The Mad King's Court of Fools Cabinet meeting is...well, a laugh or cry thing. One of the most astonishing aspects of it is that it was videoed and the video made public. The lack of self-awareness...Neom thanking Trump for keeping hurricanes away, Rubio saying that Trump alone can bring peace to the world while Trump slumps next to him, clearly asleep. The meeting started with one of Trump's hour-long rants about Biden. Apparently, that took up all of his energy because he kept nodding off during the rest of the meeting. His sycophants literally watched him sleeping through their suck up attempts. ‘Taking the gloves off’: Trump just held the Cabinet meeting from Hell | The Independent Absolute lunacy.
I always think of the UK as more civilized than us, but they are human too. I'm burning my way through the Slough House series and there's a definite political subtext throughout about politics as cynical, stupid, and dominated by sociopaths. The author also takes frequent swipes at Trump.
I'm terrified of the future. The thought of millions of people dying at borders they aren't allowed to cross--dystopia is here already and science fiction nightmares are coming true.
Meanwhile the dogs are out from under the coffee table but I got a frantic phone call about a cat. The story is that she was seen by various people laying on the pavement and was there all night--supposedly was hit by a car, but she doesn't have any visible injuries. She spent the night at the neighbors' where she ate and was up walking around. Today she is at the sanctuary but not eating, not drinking, not moving. The lady who runs the sanctuary is trying to get her into a vet. She's a skinny little thing and, given the rain and the cold, she might have been hyperthermic and is just recovering. I'm bummed about it.
It seems that backlash against immigrants is a human nature thing that happens everywhere. And also it seems that political parties historically reformist, humane, and focused on public interest will throw someone under the bus to pander to the rightwing.
Meanwhile we are under siege. Horrible, terrifying noises from above. Thunks and bumps and the interminable whine of machinery. The dogs are crouching under the coffee table.
I didn't say moderates can't get elected. I think our problem is the word "moderate" which is so ambiguous in meaning when it comes to politics.
To me, a moderate is a person who is thoughtful, fact oriented, works to solve problems, believes in public service and is not overly ideological or obsessed by any particular issue--temperamentally moderate and open to intellectually honest discussion.
Manchin didn't seem to have much in the way of convictions at all beyond self-promotion and voted R at critical times when his vote could have made a difference in terms of good government--apparently because he saw some advantage to himself.
Another example is Gusenkamp Perez in WA. I sent money to her campaign and wrote GOTV letters for her. She won in a rural red district so I expected support for the timber industry and didn't expect a lot of anti-trump rhetoric. However she voted FOR the Republican voter suppression bill (that failed). Why on earth? Did she do it because Republicans were spreading lies about people voting illegally and she didn't want to contradict the lies? Evidently she felt a need to vote R on an R issue even though her vote was in support of an immoral effort based on lies.
THAT kind of "trying for the middle" is the kind that doesn't work. All she did was piss off her voters and I doubt if she picked up a single R vote. The only reason she won before is because the Rs chose such an obvious wacko to run. They are focusing now on a guy who presents as more normal who will be called a moderate even though he will vote just like the rest do, which is corporate fascist/hater.
Sucking up by supporting a truly evil R initiative won't help her win.
wjca,,, I meant that it doesn't work to get "moderate" Dems re-elected. Sellouts aren't respected by anyone and eventually get replaced by a Republican.
I am grateful and relieved that Ossof is more concerned about pleasing the Dem base than sucking up to Republicans the way Manchin did. The Manchin calculus--betray Dems at critical times in hopes of getting a few R votes--never worked. One of my pet peeves has been Dems who make that mistake. I'm fine with Ossof deciding to dance with those who brung him. I don't see this as meaning Ossof fails to see the fire. He's in GA. He sees the fire.
Suppose the thinking in the Democratic Caucus in the Senate was just what wonkie lays out above as what Senator Kaine should have said. Might there have been a reason not to say it out loud just now?"
wjca has a point. I saw a headline just today that said the Dems had mousetrapped the Rs. And they are mouse-trapped. Either there will be a vote on the ACA and they will have to put themselves on record or there won't be and they will be the bad guys that way too.
It is clear that certain Senators were chosen to fall on their swords.
It is entirely possible that Dems in the Senate thought, "Those sociopaths in the R party aren't going to be the first to blink, no matter what and we believe in public service and are aware of the suffering, so we have to blink. So let's strategize how to do it to lessen the blow back to us and save some people and put the Rs on the spot with the ACA."
And yes they would have to keep this quiet,
But not indefinitely. I think the time is soon to spell it all out.
Se what I mean? Mumbling curated professional word choices just doesn't work. Never has, never will. Dear God, you'd think professional politicians would know how to communicate. Now even the people the Dems were trying to protect will believe that the Dems screwed them for nothing. Honestly, Democrats. What was the point of your government shutdown? | Opinion
I've had two criticisms of Dem pols for many, many years: 1. the lack of fight and 2. the mushy, wishy-washy "respectable" way of speaking that fails to communicate anything.
I think the Dems have improved on both fronts but there is a ways to go. For example, Kaine said why he voted to end the shutdown. He said something about how there didn't seem to be any other way forward mumble mumble blah blah.
What he meant and what he should have said is this: "The Republicans don't care about anything except power for power's sake and they are willing, indeed committed to, harming millions of Americans just so they can feel powerful. They are willing to spin out the shut down until federal workers go bankrupt, children are malnourished and millions lose their health insurance. Democrats aren't ruthlessly willing to sacrifice our neighbors for power. We decided to cut a deal to save as many people as possible. This shameful episode shows that Republicans genuinely do not care about people and only care about power."
But because of the mumble mumble blah blah we have headlines saying that the shutdown was for nothing.
Now our strategy going forward to save the Democrats from complete disgrace is to run hard against the Cowardly Cave-in Caucus and get headlines that say "Don't Blame the Whole Party for the Acts of Few" which is a muddled message with nowhere near the power of the bad press the CCC has given us. Still, it's the only way to have any credibility in the midterms. Dems running for Congress will have to run hard against the decision to end the shut down without saving the ACA. 'Making this deal is malpractice.' It's Democrat vs. Democrat as shutdown nears end
These are not the kind of headlines that lead to a blue wave in the midterms. These are the kind of headlines that lead to "Both parties suck, there's no point in voting, vote third party, Dems are weak, Dems don't fight..." Democrats Concede Shutdown Fight Without Health Care Win in Hand
"Oh yes, there will be the usual wailing and rending of garments from the left. Because, the very idea of something less than total victory is anathema. But then, strategy and tactics: not a core competency there."
The idea wasn't total victory--only saving people who get ACA insurance. That's all. There was never an effort to save Medicaid, prevent the cuts in Medicare that are coming because of the increased deficit, roll back the tax cuts for the rich...the Republican bill sucks in every aspect but the Dems in Congress chose only one to stand on and they caved on that one.
Now all those people will lose their insurance because they won't be able to afford the rate increase. I lost my insurance temporarily a while ago and had to pay 900 for a one-month COBRA. It's not the kind of experience people forget or forgive.
I agree that strategy and tactics are not core competencies with the DSA left. It should be obvious though that for DECADES strategy and tactics have not been core to Congressional Dems either, not when it comes to national issues.
They completely fail to understand that they are not going to get MAGA votes, that the Republican party never operates in good faith, and that outside of MAGA most voters (especially indies) vote emotionally and have no clue at all about insider baseball tactics or policies and want to be able to vote for perceived strength and commitment.
Acting in a way that leads to headlines that say, "Dems agree to end shutdown" followed by millions suffering rate increases is fucking stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid--on an order of stupid as supporting the war in Iraq.
I think the tendency of Congressional Democrats to try to find compromise and "solutions" is a positive that functions as a negative. I am so completely disgusted by the stupidity of the Senate Dems of the Cowardly Cave In Caucus.
I've been seeing a lot of this "Government shouldn't do charity because charity should be voluntary through churches." Back in the days of Dickens, that is how charity was done. The 1800's were a transition period in Europe and the US when the medieval attitude that the poor deserved to be poor was gradually replaced by the common good and the social contract (and I'd say, basic human decency.). Quite often the people who make the argument that the government shouldn't do charity are themselves living off taxpayers and feel entitled to what they get. It isn't an argument that has any validity, in my view.
Vance strikes me as a person who has no values beyond self-promotion and no sincerity. He'll say or do what is convenient at the time. He might decide to dump the Hindo wife to marry the wife of the martyred Saint Charlie of Free Speech for Conservatives Only. It wouldn't surprise me at all.
Are you in contact with your Apache and Hopi cousins? I'm curious about how their lives turned out. My shirt tail relatives of that generation had a native adopted daughter, but their attitude was condescending and eventually she cut off all connection.
As for how good people do bad things. I think partly it's because they are good people that they can do bad things. They know their own lives, their values, their actions and think that people like them aren't doing anything bad. That plus the harm they do is an abstraction to them.
Vance is setting himself up to the next Trump by going all in on the hatemongering for the Other. That's probably why he's publicly distancing himself from his wife's religion, saying he's trying to get her to convert to Christianity. I wonder if she regrets the marriage.
I don't think we can save America from fascism without somehow countering the firehose of Goebbels style propaganda from Faux, Newsmax, and other Republican media outlets. Trump will stroke out, but the rest of the R party will remain. I don't see it as a Trump cult as much as it is a Faux news cult.
On “It’s Your Party, you can cry if…”
The Mad King's Court of Fools Cabinet meeting is...well, a laugh or cry thing. One of the most astonishing aspects of it is that it was videoed and the video made public. The lack of self-awareness...Neom thanking Trump for keeping hurricanes away, Rubio saying that Trump alone can bring peace to the world while Trump slumps next to him, clearly asleep. The meeting started with one of Trump's hour-long rants about Biden. Apparently, that took up all of his energy because he kept nodding off during the rest of the meeting. His sycophants literally watched him sleeping through their suck up attempts. ‘Taking the gloves off’: Trump just held the Cabinet meeting from Hell | The Independent Absolute lunacy.
On “Am I missing something?”
I always think of the UK as more civilized than us, but they are human too. I'm burning my way through the Slough House series and there's a definite political subtext throughout about politics as cynical, stupid, and dominated by sociopaths. The author also takes frequent swipes at Trump.
On “Shabana burns the cakes”
I'm terrified of the future. The thought of millions of people dying at borders they aren't allowed to cross--dystopia is here already and science fiction nightmares are coming true.
Meanwhile the dogs are out from under the coffee table but I got a frantic phone call about a cat. The story is that she was seen by various people laying on the pavement and was there all night--supposedly was hit by a car, but she doesn't have any visible injuries. She spent the night at the neighbors' where she ate and was up walking around. Today she is at the sanctuary but not eating, not drinking, not moving. The lady who runs the sanctuary is trying to get her into a vet. She's a skinny little thing and, given the rain and the cold, she might have been hyperthermic and is just recovering. I'm bummed about it.
"
It seems that backlash against immigrants is a human nature thing that happens everywhere. And also it seems that political parties historically reformist, humane, and focused on public interest will throw someone under the bus to pander to the rightwing.
Meanwhile we are under siege. Horrible, terrifying noises from above. Thunks and bumps and the interminable whine of machinery. The dogs are crouching under the coffee table.
It's the guy blowing leaves off our roof.
On “Weekend Music Thread #06 Kile Smith”
Thank you for sharing your friend. A life well lived--and still being lived.
On “Spelunking for fun and profit”
Chris Harden for GA 11!!! (6) | Facebook He seems like a very nice, reasonable guy. I'll follow him and I sent a small donation.
"
I didn't say moderates can't get elected. I think our problem is the word "moderate" which is so ambiguous in meaning when it comes to politics.
To me, a moderate is a person who is thoughtful, fact oriented, works to solve problems, believes in public service and is not overly ideological or obsessed by any particular issue--temperamentally moderate and open to intellectually honest discussion.
Manchin didn't seem to have much in the way of convictions at all beyond self-promotion and voted R at critical times when his vote could have made a difference in terms of good government--apparently because he saw some advantage to himself.
Another example is Gusenkamp Perez in WA. I sent money to her campaign and wrote GOTV letters for her. She won in a rural red district so I expected support for the timber industry and didn't expect a lot of anti-trump rhetoric. However she voted FOR the Republican voter suppression bill (that failed). Why on earth? Did she do it because Republicans were spreading lies about people voting illegally and she didn't want to contradict the lies? Evidently she felt a need to vote R on an R issue even though her vote was in support of an immoral effort based on lies.
THAT kind of "trying for the middle" is the kind that doesn't work. All she did was piss off her voters and I doubt if she picked up a single R vote. The only reason she won before is because the Rs chose such an obvious wacko to run. They are focusing now on a guy who presents as more normal who will be called a moderate even though he will vote just like the rest do, which is corporate fascist/hater.
Sucking up by supporting a truly evil R initiative won't help her win.
"
wjca,,, I meant that it doesn't work to get "moderate" Dems re-elected. Sellouts aren't respected by anyone and eventually get replaced by a Republican.
"
I am grateful and relieved that Ossof is more concerned about pleasing the Dem base than sucking up to Republicans the way Manchin did. The Manchin calculus--betray Dems at critical times in hopes of getting a few R votes--never worked. One of my pet peeves has been Dems who make that mistake. I'm fine with Ossof deciding to dance with those who brung him. I don't see this as meaning Ossof fails to see the fire. He's in GA. He sees the fire.
"
Republicans demand tougher abortion restrictions to extend Obamacare funds
"
Suppose the thinking in the Democratic Caucus in the Senate was just what wonkie lays out above as what Senator Kaine should have said. Might there have been a reason not to say it out loud just now?"
wjca has a point. I saw a headline just today that said the Dems had mousetrapped the Rs. And they are mouse-trapped. Either there will be a vote on the ACA and they will have to put themselves on record or there won't be and they will be the bad guys that way too.
It is clear that certain Senators were chosen to fall on their swords.
It is entirely possible that Dems in the Senate thought, "Those sociopaths in the R party aren't going to be the first to blink, no matter what and we believe in public service and are aware of the suffering, so we have to blink. So let's strategize how to do it to lessen the blow back to us and save some people and put the Rs on the spot with the ACA."
And yes they would have to keep this quiet,
But not indefinitely. I think the time is soon to spell it all out.
"
Se what I mean? Mumbling curated professional word choices just doesn't work. Never has, never will. Dear God, you'd think professional politicians would know how to communicate. Now even the people the Dems were trying to protect will believe that the Dems screwed them for nothing. Honestly, Democrats. What was the point of your government shutdown? | Opinion
"
I've had two criticisms of Dem pols for many, many years: 1. the lack of fight and 2. the mushy, wishy-washy "respectable" way of speaking that fails to communicate anything.
I think the Dems have improved on both fronts but there is a ways to go. For example, Kaine said why he voted to end the shutdown. He said something about how there didn't seem to be any other way forward mumble mumble blah blah.
What he meant and what he should have said is this: "The Republicans don't care about anything except power for power's sake and they are willing, indeed committed to, harming millions of Americans just so they can feel powerful. They are willing to spin out the shut down until federal workers go bankrupt, children are malnourished and millions lose their health insurance. Democrats aren't ruthlessly willing to sacrifice our neighbors for power. We decided to cut a deal to save as many people as possible. This shameful episode shows that Republicans genuinely do not care about people and only care about power."
But because of the mumble mumble blah blah we have headlines saying that the shutdown was for nothing.
On “When virtues become vices”
Now our strategy going forward to save the Democrats from complete disgrace is to run hard against the Cowardly Cave-in Caucus and get headlines that say "Don't Blame the Whole Party for the Acts of Few" which is a muddled message with nowhere near the power of the bad press the CCC has given us. Still, it's the only way to have any credibility in the midterms. Dems running for Congress will have to run hard against the decision to end the shut down without saving the ACA. 'Making this deal is malpractice.' It's Democrat vs. Democrat as shutdown nears end
"
These are not the kind of headlines that lead to a blue wave in the midterms. These are the kind of headlines that lead to "Both parties suck, there's no point in voting, vote third party, Dems are weak, Dems don't fight..." Democrats Concede Shutdown Fight Without Health Care Win in Hand
"
"Oh yes, there will be the usual wailing and rending of garments from the left. Because, the very idea of something less than total victory is anathema. But then, strategy and tactics: not a core competency there."
The idea wasn't total victory--only saving people who get ACA insurance. That's all. There was never an effort to save Medicaid, prevent the cuts in Medicare that are coming because of the increased deficit, roll back the tax cuts for the rich...the Republican bill sucks in every aspect but the Dems in Congress chose only one to stand on and they caved on that one.
Now all those people will lose their insurance because they won't be able to afford the rate increase. I lost my insurance temporarily a while ago and had to pay 900 for a one-month COBRA. It's not the kind of experience people forget or forgive.
I agree that strategy and tactics are not core competencies with the DSA left. It should be obvious though that for DECADES strategy and tactics have not been core to Congressional Dems either, not when it comes to national issues.
They completely fail to understand that they are not going to get MAGA votes, that the Republican party never operates in good faith, and that outside of MAGA most voters (especially indies) vote emotionally and have no clue at all about insider baseball tactics or policies and want to be able to vote for perceived strength and commitment.
Acting in a way that leads to headlines that say, "Dems agree to end shutdown" followed by millions suffering rate increases is fucking stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid--on an order of stupid as supporting the war in Iraq.
"
I think the tendency of Congressional Democrats to try to find compromise and "solutions" is a positive that functions as a negative. I am so completely disgusted by the stupidity of the Senate Dems of the Cowardly Cave In Caucus.
On “People and poliltics”
I was expecting a blue wave but it exceeded my hopes.
"
I've been seeing a lot of this "Government shouldn't do charity because charity should be voluntary through churches." Back in the days of Dickens, that is how charity was done. The 1800's were a transition period in Europe and the US when the medieval attitude that the poor deserved to be poor was gradually replaced by the common good and the social contract (and I'd say, basic human decency.). Quite often the people who make the argument that the government shouldn't do charity are themselves living off taxpayers and feel entitled to what they get. It isn't an argument that has any validity, in my view.
On “Another variety in the diversity of greasy”
Vance strikes me as a person who has no values beyond self-promotion and no sincerity. He'll say or do what is convenient at the time. He might decide to dump the Hindo wife to marry the wife of the martyred Saint Charlie of Free Speech for Conservatives Only. It wouldn't surprise me at all.
On “People and poliltics”
Are you in contact with your Apache and Hopi cousins? I'm curious about how their lives turned out. My shirt tail relatives of that generation had a native adopted daughter, but their attitude was condescending and eventually she cut off all connection.
As for how good people do bad things. I think partly it's because they are good people that they can do bad things. They know their own lives, their values, their actions and think that people like them aren't doing anything bad. That plus the harm they do is an abstraction to them.
On “Horrifying stuff”
Sociopaths don't suffer from cognitive dissonance.
"
Vance is setting himself up to the next Trump by going all in on the hatemongering for the Other. That's probably why he's publicly distancing himself from his wife's religion, saying he's trying to get her to convert to Christianity. I wonder if she regrets the marriage.
On “I got depressed so I bought hydrangeas”
I don't think we can save America from fascism without somehow countering the firehose of Goebbels style propaganda from Faux, Newsmax, and other Republican media outlets. Trump will stroke out, but the rest of the R party will remain. I don't see it as a Trump cult as much as it is a Faux news cult.
On “Something Different”
Thank you. There's probably a camera store in Olympia too.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.