How Both Sides Lost An Election

The Schloss-Blog has detected that there is a lot of evidence that both sides are trying to lose this presidential election.

***

If you've heard Trump's hateful, spiteful rhetoric, like his acceptance speech at the Republican concvention, you know he's trying to lose.

Then again, if you saw Biden's performance in the presidential debate, you know he's trying to lose.

Right now, based on polling, especially in the so-called battleround states, Biden is succeeding more.

In losing.

He trails Trump in all seven so-called battlegound states.

All seven.

If the election were today, Trump would be president again.

We can't have that in America. But it appears we will.

Unless Biden steps aside.

***

Kamala Harris for president?

She's got nothing going for her.

Nothing.

Which might be how to beat Trump. What could Republicans attack her for, besides being a minority, being a female?

A Black female.

With the ability to beat Trump badly in a debate. 

Really, what are they going to attack her for?

Maybe her vice presidential selection. Maybe.

***

What can she attack Trump for?

Hateful, spiteful rhetoric? Racist policy? Piling on the debt with his tax and trade policy? Setting the economy back decades.

Lying. Lying. Lying. Lying. And also lying.

Trying to overthrow an election, a government.

It seems that might not be enough though.

***

How about guns?

The homicide rate, by gunfire, is 22 times higher in the Unitesd States than in the European Union.

And the murder rate in the United States is down.

Way down.

What else do you need?

Hey Democrats, why aren't we hearing about this?

Maybe your messaging, as always, sucks.

***

A CrowdStrike software update failure set the United States - and everyone everywhere else, back. Way back.

On land. Train schedules were chaotic.

In the air. Airports were a mess, a huge mess.

Everywhere.

Did you try ordering ahead at Starbucks? You couldn't/

Amazing how one software flop, in something as simple as an update, can bring the United States and the world to a virtual halt.

But it did.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Arike Ogunbowale.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

Secrets, Insecurity and Who Dunnit?

The Schloss-Blog wants to know - who shot Donald Trump?

Or was that fake blood? He was down and back up pretty damn fast.

Waving a supposed wounded fist, telling the crowd to fight.

Which means somone will make an attempt on Biden.

Real soon.

Republican congressionals are already suggesting that there's a link between the shooter and the Biden administration, if not Biden himself.

As if...

...did Trump do this himself? He is the king of martyrdom.

Can't you hear Trump now? "Please feel sorry for me ... then vote for me. They sued me. They indicted me. They took hundreds of millions from me. They convicted me. Of felonies."

We've already heard him say that Biden tried to assassinate him at Mar-a-Lago in the document search. FBI offices everywhere, beware - Trump MAGA crazies are hunting for you.

***

The shooter is dead - alleged shooter. We'll never get the truth from him. Trump had a scratch wound, exactly as he planned it?

And now the shooter can't tell the story.

Just as Trump planned it.

***

In any event, this takes the "dump Biden" movement off the Democratic ticket off the front page for now.

But he's got to go.

Can't string two sentences together. Or two thoughts. Or do anything in a rapid-fire train of thinking.

In a debate. In a meeting. With Democrats. With Republicans. With anyone.

Is he sick? Parkinson's? An expert has been visiting the White House. Regularly.

Go home, Joe. You can't have another disastrous debate performance in September like you just had.

You just can't.

***

Meanwhile, if Biden had ordered that shooting, he didn't, Trump would be dead.

Not only tbat, but according to the Supreme Court, he'd be immune from prosecution for it.

And the Secret Service looks incompetent. They're saying the shooter was outside the security perimeter.

Really?

With a high-pwered rifle? On a rooftop? And nobody saw him?

The Secret Service looks totally incompetent.

And apparently is.

***

The shooter, who, we are told, was outside the security perimeter, apparently had a clean shot, which he missed, on Trump, at least. 

He was only 148 yards away -and we're to believe that's beyond the security perimeter, right?

But he was killed immeidately.

Really? How? Though he was outside the security perimeter.

Oh well...

***

I'll say this much - from shooting at Trump to the dump-Biden movement, someone truly does not want either of them running for president.

But they are.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, FBI. Watch your six,

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

American Shame and Walls of Fame

The Schloss-Blog is so depressed. America is not America anymore, not after the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, in Trump's favor.

Can't watch the news anymore. Can't watch MSNBC, where they're not afaid to express opinions, or CNN, where they are hesitant to but at least they report the horrific news.

The pundits on MSNBC warned America over and over again that no one is above the law and the Supreme Court would only grant very limited immunity.

If what SCOTUS did is limited immunity, then Biden can have Trump assassinated on the grounds that he is a threat to American democracy. Read "Project 2025" and you'll believe it too.

In a second Trump presidency, democracy is gone. Due process is gone. First Amendment protections, gone. Separation of church and state, gone (it is vanishing even now in Red States). 

The economy, gone. We will become one of the "sh_thole" nations from which Trump already despises immigration.

America.

Gone.

***

On a brighter note, I've got a Wall of Fame in Chicago sports, one player from each sport. Here we go:

Ernie Banks

Patrick Kane

Michael Jordan

Walter Payton.

Who do ypu have?

I also updated my five greatest rock 'n' roll songs from the 20th century:

Layla (Derek and the Dominos)

Hey Jude (Beatles)

Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)

One (U2)

and, of course, Paul McCartney's favorite ... God Only Knows (Beach Boys)

Who you got now?

I hear you, Alex Janco (Good Vibrations...)

Thanks.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you. Jill Biden.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

Give us a listen - you're gonna' like what you hear - commerical-free music; vintage, Free Form Rock 'n' Roll, 24/7, 365. 

I listen on the Simple Radio app, You can join us on the website (radiofreephoenix.com) or on the Internet FM app. Whatever you're doing, just put us on, leave us on all day. Great accompaniment on the job, on the golf course, for your party or for your backyard barbecue.

Really.

True Lies

The Schloss-Blog was right: been saying it since January.

Joe Biden, get in a gym, work out, take vitamins, take Balance of Nature, go for a walk, go for a few, long walks, exercise, play pickleball, play ping pong, chase your grandkids around, have your grandkids chase you around, do something.

Mick Jagger is 80 - looks and sounds and moves like he's in his 40s. Roger Daltrey is 80 - looks and sounds and moves like he's in his ... OK, 50s. But he is announcing that he's winding it down. Still going, but he's winding it down. And John Fogerty (Credence Clearwater Revival) is 79, as energetic as ever on stage.

Seen them all in concert lately, They are 80 or so, going on a lot younger.

Joe, you are 81 and O-L-D.  The debate did you no favors. You spoke the truth but you sounded gassed.

You have done a marvelous job as president, simply marvelous. Got unemployment under control. And COVID. Brought the economy back from the brink.

You've created more new jobs so far in this term than most presidents do in two terms. Youve slowed inflation to a pace that, if it had been at that rate all along, no one would be complaining about it now.

And you're running agaisnt a convicted felon who is only the second president ever to lose jobs during his administration.

Yet, you walk like you're sick, lethargic, have no energy, out of breathe, exasperated.

You did a great job as president, a great job.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you should've pulled a Lyndon Johnson ("I will not seek nor will I accept the nomination of my party.") OK, what he actually said was, “I have prayerfully concluded that I will not be a candidate for reelection.”

He had done a great job but was tired and old. Joe, so are you.

Maybe it's time to let Pete Buttigieg run. Or Gavin Newsom. Maybe J.B. Pritzker. Please note, I didn't say Kamala.

But Bill Maher is right - great job, thanks, now let someone else do that job and kick Trump's ass.

Please. Probably.

***

Then again, the NY Times Editorial Board has concluded that you should step aside, not run, yield your presumptive nomination to ... someone else.

Are they right?

Then again, where were they when Trump's guilty verdict was announced? All 34 felony couns.

What planet are they on? There was a time when an indictment or even a sniff of one would've gotten them to call for a canddiate to disappear.

Instead, they are content to allow a convicted creiminal to run for president.

Cancel my subscription.

***

I'm not the presdident of the fan club for either candidate for president, especially the convicted felon. Lock him up.

I'd like to see two younger, more-energetic candidates who are on top of things and don't spew lies with every sentence be running for the presidency.

But they're not. (Tim Scott? Vivek? DeSanctimonious? - Hah!).

But I can get behind Gavin Newson, who would wipe the floor with Trump in a debate.

If Trump wins, all those pending charges against him will go away. And our democracy with them.

Joe, step aside.

***

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has assured that the country will go to pot.

By disposing of the Chevron Deference, it has taken outright regulatory oversight of everything away from the specialized agencies in America that handle them and handed it all to the courts that know nothing about them.

SCOTUS did nothing for women's reproductive rights with its decision to maintain emergency health care for pregnant women in Idaho.

And those convicted of trespass on Jan. 6 can now appeal for a new trial and get it. In other words, thanks for nothing, /SCOTUS, from the DOJ and the FBI.

Thanks for nothing, SCOTUS.

Joe, you need to win or let someone else win so you or someone else can replace the judges who wish to retire. Especially Sotomayer, a trusted liberal.

***

Joe, truth counts, you're right, and the truth is, you looked like crap, not just at the debate but when you're seen walking across the lawn to catch Marine 1 or across an airport tarmac for a gaggle with gathered reporters or even just entering or leaving a White House press gathering where it looks like you're laboring for the dozen or so steps it takes to get from the door to the podium and vice versa.

You're not Mick Jagger. Nor Roger Daltrey. Nor John Fogerty.

They're 80, 80 and 79, respectively. Still performing and going strong.

You're not.

Say it ain't so, Joe, say it ain't so...

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you. Pete Buttigieg.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

Debate This!

The Schloss-Blog will be watching the debate closely. Probably. But in the debate and throughout the campaign, Biden has to hit critical themes over and over again. And he needs to get dirty doing it.

First and foremost, Joe, get in the damn gym, take some Balance of Nature supplements, perk up your look and your step. You'll be amazed what that will do to people's opinions of you. You have to shake the "feeble" look and pathetic-looking energy levels that plague your reputation. You don't seem to care about it.

You're motionless while all around people clap and sway to the music. In the picture with G7 leaders, you look Zombie-like. That may be out of context, but you have to be conscious of it and beat it back.

Fix it. Or lose.

***

TRUMP'S A FELON

The conviction has not moved the needle as much as some thought it might, but no matter, it will move it enough to likely make a difference in vote totals, possibly offsetting the impact of third-party candidates.

Trump is still ticked off about it, mightily. He rants about it, insults the judge about it, but won't go to prison over it.

Probably.

Joe, you have to needle him about it on stage and throughout the campaign. It might not make as much of a difference to voters as we might think, but it makes a difference to Donald and it shows in his out-of-kilter remarks on the campaign trail. Actually, polls show Trump could lose as much as 10% of Republican votes because of the conviction.

Much of this assumes Trump is on the campaign trail. The judge could impose tight travel restrictions outside of the jurisdiction without the parole or probation officer's permission. I mean, otherwise, could you see Trump being sentenced to public service and doing garbage pickup in Central Park daily for three months? 

Whatever the penalty, it's something else Trump will complain about. Regularly. Insultingly. Anyone else (you or me) would've gone to prison over this and even earlier for all the GAG order violations. For Trump, travel restrictions, governed by a parole or probation officer, will feel like prison and the Biden camp has to make sure to remind him of it. Always.

***

IMMIGRATION

Trump and the GOP appear to be scoring points with their stance on the southern border but they have weak spots, most notably that Trump himself was the one who sank the strictest, tightest border legislation since what ... the Reagan Administration?

Biden has to use the clip from the State of the Union address in which lead GOP immigration negotiator, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, is seen mouthing "That's right," when Biden says the deal was struck with everything that the Republicans wanted and was then torpedoed by Trump anyway.

Lankford, one of the most conservative of the conservative Republicans, was betrayed by them and Trump, as were the American people. Biden must remind everyone of this, again and again.

***

THE ECONOMY

The economy is great but in a word, it is not and that word is: inflation.

Inflation is what Americans see when they hear and read reporting on the economy. The economy is actually pretty good: stock markets, which Trump publicly rooted for to crash, are setting records. In other words, your 401k is doing pretty well. Remind people he rooted for them to crash, to wipe out their savings and retriement accounts.

But all that is still not enough. Inflation is the word that rules the day and has Americans thinking no, the economy is not good because prices are so high. People say their personal finances are good but they're still wary of the economy overall.

Huh?

That's even though the rate of inflation was lower the last 15 months than the rate of increase in wages in the United States. 

Fifteen months! Damn it, Biden, remind people that their money has more buying power now than it has since inflation was ignited by Trump's mishandling of the pandemic and the supply-chain issues and merchandise shortages it caused.

Sucker punch, Joe: remind America that Trump killed 1 million Americans, because he did in his pandemic denial. That ought to get their minds off of inflation and thinking about getting an updated COVID shot.

***

FOREIGN POLICY

It seems almost as if Hamas is doing everything it can to not end the war in which it is getting its brains beaten.

Literally and figuratively.

Hamas appears to have no intention of settling the war, what with public opinion swaying in their photos-of-dying-children-reports way.

Israel, however, cannot eliminate Hamas completely, ever. The Hamas spirit and nature will live on as will its dedication to destroying the Jewish state and raiding Israel again like it did on Oct. 7. Hamas can be contained post-war, but eliminated, no.

The new Gaza government must shut out Hamas, which regularly sacrifices Palestinian citizens to Israeli attacks by hiding in among them and making sure they're in harms way of Israeli military maneuvers. 

Still, the killing has to stop to score a diplomatic win for Biden, pre-election. Remember how Antony Blinken did a lot of globe-trotting to try to keep Russia from invading Ukraine?

How'd that work out?

How has his globe-trotting gone to end the Israel-Hamas War? 

Menwhile, Trump says Putin will release, on his request, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, being held there on spy charges. 

If that's so, Don, why not ask now?

Trump will be a disaster on foreign policy by withdrawing us from NATO, cutting off aid to Ukraine and restricting immigration from what he calls "sh*thole" countries.

If Trump wins, it's going to pay to be Norwegian.

***

DEMOCRACY

Trump is going to do all the things professed in Project 2025.

Prosecute Biden. Prosecture Hillary Clinton. Prosecute Merrick Garland. Prosecute Alejandro Mayorkas.

And more.

He's going to do it and very little for the American people. He's already said on the campaign trail that he doesn't care about his base, just their votes.

Kiss the Constitution good-bye. All of it.

And once he and his acolytes (AG Jeff Clark? Yikes!) take away his political enemies' rights, he's coming for all of ours.

Due process? Warrants? Hah!

Advantage Biden though, because when this stuff comes up in the debate, it'll be clear what Trump plans to do to our rights.

Problem is, that's what his base wants him to do.

*** 

ABORTION

A winner for Biden and Democrats, but scores lower on the prioprity list for Americans in their concerns over the economy and immigration. Still, a solid opportunity to score points in the debate and all campaign long.

Remind Americans constantly that Republicans will take away women's reproductive rights and they have the Supreme Court they need to back them up on it. 

But Trump is proud of being the president who struck down Roe v Wade and must be reminded of that constantly. It gets under his skin.

TRUMP BEING TRUMP

Biden and the Democrats best campaign ad is Trump himself.

Stumbling over words on the stump. He's done this, everywhere, from South Dakota to Idaho to Wisconsin to one-on-one interviews. Even on Fox with Hannity trying and failing to steer him clear.

Memory? Trump is devoid. He often rambles on about anything, off topic.

In a session with American corporate CEOs, among the nation's largest, he promised to reduce their corporate tax burden to 20% from 21%

Asked why, he said, "Because it's a nice round number." Huh?

He makes it up as he goes along. And he'll kill business and the economy.

Immigration shut downs restrict employment in health care, hospitality and immigration and the quality of employees as well. Those "sh*thole-country" immigrants are not taking jobs away from Americans, as Trump claims. In a lot of cases, they're taking jobs a lot of Americans would likely never take.

The tariffs Trump wants to slap down on everyting would further restrict the economy, acting as new taxes on Americans instead of punishing foreign manufacturers.

NET/NET

Joe, Americans think the economy (inflation) sucks. Say how you'll fix it.

Joe, Americans think housing is too expensive. Say how you'll fix it.

Joe, Americans think democracy will be under attack under Trump. Say how you'll protect it.

Joe, remind Trump he's a convicted felon, a busines failure (6 bankruptcies) and is the mass murderer of 1 million Americans (COVID) - that ought to get under his skin.

Then let him trip all over himself. Trump on the stump - convoluted, confused, meandering, senseless - is your best advertisement.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Todd Rungren (missed your concert in Phoenix, damn).

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

TikTok vs Chipotle and The Four Tops Quieted

The Schloss-Blog is getting back to normal, whatever that is. After last week's "Interview With The (Trump) Juror," an exclusive, we're focusing on what's going on all around, like: Dan Hurley turning down the Lakers; TikTok going to war with Chipotle; the Pope going "frociaggine" again; and the four Tops lead singer being declared "delusional." No, really.

***

The Pope has done it again, gone all "frociaggine" again, using the vulgar term for a second time in just a few weeks in a reference to gays.

In other words, he's 87 and thinks he's Donald Trump.

***

Do you eat at Chipotle? Do you like it? Getting your money's worth?

Some people who would say "yes" and "yes" to the first two are definitely saying "no" to the third.

Youthful social-media users and especially influencers are turning to TikTok to yip and yap about the portions of food they say they're not getting at the popular quick-service Mexican chain. They take videos of foods they've ordered from the chain, plant them across the front seats of their cars and taste and fire away.

Among them Keith Lee, @saneeats and @lukefoods have millions of followers who eat up (pun intended) their blow-by-blow, bite-by-gooey-bite reviews of popular fast-food dishes they glomp through with relish (and other condiments).

Millions of followers watching "influencers" sloppily gorge through well-known chains' most-popular servings, dishing up slop (pun intended again) with every finger-licking (or otherwise) bite in the way of reviews that Anthony Bourdain never would've entertained.

In all my years as a foodservice and restaurant marketing writer and editor, I never saw this coming but would've loved to write about it.

Yeah, I could've been an influencer's influencer. And hopefully, you would've eaten it up (get it, eaten it up?). Hah!

***

UConn head basketball coach Dan Hurley, current two-time defending national champion, will not coach the LA Lakers next year.

They reportedly offered him in excess of $10 million a year to babysit LeBron and A.D.

It's a lot different coaching in the NBA than in the NCAA. Just ask the many who have tried it. Jerry Tarkanian. Dick Motta (successfully). John Calipari. Rick Pitino.

But only one has gone from NCAA champion to NBA champion. Can you name him? No Googling. Answer at the end of this blog post. (Not Dick Motta - he won an NBA title with the Bullets but never won an NCAA championship.)

***

What are your top tive songs from - oh, say - last century, top five rock songs, that is.

I'll start: Hey Jude (Beatles); One (U2); Layla (Derek and the Dominos); What's Going On (Marvin Gaye); and God Only Knows (Beach Boys).

Whatcha' got?

***

Speaking of rock, a member of the revitalized Four Tops, lead singer Anthony Morris, has sued a hospital for having him restrained and referred for psychiatric examination after not believing he was who he said he was when he was actually there for treatment of shortness of breath and chest pain.

No, really.

Turns out he's claiming that Ascension-Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, Michigan, did the latter to him in April of last year. He told them who he was out of security concerns that fans might want to see him and/or get an autograph from him.

After a nurse finally believed him, he says the exam was dropped and he was treated for his actual symptoms - and offered him a $25 gift card for this trouble.

There is no truth to the report that he performed a Four Tops hit for the staff in scrubs.

***

Bump stocks are legal, says the Supreme Court.

Milwaukee is "horrible," says Donald Trump.

America is in trouble, says Schloss-Blog.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Bernadette.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.

Interview With The Juror

The Schloss-Blog, or should I say, Schloss-Blogger, a career journalist, journalism educator and native New Yorker took advantage of his New York roots and managed to land this one-on-one, so let's get right to it...

THE INTERVIEW WITH THE JUROR

***

SCHLOSS-BLOG: So, you're coming off of perhaps one of the most high-profile criminal trials in history, how are you feeling about it all?

JUROR: I know you're expecting me to say, "relieved," but really, more like honored ... honored to have served on a jury of such significance and to have rendered the verdict that will be among the best-remembered ever. We shoved it up his ass, didn't we?

SCHLOSS-BLOG: What was it like in that Jury Room? You guys, OK, people, really only met for a few hours.

JUROR: It was never intense nor heated. One juror was leaning toward "not guilty," but that juror came around after we had that session where the judge explained to us with clarity the significance and direction of David Pecker's testimony. Speaking of peckers, that guy is one.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: Pecker? Or Trump?

JUROR: Yes.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: You didn't like Pecker? Or Trump?

JUROR: Pecker is a schmuck. I mean, literally. That catch-and-kill stuff is so unethical, but that's how he sells newspapers, I suppose. What a way to make a living, burying stories about stars who do distasteful stuff, and on screen too. And all the untruthful testimony.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: You mean Stormy Daniels?

JUROR: No, Robert Costello. 

SCHLOSS-BLOG: So you guys weren't impressed with the sexual liaison st ory about Trump and Stormy Daniels?

JUROR: What was there to be impressed about? Trump's a dick who was cheating on his wife, who was nursing their newborn son while he was chasing a porn star in Lake Tahone and a Playboy Bunny anywhere else in the country he could get his slimy hands on her.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: What else had the jury leaning toward conviction?

JUROR: Trump did not impress us, regularly falling asleep at the defense table while we were all scrambling to pay attention, take notes and fantasize about Storny Daniels.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: You mean, the guys?

JUROR: No, I mean everyone. Everyone in the courthouse only noticed her from the neck down. What a rack. In the Jury Room, we were all talking over lunch about seeing one of her films or going to see one of her exotic-dancing performances. If we'd have been sequestered, we'd have asked for some of her films. Some of the jurors were pulling them up on demand at home.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: How do you know that?

JUROR: What do you think we talked about in the Jury Room? The guys, especially, were drooling over her. Those asshole Republican guys who showed up to support Trump, all dressed like him, they were drooling over her too.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: So they had no impact on the jury's decision-making process?

JUROR: Sure they did. WTF were they doing here instead of being in D.C., running the country? Besides, those guys thought we, the jury, should be tried and hung, no matter our verdict. Screw them.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: So, what are you going to do next? Autobiography? Memoir about the Trial of the Century? You could make a lot of money.

JUROR: And risk getting my house burned down and my family killed by the Trumpers.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: So, do it anonymously and make an arrangement with the publisher for royalty payments to a "John Doe."

JUROR: Nah, besides, who's going to believe a made-up story about a conversation with a juror from the Trump Hush-Money Trial?

SCHLOSS-BLOG: Yeah, you've got a point.

JUROR: Good luck, though.

SCHLOSS-BLOG: Keep your head down.

***

Quick takes:

• It's the 80th anniversary of D-Day. God bless those soldiers.
• Mexico has its first female president. And she's Jewish.
• While you were reading this, Caitlin Clark took another Flagrant 1 foul.
• While you were reading this, another Major League Baseball player got suspended for gambling.
• While you were reading this, another major rock star's concert tour was canceled.

***

Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Stephanie Clifford.

More Sunday Night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.