kanesrealm

The Republican Party is officially scared of Donald Trump but they shouldn't be. Sure, if he gets the nomination they will once again lose the White House but that might actually be what needs to happen to reshape the party into a modern forward thinking ideology that can actually have appeal. Donald Trump is an anathema. Any other person would have already been driven out of the race for their frequent insults and fact challenged speeches. Fortunately for Trump his supporters don't care about his behavior, in fact it's why they're following him. They want his outrageousness. They want to hear his vitriolic assaults on those he dislikes and to listen to him bash entire cultures and nationalities. They are angry and  letting Trump be their blowhorn. The big question is will they actually vote for him when the caucuses and primaries begin? What does he actually stand for? Advancing the Trump name is the answer. It certainly isn't because of his carefully thought out...

The poet Ashraf Fayadh has been sentenced to death for renouncing his religion. Islam was his faith and apparently one man's dissent is a threat to God. I suppose this is to be expected from a poor third world country. Oh that's right, it's not a third world country, it's our old ally Saudi Arabia. Our good friends who love to have us fight wars for them. Our good friends who bred the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 including their leader the filthy rich Bin Laden. Our good friend we refuse to call out on their bullshit. Must be all that delicious oil. We need complete energy independence if for no other reason than to tell the Saudis to lick our crack. Fayadh is a Palestinian living in Saudi Arabia. The crime he was charged with is denouncing his religion but he is also considered a troublemaker by the Saudi government. This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of a radical who dares to express sentiments of free thought. Sharia Law rules Saudi Arabia, through th...

With all the Trumpisms, Carsonian quips and general media hysteria, one might think that America is changing into an environment hostile to outsiders or at a minimum suspicious of non white protestants. There is certainly nothing in our history to suggest such a thing. Well, perhaps a blip or two. The original Americans were nearly driven to extinction, those that survived were rounded up and placed on reservations where they could roam free, within certain limitations. We did have slaves in the country for 245 years, even over 75 years after proclaiming all men were equal. We did import, abuse and kill thousands of Chinese to build railroads, dams and bridges. The Catholics were not well liked but they were after all servants of the demon Pope of Rome. My own people, the Irish, need not apply for employment but who could blame proper Americans for this, we reek of whiskey and potatoes, plus many of us were Catholic. Women were not allowed to vote or talk out of turn, now look wha...

Bobby Jindal dropped out of the Republican sweepstakes, so yeah, not much more to say there. So long Bob. After the terrorist attacks and the intensive press coverage I had to shut the news off last Saturday and that is why you, my dear readers, received no thoughts on the Democratic debate that night. Without seeing it I can tell you it was irrelevant. I opted to binge watch episodes of Stargate and Xena, my time was well spent. Sometimes you've just got to pull the plug and disconnect. I want to take this opportunity to tell all of the news channels to stop playing the combo sad and ominous soundtracks while reporting on Paris. Just stop it, this is not a movie or T.V. show, just stop. Everything seems bleak but I tell you it is not. Something quite uncommon may be about to happen. ISIS/ISIL may very well have just signed their death warrant and accomplished the unimaginable. All 28 members of the European Union are unified and have invoked full cooperative security measures, ...

The barbaric terrorist attacks in Paris over the weekend is a reminder of how much fanatical groups like ISIL hate the free people of the world. They seek to murder and destroy freedom. They want to establish a one world order subservient to a sadistic twisted version of religious barbarism. They are delusional. We must not allow these thugs to determine our way of life. As frightening as it can be we must get up and go about our business. Eat out with friends, attend concerts, go shopping or take a stroll. As usual Donald Trump couldn't resist chiming in with his usual depth of sensitivity. He just had to say this happened in a city with strict gun laws, if only the citizens had been armed. Donald, for you and those who share your bizarre disconnected views let us reflect with logic. These were suicide attackers each wearing bomb belts ready to die for their demented cause. They struck quickly and in succession. Before any citizen could have drawn their weapon it was over. At th...

HUD Secretary Julian Castro has announced that his department intends to federally ban the smoking of cigarettes, pipe and cigar in public housing. The public has 60 days to offer comment. That comment will of course be ignored. Understand the meaning of this, the federal government is going to order that residents of public housing may not smoke in the privacy of their homes. Not only must these citizens suffer the indignity of needing housing assistance but they will be told that they cannot engage in a legal activity if they so choose. I personally do not like the smell of cigarettes but I am a pipe and cigar smoker. If Secretary Castro said they would ban smoking in the common areas such as hallways and lobbies I could barely stomach it, wouldn't like it but could tolerate it and even sympathize with it. But a person's home is their personal sanctuary. What this action says is you're poor and therefore at our mercy, we will dictate how you live your life. You would b...

Donald Trump was on Morning Joe today recapping his glorious debate victory from last night. Yeah Donald, you go, wait what did he just say. Mika Brzenski pushed Trump on his opposition to raising the minimum wage. Trump brushed it aside with standard false reasons and added he wished he could, he'd love to make it $50.00 an hour but it's just not possible. He said America isn't competitive and in his speedy diarrhea delivery he said and I quote, "wages are too high." Unbelievably he was not pushed on this by the Morning Joe crew. I've watched it three times to make sure I heard it right, I did. If I were a Democratic operative I would make certain that comment was pounced on. I wonder what his supporters, most of whom are low wage earners and middle class workers would feel about their billionaire champion saying their wages are too high? Last night at the debate Ben "I walk in the footsteps of Jesus" Carson also said he wouldn't raise the min...

Today is Veteran's Day and it is easy to offer up platitudes. Yes we should thank all of our veterans and honor the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives. My late father served this country not once but twice. He never  complained about the draft era and the fact that after he had already served and returned to civilian life he was then recalled to active duty because of national crisis. He simply served, quietly with dignity. It isn't enough to simply say thanks. We have a covenant with veterans that must be honored and all too often it isn't. We are in a Presidential election cycle and it's up to you to sift through the rhetoric and support those who actually believe in veteran benefits and improving every facet of them including the disability process and guaranteeing no one has to wait for vital treatment and we must not allow the V.A. to be dismantled and handed over to the for profit medical industrial complex. Say thank you with the most powerful too...

Are you tired of the lingering stench of the political seasons debates? New from Kanesrealm's R&D labs in Hindtit, Indiana comes Debate Begone®, it's a huge aerosol can available in pine, lavender and mixed nuts. Simply spray a thick fog, then sit back and think of something else. You may be looking for analysis of last night's Republican Debate on FOX Business, what's that, you couldn't find that channel, don't worry neither can Rupert Murdoch. The debates are completely meaningless at this point and frankly are making me nauseous. My cable provider doesn't carry FOX Business, is it really a channel? I saw enough of the highlights to know it had  zero content of insightful information. It continued to confirm that Donald Trump is HUGE and Ben Carson knows nothing about foreign policy or economics. Speaking of Carson it amazes me how pundits so often refer to him as this nice soft spoken man who is pious. Ben Carson's ego is bigger than Donald Tru...

A person's Facebook post criticizing Starbucks holiday cup as part of the war on Christmas has been viewed 12 million times and lead to numerous commentaries. When will this war end? How many elves must die before we stop the insanity? This years cup is red with the green Starbucks logo in the middle. In previous years it has been red with the logo in the middle but had reindeers, snowflakes and tree ornaments and nothing says Jesus more than symbols taken from commercialism and pop culture. At first I thought surely this can't be right but then I did some in depth research and found some very interesting information. In the apocryphal writings of sixth century prophet Arabica. Arabica wrote: "in 15 and 20 the deceiver shall empty the cup of joy; you shall know his ways by the bitterness upon your tongue and he shall be called forth from the land of Java." Powerful stuff. The Winter Solstice is coming and that's a real thing from which the majority of Christma...

This commentary will touch on a few topics because none deserve in depth reflection. Even as a political junkie it is difficult to remain interested in the nonsense of the day at this stage of the 2016 Presidential election. So here for your pleasure are some snapshots. Up first is Donald Trump because it just happened last night. The Donald hosted Saturday Night  Live for the second time. The show has mostly received negative criticism. First let's acknowledge the elephant in the room, SNL is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. Mostly it's a shadow of it's former glory and is suitable only as a night light. Once in awhile they rise above. Trump is not a professional entertainer, he is a brand and as such did just fine. He delivered to SNL it's highest ratings since 2012 so good for them. It was semi-huge and who cares. The first in the south Democratic Candidates Forum was held Friday night in South Carolina. It was ho...

According to the masters of statistics at Google, this blog has had a surprisingly large number of views in Russia. To say I'm surprised by this is a bit of an understatement. I've written a few pieces about Russia here and some more in the past in other places. Vladimir Putin has just been ranked as the most powerful person in the world according to Forbes Magazine. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany is number 2 and President Barack Obama is number 3. I'm not quite certain how they arrive at their decision but it can't be denied that Putin is a powerful leader and one that will not be fading from the international stage anytime soon and no matter what Trump and his fellow Republicans think dealing with him is not a simple matter. You can't wag your finger in his face and say do what we tell you to do. Putin is flexing Russian military power in Syria and frankly it was an opening we handed him. This action has removed attention from the Ukraine where the reality ...

Before proceeding with our reading of the day I would like to take a moment and reflect on the singular achievement of Kanesrealm's one year anniversary, it was actually on October 29 but who's counting. Three out of four Hindtittians get their news from Kanesrealm and I'm greatful, I'd be more greatful if you paid for it. Onward and upward readers, hold on to your seats cause it's about to get rowdy in here. No, not really. Ben Carson is facing a couple of tiny controversies today. They're bigger for reasonable people but let me stipulate up front that his supporters will not care. The first concerns Carson's life narrative, specifically about how he was an angry child and teenager, venting his rage on various people in various ways including trying to stab someone. This is what Carson has been saying for twenty-five years which is the prologue to him finding Jesus and becoming the peaceful and sedate creature you see today, somewhat akin to a human valiu...

Lions and tigers and republicans oh my! Kentucky elected Republican Matt Bevin to be it's next Governor. Bevin is a darling of the Tea Party and tried to unseat Senator Mitch McConnell during the primary last year. In light of Bevin's election the pundit world is exploding with ramblings about what this means for 2016 and it's dark tidings for the Democrats. Wow, these people really need to leave their bubbles a bit more. Here for the first time I present to you the truth of what Bevin's election means. Are you ready? Please sit down, Kanesrealm is not responsible for injuries suffered from fainting. Alright, it means that the citizens of Kentucky elected a Republican to be their Governor. I apologize for that shocking revelation but truth cares not for your feelings. They also elected a Democrat as their Attorney General. Although Bevin despises the Affordable Care Act, even though Kentucky has been one of the most successful states with that law, he backed off his...

Originally my decision was to not write about this, you have my word, but the situation has evolved or rather devolved to the point it warrants a bit of my much loved brain flatulence. The Republican Presidential candidates have been in revolt since the CNBC debate last week. Well, not all, well it seems they can't even agree on their revolt. You have my analysis of the debate, it sucked. CNBC does share significant blame for this. It was they who billed it as a night that would focus on the economy but it didn't. Most of the questions were personality driven. The stupidest question was the first one, "what is your greatest weakness?". That question should never be asked in any job interview or of any political candidate. For the record the correct answer is, my greatest weakness is my zero tolerance for ridiculous questions. The second worst question was asking Mike Huckabee if Donald Trump has the moral authority to be President. That issue entirely rests with the ...