Nothing For Me Here Either

As promised, this My Two Cents will be dedicated to a thoughtful consideration of the specific plans and policies put forth by Donald Trump during his three appearances in Northeast Wisconsin on Wednesday.  So here we go:





Good night, everybody!

Actually, it would be unfair to my on-air partner Bob Burnell--who usually uses the three minutes or so here to get some coffee.  So to fill that time, let's hear from The Donald when he was pressed by Chris Matthews in his pre-recorded town hall meeting at UW-Green Bay for his thoughts on abortion:

The amazing thing is, this is actually a flip-flop by Trump, who for years claimed that he was pro-choice--even supporting the legality of partial birth abortion.  Of course that was immediately followed by an equally clownish statement from Trump's campaign saying The Donald didn't mean any of what he just said in the town hall meeting--and that abortion is very complicated.

I think I've wasted enough time on this now.  Let's just get to our brokered Republican Convention so they can nominate someone with a clue.

Why I Don't Feel the Bern

I've heard Bernie Sanders' stump speech before, but on Tuesday during his visit to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center I listened very carefully to see if there might be a few--or maybe just one thing--that the Democratic Socialist may have to offer me as a voter and a resident of the United States.  Even though Bernie spoke for over an hour, I was not able to find a single thing that he promised that I need.

I pay about $500 a year for both my health insurance and health care costs--so I do not need his single-payer Medicare For All to save me "thousands of dollars a year".

I worked a full-time job, a part-time job and a paid internship while in school--so I do not need his free college tuition for all.

I paid off my student loans early to save on interest payments--so I do not need his "refinance as often as you want" student debt plan.

I am saving 20% of my gross income for retirement--so I do not need his increased Social Security benefits for all.

I do not smoke marijuana--so I do not need him to legalize its use.

I do not sell drugs--so I do not need his plan to lock up fewer drug dealers.

I do not commit crimes--so I do not need him to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences.

My great-great grandparents emigrated to this country legally--so I do not need his plan to grant me amnesty.

I have developed a skill set and a work ethic that has made me valuable in the job market--so I do not need him to raise my wage to $15 an hour.

I already pay the highest utility rates in the Midwest--so I do not need him to shut down coal and natural gas-fire power plants for higher-cost wind and solar facilities.

Now here are a few things that I do need--but that Senator Sanders failed to address Tuesday (or ever, for that matter)

I need to know that when I go to the airport some ISIS sympathizer won't be there with a luggage or car bomb--there was no mention of how to prevent that yesterday.

If the guy who hate-listens to My Two Cents and says that he "knows where I live" actually gets the idea to show up there, I need less hassle in buying a weapon to protect myself and my wife--but there was no mention of that yesterday.

And I need more of my tax money going to pay for current services for those who truly need them and less going to pay off debts from the past--but there was no mention of deficit reduction yesterday.

I'm guessing that I will never be "feeling the Bern".

Hearing What You Want to Hear

Over the weekend Upfront With Mike Gousha featured a Donald Trump supporter and what he liked about the Republican frontrunner as a Presidential candidate.  The Trump backer said that he liked the billionaires stance on the issues--and that all of the "media stuff" he just "tunes out".  But after The Donald did a tour of major market radio station talk shows on Monday, I have to wonder what this (and really all) Trump supporter has ever managed to hear.

A review of the interviews finds Trump contradicting his own statements and positions repeatedly.  Often in the same interview--sometimes even in the same answer to one question.  There are no specifics when it comes to economic recovery and expansion, fighting terrorism, addressing illegal immigration ("we're gonna build a wall" is not a specific plan) or cutting deficit spending in Washington.  "I'll get it done", "It'll be great" and "It will be huge" are not sufficient answers to instill the trust of people when it comes to solving big problems.

So I have to ask the Upfront guest: what isn't the "media stuff"?  Perhaps the hosts didn't ask Trump the right questions--since there was a lot of talk about nude photos of his wife, pictures of his wife that he tweeted comparing her to Ted Cruz's wife, whose fault it was that the race had become about the candidate's wives, his comments about women, his denial of making comments about women and blaming women for his comments about women.  By the way, you can add Vicki McKenna to his list of "female enemies"--he hung up on her during their interview yesterday.

When he comes to Appleton on Wednesday, I'll have to take the tape and edit out all of the so-called "media stuff" from Trump's speech and play back just the substantive material--the parts where he addresses the serious issues of the day, provides a detailed plan for addressing that problem, and does so in a consistent and plausible way.  I'm guessing Thursday's My Two Cents may be the shortest in history.  Although Trump's hardcore supporters will tell you its the greatest thing they've ever heard.

Why Bigger Isn't Always Better

One mistake that will likely be made this week as the Presidential candidates criss-cross Wisconsin in search of primary votes is to take a look at the size of their election events and equate it to actual popularity with the voters.  Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump will hold rallies drawing thousands, while Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz will conduct "town halls" with hundreds of people.  It would be a wrong to think that the campaigns with the huge turnouts are doing much better than those with the smaller turnouts--as each candidate is playing to their key audiences differently.

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump need the big rallies.  For Bernie, the events need to be like rock concerts to keep the attention of his predominantly young support base.  His philosophy of collectivism needs a lot of people shouting at once "Yes, we should all be the same!!" to keep its power.  And since the youth vote is just as likely to completely forget to vote on election day as they are to actually cast ballots, you've got to remind as many as possible as often as possible.

Trump rallies also play on emotional euphoria that comes with a large group setting.  People are emboldened when they see 5,000 other people angry about the same things that they are.  They begin to gain a sense of power.  And if hate is their main motivator, there is an anonymity that is also provided by being part of the mob--so they cannot be singled out for backlash.

Clinton and Cruz events remain small-scale in nature at this time because they are following the manual for primary success.  Meet with those that can do the most to help for you right now.  The people who will make calls to other voters in the next week.  The business owners that mention their support to other business leaders at the next Chamber or Rotary or Lions club meeting.  And especially reach out to the big money donors who want one-on-one attention--not to stand in a long line to be part of a big, unruly crowd in the middle of the business day.

The problem that Trump and Sanders will run into if either were to win their respective nominations is that after holding huge rallies in the primary season, how do you make it look like your campaign is gaining additional support or momentum for the general election?  The Clinton or Cruz supporter who went to that first little town hall in March, gets a boost in optimism attending an arena event in October with 100-times more people.  Another Sanders or Trump rally at the same arena the second time around?  Been there, done that.

I HATE NOTRE DAME!!!

Let me get this out of the way before the game is played tonight: I HATE NOTRE DAME!!

It would just so happen my beloved Wisconsin Badgers would have to play the non-Big Ten team that I despise the most in the NCAA Tournament.  As I filled out my bracket, I stared at this matchup in the Sweet Sixteen for at least half an hour.  When I make my picks, I try to disregard the "name on the front of the jerseys" and take a look at who is the better team.  And on paper, Notre Dame is the better team--especially on offense.  But the thought of picking the Fighting Irish over the Badgers made me want to vomit.  It took all of my inner strength to click on Notre Dame's little circle in the on-line bracket contests to move them along to the Elite Eight.

I cannot remember a time that I did not hate Notre Dame.  I was a Michigan Football fan as a kid--and Notre Dame was always one of the biggest games of the year.  Many a Wolverines season was ruined by a loss to an inferior Irish team that always seemed to find some "magic" in South Bend.

Tony Kornheiser on ESPN likes to call Notre Dame the "University of Football in America".  I think Tony forgot one word in that title.  It should be the "University of OVER-RATED Football in America".  No school gets by on reputation more than the Irish.  They haven't had a legitimate shot at the National Championship since the early 1990's under Lou Holtz.  Since then, it's been nothing but a parade of teams that start the season in the Top Ten (because it is Notre Dame afterall) and who inevitably lose a couple of games--sometimes not even finishing in the top 25.

And they really haven't won anything in any other sports.  They have made it to the Final Four just once in their entire history.  The greatest moment in Notre Dame basketball is beating UCLA and Bill Walton to snap the Bruins' 88-game winning streak in 1974.  Digger Phelps parlayed that one win into a lifetime contract at the school and a post-coaching career as an ESPN analyst.

What really gets my goat is that Notre Dame acts like it is the greatest thing in college athletics.  They have rebuffed the Big Ten repeatedly when it has offered membership.  Instead, the school has chosen weaker conferences like the Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference because they don't require Notre Dame to play a football conference schedule.  You know, "Notre Dame has to play a national schedule to appeal to its national fan base."  They also went out and negotiated a TV contract with the fools at NBC--so that they would not have share revenues with any other school.  And they even had their own deal with the old Bowl Championship Series to be included the former BCS games--even if they didn't warrant it.

By the way, Rudy is among the cheesiest, and stupidest movies ever made.  Even Joe Montana--WHO WAS ON THAT TEAM--says its a load of crap.

To make matters worse, I've got Notre Dame alums in my family.  A cousin and his wife both attended Notre Dame Law School.  Again, it takes all of my inner strength not to write "THE DOMERS SUCK!!" on their holiday cards every year.

So there I will be tonight, seething in my recliner watching my Badgers take on the hated Irish.  You may not want to talk to me for a week if Wisconsin loses.

The Best Hot Dog I Ever Ate

I have been to the Brussels Airport--the site of this week's bombing attack.  In 1989 I traveled to Europe with other members of the Bay Port High School Political Club to visit Moscow, Paris and London.  Brussels was where we landed after departing Moscow.  We then took a bus from Brussels to Paris.  And the only thing I remember about the airport (and for that matter, Brussels itself) was that I ate the best hot dog of my entire life there.

It wasn't that the hot dog was any tastier than ones I've had at the old Mars Restaurant on Military Avenue in Green Bay, or in the bleachers at Wrigley Field, or at Hot Doug's in downtown Chicago or from Trails End here in Oshkosh.  That hot dog at the Brussels airport was the best ever because I had spent the previous four days eating Russian food.

Actually, that's a bit of mis-statement.  We didn't have real Russian food.  We just had incredibly bad food in the Soviet Union.  The first day at our youth hostel our bus wasn't ready to pick us up at the airport so we arrived too late for their meal service.  To accommodate us, they brought out plates of Swedish meatballs and veggies that didn't look too bad--until you realized that the food had apparently been plated previously--and when we didn't show up on time, was put into the refrigerator.  So we were served cold Swedish meatballs and veggies our first night in Moscow.  We also ate at the "first McDonalds" in the Soviet Union.  I can guarantee that they did not use American beef for the hamburger patties and I have no idea what constituted the "ketchup" on the burger.  Even the Cherry Coke that we bought at the Canadian-run Aerostar Hotel tasted awful--especially when we learned it was made from vegetable extracts.

So when our Aeroflot jet literally dropped out of the sky onto the runway in Brussels (a landing technique other fliers to Russia tell me seems to be their standard procedure) those of in the traveling party could not wait to enjoy "Western food" again.  After clearing customs, the first food stand we found was selling hot dogs--and we converged upon it like Saharan travelers throwing themselves into an oasis pond.  And the hot dogs tasted like real hot dogs!!!  It was a wonderful reminder of how much better the free market system was--where something had to be good since there were so many other options than just what the Government decided you could have.

So that is what all of the coverage of the Brussels Airport bombings reminded me of: the best hot dog I ever ate--and freedom.

How Much Will Europe Take?

It will be interesting to see what the long-term reaction will be of European nations to another terror attack on their continent.  Brussels and Paris have now seen two such incident each in the past two years.  Plus the London Bombings of 2005 and a laundry list of smaller-scale attacks and lone-wolf incidents have nearly every country on edge.  Add to that the seemingly endless stream of Syrian refugees trying to settle in the same countries, and you have a recipe for ugly backlash.

We hear all the time from the growing Socialist movement here in the US about how we need to be "more like Europe" when it comes to our social mores and operation of government.  But those Socialists may want to see what happens next in their beloved Social Democracies of the Old World.

Remember, religious freedoms--while certainly tolerated across the continent--are not codified the same way they are here in the US.  There is no "First Amendment" spelling out limits on governmental control of the practice thereof.  In fact, the European Convention of Human Rights clearly spells out that the practice of a religion can be curtailed if it is deemed to be a "threat to public safety and the protection of public order".  How long before citizens of countries terrorized by one certain religion decide that it constitutes such a threat?

Far less open immigration policies could be tightened even more.  A number of eastern European countries won't even let Syrian refugees cross their borders on board trains or buses bound for other countries--out of fear that they may get off before reaching their final destination.  You laugh at a wall along our border with Mexico?  There are thousands of miles of barbed wire fences all across Europe already.

And the highly homogenous societies of Europe will close ranks around themselves even more.  You know why Belgian and French authorities had so little intelligence on the attackers the past few years?  Probably because their is practically no assimilation of Muslims coming to those countries into the society at large.  And no matter if they were born in Paris or how well they speak the language or how rude and snooty they may become, those Muslims will never be considered "French". 

If you think the rhetoric of Donald Trump is "scary" here in the US, just wait until about 15 Trumpkins starts their call to rid the European continent of the "threat of Islam" in 15-different languages in the months and years to come.