Political Theatre category archive
Self-Incriminated 0
At the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Radine Robbins reminds us of Maya Angelou’s statement: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
Freedom of Screech 0
Rob Miraldi takes a thoughtful at the issues surrounding efforts to hold Donald Trump responsible for coarsening dis coarse discourse. A nugget:
In theory, the answer is no. Threatening national security is not protected; publishing sexually explicit and obscene material is not protected; and lighting the flames of violence with inciteful language is also prohibited.
But the incitement exception has always been tricky, more now than ever. “Every idea is an incitement,” U.S. Supreme Court Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes said in 1925. Maybe only the person who commits violence should be prosecuted, not the person who causes it?
Follow the link for his complete article.
A Reckless Driver on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
Musk multiplies the misinformation and disseminates the disinformation. From The New York Times:
This time, there were no fact checks. And the X algorithm — under Mr. Musk’s direct control — helped the posts reach large audiences, in some cases drawing many millions of views.
Since taking control of the site, Mr. Musk has dismantled the platform’s system for flagging false election content, arguing it amounted to election interference.
Republican Family Values 0
(Warning: Poor sound quality, but still worth a listen.)
“Mean Girls” 0
Jamie Stiehm suggests that you skip the movie.
Watch the real mean girls in the House of Representatives instead.
Gutting Out the Vote 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini writes about an Arizona legislator who has decided that, well, if you can’t gut out the vote, why not just throw it out completely. A snippet:
Make it legal.
Kern has introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 1014, which — I am not making this up — allows that “the Legislature, and no other official, shall appoint presidential electors.”
In the Teeth of the Evidence 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Glenn Geher explores the psychology behind “doubling down,” that is, the human tendency to cling to a false belief even after it’s been conclusively and decisively disproved.
Given that our politics are currently poisoned by the Clown Prince of Double Downers, methinks you will find his piece a worthwhile read.
Florida Man 0
Scott Maxwell offers his thoughts on the implosion of Ron DeSantis’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination:
Follow the link for his reasoning.
(Broken tag fixed.)
Swiftvoting 0
Sam and the crew try to figure out the right-wing’s furor over Taylor Swift’s suggesting that citizens should vote.
Suffer the Children 0
We are again reminded that that is not a quotation from scripture. This is a Republican Family Value.
Today’s Republican Party has become the party of mean for the sake of mean.
Swiftvoting 0
Sam and the crew discuss the rightwing’s freakout over Taylor Swift’s having the unmitigated gall to encourage young persons to register to vote.