Political Theatre category archive
Forward into the Past! 0
Der Spiegel’s Holger Stark takes a long and complex look at the forces that fed Trumpery. Here’s a nugget.
With his diabolical instinct for the country’s political mood, Trump captured this shift on campaign evenings like the one in Burlington, distilling it to a single maxim that warmed the hearts of many in the United States: “America First.”
The article is well worth the ten minutes you will spend reading it.
A Dutch Treat 0
Via Balloon Juice.
Afterthought:
I suspect that this is not atypical of international perception of the Trumpling of America, he said in a convoluted manner.
NDA 0
Non-Disclosure Agreements are common in business, so as to protect proprietary information. I once had to sign one, even though I was a very small fry, promising not to disclose any of my employer’s secrets about their patented and copyrighted products.
Government is different, as, at least in theory, government employees work for the people, not for a private person. In contrast, Donald Trump reportedly had many of his campaign officials sign MDAs and may even have demanded that government employees do so, as he seems to be approaching his new job (this is just my own opinion, now) as if he had been elected God Emperor of Dune or something.
“Under the anti-gag provision, agencies cannot impose nondisclosure agreements and policies that fail to include required language that informs employees that their statutory right to blow the whistle supersedes the terms and conditions of the nondisclosure agreement or policy,” the OSC press release said.
Frankly, I consider it highly unlikely that he will pay any heed to this at all.
More at the link.
A Modest Proposal 0
Daniel Ruth offers a plan for a cease-fire in the White House War on Facts. Here’s a bit:
The solution is obvious. Give the president and his team all the fake news they want.
Really now, how hard would it be for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today to print a few hundred special copies every day solely to be delivered to the White House and filled with glowing, cooked-up stories and editorials extolling the brilliance, the vision and the magnificence of the Trump administration?
Imagine all of the stories in tribute to the Caesar of the West Wing. All of Trump’s favorite sports teams would always win. Every policy would be a stroke of pure genius. And everywhere the president went it would always be 80 degrees and sunny. And while you may think the Trumps are the first family to move into the White House in quite some time without a pet dog, you can’t deny that unicorn grazing on the South Lawn is a thing of beauty.
Press Conference
0
Tony Norman has more. Here’s a snippet from his article:
This indifference is what the Trump administration is counting on. The multiple daily outrages via Twitter, or at a White House briefing, or in a dark presidential speech or uttered on a Sunday talk show will quickly consume the public’s finite allotment of outrage. This can only lead to more indifference and a glassy-eyed boredom that will not serve us well when long-term assaults against every one of our democratic institutions begin in earnest.
Decoding de Code 0
Jared Bernstein offers some pointers on understanding what Donald Trump says. A snippet:
Follow the link to read his reasoning.
The Mencken of the Election 0
Fred Hobson, a retired professor, draws on the sayings of H. L. Mencken to shed light on Donald Trump’s appeal. I don’t know to what extent I agree with him, but it’s an interesting, if cynical (as was Mencken) take and worth a read. A snippet:
(snip)
. . . to bring it back to 2016, most Trump supporters detested The New York Times and the mainstream press, as well as academics or experts of any sort, including scientists who had a fact-based belief in evolution and climate change – which is to say, any of those who presumed to have the answers. Some of their resentment was justified, as they detected the disdain and condescension with which “experts” viewed small-town values and “flyover country.” But it went beyond that. To all too many Trump followers, truth itself was questioned. It was more comforting to rely on Trump’s version of it.
The Uncertainty Principle 0
The Bangor Daily News editorial board shares a theory.
A Rank Regime 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Robert Fuller suggest a new “ism” (emphasis added):
Once you have a name for it, you realize that rankism is everywhere in plain sight. Bullying, belittling, derision, corruption, harassment, and self-aggrandizement—these are all manifestations of rankism. The sooner we pin a generic name on them, the sooner we’ll be able to show them all the door.
Know-Nothings Redux 0
Gina Barreca worries about the incoming administration’s embrace of ignorance as a worldview. A snippet:
Being articulate, capable of logical reasoning and able to use language constructively is not an affectation. Using your language clearly and effectively is not showing off. Life is not a game of “Scrabble” where you’re awarded points for big words, but language is how we communicate.
Barefoot and Pregnant 0
As Diane Carman points out, this is all about power (more at the link):
Power.
A. In an Alternative Universe 0
Q. Where do you find “alternative facts“?
Narcissism Notes 0
When it comes to picking a fight over verifiable facts,* just where does one draw the line between silly and stupid?
Inquiring minds want to know.
________________
*All facts are verifiable. That’s what makes them “facts.”
Lies and Lying Liars 0
The Charlotte Observer skewers the non-apology apology of a Republican operative who authored a “fake news” story.
The San Francisco Chronicle has more on this particular faker.
(What’s unusual about this is that the faker got his comeuppance. Wonder if he’ll get picked up by Fox News?)
Stray Thought 0
There is bittersweet pleasure (but no comfort) in watching “conservative” opinion writers, who have made careers of justifying Republicans and Republicanism, express dismay at what they have helped create.
For example. And example.
And that’s just from this morning’s casual reading . . . .
