Overwhelmed

I feel like I can't keep up with this election. My podcast list is overflowing with new political podcasts, the internet is bursting with new articles, and the breaking news on tv seems non-stop. So the blog seems nearly impossible to keep up with all that is going on.

Several women have now come forward to say they were sexually assaulted/harassed by Donald Trump. His response? LIES ALL LIES. Apparently only women who were sexually assaulted/harassed by Bill Clinton could possibly be telling the truth. Trump claimed he had evidence to prove this women were lying. His evidence? There is none.

Today my friend Anna sent me a text with a link to this article: Donald Trump Calls for Drug Test Ahead of Next Debate. Quite frankly you don't have to read the article to get where he is going with this. He thinks that Hillary has been "getting pumped up" with performance enhancing drugs before the debates. I burst into laughter when I read this. My response to my friend's text was simply "Un. Hinged." My favorite response to this outrageous claim?

If there is some performance enhancing drug that gives you decades of commanding policy experience I too would like a hit

— Andy Cobb (@AndyCobb) October 15, 2016

 100%. Give me some of that shit, too.

I can't even get into the mess that is his Twitter account.
Time Magazine really summed up the past week very eloquently:

 Total Meltdown.
There really is no other phrase for it.

Meanwhile, I somehow missed this powerful article in the NY Times last Sunday: Shakespeare Explains the 2016 Election.   The whole article discusses Richard III, and why Shakespeare sat down to write a play that discussed the question "How could a great country wind up being governed by a sociopath?" The last line in the article is what gave me the most pause: "Do not think it cannot happen, and do not stay silent or waste your vote."  Do not think it cannot happen. As Brexit taught us, ladies and gentlemen, the unthinkable can happen.

Can we please all work together to make sure it does not?

Comic relief:

No, I won't give up, no I won't give in, till I reach the end, I'm gonna try! 💥💪 #cobeetryeverything #gocobeego @puppystagrams @petsvideo @corgistagram @babyanimalstagram

A video posted by Cobee The Corgi (@cobeethecorgi) on Oct 5, 2016 at 8:13am PDT

You Can Do Anything

When the Trump Tape was released on Friday evening, I sat and watched it, my eyes popping out of their sockets.  His use of the word "pussy" is not what bothered me. It was when he said "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything."  This is proof of the rape culture we live in. If indeed this is "locker room banter" THAT IS EXACTLY THE PROBLEM! This shouldn't be, and cannot be how men talk about women. Trump's excuse that it is "locker room banter" just makes me even matter. This is NOT how men should be talking about women, anywhere! Every single man I know has said he has never heard anyone talk like that in a locker room. Every single man I am close to also loathes Donald Trump and thinks he is a pig. Because I refuse to surround myself with men who treat women like that.  While I am lucky and would easily tell off a man who ever spoke to me in such a demeaning manner (thanks to 3 brothers who taught me not to take shit from anyone), I know most women would just take it.  I have a friend who spent the day on Saturday crying because watching that video brought up a lot of repressed emotion in regards to men's behavior towards her.  We need to start showing our boys that it is not ok to talk like this about women ANYWHERE.
I keep wondering who is supporting this guy? Then I saw this video. And it all became so, so clear.

Some of my favorite articles from the weekend:

Boston Globe:  
The misogynist in full

NY Times:
Donald Goes to the Dogs


Some of my favorite tweets:

After the tape was released:

All I'm saying is if Billy Bush deleted his Twitter maybe Trump really is making America great again.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) October 7, 2016

Well he's not always wrong. https://t.co/DvgXtxj6Dv

— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) October 8, 2016

I feel like many men think women go everywhere in pairs because we like to talk a lot.

That's not why.

— Laura Silverman (@LJSilverman1) October 8, 2016

During the debate (and just before with his publicity stunt):

This is all starting to feel like the finale on a reality TV show.

— Matt Viser (@mviser) October 9, 2016

1998: "Paula Jones is a loser. But the fact is, she may be responsible for bringing down a president indirectly." pic.twitter.com/VOSQo2bYAX

— Lauren Werner (@LaurenWern) October 8, 2016

Exclusive video of Donald Trump backstage at the debate: pic.twitter.com/AqGaqzfeFR

— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) October 10, 2016

#DonaldTrump clearly did his #debate prep tonight... on the comment threads of YouTube.

— Karl Frisch (@KarlFrisch) October 10, 2016

I'm a Muslim, and I would like to report a crazy man threatening a woman on a stage in Missouri. #debate

— Moustafa Bayoumi (@BayoumiMoustafa) October 10, 2016

watching this as a woman is so emotionally difficult because we've all been belittled like this by a male moron and had to take it #debate

— Claire Fallon (@ClaireEFallon) October 10, 2016

At times, I don't now if I'm watching Alec Baldwin or Donald Trump at this #debate

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) October 10, 2016

Meet Mike Pence

From Planned Parenthood:

Attention: WOMEN

How could any woman vote for him? Seriously. If you respect yourself, or respect  any woman, you cannot, cannot vote for this man.

Trump Supporters

I was at a family event this weekend when, inevitably the election came up. The group I was sitting with were all anti trump (I can't say for sure they were all pro-Hillary, but definitely all anti-Trump). I quickly looked around, knowing that there were people at the party who are pro-Trump. I quickly shushed the group, quietly letting them know that there were Trump supporters lurking around. Quite frankly, I did not want to get into some big, heated debate at my father's 70th birthday party. (My father, for the record, a life-long un-enrolled party voter, loathes Trump).  I eventually got up because the subject of Trump gets me all riled up, and by the time I came back into the room, the subject had changed. A friend of mine shared this article stating 7 things you know about a person when they say they are a Trump supporter, from the Daily Kos with me. I don't think that EVERY Trump supporter has every single one of these traits, but they certainly have at least one or two. And I am sure some have all (the Trump supporter at the party definitely is not all of them).


Here's a little something for all of you who think Gary Johnson is a serious candidate (spoiler alert: he's not):

Braggadocious

This is everything.

NY Times Endorsement

The New York Times has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. And everyone should read it. Please take the time to do so here.

Some of my favorite parts:

• "...Mrs. Clinton’s occasional missteps, combined with attacks on her trustworthiness, have distorted perceptions of her character. She is one of the most tenacious politicians of her generation, whose willingness to study and correct course is rare in an age of unyielding partisanship. As first lady, she rebounded from professional setbacks and personal trials with astounding resilience. Over eight years in the Senate and four as secretary of state, she built a reputation for grit and bipartisan collaboration. She displayed a command of policy and diplomatic nuance and an ability to listen to constituents and colleagues that are all too exceptional in Washington."

This has driven me insane, how a lot of people cannot get beyond the fact that she has lied and is "untrustworthy."  She has made mistakes. She isn't perfect. No one is perfect. But somehow the mistakes she made has completely overshadowed all of the amazing things she has done (may of which are outlined in the op-ed).

• "Mrs. Clinton has shown herself to be a realist who believes America cannot simply withdraw behind oceans and walls, but must engage confidently in the world to protect its interests and be true to its values, which include helping others escape poverty and oppression."

YES! Believing we can just build walls and isolate ourselves as a country and continue to be "great" is ludicrous.

• Through war and recession, Americans born since 9/11 have had to grow up fast, and they deserve a grown-up president. A lifetime’s commitment to solving problems in the real world qualifies Hillary Clinton for this job, and the country should put her to work.

I couldn't have said that better myself.

I am looking forward to the subsequent editorial they are publishing tomorrow about how Donald Trump is the worst candidate put forward by a major party in modern American history.