home like he often gets from their parents.....or something silly to that effect.

Besides the moment being as awkward as Trump's last so called "fun" press event, the Obama era correspondence dinner in 2011 that turned into a not so impromptu roast of "The Donald", a moment that is believed to be the animus for his eventual presidential pursuit, it was a clear sign to me of the crumbling infrastructure of a presidency that has yet to be fully formed.

Disregard his inability to be decent to kids or to get it right with Gold Star families. The notion that this man would let the evil press disrupt and denigrate his image and disrupt the life that afforded him so much time to grope and golf makes the prospect of a second run at the presidency less likely than avoiding the brunt of this Russia mess. Especially after today.

Today, Trump's fired campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's top aide, Rick Gates- who stayed on the campaign team even after his boss was let go- have both been charged with multiple crimes, crimes that most of us anticipated against someone even if we had no clue exactly who would be charged first.

The shocker was that the first charges came months ago when campaign aide George Papodopolous was secretly indicted on a question of collusion that he lied about twice. Papodopolous has been sharing details with Bob Mueller for months, presumably to assist with his guilty plea and to calm a prosecutorial pit bull who just sent a message to potentially uncooperative testifiers.

The discovery of the Papodopolous news seems a shock to everyone, including team Trump. Whether this trail of tears and indictments reaches the very top is a matter of speculation still, though it seems clear that Mueller is using concealed weapons to blow open the reluctant truth in this matter as multiple Trump subordinates have lied, some while under oath. Insiders believe these verifiable crimes and lies should have been enough for the courts to unseal Trump's taxes too, which might be another weapon Mueller now has at his disposal.

Regardless of the criminal outcome, Trump, Pence and Putin will not be able to collude for another election effort, something that appears to have been vital to Trump's victory.

WHY SO SAD??!!

Meanwhile, Democrats are so hell bent on ousting Trump, no matter what Meuller uncovers, they seem unaware that they still need to wait for 2020 to find a way to replace him with a president progressives prefer.

The murkiness of the Russian involvement question doesn't change the results of our last election or point a path towards the next. If Trump goes, he will be replaced by Pence and Paul Ryan, not Hillary Clinton. If Mike Pence, the lying head of the Trump transition team goes too, Ryan and President pro tempore of the Senate, Orrin Hatch, will take over. This could be why Hatch announced he's not returning for reelection last week (stay tuned on that).

Pussy grabbing and wall building was never a winning message, except for the small caveat that it still worked, or didn't hurt bad enough for a little collusion to do the rest.

Whether the Democrats message got lost in the slimy sauce the Donald cooked up is hard to know because most of us simply can't remember what their message was in the first place. Actually, I recall so many messages to so many people that I am not sure which group of voters Hillary Clinton and the Dem's thought could sway the election in their favor.

Now, the same messaging problem remains minus the notable face to deliver it. They may find someone noteworthy, but has our electorate grown weary of familiar political faces anyway? Were millineals really ready for the Socialist, Bernie Sanders, or is anything except more of the same likely to gain traction in today's political climate?

Republicans might be forced to pass some kind of tax plan just to deal with the Socialist reality that has now made universal healthcare permanent. If Democrats need a silver lining, the wages WE all deserve will soon happen, or the last scoop of dirt will go on top of trickle down economics, killing the theory forever.

Before you liberals gain comfort in that thought, gerrymandering promises functional control of politics for Republicans at every level below the presidency for years to come. Unless progressives find a person and a message, today's indictments won't do much to swing upcoming presidential elections either.

Beware Broncos Fan. Eli Manning's An MFNHOFQB

Trap game?! 

No. Trap game is much too simplistic an analysis. Too far beyond cliche to consider it even close to close enough. This is a referendum on a quarterback. Well, two quarterback's actually, but a referendum nonetheless.

After 4 games, what I won't do is entertain any more questions about my coach. Whether Vance Joseph intends to try another fake punt is inconsequential. He is only likely to try one if our quarterback keeps failing in the red zone leaving him desperate enough to think he needs to for sake of extra tries for his offense.

Honest eyes can't question the sheer intensity with which the Broncos play, but you also can't question who is held responsible or credited for the red zone and third down production. For two games Siemian was great on third down and in the red zone.

And now?

Not so much.

Less turnovers might offer a clue, but the Broncos have a few other questions yet to answer as a collective- especially on offense.

Intensity of effort is not one of them.

On both sides of the ball, they've come prepared to win every game and never allowed any opponent to simply dictate by force.

Against the Cowboys, rumors had it they (Dallas) all quit on the field, not just Ezekiel Elliott. Win or lose, no such rumors have taken residence in Denver, and that is a direct reflection of the head coach who's temperament determines such things.

This season, for better or worse, has been about Trevor Siemian and Trevor Siemian alone. He came into the season with a resume to refer to, and he is no longer the post surgery shortened season, redshirt freshman who is QB for the varsity. He is now a redshirted sophomore with the above-mentioned list on his record.

Thanks to the Book of Trevor ((not Eli), teams are certain of how they want to beat the Broncos and it's called make Siemian do it. In three games thus far Siemian has done his part, which is understandably smaller thanks to an All-Pro defense.

I believe he can do it, but the jury is still out. Until now, he has looked nothing like his draft slot but every bit of his age, something that worked against him when Dak Prescott was balling out as a rookie. Dak has helped other young QB's by coming down to earth a bit, but the expectations on the shoulders of Siemian are an all time Great defense type of HUGE.

Siemian's head is still swimming with expectations, constant blitzes, loaded boxes, DT and Emmanuel, making his offensive coordinator happy all while getting Chris Gallegos off his ass a bit.

WHO IS CHRIS GALLEGOS?

Chris Gallegos is a friend and former highschool classmate of mine, and a passionate lover of the Broncos who leads the "we've got the wrong QB" brigade in Denver. The word brigade denotes that Chris is not alone in his sentiment even though he alone expresses it in a way I would not want momma Siemian to hear, especially given the success her son has achieved as a 7th round unexpected starter and captain... for two seasons, and under two different head coaches.

In reality Chris is right. None of that overcoming crap will amount to anything if Siemian is not the right guy to maximize Von Miler's promising future, and if Broncos fans are just setting themselves up to be the last to know it. I'm not saying Siemian has proven himself. I'm not even saying that Denver will win this game, but I am saying we will have a real answer about Trevor once it is over.

Respecting the resume of the incoming opponent doesn't change the film they have on us and Siemian. In fact, if you want a reason to be worried it's the fact that they have film on us but our film on them is useless. They are not staffed to play the way they planned at the start of the year, and they are not benefitted by fighting to be something different just because it appears they have to. Essentially, Denver won't be able to prepare for the team NY has evolved into because the on film evolution has yet to begin.

The Giants entered the season believing they could play like the Broncos played during the first two seasons of Eli's brother. Odell Beckham went down a week ago, so the reason to ditch the old plan hasn't yet been clarified in New York. That method did not produce any 0-5's for Peyton, but it did make a fairly good defense get described as poor at times simply because of the poor defensive stats produced from high octane offensive play and low TOP (time of possession).

The Giants defense is good with a few carryovers from their championship teams. Their coach may be trying a double edge sword of an offensive approach, one that overworks your defense even if you produce points, which they have not. Nothing evidences a capable defense, however, better than a team sputtering to score but has still been in nearly every game they've played this year.

This is no more a question of defenses than it is of coaches, even as New York's coach could be feeling the 0-5 heat some. This is about two quarterbacks. Not just Siemian, but Manning who will be in the Hall of Fame, and can remind you of why on any given Sunday.

Was Siemian just joking when he said Brandon
Stokely is the former player he would love to
play with the most? Is he a REAL slot receiver
away from something special on offense?

For better or for worse, this game is a referendum on Siemian, and Denver fans should never worry about finally learning what we have in Siemian regardless of the final score.

What Denver should worry about is an MFNHOFQB any time they face one. Phillip Rivers is an MFNHOFQB (next week's opponent) and so is Eli. Either the Giants will find a spine behind their MFNHOFQB and give Broncos country a tough game, maybe even a loss, or Siemian will take full advantage of his relative experience and two weeks of preparation, and show Chris Gallegos why he too could become an MFNHOFQB himself someday.


 Best I can tell, the circumstances leave very little room for anything else to occur.

I'm A Socialist Who Doesn't Believe In $15 Per Hour

Before you take me to task for the headline, I truly am a conservative socialist, meaning I lean towards the efficacy of the free market way before I trust the viability of long-term welfare for anyone, including big corporations.

I am convinced that people who are healthy and educated don't need a hand-out, just an occasional hand up, meaning proactive education and healthcare reform could virtually eliminate the need for welfare as we know it.

That has always been a theory that assumes the presence of livable wages, something educated people will either find or create.

What I have seen from the mass job Exodus  that began the Obama years is a nation that found other ways to get by. No, not without an increase in housing and eating support services in some cases, but another way nonetheless.

In the space between the Exodus that accounted for some of the largest amounts of folks who simply left the job market altogether and the return of record stock market numbers, wages have increased by almost 3%. That may not sound like a lot, but that is just an average amidst lower unemployment numbers as well.

What that tells this non-economist is that a few people who left the job market altogether have now returned, perhaps for a fair wage?

I am not saying we don't need to insure that we have a minimum wage to avoid employers of low Integrity, I am saying we can't legislatively insure that the minimum wage meets the cost of living, no matter where you work. Bad state management will reflect on wages wages, so some states are a bigger victim of leadership than others.

I'm not saying that the money doesn't exist, I am just saying that laws can't find the proper balance of where it is and where it is not available. Record numbers leaving the workforce, however, CAN- and has- forced the wages we deserve, and the evidence is revealing itself every single day.

Once desperate employers stop trying to use a job to lure the rest of those that left the job market, they will finally start to offer a career path that makes the entry wage issue a less significant concern to the millions that have yet to return.

Jobs are increasingly losing favor unless you are fortunate enough to work for the handful of employers that understand the important balance between the care of your staff and the growth of revenue and profits.

In a global market place, the battle to monopolize industries has a new competitive inclusion, and it's all those people who left the job market.

They are and shall remain the hope for your wages, and their impact shall remain even if wages and career paths rise to something more livable.

Obama invested in the hopes of entrepreneurship while Trump is trying his best to drive those people towards the job market. Seeing a glimpse of something better makes it unlikely you'll settle for less, so this wave of entrepreneurship won't just die off.

                                             

Trump's legislative incompetence is the best hope for those who dare to create a career for themselves and, indirectly, better wages for everyone else. But even an imbecile can accidentally achieve poorly planned goals, like becoming the president for example.

Trump Golfing With Lindsey Graham, Bizarre

If Donald Trump is golfing with Senator Lindsey Graham, it's not because he and Graham are friends or because either has evolved in their views towards the other. This was a function of low job approval numbers that are evidently inclusive of a few people in Trump's inner circle, and of Graham trying to actually do his job.

Senator Graham is a wise enough man to understand the negotiation game himself. His mischaracterization of Trump's rainy weather golf score is a sure sign of feeding the ego of a narcissist in the hopes of keeping him on task legislatively.

Graham is not only wise, he is tenured enough to recognize the impact of having a legislative majority and not doing a damn thing with it. Graham is recognizing that a war between Senator Bob Corker is a kiss of death to the Trumpian agenda, which is nothing more than being loved and getting his wealth repatriated to US soil. He also knows that wasting their majority is exactly the help Steve Bannon will need to unseat countless current GOP seat holders as Bannon has promised to do in the coming midterm elections.

The Russian investigation is closing in on every social media platform, Trump and his family, and on the fired help that are caught in the loop and look like potential pile-on problems if they chase after deals to cover their own tails.

If Trump hadn't spent so much time taking down Marco Rubio (little Marco), half the GOP including the war hero, every immigrant and the people who love them as well as women, blacks, LGBTQ's and the entire opposition to the Confederate flag flyers which includes his daughter and son-in-law, he might not be so desperate to catch a break from the news media.

Did I mention the media as another focal point of his incessant attacks? Add them too.

Trump is asking for a break and looking for allies when Confederate flag flyers are the only people he has been decent to, even though few of them work in Congress. Trump has never given the press a break so to ask for one is extremely bizarre. Not quite as bizarre as his recent golf outing with Senator Graham, but pretty close.

Apparently, I don't have the political chops of Lindsey Graham, or the golf handicap of Donald Trump, but I would give the tip of my pinky to be at that next golf outing.

Not only to see if he really is killing my best golf score by that much, but to see if he is really crumbling into isolated obscurity as he appears to be from a distance.

I might try to get a pack of those paper towels too.