Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Trump Fatigue Syndrome (TFS)


Well, I have finally caught the disease. It is called Trump Fatigue Syndrome or TFS within the medical community. TFS symptoms include headaches, stress, fatigue and a tendency to stretch out your words, like “huuuge”. And TFS suffers have been known to spontaneously shout out “believe me”  and "something is going on" while walking down the street.
The main cause of TFS is too much Donald Trump. It is kind of like the heartburn and agita you get after one of those “all-you-can eat” Chinese buffets… too much food. In the case of TFS, it is too much  drama.
Consider all the drama and issues that have come up since Donald Trump entered the Presidential race back in January:
… Mexican rapist coming into the country
… the Mexican wall
… the judge of Mexican heritage
… Trump University
… the beauty queen Alicia Machado
… the Trump Foundation
… the “Access Hollywood” abusive audio
… the parade of women groped by the Donald
… the poor performance in the first two debates
… the leaked tax returns with the $ 915 million dollar loss
… the unfounded charges of a rigged election, before the election

So, indeed, many of us are suffering from TFS and drama overload. In fact, for me Donald Trump has become a bore!  Imagine that.
         The good news is that TFS and Donald Trump will most likely go away on its own on November 9th! Especially, if we all get to experience a few “Trumpless days”.

Monday, October 17, 2016

Where are all the political yard signs?



This time four years ago, here in Delaware County, New York, there were Romney for President or Obama for President signs everywhere you looked. Of course, this is considered by many to be Republican “redneck country” so there were a lot more Romney signs. But, now 22 days before the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton there are really few signs to be seen. Amazon orders are down and  political party operatives are not going house to house to give them out this time around.
Has the country become so polarized and the political discourse so poisoned that people are afraid to put out political signs? Indeed, as we have all seen on television news, many of those Trump supporters have proven themselves to be mean, rowdy and violent.
Some political campaign experts have written that the signs are not around because of the spike in social media use and neighborhood or village regulations. As far as things go here in Roxbury, there are no restrictions. I suppose that a “F...k Trump” or “F...k Clinton” sign might cause some problems.
There are also questions as to whether these political yard signs make any difference.   A study by Columbia University and Binghamton University researchers found that, on average, lawn signs might move vote share by about 1.7 percentage points. That is on par with direct mail advertising. Kevin Frank, a communications director for the  Massachusetts Democratic Party is quoted as saying “lawn signs don’t vote” and a lot of lawn signs does not necessarily translate into a lot of votes.
So, I decided to do a little local research. Today, I drove the 18.8 miles along  State Route 30 from Grand Gorge to Margaretville. The results: 5 Trump/Pence signs, 2 Clinton/Kaine signs and one sign that said “They all suck”.
One of the signs was in front of our house… you will have to guess whether it was for Trump or Clinton.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Politics, Politics, Politics!!!

It is my passion. I have been black in America for some 70 years now. I have been a television news producer, a documentary film maker, an organic dairy farmer and news radio host. And, before I leave the planet, I have a lot of things and experiences I would like to share with you. Some of the things are outrageous, some are funny, some are sad… but, all will be compelling. So, stay tuned and watch this space!