October, 2016 archive
Trump Fine Whine, the Finest Whine 0
The Bangor Daily News’s Robert Lenna did not watch all of Monday’s Presidential debate, but he watched enough to reach one conclusion.
More on the Trump whine tasting at the link.
Teflon Titans 0
At The Roanoke Times, T. Michael Maher wonders how a three-piece suit became teflon armor. A snippet:
Am I daft to think persons with obvious financial conflicts of interest should not be influencing and/or writing the laws designed to regulate that very activity? It seems to have an appearance of impropriety, especially with how often we see this type of behavior. You don’t want the wolf writing rules for the sheep’s pen.
How did bank CEO’s become seemingly untouchable for the fraudulent behavior committed under their watch anyway? Where does that free pass come from? Maybe it’s the people who actually write or influence our laws. Congressional office staff and staff attorneys usually draft the statutes with input gladly provided by lobbyists and their attorneys. Campaign contributions get some political attention, but just in case I’ll work on that bill while you continue campaigning.
As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap* (Updated) 0
The Rude One points out that the Republican Party brought Trump on themselves. (He’s so upset he doesn’t even cuss.) Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest:
Today’s Republican base is a vile and loathsome thing, and the Republican Party did it to itself.
The Republican Party created its base when Richard Nixon decided to woo racist, segregationist bigots with his odious Southern Strategy. The bright minds–at least they called themselves the “bright minds,” as the old man back home would have said–of Nixon’s Republican Party believed that they could control and manipulate the rubes and hayseeds, as no doubt they conceived of them, to short-term political advantage.
Their plan succeeded so well that the rubes and hayseeds now control and manipulate them, to the peril of the polity.
________________________
*That’s not just scripture. It’s also sociology.
Addendum, Late That Same Night:
The peril to the polity manifests itself: This is the reaping of what the Republican Party’s hate-full, apocalyptic war on the Clintons over the past two and a half decades has sown.
Where is HUAC when you need them?
Drinking Liberally Virginia Beach Thursday 0
Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us and talk about anything in a relaxed atmosphere.
Since there’s been one Vice-Presidential and two Presidential “debate” since the last meeting, we should have plenty to talk about . . . .
When: Thursday, October 13, 6 p.
Where:
Croc’s 19 Street Bistro
620 19th Street (Map)
More here.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
If only she’d been packing, this would not have happened.
Trumpling the Debate 0
At Above the Law, Elie Mystal suggests that Sunday’s Presidential debate had the wrong “moderators.” Here’s the essence of the post:
In the wild, a successful challenger will kill or cast out the old leader. Some animals will eat the children of their rivals, to ensure the purity of their line. Donald Trump threatened to do that to Hillary Clinton, last night. He asserted that, should he be engorged with power, he would have Hillary Clinton hounded and likely destroyed. The “jail” threat seems like a normal if classless attack to people who think this is all some kind of game. It’s actually despotic degradation of civil society.
Folks, preventing this sort of preening display is what “political correctness” is all about. Those who complain about “political correctness” seek license to offend without penalty.
Raleigh News and Observer Trumples Trump 0
The Raleigh, North Carolina, News and Observer has endorsed Hillary Clinton.
This is not a surprise. I suspect that, by the end of the month, almost no major newspaper will have endorsed Trump.
Consequently, I don’t mention this because it’s news, though the editorial is worth a read, as it attempts to explore what in our culture made Trumpery possible.
I mention it because of this one delicious phrase (emphasis added):
Afterthought:
The News and Observer’s letters to the editor should be a hoot for the next week or so. I shall make a point of not missing them. You should too.
Aside:
If you wonder why I pay attention to North Carolina papers, it’s not just that North Carolina is right next door or that the current North Carolina governor and legislature are nucking futs. It’s that my mother was from South Carolina just outside of Charlotte, N. C., and the two major North Carolina papers were very much part of my youth.
Dis Coarse Discourse, Both Sides Not Dept. 0
Ben Cohen is fed up with corporate media’s bothsiderism:
Let’s be clear about this: Hillary Clinton demolished Donald Trump by any objective measure in tonight’s debate. Whatever the mainstream media has to say about it, Clinton took him apart at every step of the way. She stepped back to allow him to incinerate himself over and over and over again, and Trump’s performance was so bad that even he knew it was bad. Trump fumbled answers, lied, rambled, shouted and interrupted his way through the night, and Clinton kept her composure throughout.
It’s late here, and we’ve been tweeting about the debate all night, and there is too much to go through when it comes to the details of what was said. But the debate wasn’t close — the two candidates were not in the same . . . universe.
