Autumn breezes get voters thinking. That’s when they get serious about elections. And that’s when the pumpkins come out.
“Tons of pumpkins,” the handwritten sign boasted somewhere along the interstate.
John “Red” Heller had overstated it just a bit.
“Well, OK. Maybe it’s pounds and pounds of pumpkins,” Heller said, pointing to a truckload of the plump, orange symbols of autumn.
The unemployed construction worker had harvested his uncle’s patch the day before. He figures it’s the only money he’ll make this month.
“It’s getting chilly now, and that’s when people start buying these honeys,” Heller said.
An old political theory holds that voters turn conservative in the fall.
Springtime months bring thoughts of change and renewal. Bicycle sales increase. People go on diets and clean house.
And the politics of change thrives.
Throughout presidential campaign history, third-party candidates and other rebellious hopefuls have peaked in the spring. That’s when Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump got on a roll.
Support for John Anderson in 1980 and for George Wallace in 1972 rose in the spring and dwindled in the fall.
Many springs ago brought the insurgent campaigns of Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Pat Buchanan.
Ross Perot’s popularity soared in April.
But now the leaves are falling.
In this time for cocooning, Americans tend to look inward, cherish what they have and put off a search for change.
Heller, the pumpkin salesman, says he believes that it doesn’t matter anyway.
“Politicians never change things, do they?” the 37-year-old high school dropout said.
Before he could explain himself further, he turned his attention elsewhere.
A woman and her wide-eyed child had stopped to buy a pumpkin.
good segment last night from pbs newshour: Cracking the stealth political influence of bots
MILES O’BRIEN: Bots first reared their ugly heads in U.S. presidential politics in 2012. Mitt Romney got caught buying bots when he gained more than 140,000 followers in two days.
For a few dollars, anyone can buy a few thousand bots that can be deployed to strengthen your Twitter prowess. But this go-round, the bots are doing much more than providing artificial popularity.
Phil Howard is a professor of the Internet at Oxford University.
PHIL HOWARD, University of Oxford: You program the bots that are following you to repeat your message. And what happens is that a larger and larger number of people see the retweets and think, this is an important position paper or this is a great new idea.
[….]
MILES O’BRIEN: Howard analyzed tweets during the first presidential debate. He found bots were behind one-fifth of pro-Clinton Twitter traffic, and nearly one-third of pro-Trump tweets.
PHIL HOWARD: The real problem here is that not all users can tell when the content that comes up in their social media feed is actually generated by these bots.
It’s very difficult to know what the overall impact is on public opinion, but we do know that most Americans can’t distinguish these bots from real users.
Great Post.
I think about what will happen after the election. This cycle has been so ugly; will the divide become a canyon? It will be interesting to see if any Politician can bridge this gap (don’t think it’s either Candidate; one will win but be limited by the opposition) not only for the good of the nation, but for her/his personal gain. The aftermath of all this offers a golden opportunity for new Leaders & Leadership. Who’s going to make a play for it is the story to watch. Campaign 2020 starts November 9th.
“one will win but be limited by the opposition”
sjwnyy, afraid you’re right about that given what these guys are threatening
from tpm: Rep. Chaffetz Promises ‘Years’ Of Clinton Investigations If She’s Elected
and from politico:
Cruz: GOP may block Supreme Court nominees indefinitely
A good morning glory to you. Arab spring also comes to mind, too…and it is natural to prepare for the winter months and be more conservative. I am so happy for early voting in person and if any changes need to be made by Pennsylvania and Michigan? It is to have early voting. To me, it is a form of voter suppression to pigeon hole citizens’ voting opportunities. This past weekend, the performance by trump at the Catholic Charities dinner? Ended the show for me. Dead man walking and he will bankrupt twitter and attempt a takeover for his feeble tv idea. He has tried to establish a network on the cheap with facebook and twitter. If he would ever show his taxes? We would know he uses other people’s money as he is not as rich as he claims.
(Spencer is good looking dog!)
from toronto star
Theo Moudakis: Trump pumpkin
the economist: Can the American election be hacked?
It’s my guess that pumpkin guy never heard of FDR, and LBJ and how they changed a few things here and there…..
As of yesterday, I am finished with the health care grinder for the year. After a cocktail of fentanyl and benadryl yesterday for a colonoscopy, I am very clear headed today after floating through most of the day. Oddly enough, it is the medical community that had helped me discover that I am a sun worshiper as I have been asked my religious preference on many medical forms before tests and procedures this past year. Such a personal question for me and makes me think that I am in the old human stage, so it was fitting for me to write I follow the sun. I am glad to see the sun rise everyday. And it was also fitting that I ended my annual medical journey with getting some light in a place where the sun does not normally shine.
speaking of assholes
politicususa: Stung By Clinton Allegations, Trump Claims He Used No Undocumented Workers in DC Hotel
Trump used undocumented labor to build Trump Tower and workers told The Washington Post in 2015 they were working on his hotel illegally
[….]
It is a fact, as Hillary Clinton said yesterday, that Donald Trump “once again” used undocumented labor to build a hotel. He used undocumented labor to build Trump Tower. And The Washington Post reports that “Trump’s new downtown D.C. hotel was built thanks to the efforts of a large workforce that included Hispanic construction workers, including some workers who say they are undocumented.” Said one worker in 2015, “The majority of us are Hispanics, many who came illegally.”
The old saw about the man who protests too much comes to mind, in reading Trump’s denial. This is a man who has a history of exploiting undocumented immigrants and according to the workers themselves, this remains true.
dvitale300
Lucky man. Beautiful wife and a great dog. Talk about hitting the jackpot.
Happy Birthday to the inimitable John Cleese
patd,
Odds are a woman will be elected President. Wonderful. Then what? A new chapter in our history will be written but the text will be the same, sadly. Damn the bastards who serve themselves, not their country.
Throwing out a question: Can the current state of our political outhouse be tied to the demise of newspapers? Think about it. Once upon a time reporters had to take the time to write, edit, present. Citizens had to take the time & effort to purchase, read such newspapers, thus showing interest in being informed. They cared. With today’s advent of the internet, social media, 24 hour cable, instant gratification is the result. The demise of measured thought has given rise to ( & favors) politicians who are more interested in self promotion than serving democracy. The less we think, the more we let others think for us.
https://youtu.be/aY8U4Zm8BSE
sjwny. rather than the decline of newspapers or the news networks, imho it has more to do with our diminishing attention span. back last year there were several stories on a study showing… squirrel!!!…. oh where was I?… ah yes, huffpo:
In just five years, it appears, our average attention span has declined by one-third, to eight seconds from 12. The lowly goldfish that never focuses on anything for long has an attention span of nine seconds.
and this from Marketing to the Shrinking Attention Span of the Modern Consumer:
An alarming side-effect of our instant gratification, “always on” society, with the increasing pressures of work and family, is that we can no longer focus on the task at hand, resulting in spikes in the frequency of household risks like stove-top pans boiling over, baths overflowing, or freezer doors left open, according to a recent Pew Internet study. On the positive side, the study also shows that students coming through the U.S. schools system benefit greatly from instant access to huge caches of information from numerous sources. However, it also shows that students’ attention spans, concentration levels and desire for further depth of knowledge on specific topics have also diminished.
iow, stupid is as stupid does
SJWY
Ten years ago I wrote “The Whale Sang Opera” regarding the dumbing down of content force fed to the public. Things have not improved since, but you might enjoy reading the article.
patd,
It starts at home. Present a good example & it just may stick: Did Dad & Mom read? Read to you? Did they get you a Library Card? This stuff matters to a sound democracy.
not a game changer, but geez this stinks, and it was authenticated by the company whose chief Doug Band wrote the memo.. WAPO: Inside ‘Bill Clinton Inc.’: Hacked memo reveals intersection of charity and personal income
Doug Band seems to be the intersection of a lot of the sleazy behavior– earlier there were references to his interest in making money and needing Bill Clinton to do it and the way to get Clinton was to cut him in on every deal. erp
Chelsea intervened to rescue the Foundation from Bill’s sleazey pals.
A horrific picture of the trump campaign from inside the giblets* :
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-27/inside-the-trump-bunker-with-12-days-to-go
*Inside the bowels is more like it.
Pumpkins here people are encouraged to paint them as decorations and then eat them
KGC, interesting article you linked on trump bunker, this part really stinko:
X-R’s good work I read that too and you can see it reflected in rump’s speeches now we know why all the talk about the black community not trying to get white voters…trying to get black voters to stay home
This seems typical of the brietbart mentality very juvenile
Craig,
What stinks?
That Big money wanted to be associated with the Clintons and were willing to pony up big bucks for the chance?
Or that Bill Clinton was willing to slap his name on anything for a price.
Crass maybe but not illegal and in this modern world not even unethical. With all the digging into the Clintons affairs no one has found anything beyond the “crass” level.
BTW, this is another example of lazy journalism. How about just a little context with the memo instead we get salivating over the memo
Jack
crass stinks, jack. yet another reason Dems need to win Senate and House, to prevent headline-grabbing investigations of this kind of stuff
I notice that the trumpster calls people of a dusky hue African Americans rather than using the N word. He also calls adult females women rather than girls.
Obviously he’s not a ‘Conservative’ republican.
dv3
I really enjoyed your post from the trenches late last night–it both educated and provided personal solace at the Tribe’s earlier loss. It was nice seeing the snapshot/portrait of your wife and pup.
At my daughter’s high school, she reports the lack of interest in the electoral process and how it directly affects the lives of her students and their families as being absolutely beyond her experience. It’s the professional staff, her university interns, and the students at all grade levels.
If she could fix things herself, she would. But, that would mean fomenting a coup against the entrenched school administration; something that would destroy her agency’s programs in all the region’s schools.
Oh well, people deserve the government they elect.
no matter what he says there is always sniff sniff
can you imagine the Sniffler giving the state of the union address
State of the Trump Nation Tweet
“We’re doin’ great, believe me. No matter what they say, and the liberal media lies about me constantly – CONSTANTLY – we’re doin’ great.”
State of the Trump Nation Tweet
“We’re doin’ great, believe me. No matter what they say, and the liberal media lies about me constantly – CONSTANTLY – we’re doin’ great.” sniff sniff
Whatever happened to Mr 2.0, our stringer on the Maine/New Brunswick border ?
Ms Cracker,
Of course, you are right. I inadvertently left out the chief reason that the deadbeat thinks he’s “doin’ great, really great”.
The proper way to eat pumpkin pie…
Craig: I love pumpkins! I love fall! This time of year in New England is also cranberry season. I lived on the upper cape for a year and driving by the beautiful deep reddish/purplish ponds of cranberries this time of year was a joy. I always buy extra bags of them to keep in the freezer so I have cranberries all year. Pumpkins are not quite as user friendly. If kept properly they only last a couple months. I buy small but heavy cooking pumpkins and make a variety of dishes with them. Oddly, I don’t use them for pumpkin pie. Pumpkin puree in a can is just fine for pies. But for roasted pumpkin, pumpkin chili, baked stuffed pumpkin etc…only real pumpkins will do!
Pat, sj, Jamie: There are millions of people now who will never take the time to investigate a headline or tweet. It doesn’t matter anymore whether something is true. It’s far too easy to click on a retweet button so “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” has never been more accurate!
I share everyone’s concerns about what happens after Hillary is elected…and then some 🙁 The GOP is going to end our Democracy. All their promises to keep investigating Hillary, thereby wasting more and more taxpayer money, and to not approve SCOTUS nominees are further proof.
I know I’m beating a dead horse, but the one part of Hamilton’s America that struck me the most was re G. Washington. It was said that the greatest thing he did as President was to step down. That it showed the world that our fledgling Democracy worked and our system would create a smooth transition of power. That may end this year!
“…the inimitable John Cleese.”
…doesn’t stop every teenager who sees “Grail” for the first time from trying.
It’s raining here which is great we’ve had almost double normal rain fall for October. I don’t go out when it rains –dirt roads big hills fallen branches fog…so I am home drinking coffee with bourbon in it
WaPo picked up the trump voter suppression at the Fix blog. Who says trump’s not a pugn? he’s employing the pugn playbook of voter suppression – digital style. If I were Hillary I’d make that the centerpiece of every speech, tv appearance, interview or campaign event I did from now until Nov. 8.
I’m pessimistic, long-term, concerning the viability of American democracy. To be trite, just about everything sinister that Orwell envisioned in “1984” can be seen in our current society, so much so, that mentioning it has become trite. Smoke ’em if ya got ’em… carefully, in the corner.
trump’s really desperate after just saying no — he is endorsing medical marijuana as a states rights issue
RR – Pumpkin pie is the perfect platform for a bowl of whipped cream.
The tone of the battle for the White House has changed a lot in the last week. Although the floater seems resigned to the annals of lost presidential battles, it is the media looking for the next blood that is disturbing. The rise of the “civil war” or “revolution” by the cult followers is the meme. How many of the KKK/Birchers/white supremacists are ready to “fight”? Will they do a Bundy, and not the good Bundy, to cause disruption, outside of the Congress? I do not doubt a few of the loonies will do something. They are always showing up in D.C. And, they are always surprised that they are identified and stopped, usually for something stupid like parking in a no parking zone.
Granny, you sure were correct about Hamilton’s America! Watched it last night. My PBS station (WETA) is re-airing it a lot. Not only seems like a wonderful musical but the documentary itself so well done. Not a big fan of Hamilton’s elitism and the concentration of wealth he basically created but looks like the other luminaries of the time amply portrayed. The playwright said something I’ve always thought — probably George Washington’s greatest achievement was stepping down after two terms. If only Putin had been so classy.
Thanks Craig, glad you liked it. PS: re G Washington that was what I said in my previous comment above 🙂 Was a great line from the doc to be sure!
Last week it was 80 and I was running my air conditioner, now it’s 34 and snowing!
[after first explaining about rnc being sued by dnc for intimidating those who vote while black, wonkette addresses the 2nd part of the story which you all have posted about above]
Shitty as these tactics are, they’re totally legal. They’re not “voter suppression.” They’re just political ads!
The Trump campaign’s calculation here is that this will make all those people stay home, instead of voting for Devil Hillary. Obviously they’re doing this because it’s literally impossible for Trump to attract any new supporters, because all sane Americans agree that he’s terrible and disgusting and gropey and acts a little bit like a common Hitler. So they have to try to “suppress” (they mean “depress,” because, again, negative campaign ads are not “voter suppression”) Hillary’s vote. Again, negative ads are very much allowed, and there is nothing suppressive about them! “Voter suppression” is shit like the intimidation at the polls Trump is constantly calling for, or the disenfranchisement of black voters in pretty much every state that’s got a Republican lege or secretary of state.
The good news, as Greg Sargent points out at the Washington Post is that the strategy probably isn’t going to work, based on reports that show Hillary already beating Trump’s ass in the early voting department.
So, class, what have we learned today? We’ve learned there are two big stories going around about Trump and the RNC engaging in “voter suppression,” and that they are not the same story! Sending armed freaks to the polls to monitor for Voting While Black is bad, and the RNC is getting sued for directly and indirectly promoting Trump’s incredibly subtle calls for that. The other thing about the political ads is … not a thing.
This has been the latest episode of Wonkette ‘Splains WTF The News Is Yammering About Today.
This is what the 2016 election has come down to: The Veep versus The Creep, in a fight behind the school gym (and/or barn).
Michelle Obama fires up North Carolina crowd for Hillary Clinton
Without once mentioning the Republican presidential nominee’s name, Obama warned that Trump’s is a vision “grounded in hopelessness and despair.”
“This candidate calls on us to turn against each other, to build walls, to be afraid,” Obama said. “And then there’s Hillary’s vision for this country — a vision of a nation that is powerful and vibrant and strong, big enough to have a place for all of us. A nation where we each have something very special to contribute and where we are always stronger together.”
With less than three months left in her role as first lady, Obama also reflected on the “glare of the national spotlight” that she and her husband have had to weather during the President’s two terms in office.
“With every action we take, with every word we utter, we think about the millions of children who are watching us,” Obama said. “We want a president who takes this job seriously and has the temperament and maturity to do it well. Someone who is steady. Someone who can be trusted with the nuclear codes because we want to to to sleep at night knowing that our kids and our country are safe.”
If Americans want a “unifying force” who “values and honors women,” Obama stressed: “Vote right now. Leave here and go vote!”
Is anyone else having nearly interminable loading times when refreshing the site? I have watched the little icon rotate and rotate, finally having to close then reopen the site to get it to load. Doesn’t happen at other sites.
Pogo: I’ve had some slow loading today as well.
Thought this was interesting:
Howard Stern on Trump’s misogynistic talk: ‘This is who Trump is’
(…)
This campaign started 8 years ago : anybody remember a lump ‘named’ jeb?
8 years amounts to voter oppression.
“Is anyone else having nearly interminable loading times when refreshing the site? I have watched the little icon rotate and rotate, finally having to close then reopen the site to get it to load. Doesn’t happen at other sites.”
Yes, it’s just heavy traffic.
yep Bink, much heavier traffic than usual, much of it from our link on drudge. Can’t afford to bump up the bandwidth. It will settle down after the election.
“drudge”
What do those dipshits want with us? Go ____-off to Breitbart, wannabe-Russkies.
Craig, you could also unplug drudge until the 9th.
Yeah, the 9th of November, 9999 AD.
This year we’ll all be able to get to bed early. The winner will be announced at 8:00.01 PM Central Time.
…it may be known as “Robotober”, by then, not sure. Stay tuned.
no xrepub I am talking about the standing link drudge has to us on his site, and sometimes he links our threads as he briefly did earlier today
GOP gotta be in a total freak cause of Trump beating up on all their midgets…….
But then, the worm turned…….
bink, drudge readers not just partisans. Many in the media, especially TV producers, read him. I can tell because I usually get TV requests when he spotlights us, but I’m done with doing that.
Hey Flatus isn’t this your beer?
.@Yuengling_Beer just came out in support of Trump – time to cut that beer out of my life. #Cya
— marisa blackwell (@marisablackwll) October 26, 2016
I can speak to Yeungling, kind of. It’s in western PA. Who does Yeungling sell to? Western PAians. They know which side their bread’s buttered on. Plus, drumpf & Yeungling sound like they’re from the same corner of the globe.
Tweety thinks he is the smartest person on earth and can’t understand why no one else can see it
The election will be televised.
I’ll have to follow Blackwell’s lead. God I hope Sam Adams doesn’t support drumpf.
Apparently donnie needs to spend a little more on pilots for Pence. you heard it here first – they will treat pence like a conquering hero for having valiently survived that life threatening crash – and he will be hailed as saving the lives of all those on the plane.
Craig
A really good post today. Ya know if you want to help “white working class” write more pieces like this and get them out where people can read them.
Jack
No words for Pence from Trump
KC, his campaign isn’t that quick. He’ll tweet about it soon.
New Trump tapes in which he proclaims when he was in hs he was the best baseball player in NYC
and the tape contains the tell tale sniff
Pennsylvania hipsters used to drink Yeungling, until yesterday.
Bink, you are correct.
KC, he said he was the best baseball player in NY…when the Yankees were going to back to back world series. I’m guessing he’s inflated his abilities a bit. then he went on to say he was the best athlete in football, all sports. Which is why he’s in the NY sports hall of fame of course.
Pogo
don’t forget sniff sniff
I just went to the ring-a-ding website and didn’t see anything there.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2016/10/27/beer-drinkers-are-boycotting-yuengling-after-its-billionaire-owner-endorses-trump/#47e319ce3978
flatus, if you are referring to the link that shall not be named and that has brought us costly traffic, it does list in its roster of media mavens fearless leader which upon clicking brings one here to sanity, to the trail.