How to win elections by tuning out the extremes. A simple four point plan for a second Clinton Presidency

I'm getting worried that Trump is starting to believe his rhetoric on trade. A Trump that actually believes the nonsense that comes out of his mouth is almost as dangerous as a Sanders administration would be. With this in mind I put together these four simple points that would ensure a Clinton victory in the November and marginalize both of the political extremes

1. The DNC needs to allow the remaining Super Delegates to openly support Clinton ending the race now. It is common knowledge that they do and the Sanders Campaign has only strengthened their support for Clinton over the past few weeks. There is no positive gained by allowing the charade that it ever was a race to continue.

2. The DNC needs to shut Sanders out of the convention. His supporters aren't going to vote for Clinton anyway and they can only cause trouble for the Democrats in the general election by forcing the platform too far to the left much as the Tea Party forced the Republicans too far right. The three states that matter in a general election, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, are not going to be swayed by "progressive" ideas.

3. Openly court the anti-Trump Republican establishment. Give Mitt Romney a prime time speaking slot at the convention. He could deliver a "whatever divides us is smaller that what unites us" speech aimed the pro-business socially moderate Republican voters in swing states. Clinton should also comment that Romney would make an excellent Treasury Secretary.

4. Tim Kaine as V.P.

No You Cannot Have A Pony or Why Government by Compromise is Necessary

Once again the tired old "politicians are dishonest" mantra is being bandied about, mostly at Secretary Clinton, with little forethought or reason behind it. The fact that Secretary Clinton is, for the most part, basically honest is completely ignored by her detractors. The fact that her detractors often vehemently support one of three politicians who could at best be considered honest in the strictest George Costanza sense of the word would be amusing if they weren't so dangerous.                                                          

That the supporters of Donald Trump, who don't even believe that Trump is honest (he's not which is why found himself in so much trouble over abortion lately since he is pro-choice but has to pretend to be anti-abortion), or Senator Cruz who is either the GOP's Costanza or just doing an excellent job of playing the roll, he always wanted to be an actor,

dislike and distrust Secretary Clinton is to be expected in this day and age. It is unfortunate that we have a political environment were opposition has been replaced by enemy however it is what we have.

It is another thing all together for the supporters of the left wing Costanza, Bernie Sanders, to hate Secretary Clinton and call her a liar for acting like a responsible adult. People on the left dislike Secretary Clinton because they see her as someone who will say anything to get elected and wont follow through on her promises. She wont. What they are missing is that neither will Sanders, nor will Cruz or Trump. No Candidate promising anything that requires massive tax increases or eliminating the IRS or the Department of Education will be able to fulfill those promises.

Forcing candidates to take stances they do not believe in and that the majority of the country doesn't share then being angry with them when those stances are not acted on is what causes dishonesty in politicians. If a politician was honest and admitted to the voters that manufacturing jobs are never coming back not because of outsourcing but due to automation said candidate would have no chance at being elected. When that candidate is elected and there are no new jobs the candidate is called a liar and criticized for breaking a promise. A promise that the candidate knew (Trump) or should have known (Costanza) was lie but made because the voters expect to hear it.

It is the voters who demand these promises be made in order to win a parties nomination that are responsible for their own disappointment and disillusionment. The United States has a population of 320 million spread out over 50 very distinct states. These are in effect 50 different countries each with their own culture, values, and needs. This is why a "Political Revolution" is not going to happen. One need look no further than the election of 2012 to see evidence as too why expecting change is foolish. President Obama won 62 percent of the electoral college while only winning 51 percent of the popular vote. While that was an electoral landslide it was in no way political mandate. One has to go back to 1972 to find a time in which a President won more than 60 percent of the vote which would constitute a mandate. For the record that President was Nixon.

What makes this country work, and it does work rather well, is that the government is, by design, limited. If one group with minority values, be those the values of the tea party or the progressive movement, finds themselves in a position to actually push those values on the rest of the nation that does not share them than we will at best see a government shutdown at worst out in out revolt. We are a nation of compromises. If activists on both sides are unhappy then the system is working correctly. If the nation were to elect a President who insisted on large tax increases coupled with huge spending increases tried to pass a budget with a congress where members of both parties were philosophically opposed to large tax increases (don't kid yourselves even the Democrats wouldn't vote for Sanders tax plan) the federal government would shutdown. If the President were to dig in their heels and refuse to compromise there could be a constitutional crisis unseen since Andrew Johnson was in office.

In order to keep the lights on and prevent a greater economic collapse than the one in 2008 the nation requires leaders that are willing to compromise with the opposition. While some out there may consider them mediocre

they are in fact statesmen. A President has to not only be the leader of those who voted for them but those who did not. It is amusing that the spouse of the last President to leave office with an approval rating above 70 percent and who herself would be an excellent leader and carry on that tradition is so demonized. Bill Clinton excelled at being leader of those who didn't vote for him and we need a president like that again.

While I do not agree with Secretary Clinton on many issues, I still prefer Kasich, I see her as a strong leader who would manage the country the way an executive should. The other three out there act like petulant children who take their ball home when they don't get their way. It is that kind of childish behavior that is so damn dangerous. The nation needs a President that passes a budget and vetoes all the dangerous legislation that congress can think of.

Oh and before Sanders supporters get angry at me for describing him as George Costanza don't forget who Costanza was based on

Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

So the "Paper of Record" has been pulling at our collective heart strings this holiday season with an expose on lives of the homeless in New York.  What confuses me is why we are supposed to feel anything for this family of ten living in a shelter. Call me Scrooge if you want but there is no way we should feel anything but contempt for these irresponsible people who proceeded to have eight children with no apparent means to support them.

I know that I repeatedly harp on the population point but here I go again. In the past 20 years the population of New York City has grown by nearly 10 percent. With much of that population growth being of wealthier individuals. The population density is extremely high here and this coupled with improvements in city life puts a premium price on everything. It would be next to impossible to raise a family of eight children on a million dollars a year here. The fact that the oldest of this families children is 11 means that they were all conceived during the economic realities of the 21st century. Large families are vestigial remnant of a time with a high infant mortality rate and need for large human labor force and should only be seen as socially irresponsible in the 21st century. There are no excuses for this kind of behavior from adults.

At some point we have to tell these people if you cannot afford to care for your children there will be consequences. We cannot continue to support a world that is so overpopulated. If you want to decrease the worlds wealth inequality stop having so many damn kids. I am ready for your Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future now. They can join me in my annual holiday Star Wars marathon just remind them to bring booze.

"Do the Reich Thing"

So former Labor Secretary and last living Hobbit Robert Reich has been all talking about income inequality and why the recovery is so "anemic" in his opinion. Reich states that the post World War II economic boom improved life for everyone while claiming that the stock market boom of today only those on the top. There is one key factor he is not considering. Population.

The population of the United States in 2010 was just under 309 million people in the post war boom of 1960 it was 180 million people. Taking a look at household incomes in 2010 we see that 50 percent of the country lives in households making over 50,000 dollars a year. This is equal to 86 percent of the total population in 1960. Looking further we see that 20 percent of all Americans live in households with an income over 100,000 per year. This number equals 34 percent of the population of the United States in 1960.

The reason for low wages is that there are more people than there are jobs. The growth of the population has outpaced the growth of jobs necessary to make society run. One need look no further than North Dakota where the population is so small that Walmart is hiring cashiers at 17.50 an hour to prove my point.

Just because there are more people does not mean that there will be more jobs. As I have pointed out time and again technological advances has made much of the past's human labor irrelevant.  The economy is doing fine for the majority of Americans it just cannot support a population that has grown by 72 percent in the past 50 years. If only Bob Barker had encouraged people to spay and neuter their neighbors at the end of every Price is Right.

Pimping is Easy and Completely Unnecessary

Now is when I shock you all by siding with workers against management. The Manhattan federal courts recently ruled that the dancers at Rick's Cabaret were not independent contractors but were in fact employees. This ruling means that Rick's was in violation of the law by not paying the dancers a wage. The issue here is how the club forced the girls to share their income earned from lap dances and private dances with the club.

A person receiving a percentage of income earned by dancing for giving you a  place to dance, protecting you from being harmed and telling you how you must behave at work is a pimp. I am not saying that strippers are having sex for money but they are performing acts of a sexual nature for money and in this instance the club owners were acting in the same manner as pimps.

I have nothing but the highest regard for strippers holding them in almost as high esteem as I do bartenders. Pouring a nice glass of whiskey being one of the few professions more noble than stripping. However I have absolutely no respect for pimps be they strip club owners, night club promoters, live music promoters or actual pimps.

Rick's in this instance was way too greedy. They owners should have been happy selling drinks at premium price because of the entertainment at the club. They should have been happy paying their security off of the income earned from the cover charge. There was simply no reason that the club should have been taking any of the money earned by the dancers.

It is with this entry that I unleash a new crusade, at least until I get bored with it, against pimps of all kind.

These Kids Today With the Hair, the Makeup and their Box Socials

So first day back from Labor Day and right away there is an article about why Gen Y is terrible. This article as been written so many times I all but ignore it in most cases. However since I needed to get back into the flow I figured I would swing at this (also setting up a rant as to why Labor Day is so 19th Century). The article linked once again mentions how members of Gen Y are ill prepared to fit into the labor force, that they are selfish and don't have the commitment to the company previous generations had. This is true if you assume that the previous generation's world still exists.

It does not. The 40 hour work week and staying with the same company for 40 years has gone the way of newspapers, music videos on MTV and compelling network dramas. All the technological innovations that have been discussed in this blog ad nauseam  have not only made physical labor obsolete but it has also made a non flexible work system obsolete. Those of you who currently work in an office how much of your work could you do with a cell phone and a WiFi connection from anywhere in the world. Do you actually have to be on site? For the most part you do not. Which is why you are reading this blog while at work.

The fact is get used to the way Gen Y operates for they are what will move the economy. It is the products that they want that will create wealth. The fact is they are more prepared to live in the world of today than boomers or Gen X is. Society will be run on their terms soon enough so might as well just sit back and enjoy the freedom.

Proof GTFU has a Heart After All

Yesterday the New York City MTA stop the Q train for nearly two hours in order to save two lives. A pair of four week old kittens were on the tracks. The cats were fortunately rescued and are at the Animal Care and Control Center of  East New York where they will be available for adoption in a few weeks. I fully support this rescue mission. Now had it been a couple of humans well unless it was a couple of really good looking women I say it's their own damn fault for getting on the tacks.

And you Thought the British Anti-Pornography Laws Were Harsh or Don't Video Tape Yourself Having Sex if Your Ex is a Brutal Dictator

Eleven North Korean musicians including Kim Jong Un's former girlfriend were recently executed by firing squad on August 20th. What crime constituted this punishment you might ask. They apparently video taped themselves having sex. I think it is safe to say that "Dear Leader" wasn't impressed when he saw his ex actually enjoying herself 'In Flagrante Delicto'. While this punishment is way out of line with common decency I can think of at least one instance in which it seems just.

Can't we send her to North Korea?

A Call For Reason and The Strike for 15

I am never going to get to cover Syria if this shit keeps happening. So tomorrow my favorite pointless

would you pay these guys 15 an hour?

cause the "Strike of 15" is staging a walkout all over the country. Or so they claim. Well lets just examine one of the poor victims of the evil fast food industry that for some reason I am supposed to feel sorry for. I will take quotes out of the article I linked and then comment on them.

Shaniqua Davis, 20, lives in the Bronx with her boyfriend, who is unemployed, and their 1-year-old daughter. Davis has worked at a McDonald's a few blocks from her apartment for the past three months, earning $7.25 an hour. Her schedule varies, but she never gets close to 40 hours a week.

Why did she have a child at 19 with her unemployed boyfriend when her only opportunity to raise the child was on the wages earned at McDonald's. Birth control is cheaper than raising a daughter. She seems to feel that it is McDonald's fault that she doesn't have enough to raise her child.

 She pays the rent with public assistance but struggles to afford food, diapers, subway and taxi fares, cable TV and other expenses with her paycheck.

Yes you read that correctly. She pays her rent with public assistance but struggles to afford a list that includes cable TV, which in New York is at least 100 a month, and taxi fares. I don't have cable or take taxis because they are not worth the price why can't she do the same? 

I have a real hard time feeling bad for this person. Sure she probably came from a difficult starting point in life but she clearly could have and could continue to make better choices. Simply cutting the cable and kicking out the deadbeat boyfriend would go a long way to making her life easier. 

I believe that anyone who is willing to put in 30 hours a week of work, 30 hours being what should be considered the new full time, should have 20,000 dollars a year minimum. No income tax or anything like that. If they make less than 20,000 they would get a refund to make up the difference. For example if someone works 30 hours a week for 9 dollars an hour they would receive a negative income tax equal to 5,960 dollars giving them an income of 20,000 a year. This is all they get. No public assistance or food stamps. They have to make a go of it with what they have. (editors note: the plan also calls for single payer health care)

I am just saying that these jobs are not worth 30,000 dollars a year. Yes it is a struggle to make ends meet on these wages. Yes people who are willing to put in the work should have things a bit easier. However for the love of all that is reasonable can't we ask that people make better decisions with their lives and if they don't that is their problem? 

Apparently There are More Degrading Things People do for Money

If you are one of the many out there that are concerned about young women having to degrade themselves by having sex for money in a Swiss Sex Box things could be worse. They could be one of the people paid by the Anthony Wiener campaign to pretend to be a "Carlos Danger" supporter.

Would You Like Fries with That Blowjob?

Yesterday there was the report that Atlantic City was going to open it's first strip club next month. Atlantic City is attempting to overcome the steep loss of revenue over last few years by becoming the ultimate adult play ground. While they are putting up a commendable effort it would seem that the Swiss have taken this to whole new level with their implementation of drive up "Sex Boxes".

The Swiss have provided with these 'Sex Boxes' security guards and panic buttons to protect the girls and have posters encouraging safe sex. Apparently the 'customers' pull up to a negotiation stand where they place their order and then proceed with the lady of their choice to the Sex Box. It does seem as if this is an excellent way to deal with prostitution issue as it is never going to go away. By providing a state run sex sanctuary the Swiss are taking the pimps and sex traffickers out of the equation and making the business a lot safer. These are important improvements as times are tough for prostitutes in Europe and they are facing stiff competition in the future. Lets just hope they hire good people to work the drive thru.

  

Worrying About Motives is a First World Problem

If I hadn't meant it when I said America needs to Grow the Fuck Up I do now. For the love of all reason why is anyone upset that Mark Zuckerberg's plan to bring the Internet to the developing world will increase Facebook's reach? Do you think that the people who will benefit from this will care. Hell no they wont care they will just be happy to play Candy Crush. There is no such thing as Altruism. Every action, no matter how selfless on the surface, always has an element of personal gain to it. Whether it is to take down someone or some organization that the actors do not like, or it is to increase the actors own power base, or to simply turn a profit doesn't matter in one way or another the person taking action is benefiting.
why the hell does anyone care if

To claim otherwise is naive at best and disingenuous at worst. If you really care about improving the lives of people in the developing world than you should support Mr. Zuckerberg in this undertaking and support Facebook as well. Yes they will profit from this but they are still doing good at the same time. So why not take a minute and click on a couple of ads (editors note do the same on this blog) because that is how the revenue is generated to fund these endeavors (editors note and bar tabs). It costs you nothing and provides so much for the developing world (editors note: and bar tenders).

People are Just the Worst or How to Make Casey Anthony Look Like Mother of the Year

So if you haven't heard this one yet I highly recommend you check it out. Amanda Catherine Hein, 26, of Allentown Pa has been charged with killing her newborn son. Ms. Hein, pictured below auditioning to be the Batman, was watching the pay-per view Summer Slam when she excused herself from her friends. She gave birth in the ladies room and placed her new born baby in a toilet tank. Ms. Hein then proceeded to return to her friends and watch the rest of Summer Slam and before receiving a ride home.  

I wish I could say I am surprised by this type of behavior but as anyone who reads this blog knows this is the kind of behavior I expect from humans. I am sure she will give some sob story in an attempt to make herself seem like the victim but in the end all she has done is make Casey Anthony look like mother of the year.

See Ben Affleck wasn't such a bad choice afterall

The New Boardwalk Empire? Or if Miley Cyurs' Career Tanks Scores Atlantic City is Hiring

Atlantic City has a plan to stem the tied of falling revenues and fleeing customers. Next month Scores will open a club in Trump Taj Mahal. Bob Gains, the club's managing partner said "We feel this is the third leg of the Atlantic City triangle: gambling, alcohol and adult entertainment," and while I find the statement redundant I commend this action as it should help the economy.  Strippers being one of the occupations that robots are yet unable to fill, although the British are working on it. 

I do have certain concerns. If my experience in Atlantic City has taught me nothing else its that "Scores" had better be wheel chair accessible and have defibrillators on hand. The clientele during the week will range from the elderly to the morbidly obese and I would hate for one of these hard working young ladies to face a wrongful death suit brought on by a lap dance.  

A typical Tuesday in Atlantic City

  

Does This Robot Also Make Sandwiches?

The British who have gone to great lengths to protect their sex workers jobs  is now facing another threat to the time honored profession of Fanny Hill with the introduction of Roxxxy. It doesn't seem as if the technology is there yet to develop a proper pleasure model.

Pris the Nexus 7 Pleasure Model

While I admire the efforts of the British I will hold off giving this technology the full "Grow the Fuck Up" endorsement until I can get a proper number 6 Cylon model.

They Called Me Mad at the University! Mad! GTFU's Mission to Point Out that Things are Pretty Damn Good

By now many of you I am sure see me as some deranged Blofeldian villain who has no sympathy for the plight of humanity and is only concerned about his own well being. So I figured why not embrace the image.

Can this guy really be evil?

Yes I have a dream of replacing 90 percent of the labor force with robots. This will only make your lives better. Why should humans toil away at meaningless jobs when perfectly good machines can do that. It is true that I have no sympathy for those who are the product of generations of bad decisions. Yes I wish to wage war on other (truly) evil organizations. Does this make me a Super Villain? No,  I do all of these things because I am concerned for you my readers.

 The whole point of this is to give you all reason to turn off your misguided guilt and concern over the misfortune of others. Before you waste your time you should be enjoying on the plight of others think if they are really worth your effort. More over what can be done if they do not have the skills to succeed nor the desire to do so.  If you worry about yourself and those whom you are responsible to there is no need to. You and yours will be just fine. If you have children they are in a position to succeed just as you have because they will be of the 25 percent of high school seniors who have the skills to succeed.

Just be happy with all of the amazing things that the modern world has given us. More leisure time, longer life spans and more food than at any point in history.  Enjoy your lives because in the end that is all it is about. things are pretty damn good so stop worrying it gets you no where. You know who worries about the plight of the masses? Bono. Bono worries about the plight of the masses. Do you really want to be Bono?

Pop Stars are Not Durable Goods or Why Durable Goods Numbers Have Nothing to do With the Economy's Health

Somebody raided Beetlejuice's wardrobe

Today's release of the United States durable goods data has caused some consternation as too the health of the economy. Anyone who is concerned about durable goods clearly hasn't been paying attention to Grow the Fuck Up.  A durable good is something that is expected to have a life span of three or more years. As anyone who keeps track of changing consumer tastes would be shocked if the numbers weren't falling faster than Robin Thicke's libido while receiving a lab dance from Miley Cyrus.

The declining interest in suburban life has led to smaller demand of durable goods. As the United State population continues to move more often they want fewer and fewer possessions they have to take with them. This cuts into durable goods not only in lack of appliance and automobile purchases but also in the digital entertainment industry. Where as 20 somethings used to have shelves filled with CD's and DVD's now all of those goods are stored remotely in servers or on MP3 players.

Also to be considered is the fact that more and more people are choosing replace their televisions with computers or tablets. Where as at one point in time a person might have three TV's in their dwelling they may now simply use their tablet device and have no television at all.

Americans are living smaller these days without giving up anything. A cell phone, a laptop and a tablet have for all intents and purposes replaced the following list of durable goods for many Americans. A television, CD collection, DVD collection, land line, answering machine, video game console, video game collection, tape recorder, mp3 player, personal organizer, watch, clock, flashlight and that is just off of the top of my head.

Durable goods have gone the way of album oriented rock. They have both been replaced by newer sleeker objects that don't weigh you down to your past. It's neither a good nor a bad thing it just is. To put it another way a world tour featuring the original line ups or the Who, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles is more likely to occur than for durable goods to have an impact on the economy. I mean the Zombie Apocalypse is bound to happen unless movies and TV have lied to me again.

Get Off of My Lawn: Staples Employees

Once again Grow the Fuck Up is proud to bring you the rants of the Angry Old Man.

Since against my better judgement I agreed to write for this damn internet thing I made my grandson take me to buy one of those laptop computers all the kids are talking about this week. Let me tell you something I am damn retiree whose idea of modern technology is a catalytic converter and I am more qualified to sell computers than those dumb asses at Staples.

How in the hell are these people even employed? I used to think that this whole internet thing was a bad idea but now I know for sure that anything that allows me to purchase products without dealing with these morons is a good thing. They have zero people skills, they cannot speak in complete sentences and they don't even know a damn thing about the products they are selling.

How someone who wants to "ax" me a question can try and talk down to me as if I don't know what I am buying is beyond me. Oh they know how to push the extended warranties and protection packages that make multilevel marketing seem like a wise way to spend money but they don't know a damn thing about computers.

My grandson tells me that these idiots think that they are underpaid. Underpaid for being rude? Underpaid for being uninformed? What the hell are they talking about. Back in my day these jackasses would have starved to death but my kids generation is made up of a bunch of pussies who feel bad about doing well so they coddle these subhumans. Just showing up for work is worthy of getting paid. You are there to assist customers do your damn job well and then you can complain about being underpaid.

I cannot stand the halfwits that pass for Americans these days. At least I still have a good butcher, speaking of which I have to go pick up a couple of steaks and turn on the grill before I sit down and watch this watered down version of Football that is passing for sports these days. Who the hell worries about concussions? Rub some dirt on it and get back in the game you pussies!

Don't worry, scrote. There are plenty of 'tards out there living really kick-ass lives.

The march towards Idiocracy continues. On Wednesday the Associated Press reported that only a quarter of last year's high school graduates who took the ACT have the basic skills they need to succeed in college or in the work place.  It's a damn good thing that as a society most of these people will be obsolete in the next decade.

I know that the knee jerk response to this information will be that we need to better fund education. While I would love to see better schools I really do not believe that this would fix the problem. This is a societal problem that begins at home. If a high school senior cannot score better than a 22 on the reading comprehension portion of the ACT no amount of schooling is going to help that student. An 18 year old should be able to read at that level merely by associating with his or her parents. The education system should turn that 22 into 32 not bring a 12 up to 22.

The fact is that if some level of education does not begin at home there is nothing the schools can do about it. Asking the schools to fix this problem will only drag the other students down as the teachers have to spend more time catching up the underachieving students. At some point the schools have to say enough is enough. The Schools must stop promoting kids to the next grade if they haven't developed the skills to move on and in some cases just tell the kids not to come anymore if they aren't learning.

While I am aware that it is not the kids fault that their parents are horrible people it is the responsibility of those parents to care for their kids. There are just too many kids who are not succeeding and whether or not anyone wants to admit it they are holding back those who might succeed. It's time to worry more about what is fair to those who have a chance to succeed rather than what is fair to those who do not.

Otherwise this will be the future of the medical profession.

I can't possibly jump these many homeless people! I won't risk it!

So I just noticed that the City of Columbia South Carolina has passed an ordnance forcing the city's homeless population to relocate or be incarcerated. Besides the fact that almost every urban municipality already has anti-vagrancy I commend Columbia for acting on the issue. Again this brings me back to a question I have often asked. Why would someone choose to live in a location where they cannot afford basic housing? Especially when there are parts of the United States practically giving away homes.

The fact is the City of Columbia is acting well within it's rights and I certainly hope that more cities follow in their lead. I have always felt that simply raising the fine for giving money to panhandlers and enforcing it over two weeks would get the vagrants to move on but Columbia's idea works just as well. The only other solution is to create a catchy musical number that convinces them to move on to another location.