Spoiler Alert!

Howard Schultz  is a former Starbucks CEO hoping to run as an independent  for president of the United States.  Independent presidential candidates are considered, in election parlance, spoilers- a non-winning candidate whose presence on the ballot affects which candidate wins.

The most important thing to know about him is that historians say if he runs as an independent, Howard Schultz could re-elect Donald Trump!

When Howard recently appeared at a Union Square  Barnes and Noble, a book store patron shouted “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire •sshole!”

Bette Midler, just to name one of  many people, is not a fan of Howard. She says of him “Howard Schultz is a reminder of how wealthy, opinionated white guys are just like Starbucks: there’s one on every f*cking corner."

So if you see Howard Shultz on a ballot remember the possible dire consequences!

Seeing The Future With 2020 Vision

Who might run against president Donald Trump in 2020? Trump is a republican so he is not likely to be challenged for the presidency by his own party but John Kasich, former governor of Ohio is considered a potential republican primary challenger. 

We’ve already told you a bit about the potential front runner, Bernie Sanders and shown you several of president Obama’s staff and friends that could run for president of the United States of America in 2020. 

Even Beto O’Rourke, who we’ve mentioned before and who lost his senate race to Ted Cruz, is, for some reason, being encouraged to run for  president of the United States of America in 2020! 

Now let’s look at just a few more members of the class of 2020!

Elizabeth Warren!

Elizabeth Warren is a senator representing Massachusetts  and she is very likely to run for president of the United States of America in 2020.

Many people like her policies but she is best known for her  consumer advocacy work. 

She supports Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill-this seems to be a  very important policy for some democrats.

CNN ranks her at #1 in their 2020 rankings for candidate for president of the United States of America, and New York Magazine says Warren is already dominating the race for 2020!

But the Boston Globe newspaper says don’t run, Senator Warren, don’t run!

Now Elizabeth has proposed the Accountable Capitalism Act.  In essence her ACA asks 

“If corporations are considered to be legally equivalent to people, then shouldn’t they also have a legal obligation to consider the impacts of their choices on a broader set of stakeholders beyond their shareholders?” 

Not so long ago, corporate leaders understood they had a stake in the country’s prosperity. Will Warren’s ACA return the USA to those bygone days?

Something else to consider-Rolling Stone magazine asks why do many democrats have second thoughts about running a female candidate like Elizabeth Warren in 2020?

Interesting question-will this effect Elizabeth Warren in 2020? Will this effect all women candidates?

Here at the Strangest Adventures we wonder can Elizabeth become  president of the United States of America in 2020?

Tulsi Gabbard!

Speaking of women presidential candidates, Samoan-American veteran Tulsi Gabbard is also running for  president of the United States of America in 2020. 

She represents Hawaii in the house of representatives. We’ve mentioned her experience and her potential as a president of the United States before. 

A reminder-Tulsi Gabbard is considered a progressive candidate-she quit working for the DNC in 2016 so she could endorse Bernie Sanders. In fact she also supports his Medicare for All act.

Some people are all ready for Tulsi Gabbard to become president of the United States in 2020.

She  has a few obstacles to overcome, especially her previous background as a very conservative republican seemingly obsessed with stopping gay marriage. 

She has turned her back on those beliefs though and changed her stance to support same-sex marriage in 2012.

In fact Tulsi Gabbard began her 2020 presidential campaign by apologizing for past LGBTQ remarks.

New York representative  Sean Patrick Maloney,  the first openly gay member of Congress, came to the defense of Tulsi-is that and her apology enough? 

Could Tulsi become president of the United States in 2020? Will she become president of the United States in 2020?

John Delaney ?

Yes John Delaney! John Delaney is the first democrat to declare he will be running for president of the United States of America in 2020.   He represents Maryland’s sixth district in the US house of representatives.  The 2020 presidential campaign of John Delaney, the U.S. Representative representing Maryland's 6th congressional district, was announced on July 28, 2017. 

Most people missed this but John Delaney was the first prominent Democrat to announce a campaign for the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

John explains why he wants to run for president and you if you like civility and bipartisanship you might like Delaney. 

John prefers universal healthcare over Medicare for All. He says all Americans should have healthcare as a right.

Will John Delaney become president of the United States of America in 2020?  Maybe not but he is the first declared candidate-we will discover if that gives him any edge towards victory. 

Richard Ojeda!

Richard Ojeda,  a highly decorated 24 year veteran of the US army, previously served one term in West Virginia’s senate; he lost his election bid for the West Virginia’s 3rd congressional district in the 2018 midterm election.

After he lost he declared he was running for president of the United States of America in 2020, on November 12, 2018. That makes him the second democrat to declare his candidacy. 

You can see Richard Ojeda’s platform here.

As for healthcare, Richard believes in a public option.” I think we should give people the ability to buy into Medicare”.

Richard rose to prominence after he aggressively supported a teacher strike in West Virginia. 

Nearly a year later, in 2019, Ojeda got involved in another teacher’s strike, this time in Los Angeles California, and wrote in the Intercept about his thoughts on the subject of teacher’s strikes.

Ojeda has taken positions that were not popular in West Virginia, a state that overwhelmingly elected Donald Trump. For instance, he voted down an anti-abortion bill and he was instrumental in passing  the state’s medical marijuana law. 

But Richard Ojeda has one huge problem-he voted for Donald Trump. Will being the only democrat to vote for Trump cause problems for his campaign? Can voters forgive that vote? Should they forgive that vote?

Richard Ojeda was the second democrat to declare his candidacy for president of the United States of America in 2020. Can his early start help him win?  No one knows the future, anything is possible but his presidency seems highly unlikely.

Vermin Supreme!

Vermin Supreme was born in Massachusetts and represents no one. Vermin is a performance artist known for “running for office” since 1987.

CNN calls Vermin Supreme the protester who would be president.

Vermin Supreme says He 'Paved The Way For Donald Trump' 

All indications are he is a fake candidate that seems to be calling attention to the absurdities of politics and is also know for his distinctive headwear-a rubber boot.

One of Vermin’s most famous promises-a pony for all Americans.

Will this perennial candidate for president of the United States of America “run” in 2020? Probably. Will Vermin Supreme remind the USA that politics can be absurd? Probably. 

Vermin Supreme seems interesting but here at the Strangest Adventures we are glad that he never won an election. The USA could do better. 

Vote 2018!

It’s election time in America-midterm elections are on Tuesday the 6th of November.That's tomorrow! They are midway between presidential elections and people often ignore them but this time they are important. If one or both houses of congress get controlled by democrats (president Trump is a republican) then congress can start holding the president responsible for his actions and maybe even his words. In the last big election, in 2016, Trump became president and the world was shocked: this time the world could be just as shocked, by change. The United States House of Representatives has 435 seats and all are contested but only 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested.

Most political analysts believe that democrats will take the house and republicans will keep the senate.

Also 35 governorships are being contested, the democrats expect to take the majority there as well because Trump seems to be very unpopular.

Republicans seem to be only too aware of their own unpopularity. Though Trump has the white house and his party controls congress a majority of voters are unhappy with this situation. Because of this some fairly substandard republican candidates are running this time. 

Here at The Strangest Adventures we already told you about Nazi republican Arthur Jones.

His "secret" identity" is Jack Justice

Steve West is another troubled republican. 

Steve West is running for the Missouri House of Representatives District 15   and is such a bigot that two of his children are speaking out against him. 

Even the republican party is denouncing him. 

He plays a character on radio and the internet, Jack Justice. Here is a taste of his antisemitism and hatred of other groups on his youtube channel.

Is he too extreme? You decide.

Neoconfederate Corey Stewart

Corey Stewart is another bigot republican running. Corey Stewart was Donald Trump’s Virginia campaign chairman In 2016 Corey said “I was Trump before Trump was Trump.” He is a favorite of white supremacists and he is trying to get elected to the US senate from Virginia. 

Is Corey Stewart too extreme? Read this and decide.

One aspect of this election is extreme republicans but another aspect of this election is women running for office. Why are so many women inspired to run for office this year?

Is it because the president bragged about grabbing women-his sexual misconduct?

Are women angry about the Kavanaugh supreme court hearing? And how it reminds them that they are not being heard?

Are they angry about how little has changed since the supreme court hearing for Clarence Thomas in 1991?

Keep in mind the reaction then was president George Herbert Walker Bush lost his reelection bid in 1992 and many women got elected to congress.1992 was called the Year of the Woman.

The class of 1992

Women that won in 1992 discuss the midterms of 2018 here.

A historian explains the striking parallels between 1992’s “Year of the Woman” and 2018.

2018 is also becoming known as the  Year of the Woman because a record number of women are running for political office in 2018.  Sixteen gubernatorial candidates,  twenty three senate candidates, and 237 house of representatives candidates are woman. Maybe 2018 should be called Year of the Women!

Alyse Galvin who is running for the open seat representing Alaska in the US house of representatives as a democrat against republican Don Young, exemplifies these times.

Alyse is a first time candidate running against the house’s longest serving member, Don King. A woman replacing a man is a recurring theme this year.

Woman replaces man?

Alyse Galvin thinks  it is time for a new Alaska voice in Congress. Is it?

Good luck Alyse, she may get elected: she is leading Don Young by one point in a recent poll.

Amy McGrath celebrates becoming the nominee

Retired Fighter Pilot Amy McGrath  is running for Kentucky's 6th congressional house district. Amy has been mentioned here on The Strangest Adventures before.

Once again a woman that has held no other elected office before hopes to replace a man. Can Amy McGrath win? 

Real Clear Politics says Amy is polling one point behind her republican opponent, Andy Barr.

Will she win anyway? Tuesday will tell the tale.

The future of Georgia?

Stacey Abrams is running for governor of Georgia. If Stacey wins she will be the first black woman governor of Georgia, or of any state in the United States. she was in the Georgia General Assembly, 2007–2017 and she was minority leader there from 2011 to 2017. 

Here she is on the Daily Show.

Former US President Barack Obama endorses Stacey

She seems very charismatic and she may have great potential on the national stage someday.

Her opponent, Brian Kemp, is current Secretary of State for Georgia- he has been scrutinized in the wake of a report from the Associated Press that he had stalled more than 50,000 voter registrations by disproportionately black voters under the state’s exact-match requirements.

Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter endorses Stacey

However, U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross ruled Friday that the procedures were likely to result in the violation of voting rights for a large group of people and needed to be halted immediately.

This has focused national attention on this governor’s race.

Is it patriotic to burn this symbol of the confederacy?

By the way Stacey burned the old Georgia state flag, featuring a confederate battle flag in it’s design when she was a college student in 1992-will this destruction  of a confederate symbol hurt or help her?

Many people were unhappy to see Trump elected in 2016-will 2018 be a backlash? For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.Will 2018 be a reaction to 2016 or will the current status quo be maintained? Time will tell but we urge every American to vote!

Trump Meets Putin!

Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly

On Monday 16, 2018, president Trump meets with president Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation.It appears obvious that Putin led a cyber attack against the USA that assisted in the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Friday that twelve Russian intelligence officials were indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into 2016 election hacking  ahead of the 2016 election. 

Oddly enough, Putin is one of the few world leaders that Trump has refused to condemn. In fact Trump praises Putin.

It leads some to ask “what if Trump has been a Russian asset since 1987?” Amazing. if true.Read and decide for yourself.

Is this the end of NATO?

This weekend Trump met with world leaders at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. It was a meeting dominated by Trump’s bluster and insults and included Trump saying that “Germany is totally controlled by Russia”. 

It ended with Trump fabricating success.

Unusual baby Trump  balloon and unusual protestors

Next Trump went to England where he was lampooned by balloon and protested with great vigor. 

Trump was interviewed by The Sun, a British newspaper, and in the interview he registers his displeasure with how PM Teresa May is conducting Brexit, among other issues. The next day Trump lied to May about the interview, which was recorded, calling it fake news.

Trump's choice for PM Boris Johnson

Trump is insulting to  ally nations and praises those nations the US is, at best, antagonistic  toward. We can not say for sure what will happen when Donnie meets Vlad but expect Trump to continue praising Putin. President Trump is certainly very predicable.

Don't forget about the pee pee tape

Bernie Sanders!

Is Bernie a Wizard of Wisdom?

Many people want Independent Senator Bernie Sanders to run for president again in 2020. After all, e drew large crowds and more than 13 million  Americans voted for him in 2016.

Many of his voters were happy to support  his policies of Government-provided health insurance, free college tuition, a $15 minimum wage, stronger unions, high gas taxes, guaranteed parental leave and more but were then unwilling to accept anything less optimistic after Sanders  lost the Democratic primary. Young voters were especially receptive to Bernie's message. These ideas are very much like those used by governments in Scandinavia  and have proven somewhat successful in those countries. However it seems obvious that the general population of the USA is not yet receptive to his message. 

Guess which one.

Here at The Strangest Adventures we like Bernie’s ideas too but in a nation that elected Donald Trump as president it seems unlikely that his Bernie’s ideas will achieve any traction any time soon but we give Senator Sanders credit for not giving up. The week of the election Bernie Sanders published a book-he is a noted author-Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In. 

Is this a book that will launch a revolution?

In the book Sanders outlines his policies; those policies are the foundation of the plan to convert his campaign into a permanent activist group called “Our Revolution.” Thus “Our Revolution” began. 

Their next hoped for achievement is getting Dennis Kucinich elected in the democratic primary for Governor of Ohio on May the eighth, but  a lot of Democrats have been offended by Kucinich’s strange emergence as a Fox News Democrat who often defends Donald Trump. This makes Dennis Kucinich, at best,  a questionable alternative to Democratic front-runner Richard Cordray, who has the backing of most national Democrats, most notably Elizabeth Warren.

Bernie Sanders himself has not endorsed Kucinich saying “Let me be very clear: Bernie Sanders will make endorsements, and Our Revolution will make endorsements. Sometimes they will make endorsements in races I’m staying out of. I will not be making endorsements in the governor’s race in Ohio or Illinois. I’ve known Dennis Kucinich forever, I consider him a friend, but I am not making an endorsement there.”

So “Our Revolution” endorses a candidate that Bernie Sanders does not endorse. We will see how that works out on May 8th.

Here at the Strangest Adventures we believe Ohio voters will have no desire to elect a Trump loving democrat but we’ve been wrong before. More Kucinich hi jinx here.

As for Senator Bernie Sanders, will he run for president in 2020? Has his chance came and went? He’s still keeping his options open so no one can say for sure.   However a recent Suffolk University poll of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters found Sanders trailing Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. In the poll, Warren leads the pack with 26 percent, followed by Biden with 20 percent and Sanders a distant third with just 13 percent. Of course that is only one poll about one state-is it “proof” that Bernie should not run?

Bernie Sanders certainly seems to be an energetic,compassionate,  unique candidate-we wish him well whatever he does. 

Zuckerberg!

Mark Zuckerberg is the creator of the social media giant Facebook and Mark has problems! Facebook allowed Cambridge Analytica, a political firm hired by the Trump campaign, access to private data on roughly 87 million Facebook users.

Just last year Facebook faced questions and gave congress ads linked to Russian government efforts to effect the 2016 presidential campaign.

Down down down!

That’s right, Facebook was involved with Russiagate!

So now Mark must testify before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees. Zuckerberg is expected to strike a conciliatory tone. 

Facebook has really gone downhill these days. Will Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, who has deactivated his Facebook account, cause everyone to delete their Facebook accounts?

Zuckerbots invade DC!

Here at the Strangest Adventures we prefer to take a wait and see approach. 

Let’s see how this ends.