That's my take-away from Democracy in America anyway.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
"CRISIS OF THE ELECTION"
"THE ELECTION MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A NATIONAL CRISIS--WHY?--PASSIONS OF THE PEOPLE--CALM WHICH SUCCEEDS THE AGITATION OF THE ELECTION
"The Americans are habitually accustomed to all kinds of elections, and they know by experience the utmost degree of excitement which is compatible with security.
"Nevertheless, the epoch of the election of a President of the United States may be considered as a crisis in the affairs of the nation."-Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 152-3 (emphasis added).
It is. It is like a "crisis." It's like a nervous crisis, like temporary insanity, a psychic break. And then it passes and "calm succeeds." Or like we go on a speed or crack bender on vacation and then "calm succeeds" when we come back to our "real" lives and are off the drug. "Was it not real?" Civil War veterans asked themselves (as they cavorted at reunions!).
"Political parties in the United States are lead to rally round an individual, in order to acquire a more tangible shape in the eyes of the crowd, and the name of the candidate for the Presidency is put forward as the symbol and personification of their theories...
"For a long while before the appointed time is at hand the election becomes the most important and the all-engrossing topic of discussion. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrthOPLAKMThe ardour of faction is redoubled; and all the artificial passions which the imagination can create in the bosom of a happy and peaceful land are agitated and brought to light...As the election draws near, the activity of intrigue and the agitation of the population increase; the citizens are divided into hostile camps, each of which assumes the name of its favorite candidate; the whole nation glows with feverish excitement; the election is the daily theme of the public papers, the subject of private conversation, the end of every thought and every action, the sole interest of the present. As soon as the choice is determined, this ardour is dispelled; and as a calmer season returns...who can refrain from astonishment at the causes of the storm." 153-4, emphasis added.
:o
Spooky. It embarrasses me. It's like he's seen me naked.
Telling my whole life with his words
...
I felt all flushed with fever,
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters
And read each one out loud.
I prayed that he would finish
But he kept right on...
"The Americans are habitually accustomed to all kinds of elections, and they know by experience the utmost degree of excitement which is compatible with security.
"Nevertheless, the epoch of the election of a President of the United States may be considered as a crisis in the affairs of the nation."-Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 152-3 (emphasis added).
It is. It is like a "crisis." It's like a nervous crisis, like temporary insanity, a psychic break. And then it passes and "calm succeeds." Or like we go on a speed or crack bender on vacation and then "calm succeeds" when we come back to our "real" lives and are off the drug. "Was it not real?" Civil War veterans asked themselves (as they cavorted at reunions!).
"Political parties in the United States are lead to rally round an individual, in order to acquire a more tangible shape in the eyes of the crowd, and the name of the candidate for the Presidency is put forward as the symbol and personification of their theories...
"For a long while before the appointed time is at hand the election becomes the most important and the all-engrossing topic of discussion. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrthOPLAKMThe ardour of faction is redoubled; and all the artificial passions which the imagination can create in the bosom of a happy and peaceful land are agitated and brought to light...As the election draws near, the activity of intrigue and the agitation of the population increase; the citizens are divided into hostile camps, each of which assumes the name of its favorite candidate; the whole nation glows with feverish excitement; the election is the daily theme of the public papers, the subject of private conversation, the end of every thought and every action, the sole interest of the present. As soon as the choice is determined, this ardour is dispelled; and as a calmer season returns...who can refrain from astonishment at the causes of the storm." 153-4, emphasis added.
:o
Spooky. It embarrasses me. It's like he's seen me naked.
Telling my whole life with his words
...
I felt all flushed with fever,
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters
And read each one out loud.
I prayed that he would finish
But he kept right on...
Seeking the Soul: Khizr Khan.
"We have a candidate without a moral compass, without empathy for its citizens."
...
"We don't take these values lightly. We are testament to the goodness of this country. We experience the goodness of this country every day."
...
"He is a black soul, and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this country. The love and affection that we have received affirms that our grief -- that our experience in this country has been correct and positive. The world is receiving us like we have never seen. They have seen the blackness of his character, of his soul."
Trump's "policy, his practices, do not reflect that he has any understanding of the basic, fundamental constitutional principles of this country."
...
"Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person who aspires, wishes, to be a leader. That is moral compass and second is empathy."
...
Khan called on House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to withdraw their support for Trump.
"It is a moral obligation -- history will not forgive them. This election will pass, but history will be written. The lack of moral courage will remain a burden on their souls."
...
"We don't take these values lightly. We are testament to the goodness of this country. We experience the goodness of this country every day."
...
"He is a black soul, and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this country. The love and affection that we have received affirms that our grief -- that our experience in this country has been correct and positive. The world is receiving us like we have never seen. They have seen the blackness of his character, of his soul."
Trump's "policy, his practices, do not reflect that he has any understanding of the basic, fundamental constitutional principles of this country."
...
"Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person who aspires, wishes, to be a leader. That is moral compass and second is empathy."
...
Khan called on House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to withdraw their support for Trump.
"It is a moral obligation -- history will not forgive them. This election will pass, but history will be written. The lack of moral courage will remain a burden on their souls."
"We are all Catholics of France"
"Je Suis" Catholics of France.
So said Anouar Kbibech, head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM).
And in Italy:
Muslims in Italy also attended Mass on Sunday. Three imams sat in the front row at Santa Maria Trastevere church in Rome.
I see blue sky. This is Blue Sky Sunday.
"It is to be remembered that the affections of men generally lie on the side of authority. Patriotism is not durable in a conquered nation."
-Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835) 74.
What of the mentally defective among men? One would think a number of those ill-equipped would gravitate, as water seeks the lowest level, toward the strongman, seeking his protection, dependent upon him. A few more florid would seek to become the strongman, the Leader, the dictator, the messiah. Power acts as a strange magnet to those who are, or believe themselves to be, powerless, the insecure, the ill-equipped, the conquered in life.
Affection is a variation of love; patriotism is love of country. Insecure, ill-equipped, powerless women stay in marriages in which they are regularly beaten, pulled back time and again by that strange magnet. Some women wept and threw themselves at Hitler, drawn by his "magnetism," eager for his "protection." Some women have written to Donald Trump explicitly asking him to protect them from Muslims, Blacks, Mexicans--all men--Trump appending "rapists" to Mexicans to make his dog whistle call clearly audible to them. There are photographs of women gazing awestruck at Trump; others show women in orgasmic rapture before him. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac, Henry Kissinger said, and he lived it. There are men who gain a transferrence in power, in courage, in violence, and who act out their violence, in the magnetic orbit of Trump.
Love is emotional, it is the opposite of rational. It "just happens" when two are brought together. Love can be created, manufactured, out of nothing rational, because it is not rational and they are not rational.
And so we have the strange sight of 40+% of Americans, overwhelmingly White people, most of them men, believing themselves conquered, willingly giving up their liberty, literally pledging to follow their Leader who is a tool of a--White--foreign authoritarian, in the name of patriotism, to "Make America Great Again.
-Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835) 74.
What of the mentally defective among men? One would think a number of those ill-equipped would gravitate, as water seeks the lowest level, toward the strongman, seeking his protection, dependent upon him. A few more florid would seek to become the strongman, the Leader, the dictator, the messiah. Power acts as a strange magnet to those who are, or believe themselves to be, powerless, the insecure, the ill-equipped, the conquered in life.
Affection is a variation of love; patriotism is love of country. Insecure, ill-equipped, powerless women stay in marriages in which they are regularly beaten, pulled back time and again by that strange magnet. Some women wept and threw themselves at Hitler, drawn by his "magnetism," eager for his "protection." Some women have written to Donald Trump explicitly asking him to protect them from Muslims, Blacks, Mexicans--all men--Trump appending "rapists" to Mexicans to make his dog whistle call clearly audible to them. There are photographs of women gazing awestruck at Trump; others show women in orgasmic rapture before him. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac, Henry Kissinger said, and he lived it. There are men who gain a transferrence in power, in courage, in violence, and who act out their violence, in the magnetic orbit of Trump.
Love is emotional, it is the opposite of rational. It "just happens" when two are brought together. Love can be created, manufactured, out of nothing rational, because it is not rational and they are not rational.
And so we have the strange sight of 40+% of Americans, overwhelmingly White people, most of them men, believing themselves conquered, willingly giving up their liberty, literally pledging to follow their Leader who is a tool of a--White--foreign authoritarian, in the name of patriotism, to "Make America Great Again.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Khizr Khan.
Speaking directly to Donald Trump-anov:
"Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. Look for the words 'liberty' and 'equal protection of law.'"
That was the most powerful moment in any American political convention, ever.
God bless you, Mr. Khan. And your family. And your beloved son, Humayun. You are America, sir.
"Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. Look for the words 'liberty' and 'equal protection of law.'"
That was the most powerful moment in any American political convention, ever.
God bless you, Mr. Khan. And your family. And your beloved son, Humayun. You are America, sir.
Lol, Rooski
Rooski, I was just funnin' with you today. I don't think Obama's going to count on Hillary Clinton winning the election, relax.
A Rumba on the Tundra: If Not Now, When?
Because if Clownstickanov becomes president (50.1% chance per 538!) we'll lose our opportunity, not to mention our sovereignty.
Which means OBAMA is going to launch thermonuclear war on Russia?!?!?! Are you fucking insane?...You hurt my feelings...Insane people have feelings, too...
Look, you're thinking just like a stupid Russian. That is exactly what the Russians think. The Russians believe two things beyond all doubt: They believe their boy will give them a free hand in the Baltics. They believe Obama will never preemptively strike them into non-existence. They are almost certainly correct in both beliefs. So we're fucked. Almost certainly fucked. We will be fucked if we think dumb like Russians; it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and what's worse, living in Clownstickanov's Vichy America or being insane?!
Look, this is a very important election for Obama. If Hillary Clinton loses, Obama loses everything in his presidency. Obamacare, gone; Iran deal, gone; immigration, duh; any help, any hope he has given on civil rights-Trump is the KKK-, Nazi Party-ENDORSED candidate!; Supreme Court, Trump will appoint David Duke.
A president takes an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America." Barack Obama has sworn that oath twice. He is a lawyer and has taught constitutional law. So what do you think Barack Obama thinks about the following:
1. The racist demagogic head of a hostile foreign power breaks U.S. law to throw a constitutionally guaranteed election,
2. To choose Obama's successor as president of the United States,
3. To the foreign, hostile, racist demagogue's hostile, racist, demagogic tool,
4. In order, inter alia,to have a free hand to invade other countries...
Do you think Obama takes all that seriously? Bet he does, I'll BETCHA he do. The Trump-Putin Mutual Assistance Agreement is the Hitler-Stalin pact. It will erase Barack Obama's presidency. Would Obama preemptively attack Russia for that? No. What if you tack onto all of the above,
5. Ending the sovereignty of the United States of America, converting it into a satellite of the foreign power.
That ends the country.
Obama knows that. Will he preempt thermonuclear war and destroy Russia to "preserve, protect and defend" the constitution and the United States? No, I think he'll count on Hillary Clinton winning the election.
Which means OBAMA is going to launch thermonuclear war on Russia?!?!?! Are you fucking insane?...You hurt my feelings...Insane people have feelings, too...
Look, you're thinking just like a stupid Russian. That is exactly what the Russians think. The Russians believe two things beyond all doubt: They believe their boy will give them a free hand in the Baltics. They believe Obama will never preemptively strike them into non-existence. They are almost certainly correct in both beliefs. So we're fucked. Almost certainly fucked. We will be fucked if we think dumb like Russians; it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and what's worse, living in Clownstickanov's Vichy America or being insane?!
Look, this is a very important election for Obama. If Hillary Clinton loses, Obama loses everything in his presidency. Obamacare, gone; Iran deal, gone; immigration, duh; any help, any hope he has given on civil rights-Trump is the KKK-, Nazi Party-ENDORSED candidate!; Supreme Court, Trump will appoint David Duke.
A president takes an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America." Barack Obama has sworn that oath twice. He is a lawyer and has taught constitutional law. So what do you think Barack Obama thinks about the following:
1. The racist demagogic head of a hostile foreign power breaks U.S. law to throw a constitutionally guaranteed election,
2. To choose Obama's successor as president of the United States,
3. To the foreign, hostile, racist demagogue's hostile, racist, demagogic tool,
4. In order, inter alia,to have a free hand to invade other countries...
Do you think Obama takes all that seriously? Bet he does, I'll BETCHA he do. The Trump-Putin Mutual Assistance Agreement is the Hitler-Stalin pact. It will erase Barack Obama's presidency. Would Obama preemptively attack Russia for that? No. What if you tack onto all of the above,
5. Ending the sovereignty of the United States of America, converting it into a satellite of the foreign power.
That ends the country.
Obama knows that. Will he preempt thermonuclear war and destroy Russia to "preserve, protect and defend" the constitution and the United States? No, I think he'll count on Hillary Clinton winning the election.
A Rumba on the Tundra: It's Efficacy, Modern Inventions & etc
We're now in 2016. One hundred years of the Soviet Union. Seventy-six years since Hitler and Stalin swapped spit. Thirty years since Chernobyl. We thought they transitioned to non-existence in 1991. But, NO! Now we have a Soviet tool on path to the White House. The Russians have been pain in our assholes for 100 years.
Taken as a whole the Russian people have been a pustule on the anus of mankind. They can't do anything right. With their non-existence the Moral Quotient of the world leaps dramatically; many of the lowest scores ever recorded on the Intelligence Quotient don't get factored in and the IQ of the world rises impressively. You gotta prune the tree now and then, you know? Lop 'em off!
It's very easy. Yes, there's going to be "fall-out" but it's not like in the old-old days of invasion--so inefficient! Push a button. POOF! Some of us will die, snore, but that can be addition by subtraction, too. We relocate our own Russian-like beings to likely targets, like New York City--Hey, "It's to you New Yawk, Neeww Yawwk!"--we tell them there's going to be a HUGE Trump rally there, they go, of course, we press the button and if the Soviets are able to get to their button New York with all Clownstickanov's comrades goes poof too. We can rebuild. And our MQ and IQ go up. BOOM! It's been forty-two years since the Rumble in the Jungle. We need a Rumba in the Tundra.
I have thoughts on how we can bring about these desiderata but we have to do it quick, lickedy-split...Imagine a world without Russians.
Taken as a whole the Russian people have been a pustule on the anus of mankind. They can't do anything right. With their non-existence the Moral Quotient of the world leaps dramatically; many of the lowest scores ever recorded on the Intelligence Quotient don't get factored in and the IQ of the world rises impressively. You gotta prune the tree now and then, you know? Lop 'em off!
It's very easy. Yes, there's going to be "fall-out" but it's not like in the old-old days of invasion--so inefficient! Push a button. POOF! Some of us will die, snore, but that can be addition by subtraction, too. We relocate our own Russian-like beings to likely targets, like New York City--Hey, "It's to you New Yawk, Neeww Yawwk!"--we tell them there's going to be a HUGE Trump rally there, they go, of course, we press the button and if the Soviets are able to get to their button New York with all Clownstickanov's comrades goes poof too. We can rebuild. And our MQ and IQ go up. BOOM! It's been forty-two years since the Rumble in the Jungle. We need a Rumba in the Tundra.
I have thoughts on how we can bring about these desiderata but we have to do it quick, lickedy-split...Imagine a world without Russians.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Last Call
The irony. The IRONY! The presidential candidate of the arch, anti-communist political party in America, the Republicans, is a tool of the Russian leader who is trying to get that ol' Soviet band back together again. Oh! Delicious irony, sweet, supreme irony.
Man oh MAN, can you believe the Russians? Putin wants the Baltics SOOO MUCH he is not stopping at ANYTHING to get his boy Trump elected. The problem with the Russians is they're Russian. They're not very smart. They're bad at this shit. They keep getting caught. They ALWAYS get caught. Remember when they tried to sneak missiles into Cuba? Got caught. Damn near started World War III, too! Tried to sneak "little green men" into Ukraine-caught. They really try! It's not that they don't care if they get caught, they're going to do it anyway so they don't care, like we do, they really do care. They don't want to get caught. They just can't avoid it, they're Russian.
"The Trouble with the Olympic Games"-The Guardian
"The trouble with the Olympic Games"? Oh my God, I thought that thing was canceled. Jesus Christ, now we got the Olympic Games? Just when you think things are looking up. You go four days without a mass murder and then POW, the Olympic Games.
It's in Brazil, right? Rio? I thought they were canceled because they have zika or don't have a president or something.
Is there Olympic soccer? Yes, right? So now Aguero's going to have to go play for the Argies? De Bruyne for Belgium? Oh fuck me. The problem with the Olympic Games is the OLYMPIC GAMES!
It's in Brazil, right? Rio? I thought they were canceled because they have zika or don't have a president or something.
Is there Olympic soccer? Yes, right? So now Aguero's going to have to go play for the Argies? De Bruyne for Belgium? Oh fuck me. The problem with the Olympic Games is the OLYMPIC GAMES!
Jesus Answers Pope Francis
“Where is God, if evil is present in our world, if there are men and women who are hungry and thirsty, homeless, exiles and refugees? Where is God, when cruel diseases break the bonds of life and affection? Or when children are exploited and demeaned, and they too suffer from grave illness? Where is God, amid the anguish of those who doubt and are troubled in spirit?"
"These are questions which, humanly speaking, have no answer.
"We can only look to Jesus and ask him. And Jesus’ answer is this: ‘God is in them’. Jesus is in them; he suffers in them and deeply identifies with each of them. He is so closely united to them as to form with them, as it were, ‘one body.'"
Bullshit answer, Jesus. Bullshit answer.
"These are questions which, humanly speaking, have no answer.
"We can only look to Jesus and ask him. And Jesus’ answer is this: ‘God is in them’. Jesus is in them; he suffers in them and deeply identifies with each of them. He is so closely united to them as to form with them, as it were, ‘one body.'"
Bullshit answer, Jesus. Bullshit answer.
Comrade Clownstickanov
...has heard some of the things said about him at the Democratic convention. Said Clownstickanov: "I wanted to punch them...so hard." Lolol.
Also today the Democratic National Committee revealed a second hack, faithfully executing Premier Clownstickanov's order of Wednesday.
Also today the Democratic National Committee revealed a second hack, faithfully executing Premier Clownstickanov's order of Wednesday.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Treason
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
Of course that is coordination. Russia has hacked Democratic National Committee emails and files to help Donald Trump. Trump is now directly soliciting Russian hacking of the emails of Hillary Clinton, a candidate for president of the United States. That is treason.
Pope
"A word that – about what Father Lombardi was saying – is often repeated is “insecurity”. But the real word is “war”. For some time we have been saying: “the world is fighting a war piecemeal”. This is war. There was the war of ‘14, with its methods; then that of ‘39-‘45, another great war in the world; and now there is this one. It is not perhaps so organic; organized, yes, but organic… I say… But it is war. This holy priest, who died in the very moment when he was offering prayer for the whole Church, is one (person): but how many Christians, how many innocents, how many children… We think of Nigeria, for example. “But that is Africa…” It is war. Let us not be afraid to say this truth: the world is at war, because it has lost peace.
...
"I would like to say just one word to be clear. When I speak of war, I speak of real war, not of a war of religion, no. There is war for interests, there is war for money, there is war for the resources of nature, there is war for the domination of peoples: this is war. Someone may think: “He is talking about a war of religion”. No. All the religions, we want peace. Others want war. Do you understand?"
I really don't.
...
"I would like to say just one word to be clear. When I speak of war, I speak of real war, not of a war of religion, no. There is war for interests, there is war for money, there is war for the resources of nature, there is war for the domination of peoples: this is war. Someone may think: “He is talking about a war of religion”. No. All the religions, we want peace. Others want war. Do you understand?"
I really don't.
BALTIMORE PROSECUTOR DISMISSES ALL CHARGES AGAINST REMAINING FREDDIE GRAY COPS
"I have decided not to proceed on the case against Officer Garrett Miller, Sgt. Alicia White or relitigate the case against William Porter.
"There was a reluctance and an obvious bias consistently exemplified, not by the entire Baltimore police force, but by individuals within the Baltimore Police Department at every stage of the investigation.
[Bullshit. She never had the evidence, period.]
"We are up against a system that, unfortunately was against us.
[You, ma'am, are an asshole."]
"When [the medical examiner] came back and determined that it was a homicide, that's all that we needed. We had all the officers' admissions, so we had a story and a timeline as to how the incident occurred. There was nothing else that they found, even after the fact the charges were filed the counter what we did initially.
[1. Manifestly, Ms. Mosby, that was NOT all you needed or you wouldn't have had to lose every case! 2. Do you know what the definition of "homicide" is? A killing of one human being by another. Is "homicide" criminal, Ms. Mosby? It is not. There is justifiable homicide, excusable homicide, both of which are lawful. Homicide is not "murder." Or manslaughter. Or any other variation of UNLAWFUL homicide. A Medical Examiner ruling a case a homicide rules out suicide, natural, and sometimes accidental. It doesn't rule IN murder. You are a moron. In addition to being an asshole.]
"However fitting it is for outside observers to use the untimely death of Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. as a barometer for the nation’s progress on police brutality—my professional role in this matter is plain, it is my job to seek justice on behalf of a 25-year old victim."
"There was a reluctance and an obvious bias consistently exemplified, not by the entire Baltimore police force, but by individuals within the Baltimore Police Department at every stage of the investigation.
[Bullshit. She never had the evidence, period.]
"We are up against a system that, unfortunately was against us.
[You, ma'am, are an asshole."]
"When [the medical examiner] came back and determined that it was a homicide, that's all that we needed. We had all the officers' admissions, so we had a story and a timeline as to how the incident occurred. There was nothing else that they found, even after the fact the charges were filed the counter what we did initially.
[1. Manifestly, Ms. Mosby, that was NOT all you needed or you wouldn't have had to lose every case! 2. Do you know what the definition of "homicide" is? A killing of one human being by another. Is "homicide" criminal, Ms. Mosby? It is not. There is justifiable homicide, excusable homicide, both of which are lawful. Homicide is not "murder." Or manslaughter. Or any other variation of UNLAWFUL homicide. A Medical Examiner ruling a case a homicide rules out suicide, natural, and sometimes accidental. It doesn't rule IN murder. You are a moron. In addition to being an asshole.]
"However fitting it is for outside observers to use the untimely death of Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. as a barometer for the nation’s progress on police brutality—my professional role in this matter is plain, it is my job to seek justice on behalf of a 25-year old victim."
[Oh, so you are plaintiff's attorney in Mr. Gray's estate's civil suit? My bad, I thought you were the "STATE'S Attorney," the PROSECUTOR, whose ETHICAL OBLIGATION is to do justice for ALL of the people in your state, INCLUDING DEFENDANTS! To do JUSTICE, PERIOD. So basically ma'am, you do not know your job description and you do not know the distinction between homicide and murder. You are a disgrace.]
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
"A Worry if Hillary Clinton Wins: What to Do With Bill"-NYT
Heh-heh-heh-heh.
"...the steps Clinton aides are planning to shape his new life do little to address a potentially thornier problem: Historically, when Mr. Clinton does not have a job to do, he gets into trouble."
Heh-heh-heh-heh.
"They...point[ed] out that Mr. Clinton had focused on the foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative during that time. But at the same time they acknowledged that Mr. Clinton would not be content to sit idly by or speak only when spoken to."
"...if the Clintons return to the White House, his life will inevitably become more circumscribed, and he will be expected to show the self-discipline that most first spouses have demonstrated."
"...the steps Clinton aides are planning to shape his new life do little to address a potentially thornier problem: Historically, when Mr. Clinton does not have a job to do, he gets into trouble."
Heh-heh-heh-heh.
"They...point[ed] out that Mr. Clinton had focused on the foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative during that time. But at the same time they acknowledged that Mr. Clinton would not be content to sit idly by or speak only when spoken to."
"...if the Clintons return to the White House, his life will inevitably become more circumscribed, and he will be expected to show the self-discipline that most first spouses have demonstrated."
HO-HO-HO-HO.
"The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 excluded from the United States past and present members of proscribed organizations, such as the Communist party and Communist-front organizations, and advocates of proscribed doctrines, such as communism.
...
'...I'm fed up with the image we have as a police state. I keep seeing reports about excluding visitors because of their political views. We act like a closed society...You know what I want--an Open Society--with the freest possible movement in and out of the country. And a new immigration law.'"
-President John F. Kennedy to Abba Schwartz, whom Kennedy had appointed head of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, United States Department of State, 1962. The Open Society, Schwartz (1968), 25, quoted in Robert Kennedy And His Times, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1978), 435.
...
'...I'm fed up with the image we have as a police state. I keep seeing reports about excluding visitors because of their political views. We act like a closed society...You know what I want--an Open Society--with the freest possible movement in and out of the country. And a new immigration law.'"
-President John F. Kennedy to Abba Schwartz, whom Kennedy had appointed head of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, United States Department of State, 1962. The Open Society, Schwartz (1968), 25, quoted in Robert Kennedy And His Times, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1978), 435.
Rooski, only 84 so far today? Why you go way Rooski? Rooski, I confess you. I very important idiot :( I, how you say, grab the strings and pull them. They dance like bear. I pull they dance. Now Rooski I tell you secret shhhh! Rooski SHHHH! and I tell you secret. Trump double-agent SHHHH! You think he work for you. He no work for you Rooski. I grab his strings. I grab his strings, Rooski. Not you, Rooski, me. I no like Putin Rooski Putin pain in my assholes. How I get rid of Putin, I think of that long time. Plutonium? Nah. Whack him on bridge? Nah. I decide make Putin little man. Putin be "useful fool!" "Useful fool," Rooski, you get? I think how make Putin small peepy person and make useful fool. I think: need humiliate Putin. How do that, me think and me think. I think: Need get other useful fool close to Putin make Putin useful fool. Who kind of bear anus Putin like? CLOWN bear anus! Donald. Me know Putin like Donald HAHAHAHAHA. So me call Donald up, say Donald! Run for president of US&A. Putin like you and then you become president and you nuke Rus so good not even lizard can live after you nuke. I no like Rus, Rooski. All Rus pain in my assholes. So we nuke you when Donald president. Bye.
Monday, July 25, 2016
William Henry Harrison
Wellyoucan't.
American Politics Forever Changed
With the election of 1840, American politics were forever changed. Although William Henry Harrison came from wealth and privilege, he was able to grab hold of the power of Andrew Jackson's image in his bid for the presidency in 1828.
Jackson had been the first president to come from poverty and was well known and admired as a rugged frontiersman and military man. How did this image affect the election of 1840 and beyond?
As Jackson's election showed, voters appreciated the prospect of a president who didn't come from wealth. He seemed more like them. In 1840, the Whig party and Harrison used this knowledge to create an image for Harrison. Harrison was successfully marketed as a Jackson-like figure, a rugged frontiersman and an accomplished military man. Did this image represent the "real" William Henry Harrison?
Not really. In reality, Harrison had left the Army after his victory at Thames River and before the end of the War of 1812, in order to go on a celebratory tour of parties and banquets in his honor in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. What did the 1840 election solidify (make secure) in political campaigns?
The 1840 election solidified the growing political influence of the West and the idea of politics as entertainment. Ever since then, elections have been won and lost on images and the attempt to deliver what the public wants.
Oh...No, that's me dead of shock, not him. He died of pneumonia. That's an actual photograph of him though...No, up there! Not me dead of shock. Actually that's really not me dead of shock, I'm just kidding. That's actually "The Dead Toreador" by Manet Whatever! The daguerreotype of Harrison is the first photograph of a sitting president and if they would have waited 33 days they'd a had the first photograph of a laying president.
Mass Murder Monday
In a shocking upset Japan beat the United States 19-0 in what sounds like a Little League World Series score but is actually the body count-Wait, we didn't even score like the mass murder minimum, like 5? Zero.-of some crazy mother-fucker in Sagamihara who knifed to death his victims in a (don't read) home for the disabled. Knife...so painful...disabled people...helples...Enough. God keep the souls of the victims, the families, the dear people of Japan. God bless them.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-hacked-emails-of-dnc-oppo-researcher-point-to-russians-and-wider-penetration-154121061.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma
Just weeks after she started preparing opposition research files on Donald Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort last spring, Democratic National Committee consultant Alexandra Chalupa got an alarming message when she logged into her personal Yahoo email account.
Important action required,” read a pop-up box from a Yahoo security team that is informally known as “the Paranoids.” “We strongly suspect that your account has been the target of state-sponsored actors.”
Chalupa — who had been drafting memos and writing emails about Manafort’s connection to pro-Russian political leaders in Ukraine — quickly alerted top DNC officials. “Since I started digging into Manafort, these messages have been a daily occurrence on my Yahoo account despite changing my password often,” she wrote in a May 3 email to Luis Miranda, the DNC’s communications director, which included an attached screengrab of the image of the Yahoo security warning.
...she had been in close touch with sources in Kiev, Ukraine, including a number of investigative journalists, who had been providing her with information about Manafort’s political and business dealings in that country and in Russia.
...
After Chalupa sent the email to Miranda (which mentions that she had invited this reporter to a meeting with Ukrainian journalists in Washington), it triggered high-level concerns within the DNC, given the sensitive nature of her work. “That’s when we knew it was the Russians,” said a Democratic Party source who has knowledge of the internal probe into the hacked emails. In order to stem the damage, the source said, “we told her to stop her research.”
...
...WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has in the past hosted a talk show on RT, the Russian television network that serves as a propaganda arm for the Kremlin. (Assange, without providing specifics, recently claimed he will be posting more emails that will be damaging to Clinton and “provide enough evidence” to get her arrested."
Just weeks after she started preparing opposition research files on Donald Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort last spring, Democratic National Committee consultant Alexandra Chalupa got an alarming message when she logged into her personal Yahoo email account.
Important action required,” read a pop-up box from a Yahoo security team that is informally known as “the Paranoids.” “We strongly suspect that your account has been the target of state-sponsored actors.”
Chalupa — who had been drafting memos and writing emails about Manafort’s connection to pro-Russian political leaders in Ukraine — quickly alerted top DNC officials. “Since I started digging into Manafort, these messages have been a daily occurrence on my Yahoo account despite changing my password often,” she wrote in a May 3 email to Luis Miranda, the DNC’s communications director, which included an attached screengrab of the image of the Yahoo security warning.
...she had been in close touch with sources in Kiev, Ukraine, including a number of investigative journalists, who had been providing her with information about Manafort’s political and business dealings in that country and in Russia.
...
After Chalupa sent the email to Miranda (which mentions that she had invited this reporter to a meeting with Ukrainian journalists in Washington), it triggered high-level concerns within the DNC, given the sensitive nature of her work. “That’s when we knew it was the Russians,” said a Democratic Party source who has knowledge of the internal probe into the hacked emails. In order to stem the damage, the source said, “we told her to stop her research.”
...
...WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has in the past hosted a talk show on RT, the Russian television network that serves as a propaganda arm for the Kremlin. (Assange, without providing specifics, recently claimed he will be posting more emails that will be damaging to Clinton and “provide enough evidence” to get her arrested."
Trump's Dog Whistles
Of course there are no "ties" between Russian espionage and the Trump campaign. There was no coordination. I'm not that conspiratorial.
The Kremlin simply hears Trump's dog whistle on NATO. They have always detested Obama and Hillary Clinton. Putin has stated directly his like of and admiration for Trump and vice versa. Of course the Russians did this in an attempt to damage Clinton and thereby help Trump.
Of course Russia is not attempting to hack an idiot's puny blog. An enormous spike in traffic in the last week from Russia on a virulently anti-Trump, anti-Russian website is just part of Russia's trawling of the web looking for friends and enemies.
I did think to myself last night, before I knew that the Russians were behind the DNC hack, if the Russians weren't also behind, "inspired," not master-minded, the-three or four?-puzzling, off the radar, out of the blue, ambiguously-motivated or seemingly motive-less mass murders or attempts in Germany the past week. Were any of the perps dressed as "little green men?" I joked to myself just before going to bed. Of course I am that conspiratorial.
The Kremlin simply hears Trump's dog whistle on NATO. They have always detested Obama and Hillary Clinton. Putin has stated directly his like of and admiration for Trump and vice versa. Of course the Russians did this in an attempt to damage Clinton and thereby help Trump.
Of course Russia is not attempting to hack an idiot's puny blog. An enormous spike in traffic in the last week from Russia on a virulently anti-Trump, anti-Russian website is just part of Russia's trawling of the web looking for friends and enemies.
I did think to myself last night, before I knew that the Russians were behind the DNC hack, if the Russians weren't also behind, "inspired," not master-minded, the-three or four?-puzzling, off the radar, out of the blue, ambiguously-motivated or seemingly motive-less mass murders or attempts in Germany the past week. Were any of the perps dressed as "little green men?" I joked to myself just before going to bed. Of course I am that conspiratorial.
Rooski, why you here again all of a sudden?
As Democrats Gather, a Russian Subplot Raises Intrigue
WASHINGTON — An unusual question is capturing the attention of cyberspecialists, Russia experts andDemocratic Party leaders in Philadelphia: Is Vladimir V. Putin trying to meddle in the American presidential election?
Until Friday, that charge, with its eerie suggestion of a Kremlin conspiracy to aid Donald J. Trump, has been only whispered.
But the release on Friday of some 20,000 stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers, many of them embarrassing to Democratic leaders, has intensified discussion of the role of Russian intelligence agencies in disrupting the 2016 campaign.
Proving the source of a cyberattack is notoriously difficult. But researchers have concluded that the national committee was breached by two Russian intelligence agencies, which were the same attackers behind previous Russian cyberoperations at the White House, the State Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff last year. And metadata from the released emails suggests that the documents passed through Russian computers. Though a hacker claimed responsibility for giving the emails to WikiLeaks, the same agencies are the prime suspects. Whether the thefts were ordered by Mr. Putin, or just carried out by apparatchiks who thought they might please him, is anyone’s guess.
...
Mr. Trump has also said he would like to “get along with Russia” if he is elected, and complimented Mr. Putin, saying he is more of a leader than President Obama. Mr. Putin has in turn praised Mr. Trump. But Trump campaign officials on Sunday strongly rejected any connections between their candidate and efforts to undermine the Democrats.
Are there any ties between Mr. Trump, you or your campaign and Putin and his regime?” George Stephanopoulos, of “This Week,” asked Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman.
No, there are not,” Mr. Manafort shot back. “That’s absurd. And, you know, there’s no basis to it.”
...
The story has another level of intrigue involving Mr. Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman. Working through his lobbying firm, Mr. Manafort was one of several American advisers to Viktor F. Yanukovych, the Russian-backed leader of Ukraine until he was forced out of office two years ago. Mr. Yanukovych was a key Putin ally who is now in exile in Russia.
In April, asked on Fox News about his relationship with Mr. Yanukovych, Mr. Manafort said he was simply trying to help the Ukrainians build a democracy that could align more closely with the United States and its allies.
...
Mr. Trump has also said he would like to “get along with Russia” if he is elected, and complimented Mr. Putin, saying he is more of a leader than President Obama. Mr. Putin has in turn praised Mr. Trump. But Trump campaign officials on Sunday strongly rejected any connections between their candidate and efforts to undermine the Democrats.
Are there any ties between Mr. Trump, you or your campaign and Putin and his regime?” George Stephanopoulos, of “This Week,” asked Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman.
No, there are not,” Mr. Manafort shot back. “That’s absurd. And, you know, there’s no basis to it.”
...
The story has another level of intrigue involving Mr. Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman. Working through his lobbying firm, Mr. Manafort was one of several American advisers to Viktor F. Yanukovych, the Russian-backed leader of Ukraine until he was forced out of office two years ago. Mr. Yanukovych was a key Putin ally who is now in exile in Russia.
In April, asked on Fox News about his relationship with Mr. Yanukovych, Mr. Manafort said he was simply trying to help the Ukrainians build a democracy that could align more closely with the United States and its allies.
Trump Leads Polls
In RCP's rolling average Trump leads by 0.2%, with 45%. In all of the last four polls, all post-convention he leads by an average 2.5%. Lolol.
2 Dead, 16 Wounded in Shooting at School Party, Ft. Myers Florida
A party for middle-schoolers and high-schoolers. Victims aged 12-27. Horrible.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Good News for Trump!
Oh man, take a look at these headlines.
Germany blast: Syrian migrant 'behind Ansbach explosion'-BBC
Deadly Machete Attack In Germany Kills One And Injures Two Others
Police say a 21-year-old Syrian refugee carried out the attack in the city of Reutlingen.-Reuters
Now I ask you, are those not just out of a script written for the Party of Doom?! Two Syrian migrants! Oh man, roflol Demos. This just might not be their year! Lol. This is the year Leicester City won the Premiership. The year Donald Trump won the Gop-ship. This is looking like Donald Trump's year all around. Dave Brooks is looking like a savant and Trump too! PRESIDENT Trump. Omg, lol Democrats, Hillary. America. World. It just seems to be in the stars.
Germany blast: Syrian migrant 'behind Ansbach explosion'-BBC
Deadly Machete Attack In Germany Kills One And Injures Two Others
Police say a 21-year-old Syrian refugee carried out the attack in the city of Reutlingen.-Reuters
Now I ask you, are those not just out of a script written for the Party of Doom?! Two Syrian migrants! Oh man, roflol Demos. This just might not be their year! Lol. This is the year Leicester City won the Premiership. The year Donald Trump won the Gop-ship. This is looking like Donald Trump's year all around. Dave Brooks is looking like a savant and Trump too! PRESIDENT Trump. Omg, lol Democrats, Hillary. America. World. It just seems to be in the stars.
"Is Donald Trump a Racist?"-Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/opinion/sunday/is-donald-trump-a-racist.html
(I am embarrassed to say that I asked myself that same question when he announced for the presidency. Mexicans are rapists? That confused me. It didn't last long.)
...We shouldn’t toss around such accusations lightly, so I’ve looked back over more than 40 years of Donald Trump’s career to see what the record says.
One early red flag arose in 1973, when President Richard Nixon’s Justice Department — not exactly the radicals of the day — sued Trump and his father, Fred Trump, for systematically discriminating against blacks in housing rentals.
I’ve waded through 1,021 pages of documents from that legal battle, and they are devastating. Donald Trump was then president of the family real estate firm, and the government amassed overwhelming evidence that the company had a policy of discriminating against blacks, including those serving in the military.
Donald Trump furiously fought the civil rights suit in the courts and the media, but the Trumps eventually settled on terms that were widely regarded as a victory for the government. Three years later, the government sued the Trumps again, for continuing to discriminate.
In fairness, those suits date from long ago…
Yet even if Donald Trump inherited his firm’s discriminatory policies, he allied himself decisively in the 1970s housing battle against the civil rights movement.
Another revealing moment came in 1989, when New York City was convulsed by the “Central Park jogger” case, a rape and beating of a young white woman. Five black and Latino teenagers were arrested.
[I remember that case vividly.]
Trump stepped in, denounced Mayor Ed Koch’s call for peace and bought full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty.
[I remember those ads vividly.]
The five teenagers spent years in prison before being exonerated.
[I remember their exonerations vividly.]
As Trump moved into casinos, discrimination followed…
…
In 1991, a book by John O’Donnell, who had been president of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, quoted Trump as criticizing a black accountant and saying: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.” O’Donnell wrote that for months afterward, Trump pressed him to fire the black accountant, until the man resigned of his own accord.
…in a Playboy interview, he conceded “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true.”
The recent record may be more familiar:…President Obama was born in Kenya;…Obama was admitted to Ivy League schools only because of affirmative action…Mexican immigrants [are], “in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists”; …temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States; …American-born judge of Mexican ancestry [is] a Mexican who cannot fairly hear his case;… reluctance to distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan in a television interview;…81 percent of white murder victims are killed by blacks (the actual figure is about 15 percent); and so on.
… retweeted messages from white supremacists or Nazi sympathizers [and so on]
Trump repeatedly and vehemently denies any racism, and he has deleted some offensive tweets. The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi racist website that has endorsed Trump, sees that as going “full-wink-wink-wink.”
My view is that “racist” can be a loaded word, [Omg Kristof.] a conversation stopper more than a clarifier, and that we should be careful not to use it simply as an epithet. Moreover, Muslims and Latinos can be of any race, so some of those statements technically reflect not so much racism as bigotry. [Well, that's better.] It’s also true that with any single statement, it is possible that Trump misspoke or was misconstrued.
And yet. [And so on?]
Here we have a man who for more than four decades has been repeatedly associated with racial discrimination or bigoted comments about minorities, some of them made on television for all to see. While any one episode may be ambiguous, what emerges over more than four decades is a narrative arc, a consistent pattern — and I don’t see what else to call it but racism.
Serious? You're seriously having this conversation with yourself now, Mr. Kristof? You've missed all the wink-winks? Never heard all the tweet-tweet of the dog whistle?
OF COURSE HE'S A RACIST! HIS SUPPORTERS ARE RACISTS! THIS ENTIRE ELECTION HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE ABOUT RACE!
(I am embarrassed to say that I asked myself that same question when he announced for the presidency. Mexicans are rapists? That confused me. It didn't last long.)
...We shouldn’t toss around such accusations lightly, so I’ve looked back over more than 40 years of Donald Trump’s career to see what the record says.
One early red flag arose in 1973, when President Richard Nixon’s Justice Department — not exactly the radicals of the day — sued Trump and his father, Fred Trump, for systematically discriminating against blacks in housing rentals.
I’ve waded through 1,021 pages of documents from that legal battle, and they are devastating. Donald Trump was then president of the family real estate firm, and the government amassed overwhelming evidence that the company had a policy of discriminating against blacks, including those serving in the military.
Donald Trump furiously fought the civil rights suit in the courts and the media, but the Trumps eventually settled on terms that were widely regarded as a victory for the government. Three years later, the government sued the Trumps again, for continuing to discriminate.
In fairness, those suits date from long ago…
Yet even if Donald Trump inherited his firm’s discriminatory policies, he allied himself decisively in the 1970s housing battle against the civil rights movement.
Another revealing moment came in 1989, when New York City was convulsed by the “Central Park jogger” case, a rape and beating of a young white woman. Five black and Latino teenagers were arrested.
[I remember that case vividly.]
Trump stepped in, denounced Mayor Ed Koch’s call for peace and bought full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty.
[I remember those ads vividly.]
The five teenagers spent years in prison before being exonerated.
[I remember their exonerations vividly.]
As Trump moved into casinos, discrimination followed…
…
In 1991, a book by John O’Donnell, who had been president of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, quoted Trump as criticizing a black accountant and saying: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.” O’Donnell wrote that for months afterward, Trump pressed him to fire the black accountant, until the man resigned of his own accord.
…in a Playboy interview, he conceded “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true.”
The recent record may be more familiar:…President Obama was born in Kenya;…Obama was admitted to Ivy League schools only because of affirmative action…Mexican immigrants [are], “in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists”; …temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States; …American-born judge of Mexican ancestry [is] a Mexican who cannot fairly hear his case;… reluctance to distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan in a television interview;…81 percent of white murder victims are killed by blacks (the actual figure is about 15 percent); and so on.
… retweeted messages from white supremacists or Nazi sympathizers [and so on]
Trump repeatedly and vehemently denies any racism, and he has deleted some offensive tweets. The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi racist website that has endorsed Trump, sees that as going “full-wink-wink-wink.”
My view is that “racist” can be a loaded word, [Omg Kristof.] a conversation stopper more than a clarifier, and that we should be careful not to use it simply as an epithet. Moreover, Muslims and Latinos can be of any race, so some of those statements technically reflect not so much racism as bigotry. [Well, that's better.] It’s also true that with any single statement, it is possible that Trump misspoke or was misconstrued.
And yet. [And so on?]
Here we have a man who for more than four decades has been repeatedly associated with racial discrimination or bigoted comments about minorities, some of them made on television for all to see. While any one episode may be ambiguous, what emerges over more than four decades is a narrative arc, a consistent pattern — and I don’t see what else to call it but racism.
Serious? You're seriously having this conversation with yourself now, Mr. Kristof? You've missed all the wink-winks? Never heard all the tweet-tweet of the dog whistle?
OF COURSE HE'S A RACIST! HIS SUPPORTERS ARE RACISTS! THIS ENTIRE ELECTION HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE ABOUT RACE!
I just want to say, now that they're calling off the hunt, that MH370 is the biggest fucking mystery in my fucking lifetime. A FUCKING COMMERCIAL JETLINER VANISHES. Radar...satellites...PIECES OF THE PLANE WASHING UP. Nothing, NOTHING has led to the location of the plane. Most unbelievable fucking thing I've ever heard of.
That's all I wanted to say.
That's all I wanted to say.
The Party of Doom
Dear Jesus, writing that last post; it's the first time in seven months I've felt "light." I have spent, I would estimate, 75%, maybe closer to 90%, of my writing about politics on the Party of Doom. Sure, the Democratic primaries went on and on and on, but I ignored Senator Sanders, I just didn't take his candidacy seriously, he was never, to my mind a reasonable candidate for the nomination, whereas in the Party of Doom there was real uncertainty, Chaos. It was more interesting to follow them than the Party of Blue Skies. That took a toll. The Party of Doom is a dark, ugly place.
I am not a fearful person by nature, not jealous nor paranoid, not resentful. I have enemies, personal and political, I value them, truly. There are people who are jealous, paranoid, resentful, hateful, racist, fascist, my brother is and always has been one of those Doom and Gloomers, and he wrote to me very early on in our correspondence that Americans were going to reject a continuation of the politics of no drama and blue skies and were ready for Anger. He was correct and I was wrong about the preference for the dark politics of hate and fear in the Republican Party. Tonight, writing that little post was the first time this year that I saw a happy blue sky alternative to the turgid anger of the Doom and Gloomers.
By objective criteria the majority of Americans are better off today than they were eight years ago and America is safer, at home and abroad, but the Republicans have the American mental illness of surrealism and paranoia and have cornered the political market on hate and fear. Some hysterical Gloom and Doomers have written or tweeted their Authoritarian Protector hysterically asking the Evil Clown to protect them! That is pathetic.
I, Benjamin Harris, do not need a hero, I am not a victim, I am not afraid. Instead of writing them a script for their hysteria, the Party of Doom peddles to these nervous-nellie hysterics a politics of fear and hate, they communicate to this dying, fearful, hateful constituency in messages coded for race. They hear Trump's dog whistle and they follow this Wizard of fear and hate. They fantasize about an America that never was and they see in the most implausible presidential candidate in American history, an evil clown, their savior. They are mentally disturbed and they are cowards. They cower in their corners with their guns and under their rocks and in their sewers online and articulate desires to hang or shoot by firing squad Hillary Clinton.
And then tonight, the alternative: two grownups, not two disturbed evil clowns, one manic, the other wooden, and for me these dark clouds parted and the skies were blue again. I feel so much better. Donald Trump has a reasonable, plausible chance at the presidency but now, there is a happy, reassuring team of adults as alternative.
Americans' birthright is the pursuit of happiness not flight from fear. THINGS ARE NOT BAD! This is a good time for America! The Gloomy Old Party is a party of rebels without a cause, haters for the sake of hating. We have a choice now: between a politics of optimism and confidence and rational assessment, symbolized by a simple logo the color of a happy, bright blue sky, pointing us in the right direction, and a politics of irrational fear and racial and ethnic hate symbolized by a "hot," turgid, symbol coded the color of Danger. It is a choice between the optimistic happiness of blue, and the angry hatred of red, the color of danger, symbolizing a politics of racism, anti-semitism, and authoritarianism.
There is no choice.
I am not a fearful person by nature, not jealous nor paranoid, not resentful. I have enemies, personal and political, I value them, truly. There are people who are jealous, paranoid, resentful, hateful, racist, fascist, my brother is and always has been one of those Doom and Gloomers, and he wrote to me very early on in our correspondence that Americans were going to reject a continuation of the politics of no drama and blue skies and were ready for Anger. He was correct and I was wrong about the preference for the dark politics of hate and fear in the Republican Party. Tonight, writing that little post was the first time this year that I saw a happy blue sky alternative to the turgid anger of the Doom and Gloomers.
By objective criteria the majority of Americans are better off today than they were eight years ago and America is safer, at home and abroad, but the Republicans have the American mental illness of surrealism and paranoia and have cornered the political market on hate and fear. Some hysterical Gloom and Doomers have written or tweeted their Authoritarian Protector hysterically asking the Evil Clown to protect them! That is pathetic.
I, Benjamin Harris, do not need a hero, I am not a victim, I am not afraid. Instead of writing them a script for their hysteria, the Party of Doom peddles to these nervous-nellie hysterics a politics of fear and hate, they communicate to this dying, fearful, hateful constituency in messages coded for race. They hear Trump's dog whistle and they follow this Wizard of fear and hate. They fantasize about an America that never was and they see in the most implausible presidential candidate in American history, an evil clown, their savior. They are mentally disturbed and they are cowards. They cower in their corners with their guns and under their rocks and in their sewers online and articulate desires to hang or shoot by firing squad Hillary Clinton.
And then tonight, the alternative: two grownups, not two disturbed evil clowns, one manic, the other wooden, and for me these dark clouds parted and the skies were blue again. I feel so much better. Donald Trump has a reasonable, plausible chance at the presidency but now, there is a happy, reassuring team of adults as alternative.
Americans' birthright is the pursuit of happiness not flight from fear. THINGS ARE NOT BAD! This is a good time for America! The Gloomy Old Party is a party of rebels without a cause, haters for the sake of hating. We have a choice now: between a politics of optimism and confidence and rational assessment, symbolized by a simple logo the color of a happy, bright blue sky, pointing us in the right direction, and a politics of irrational fear and racial and ethnic hate symbolized by a "hot," turgid, symbol coded the color of Danger. It is a choice between the optimistic happiness of blue, and the angry hatred of red, the color of danger, symbolizing a politics of racism, anti-semitism, and authoritarianism.
There is no choice.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
God's Righteous Angels In Blue Debut in Miami-"Bienvenidos a todos"
There they are.
Senator Kaine looks like a nice man, a well-adjusted, mentally stable, happy man. Secretary Clinton looks delighted to have him with her. Clinton wanted the personal chemistry between her and her veep to be good, to be reinforcing, like that between Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Bill and Al were about the same age, both from the South, both moderates, they looked like a pair. Hillary and Tim look to be about the same age, Hillary likes to laugh and you can see she can laugh with this guy. Tim looks laid back, no tie, easy-casual, and I see with my eyes which only see blue...How to put this...They are both middle-aged and have middle-aged bodies, each looks comfortable with whom he or she is, how he or she looks physically, comfortable with how the other looks, and that shows a confidence with whom one is...that I like. They look like a pair.
Ell's and Gees, there they are: God's Team. Welcome to all.
Right after von Clownstick-Pence ticket was announced David Brooks wrote a column. Brooks called this election a,
" unique moment in American political history in which the mental stability of one of the major party nominees is the dominating subject of conversation."
He described Trump's speech announcing Pence,
"If you had to do a rough diagram of the Trump remarks it would be something like this: Pence … I was right about Iraq … Pence … Hillary Clinton is a crooked liar … I was right about “Brexit” … Pence … Hillary Clintons ads are filled with lies … We’re going to bring back the coal industry … Christians love me … Pence … I talk to statisticians … Pence is good looking … My hotel in Washington is really coming along fantastically … Pence."
Brilliant. I didn't read the speech transcript but that sounds like an accurate sketch of just about Trump speech, meandering all over the place, speaking half-thoughts and half-truths in half-sentences. Brilliant by Dave.
"It’s hard to know exactly what is going on in that brain, but science lends a clue. Psychologists wonder if narcissists are defined by extremely high self-esteem or by extremely low self-esteem that they are trying to mask. The current consensus seems to be that they are marked by unstable self-esteem. Their self-confidence can be both high and fragile, so they perceive ego threat all around."
"Suddenly the global climate favors a Trump candidacy. [Pause: I was wrong in mocking the parallels that Brooks and others drew to Brexit. Look at the result, I wrote, "Boris Johnson is a pariah." Since writing that Boris Johnson, so similar to Trump, has been made British Foreign Minister. Unpause] Some forms of disorder — like a financial crisis — send voters for the calm supple thinker. [Well, what the fuck led to Hitler's rise, Dave. A fucking financial crisis.] But other forms of disorder — blood in the streets — send them scurrying for the brutal strongman." [Brooks sometimes categorizes things incorrectly.]
"If the string of horrific events continues, Trump could win the presidency. And he could win it even though he has less and less control over himself."
[I hate weasel words like "could." Of course, he "could." Anybody "could." Gary Johnson "could" be elected president. Hell, David French "could" be elected president as a write-in. What Brooks really means to say of course is that Fatface von Clownstick has a "reasonable" shot at the presidency (538 now gives him a 42% chance) and he is absolutely correct.
" unique moment in American political history in which the mental stability of one of the major party nominees is the dominating subject of conversation."
He described Trump's speech announcing Pence,
"If you had to do a rough diagram of the Trump remarks it would be something like this: Pence … I was right about Iraq … Pence … Hillary Clinton is a crooked liar … I was right about “Brexit” … Pence … Hillary Clintons ads are filled with lies … We’re going to bring back the coal industry … Christians love me … Pence … I talk to statisticians … Pence is good looking … My hotel in Washington is really coming along fantastically … Pence."
Brilliant. I didn't read the speech transcript but that sounds like an accurate sketch of just about Trump speech, meandering all over the place, speaking half-thoughts and half-truths in half-sentences. Brilliant by Dave.
"It’s hard to know exactly what is going on in that brain, but science lends a clue. Psychologists wonder if narcissists are defined by extremely high self-esteem or by extremely low self-esteem that they are trying to mask. The current consensus seems to be that they are marked by unstable self-esteem. Their self-confidence can be both high and fragile, so they perceive ego threat all around."
"Suddenly the global climate favors a Trump candidacy. [Pause: I was wrong in mocking the parallels that Brooks and others drew to Brexit. Look at the result, I wrote, "Boris Johnson is a pariah." Since writing that Boris Johnson, so similar to Trump, has been made British Foreign Minister. Unpause] Some forms of disorder — like a financial crisis — send voters for the calm supple thinker. [Well, what the fuck led to Hitler's rise, Dave. A fucking financial crisis.] But other forms of disorder — blood in the streets — send them scurrying for the brutal strongman." [Brooks sometimes categorizes things incorrectly.]
"If the string of horrific events continues, Trump could win the presidency. And he could win it even though he has less and less control over himself."
[I hate weasel words like "could." Of course, he "could." Anybody "could." Gary Johnson "could" be elected president. Hell, David French "could" be elected president as a write-in. What Brooks really means to say of course is that Fatface von Clownstick has a "reasonable" shot at the presidency (538 now gives him a 42% chance) and he is absolutely correct.
This guy Adam Silver, man. Commish of the National Basketball Association. This guy is gonna go down as one of the very greatest commissioners in any U.S. professional sport, ever. He is a moral leader. Months into his tenure he just booted Donald Sterling from the league for life over racism. No half measures! No compromise! Just banned him for LIFE. Took the Los Angeles "Clippers" franchise from him and sold it to Steve Ballmer.
Then, just a month ago, he literally stood with gay and lesbian players in the Gay Pride parade in New York City.
Earlier this week he took the All-Star Game from Charlotte, N.C. over that state's anti-LGBT law. Just fucking took the game away from them! Gonna play it somewhere else.
I'm tellin' ya man, this guy Adam Silver is a great man.
Then, just a month ago, he literally stood with gay and lesbian players in the Gay Pride parade in New York City.
Earlier this week he took the All-Star Game from Charlotte, N.C. over that state's anti-LGBT law. Just fucking took the game away from them! Gonna play it somewhere else.
I'm tellin' ya man, this guy Adam Silver is a great man.
Friday, July 22, 2016
Last Call
A single gunman holding dual German-Iranian citizenship murdered nine and then himself in Munich.
Hillary Clinton has chosen Virginia Senator Timothy M. Kaine as her vice presidential running mate.
The Miami area police officer who shot the supine Black man by accident when he meant to shoot the sitting autistic Latinx armed with a toy truck...for reasons known only to him...is Jonathan Aledda. He has been placed on paid leave by his department while he and the police union work on a better explanation. A commander of the same North Miami Police Department who just made Commander a week ago, was also placed on non-commanding but paid leave for announcing on his police radio, "He's loading his weapon," you know, the weapon neither the intended nor the actual victim had.
And so another turn of this cycle and the question posed here after each previous turn, "How does this end?"
If I see a protester, whatever (s)he is protesting, I am going to go up to the protester and sincerely thank him for his social conscience and activism.
On the more likely occasion I see a police officer, I am going to go up to him and thank him.
We need to break this cycle. My gestures will not break the cycle but protesters and #BlackLivesMatter protesters are embattled. And the American police officer is embattled. They stand in separate circles. They need to stand in the same circle. And I will do that. In one idiot blogger they will see one idiot blogger standing with each of them and implicitly arguing that they need not, and should not, stand in separate circles, they can each stand on the same common ground. If enough of us do that each group will see that they have our support and those who get what we're doing, it may make them think.
What would really be a supreme gesture is if #BLM activists thanked police officers, rode with them on their shifts. And if police officers joined the protesters and applauded them.
If enough #BLM protesters applauded the police and enough police applauded the protesters back, you'd have all these mini-Gettysburg reunions going on rather than all these mini-Gettysburg's. It would calm everyone's nerves and clearly mark out common ground. They would be very moving gestures and images and would break this cycle.
That is how, or as good a "how," as I can think, to end this.
Hillary Clinton has chosen Virginia Senator Timothy M. Kaine as her vice presidential running mate.
The Miami area police officer who shot the supine Black man by accident when he meant to shoot the sitting autistic Latinx armed with a toy truck...for reasons known only to him...is Jonathan Aledda. He has been placed on paid leave by his department while he and the police union work on a better explanation. A commander of the same North Miami Police Department who just made Commander a week ago, was also placed on non-commanding but paid leave for announcing on his police radio, "He's loading his weapon," you know, the weapon neither the intended nor the actual victim had.
And so another turn of this cycle and the question posed here after each previous turn, "How does this end?"
If I see a protester, whatever (s)he is protesting, I am going to go up to the protester and sincerely thank him for his social conscience and activism.
On the more likely occasion I see a police officer, I am going to go up to him and thank him.
We need to break this cycle. My gestures will not break the cycle but protesters and #BlackLivesMatter protesters are embattled. And the American police officer is embattled. They stand in separate circles. They need to stand in the same circle. And I will do that. In one idiot blogger they will see one idiot blogger standing with each of them and implicitly arguing that they need not, and should not, stand in separate circles, they can each stand on the same common ground. If enough of us do that each group will see that they have our support and those who get what we're doing, it may make them think.
What would really be a supreme gesture is if #BLM activists thanked police officers, rode with them on their shifts. And if police officers joined the protesters and applauded them.
If enough #BLM protesters applauded the police and enough police applauded the protesters back, you'd have all these mini-Gettysburg reunions going on rather than all these mini-Gettysburg's. It would calm everyone's nerves and clearly mark out common ground. They would be very moving gestures and images and would break this cycle.
That is how, or as good a "how," as I can think, to end this.
Hello, Rooski.