Political Theatre category archive
Endless Loopy 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Edward A. Wasserman considers how positive and negative reinforcement affect Donald Trump’s tweeting behavior. In the course of the article, he muses why negative reactions to Trump’s more outlandish tweets has not resulted in their having been moderated. Then he posits an answer:
I commend the complete article to your attention.
This Week in the Trumpling 0
Shorter Shaun Mullen: The truth hurts.
Effervescence 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., marvels at the incredible lightness of bleating. A nugget:
Words from the leader of the mightiest nation on Earth no longer anchor ideals, promises and righteous causes — much less, truth. No, they float off like helium-filled balloons. Up, up and away.
A. Because That Species Is Extinct 0
Follow the link for the question.
Stimulus–>Response 0
Robert Epstein, former Editor-in-Chief at Psychology Today among many other accomplishments, offers a construct for understanding why Donald Trump does and says what he does and says. The concept is “sympathetic audience control”; it does not refer to the individual’s controlling the audience, but rather to the audience’s affecting the individual.
Everyone, of course, is affected by this to some degree. We behave differently at the in-laws than at the neighborhood watering hole, differently in church than at a party or in a business meeting.
Epstein suggests that Trump manifests an extreme version of sympathetic audience control.
I find this completely consistent with Trump’s behavior as observed and reported daily; follow the link to determine whether or not you find his argument persuasive.
Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
Aside:
In a similar vein, Dick Polman mourns the death of truth.
Tabloid Tactics 0
Professor Robert Strong theorizes that Donald Trump’s political success is related to his mastery of super market check-out aisle marketing. A nugget:
War and Mongers or War 0
Thom and Juan Cole discuss whether it’s thinkable that Donald Trump may join with the Neocons to foment a war with Iran so as to turn the focus away from his own conduct.
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
The Raleigh News and Observer reports that Rufus Edmisten, who served on the staff of the Watergate Committee, hears a familiar ring in contemporary events. A snippet:
“I think they’re trying to outdo Watergate,” he said of President Trump’s advisers and associates and the president himself. . . .
“If some of the people around Trump would read the Nixon-Watergate playbook, they wouldn’t be doing this foolishness. Instead they are expanding on it,” he said.
Do please read the rest.