EDITORIAL
BY KRISTOPHER SEALS
Hello Readers,
Hi. I’m Kristopher Seals, and I have some things I need to get off my chest. (Brace yourselves; I’m about to drop a CM Punk-level pipe bomb here.)
It’s hard to believe that four years ago, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Fear, confusion, unrest, sickness, and death led to a historic presidential election that saw former Vice President Joseph R. Biden defeat then-President Donald J. Trump by around seven million votes. A lot of people thought that the Trump era was over. Yeah, about that…
Despite a majority of the country firing POTUS 45, the Biden Administration has not performed to the level that would make a Trump remix seem silly. For example, when Bill Clinton was in his first term, no one was begging for George H.W. Bush to step back into the fold. Sure, Republicans wanted someone besides Clinton in 1996, but they weren’t clamoring for “the good ol’ days of Bush.” However, Biden has underwhelmed so severely that by comparison, he makes Trump look like a viable alternative to some people.
This time, there is no pandemic to elicit the specter of fear that dominated 2020. People needed to blame someone for their state of distress. When things go wrong, who usually gets the blame? Answer: the one in charge, and back then, it was Trump. Ironically enough, while Trump was to blame for a lot of things, the pandemic wasn’t one of them, as that threat originated from overseas.
On one hand, as a leader he did not handle it that well, but on the other hand, NO ONE handled it well! Trump, Gov. Murphy, Gov. Cuomo, Gov. DeSantis, leaders in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and all over the world screwed up in one way or another. Why? Because no one was prepared for a pandemic in a globalized world. The last one came in 1918, and the world was not so connected back then. In fact, the only leader who remotely had a handle on it was Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, and guess what she had going for her? Her country is literally an island – with a small population! That’s the absolute best defense for a global pandemic you could possibly have in 2020.
Before I continue, I just want to say, I am NOT a Trump guy, but I am a guy who is SICK of Democrats trying to gaslight me every two minutes into thinking he’s Hitler. That’s like a guy who tells the mother of his kids, “I just took a dump, and it was worse than giving birth!” New flash: It isn’t. I’m not a Democrat in Congress, so therefore I’m not a robot.
Oh, and while I have this platform, Bernie Sanders: Stop calling yourself an Independent. Your voting record says otherwise. I don’t hate you; I just want you to be honest about it. When the Senate was 50-50, you could have really made a difference. Instead, you would complain about things – but vote YES on them anyway! How is that “Independent?”
Plus, the only two Democrats who weren’t V.I.C.I. (Vicki) from “Small Wonder” on Capitol Hill were Manchin and Sinema, and the Democratic Party pushed them out harder that Nia Gill got pushed out of the NJ Senate. (We know what y’all did.)
Now, in 2024, the fear that existed four years ago has been replaced by anger and apathy, and I’m afraid it’s going to get worse. The thing about our nation is this: America is built on Democracy… but Capitalism keeps the lights on. People have started getting their refund checks, and something is missing – the money they thought they would have. Or perhaps they’re on the other end, having to pay out money.
In 2023, some people had less money taken out, but didn’t notice the effects because of the dreaded “I” word: inflation. Guess who is getting the blame for that one? Like Trump in 2020, the guy in charge: Biden. Trump, for all his shortcomings, represents one thing above all: MONEY.
Additionally, this is an election where people cannot vote on the person. You can’t go, “I don’t like Trump because as a person, he is a bad dude.” The flipside is, “I don’t like Biden because as a person, his power level is -9,000 (RIP Akira Toriyama).” They cancel each other out. This time, you have to vote on what the candidate will do for you as President.
Right now, there are more things that say vote for Trump instead of Biden. Trump has the border, foreign affairs, crime, and the economy, while Biden has abortion and climate change. There are other things as well, but those are the main ones that aren’t cancelled out by something else. Like this: Biden and the Democrats’ rants about the “threat to Democracy” is cancelled out by their own suppression of freedom of speech. If want the real news on Gaza, you won’t see it on legacy media, Facebook and Instagram, but you have to go to X (formerly Twitter) which isn’t owned by obedient Democrats, but by Elon Musk. Basically, when they talk about Trump being a “threat to Democracy” they’re pretty much the pot calling the kettle black, and the American people have noticed this, and are frustrated and disgusted.
Now, about those Trump court cases. Three of the prosecutors, Alvin Bragg with his hush money case, Letitia James with her fraud case, and Fani Willis with her election interference case, have been deemed “thirsty” by the streets. Therefore, people are wary about their true intentions with the cases. Meanwhile, Jack Smith’s Capitol Riot case has a problem. You see, I called it the Capitol Riot case, and not the Insurrection case, because if was an Insurrection, then why didn’t they charge Trump with an Insurrection?! They charged him with stuff that included infringement of rights and yada yada yada, but not with an Insurrection itself. Calling it an Insurrection now seems like misinformation at this point. Again, the American people have noticed this.
As for the classified documents case, it seems like they’re only charging him because it’s Trump, and not someone they don’t hate. I’m pretty sure that EVERY former president and plenty of Cabinet officials have some classified things in their possession to this day, but they weren’t charged because, you know, they’re not the most hated guy in politics. Case in point, Biden and Pence had them too.
People all over the country feel that the case was over the moment they raided Mar-a-Lago and TOOK THEM BACK. Okay, now that you got them, bill him for the expenses of having to barge in and get them, and that’s the end of it. If we charged everyone who had classified documents in an equal manner to Trump, you might dozens of people in court over the next two years!
Finally, with ALL these cases, why didn’t they charge him in 2021?! They accuse Trump of election interference, and in order to get “justice” they’re committing election interference! It’s like they wanted to keep Trump around for the 2022 midterms, so that they could use him as a tool to make people vote against the GOP and get seats in Congress. Good news: It worked. Bad news: It’s probably going to backfire on them.
In conclusion, while there is a plethora of issues on the ballot, money is at the top, above all else, including abortion. As important as a woman’s right to choose is, what good is it if you can’t even afford to have one? Not to mention, a lot of the voting populace (men) have no stake in abortion – unless they’re trying to duck responsibility, whether by immaturity or there’s a “mistress” situation – and would prefer a president who would generate money in a struggling economy instead.
Also, it’s now a state issue, meaning that if you already live in a liberal state, the Supreme Court decision doesn’t affect you, as the reversal of Roe v. Wade didn’t actually ban abortion, but took the federal government out of it. It was really just a win for conservative states. Fun fact: After the SCOTUS ruling, states that wanted to ban abortion put it on the ballot, and nearly all of them voted to KEEP abortion legal.
While it did not go their way, I actually COMMEND leaders in those GOP states for letting the voters have a say. That is the REAL application of democracy, not when politicians try to dictate what democracy is based on whatever agenda they have going on that day. (Sorry about all the textural shouting, but this stuff is important.)
Sorry to make this so political, but my fellow New Jersey citizens, is it me, or have our leaders QUIT on us? When is the last time you felt that they – especially Phil Murphy – did something that helped us for the sake of helping us, and not some political friends in which we get the crumbs so that they can say they fed us? Also, like those GOP states, why don’t they put things on the ballot for us to vote on? Sure, we get to vote on some things, but how about something truly cool, like allowing us to pump our own gas? I literally asked Murphy this on his News12 call in show, and instead of being a quarterback on the issue, he punted on it. He started going on about Putin’s war in Ukraine. What the heck does that have to do with ME at a gas station in NEW JERSEY?!
One more thing. If you think I’m out of my mind when it comes to politics, remember, I’m the guy who CORRECTLY predicted that Jack Ciattarelli would get close to Murphy in the last gubernatorial election, whereas everyone else had Murphy winning by double-digits.
Let’s end on something that is not depressing. The 96th Academy Awards was dominated by “Oppenheimer” and its many wins including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor, with Robert Downey, Jr. finally winning his first Academy Award. This put the perfect bow on one of the greatest comeback stories in history. He went from a rising star, to going to prison, to returning in supporting roles, to “Iron Man” and becoming one of the most beloved stars in Hollywood, to winning an Academy Award.
I’ll never forget “Avengers: Endgame” where the end credits came on, and when his name appeared, he got the loudest standing ovation I ever heard in a movie theater. The only question now is who plays him in his biopic? (Probably Timothée Chalamet.)
Have a nice week. See you next time.
