Trail Mix

It’s not a long, long time from now ’til November

and the days get shorter in September.

Those days dwindle down to a precious few —

September, November –

could be less than *sixty-two.

But these precious days will come to you

With ads, more ads and phone calls too.

*depends on when you read this

Attribution: Media coverage by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

Could opposition from military members endanger another Trump run for the White House? He hasn’t done much to change their minds.

Four years ago, before reports of him calling them “losers” and “suckers”, and before telling aides to keep injured soldiers out of his photo-ops, a Military Times survey found that most active-duty personnel opposed his reelection, helping produce his defeat.

So it makes sense the Trump campaign is in damage-control overdrive after his latest insult to veterans, spurning a federal law against using Arlington Cemetery as a political prop.

In 2020 a survey of 1,018 active-duty troops found that nearly half of respondents (49.9 percent) had an unfavorable view of the president, compared to about 38 percent who had a favorable view.

An astonishing 42 percent of military members said they strongly disapprove of Trump’s time in office, saying their view of him was “very unfavorable”.

Some of the reasons for Trump’s unpopularity four years ago:
— Trump’s comments against the “deep state”, generals and other career federal positions.
— Trump’s dismissal of reports that Russian officials offered bounties for Afghan fighters to target and kill American troops.
— Trump’s suggestion that active-duty military personnel should be used to respond to civil unrest in American cities.
— Trump’s moves to drawn down American military personnel levels in Germany and South Korea.
— Only about 21 percent of troops saw immigration as a significant national security issue, but 48 percent identified white nationalists as a concern.

In the 2016 Military Times Poll, nearly twice as many respondents said they planned to vote for Trump than then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Exit polls from the election showed a similar margin after election day.

Todays serendipitous find was a list of 81 videos featuring Keb’ Mo’ playing the blues, A days worth of the Blues, should make for a good Sunday.

Enjoy, Jack

Putin’s secret weapon | The Seattle Times