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Tuesday, 22 September 2015

The Beginning of the End for Trump: His Sarah Palin Moment

There comes a moment in the political life of every big-personality, more-sizzle-than-steak candidate when they step across the line of legitimacy, or illegitimacy (depending on your perspective), even for media addicted to the high ratings these candidate-entertainers provide. That moment for Sarah Palin was her Katie Couric interview in 2008 -- the hockey-mom-has-no-clothes revealing from which she, and the McCain campaign, never recovered. In Donald Trump's candidacy -- which The Huffington Post is appropriately covering in our Entertainment section -- the equivalent moment might have just happened.

It was not the moment in the second Republican debate when Carly Fiorina carved him up like an Easter ham with her withering "I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said" zinger. That drew blood (as did the dramatic 12 seconds she remained silent after her response), but it wasn't fatal. No, historians looking back will peg the beginning of the end of the Trump show to his New Hampshire moment last week. Taking questions at a town hall event in Rochester, Trump listened as an audience member asserted that President Obama is a Muslim, "not even an American." Trump looked the man square in the eye, and declared: "No ... He's a decent family man [and] a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign's all about. He's not [an Arab]."

Just kidding. That was actually what John McCain -- the one Trump said is "not a war hero" -- said to a woman at a campaign rally in 2008 who claimed that President Obama was an Arab. What Trump really said was, well, pretty much nothing: "We are going to be looking at a lot of different things and, you know, a lot of people are saying that."

There are few things as absolute in damning a candidate as a refusal to acknowledge simple reality -- especially a candidate who says he'll be tough with our enemies but refuses to even stand up to his own supporters. Refusing to acknowledge that Obama was born in this country is the equivalent of refusing to say that the earth is round. Even Trump's own supporters are embarrassed. Mark Cuban on Real Time with Bill Maher last Friday had to scramble for cover by categorically stating that the candidate he's supporting for president "is not gonna win. He's got no chance... none."

So when will the media be embarrassed enough to refuse to continue to give Trump the large megaphone they are giving him? Not because he's the front-runner -- come on, let's stop pretending that's the reason -- but because of the ratings he fuels as the entertainer he undoubtedly is.

As Sarah Palin demonstrated, even the ratings-crazed media are capable of falling out of love with a big-ratings stunt candidate. With Trump, you can already see it happening. The cracks are beginning to show. And when the media fall out of love they fall out of love very quickly.

Here's Chuck Todd, on NBC Nightly News just hours after Trump's New Hampshire town hall:

It means a slow fall. ... over time, I think this is the week we're going to look back on and say, "maybe this was the beginning of the end of Trump '16." We'll find out.

Indeed we will. Already, Todd's oft-replayed interview on Trump's private plane now seems a distant memory.

And here is George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, repeatedly asking the candidate to answer whether President Obama was born in the United States, a question that had the straight talker dodging, ducking and twisting:

STEPHANOPOULOS: So for the record, was President Obama born in the United States?

TRUMP: Well, you know, I don't get into it, George. I think about jobs. I'm talking about the military. I don't get into it. I mean they ask that question and I just want to talk about the things, because frankly, it's of no longer interest to me. We're beyond that. And it's just something I don't talk about.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, the way to get beyond it is to answer yes or no.

Do you believe this...

TRUMP: Well, that's -- that's possible, but I don't get into it and I just don't talk about it.

And on and on it went.

Trump's perceived strength is that he's a straight talker, willing to say what everyone else is thinking but no one dares to say. But what his New Hampshire moment reveals is the opposite of straight talk. He could have answered yes or no to Stephanopoulos in the same way he could have corrected the questioner. He could have even just distanced himself from the racist, hateful, untruthful message -- anything to show that he did not implicitly agree with the notion that President Obama is a secret, foreign-born Muslim and that all Muslims are, as the questioner said, "a problem" to be gotten rid of. Instead, he chose to say nothing.

Trump's Sarah Palin moment reveals that he's living in another reality. His failure to set the record straight at one of his own campaign events isn't a matter of opinion; it's a matter of sanity and leadership. And anytime the media refuse to call out and hold a candidate accountable for such fundamental and incontrovertible untruths, that's irresponsible. Trump certainly provides plenty to work with: According to Politifact, he has made exactly zero "true" statements. So the New Hampshire moment will also, we hope, mark the moment the media have begun, at last, to do their job. So far Trump has been allowed to play by his own rules -- using the same standards for a presidential campaign as he brought to his career as an entertainer and reality show star -- and the media have given him a pass. He's been treated as an exception -- even allowed to phone in to the morning shows (even the Sunday ones) whenever he wants to air his ridiculous views -- which has only fueled the media mania surrounding his run.

But the mania is starting to fade. Cracks are appearing in Trump's latest Trump-branded edifice -- because this one never actually had a foundation. The only surprise is that the unraveling of Trump, the candidate who can't stop talking, came not from something he said, but something he didn't say.

Is Caitlyn Jenner In ‘Constant Agony’ Following Gender Transition Surgeries?

While she may be looking how she has always wanted to look, Caitlyn Jenner is apparently in ‘constant pain’ following all her recent surgeries.

Copyright: [Rex]

According to those pesky ‘source’ types over at RadarOnline, Cait is having a right old nightmare following her various gender transition procedures.

She’s apparently in ‘agony’ and ‘constantly’ dosing up on painkillers.

“Caitlyn’s in constant pain since she had all those operations. She’s happy with how her transformation’s going, but she’s finding the surgery hell on her body,” the ‘source’ told the site, adding:

“She’s currently taking painkillers until the work on her face and body settles in.”

Copyright: [Rex]

However, the 65-year-old is believed to be pleased with how things and going and totally certain that the pain is worth it.

“She’s happy with how her transformation’s going, but she’s finding the surgery hell on her body,” the source added.

HOWEVER, Gossip Cop reckons that they have heard direct from Caitlyn’s reps who have flat out denied the story.

Instead, they say that the “only pain Jenner has is RadarOnline.”

Ouch!

Copyright: [Rex]

Caitlyn Jenner is believed to have spent millions of dollars on the best gender reassignment surgery that money can buy – including a face lift, brow lift and changes to the hairline, forehead, jaw and chin.

The reality star is yet to confirm whether or not she’ll actually go through with the full genital transition.

However, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s ‘Standards Of Care’ advises that genital surgery not be done until at least a year after transition.

We guess we will have to wait and see. Well, hopefully not literally.

$50,000 a night hotel room? With or without breakfast? Lol

The Ty Warner Penthouse suite in New York is the priciest suite in the US as it costs $50k a night. Why does it cost that much? Well, according to the business Insider, it has an amazing 360-degree panorama (as it is the highest suite in the Big Apple). It is 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) which is about the size of an NBA basketball court. Plus a 56 square metre bedroom with finishing touches like Thai silk with 22 carat gold threads. The suite comes with its own private elevator, a 24-hour private butler, a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce, an art concierge (to guide you through the hotel’s collection) and a personal trainer and the suite can accommodate up to three people.

But then again, when you think about it sensibly...there are way better things to do with $50k...lol

2yr old girl murdered by her mother's boyfriend because he thought she was possessed by devil

The child known as 'Baby Doe' whose remains were found on an island in Boston Harbor has been identified after a long and exhaustive search. The girl's body was found in a trash bag on June 25 by a woman who was walking her dog on Deer Island, Boston Globe reports.

Horrifying details about the girl's short life and death were revealed in court Monday morning, Sept. 21 as her mom, Rachelle Bond, and Bond's boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, were arraigned after their arrest on Friday.

Bella Bond was killed in her bedroom by her mother's boyfriend - a man who was convinced the toddler was possessed by demons, a prosecutor told a Boston courtroom on Monday.

McCarthy, 35, is being held without bond on a murder charge. Bond, 40, is being held on $1 million bail after authorities charged her as an accessory after the fact. Assistant District Attorney David Deakin told a Dorchester District Court judge on Monday that a "lifelong friend" of McCarthy's broke the case open. The friend told authorities that he had lived with Bond and McCarthy for a week or two just several months before her death, and was "appalled by their treatment" of Bella.

"What troubled him the most was that both of them, particularly Mr. McCarthy, had locked the girl in the closet for 30 minutes to an hour while she screamed to be let out," Deakin said. "Mr. McCarthy told the lifelong friend that she was possessed by demons, and that's why she deserved that treatment." The treatment escalated into deadly force sometime in late May, Deakin said, when one night, Bella refused to go to bed. "Mr. McCarthy said he was going to go to the back bedroom and calm her down," Deakin said. When Bond went to check on them, he continued, "She found Mr. McCarthy standing over Bella... with his hand near her abdomen." Bella wasn't talking.

Bond noticed her face was swollen, Deakin said. "She went to her daughter and picked her up and she told police that she knew at that moment that her daughter was dead." No manner of death has been determined by a medical examiner. Suffocation or asphyxiation, which could have resulted from blunt force to her stomach, wouldn't necessarily leave signs of physical trauma, Deakin said.

McCarthy allegedly told Bond that Bella "was a demon anyway. It was her time to die." He then allegedly threatened to kill Bond if she reported anything to police. Both Bond and McCarthy have prior criminal records and were involved in drugs, Deakin said. They will return to court on Oct. 20. The friend who tipped off authorities told them that he texted McCarthy, asking where Bella was after noticing a resemblance between the billboards put up across Boston seeking information about a "Baby Doe." The friend said McCarthy claimed Bella had been taken away by child services, who twice visited Bella over the course of her lifetime but left her in Bond's custody.

After killing Bella, according to Deakin, McCarthy stuffed her body in a trash bag and kept it in a refrigerator for days before dumping her in the Boston Harbor. When her body was found, she was dressed in white pants with black polka dots and a zebra-print blanket was left in the trash bag. The woman who discovered Bella's body noticed the bag after her dog began pawing at it.

Authorities also found books on "demons and demonology" in the apartment the couple shared, Deakin said. They were allegedly high on heroin for several days after Bella's death. Bella's father, Joseph Amoroso, told local media in Boston that Bond told him her boyfriend killed the girl. Amoroso, 32, said he had been living in Florida for the past couple of years and had never met his daughter.

He also wiped tears from his eyes as he sat and listened in court on Monday. Bella had pierced ears and appeared well-nourished at the time of her death. She would have turned 3 years old last month. Source: Boston Globe

Cross River Commissioner Nominees To Write Aptitude Test

All nominees for appointment as commissioners in Cross River State are expected to write mandatory integrity and aptitude tests before they can be appointed into office. According to a statement signed by the special assistant on media to Governor Ben Ayade, Mr. Christian Ita and released yesterday September 21st, the nominees would have to undergo integrity and aptitude tests before their names would be forwarded to the state House of Assembly for confirmation.

“His Excellency, Professor Ben Ayade wants all nominees for appointments as commissioners to undergo integrity test. Additionally, the nominees would write an aptitude test,” the statement said.

It added that the governor believes that the prospective appointees must be subjected to ethical measurement to ascertain whether or not they can function with utmost integrity. A selection committee to oversee the process has been constituted which is to be headed by renowned Abuja-based lawyer, Mr. Paul Erokoro.

Asari Dokubo accuses DSS of disabling his Facebook account

The spokesperson to the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front (NDPSF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, Rex Ekiugbo Anighoro, has alleged that the Facebook account of Asari Dokubo has been disabled by the Department of State Services (DSS).

A statement released yesterday by Ekiugho titled: 'Buhari and APC: Depotism and the Confiscation of Freedom of Expression: Time Bomb Waiting to Explode', alleged that Asari's account was disabled after he began a serialised article on his Facebook page on the gaffes and hypocrisy of Pres. Buhari.

"Although we are not surprised at this junta’s long awaited modus, it remains a sad commentary that we are back to stone age where press freedom is endangered"

Ekiugbo said in the statement said investigations carried out by them revealed that President Buhari through his media aides had begun the systematic dismantling of accounts of all strong and key opposition voices in the social media network through frivolous petitions of ‘inciting public unrest and the making of hate speeches’ to management of Facebook in their desperate moves to control the network media space.

James McNair's family come for Tracy Morgan following appearance at Emmys

James McNair is the man who died after a Walmart truck slammed into a limo-bus carrying him, comedian Tracy Morgan and others on the New Jersey turnpike last year. James was Tracy's mentor and comedy writing partner and during his Emmy Awards appearance this past Sunday, Trace failed to mention his late writing partner on stage, sending his family into a rage. James McNair's son Jamel wrote in an angry Facebook post that has since been deleted;

"You take the Emmy stage and give a speech and tell jokes in front of thousands of people. But you don't show up to celebrate the life of your best friend 'Uncle Jimmy Mack' at his (June 12) Honor, send a smoke signal, give a call, text, send a damn pigeon."

Mack's sister tells NY Daily News,

"I understand it's been a great ordeal for Tracy over the last 15 months. I just feel in some form or fashion, he should have acknowledged my brother - his mentor - because he lost his life."

"I know there's a healing process, mentally and emotionally. I'm sure being in that limo and seeing certain things, it was highly traumatic for him. But just take a minute along the way to acknowledge my brother. He has children, siblings, a big family all bearing that same pain."