June, 2024 archive
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Echoes”* 0
Thom hears an echo.
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*Mark Twain.
The Blueprint 0
Via C&L, John Oliver parses the plan.
A Visit to the Demented Disco 0
Dick Polman notes that, once again, Donald Trump danced the electric bugaboo.
A Legend in His Own Mind 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Donna Halverson identifies the trait that she thinks makes Donald Trump unfit to hold public office. A snippet:
Narcissists project their mistakes onto others by manipulation, putdowns, intimidation and bullying.
Which is why Trump continues to cling to the idea that the 2020 election was stolen from him because the truth – that he lost – represents failure, something narcissists don’t accept. It’s why he also claimed to have been “wrongfully convicted” in his recent trial.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
And another “responsible gun owner” confirms that phrase to be an oxymoron:
The initial investigation revealed that the child accidentally shot himself with a handgun that belonged to his father. The handgun, for which the owner has a permit, was recovered at scene.
The child may indeed have “accidentally” shot himself, being too young to understand the consequences of his actions, but, without question, the parent with gross negligence allowed the child to access the portable phallus.
We are a broken society.
Lab Leak Lunacy 0
Rebecca Watson explores the susceptibility of some to the COVID “lab leak” theory, which is supported by zero evidence whatsoever, and what that theory’s persistence portends for the polity. Her analysis motivates one to be less than sanguine about the sagacity of the susceptible. (Warning: Mild language.)
If you prefer, you can read the transcript.
Afterthought:
We are becoming a nation unmoored from factual reality.
Republican Thought Police 0
Last week, a Florida school board band the book, Ban This Book, a children’s book about school book bans. In response, Scott Maxwell offers some advice to the Republican Thought Police:
Follow the link the rest of his response.
Transmogrification 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Keith Burris discusses the path from populism to nationalism to fascism. Though I’m not sure I agree with everything he says, I think it a timely read. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
Reaction is the ignition and the fuel. Not conservatism, not preservation, but reaction.
And reaction often leads to wrecking balls.
That is when nationalist populism turns into something properly called fascism.
Methinks a lot of the antics of the right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christians fits right in with Burris’s thoughts on reaction.
Political Climate 0
Thom and a caller discuss why fascism seems to be on the rise in Europe and the U. S. and how the effects of climate change may be fueling fascist impulses.
It’s short piece and well worth a listen.
