May, 2016 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Shower your children with politeness.
The father reportedly told authorities that he left his .45-caliber gun on the table.
Haters Gotta Hate 0
Jack Ohman strugges to understand the Hillary haters. A nugget:
She might even lose to a guy who runs (enables) beauty pageants, which is the human equivalent of a stockyard auction for women. Last poll I saw, 65 percent of GOP women will vote for this sexist clown in November.
Do read the rest.
Frankly, I don’t see “likeability” as a qualification for anything, except perhaps game show host. Con artists are always likeable; being likeable is essential to the con. A significant percentage of voters found President George the Worst likeable, and you know how well that worked out.
Hillary Clinton has been the target of an almost three-decade campaign of conservative calumny. Persons view her through a veil of Republican lies, unable to tell where the lies end and the person begins. In the meantime, they choose to support Donald Trump, who is a veil of lies.
Words fail me.
“Don’t Drink the Water” 0
The Duke of Hazardous still holds sway in North Carolina, much as the Old Dominion is now the dominion of Dominion Power, which used to call itself VEPCO (emphasis added).
It should not surprise that McCrory was on the payroll of the Duke of Hazardous for 28 years.
Follow the link and read the rest.
“Exhausted Democracy” 2
Holger Stark, Der Spiegel’s Washington Bureau chief, attempts to understand Trumpery. A snippet (emphasis added):
This aggressive nationalism is paired with an absurd authoritarianism. Indeed, there is something operatic about Trump promising his voters that after he wins the election, his first official act will be to call the CEO of Ford and force him to move his auto plants from Mexico back to the United States within 48 hours — not to mention his vow to force Apple to stop making iPhones in China. But Trump’s words have made an impact.
Follow the link; you may consider this a required reading assignment.
The Hollow Men* 0
I believe I’ve mentioned before in these electrons that the decay of our society accelerated when everything became “a brand.” Emphasizing “branding” ipso facto is fascination with flackery, admiration of appearances, worship at the holy of hollowness.
At Psychology Today Blogs, Dale Hartley skewers the notion of “personal brands.” A snippet:
__________________
*With apologies to T. S. Eliot.
The Gathering of the Klans 0
Know them by the company they keep.
“Fitness and Entrepreneurs” 0
Warning: In questionable taste.
Final Notice: Payment Due 0
At the Bangor Daily News, David Farmer reflects on the docility as Republicans fall in line (and, sometimes, fall all over themselves) to support Donald Trump. A snippet:
In reality, only a few people had the courage to oppose the powerful forces of bigotry and hate.
(snip)
Today, Republicans must decide if they will support Trump, the authoritarian, the bigot and the misogynist, the reality TV villain who handily beat the Republican primary field and is on his way to the GOP nomination.
For Democrats, it’s an easy call. There’s no risk to me or other progressive columnists or politicians for calling Trump what he is.
But it’s a different story for Republicans, fearful of the short-term political consequences of bucking their party and their nominee. They’re worried about angering an already angry Republican base, about offending donors or being labeled as disloyal — or even worse, as a RINO (Republican in Name Only).
Richard Nixon sold the soul of the Republican Party when he adopted the odious southern strategy. Now the debt collector has come to call.
