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De-funding (and thus weakening) the police force is incredibly shortsighted and foolhardy. They need to raise the bar and do a better job of identifying and eliminating bad cops before they become a problem. But I imagine the police culture is highly fraternal with traditions passed down across multiple generations. In times of crisis, I’m sure they’re probably inclined to close ranks and protect their own...even the ones they secretly know are bad cops who deserve to be exposed.

Well, damn. Thanks for taking all the air out of *my* career aspirations. I suppose next you’ll tell me that being the sexual intimacy coordinator at an Alzheimer’s facility is off the table as well?

Or force him to disperse with tear gas and rubber bullets. But give him a bottle of water to make it a fair fight .

I don't even know where to start. A better-than-expected jobs report is obviously great news for the entire country. But after the constant and well-deserved beating Trump has taken over the past 3 months (and especially the past several days), he sees this news as a lone shining light in a vast sea of darkness. It also happens to be in an area he knows something about.....of COURSE he's latching onto it and blowing it up as if it's one of the single greatest events in US history. "Look, everyone!!! Look at this one thing I didn't screw up!!! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!!!" As far as forcing a random and inappropriate George Floyd reference into his speech....this once again illustrates and underscores his inability to grasp and understand the context of what the past two weeks were all about. He understands that Americans are very upset, and this comment is obviously a misguided attempt to pander to them....but it's completely irrelevant to the subject at hand and misses the mark badly, like a fart at a funeral. He would have been much better off not saying a word about Floyd.....but he did, thus reaffirming everyone's belief that he doesn't have a clue.

And he'd still find a way to blame it on someone else. And his fan base would still be outraged at how poorly he was being treated and making excuses for why it wasn't his fault.

Even if he barricades himself inside the Oval Office, chains himself to the desk, and refuses to leave? I’d say it’s entirely possible that this is a core component of his campaign strategy.

This definitely smacks of a knee-jerk response by politicians. Instead of raising the bar, they’re looking to punish the PD and appease the masses. Call me crazy, but I’m guessing that slashing the budget and cutting the head count won’t produce better performance or improved police relations.

I have no doubt that the White House already has people searching feverishly for any miniscule loophole that will allow POTUS to either delay the election or cancel it entirely. He's already gotten worked up in his paranoia over mail-in ballots and voter fraud. It's only a matter of time until he starts ranting about fixed elections and how the rest of the world is conspiring together to vote him out of office. This is a grown man in arguably the most powerful position in the world...and he's as thin-skinned and insecure as a 13-year old high school girl. And the hell of it is, his fan base will buy into every bit of it.

Speaking of Trumpy Bear....here's a Fox News interview with a VP of the company that manufactures it. One interesting and rather hilarious nugget: Trumpy Bear.... made in China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9qv8RSreIM

I would remind everyone about Trumpy Bear....an actual product that was specifically designed to appeal to Trump's fan base. Despite the tone of this clip, this is not satire or an SNL-type skit. This was a national marketing campaign....the maker of the product is 100% serious.

Water, apparently.

One could argue that they’re walling in the threat to America.

I guess $1.8 billion just don’t go as far as it used to. Y’know, I remember back when I was a kid....me and all my friends gathering up our nickels and dimes to walk dowm to the corner store for a few horehound candies and maybe a sasparilla. Man, we thought we was somethin’. But y’know.. back in those days, if a fella was walking around with $1.8 billion in his pocket....well that there was some real money.

That Guardian article is unbelievable. "Oh, I know that video looks like Trump doing lines of blow off a hooker's ass.....but it's actually the Lord working through him, binding her demons of addiction into a fine powder and breathing them out of her body to set her soul on the path to righteousness!"

Trump clearly isn't responsible for a worldwide pandemic or for social unrest that has existed for generations. However...he is 100% responsible for the manner in which he has responded to these challenges and for providing direction and leadership for the nation in times of crisis. And in both cases, his response and handling of these issues was an absolute embarrassment. Trump is capable of functioning within the comfort zones he understands......which is basically trade and economics. Even if we don't all agree with his approach or his decisions, you gotta admit he gets stuff done in those areas. (And also Twitter. He definitely has the Twitter thing down pat). But when forced out of his comfort zone, he's been a disaster. His initial response to COVID was to downplay and discount the impending threat, assuring the entire country that the situation was completely under control.....until it was completely out of control. Perhaps if he had shown greater foresight and been proactive instead of reactive, we could have saved a lot of lives and maybe the economic impact is softened. But instead, there was little or no advance preparation while we watched it wreak havoc in other parts of the world....and when COVID hit American soil, the nation was woefully unprepared. Trump's handling of the current social unrest has been just as disastrous and embarrassing. Rather than promoting unity and working to bring people together and find a solution for a better America, Trump immediately went on the attack with finger-pointing, divisive language, and aggressive criticism, openly encouraging states to forcibly shut down protesters authoritarian-style. Apparently he feels Tienanmen Square and Kent State turned out so great, he wants a similar event attached to his own legacy.