From Pine View Farm

Political Theatre category archive

Bull. China Shop. 0

I agree with the Booman. There is no grand design, no subtle strategy to the Trumpian temper tantrum. That would be counter to every aspect of his character nature, and those who claim to see one are delusional (or, in some cases, perhaps, hopeful).

Follow the link for his argument.

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The Bully’s Pulpit 0

Sasha Abramsky joins the ranks of the optimists.

Amidst all of this heartache, Trump offered up a hostage-swap deal. Our child president has offered temporary protection for “Dreamers” and Temporary Protected Status immigrants in exchange for a $5.7 billion ransom for his vanity project “wall.” Of course, these immigrants only need protection in the first place because of Trump’s capricious, animus-filled decision to target their status and to repeatedly demonize them in his public utterances.

But something’s changed over the past months. Trump’s bullying tactics may no longer work. Where his antics once inspired fear, they now increasingly inspire mockery and fierce opposition.

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Statue of Limitations 0

Image of Mitch McConnell as Easter Island Statue in front of Capitol Building.  One onlooker says to another,

Click for the original image.

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No Tell Hotel 0

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Russian Impulses 0

Shaun Mullen explores Mitch McConnell’s ties to Russia. A snippet:

While McConnell certainly is not compromised to the extent the Don is, he has had much to do with making over the GOP into a pro-Russian party. He got a cool $2.5 million in the 2015-16 election season from Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonard “Len” Blavatnik, an oligarch who is the business partner of Oleg Deripaska. (Deripaska did about $60 million worth of business with Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and controls three companies that the Trump administration thoughtfully is relieving of Obama administration-imposed sanctions.)

Follow the link to learn more about the vice of the turtle.

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Disparate Treatment, The Politics of Fear Dept. 0

At AL.com, long-time Republican lobbyist John Meredith, who has been named as one of the country’s 100 most influential Black Republicans, argues that our current state of political paralysis stems from fear and the exploitation of fear for political gain. He goes on to suggest that some fears are more important than others.

A snippet:

Far more Americans live in fear of fellow citizens killing them with legally purchased handguns than fear being raped or murdered by an illegal immigrant. Murder, suicide, accidental shooting and death by cop are daily occurrences in America. Their impact affects our lives exponentially more than terrorism. It is a fear that grips Americans across every identifiable demographic but gun control is a Democratic issue and the GOP has shown it will not act to stop gun violence. That is a fear the American people must simply live with.

By comparison, if you fear illegal immigration, terrorism or drugs — bread and butter GOP issues, your fear must be addressed even if it means shutting down the federal government.

The column is worth your while.

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Meanwhile, Off the Radar . . . 0

. . . our local NOAA weather station’s radar is broken (that’s the one linked to over there—->, on the sidebar), and, due to the Trumpian temper tantrum, repairs are blowing in the wind.

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It Can Happen Here 0

Indeed, the writer of a letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that it already has.

Aside:

The Republican Party has chosen unilaterally to abrogate the social contract.

Q. E. D.

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Food for Naught 0

Farron discusses how the Trumpian temper tantrum is starting to take food out of the mouths of the hungry.

Honest to Pete, this is the Presidency of mean for the sake of mean.

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Wall-Eyed Piker, One More Time 0

Gary Drummond discusses former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean’s suggestion of a “compromise” on Donald Trump’s wall, noting a point that many who are making similar proposals overlook: this is a hostage situtation, not a negotiation. A snippet:

Unfortunately, Kean forgets the first principle of American democracy — not to negotiate or govern with a gun to your own or your opposition’s head, which is why we broke away from Britain’s King George in 1776.

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Frame One:  Martin Luther King, Jr., at the Civil Rights March, saying

Via Job’s Anger.

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Who’s at the Table? 0

PoliticalProf reads the guest list.

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The Dearth of Expertise 0

Man watching television, which displays the message,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Priced into Penury 0

Farron discusses the cost to American consumers of Donald Trump’s trade wars.

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The Art of the Con, There’s One Born Every Minute Dept. 0

It was a what?

Words fail me.

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Diagnosis 0

Man on psychiatrist's couch:  Yes, I did.  No, I didn't.  Yes, there was.  No, there wasn't.  Yes, I have.  No, I haven't.  Psychiatrist:  You have Giuliani Syndrome.

Click for the original image.

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Involuntary Servitude Meets Voluntary Turpitude, Reprise 0

Frame One:  TSA employee captioned

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Both Sides Not 0

David Atkins skewers the narrative that somehow Democrats bear some–indeed, any–reponsibility for the Trumpian temper tantrum. A nugget:

The current standoff over the shutdown–now moving into a record-breaking fifth week–is less of a negotiation than it is a hostage crisis. Donald Trump is less a politician bargaining for a deal, and more a stick-up man out of time and trapped by the cops, determined to hurt innocents rather than give himself up. And Mitch McConnell is his willing accomplice.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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“No Government, No Problem” 0

Title:  No Government, No Problem!  Frame One:  Man looking at

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