Nah, this is WAY longer. You know how Christmas shopping seems to start earlier and earlier every year? Well apparently the same thing is happening with primaries, but its a little harder to notice cause they're four years apart.

And not only does Trump read and believe the National Enquirer, he's practically best buddies with the guy who owns the tabloid and he's been using it as a way to plant stories that he's made up so that he can "quote sources" when he talks about it on the news. Like with the stories about Cruz's affairs.

Ugh. I wonder if so many people are willing to tolerate Trump's...I dunno....I think I'll call it pundit abuse, because so many people experience abuse in their own lives?

Like, the women who are voting for Trump, do they not mind the way he talks about women because the men in their own lives--their lovers, spouses, fathers, brothers, teachers, bosses, etc.--talk to them the same way?

The reason he did it is that he's trying to get the senior citizens in Indiana to get out and go vote.

So right after JFK was shot there was a popular conspiracy theory that his death had been planned by the Cubans and Fidel Castro. Cruz's father is a Cuban refugee. Trump probably planted the National Enquirer story and now he's using it to remind a bunch of senior citizens (who tend to be more conservative anyway) of their old fears and prejudice, playing on their instinctual reaction to anything that smells even faintly of Communism, and he's trying to make them associate Cruz with all of that.

It's a dirty trick, alright, but I don't know how effective it will be.

But don't give up hope!

Yes, Trump is doing immeasurably better than anyone thought, but he's winning with the far right, and it's been a long time since the far right has won a national battle.

Once the primaries are over, Trump's going to hit the buzz saw in a big way. Think about all the massive national organizations and grass roots movements on the left that are chomping at the bit to go after him! From day 1, he's going to have to contend with the full wrath and resources of the LGBTQA+ movement, the feminists, the environmentalists, the anti-war activists, the civil rights activists, the immigration activists, all of which are powerful voices on the left who are highly organized, well resourced and have many powerful connections.

Plus, women make up less than half of the primary vote and more than half of the electoral vote and he's got a 70% disapproval rating with women. So unless he invents some sort of brain washing energy ray, he's probably gonna get his ass kicked.

There are lots of conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination. I'm inclined to believe the CIA had something to do with it, if only because they were one of the only groups who actually benefitted from the incident. He was trying to limit their power, and after his death they became one of the most powerful organizations in the history of the world--mostly because people were so frightened after the assassination of a president that the voters and the federal government ceded much of their authority to the intelligence community, which at the time was mostly focused on destroying the "far left" by which they meant not only communists and socialists, but also hippies and black people.

If JFK had survived, a lot of things would have been different. The Cold War would have ended decades earlier, because JFK had a working relationship with the head of the Soviet Union at the time and they were both working towards peace but his assassination ended those efforts and the leader of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev, left office not long after partially because he had lost his connection with the US. Thus the peace process died.

If JFK had survived, we would not have gone to war in Vietnam. He was a WWII war hero who truly understood the full cost of war and was very suspicious of career military officials who he thought were often too eager to go to war because it would give them more money and power.

If JFK had survived, segregation and Jim Crow would have ended much earlier. He was a supporter of the civil rights movement and right before his death he was beginning the work of ending the legacy of slavery in this country.

If JFK had survived, our space program would have probably continued too.

Basically, JFK was definitely a good president. I mean, obviously we're looking at him through rose-tinted glasses, but I've studied him occasionally and I've always admired him for believing that he had a responsibility not only to the American people but also to all the people of this world and the people of the future. He always did his best to keep us out of war because he understood that a nuclear war would mean the end of everything, not just the USA. Having a president who is aware that they have a responsibility to all peoples as the leader of the most powerful nation in the history of the world is a rare and blessed gift. I deeply hope we have another of his ilk someday.

The JFK assassination is one of those historical events that will probably never lose its potency. It was terrifying at the time and to this day there remain many unanswered questions.

If you ignore those questions, you risk burying the truth and ignoring potential damage to the entire planet.

If you raise those questions, you risk encouraging a culture of conspiracy which is dangerous in its own way. The mere illusion of a conspiracy can cause irrevocable damage to the social contracts that keep our society functioning, and the actual revelation of a conspiracy can push our nation to the brink of disaster.

So while I am personally inclined to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was framed (he struggled with mental illness which made him vulnerable, but he also expressed horror and disgust with what had happened to the president and that is not the behavior we have come to expect of a high profile shooter--a breed of human we tragically know much more about now than we did back then) what good does me talking about it do anyone? But at the same time, if we ignore history we're doomed to repeat it. And yet again, what's the point? I doubt we'll ever learn the real truth. But of course we won't learn the real truth if no one is trying to figure out what that is.

As you can see, I go back and forth on this a lot.

Robert Kennedy, JFK's brother, was also assassinated when he was running for president. He too would have changed the course of our history.

Here's a link to a clip of one of the most remarkable moments in our history as a nation...Robert Kennedy had just received news of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination and, well....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6mxL2cqxrA

Hands down, one of the most beautiful and wise responses to inconceivable tragedies I've ever seen, and a valuable piece of advice in our current conflicts.

Presenting Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.

Everyone assume crash positions.