Thursday, September 24, 2020

Worth A Thousand Words


If a single picture captures Trump’s America, it’s one showing those duped Trumpists blocking and intimidating early voters in Virginia. It’s all there: ignorance, anger, carefully coordinated indoctrination swallowed whole. Mob mentality. Enthusiastic lawlessness. Fascism adjacent. 
 

They arrived as if called to prayer. To them, the picture attests, MAGA means renouncing the Constitution, about which they and Trump have never really cared. It confirms how close we are to civil war, as Trump repeatedly declines to agree to peaceful transition if he loses. He’d rather see our country burn. Every American should decry this undisguised intent to overthrow democracy. Why is it only Democrats? 

Recall Trump’s demands at his fakery-fests: “Be poll watchers when you go there. Watch all the thieving and stealing and robbing they do,” he ordered the gratefully misinformed mob. And they did. 

Accomplishing what? Preventing the fabricated “thieving and stealing and robbing” that people waiting in line would have been doing if they, the red-hatted submissives, weren’t surveilling them? Were they hoping to scare legitimate voters away, patriotically? Is that their en-greatened America? 

Had they been inside, what do they think they’d have witnessed? Between signing in, casting votes, and leaving, how would voters have enfleshed Trump’s hallucinations? Irrelevant: Trump is mobilizing tens of thousands more poll “watchers” to go forth and threaten.

It’s a nutcase nutshell. A psychopathic “president,” to convince himself and his supporters that if he loses, it’d be from Democrats’ skullduggery, has been spinning a deadly conspiratorial web for months. Echoed by the complicit Attorney General of Trump and colluding media multimillionaires, belief in non-existent treachery is digesting Trumpists’ brains like Naegleria fowleri

If it weren’t so pathetic, it’d be laughable. Instead, it’s an intentionally lit fuse, burning with Trump’s lies about climate change, Russia, Covid-19, even Justice Ginsburg; and his nauseating praise, this week, of violence against journalists. He’s brought us to the brink. 

Dealing with Trumpists, liberals are disadvantaged. Being liberal, they still look for occasionally normal behavior and decency from the other side. From adherents, if not leaders. Seeing a “president” lying so blatantly, his Attorney General abdicating responsibility to the law, people so impenetrably manipulated by an American Putin, is confounding. It’s not of their world. 

Take surgery as a metaphor: after a decade in practice, there was no operation I did exactly as taught. Knowledge progresses. I read research publications, attended meetings, and, with experience, developed my own innovations. It’s a non-political example of liberalism. Who’d want doctors who refused to learn beyond the end of formal education? It’s unthinkable. 

Yet it perfectly describes Trumpists: minds gaping wide to deception, hermetic to reevaluating inculcated beliefs. People outside that circle are unused to such intransigence. Countering mindless acceptance of Trump’s mendacity with facts, liberals have found, is a frustrating waste of effort. People accustomed to open-minded discourse lack the tools, if any there are, to awaken closed-minded Trumpists to the danger ahead. Nor are liberals capable of Trumpic amounts of lying. No undamaged humans are. 

Like that photograph, Republicans’ weapons-grade hypocrisy following Justice Ginsberg’s death reveals it, too. All pretense of integrity abandoned, they’re acting in their own and their donors’ interest, not yours. Public opinion, which opposes virtually all their policies, including the timing of RBG’s replacement, is of even less concern to them than greenhouse gases or properly-vetted vaccines.

To pre-conditioned Trumpists, the SCOTUS fight is about abortion. For flip-flopping Republicans, though, as Senator Whitehouse explained this week, it’s about the demands of corporate dark-money paymasters: tipping the law to them rather than their employees; deregulation, no matter the consequences; approving vote-suppression to retain minority control. Promising retribution to senators standing in his way, Trump just admitted, out loud, that for him it’s about creating a Court that will help him steal the election. 

Rehearsing a post-election coup granting unlimited power, he’s already acting the role. Having declared Seattle, Portland, and NYC “anarchist jurisdictions,” to justify punishing mayors he fears, Trump intends to withhold federal funding. Same with denying help to burning western states, which, ironically, contain more Trump voters than the total of several states he won. Not an issue: he considers them “disgusting.”

That picture is everything. Born of the damaged mind of a pernicious “president,” those unthinking Virginians are ready for revolution, the potential first wave of a country-wide uprising. Despicable as violent demonstrations are – and they are -- they’re nothing compared to millions of Trumpofoxified Americans, ready to take it all down, for the lies of a malignant, self-absorbed charlatan.

18 comments:

  1. seeker of wisdom and truthSeptember 25, 2020 at 11:59 AM

    I am addled concerning the contrasting national differences between American and Canadian citizens. Why is there not a "Black Lives Matter" protest movement in Canada?

    Canada has liberal and conservative parties that disagree vehemently over social and economic policies and yet they seem to thrive as a united populace whichever party is currently in majority status.

    Are Canadian police under siege?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Simple Jack, they sell their natural resources, coal and oil, at the highest prices the market will bear. Their chief trading partner is us (spelled U.S.) where they Export more to us than all other countries by far COMBINED (4 TIMES!!!). And they import more from us (U.S.) than all other countries in the world COMBINED (66% more!!). They are so interdependent on our trade that they benefit directly from us, allowing them to matter in the world, where they are the 10th largest economy.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Canada#Export_trade
    And, they live, spread out across an immense border, within 100 miles of our United States, such that if they need to expand they just build North a bit. Heck, climate change will make their country the bread-basket of the world soon! (but not in my lifetime, sadly, I like Canada, eh?)
    And, they are only 38,000,000 people who have far less to be concerned about than our very own California, though they have instituted policies to prevent the Chinese from buying Vancouver B.C. and its surrounding. It's slowed them down, but only just a little.
    Comparisons of our country to Canada are almost as useful as comparing our country to Norway, where the entire country are millionaires, and Finland's education, where there is no diversity whatsoever (Norway and Sweden, too!). I like the Scandinavian countries too.
    As for ethnicity, well, they are overwhelmingly European, with common heritage that rivals the Scandinavian countries. In this they are UTTERLY unlike us! And, they report only 3.5% black in their population, compared to our 13%! Heck (again!), there are more black United States citizens (48,000,000) than there are Canadians! It's a little known factoid that our United States black population is one of the largest black populations in the world! By far!
    (good question Jack!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Who’d want doctors who refused to learn beyond the end of formal education?"

    Perhaps like a certain doctor — who spent a career divining fuzzy images — who steps up to the national podium to make declarations on a topic for which he has only limited schooling.

    ReplyDelete
  4. And more, Mr. S, (that way we can have Dr. S and Mr. S :-), they sell their forests, and their jewels (there's a deBeers diamond mine well North of Yellowknife!), and anything else they can sell of their vast natural wonderland.
    If only they could sell their mosquitoes. Ever wonder why Bill didn't build "his" seed vault on an island in wayyyy-North Canada?
    But, more to Dr. S column regarding the Portland protests specifically, is it somewhat ironic the "protesters" postponed their "protests" for a time because "we couldn't breathe"? (what with the forests on fire). Amazing!
    I've often thought the solution to the influence of Federal funding is to not participate. If we could vote on that, not participating, I would vote yes!! That alone would neuter any orange-haired insults to our state.
    But, money corrupts, and they know it, and so do the ......

    ReplyDelete
  5. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1061962869376540672?lang=en

    Note when this tweet was sent...

    This is how the election is stolen.


    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump
    The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!
    4:44 AM · Nov 12, 2018·Twitter for iPhone

    ReplyDelete
  6. This from the recommended article...

    "Trump will declare victory as soon as he can, even if millions of ballots have not been counted. If need be, he will challenge the election results so that the Supreme Court will ultimately choose him for a second term. In fact, he has openly admitted that he wants to immediately replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because of the upcoming election. Trump’s desire to sabotage our election process is the behavior of a dictator."

    The SCOTUS ruled that any ballot hitting the election headquarters within 72 hours can be counted as "on time" during the Florida fiasco. (notice it's ALWAYS Florida? Where's our resident alt right conspiracy theorists on that one?)

    Thus...Slowing down the mail would steal the election for Drumpf. TADA!

    It won't matter. The Dems. will roll over.



    ReplyDelete
  7. This has nothing to do with Canada, so why bring it up? Canada and 'merca are not the same Jack. They are very different. Very, very different.

    Let's focus on the article. Not Canada or the differences between the USA and anyone else. They don't vote Jack. They laugh at you and me and Drumpf. That's all you need to know about the rest of the world now other than when Drumpf wins, our "allies" ain't coming to the rescue this time.

    Focus...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3uxD0paPOk

    ReplyDelete
  8. Here's the latest Frontline documentary.

    The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden (full film) | FRONTLINE

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Icu6qupf40

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ms.S,

    I believe the Canadians are much more like we desire to return to than Mr. Smo.. admits. They are freedom loving and anti-autocratic with a multitude of ethic diversity in their melting-pot populace. They reject Russian style communist authoritarian socialism as passionately as we do.

    Their government provides a safety-net of irreplaceable protections for EVERY citizen including health care, and a justice system based on equal rights. And, they do not want to arm themselves with weapons to kill their neighbors who protest against their leaders.

    They seem to be much happier than we are now. I wonder why?

    ReplyDelete
  10. ADMINISTRATIVE ANNOUNCEMENT:

    I'm seriously considering ending comments here. By way of explanation, first and foremost, I'm in a bad mood. Depressed, pessimistic, angry, worried over these last weeks of the campaign. Agitated. Unhealthily, most likely. Borderline nuts. In my view of a sane world, Trump wouldn't get a single fking electoral vote. This one, in which he seems to have a chance of reelection, feels like one in which I don't belong.

    I've left Facebook behind (big deal, right?) because I was spending too much time being annoyed by it. Even stopped answering medical questions on an online forum, which I'd been doing for years: too many dumb questions lately, leading to too many snarky responses by me.

    And, having donated more money, by several multiples, to various D candidates across the country, than all the years previously, totaled, leading to around twenty emails a day asking for more and more, with no acknowledgment of giving, I've just unsubscribed to each and every one of them. Which not to say I'll not keep giving. Just don't wanna hear about it anymore.

    So that tells you where my head is. (Should I have included "at," the way most people do?)

    The thing about comments here is that, whereas they're interesting and often very informative, they're almost never in any relation to what I've written. I've concluded, long since, that what I write makes less than zero difference in the larger or even smaller order of things. That it doesn't even generate responsive discussion here, of all places, adds to the feeling.

    And I've rejected several comments of late: not just from Frankie, but ones that were a little too personally aimed at other commenters.

    Fact is, I'm on the edge of stopping the column/blog, too. It's an outlet, but, on some level, a vanity project: I hear from the same four or five positive emailers every week and from the same three or four negative ones. Sound and fury, amounting to nothing much. To think it's anything more is, as I said, vanity. I need to find something better to do with my time.

    Is what I'm thinking.

    Plus, I'm getting fat.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sorry to read you're feeling kinda down. I can't help but think it's a normal culmination of all the crap we're all faced with these days. For me, amplified by a somewhat new disdain for old people that I've been getting. There are lots of us, and, there's so much insolence going around for so many subjects that at times it's a bit much to take in.
    Plus, with these masks no one can see me smiling, which I do all the time since I don't take things so serious anymore. What is happening is so much bigger than any one person to try to fix. I resign myself to just trying to be excellent to people (from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure).
    For Mr. S: I agree with your assessment of the nature of Canadian people. We couldn't have better neighbors and friends if we tried.
    If this is it for blog, or soon, then my appreciation to you and to the great comments and dialog we've had among us all these years. My best to all of you.
    (I think you should write your "after the whupping article" for November. It will do your heart good.)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahhhhh,
    a fellow hater of the "at"-abuse!
    My East German born Mom, who learned English listening to Radio Free Europe(OK, and at (free Pubic)School, Germans do value education)..
    would smack my hand (still does) if I used "at" inappropriately,,, "Where's it at?!?!?!? between/zwischen der/the A und/and der T!!"(still not sure what that means)
    don't care about a persons background, education, qualifications, if you say
    "where's the fiberoptic scope cart AT?" you won't be a partner...
    It's literally Sean Hannitty literally saying Sean Hannity literally literally every literally other word, literally,
    at least with it's/its people only know your(get it) an idiot in writing...

    Frank "Gramarian Laurette"

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Sid. I think we've all hit 11 on our existential angst meters some time ago, and then blown right past. I do believe that if Dear Leader is not surgically extracted from the White House on Jan 20, it will be the end of the American experiment. Sometimes it's necessary to put it all on pause and try to find some roses to smell.

    I just turned 70. Zoom schooling with my 15 yo adopted daughter is a wonderful challenge and is balm to my soul. Podcasts and Audible offer an endless buffet. I've played over 34,000 battles on World of Tanks(!) Swimming at the Y and outdoor walks are routine.

    I'm going to try and dial my own anxiety level back to 11 until the election. Then we should know how serious is the existential threat to the USA.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I couldn't agree more with what skyriver wrote.
    I too do the Zoom thing with two different groups, one church'd, one not. After an initial phase of resisting it, I know now I would like to do more of it.
    Plus, I meet up with two different friends groups twice per week.
    And I look forward to my Sundays, where I blast verbally the ignorance and insolence of pastors who don't know the Scriptures they're supposed to be teaching and preaching. That said, there are many who do, but they spend too much time in "preaching" fixes to what is soooo much bigger than any one person, even the imposter in the White House. He's just a player in a loss of spirit and faith (not Religious, mind you) in the populous of our declining country. That our enemies, Russia/China/Iraq/etc./etc. continue to have sport with us in this is testament to how stoooopid we are with this dumb thing called the internut. We should just unplug it, since it's hurting us, and even instrumental in taking our country down.
    But, the worst of the worst of humanity will never let that happen. Heck, if they tried, the worst of the worst of the worst (how many "worst's" to get to the 0.01%?) are sending up their own satellites for "connectivity". When they achieve that, the Dragon will be complete.
    (but then, now I'm writing like a lunatic. Again)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'll be sorry to see you hang up your keyboard, too, Sid, but I think that we all understand. We should have been more disciplined and shown you the courtesy of focusing on your column. To varying degree we're all feeling stress and despair as we watch a monstrous aberration destroy the rock on which we stand. Permitting our wanderings is/was good medicine for us on top of your weekly words — thank you.

    I am so pleased that I was able to meet you in print and in person. I hope that at some point — a long shot — "our gang" would manage to physically meet.

    PS, let's not forget the 'AT' word's contemptible cousin: GO TO.
    PPS, @skyriver, as a former Armor officer I will have to look into World of Tanks. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is why people are tired...

    10 minutes of a dude lying, waddabouting and foot dragging over one, just one question. It's designed to bore, confuse, frustrate and waste your time in general. That's their goal and they reach it often. This is why nobody spends time with politics and civics. They are whiny, lazy, complainers who desire to be no learned than they were at 12 years old. No desire to change and evolve.

    So we get people like this guy on one after the other. Then we get the ignorant, one after another. HINT: Coal is NOT coming back. It's going away.

    So why does Drumpf not simply turn over his tax returns like every other modern POTUS?

    This guy will waste 10 minutes of your time telling you everything but the answer to that question.

    Who's gonna click this and waste 10 minutes to prove me wrong? Anyone? I just told you what it is. Some of you will take Drumpfs word for everything, but not the facts as presented.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9D-BNoNHyA

    ReplyDelete
  17. As for sticking to the subject...

    Sid can sit here and pour his heart out and everyone pretends to be all busted up over it...Then in their very next post start another subject that's off topic. That's either trolling, ignorant, uncaring, mean spirited and many other negative labels. What it is not is STAYING ON TOPIC. It's not granting the bloggers wishes. It's not obeying the rules. It's not following directions...

    Then, when that gets shut down? They claim to be victims. They martyr themselves. Then continue doing the exact same thing over and over and over and over...and over into infinity.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yeah, I noticed that, too, Smoove. Gonna hit click the clicker.

    ReplyDelete

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