Political Theatre category archive
Unfair to Children 0
UC Berkeley professor Alison Gopnik takes issue with comparisons of Donald Trump to pre-school children.
Having researched child development intensely, she finds such comparisons insult the children. Here’s a bit:
Four-year-olds care deeply about the truth. They constantly try to seek out information and to figure out how the world works. Of course, 4-year-olds, as well as adults, occasionally lie. But Mr. Trump doesn’t just lie; he seems not even to care whether his statements are true.
Four-year-olds are insatiably curious. One study found that the average preschooler asks hundreds of questions per day. Just watch a toddler “getting into everything” — endangering his own safety to investigate interesting new objects like knives and toasters. Mr. Trump refuses to read and is bored by anything that doesn’t involve him personally.
Much more at the link.
Via The San Jose Mercury News.
“A Shared Vision” 0
Shaun Mullen explores the Russian connection. Here’s how he starts out:
Although they ruled empires 4,600 miles apart, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shared a vision.
Trump, the billionaire New York real estate mogul and reality television star, wanted even more power and money, while Putin, the autocratic Russian president, wanted even more power and influence. Trump fantasized about becoming president of the United States while Putin dreamed of returning the former Soviet Union to its Cold War glory and was willing to do whatever it took, most especially undermining America’s standing as the sole superpower.
Follow the link to see how he wraps up.
The Ban That Dare Not Speak Its Name 0
At The Charlotte Observer, historian David B. Parker finds a parallel to Donald Trump’s “oh, no, it’s not really a Muslim ban” ban. It’s not pretty. Here’s the gist:
It might be useful to consider a historical analogy.
In the late 19th century, Mississippi’s Democratic leaders were concerned about the state’s political future. Democrats had controlled Mississippi since the end of Reconstruction, but the black population was growing, and Republicans (at the time, the more civil rights-oriented party) had just gained control of both houses of Congress and the White House. How could Democrats ensure that they would stay on top?
If only there were some way to limit the black vote, they would be safe. If only they could pass a law that said, “Negroes may not vote in Mississippi,” that would settle it. But the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited states from denying anyone the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” So this is the problem that white Mississippians faced: how to cut out the black vote without looking like they were cutting out the black vote.
Ego-A-Go-Go 0
Rekha Basu marvels at how Donald Trump is compelled to prove over and over that he is a Real Big Man. A snippet:
“A Party of Apparatchiks” 0
Paul Krugman points out that today’s Republican Party has no boundaries. Here’s a bit from his article.
Today’s Republican Party is a vile and loathsome thing.
All in the Family 0
Dick Polman finds himself sickened by Republican complicity with Trumpery’s Russian impulses.
I can’t excerpt or summarize it. Just please follow the link.
All the News that Fits 0
Thom reads Fox News headlines to show how Fox News is not reporting bad news about Donald Trump and discusses how right-wing media is polluting dis coarse discourse.
The Wreck of Old No. 45 0
Alfred P. Doblin has never seen anything like it:
Follow the link to learn why he said that.
Trumpling Freedom of the Press 0
Reporter Dan Heyman describes Tom Price’s having him arrested for daring to ask a question of said august personage. Here’s a bit:
(snip)
The day after my arrest, Price commended the police and pointed out that I wasn’t asking my question as part of a news conference. I would have preferred to go to a news conference — ask my one question, sit down and shut up. But Price, like many of the other public officials supporting the American Health Care Act, has been tightly restricting press and public access when he might be asked about health care.
Do read the rest for a victim’s view of the nascent culture of Republican despotism.
