Political Theatre category archive
Suffer the Children 0
That’s not scripture. That’s Republican policy. (Warning: Mild language.)
Read the news report that Farron is discussing.
Market Farces 0
A Matter of Principle 0
Tom Hilton tries to figure out why Trump thinks he can just take (parts of) other countries (think Canada and Greenland) because he wants to. Methinks he may be onto something. Here’s a tiny bit from his piece:
This absence is at the core of Trump’s worldview. When he talks about American “ownership” of Greenland*, he thinks of it as like buying a property to develop, and Denmark saying no is just a business negotiation. And maybe we have to play hardball, like you do in business, but really this would all be easier if we could just agree on a price.
And when Putin invaded Ukraine it can’t have been a violation of any principle of international relations because there isn’t any such principle.
Stray Thought 0
If yesterday’s didn’t, maybe this article will remind you of someone–maybe several someones–in the news.
Size the Day 0
PoliticalProf decodes de code.
Sauce for the Goose? 0
The Rude One responds, How about some sauce for the gander?
“This Fact-Starved Environment” 0
David talks with Bill Adair, Professor of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University and founder of the fact-checking site PolitiFact, about the proliferation of lies and lying liars and about news media’s refusal failure to call them out.
This is truly a worthwhile listen.
The Neighbor Hood 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Maxwell King argues that Mr. Rogers would probably look soomewhat askance were Donald Trump to move into his neighborhood. Here’s a bit:
The recent sight from the White House Oval Office — two of the most powerful people in the world ganging up to berate and humiliate a struggling war hero trying to save his country from an invading force — chilled viewers all around the world. What would Fred Rogers have made of that?
A Tune for the Times 0
From the Youtube page:
One of our favourite Coldplay songs is “Viva La Vida” – with its nod to Frida Kahlo, its lavish strings, its rotation and roar, its bells and history, and its heel-thumping singalong harmonic personality. It means “Long Live Life” and was released in 2008.
Our version takes the sense of history, the pain, the trauma, and the notion of world rule, and applies it to the most disgusting media spectacle to date – with already several to choose from – of the new US administration. Like many around the world, as well as disheartened friends in the US, we watched the undignified ambush of Zelensky’s trip to the White House with dismay and pity. It was a very unbecoming sight – just at a human level – even without all the higher stakes, deals, implications, and nightmares unfolding as another win is handed to Putin, and more pressure placed on Ukraine.
Like many we are hoping for a miraculous path forward that can somehow turn Trump’s intensity into an outcome that can transform into a lasting peace – but given how misdirected the fury and energy and narrative is at the moment, it’s quite hard to see it turning out other than a quickfire US withdrawal of support. If that happens, we’re in a cowardly new world.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Another person hears that rhyme from Munich 87 years ago.
And, in possibly related news, Field has a wonder.
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*Mark Twain.
When Fiction Becomes Reality 0
At The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kathryn Grossman makes a strong case that, under the Trump maladministration, we are being transported into the world of George Orwell’s 1984.