into the night and mist.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about Donald Trump's xenophobic hyper-nationalist followers. Why? Because they scare the shit out of me. Here's an excerpt from a Huffington Post article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-florida-rally_562ce403e4b0ec0a3894ba2d

Pro-immigration protesters and Donald Trump supporters clashed at a rally in Miami on Friday, leading to one protester being forcefully dragged out by his collar to chants of "USA! USA!" Ariel Rojas, one of eight student protesters from Florida International University, was seen on video being forcefully dragged to the ground by his collar and then kicked as rally-goers cheered.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to calls or emails about the scene, but NBC Miami reported that the campaign said the man who dragged the protester was neither a Trump campaign staffer nor an employee of the resort, but "merely an attendee" at the rally. Trump acknowledged the protesters several times during his hour-long speech. At one point, he encouraged people to remove the protesters and noted, "You can get 'em out, but don't hurt 'em."

"See the first group, I was nice: 'Oh, take your time,'" Trump said from the lectern. "The second group, I was pretty nice. The third group, I'll be pretty more violent. And the fourth group, I'll say, 'Get the hell out of here!'"

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated instance of violence from Trump supporters.

I'm in my late 50s and my father fought in the Second World War. All we have to do is look back about 90 years and we can see an alarming number of parallels between the US now and Germany in the waning days of the Wiemar Republic. We all know what happened then, but let's take an alarming look at what is happening in the present-day United States.

I will lay it out for you:
1. We already have crushing military might, complete with satellite proxy armies who will do our bidding
2. We already have a pervasive domestic 'security' apparatus, complete with rendition, illegal property seizure, and political prisoners held without trial
3. We already have theocrats who are revising the history we teach our children to downplay social movements and instead reflect obedience to the state
4. We already have the oligarchs, particularly the bankers and military industrial prison complex in the wings, waiting to increase profits
5. Our national government is deeply corrupted, with Citizens United allowing monied interests to legally bribe those we elect to represent us

All those things are already in place. The only thing, the only spark that is needed is a demagogue.

I'm very concerned here. I hope you are, too.

object, meant to draw our attention and interest away from the fact that the establishment wings of both parties support Wall Street bankers, the military industrial complex, and the neoliberal capitalist model.

The happy thing, the only thing that is saving us, I think, is social media. The people are always going to be at a disadvantage against these monied interests. And we must remember that they are smart, powerful and relentless. They put out their propaganda message 24/7 through all the corporate-owned mass media.

What do we have? Our minds, and our native curiosity. And, we have the internet, which places the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. And the only real 'freedom' we have? Our ability to think things through for ourselves.

I'm not sure where I got this advice, but it is very good advice: When someone says, 'well we need to do THIS,' follow the money. If you understand where the money to make THIS happen comes from and where it goes, then no matter what the propaganda organs SAY, you will understand who benefits and how it will affect you and your family.

An everyday example: in my state there is a huge pent-up demand for condominiums as growing numbers of Baby Boomers are downsizing from their suburban homes. Developers are going to the state legislature under the guise of 'removing onerous regulation.' What this actually means is that the developers want to remove liability regulations on the quality of their work. So, if they build a condo complex and it falls down around the ears of the residents because of shoddy construction practices, what they want is to NOT be held liable for this. But the media never TELLS you this; it never even mentions it. You must find out for yourself.

This, then - finding out for yourself and then thinking it through, is yours, mine and everyone's responsibility as citizens of a republic. We supposedly have a representative democracy where those we elect ostensibly look out for our interests, but the American people have become lazy and ignorant, partly - or mostly - because of this constant propaganda. So we sit around saying, 'well, the media should tell us this,' while at the same time forgetting who the media actually serves.

To find out what the candidates want, where they stand on issues, and what specific policies they want to implement is hard, true, but it is possible.
1. First, look at their websites. Look at where they say they stand on these issues.
2. Then look at their records in office. How have they voted? What have they done?
3. Compare their actions with their words. If the actions and words match, then you're in business.
4. If the actions and words don't match, toss out the words and look only at the actions.
5. Ask yourself if you agree with the actions; how did they benefit you? And if not you, whom did they ACTUALLY benefit?
6. Then look at where the candidates are getting their money. This will tell you what you need to know about each candidate.

A quick recommendation from me? www.berniesanders.com. Speaking personally, my own opinion, I agree with what Bernie says he wants to do. Bernie has a pretty successful 40 year record of trying to put those things in place. And, his money is coming only from small donations from supporters, NOT super PACS. That's why I have chosen to support Bernie.

imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators.

Here's what that tax will ALSO do:

I'm going to tell you a story about the 'stock-gate' scandal. Haven't heard of it? What a surprise! That's because the media in the USA is owned by 6, count them, 6 large corporations. So, I'm telling you:

The source is a happy little book called 'Web of Debt' by Ellen Brown.

This was first exposed in a 2004 Investors Business Daily article. Basically 'market makers' which are Wall Street investment bankers, are doing something illegal.

Oh, my goodness! Who would have thought that?

What they are doing is practicing an illegal practice called the 'naked short sell.' Basically, this is "a coordinated effort by hedge funds, broker deals and market makers to strip small and medium-sized public companies of their value.

You know, the ones YOU'VE invested in your 401K...

Between 1998 and 2004, this 'naked short selling' practice resulted in over 7,000 public companies being 'shorted out of existence.' Oh-oh. This resulted in a bunch of layoffs, too.

Basically, these Wall Streeters have a huge interest in doing this because they make a fee for every 'trade.'

The damage? As much as $1 to $3 trillion has been lost (this is YOUR 401K we're talking about here), and more than 1,200 hedge fund and offshore accounts have been involved in the scandal.

So, basically, our choice here is to:
A) allow the Wall Street greedheads to continue to rip us off, OR
B) put a tax on these transactions and use that money to pay for college tuition for our children and grandchildren!

So which would YOU rather do?

Golly, let me think...

It is about the Wall Street bankers and other oligarchs against the people on both sides who are sick and tired of the establishment picking their pockets.

Wall Street doesn't want another New Deal. They've spent the last 70 years pounding nails into the old one.

This is why, I think, when focus groups said Bernie won the debate, that was silenced.

This is why, when Bernie supporters began to post on CNN's Facebook after CNN declared Clinton the winner, CNN deleted the posts.

This is why, Chris Matthews, the original American exceptionalist, had nothing good to say about Bernie, and in fact referred to him as 'this guy calling for a revolution...'

This is why Wasserman Schultz is hanging on tight while under increasing attack from other high ranking members of the DNC.

Well, they've got the money. We've each got one vote. We'll see how it goes.

So there you have it. My opinion in all its glory.

Here's what a diarist named Kimberly Ross had to say and here's the link: http://www.redstate.com/2015/10/13/take-first-democratic-debate/

Martin O’Malley is definitely a robotic, odd duck. Tonight, he really seemed to be – more than anything – auditioning for the role of Vice President. He is as liberal as they come with regards to gun control, military interventionism, climate change, college tuition, etc. And when asked about whether it was “Black Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter”, he went with the former. Because apparently, “all” is too offensive.

Bernie Sanders didn’t disappoint. And by that I mean he maintained a crumpled lunatic persona. Always eager to yell, he said that climate change (yes, climate change) was our greatest national security threat. In an age when real people and nuclear weaponry are actual threats, he went with the weather. Another point he drove home was his dislike of those who have wealth. He isn’t a fan of the 1% (which is humorous considering Hillary was standing to his left), and wants them to pay. After tonight, I suspect he will have gained more followers. These will be ones who want others to pay for them, feel instead of think, and like an outsider with a penchant for yelling.

Hillary Clinton. Of all the candidates tonight, I believe she kept ahead of the pack, gained sympathy among Democratic voters, and, dare I say, a small number in the crowd probably even grew to like her. (Not me, of course.) Once she even said that she supports the God-given potential for each child, so it’s odd that this doesn’t include their God-given (unborn) life. Although she played the gender card many times, glossed over major foreign policy issues, and leaned on Bernie Sanders for a humorous (not really) mention of emailgate, I think she most likely gained ground against everyone else on that stage. She essentially “won” the debate tonight, however disconcerting that may be. The closest one to her in the polls is Bernie Sanders, and he didn’t beat her tonight. They’ll both maintain their following, and each will probably grow.

Again, I’m not surprised by the evening. The concerns about the policy leanings of these liberal candidates remains, Hillary seems to have cemented her lead ever so slightly, Bernie looks like the insane 60s radical as always, and the other three aren’t a threat. I expect the same emotional, illogical content from future debates, too.

So there you have it! You know, it just kills me that these people were able to take the joke-like Republican debates seriously. We were all rolling...