THE IMMACULATE HANDOFF:...Grace, Rarely Seen In Politics, Thanks To Joe Biden...It's Still A Race To The White House...A Brute Runs For Racists, Kamala Harris Runs In Defense Of A Tired Nation...2024 As An Existential Year...Actually Voting For The Future...

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...It isn't often that some action out of our political leaders in Washington, D.C. has us thinking that, yes, Maria, there are timed when we do show our best side.

Thank you, Joe Biden.

The president didn't have to leave. He was fine and comfortable in The White House, still taking care of things, still admired abroad and still itching for a second four-year term. But he, too, knew the wear & tear of his 81 years on this God-abandoned planet.

Biden bowed out two weeks ago, accepting sympathetic and wild criticism from friends and political foes. He said nothing about being tired or even ill when he told the country via a televised address that he would be handing over the reins of the country to the next generation.

That would be one Kamala Harris, his 59-year-old vice president and a politician with the ready, biggest smile raring to go, as they say in speed competition.

We remember JFK's "Profiles In Courage," a book that highlighted unselfishness in politics. It's a read well-worth the time, especially in these times.

Democrat Harris will proceed to make Biden proud.

She is a fighter for patriotism of the sort Republicans actually like but can't seem to land. Theirs is a daily existence filled with out-in-the-open hate and bigotry. Theirs is a love for this country that cannot stand the test of time. Theirs is a candidate running for office solely to stay out of prison.

That Republican is Donald J. Trump, the former freedom-loving Democrat now seeking fascism.

Trump could only aspire to be the sort of public servant Joe Biden has been for more than 50 years. He could actually sit down and compare their records...and see for himself what a shitty candidate he really is. But, alas, he won't do that - not even for his country.

Joe Biden did what he knew he had to do. It was, indeed, his age calling.

History, we would wager, will be kind to Joe Biden...

-30-

SUN VIDEO:...News From The Front...Politics-On-A-Stick...He Says, " I Am A Christian"...Doesn't Mean It's True...Oh, And He Promises You Christians Won't Have To Vote Again In Four Years...WWJD???...

BULLET OR NO BULLET???:...Republican Donald Trump Still Insisting He Was Hit By An AR-15 Bullet At His July 13th Rally In PennsylvanIa...FBI Says No Bullet, Then Maybe...Trump Meets With Netanyahu Yesterday Without Bandaged Ear...No Bruise, Scar...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Perhaps the guy just heals well. A powerful AR-15 bullet ripped off a piece of his right ear at a rally earlier this month, is what Republican Party presidential candidate Donald J. Trump keeps saying. The FBI wouldn't say that was true, but then offered the idea that, well, maybe, in response to heated pressure from senior Republicans in Congress.

But that's Trump and his supposedly damaged right ear in photo above, as seen yesterday while he met with troubled Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

No bruising, no scabbing, no scarring.

Amazing.

It was only earlier in the week that Trump still wore a patch over his injured right ear.

Looks like that's out the window.

The shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania last July 13th, is still a mystery. Well, not that he was shat-at, but whether it was, indeed, a bullet that struck him. The scene is well-known: Trump at a podium addressing an outdoor crowd before gunfire rings out and he is seen raising his right hand to his right ear as he drops to the stage. Then we see him rise with Secret Service agents all around him, right ear bloodies, blood dripping down the side of his face.

But the mystery remains. Was it a bullet, or was it glass or bullet shrapnel that struck him.

He has doubters.

An AR-15 bullet would do real, lasting damage, some say, like leave him deaf for some time and maybe suffering from a broken neck.

Trump has exhibited none of that.

But he insists he was shot and that is something he has said over and over at his rallies and in postings to his Truth Social media.

Now, it appears he could not care less about any remaining doubts as to the veracity of his claims.

Donald J. Trump has moved on, as if it never happened...the bullet thing, we mean...

-30-

THE ECONOMY:...Americans Not Exactly Bitching About Consumer Prices On Basic Goods...Concerned, Yes...Bitching, Not Really...Numbers Point To A Good Economy...Politicians Talking About Other Things...

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...So, where is the one issue generally at the top of any national political season - the economy? How's your bank account? Is everyone okay? Are we better off today than we were four years ago, as the politicians and pundits love to ask every election year?

It's not bad.

Republicans may be damning the price of bread and eggs, but it's not bad. Not at all. Americans are lucky to have well-stocked grocery stores and working gas pumps. You should see how people in other countries struggle with that.

This excerpt from a report on axios.com: [ . . .Economists anticipated lackluster economic growth last quarter. Instead, growth surged, a sign of the still-resilient economy.

The soft landing was very much intact this spring. Price pressures eased, but not at the expense of the strong economy and labor market.

"While these estimates will be revised a few times, they do point to the continued strength of the U.S. economy despite the high interest rate environment we've been in for over a year," NerdWallet economist Elizabeth Renter wrote Thursday morning.

The economy grew at an annualized 2.8% in the second quarter, up from the modest gain of 1.4% at the start of 2024.

The consumer was the key driver of last quarter's strong economic growth. Personal consumption expenditures increased at a 2.3% annualized rate, gaining from the 1.5% pace in the prior period. That category contributed 1.6 percentage point to the increase in GDP figure.

Another big contributor to growth: Businesses stocked up inventories at a strong rate, adding 0.8 percentage point to GDP. Given that consumer spending was so brisk last quarter, the stocking was likely to keep up with current demand - not to make up for prior shortfalls. ]

The economy has not exactly been a topic on the presidential campaign trail, at least not yet.

Perhaps its ongoing strength has kept it as a low-rung issue, a host of other major news developments - assassination attempts and candidates dropping out - in the race superseding its usual standing.

Prices for the basic consumer needs have risen a bit, but maybe not enough to bother political interests. It wasn't that long ago that the price of a dozen eggs (average $3, a bit higher in Texas) set the tone for some political criticism. That waned and is now largely off the screen, no blip in sight.

That may yet change as candidates near the election finish line.

For now, it appears Americans have other things on their minds....

-30-

THE LONG GOODBYE:...Joe Biden Tells Americans He's Handing Over The White House To A Younger Generation...Last Night's Speech Showed Him Very Much Alive, As Republicans Insisted Biden Was Very Ill Or Even Dead...Donald Trump Led The Chorus...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...His was a sort of long goodbye, but President Joe Biden says he is sticking around for the next six months to do the job he was elected to do. Biden is not sick, extremely sick, dying or dead, as many in the Right-Wing media asserted in the last 24 hours.

The president has opted to not seek reelection.

Last night, in a nationally televised speech, he offered Americans a reason for his departure. Biden is a weary looking 81 years old and that has been highlighted to the Max by Republicans who have said all year long that he is just too old to be president.

Biden rather agreed in saying he is okay with passing the torch to a younger generation.

Still, even that will draw complaints from Republicans backing Donald J. Trump in the 2024 General Election scheduled for November 5th. They openly wonder who really is in charge of the government, and more than one GOP congressman has sought his removal under the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would remove a president incapacitated by mental decline.

Trump asked the question over and over in harried postings on Truth Social.

As explained in a report on Poynter.org, "If Biden were to transfer his presidential powers and duties to the vice president, he would do so under Section 3 of the 25th Amendment.

"The president must transmit a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate stating that he or she is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office' and is accordingly transferring presidential power and duties to the vice president under Section 3 of the Amendment."

Biden is not there yet.

The Democratic Party is apparently fine with Vice President Kamala Harris seeking the presidency now that Biden has dropped out, only that also is disconcerting to a Republican Party saddled with the oldest candidate in the race, 78-year-old Trump.

As per the Poynter.org report, powers transfers have occurred only four times in U.S. history, during the terms of Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush (twice) and Democrat Biden, when he underwent a medical procedure under anesthesia.

Republican criticism is vacuous political talk.

"There's also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. That time and place is now," Biden said in last night's speech.

Biden will serve as president throughout the rest of the year and likely be there next January 20th to hand over the job to the winner of the upcoming election...

-30-

THE STRETCH RUN:...Presidential Election In Full Gallop Now...It's 59-year-old Harris vs 78-Year-Old Trump...Good & Evil On The Ballot...100 Days To Go Before Election...Elon Musk Denies Giving Trump $45 Million-A-Month...There Goes The Bell...

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Three months and 12 days, that's all the time you have to decide, America. Yo, vote away! It may or may not be the most important presidential election in the dizzied history of this country, but it will be a national test of sorts.

November 5, 2024

That day, yes.

It's a contest between Good & Evil, we have been - and are being - told. Daily, in doomsday news reporting that has had no recent rival. This is Crunch Time, fourth & long, last at-bat, make it or break it free throw or the 12th round and you're behind on points.

There is no one left to quote.

We have arrived on candidates with good and bad intentions. The choice would seem to be clear, only it is not. Fog has more appeal in times of trouble. Vote Harris or vote Trump. The nation awaits its fate.

The Eagles were right all those years ago: there is no more New Frontier; we have got to make it here.

President Joe Biden is gone from the contest, Donald Trump has chosen his empty-suit running mate, Elon Musk says it's a lie that he's giving Trump $45 million-a-month, and polls are now showing Mrs. Harris has taken a lead, of sorts.

Who knows, I know.

The female director of the Secret Service resigned yesterday, after a contentious hearing in the pro-Trump House of Representatives, where she was told by one congresswoman that she was "full of shit" when explaining the recent wild shooting at Trump's rally.

And that bullet Trump said nipped his ear, as Trump claimed and, well, keeps claiming, well, reports have it that no AR-15 bullet would have been kind enough to leave any part of the ear on his head. But the story is still fluid, still yielding bits & pieces of info as to what happened.

Trump lived, however, and that's the election contest we have: a victim of a failed assassination and a woman who could realistically become the first woman president ever for this grass-whorled country.

Vote your conscience...

-30-

NATIONAL AFFAIRS DESK:...Trump To Dump Veep JD Vance?...It's Out There...The Plot Has Changed In The 2024 Presidential Election...Biden Dropping Out & Harris Ascending Has Republicans Up Against The Wall...Vance Is Dogmeat After Rousing Democratic Party Convention...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...The saying is open for all sorts of interpretations - Politics makes for strange bedfellows. It is a truism as old as anything in this grass-whorled country. I mean, Goldwater/Eagleton?

Yeah. You get it.

Latest to hop on the Republican Party's sagging motel bed is Ohioan J.D. Vance, recently named as vice presidential running mate for Big Mattress Donald J. Trump. He's young at 39 - half as old as 78-year-old Trump - and he's still jumping up and down like a kid atop that bed.

Not for long, say some political sages who now argue that Vance will be dumped soon.

Why, you may ask this fine, fine Tuesday morning full of hope and promise.

The Democrats have forced it, they go on. Forced it by losing sitting President Joe Biden and promoting younger VEEP Kamala Harris to head the ticket in the November General Election.

Would he do it? Would Trump tell Vance to get lost if his chances dim, at least from his self-serving perspective?

Yes, he would.

That's his style - take what you need and leave the rest. Hey, no hard feelings. Life is full of tough decisions, Baby. Yeah, thanks for playing along. Good luck to you, kid.

The next question is who would Trump select to fill the vice president slot?

He is surely looking at the rising popularity of Democrat Harris and awaiting her own VEEP selection. Plus, Trump will gauge the success and voter perceptions of the Democratic National Convention and weigh his options.

He'll need a real freakin' tiger and not a Yale-Educated former mellow conservative like chubster Vance.

Who could that be?

Yeah, I know you know...

-30-

WHEN OLD IS OLD:...Donald Trump's Battle Against Time...Biden Leaves Presidential Race.....Trump Now Facing Democrat Two Decades Younger.....That One, Veep Kamala Harris, Can Still Flash A Smile...Is This Checkmate?...At 78+, Donald Can't Deport Time...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...He asked for it and they finally threw a nasty curveball at him. Republican Donald J. Trump this morning awakens as the oldest coot ever to dream of winning the presidency. Suddenly, it's not an 81-year-old man he's facing; it's a woman two decades younger.

The tables have turned.

There are three and a half months before the nation strolls out to vote in the 2024 General Election and someone has seen his prospects dim dramatically.

A day earlier following yesterday's decision by President Joe Biden to drop his bid for reelection, Trump was riding high off nice voter polls and an assassination attempt that had seen his popularity swell.

No more, as they say daily at Golden Corral buffets.

This fine, sunny Ayem, it is Democrat hopeful Kamala Harris, the current vice president, who is the star of the moment, the new media darling and the one Trump did not want to see on the opposite side of the contest.

He's a fearful man, as we have seen, bluster being his usual cover.

Trump is still facing three criminal trials and a sentencing date of Sept. 10 on that hush money trial conviction. It's The White House or prison, and he knows it.

Biden's departure did and did not surprise us.

As we have written in the past, America is a youth-oriented country. As with rank in the military, on less wrinkle or winter in your calendar and you're still in. Another year and it's not good, you're on the outs. Old gets quickly discarded in this culture. To his credit, Joe Biden learned and accepted that.

Donald Trump is old in life and a dinosaur in politics.

Voters can see it...

-30-

JOE BIDEN QUITS:...In Sobering Sunday Afternoon Statement, President Says He Will Focus On Serving Out His Term.....Demos Exhale, But Now Also Must Find Candidate To Fill Vice-Presidential Role.....We Await Word From Republican Donald Trump...He Is Almost 20 Years Older Than Kamala Harris....

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Weeks of being reminded that he is 81 years old and accused of being perhaps too old to perform the job of president, Democrat Joe Biden finally wilted Sunday afternoon and quit the 2024 presidential race.

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden said in a written statement. "And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down and to focus solely on my duties as President for the rest of my term." 

It had been coming loud and hard for days.

Even leaders within his own party were calling for him to resign the campaign and hand over the reins to younger Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris is 59 years old and just a tad under 20 years younger than Republican candidate Donald J. Trump.

The end for Biden came after many years in Congress, beginning with his initial term as U.S. Senator from Delaware in 1972. He became former President Barack Obama's vice president in 2008, served two terms in that capacity until 2016 and then came back to beat Trump in the 2020 election.

But, as we all know, politics can be an equally rewarding and cruel game.

Biden's bad performance in Debate One several weeks ago against Trump, in which he slurred his words and looked horrible, apparently led to this latest decision.

It will be interesting to see if Democrats rally behind Harris, or whether the Democratic National Convention devolves into a candidate free-for-all.

Plus, it, too, will be interesting to see who gets nominated for the vice-president's role in the party ticket.

Joe Biden has been a good Democrat.

I am sure many in his party would have wanted a different ending to his political career...

-30-

THE PATCH:.....Donald Trump Loses Weird Over-Sized Ear Patch...Two Smaller Band-Aids Now The Optic...Supposedly Hit By An AR-15 Bullet, The Ear Shows No Sign Of Bruising...Not Even A Question Anymore...It Was No Bullet That Struck Him...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Okay, that's a more-telling photo of the ear that wouldn't die. Days of wearing a rather large white patch over is right ear ended yesterday for Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. Now, it is a more utilitarian small Band-Aid over the top of his ear.

The only thing now is why we don't see any bruising...at all.

We ask that only because weapons experts have been saying anyone hit by an AR-15 bullet, as Trump is alleged to have suffered at his rally in Pennsylvania a week ago, would certainly see more than a small wound able to be covered by such a small bandage.

The photo above is the latest of the famous ear, taken at Trump's rally yesterday.

Even a bee sting would have left more evidence of a real wound.

We were waiting on an official medical report of the wound and of the treatment Trump received at Butler Memorial Hospital in Butler, PA. following the shooting, but all we have is a report from his hardly reliable former White House physician Ronny Jackson.

The information he gave is suspect and likely devious. Jackson, now a Republican congressman from the Texas panhandle, opined Trump sailed through the shooting and medical care like a champ. The hospital folks said a CT-Scan had also been performed on Trump.

No doctor or staff from the hospital has said a word or released any information on the extent of the wound or the care he received.

It appears to have been nothing, from the looks of the ear in the photo above.

And it's not a big deal, but it would be nice to get some truth here. A press conference from the treating doctor or hospital administrator usually follows one of these assassination events. How many did we get following Ronald Reagan's shooting in Washington, D.C.

Enough for Americans to believe they knew what was going on.

Trump operates differently.

That he would use a shooting and fake his way through to make himself look like some sort of Superman is to be expected. He's a made-for-TV Drama Queen.

The nation will be left in the dark about this.

For Republicans, word from some questionable source like Dr. Ronny Jackson is more than enough.

Pity...

-30-

INCIDENT AT WOUNDED EAR:...Donald Trump's Bullet Injury & Medical Treatment Has Never Been Confirmed...No Doctor's Press Conference Or Official Report...An Oversized Ear Patch?.....More For Show Than Effect...Can We See The Upper Ear Lobe?...The Scabbing?...Proof Of Blown-Out Ear?...Sutures?...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...A week to the day later, we still do not know if Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump was actually hit by a bullet at last Saturday's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He bled and he keeps wearing an over-sized patch over his right ear, but there are questions.

The AR-15 rifle authorities say the shooter used fires a rather large bullet.

A growing number of Critics and Journalists, however, are adamant in saying one ripping off a chunk of Trump's ear would have done more damage than merely taking out the top of his earlobe, as photos seem to suggest. The medical world says damage to the inner ear would surely result if an AR-15 bullet whizzed so close to the head, at the very least. Horrible headaches and possible cranial injuries would also follow.

Trump has exhibited - or complained of - no serious effects.

We know this: He was treated at Butler Memorial Hospital minutes after the incident, but no doctor who did the treating has spoken to the press and no official medical report of Trump's condition has been released. CNN reported that Trump had received a CT-Scan of his cranium.

Trump’s son, Eric, told "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil from the RNC on Wednesday that his father did not get stitches.

"You know, he was millimeters away from having his life expunged," Eric went on. "I’m sure the ear doesn’t feel well."

Trump had a "nice flesh wound" and the "greatest earache he has ever had," according to his son.

Trump may have had headaches, but he never said it.

Typically, most thoughtful Americans want and need answers on presidential candidates' health ahead of any election. President Joe Biden, the Democrat in this race, has been the fat target of tireless criticism that he is too old to seek the presidency.

He's 81 and looking it, they say. Acting like it, as well.

Trump's age, 78, has not been as criticized.  

Whether any sort of medical report on the earlobe wound incident will be made available is anybody's guess. We feel there is little chance, as the finding would likely show that the injury, indeed, is minor - too minor even for an ear patch.

Still, the central question of whether it was a bullet or something else that struck Trump remains.

He has made a big deal of surviving an assassination attempt.

And the narrative being offered by the Trump campaign would not be the same if the story revealed he had been bit by a shard of shattered teleprompter or a piece of bullet-blasted medal coming off the audience seating stands...

-30-

BIDEN OUT:...Just A Matter Of Time Now, Say The Pundits...Donald Trump Nominated Overnight At RNC...They're Riding A Temporary Wave Of Good News...Democrats Gearing Up For Meaningful Run To November Election...The World Inhales...

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Any day now. That's the word in the streets and hallowed hallways of Congress. President Joe Biden's expected exit from the 2024 presidential election is in the works. Pointed, unguarded nudges have come steadily over the last few days, from national polls to Democratic Party leaders.

Recent gains by Republican aspirant Donald J. Trump have not helped 81-year-old Biden.

Age apparently matters.

Editorials in America's largest, most influential newspapers have led the drumbeat, that and a rain of get-gone commentary on television talk shows. Joe Biden has seen and heard the bad news come calling.  

An editorial in The New York Times painted Biden as being "the shadow of a great public servant" who "struggled to make it to the end of a sentence." He's been disappointing and confused., they wrote.

In The Los Angeles Times, a columnist described him as "a tongue-tied octogenarian."

That writer noted Biden "ended one tangled explanation of his tax proposals with the puzzling phrase: " 'we finally beat Medicare.' " Biden was "dismal" at the first debate. "Stunning," he added for killing effect.

What followed was a news media that had old age its focus.

Biden’s closest allies called on him to step aside.

That, we are led to believe by the most recent journalism, could be any moment/day now. It is a behind-the-scenes push currently underway supposedly led by former President Barack Obama and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has had Biden in a political lurch - to fight it to the end or to relent.

Three and a half months remain in this campaign, and yes, much can happen between now and Election Day on November 5th, but there is the reality of where Biden's troubled campaign could possibly go to keep him in the race.

He is battling an equally old man in 78-year-old Trump, but the optics of the two men on the campaign trail could not be much more different.

Trump, meanwhile, has fended off some nagging legal blows, seen the Supreme Court hand him surprising victories and even survived an assassination attempt. Biden's window has shown nothing of the sort, merely that of an old dude being asked repeatedly to step aside for the good of the party and allow for a fairer fight at the polls.

The obvious, we say, is coming...

-30-

DEEP FAKE:...A Country Of Doubters.....For Many, Trump's Shooting Is Still A Mystery...Staged Or Not Staged?...Ear For An Ear?...Obama, Clinton, Pence Blamed...Donald Trump Gets Favorable Bounce...It Won't Last...Americans Want Answers...

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Five days later, the story of the summer remains unfinished. Holes all over the place. The man was shot, and the shooter was killed; that we know. It is the hows and whys now in full slap mode across the citizenry's face. Insatiable is a word floating about to describe the appetite for facts.

This we know: Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump was shot-at at his rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday afternoon. The shooter, a school-bullied 20-year-old nursing home cook identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by the U.S. Secret Service.

That's the plot synopsis of this horror story.

Left for the masses are way too many questions, all of them seemingly fed by bits and pieces of what did and didn't happen, morsels just tasty enough to fuel a hunger for more information.    

In a sentence, this is the conundrum:

Differing accounts described the shooting as both a ". . .false flag" operation on the part of the Donald Trump 2024 campaign in order to garner sympathy, and a carefully planned assassination plot on the part of the Biden administration and the "deep state."

"When did the Secret Service start allowing the President under duress to tell them 'to wait,' then stand up to be seen by the crowd fist-pumping?" asked a commenter on the social platform X. "Can you blame me for thinking this is fake?"

Others are scoffing at the idea that the Secret Service would allow Trump to grandstand while his life was in danger.

New Statesman reported that more than fifty thousand X users liked a post claiming that the photo of Trump raising his fist under the Stars and Stripes flag was staged: "Great camera angle; great quality; no Secret Service agent in front of his head covering the wound; conveniently placed US flag."

Another post read: "This is price you pay when you take down the elite satanic pedophiles," then suggested that the "order" for the assassination "likely came from the CIA" and accused Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mike Pence of being involved. It was viewed almost five million times.

NewsGuard, a service that tracks online misinformation, said the word "staged" appeared in posts on X more than three hundred thousand times on Saturday and Sunday. There were also more than eighty thousand mentions of the phrase "inside job." Social media bots and fake accounts helped amplify the false claims on a number of platforms.

It is the modern-day version of the questions that surfaced after the shooting of President John F. Kennedy as his motorcade moved past Dealey Plaza in Dallas that late-November day in 1963.

Numerous other events never shared the same quest for answers. Not the bombing of the federal courthouse in Oklahoma or the raid on David Koresh's armed compound in Waco.

The attack on New York's Twin Towers in 2001 comes close, but not like this.

This shooting, an assassination attempt, came during a hotly contested campaign for the American presidency. 

Its fallout will linger for a while...

-30-

"THE FIGHT IS ON!":...Angry Republicans Go Bare Knuckles After Assassination Attempt...Democrats And TV Comedians Go Lame...Express Sympathies Up The Wazoo.....Crucial November Is Just Around The Corner...RNC Convention To Crown Trump.....

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...President Joe Biden took to television to express his joy that Donald J. Trump had escaped assassination. "Hopefully, I'll be able to speak to Donald today," he told reporters in the hours after the shooting in Pennsylvania.

Late-night TV comedians took Monday off.

NBC pulled its left-wing shows off the air all day that same day.

America's newspapers covered the story as if Trump had been killed, all "what ifs" rolling of the presses all day. Television talk shows opted to use the shooting as a bridge to civility, FOX News, the alarmist on all things political in this country, even paused the vitriol a bit in a show of some weird unity.

America is still broken.

No one died. A shooter was killed. The fight should have kept on going. Biden erred in playing the soothing father for a nation stunned and not stunned.

Republicans (Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley!!!) went on full-bore attacks the day after the shooting last Saturday and the assault on the Democratic Party continued on Monday, in Day One of the Republican National Convention. Tuesday, Day Two, reprised Monday.

It's been a bad few weeks for Democrats hoping to win the November General Election now only three and a half months away.

Hell, yes, what to do?

Talk of pushing Biden off the Democratic ticketed has gone silent.

Voter polls somehow continue to show the decent Biden neck-and-neck with the convicted felon Trump. What a hoot that is, if you think about it. As one of my friends noted at the restaurant yesterday, "Not even in Mexico."

Someone should put that on a blue ballcap: "Not even in Mexico."

Yes, sireee, we're gripped by verbal violence on the campaign trail now almost daily. For Republicans, if it's not the FBI and Secret Service behind an assassination attempt on their candidate, it's Biden or some dark Democrat action group out to steal the election.

If only!

Republicans are damned good at shifting blame. They can quickly and cleverly twist any issue into a three-stick popsicle with all licking ends pointed at the Democrats. Democrats are taking it, perhaps too cooly.

A few hostile fighting words in response would go a long way in telling the party faithful that Donald J. Trump's bloodied ear did not win him the presidency...

-30-

THE UPSHOT:...Bandaged Donald Trump Goes With All-Out E.R. Drama At Republican Convention...Ear Is Front-Center...He Looks Haggard...Names Ohio's Junior Senator J.D. Vance As VEEP Running Mate... Rumors Of Staged Shooting Still Abound...

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...It's the story of the long, hot summer, its heat equally relentless as is our annual scorch. The political temperature is not abating. We're still in the white-hot zone.

Yesterday's first day at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee delivered staged drama of the sort most adults are familiar with - bands and speeches, a rowdy crowd and a few surprises.

And the Man of The Hour, of course.

A bandaged Donald J. Trump made an appearance to announce his presidential Veep running made and, well, it was not Mike Pence. Who knows where Trump's last VEEP is these days, but last night was a night-of-nights for Ohio's junior U.S. Senator, one J.D. Vance.

The gathering in Wisconsin moves to some more of the same self-adulation by party speakers and attendees today, with Trump's party nomination slated for Prime Time on Thursday night. The celebration has been non-stop since that shooting last Saturday in Pennsylvania, where the 78-year-old Trump is said to have been the target of an assassination attempt.

Last night's presence of a white bandage over Trump's right ear fell in with the narrative that he was shot, only too many questions remain unanswered - although the mainstream press seems to have accepted it and moved on.

There is no confirmation that Trump's bloody ear was hit by a bullet. We could find no credible report from anyone, not even from the FBI.   

Trump did have what looked like a steady stream of blood trickling down his face as agents rushed him offstage at the afternoon rally. And Trump later said on Truth Social that the bullet hit the upper part of his right ear.

But, yeah, who knows.

The Internet is still chock-full of conspiracy theories related to the shooting, with some saying the blood on Trump's face was "Hollywood blood," a reference to fake blood used in movie gunfire, or often in fake professional wrestling.

But away from the online sleuths, the country seems to have accepted the shooting as an attempt at killing Trump. The news segued into who did it after the shooting and "facts" then pointed to a 20-year-old local nursing home cook names Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot and killed as he lay on the rooftop of a building some 400 feet from the rally stage, where Trump stood.

There are always questions with this sort of thing. How many remain unanswered from the shooting of President John F. Kennedy in 1963? Books have been written.

The "patch" Trump wore last night was an odd one, in that photos taken in the seconds after the shooting showed something that looked like the main wound on the top of his right earlobe. The bandage he wore at the convention (see photo above) covered the entire ear. Who knows, but a rookie nurse would likely have applied a smaller band-aid over the damaged part of the ear and left the rest of it alone.

But this is Big Time politics and a wound suffered on the campaign trail will be milked for all it's worth.

Donald Trump knows optics...

-30-        

HE'S STILL A THREAT:...Armed Republicans Blame Democrats For Trump Rally Shooting...Wrong...It's Been A Long And Noisy Three-Plus Years Of Donald Trump Calling People Vermin, Damning Our Courts, Backing Racist Project 2025, Attacking Democracy... Sorry He Was Wounded...Violence Begets Violence... Documents Case Dropped...J.D. Vance To Be Trump's VEEP...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...A discernible wave of sympathy blew across the country over the weekend after extremist Republican Donald J. Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. It was a bit over-the-top for a man who has done his damndest to divide the country.

Yes, weep one more time for civility.

But don't shed another tear for Trump. He has known what he's been doing in becoming the most divisive presidential candidate ever. I mean, serious candidate, not some outlier like Lyndon LaRouche or David Duke or even George Wallace.

Donald J. Trump remains the biggest threat to American Life.

Let his wife and children and most rabid supporters normalize him. The rest of us cannot.

This election in November is up for grabs and it pains me to write that, knowing of course all that Donald Trump has let loose in our national discourse and streets. There are armed nutjobs out there, as he found out last Saturday afternoon. It cost him as piece of his ear, but it could have been much worse.

This is a flawed, unbridled candidate who began his political journey by calling Mexicans "rapists" and then proceeded to tear down much of what we call these United States. Trump wants to be president in the worst ways. He moaned about dark-skinned immigrants and banned Muslims from entering the country while occupying the White House between 2016 and 2021 - a time in America still to be written about by historians.

As many have written, Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden an action for which he has been indicted and is facing multiple felony counts. He's called for ridding the country of the Constitution, writing on his Truth Social media that a massive fraud "allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution." 

And, as we also know, Trump has said he would be a dictator if elected, but only on "Day One."

Trump is not well. His vision for this country is one at odds with the rest of us. Separating people is his aim, only that approach hurts and damages too many Americans. His world is the world of Red States versus Blue States - perhaps itself a Civil War of sorts.

No, don't waste your sympathies on this guy.

He's the one who laughed and mocked the beating of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in his own home by a hammer-wielding attacker. Trump knows no bounds on his complaints and criticism of how we live in this country. His legal problems are many and there are those who say his campaign is nothing more than an effort to stay out of prison.

Three criminal trials hang around his hefty neck. He's dog-paddling while Lady Justice waits for her chance at him. He knows. He knows a defeat in November against Democrat incumbent Joe Biden will open the gates of prosecutorial Hell.

But there he stands at his rallies, damning the president and our way of Life.

The country he wants is already taken. A killing dude named Putin owns it across the Atlantic.

No, don't waste your breath on Donald J. Trump.   

He may have lost a small piece of his right ear, but his body of work remains.

You watch.

The Republican National Convention begins today in Milwaukee. Wild applause awaits him from a sector of America that has no idea about wishing for something and getting something else.

Callous, selfish Republicans set to speak during the event will ignore his harsh rhetoric and damn Democrats, actually blame them for the assassination attempt. Without laughing.

Trump will milk the moment for all it's worth, take is many bows and feel as if he's already won the presidency. Indeed, he likely believes he is invincible, undefeated and undeterred. The other 700-pages in his book tell a very different story.

Trump is bad, mean, desperate and, worse than that, feeling cornered...

-30-

SHOOTER IDENTIFIED:...FBI Points To 20-Year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks...Say He Was A Registered Republican...No Official Motive Yet...Donald Trump Okay...Wound In Right Ear...May Not Have Been A Bullet, But Shards From Shattered Teleprompter...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...The FBI has identified the shooter in yesterday's assassination attempt on presidential candidate Donald J. Trump as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man named Thomas Matthew Crooks.

No motive was given.

Crooks was also said to be registered as a Republican.

Federal campaign finance reports obtained by The Associated Press also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in to office.

Trump was speaking at an afternoon rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a small community about an hour's drive north of Pittsburgh when he apparently suffered a gunshot wound to the right ear. One witness, however, told authorities he thought Trump's ear had been ripped open by shards off a shattered teleprompter.

The Republican candidate was rushed to a local medical facility for treatment. He flew back to his home in New Jersey hours later.

One rally attendee was killed, while another suffered non-life-threatening wounds.

In a statement issued overnight., the FBI said gunman Crooks was shot and killed by U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to protect the former president.

President Joe Biden condemned the shooting, while others in his party cited Trump's penchant for using harsh rhetoric on the campaign as a reason for the shooting. Republicans rallied behind Trump, a few noting that the event was perhaps the result of a "Deep State" plot to get rid of Trump.

There is no evidence of that, however.

Republicans will begin gathering in Milwaukee, Wisconsin today ahead of the party's national convention kicking-off tomorrow, Monday...

-30-

SHOTS FIRED!!!:...Assassination Attempt Bloodies Donald Trump...At Afternoon Rally In Pennsylvania... Associated Press Reporting Shooter Is Dead...Local Authorities Say One Attendee Killed...Bloodied Right Ear Seems To Be The Extent Of Trump's Injuries... President Biden Briefed...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...He'll live, but Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump likely knows it could have been much worse. Details are few. This we know: Trump was at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when "popping noises" suddenly spooked the crowd.

Video of the incident shows Trump speaking before he falls on the makeshift stage and Secret Service agents cover him. Reports say he appeared to grab the side of his ear or neck with his right hand, before plunging to the ground. Screams flared over the scene and, according to several news sources, Trump could be heard saying "let me get my shoes" as he then got up and raised his fist in the air before being whisked off the stage by Secret Service members.

Trump appeared to have blood coming from the side of his ear.

But otherwise, he was fine, according to his campaign people. Trump was nonetheless taken to a local medical facility for treatment.

That was the extent of the information available late Saturday afternoon.

Local authorities later said one rally attendee had been killed and another injured. 

Online, his supporters quickly labeled the incident an assassination attempt, while opponents offered the idea that the entire incident was "staged" by Trump, one saying he though the blood on the former president's face "looks like Hollywood blood."

Photos of Trump flashed by numerous news outlets had him looking in clear distress. Whether that was fake, well, only he knows.

Commentary came swiftly from politicians, with Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, said to be a frontrunner for the vice-presidency, saying Trump "was saved by God."

Others were a little less dramatic, including a few members of President Joe Biden's administration. One, Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, graciously said he was glad Trump was "going to be fine."

Late Saturday, Biden issued this statement:

I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.

Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it...

-30-

WHEN IS IT TIME TO QUIT???:...In Youth-Oriented America, That May Be Too Soon...President Joe Biden Wrestles With Our Throwaway Culture...He's 81 And They want Him Done With Politics...Fair Or Not, The Stigma Stands...His "Younger" Opponent is 78...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...It's just out there in all its cold boldness - Joe Biden, they are saying, is too old to be president of the all-powerful United States. The top nation in the world needs a younger president with the vim and vigor of a do'er, not a mumbler or sleeper.

Joe Biden has come face to face with a part of his country's culture most Americans recognize and readily accept. An old man dating a young woman? Frowned upon. Laughed at. Denigrated by late-night show comedians in the harshest of tones.

We wondered about this as the news against Biden continuing his presidential campaigned refused to ebb. Refused it viciously and unabated.

The president is a sharp dude.

He's smart in all the right places, as prospective fathers-in-law like to say about those courting their daughters. The knowledge gap between Biden and Republican opponent Donald J. Trump is as wide as the Atlantic Ocean. No comparison at all.

But Trump is 78. Younger than Biden, in other words.

It's a part of the ageism equation used often in the workplace, so it's easily adapted to politics. Once, John F. Kennedy was too young at 43 to run for president in 1960. His Republican opponent - one Richard M. Nixon - was four years older at 47 and the latter quickly used the age advantage to tell voters experience matters.

Ronald Reagan used his older age against Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984, quipping at a debate that he would not bring up the age issue out of respect for his youthful opponent. Reagan was 73; Mondale was 56.

Mondale lost.

The extreme age offered by both Biden and Trump is the novelty now.

Yes, both are too old. Even if the younger Trump won the election in November, well, he would be just as old in the second half of his term as Biden is now. Criticism against the two has led some wags to throw the word "dementia" out there readily and often.

America will roust itself out of this raging age debate and step into the voting booth.

And some smarty sociology pundit will then rise to tell us 80 is the new 50.

It won't be, but that too is vain America...

-30-

STILL FIGHTING:...Americans See Their President Struggling Mightily.....A Good & Bad Optic For Joe Biden...Well, What About The Other Guy?.....Here, We're Used To Episodic Politics...Perhaps Thanks To TV...Relentless National Drama Continues...Elderly President Marches On...Battle Between Good & Evil...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...There is something to be said for seeing it, for seeing President Joe Biden struggle these last few weeks. It's his age (81), they say. He flubs lines every time he speaks. Enough, anyway, to make some believe he should quit the ongoing race of president.

And perhaps he should.

But how many times have we been here before?

American political history is ripe with times when our sitting president caught hell from the opposition, some internally from their own party. Democrat Harry Truman was written off on the front page of the Chicago Tribune in '48.

Republican Richard M. Nixon was said to have lost it after losing the very first televised debate against a younger John F. Kennedy in '60. Ronald Reagan was also known to blow a few lines on the campaign trail and once was forced to defend a comment by wife Nancy, who'd stood before a campaign crowd and said it was "so good to be with white people again."

This is the Big Time in national politics and mistakes are magnified.

What Joe Biden is going through now is tough to watch. He is clearly showing his age. The only question is: Will Americans stand with him on Election Day in November? We are, after all, a society which praises youth and energy, quick to discard our elderly.

After watching him at last night's Press Conference, we are led to believe that Biden will not voluntarily give up the campaign, as some in his own party are asking him to do. How do you quit a race against perhaps the most flawed opponent in the history of this Great Land - against a guy found guilty of rape and found guilty in the recent Porn Star trial?

It's a wonder we're even talking about this.

Anyone by corrupt Donald J. Trump for America, we insist on saying.

Yes, Biden stumbled again, referring to Ukraine President Zelensky as "President Putin" and to his second-in-command as ". . . Vice President Trump." The media is all over those two comments, glossing over a well-verbalized recap of all Biden has done while in office. That list is as impressive as any president could ever claim.

Actually, all things considered, this particular choice for voters is the easiest one in the nation's history - folks, you simply do not elect a convicted felon to the highest office in the land.

You just cannot.

Not if you wish to be the leader of the Free World, a concept still very much in play and one foreign countries grew to respect and appreciate. There is only one United States on the ragged planet.

Joe Biden represents that America, Donald J. Trump does not.

Keep the criticism coming, for we are still a free country. But we know where it's coming from...and it's not from our best side of the family...

-30-

THAT CLOONEY:...Hollywood Actor Backs Joe Biden In Big-Bucks Fundraiser One Week...Next Week, He's Calling For The President To Drop Out Of The 2024 Race Against Trump.....It May Have More To Do With Wife Amal Clooney's Work For The ICC In Fight With Israel...She Wants Israelis Arrested For War Crimes...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Some friends. In politics, you can stick by them through thick and thin, even gather pals for a quick fundraiser to help a campaign. That for a good while was actor George Clooney's friendly relationship with President Joe Biden.

Last month, Clooney hosted - along with actresses Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts - a nice get together in Los Angeles that garnered Biden a few million for his race against flawed Republican Donald J. Trump.

Then something happened and Clooney was off the Biden bandwagon.

In a stinging editorial published by The New York Times on Wednesday, Clooney wrote: "I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he's won many of the battles he's faced.

But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

Well, okay. Goodbyes can at times be strange and dirty affairs.

It was an intriguing turnaround, to say the least.

And maybe 63-year-old Clooney is being honest about his feelings and his reasons for asking the president to give up the fight. Who knows?

But a month earlier, in May, wife Amal Clooney's name surfaced as the writer of a report for the International Criminal Court in The Hague in which she documented atrocities committed by Israelis in that country's war against Palestine.

The ICC sought charges and arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minster Bibi Netanyahu.

Presumably, the 46-year-old Mrs. Clooney, a noted English attorney of Lebanese descent, was okay with that.

The U.S., however, was not.

Indeed, President Biden called talk of charges and arrests of Israelis "outrageous."

The response likely upset Amal Clooney. We ask: Was there some sort of familial fallout that angered husband George?

Only George Clooney knows...

-30-

AMERICAN PIE:...So, Hotshot, Are You A DEI Hire To Your Company's Human Resources Manager?...If You're In America, You Freaking, Damned-Straight Are...Diversity In An Immigrant Country?...Well, Of Course!!!...Demonizing The Obvious...Melting Pot?...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...More than a few conservative news outlets have begun torching Vice-President Kamala Harris and the possibility - egads!!!- that she could become America's first DEI president.

She's Black.

The many critics obviously are not. Black, I mean, for every one of those feckers is a DEI hire. I mean, we're a big country full of many immigrants from all across the world. Diversity happens.

But wild-eyed conservatives have seen an opportunity and are now targeting the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs through lawsuits and legislation, including successfully ending Affirmative Action in college admissions. In these circles, DEI has become a dog whistle framing efforts to create more equitable workplaces for marginalized communities as fundamentally unfair.

Equity? Maybe not equity, as we know full-well of our differences there (salaries, access to bank loans, certain housing). Inclusion? Yes, that has a way of opening some opportunities and possibilities.

But look around.

Isn't an Italian open to being called/listed as a diversity resource in an employment setting? Yes. same for an Irishman, a German, an Israeli, a Russian, a Norwegian, a Frenchman - they're all Americans here, all very different and, in a group setting, would then be pawns to diversity.

We should, of course, mention the Colombians, Haitians, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Central Americans, Africans, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Apaches (Americans, all). They bear the brunt of DEI criticism, unlike their fellow white-skin citizens.

It is a joke, but a political joke with horrible implications.

Hot topic Vice President Harris is an accomplished woman and politician. To hit her with "diversity" criticism is absurd...and cheap...and ridiculous. Her value to this country is so much more than that offered by the uneducated, fat-belly Rednecks who spew DEI as if it is the ugliest of birthmarks.

Give it up, already.

This past week, Tractor Supply, a major employer, cut is DEI Program after being pressured by Right-Wingers. Earlier, Pro-Trump Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered DEI Programs at state colleges and universities be shut down. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis did the same. Both are Republicans.

But we say: A Nation of Immigrants is by its very nature...diverse as all Hell.

Most other countries on the planet get their fair share of immigrants these days.

We're the only brainless sumbitches who break out the nametags, for shelfing, for status, for politics.

In actuality, of course, the phrase Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) is just a cover for something else, something they won't say aloud...

-30-

ME AND MY MEDIA:...News Travels Fast...It's Good And It's Bad...What - It's All Bad?...Okay...But It Still Depends On Where You Get It....Mainstream, Right-Wing, Left-Wing....Then There Is The Venus Flytrap Known As Social Media...Really, Can Anyone Survive This Mess?...The Weather Channel!!!...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...So, you say the media is the problem. Well, there is some truth to that. Americans get their news and information from a wide range of sources, some reliable and some so untrustworthy as to be useless for anything other than partisan politics.

The most trusted source is not The New York Times or the Washington Post or FOX News.

It is......The Weather Channel.

Well, that's according to a recent survey of Americans by something called www.yougov.com. We don't vouch for it 100%, but it is a survey. And, yeah it could be more meaningful these days as we head into our national election.

There are some surprises, but not many in the survey.

Right behind The Weather Channel in the favorable column are the BBC (England's British Broadcasting Company), PBS and The Wall Street Journal. Least trusted: National Enquirer, Breitbart News.

The Associated Press is ranked as #8 in the Most Trusted category, followed by The New York Times at #14, Washington Post at #15, NPR at #17. Newsmax is #40, followed by FOX News at #47 and Al Jazeera at #48.

In between are some notables like The Los Angeles Times, NBC, CBS, ABC and a host of other recognizable news organizations. As expected, MSNBC is listed as the Most Liberal, while FOX News as the Most Conservative.

In Social Media, Youtube gets high marks and X and Facebook not so much. Tik Tok and Instagram are among the outlets listed, although not rated highly for news.

We believe it does matter where you get your news (facts) in this feisty political campaign season. Yes. partisanship plays into it and allegiances do count for something. That is to be expected.

We won't bore you with a lengthy write-up on all of the survey's findings, but you can check it for yourself here: Trust in Media 2024: Which news sources Americans trust — and which they think lean left or right | YouGov

Americans have always had more than enough news (since the 1960s anyway) to stay up with political doings in this country. But where once the sources numbered in the single digits, well, today that playing field has been expanded exponentially.

News is seemingly everywhere these days.

The Podcast is as popular as any other outlet. Most of those can be accessed via Youtube.com.

I say it's all a good thing, even the ever-lying Far-Right offerings.

But we hope all Americans make the rounds before forming an opinion or staking out a position...

-30-