BELLA DONNA

You can ride high atop your pony
I know you won't fall
'Cause the whole thing's phoney....
(From "Bella Donna" by Stevie Nicks.)

Oh my! So what is Donna Brazile up to now?

"Before I called Bernie Sanders, I lit a candle in my living room and put on some gospel music. I wanted to center myself for what I knew would be an emotional phone call.

I had promised Bernie when I took the helm of the Democratic National Committee after the convention that I would get to the bottom of whether Hillary Clinton’s team had rigged the nomination process, as a cache of emails stolen by Russian hackers and posted online had suggested. I’d had my suspicions from the moment I walked in the door of the DNC a month or so earlier, based on the leaked emails. But who knew if some of them might have been forged? I needed to have solid proof, and so did Bernie....."

What is she up to?

I guess she's up to a few things at once:

1) Peddling her book, fishing for invitations to the several Late Shows and suchlike. Hmm - discovering how they'll square their constant on-going Hillary Clinton ass-licking with Ms Brazile's words could even persuade me to watch!

In July 2017, Hachette Books announced that it had acquired the rights to Brazile's forthcoming book, Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House, set to be published on November 7, 2017. Hachette said the book would be "equal parts campaign thriller, memoir, and roadmap for the future." (Wikipedia)

Ms Brazile could also be:
2) covering her own ass, in case of future revelations touching on other, erm...iffy goings on, where she could be seen as having been involved.
Or:
3)trying to position herself for a prominent post in some new and "cleaned up" version of the Democratic Party, should that come up on the near, or far horizon.

Most likely: a combination of 1), 2) & 3).

As someone at Twitter, or elsewhere on the net commented:

"Not since the words "Et tu, Brute?" were uttered has the backstabbing been this spectacular."

However, nothing Ms Brazile has now "exposed" was really news to anyone not blinded by the special, and no doubt paid for, HRC bullshit peddled constantly at so-called liberal blogs, websites, shows and pundits. The Podesta/Wikileaks e-mails gave us this same news many months ago....oh yes...but of course, how could I forget? "Russia!"

As commenter, "prisonersdilema" wrote (at - I think - Common Dreams ?)

Lots of ink has been spilled defending the DNC, and Hillary Clinton. Turns out that was mis guided at best. Much of that ink contributed to the divisive politics, that was designed to confuse people and mislead them. This is part of the way the elite rule, and it is the root of identify politics, to divide and conquer. The DNC, is gone say goodbye, this is the last nail in the coffin. I can only hope that there's a jail cell with Hillary's name on it.

I'm not entirely in accord with that commenter's last sentiment, I'd rather that she simply exited gracefully stage left from the political scene - never to return!

With bells on...

I'm at a loss how to comment, with any good sense, about US politics (or even about British politics, especially Brexit) these days. "Sometimes the only thing you can do is stare blankly."* For now, I'll rely on anyone remaining more clear-headed than I'm feeling:
(*A line from "The Long Earth" by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - my current read.)

Jim Haygood, a regular in the comments section at naked capitalism, on 17 October wrote, in the afternoon "Water Cooler" segment:

Truthdig has posted an awesome interview of Chris Hedges by WSWS.

Excerpt:

Cris Hedges: Politicians like the Clintons, Pelosi and Schumer are creations of Wall Street. That is why they are so virulent about pushing back against the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. Without Wall Street money, they would not hold political power.

The Democratic Party doesn’t actually function as a political party. It’s about perpetual mass mobilization and a hyperventilating public relations arm, all paid for by corporate donors. The base of the party has no real say in the leadership or the policies of the party, as Bernie Sanders and his followers found out. They are props in the sterile political theater.

These party elites, consumed by greed, myopia and a deep cynicism, have a death grip on the political process. They’re not going to let it go, even if it all implodes.

Bring it, Lord!

INDEEDY! (With bells on!)

I'll add a little more from the Chris Hedges interview, this on identity politics:

Chris Hedges: Well, identity politics defines the immaturity of the left. The corporate state embraced identity politics. We saw where identity politics got us with Barack Obama, which is worse than nowhere. He was, as Cornel West said, a black mascot for Wall Street, and now he is going around to collect his fees for selling us out.

My favorite kind of anecdotal story about identity politics:
Cornel West and I, along with others, led a march of homeless people on the Democratic National Convention session in Philadelphia. There was an event that night. It was packed with hundreds of people, mostly angry Bernie Sanders supporters. I had been asked to come speak. And in the back room, there was a group of younger activists, one who said, “We’re not letting the white guy go first.” Then he got up and gave a speech about how everybody now had to vote for Hillary Clinton. That’s kind of where identity politics gets you. There is a big difference between shills for corporate capitalism and imperialism, like Corey Booker and Van Jones, and true radicals like Glen Ford and Ajamu Baraka. The corporate state carefully selects and promotes women, or people of color, to be masks for its cruelty and exploitation.....The new form of feminism is an example of the poison of neoliberalism. It is about having a woman CEO or woman president, who will, like Hillary Clinton, serve the systems of oppression....

Waiting...

Over the years on this blog I've often enjoyed scribbling a few lines on US politics, but at present, on that front, I'm simply confused. To my eye and ear US political commentary has lately swerved unnervingly in several directions at once - or in quick succession. I don't know who I am, politically, any longer.

Arriving here in 2004, just before Bush's win of his second term, I rapidly realised I wasn't an American conservative, aka Republican. After watching how Democrats performed, I realised I wasn't a Democrat either. By 2008 when I became a US Citizen and was eligible to vote, I registered Independent, the only other option in Oklahoma.

I detected no valid left-side, equivalent to the UK's old Labour Party in politics here. Democrats were, at best, the equivalent of UK's old and ineffective Liberal party; I'd never have considered supporting them in my wildest nightmares. I did, however, vote for Obama in 2008, with high hopes that his soaring rhetoric would not crash and burn. It did. In 2012 I left the presidential choice box blank on the ballot paper.

That was then.

When Senator Bernie Sanders declared his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election, I knew, and clearly, who I was politically - at last! That happy condition was short-lived, due to the DNC's corrupt doings to ensure - so they thought - a Hillary Clinton win. I could not bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton in November 2016, neither could I, in all conscience, vote for Donald Trump, so I voted for the only other option on the ballot - a Libertarian.

But that's all done now, the die was cast, we're stuck with the outcome: President Trump. Democrats/Liberals have split into at least two factions: those who retain Clinton-fever and still smart at her loss, blaming anything and anyone they can for it - even Russia! Another faction is a mix of former Sanders supporters, and other Democrats turned off by earlier Clintonite meddlings, even some who voted for Trump in desperation. The second faction tends to be the target of the first faction's ire. Most major newspapers (far as I can tell) and political websites on the liberal side support the first faction - strongly. A recent, and sickening, example appeared in the magazine Vanity Fair: Why the Alt-left is a Problem. I was happy to see that Yves Smith of naked capitalism.com had written an excellent rebuttal yesterday.

Of late, and apart from output at naked capitalism.com, I've often found palatable articles on what are considered to be more conservative-leaning websites and blogs. That is a tad worrying, and why I'm feeling confused. Once again I don't know, politically, who I am, where I fit - if anywhere.

I don't see President Trump as the monster many do, but he's certainly not of presidential calibre; the people he has picked for his team do not promote confidence. In time, I suspect he'll settle - or be settled through manipulation - into a template of near-classic Republican proportions, his frequent Tweets an added bonus.

At the weekend I read several other pieces decrying what their "liberal" authors termed the "alt-left". I'm not sure if I'm of the alt-left variety. I suspect not. I think I'm far left - waiting in far left field - out there where buses don't run. Mostly in solitude, gazing into the horizon, watching, waiting for something to change.

As John Mayer sang:

It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change...

Sundry Rant

Couldn't agree more!


Put another way:

Well, well, well....who'da thunk it?

It's 1.30 am as I type this - still no definite result, but looking Trumpish. I am beyond surprised. Unless things swing the other way in the last knockings it'll have been a US version of the Brexit effect. Nobody expected a Trump repetition!

I intend to stay up until the end, even if I don't go to bed until later today. This has to be historic in some way, the people have made themselves heard - at last! They should've done it for Bernie, and would've done it but DNC stopped all that, for this I shall never, ever forgive them. So Trump has become the people's weapon now, for good or ill.

OMG....news that Hillary Clinton has called Donald Trump to concede the race.

It's over. Mike Pence speaking now.....then Donald Trump, President Elect. Decent speech, I thought. CNN and MSNBC wingin' it and hiding exploded heads as best they can. I wonder what President Obama will say.....

Sleep. 2.20 am. (That didn't work - still awake 6 am!)

Tarot Trio (looking for a hint on the election's outcome.)

We're within spittin' distance of voting day now. I got nuttin' new. Thought maybe I'd try a Tarot trio, asking a simple question of my deck: "Who will be our next president?"
Tarot doesn't always work for me, but occasionally it has worked - and spookily so.

These are the three cards I drew, in this order, after asking my question, also added are a selection of interpretations from a good website, Learn Tarot. So...

Who will be our next president?
Response:7 Swords/Strength/7 Rods or Wands



7 Swords can mean things like

running away/shirking responsibility/sneaking off/ leaving
avoiding obligations/being afraid to face the music
taking the easy way out/hiding from the truth/ procrastinating
and/or
being a lone wolf/feeling you don't need anyone else/wanting independence
keeping something to yourself/staying aloof
and/or
choosing hidden dishonor/deceiving or being deceived/ covering your tracks/maneuvering behind the scenes/ being two-faced/seeing others take the rap/controlling without appearing to/avoiding a shameful secret/lying or stealing.



Hmm - does that describe Clinton or Trump? Fits either one! Next card:


STRENGTH (a Major Arcana card so most significant of all)
Can mean:

Showing strength/knowing you can endure/having a gallant spirit
feeling an unshakable resolve/taking heart despite setbacks
having stamina/ being a rock
and/or
being patient/dealing calmly with frustration/maintaining composure
refusing to get angry/showing forbearance
and/or
being compassionate/giving others lots of space/tolerating/
understanding what others are feeling/forgiving imperfection/
being kind
and/or
achieving soft control/persuading/working with/guiding indirectly/being able to influence/
tempering force with benevolence/demonstrating the strength of love.


I'm not clear that that card describes either Clinton or Trump! Clinton fans, those well dosed with the kool-aid, will see her there, I think.

Last card:
7 Wands/Rods

Being aggressive/going after what you want/taking the offensive/firing the first shot
fighting/making your point forcefully/seizing the advantage
and/or
being defiant/holding out against pressure/opposing all challengers/combating criticism/refusing to yield/resisting authority/showing conviction/ having a fixed position/
demonstrating strong character/standing up for what you believe/knowing you are right/acting resolutely.

Well, this could relate to Clinton or Trump, according to one's preference, I guess.


All in all the 3 cards do present the current scenario, which is something! No clear prediction of the winning candidate. For a clear hint of a Clinton win I'd have expected a female-ish hint (a Queen, the Empress etc.) Maybe that'd be asking too much of my recently little-used deck. I guess the winner will be the candidate who is able to transform attributes of the first card, via attributes of Strength, into attributes of the last card. A hint, perhaps, that all is still in play.

Hair-raisingly

Snip from website of astrologer Marjorie Orr on 29 October, under the heading
Hillary’s private emails and the FBI – beyond rational understanding

“Do we actually know who told Hillary she could use a private email?” wrote close aide and transition team member Neera Tanden in a July 2015 note recently revealed by WikiLeaks. “And has that person been drawn and quartered? Like [this] whole thing is fucking insane.”
[Ms Orr}:....... nowadays we find out just how hair-raisingly bizarre/ill-judged/incompetent/arrogantly obstinate our erstwhile leaders are, almost immediately.

Ms Orr goes on to comment on the natal chart of Huma Abedin, another longtime close aide and friend of Hillary Clinton. Abedin has been at the centre of this weekend's news and noise. FBI director James Comey announced that the FBI is, once again, investigating the matter of Hillary Clinton's e-mails. New York Police Department, during their own investigation of Abedin's estranged husband, Anthony Weiner and his alleged misdeeds on the net, had reported that a trove of Abedin's e-mails were discovered on devices seized from Weiner relevant to their investigation. No need, I'm sure to regurgitate detail of the weekend's news, it's still all over the net and no doubt on TV and radio also.

I decided I'd throw in a 12 noon natal chart for Huma Abedin though, just for the record. Marjorie Orr's comments on the chart are at the above link to her website.

Lots of Leo! Lots of fixedness! I don't much like natal Jupiter a degree from fixed star Algol - the demon star! I wonder if her Moon is in Leo or Virgo? I'd guess Leo. Virgo Moon would have been more careful with each and every step when dealing with sensitive e-mail - especially with a husband like hers rampant on the net.

Some writers surmise that the laptop on which a huge trove of Abedin's e-mail has been discovered was once used jointly with her husband, disgraced former politician Anthony Weiner, he of the peinis pics and other unpleasantnesses. A Virgo Moon would have remembered that her mails had been stored on that lap-top, and would have dealt with the matter appropriately. When the inquiry into Clinton's private e-mail server began, a Virgo Moon would have disclosed that this laptop might hold relevant material. A Virgo Moon would not have "forgotten" or been surprised, or would "not know how it got there"! Goodness me!

The whole scenario is, as Marjorie Orr remarked above, "hair-raisingly bizarre". Ya couldn't make it up!

Shallowly

I'm going to be really shallow here (you have been warned). I'm prodded by something written by Ted Rall yesterday in his piece published at Smirking Chimp and at Counterpunch.

From: The 4 things Hillary could do to close the deal against Trump:

........Then there’s her incredibly ugly, unbelievably hideous wardrobe: it’s hard to like someone who makes your eyes burn. But let’s face it. Hillary Clinton, probably like you and definitely like me, can’t do anything about her personality. At 68, that stuff is baked in. Still, there’s a lot she could do to close the deal against Donald Trump.....

(My highlight.)

Google Image offers up several pics of Ms Clinton in her many trouser suits - or as they call 'em on this side of the Pond "pant suits".

These are not some of the most recent creations we've seen during this election go-around, but do illustrate one of my main quibbles about her style - the other quibble was the buttoned up round-necked jackets she was sporting during the primaries. The jacket she wore during the last debate with Trump - the grey job with long, lighter coloured lapels - was a big improvement. However, it's those darn trousers that, for me, take away from any total good look. Most of her trouser legs are too narrow, and almost all are too short. To my eye women's trousers should cover the front of the foot or, if not, show off a nice soft boot top (and she could afford the very best light-weight boots that money can buy!) Those narrow-bottomed trousers are out of proportion; low-fronted "court shoes" are not a good look with trousers. The trousers of the turquoise suit, 4th from left in the first photo above, are about right, but she hardly ever wears them that way. The skinny leg look is fine for slender young things who can get away with just about anything - she ain't one of those. Narrow trouser bottoms with a bit of flesh/stocking showing, on a woman of Hillary's age and size, just look bad. I'm surprised that her advisers don't...well...advise better!

Now...I am no fashionista by any measure, as I've written before when doing a bit of ranting about clothes; do feel, though, that I can tell what looks good, right and proportional.

Oh my - how shallow was that!? What does it matter what this lady looks like and what she wears? It really shouldn't matter at all. If she'd just keep us out of World War 3, I'd be happy enough if she wore an old hempen sack clinched with duct tape, a muddy pair of green wellies on her feet.

Back to it...

The blog's been on hold for a couple of weeks - what's been goin' on? Nothing terribly inspiring on the political front, for sure!

There was the TV debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - the one when Trump said Clinton would be in jail if he were to become president. That brought on a wan smile. Then there was the debate between would-be vice-presidents, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. Well, that one had me yelling at the TV, "Kaine, can you not shut your flippin' mouth for two minutes together and let the other guy speak?!" I was not impressed with Tim Kaine, at all. Mike Pence's politics makes him a no-no for me, but can't argue with the fact that he did come over as far more presidential/vice-presidential than either Trump or Kaine. Clinton darn well ought to be coming over as presidential - she has been aiming for the job her whole life!

Then during last week ...oh dear! But really, was anyone surprised to read about Trump's past unpleasantnesses? Haven't we seen and heard enough over many, many months to realise that, if someone began digging through old records and videos, something nasty would emerge - it'd be more surprising if it hadn't. What has emerged, so far, is nasty, but par for the course from a guy like Donald Trump, I'd have thought. It won't change many minds, nor will anything worse that might be presented for our disgust during the next weeks. I wish all media would be silenced, blinds down, by presidential decree, until 8 November at 10p.m!

What else? During the first week of bloglessness we had a surprise and lightning fast visit from husband's younger daughter, who lives in Austin, Texas. We'd intended taking off for a few days before that, but one or other us us feeling one degree under resulted in our sitting tight for a while longer.

We left last Monday, heading for Kansas, ended up in Hutchinson for a night or two. We really wanted to visit the Cosmosphere there - a museum affiliated to the Smithsonian. We arrived there at around 9.30 one morning, to a car park full to the gills, and two school buses just arrived, also full to the gills. The foyer was heaving, very noisy, with several teachers trying to keep the excited chit-chat down to a dull roar. We thought it best to postpone our visit, and instead drove around a couple of nearby small towns discovering antique, vintage and junk stores. Looked again at the Cosmosphere later in the day, but the car park was still overflowing. Another time, perhaps.

We then moved on to Emporia a little further to the north and east, wandered around that area, taking in some very nice scenery, as far east as Ottawa, Kansas and Baldwin City - not at all the classic Kansas scenery of featureless flatness, more like wooded areas of Missouri. The trees up there have begun to turn orange and deep red - especially the Maples. One little town was preparing for their annual Maple Festival at the weekend.

We arrived home Sunday afternoon, via Ponca City in the northernmost reaches of Oklahoma.

We kept an eye open, during travel, for election lawn signs. There weren't many. It seemed to us that Trump-Pence ones were slightly more in evidence, but still were few and far between. OK and KS are both deeply red states, of course. A few Clinton-Kaine signs were around too. Most lawn signs, by far, were for local and state positions. Perhaps this indicates that nobody, of either persuasion, is feeling particularly presidentially inspired this time around. I know I'm not!

Weather? A whole year's worth in less than a week! We left with temps in the 80s, an overnight storm, then within 24 hours, in Kansas (maybe in Oklahoma too), temps dropped to mid 40s with a knife-sharp cold wind blowing all day. Two days like that, then a slow climb back to the high 80s by the time we reached home yesterday.


I almost forgot - it's Music Monday... and it's a mad world ain't it? Cue Adam Lambert:

Motley

The 10 Best Photographs Ever Taken Without Photoshop.


World Map of Y-DNA Haplogroups and possible migration routes.


Two interesting recent pieces by British astrologer Marjorie Orr:

URANUS – bright mind, pity about the split from the body.
SATURN – laughter as well as tears.

Stronger Together
Paperback by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tim Kaine.

DO READ the COMMENTARY (unless you are a fan of this pair). There's a very long thread of comments, growing by the hour, at time of typing this! Many "reviewers" and commenters will be Trump supporters, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of disappointed Bernie people and third party people represented too. I detest Trump as much as the next person, but I'm so tired of having anti-Trump cartoons, articles, videos thrust before my eyes, day in, day out. There's just as much wrong, in different ways, with the other presidential candidate - she's getting no quarter from me.

Anyway, as Michael J. Keeneyon commented on the featured volume, and I feel certain he's right: The comments are better than the book.

A random trio of examples:

By Daniel B.on September 14, 2016

I was going to read this book.....I really was. But just as I got started, I found myself under sniper fire, passed out, and fell and hit my head. After that I got double vision and had to wear glasses that were so damn thick I couldn't even see to read. As if that wasn't enough, I then had an allergic reaction to something and started coughing so hard I spit out what looked like a couple of lizard's eyeballs, my limbs locked up, and I passed out and fell down again, waking up only to find out I had been diagnosed with pneumonia 2 days earlier. Somehow I managed to power through it all, but it's a good thing I was able to make a small fortune on this random small trade in the commodities market (cattle futures or some such thing) and then, miracle of all miracles, a few banks offered me a few million to just talk to their employees for a few minutes - and all that really helped out because I swear I was dead broke and couldn't figure out how I was gonna come up with the 6 bucks to pay for this book, let alone pay the $1,500 for my health insurance this month. I still want to read it, but, honestly, what difference at this point does it make? I hear it sucks anyway.

By Scott Shepard on September 18, 2016

This is easily the greatest book ever written! I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me. I’m going to buy a couple cases so that this book can be in every pew at my church! It’s almost holy in what it contains!
The book lays out a vision for our country and all its people. It’s a blueprint for building a nation that flows with milk and honey.
Hillary is our deliverer!

(OK, Brazile. I wrote what you told me to write. Will you now release my child unharmed?)

By Coug Moogon September 18, 2016

This is the sleeper hit of the 2016 election season. I liked it so much I bought 400,000 cases of it at full retail price. Putting Tim Kaine on the jacket photo doing the German salute is very subtle in its messaging as well.

A tour de force.

--Lloyd Blankfein, CEO
Goldman Sachs

Unexpectedly

Unexpected news on Sunday, (updated below) of Hillary Clinton's health-related problem made possible for the world to see via a video, taken by a casual bystander, subsequently spread around the net like dandelion wisps on the wind, could be the first of several unexpected happenings during the remainder of this long and taxing election season.

On watching the video, I immediately recalled my post of around a month ago when I wrote here:
Expectedly...or not

If something unexpected should cause change, on the Democratic candidate's side - for instance: Hillary Clinton's health issues? If such issues do exist, and were to become more obvious, calls could arise for more detailed medical examination with publication of results. New revelations regarding her e-mail debacle or the Clinton Foundation shenanigans, more damaging to Hillary Clinton than any before (via Wikileaks)? If circumstances in either scenario were serious enough, her chosen VP, Tim Kaine would come into more intense focus, perhaps acting as candidate. Or, the DNC might decide to choose, as replacement, someone for whom public votes have been cast, or someone of proven ability at national level: Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden? I doubt the DNC would ever countenance Senator Bernie Sanders as candidate, no matter how many states he carried in the primaries, Wall Street and the oligarchs who rule the DNC wouldn't allow it. Joe Biden though could, I suspect, improve slightly the Dems' chances in the General. Fewer voters, especially former Bernie Sanders supporters, hate him with the same intensity they hate, or distrust, Hillary Clinton. Tim Kaine, though...not so sure, nobody really knows him. A more likely scenario, should some unexpected event(s) befall Clinton, would be to somehow, if at all possible with the current president's influence, push her through the difficulties and into the presidency, then worry about other issues arising.

Given that Secretary Clinton appeared to recover well after spending some time at her daughter's apartment on Sunday, proving perhaps that what happened was, as reported, due simply to heat exhaustion, was easily remedied by rest in a cool environment. Alternatively, and more seriously, the event could have been a symptom of some known chronic, and possibly progressive, ailment of which her family, aides and the Secret Service are all well aware, and equipped to deal with. If the second of those speculations were to be correct, I'd guess that the (highlighted) outcome mentioned in the last sentence of the clip from my August post would apply.

No sooner had I finished drafting this post than I saw an afternoon report in the New York Times updating the situation - clip:

“Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies. On Friday, during follow up evaluation of her prolonged cough, she was diagnosed with pneumonia,” said Dr. Lisa R. Bardack, who examined Mrs. Clinton at her house in Chappaqua on Sunday. “She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning’s event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely.”

Whether her problem is exactly as described, or there is more to it than the people are being told, I do wish Secretary Clinton a quick return to better health. I'm no fan of hers politically, will not vote for her in November, but simply as one "old gal" observing another "old gal" - I hope she will get better soon, health-wise at least!

It's Music Monday - staying in tune with the unexpected:
Sheryl Crow and Every Day is a Winding Road:

Wild Imaginings?

Could Donald Trump really become the USA's next president - other than in our feverish nightmares or scary daytime imaginings? Rational analysis says not.

Hillary Clinton Has Edge Over Donald Trump In General Election
This is a piece to watch, ratings will be updated
SNIP :

Hillary Clinton would have a significant electoral advantage over Donald Trump in the general election, based on an NPR analysis.

The Democratic former secretary of state would start out with already exactly enough electoral votes to win the presidency, 270-191, based on states considered safe, likely and to lean toward either candidate. The ratings, which will be updated at least monthly until Election Day, are based on fundamentals — historical trends and demographics, plus reporting and polling (both public and private).

But there is also the potential that this fall's presidential battlegrounds could be re-sorted — pitting white, working-class voters, whom Trump is appealing to, against Latino voters, who appear to be in Clinton's corner. Traditional ways of thinking about the map should and will be challenged. So in addition to our current ratings, we also explore several possibilities and scenarios, including Trump's potential path and even two potential ties, based on Trump doing well in the Upper Midwest and Clinton racking up wins in competitive states where the Latino vote is important.............

However, it's always wise to consider any situation from a different angle. As mentioned before in comments here, this election isn't like yer average general election in the USA. Third parties, this time around, are drawing more interest, due to much disaffection for, and frustration with, Democratic and Republican nominees Clinton and Trump, both have "baggage" which, unless blinded by glass ceilings or white supremacy leanings have to be glaringly apparent.

Why a Trump win in November, against all odds, isn't out of the question:

Donald Trump Is Going To Be Elected by Michael Rosenblum

SNIP

Donald Trump is going to be elected president.
The American people voted for him a long time ago.
They voted for him when The History Channel went from showing documentaries about the Second World War to “Pawn Stars” and “Swamp People.”
They voted for him when The Discovery Channel went from showing “Lost Treasures of the Yangtze Valley” to “Naked and Afraid.”
They voted for him when The Learning Channel moved from something you could learn from to “My 600-lb Life.”
They voted for him when CBS went from airing “Harvest of Shame” to airing “Big Brother”..........