Dispatches from Vilnius

  It is starting to look a bit like 1973 as Donald tries to dodge the swirling allegations that he is a fascist and that his supporters aren't "garbage."  This from a man who called the United States a " garbage can for the world ."  Meanwhile, early voting is in full swing with North Carolina already reaching 50% of its registered voters and Georgia close behind.  We could easily see the same numbers in these states as we saw in 2020.  A big turn out doesn't favor Herr Trump. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris offered a more than reasonable alternative to this sad state of dementia that 46% of Americans currently find themselves in.  I read a story where a young woman voted to protect abortion rights in Arizona while at the same time voted for Trump.  Apparently, she doesn't like how Kamala is trying to use abortion to win over women like her.  So, she stood her ground. It's nice to see that Muslim Americans in Arizona are coming to their senses .  More tha

Who would have thought Donald's triumphant return to New York would turn into bedlam?  Just about everyone, but even by Trump standards this was a new low bar.  One that has drawn numerous comparisons to a German-American Bund Nazi Rally at the old Madison Square Garden in 1939.  It started with a few purported "jokes" about Puerto Ricans and quickly descended into a hate rally that had outsider Republicans scratching their heads , especially those locked in close races where the Hispanic vote matters.   Trump has shown he has more lives than Fritz the Cat, so pundits and prognosticators aren't going so far as to say it is over.  But, it is pretty damning when members of your own party are scrambling to do damage control.  Marco Rubio accused the media of "smearing Trump supporters as Nazis!" in an all caps cry on X. There were plenty in attendance, Marco, as the crowd hooted and cheered as self-professed comedian Tony Hinchcliffe set the tone for the even

It may not seem like much to outsider observers but that Hail Mary with no time left on the clock gave Kamala Harris and the Democrats as much a victory as it did the Washington Commanders.  It's called the Redskins Rule , dating back long before Washington changed its moniker.  Whenever the former Redskins won its last home game before a presidential election, the political party in power has won the election.  This dates back to 1940!   With polls all over the place, it is as good a predictor as any and I imagine the Harris camp was cheering on the Commanders, nee Redskins.  It was a nailbiter as Chicago scored a touchdown with just 25 seconds left on the clock to take a 15-12 lead. They had a 96.4% chance of winning the game.  Yet, Jayden Daniels had one last throw and made it count, much to the chagrin of Chicago Bear cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who was already taunting the crowd .  You can imagine the Trump camp doing the same only to watch the tipped ball land in Noah Brow

Perhaps one of the strangest twists in this election is Trump complaining about members of the British Labour Party campaigning for Kamala Harris.  Sofia Patel (pictured beside Biden) supposedly urged 100 Labour Party staff (current and former) to hit the campaign trail for Kamala.  Not only are they allowed to do so as volunteers, but members of the British Conservative and Reform parties have been campaigning for Trump, most notably Liz Truss and Nigel Farage.  This seems to be part of his latest effort to hamper a Harris electoral victory, which appears more and more likely, with extraneous complaints and lawsuits.  Why else would Team Trump go to such lengths to claim foreign meddling , other than disguise such "meddling" in his campaign? Farage is understandable.  He's a right-wing kook who has been a big Trump supporter since the early days of Brexit.  Liz is a little harder to figure out, but I guess her fall from grace in 2022 left her feeling a little "red&q

As they stand in a barn full of cow manure at the Butler Farm Show grounds, look how Elon Musk towers over Trump.  Mind you Donald claims to be 6'-3" (191 cm).  Yet, Musk is listed at 6'-2" (188 cm.).  Musk does appear to be wearing heeled boots, but then Trump is also known to wear lifts to boost his height.  The rally was pretty much a bust with Musk becoming an overnight viral sensation with his flying leap.   Yet, Team Trump hailed it as a victory in returning to the scene of the crime, where Trump allegedly had his ear clipped by a bullet.  No sign of any damage to his ear lobe upon his return.  These tell tale signs matter, as it shows the depth of Trump's pathological lying.  Yes, he did get shot at, but it was the fireman who took the bullet behind him, not Trump.  He paid a tribute of sorts to Corey Comperatore, but in retelling the incident he focused on himself, noting that he is "bulletproof."  It was this incident that supposedly led Musk t

As we inch toward E-Day we are being led to believe that support for Kamala Harris is eroding and that President Trump once again is seen as inevitable.  I really don't get these projections especially given how off the rails Trump has been ever since Kamala replaced Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.  In recent weeks, he has appeared disoriented and lost. Take for example a "town hall" hosted by the infamous dog-killer Kristi Noem where Trump broke into dance about half way through and quit fielding questions.  No problemo with his audience, which joined him in celebrating his favorite songs.  Is this really the kind of guy Americans want to see in office for the next four years? According to Nate Silver, yes.  He has revised his projection yet again, giving the Trumpster a 50.2% chance of winning the electoral college.  I wouldn't put too much stock in Nate's projections, as he reversed course while still at 538 in 2022 to give the Republicans a 60% of taking

Kamala took to the airwaves this week to counter all the accusations that she has been ducking the press.  The big one was a special 60 Minutes segment on Monday night where she batted away the more pointed questions and fielded the more genial ones.  She also had interviews with Howard Stern , The View and a podcast Call Her Daddy , which seemed to generate the most controversy largely because the host, Alex Cooper, normally doesn't interview politicians, but made an exception given the historic nature of Kamala's campaign.  Oh, and she had a beer with Stephen Colbert. It's hard to say what the impact of these interviews will be on the campaign.  Trump provided a running commentary for his MAGA folk, filled with the invectives we have come to expect from the anointed one.  He had a chance to do a separate interview for 60 Minutes but bailed at the last minute , saying he wasn't going to allow himself to be fact checked on air.  If there is one thing these MAGA folk

More and more, Trump resembles that man on the street corner holding up his apocalyptic sign.  His "normies," as Jonah Goldberg calls his normal defenders, dismiss the vile rhetoric as "trash talk," saying they wish Trump would "stick with the issues" but that we shouldn't put too much stock in his vitriol.  The question remains is this doomsday talk working for Trump?  Can he really pull that many persons out of their bunkers and basements to vote for him on election day, which is now only 32 days away, with most states already engaged in early voting? At this point, he needs them to offset all the Republicans who have openly expressed their support for Kamala.  It's an ever growing list that now includes Jeff Flake , the former Republican Senator from Arizona, a crucial state.  The Trump campaign dismisses these defectors as RINOs but surely they still have some pull in their states.  Every vote counts, especially in a presumably close election.

It's interesting to see Trump try to play both sides of the war in Ukraine.  The other day he said that Ukraine should lay down its arms as it has no chance of winning against Russia.  Further noting that Russia had obliterated Ukraine with towns and cities gone that could "never be duplicated."  He then meets Zelensky and says "Putin cannot win."  Which is it? For his part, Zelensky is also playing both sides in meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders with the hope that the US will continue to support Ukraine regardless of who wins the election.  He still faced criticism from Lindsey Graham for meeting Gov. Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania.  Graham saw this as a partisan move .  Yet, Zelensky met with Donald in Trump Tower, supposedly to hash out his "victory plan." I find it hard to believe Zelensky shared much information with Trump knowing that he is such a blabber mouth.  No sooner had the Ukrainian president left the building than Trump was