TRUMP THAT: I wish I could muster one-tenth the indignation as my friend Ernie Solomon, Santa Barbara’s undisputed king of curmudgeons. Ernie’s outraged because of the conspiracy hatched by the Powers-That-Be to deny Donald Trump the presidential nomination. Should Trump secure the popular vote among Republicans — he’s already won 100,000 more votes than Mitt Romney got four years ago — Establishment Big Wigs have vowed to use the delegate rules to block his nomination.
When you consider that Trump — the “Tangerine Tornado”— won every county in five eastern states this Tuesday, one can see Ernie’s point. But Party Big Wigs — freaking about Trump’s 75 percent negative approval ratings — insist they’re merely using the rules at everyone’s disposal.
I’m not out to bury Trump. Mostly I’m still trying to figure out if he’s the answer, what’s the question? Last week, the National Center for Health Statistics released some chilling stats that might shine a light. Suicides in the United States increased from 29,000 in 1999 to 43,000 last year. For those who failed math, that’s a 24 percent increase.* The fastest-growing cohort opting to pull their own ripcords was middle-aged women, 45-64 years old, done in by economic despair and divorce. Still, three times more men kill themselves than women.