Political Theatre category archive
Press Conference
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Tony Norman has more. Here’s a snippet from his article:
This indifference is what the Trump administration is counting on. The multiple daily outrages via Twitter, or at a White House briefing, or in a dark presidential speech or uttered on a Sunday talk show will quickly consume the public’s finite allotment of outrage. This can only lead to more indifference and a glassy-eyed boredom that will not serve us well when long-term assaults against every one of our democratic institutions begin in earnest.
Decoding de Code 0
Jared Bernstein offers some pointers on understanding what Donald Trump says. A snippet:
Follow the link to read his reasoning.
The Mencken of the Election 0
Fred Hobson, a retired professor, draws on the sayings of H. L. Mencken to shed light on Donald Trump’s appeal. I don’t know to what extent I agree with him, but it’s an interesting, if cynical (as was Mencken) take and worth a read. A snippet:
(snip)
. . . to bring it back to 2016, most Trump supporters detested The New York Times and the mainstream press, as well as academics or experts of any sort, including scientists who had a fact-based belief in evolution and climate change – which is to say, any of those who presumed to have the answers. Some of their resentment was justified, as they detected the disdain and condescension with which “experts” viewed small-town values and “flyover country.” But it went beyond that. To all too many Trump followers, truth itself was questioned. It was more comforting to rely on Trump’s version of it.
The Uncertainty Principle 0
The Bangor Daily News editorial board shares a theory.
A Rank Regime 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Robert Fuller suggest a new “ism” (emphasis added):
Once you have a name for it, you realize that rankism is everywhere in plain sight. Bullying, belittling, derision, corruption, harassment, and self-aggrandizement—these are all manifestations of rankism. The sooner we pin a generic name on them, the sooner we’ll be able to show them all the door.
Know-Nothings Redux 0
Gina Barreca worries about the incoming administration’s embrace of ignorance as a worldview. A snippet:
Being articulate, capable of logical reasoning and able to use language constructively is not an affectation. Using your language clearly and effectively is not showing off. Life is not a game of “Scrabble” where you’re awarded points for big words, but language is how we communicate.
Barefoot and Pregnant 0
As Diane Carman points out, this is all about power (more at the link):
Power.
A. In an Alternative Universe 0
Q. Where do you find “alternative facts“?
Narcissism Notes 0
When it comes to picking a fight over verifiable facts,* just where does one draw the line between silly and stupid?
Inquiring minds want to know.
________________
*All facts are verifiable. That’s what makes them “facts.”
Lies and Lying Liars 0
The Charlotte Observer skewers the non-apology apology of a Republican operative who authored a “fake news” story.
The San Francisco Chronicle has more on this particular faker.
(What’s unusual about this is that the faker got his comeuppance. Wonder if he’ll get picked up by Fox News?)
Stray Thought 0
There is bittersweet pleasure (but no comfort) in watching “conservative” opinion writers, who have made careers of justifying Republicans and Republicanism, express dismay at what they have helped create.
For example. And example.
And that’s just from this morning’s casual reading . . . .
For Sale 0
In the words of the immortal Yogurt, “It’s the merchandising.”
All That Was Old Is New Again 1
Despite what Republicans would have you believe, magickal thinking does not work.
There is no magic; there is only the con.
Collapse of Creed 0
Samuel H. McGill, president emeritus of Monmouth University, is not optimistic. He sees domestic dominoes falling.
In my view it is the erosion of commitment to this creed in the United States that explains much of our current political and social malaise. It explains the polarization of the public into self-justifying political “bubbles,” political entities unwilling to hear or speak to each other without ascribing the most base motives to the other. A sense of common cause no longer resides in the ideology of conflicting parties. What has evolved is a quest for absolute power by self-righteous combatants.
I would point out that, in my observation, the “quest for absolute power by self-righteous combatants” applies much more to one party than to the other. After all, in American history, only one party has ever made the absolute failure of an elected President its policy goal.
Do please read the rest.
“Self-Love” 0
Der Spiegel takes a close look at what makes the Donald tick. A snippet:
At the end of the chapter called “Revenge,” Trump advises his readers to constantly seek to take revenge. “Always make a list of people who hurt you. Then sit back and wait for the appropriate time to get revenge. When they least expect it, go after them with a vengeance. Go for their jugular.”