Disavowing Trump

I disavow Trump. Because of this and a few other things. His skills are still impressive. Update 1:  Just to be clear, what I’m doing here is getting out of the splatter zone. I am aware that Trump has disavowed David Duke and the KKK in the past and I am certain…

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Dilbert’s Changed Look Explained

Dilbert will look different the next six weeks. I haven’t taken a day off from work for about three years, and my drawing hand needed some rest and rehab. So I asked my “coworkers” (at Universal Uclick) to fill in for me while I try to figure out how vacations work….

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How to Spot a Narcissist (Trump Persuasion Series)

Donald Trump is the most famous narcissist in the world. That fact probably seems obvious to you, given Trump’s continuous self-promotion. Mental health experts agree with your assessment. Trump hits most of the checkboxes for the diagnosis. The biggest tell for narcissism is a belief that you are better than…

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The Trump Master Persuader Index and Reading List

Readers of this blog have been asking me to compile my Trump posts in a convenient index so you can direct others to it. And so I have. I’ll try to keep this updated as I go. The fun of it is seeing how early I predicted Trump’s rise (8/13/15)….

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Scalia and the Pillow

As you know, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia recently died. Here’s what we know. 1. He seemed healthy(ish) that day. 2. He was discovered with a pillow over his head. 3. No autopsy was done. He was declared dead by telephone. 4. There is no chance of President Obama getting the…

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Policies and Name Recognition (Trump Persuasion Series)

The Master Persuader filter, of which I blog, says Trump’s success is based on his persuasion skills. But the more common 2D narrative is that Trump has name recognition and a winning policy with immigration, at least for the Republican base. So, is Trump’s success in the campaign because of his…

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Why Does Trump Terrify People?

It isn’t unusual for members of the public to hate politicians. For example, lots of people hate President Obama. Some of that hatred is because of his policies, some is because of racism, and I assume there are a few other reasons. But I have never seen anyone who was…

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My New Hampshire Prediction Scorecard

On Monday I predicted that Rubio would outperform expectations in New Hampshire because the voting in primaries is – in my view – probably rigged. Instead, Rubio dropped like a rock after his Saturday debate in which Christie annihilated him. So I was totally wrong about Rubio getting a suspicious bump up in the…

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The Thinking Filters

As you watch pundits discuss the presidential elections, you might be wondering who is right, who is wrong, who is wise, and who is dumb. To that end, I put together the the following “high ground” chart.  As I have said in prior posts, I don’t believe our brains evolved…

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The Movie Persuasion Filter

If you were going to cast a Batman movie, and you had to pick from the Republican candidates, how easily could you fill out the cast? This will tell you what you really think of these folks. I think it would come out like this: Batman: Trump (battling lobbyists, China, ISIS,…

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New Hampshire Election Fraud Prediction

The New Hampshire primary tomorrow should be interesting.  As I often say, wherever you have large stakes, an opportunity for wrong-doing, and a small risk of getting caught, wrong-doing happens. That’s a universal law of human awfulness. When humans CAN cheat, they do. Or at least enough of them do.  That situation…

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The GOP Debate Scorecard (Master Persuader Series)

If your firewall is being uncooperative, see the image on Twitter here. If you have a life, and you missed the GOP debate on Saturday night, let me give you the highlights. Trump: Trump acted controlled and more presidential to counter the idea that he’s a loose cannon. That strategy looked effective…

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Friday Trump Joke

Trump offered to build a ballroom for the White House. I assume he will use an adjoining room for the rest of his body.  That is all. Have a good weekend.

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Scoring My Iowa Fraud Call

I got a lot of scorn this week for declaring Iowa a rigged election based on the vote totals alone, and no real evidence. Strangers on the Internet called me pathetic, desperate, and a few other words.  There is no evidence that the vote count was rigged, although opportunity and human nature…

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Spooky Alert! Spooky Alert!

I mentioned recently that my 2004 book, The Religion War, featured a leader named Cruz rising in the United States and bringing a war of annihilation to the Caliphate. Now we have candidate Ted Cruz doing well in the polls and stating his intentions to annihilate ISIS. Obviously that is a coincidence, but…

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