Political Theatre category archive
Putin’s Fifth Column 0
Thomas Geoghegan offers a theory as to why the Trump and the Trumpettes are so hostile to the U. S. aiding Ukraine in its battle to defeat the Russian invaders. Here’s a tiny bit from his article:
The whole piece is worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Robert Reich has some suggestions for our news media. A snippet:
Good jounalist should not seek “balance” between truth and lies.
Via Balloon Juice.
A Tune for the Times 0
From the Youtube page:
This week, at a rally, Donnie Bonespurs (aka, Donald Trump) bravely attacked the late John McCain, showing Donnie is scared of no one, at least no one who is dead or severely handicapped. Bonespurs cleverly belittled McCain to his adoring crowd of morons and sycophants, by making fun of how McCain couldn’t even lift his arms (debilitated by years of torture by the North Vietnamese) to vote against gutting Obamacare, having to resort to a very unmanly thumbs down. The heroic Bonespurs, said to write his own brilliant comedy material, showed his followers again that there are no depths to which he will not go to endear himself to a roomful of unpatriotic rubes.
Proud Bonespurs admirer, Falcon E. DeEtte was so impressed by Bonespurs’ fearless assault on a dead war hero, that he wrote this song.
All the News that Fits 0
Thom discusses the explosion 0f “pink slime”–that is, political propaganda masquerading as newspapers and newspaper websites. He also points out that this is a peculiarly right-wing phenomenon (that part starts at about the six minute mark and is well worth a listen).
Gamergate Goes to Harvard 0
Writing at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Will Bunch thinks there’s more than meets the eye in the who-shot-john over ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay. A snippet (emphasis added; follow the link for his reasoning.
But the conservatives who drove the frenzy over Gay care about proper citations in obscure dissertations as much as the misogynistic dudes behind Gamergate pretended their orgy of harassment was actually about ethics in video-game journalism. This was a proxy war over something much, much bigger: Who controls the narrow pipelines into America’s elites, and how to preserve ancient hierarchies around race, gender, economic class, and social status.
Inaction Is an Action 0
Robin Abcarian reminds us of a lesson my Daddy taught me through example:
Voting is not a right. It is a duty.
A Taker on the Take 0
Dick Polman follows the money.
The Hollow Man, Reprise 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Scott G. Eberle writes of “lying, compulsive lying, and BS.”
His article focuses on George Santos, but methinks it could just as easily be about Donald Trump.
I commend it to your attention.
Election Insurrection 0
Farron suggests that election rejection is tantamount to insurrection as he discusses a Pennsylvania Republican who conspired to subvert the 2020 election.
Afterthought:
Methinks that attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election is about as unAmerican as it gets.
But, apparently, none dare call it treason.
Strict Construction 0
The Rude One rudely demolishes the arguments of those who would pretend that Donald Trump should not be held accountable for insurrection under the 14th Amendment. (Warning: Language, and lots of it.)
All the News that Fits 0
In the midst of a longer post about the who-shot-john over Green Day’s having the unmitigated gall to express a political opinion, Vixen Strangely states an obvious truth–one which, like many obvious truths, is too seldom remarked on–and states it very well.
Fox News talking heads are not political analysts. They are propagandists.
The Ultimate Election? Reprise 0
Dick Polman lists three reasons to be (cautiously) optimistic about this year’s presidential election. Here’s one (emphasis in the original):
Follow the link for the others.
Dodging Deception on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, David Evans suggests that three simple questions can help us protect ourselves against deceivers on the Disinformation Superhighway (emphasis in the original).
- Who said it? (For any piece of data or information we are considering.) Many times the person conveying the information we are considering is more important (for our decision) than the information itself.
- What is the source of their information? Like the person conveying the information, the source of that information may be more important than the information itself.
- Do they have a personal stake in the information they are conveying? Will they get rich or gain power or importance by getting you to believe it?
Follow the link to read a real-life application of his reasoning.
The Ultimate Election? 0
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gene Collier is not sanguine. A snippet:
Follow the link for his reasoning.
Courting Disaster 0
Above the Law’s Joe Patrice is less than impressed with Chief Justice Robert’s Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.
Here’s a bit from his assessment:
Follow the link for context.
News You Can Lose 0
David explains why he has given up on cable news.
Me, I’ve gone him one better.
I gave up on broadcast news years ago, when I realized that
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1) broadcasters were choosing to sacrifice accuracy to entertainment and eyeballs and
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2) I can read more in ten minutes than some talking head on the telly vision or the radio can spout at me in an hour.