Political Theatre category archive
In the Face of the Evidence in Their Face 0
Seth sums it up.
The Vice of the Turtle 0
Shorter Steve M.: No surprises here.
A Matter of Trust 0
The writer of a letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times has trust issues.
Left Dangling (on the Hook) 0
E. J. Montini has a idea as to why the previous federal executive did not preemptively pardon the January 6 insurrectionists, despite requests from many of them. He cites two of them:
Likewise, Adam Newbold, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who boasted on Facebook about “breaching the Capitol,” told ABC News, “I would like to express to you just a cry for clemency, as you understand that my life now has been absolutely turned upside-down.”
Follow the link to see Montini’s theory as to why their pleas were ignored. Methinks he is onto something.
Aside:
Yes, I know that they should have known better than to fall for a pitch from a serial con artist who’s failed at everything he’s ever tried except acting a part on television. But they didn’t.
See below.
The Humpty-Dumpty Defense 0
Shorter Trump defense brief: Words mean what I want them to mean.
Misdirection Play, Cancel Culture Dept. 0
Ravi Chandra, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, looks behind the smoke screen to see what claims of “cancel culture” conceal. A snippet (emphasis added):
Lies and Lying Liars, It’s Bubblicious Dept. 0
At the Las Vegas Sun, Brad Swanson tells the story of a relative who has become a confirmed Trumpette, believing that the recent election was stolen, as well as the other lies trumpeted by Trump and his dupes, symps, and fellow travelers. A snippet (emphasis added):
Why do reasonable people fall for this?
The biggest factor, studies show, is sustained immersion in the sea of fake news, and exclusion from other viewpoints — whether voluntarily, i.e. choosing to live in an “echo chamber,” or involuntarily due to government control of the media, as in Nazi Germany and Rwanda.
No matter how rational we think we are, when we only hear a single perspective time after time, we start to internalize and accept it.
The truth can’t make you free if you can’t (or won’t–ed.) hear it.
A Shining Tarnished City on a Hill
0
Michael Judge argues that Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the recent election was stolen from him have provided a playbook for autocrats abroad. A snippet:
A Quibble:
I find Judge’s condescension towards the name of Myanmar problematical.
Myanmar has been Myanmar (in its native language, Mranma Prañ) for almost a thousand years. The name, “Burma,” was a legacy of British colonialism discarded three decades ago.
Legacy of the Trumpling, a Notion of Immigrants Dept. 0
A naturalized American citizen born in Australia wonders whether he did the right thing in becoming an American citizen. Here’s how he introduces his article:
A Tune for the Times 0
Warning: Mild language.
“A House Divided” 0
At The Roanoke Times, Glen Rose offers a theory as to the divisions within the United States, specifically as regards the impeachment of the former federal executive. He is speaking particularly of three Congressmen from western Virginia. An excerpt; follow the link for the full article.
Their argument is, “We need to unite the country and not do something so divisive.”
The country is already divided! But not between Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, rural and urban, rich and poor.
Our country is divided into one group which believes in truth, civility, egalitarianism, science, and our Constitution.
The other group is its antithesis, accepting lies, eschewing civility, nurturing bigotry and xenophobia, rejecting science, and ignoring our Constitution and rule of law.
Freedom of Screech 0
One more time, freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.
The Privatization Scam 0
At the Des Moines Register, Randall Balmer explains how it works.