It Depends on What Your Definition of "Is" Is.

The title is the phrase Bill Clinton used to explain that his perjury was not really perjury. He was only lying to himself, no one else bought it. In the same way when someone says that rigging an election is rare, well it depends on what your definition of "rare" is. Sure, outright voter fraud is "rare." It is 1 to 2% in a some states. In a close election, which this might be, this may be enough to switch one state from Trump's column to Hillary's column. Here in California voter fraud of this range is easy to do. When you register in California, all you need is a driver's license number and 4 numbers you say are the last four digits of your social security number. Then you promise that you are a citizen. Right, no fraud there. As someone who's identity was compromised, I can say that this is actually no security at all. 

The election of Loretta Sanchez over Robert Dornan to congress a few years ago is a good example. The margin was just a few hundred votes. Easily illegal aliens voting gave Sanchez the margin of victory. This is not to say that it would not have happened in the next election, the whole state is trending hispanic, and therefore democratic. 

This video from Project Veritas shows that Hillary Clinton was personally involved in disrupting Trump rallies. While this particular disruption is not egregious, if you think that Clinton was unaware of all the different illegal activity done by her aides, you are very naive. 

How is the election being rigged? 

We are right now in a recession. But yet no one notices, at least on the news. The numbers are rigged. The markets are rigged. 

The opinion polls are rigged. It is vary easy to do. The idea is to discourage Trump voters. Yes, the Clinton campaign was caught doing it. (A friend on Facebook pointed out that this email is from the 2008 primary election. This is an old established technique of propoganda.) 

The media is biased. Do I really have to provide an example? By determining what is news and what isn't the media gatekeepers decide what is important. Which is more important, the coarse things Trump said over a decade ago, or the Clinton corruption exposed by Wikileaks? I would say that both are important, but I do not control any media outlets.

Here is an example:

The media is in the bag for Clinton, but this is truly extraordinary. Between ABC News, NBC News, and CBS, they covered the Trump tape for 23 minutes during one night of coverage. The Clinton WikiLeaks revelations got just 56 seconds of coverage — with NBC News omitting it altogether.

If you rely on network news, you are being played. If nothing else happens but people realize that the media is biased and one needs to get one's news elsewhere, that will be a great improvement. Even that outcome seems doubtful. 

Which Lizard Do You Support?

From So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish. 

...On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford. "It is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in."

I hope your lizard wins.

Nah, Things Aren't Rigged

It seems pretty obvious that we, as voters, are being played. The lack of extensive coverage the WikiLeaks emails are getting, the fact that NBC knew of the tape where Trump said admittedly disgusting things for months and decided to release it in October, and perjorative terms used to describe Trump by supposedly objective journalists, all this leads to this conclusion. You are being played. 

Here is an example of the behind the scences dirty tricks of the Democrats. 

A vote for Clinton is a vote for 4 years of these kind of activities. Do not think that this is me arguing for Trump. It is not. As Ralph Nader said, choosing the lessor of two evils is evil. Ayn Rand said something similar. 

It Just Ain't Right

When you visit a foreign country there are things that just aren't right. Often it is hard to put into words, it's just a feeling. "It just ain't right." Here in Russia it is the Snickers bars. You can get the normal candy you expect, but instead of peanuts, you can also get hazel nuts.  It just doesn't taste right. Objectively, I would say it's superior, but it seems weird. The price seems odd too, 75 cents for a double Snickers bar. I need to be careful that I don't eat too many.

I had to count twice before I would believe it, but here in Russia eggs are sold in packages of ten. "It just ain't right." Obviously, this does not matter in the least. Following the customs of the ancient Babylonians, who did not use a base ten numbering system, but divided everything into 12's, is not followed in Russia. But yet even though it does not matter, it jars the psyche.

Population density is quite different here. I am in a city of about 100,000. It is not designed with the auto in mind, even the more modern apartments. Most people do not have autos. They ride the bus. For 17 roubles, about 25 cents, you can ride to the center of town. Instead of the expected suburbs, we are living in, and surrounded by, 5-story apartment blocks. Why 5 stories? In Russian law, if an apartment has more than 5 stories you have to have an elevator. 

Yes, here in Russia we walk to the store, we have our own bags, and when we travel to visit my wife's friends, we will travel by train. "It just ain't right." Intellectually, this seems far superior, but it just doesn't feel right.

I remember seeing a couple in Walmart in Branson, Missouri. I immediately thought, they are Russians.  I listened closely, and sure enough they were. How did I know? I am not sure, but the woman's heels were higher, her makeup heavier, they were thinner, and they were dressed too nice. They did not feel right.

No, this blog post is not a travelog. I am writing about the election and Donald Trump. I thought that Trump was not electable. While the Trump sex tape hurt his election chances, this no longer seems to be true. He might actually be elected. I underestimated the banality and unattractiveness of Clinton. But a far more important factor is that things just do not seem right. I see it everywhere I go. I expect it here in Russia, but I don't expect it in my home country. I have an unease I can't put into words. I feel alienated from my own society. Others must feel it as well. How else can one explain the fact that a reality show TV star is this close to being elected president?

"It just ain't right."

Grandpa, Tell Me About the Good Old Days

Why is Trump doing as well as he is? This video describes a feeling that is common. Does this feeling leads one to vote for Trump? I think so. If you want to understand Trump, I suggest you watch at least part of this video by the Judds.