Political Theatre category archive
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
Der Spiegel interviews British historian Antony Beevor about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is a fascinating read. Beevor sees many echoes of Russia’s imperial past (and echoes of previous military miscalculations) in what is happening right now. Here’s one exchange:
Beevor: Putin’s distorted mindset, obsessed with the triumphant war against Nazism, has turned everything inside out. Isn’t it a great propaganda task to liberate the enemy of Nazism? Putin and his ideologues grotesquely depict the Ukrainians as born-again Nazis who need to be eliminated and re-educated, as the utterly manic article in RIA Novosti by Timofei Sergeitsev describes. The role of liberator from Nazism did indeed give the Red Army the idea that it could behave as it wanted both personally and politically. It was a notion of superiority. Rights of conquest meant not only imposing a Soviet regime on neighboring states. It also involved the comprehensive looting of the country as a form of reparation, and the idea that what Ilya Ehrenburg called “the blonde witch” – German women and girls – should pay for their menfolk’s crimes in the Russian motherland.
All the News that Fits 0
Thom explores why Republicans seem to be so susceptible to fake news.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
For all their patriotic bluster, it seems Republicans have an incredibly long list of fears and insecurities. Mangy Fetlocks has no problem with admitting to fears, since many fears make total sense. It’s presenting yourself as heroic and fearless when you are nothing but a bundle of insecurities that Mangy feels compelled to call ‘BS’ on.
You Don’t Count . . . 0
. . . if you aren’t counted.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
I can’t help thinking we have yet to hear the end of the story about Trump taking 15 boxes of documents to Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House. Maybe Trump had Russian and North Korean bidders facing off to buy those boxes as he attempted to sell them on eBay. Donald was never one to pass up a quick and easy buck, no matter how sketchy the deal.
Russian Impulses 0
David explores Fox News’s and Donald Trump’s service as Russia’s useful idiots. (Warning: short commercial at about the five minute mark.)
Penny Dreadful 0
Somehow, one doubts that this is what John McCain would have chosen as an enduring legacy.
I disagreed with many of McCain’s positions and certainly did not support his campaign for the Presidency, but I found him a person of integrity–a characteristic that seemingly can no longer be attributed to persons in his political party.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
The other day, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison described the present-day Republican party as ” …a party built on fraud, fear and fascism.” Seems pretty accurate. Mangy Fetlocks thought such a catchy, alliterative description should be a campaign slogan for midterm elections, so he wrote a snappy little campaign song with it.
The Blame Game 2
I suspect that the writer of this letter to the editor of the Las Vegas Sun has not been keeping up with Fox News.
