In footy parlance, it's great to be unpredictable to opponents but you've got to be predictable to your team mates. Paul Mannafort is well-placed to run messages between Trump and Putin but everyone else will be nervous. And nervous nations sometimes jump at shadows.
I think we've all seen how Trump will react to real or perceived slights from overseas. He will escalate and refuse to back down. Just as his current campaign team are incapable of making Trump pull his horns in, his diplomats will be reduced to mere spectators. If I were serving on a US aircraft carrier at the moment, I'd be taking as much leave as I could get in case Trump wins. Trump will be sending the carriers all over the place like pinballs.
The attack on Khan might finally have been too much. Previous outrageous attacks have been against politicians and media figures and that means the public's sympathy with the victims would be limited. But Khizr Khan isn't a public figure at all. He seems to have reacted simply because Trump's attack on Muslims was an indirect attack on his deceased son. Rather than being a stirrer artfully poking the bear, he has demonstrated an endearingly naïve civility. I doubt he foresaw or desired the crapstorm that would come his way.
Trump's responses have been disgusting enough but his campaign staff and surrogates have taken it even further. So far, Trump has insinuated that Mrs Khan was forced to remain silent on stage because of repressive Islam and that Mr Khan was motivated by a desire to prevent Trump stopping Radical Islamic TerroristsTM entering the US. Mr Khan has been declared as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood without any basis and claims have been made that his son was actually a Radical Islamic TerroristTM who was blown up before he could execute his attack. Mr Khan has also been accused of trying to implement Sharia law in the US. Others used a small section in Mr Khan's legal firm's online legal writings that dealt with immigration by businessmen to allege that he's worried about his own pocket. The fact that this site was taken down was used to show he had something to hide. A bemused Mr Khan called on Trump and his surrogates to show empathy and said that he has no time for Sharia law which in his view is merely a hotch-pot of British and French laws mixed in with local religious beliefs. He also noted that he'd never had any clients in immigration matters as rich businessmen seeking to immigrate go to big firms and the website was only taken down as its host complained that it was being buried by hatemail and they advised that it should be taken down until things quieten down.
The strangest nonsense to come out of Trump's camp is that Capt. Khan died as a result of the ridiculous rules of engagement imposed by Clinton and Obama. It didn't worry them that Capt. Khan died in 2004/5, well before Obama came to power.
Outside of Trump's base, how will voters react to Trump's attempts to orchestrate a hate campaign against a Gold Star family?
Hillary is lucky she's up against Trump who lies every day. But Hillary, knowing she has a problem with trust, continues to make unforced errors. She is receiving poor reviews over an interview she gave to FoxNews. When asked by Chris Wallace about the emails, she said that Comey had said that she was telling the truth over the emails. WTF? When I saw that clip, I was stunned. Everyone knows his statement and subsequent testimony weren't a glowing endorsement of her. Why didn't she just say that Comey's entitled to his view but she was telling the truth as she believed it to be at the time? Why put words in Comey's mouth when that can be clearly disproved?
Oh boy. She's lucky that Trump is obsessed with his battle with the Khans at the moment.
Yep, his speech impressed Trump so much that he said he wants to hit the little guy. But Rudy Guliani, only an inch taller, is a huuuuge guy in Trump's mind.
No doubt. That's why I don't bother with sweeping claims that Trump can't win - how could I possibly know? Even the current polling is unreliable. Political pundits regard Labor Day (the 1st Monday in September) as the time when polling becomes a reasonably reliable predictor of what will happen 2 months later.
Yep. It's impossible for any single person to figure out the impact of these incidents, all the moreso for non-Americans like us. If he wins the election, then we would have to admit the possibility that this firefight gave him the chance to double down on anti-Muslim rhetoric and the condemnation by the press and GOP figures worked to his advantage. But I can say that his behaviour disgusts me.
Then surely you can point to some scientific support for that belief. After all, the causes and effects of the Zika virus are medical and scientific issues rather than a matter of political or religious belief, aren't they?
Do you remember the panic in the US over Ebola? Governor Chris Christie ordered that a nurse returning from Africa be held in isolation and she was held for 3 days. In the US, guns are seen as the solution, not the problem. Viruses are only championed by nutters like the Westboro Baptist Church which believes they are God's means of wiping out sinners. You can defend against a bad man with a gun as long as you or some other good guy is carrying an M-16 but those damn mossies are hard to take down unless you deploy neutron bombs. Not even a 20 foot wall would save the nation.
Even that NRA gun nut Tom Clancy premised 'Executive Orders' on an attack by Iran using weaponised Ebola intended to cripple the US. Concurrent attacks by Iranian terrorists using M-16s on President Jack Ryan's daughter at her daycare centre were brushed off with President Ryan aghast at suggestions the attack Could be used to justify gun control
Films and books have certainly conditioned the public to fear epidemics. Google 'films about viral outbreaks' and you'll come up with at least 73, with a nice little sub-category dealing with zombie-causing outbreaks as The Walking Dead fans would well know.
Lods, what you say makes a lot of sense but Flyboy's post just before yours shows how Trump may well make a mess of this issue.
Remember that the CNN article foreshadowed conspiracy theories erupting over the Zika virus? As if on cue, Flyboy posted a conspiracy theory from a charter member of the tin-foil-hat brigade. The author has left a very small digital footprint for someone with the impressive biography he provides for himself. Was he really nominated for a Pullitzer Prize (i.e. was he one of the 3 entrants selected by the jury or was he simply entered by a friend on payment of the $50 entry fee)? Anyway, how about this statement taken from the linked article:
Quote
This is my second article on the Zika-virus scam (article archive here). I’ve been to these rodeos before: HIV, West Nile, Swine Flu, SARS, Ebola. In each case, a virus is blamed for illness and death that actually arises from other causes.
Hands up those who think that those viruses were improperly blamed for those diseases? THIS BLOG looked into him and revealed he's a "germ theory denialist", an anti-vaxxer on steroids as most anti-vaxxers don't deny that viruses cause diseases but instead claim treatments and vaccinations cause more harm than good. He believes that this conspiracy by the medical cartel is a cover for depopulation.
Lods, you're right that this won't hurt Trump if he plays his cards right. But he has never met a conspiracy theory that he didn't like. He went big with the 'birther' conspiracy theory, saying that Obama had to prove he wan't born in a Muslim country and that he wasn't a secret Muslim who was intent on destroying America. Lately, he has jumped aboard the 'Ted Cruz's father conspired with Lee Harvey Oswald to kill JFK' bandwagon. If the Zika virus does spread, it will be an obvious and proper issue to bring up in the Presidential Debates. If he is asked whether the Zika virus is a health issue and what will he do about it, how will he respond? I'm sure everyone will hold their breath as he prepares his answer. Will he side with the anti-vaxxers or will he say that it's an issue and he'll kill all the mosquitos, that he's the biggest enemy of mosquitos everywhere? If he accepts that the Zika virus causes birth defects, what will he say when asked whether infected expectant mothers should be able to abort?
The only way he'll be able to duck the issue is to avoid interviews and debates. And that's very possible. After all, the evil media can't be trusted. Ban them all!
PS: We also have to remember that Florida is a State that is up for grabs and which might swing the election, as it did in 2000 for George Dubya. As Florida is ground zero when it comes to the Zika virus, mocking concerns over it might not be the smartest move. I'm sure that Trump's campaign team is hoping that Governor Scott can contain the virus and it dies as an issue.
Zika is here, in the USA. Fasten your seat belts because we're in for a bumpy ride.
Local mosquitoes in the Miami area are carrying the Zika virus, and have infected at least four Floridians. In announcing this alarming news during a press conference Friday morning, Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, added a sharp warning: "This is not just a Florida issue. It's a national issue -- we just happen to be at the forefront."
Now all the falderal typical of American outbreaks will commence: Political posturing, hysteria versus naysaying, conspiracy theories, demands for safety and care and a daily mounting toll of identified cases. And this year the hoopla will unfold against the background of one of the ugliest, most deeply divided election years in modern history. ... Scott no doubt saw the threat coming: every health expert knew swampy, mosquito-infested Florida would get hit with Zika first. Like some dreadful slow-motion horror movie Scott and scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have for months watched the Zika crisis unfold across Latin America, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico -- all the while expressing exasperation over the lack of congressional approval for federal funds to augment the state's $26 million emergency fund.
Scott said he found Washington's partisan disputes over Zika funding "profoundly disappointing," and his consternation only increased when Congress closed for summer recess, having reached no Zika funding agreement, thereby leaving states to muddle through the nation's peak mosquito season without hope of significant federal support until well after Labor Day. ... On Friday the CDC forecast that more than 10,000 pregnancies this year in Puerto Rico could be affected by Zika infections -- ten thousand. Whether you are inclined to support a right to life position or Planned Parenthood the prospect of idly bearing witness to thousands of pregnancies that result in miscarriages or birth defects should enrage. ... But it isn't just Florida. It would be a grave mistake to imagine that Zika will confine itself to the seaside villas of Miami or the suburbs of Broward County. Look out, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Carolinas, and, yes, the District of Columbia. The pressure Floridians are now applying in pursuit of federal support will swiftly magnify, as counties from Cameron, Texas, to Monmouth, New Jersey, join the din, demanding help from Washington.
Yes, we all know Washington is dysfunctional these days, but this isn't about arguing and refusing to compromise about highway construction -- this is about the nation's babies.
So fasten your seat belts, America -- the curtain is just now raising, and Act One of "Zika Hits the USA" has begun. And hecklers up in the cheap seats will be shouting, "Hey Congress, we told you so!"
Who could have seen this coming?
The experts say that a quarter of Puerto Ricans will have been infected by the end of the year. Puerto Rico is a territory of the US and even votes in presidential primaries.
The position of Governor Scott is interesting. He is the National Chairman of the Trump Super PAC. Though he demands federal help, he turned down a request made by the CDC to send in teams to help with contact tracing and testing. If I were the Governor, I'd accept any help offered, particularly when the CDC has experts who've been working on the Zika Virus for months. From a public health standpoint, the CDC should be involved as mosquitos and viruses don't respect State boundaries. I hope Governor Scott didn't refuse CDC assistance for political reasons and it has to be said that Florida has previously performed well in combatting other mosquito-borne diseases.
It'll be interesting to hear what the anti-science guy, Trump, will say about the Zika Virus. What conspiracy theory will he unleash? What will be his sage advice to devastated pregnant women?
Let's not forget that there are other issues that may well emerge. One is the Zika virus. Not only has the link to microcephaly been made but also the harm it causes isn't limited to that condition. It has now been established that it can be passed by sex with an infected person whether male or female and doctors have advised that the infectious period has been raised to 2 months.
Even worse, the experts believe that the virus is no longer confined to a tropical species of mosquito which has limited penetration into the US. It now looks as though the virus has jumped to the most common species of mosquito in California and others: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/healthy-choices/article92034182.html. This is a virus which seems to keep upping its game.
This plays into the Dems' wheelhouse. Obama tried to obtain $1.9b to fund efforts to deal with the possibility of an epidemic but the Republicans firstly would only consider authorising $1.1b in funding and even then they tried to attach riders to it so that it would divert funding from Obamacare and Planned Parenthood while overturning a ban o the flying of the Confederate flags in military cemeteries . It went nowhere. http://time.com/4406114/zika-funding-bill-fails-as-congress-is-unable-to-reach-compromise/
Raising issues of national healthcare, Planned Parenthood's role in giving family planning advice to pregnant women who might consider abortions of affected foetuses and issues of science generally, this would give Clinton a major advantage. And the inaction of the Republican Congress would hurt it in the congressional elections too.
