Political Theatre category archive
“Taylor Swift Is the Trojan Horse” 0
Sam and the crew find themselves somewhat taken aback by the right wing’s sudden obsession with Taylor Swift.
Once We Had the “Know Nothings.”
Now We Have the “Do Nothings.”
0
Farron discusses Republicans’ refusal to deal with issues.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
Donald Trump is disliked by most decent folks, but his very worst enemy is himself. This was never more apparent than in the E. Jean Carroll case where, if Donald had shut up and acted intelligently, the jury might have slapped him with an amount closer to the 5 million from his first case. Because he went on and on, attacking Carroll over and over after the first defamation case was done, the jury came to the conclusion that the only way to get him to stop attacking Carroll was to assess a settlement of WAY more than the original 5 million. The result was an 83 million dollar financial muzzle to get him to stop his ugly barking. So far, it seems to have worked. We’ll see. If not, he’ll likely face a third case in which the jury will have to up the stakes to get his attention. I’m rather hoping that happens.
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.
