UPDATE: Trump followed his playbook to perfection. No, I do not have a crystal ball. Anyone who realized the pathetic quality of opposition of both parties could have seen this.
Donald Trump continues to soar in the polls and suck up all the air in American politics. The elites continue to console themselves by saying he is unelectable. The election of Donald Trump would violate all we know about politics, say the Wise Pundits. But maybe, just maybe, the Old Rules don't apply anymore. Maybe,just maybe, the poor and middle class have been pounded so hard by greedy, cruel and short-sighted elites that in their desperation, the powerless will turn to a strongman. Fascism might be an overused word, but that is exactly what is happening before our very eyes.
For Trump, getting elected is just a two step process. First, win the nomination of an insane Republican Party. Then defeat a squishy and effete Democratic Party. Both scenarios are disturbingly possible.
We are already seeing the Donald steamrolling over the midgets in the GOP Clown Car. Why not? As it has been explained many times now, Trump is just playing the same racist riffs that the GOP has been playing since Nixon's Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan railing about "strapping young bucks" and "welfare queens". He just does it better, with a showman's flair. How many times have you heard conservative blowhards say, when you were stuck in that family gathering, that we should just build a big fence to keep the Mexicans out? America's most beloved billionaire reality TV star is saying the same things the racist yabos have always said. Trump is successful! He's a billionaire! And he is playing our tune! See, we always knew we were right!
Please tell be who in the GOP Clown Car is going to stop the Donald? Jeb Bush? That mean spirited personality challenged rich boy with a unquenchable sense of entitlement? We really need a third Bush term because the first 12 years of Bushism were so good for the country, right? . Scott Walker? Exposed as a cruel hothouse flower who cannot exist without exploiting the special race problems in Wisconsin. Marco Rubio? An empty suit, as I have explained in my blog before. Ted Cruz? All of the meanness of Trump without the superficial charm. John Kasich? Who? Ben Carson? Are you serious? The Donald has already cut Rand Paul another butthole and is now working on Jeb. This would be funny for liberals except for one little thing: The Democratic Party is in a weak position to stop this fascist menace.
What has not gotten much ink is that the Donald is outflanking the flabby and corrupt Democratic party on the LEFT on two very important issues. The first is Social Security. The Donald has pledged to protect Social Security in contrast to elitist Washington "liberals" who have mostly accepted that SS must be cut. We have liberal columnists like Tom Friedman pushing the Simpson-Bowles budget "reforms" with its cuts to Social Security. We have President Obama, desperate to cut a "Grand Bargain" with the Republicans which are all but certain to include drastic SS cuts. Contrast this with the 99 percent, which hates the idea of any SS cuts. And the Donald seems to be taking their side! The Democrats are so out of touch that they are getting outflanked by Donald Trump on the Third Rail of American Politics. Amazing.
The second issue is jobs, the issue that Barack Obama promised to "pivot" to but never quite got around to. As tens of millions of jobs have been shipped overseas and as Obama desperately pushes yet another job killing free trade agreement, the Donald promises to protect jobs by ending free trade agreements. This is extremely appealing to the 99 percent and I must admit, to me also . The middle class has been battered for 30 years now by these "free trade" agreements and the Hillary-Obama wing of the Democratic Party has actively encouraged them. After all, NAFTA was pushed by the Clinton Administration and passed with majority Republican support. Do you believe the Donald that he is going to protect American jobs? Does it matter? The Democrats have done almost nothing to address income inequality. The 99 percent does not believe that the economy has recovered. Certainly they have not benefited from it . The fact that the Democrats would be vulnerable to Donald Freaking Trump on economic fairness and Social Security is nothing more than a total disgrace.
Again we have to ask, who is going to beat the Donald in a general election? Hillary? A walking scandal machine who has shamelessly pimped for free trade agreements and winked at efforts of Social Security "reform" that are really cuts? Who has not proved that she can run a decent campaign? Bernie Sanders? As readers of this blog know, I love Bernie. But the plutocrats will spend billions to tattoo the word "Socialist" on his forehead. Americans don't know the difference between socialism and Communism but they know the Donald is a Genuine American Hero who Gets Things Done and will Make America Great Again. At least that's what his adoring press says. Joe Biden? His last two campaigns have been disasters. The Democratic Party has a very weak bench. Why? They lose a lot of elections because they do not stand up for the middle class. One shudders. at the Donald getting a chance to cut into their mamby-pamby centrist pap. Oh where have you gone Elisabeth Warren...?
Wait a minute. The Blue Wall will save the Democrats! Maybe. Trump's racism is repulsive to minorities, indeed to all decent people. But I worry that the 75 percent of the population that is still white is extremely vulnerable to Trump's snake oil, especially if they continue to be economically stressed. I am terrified of the Donald squeaking by in a racially polarizing election where he stokes white people fears. The Donald cant take Florida, Ohio and Virginia? Will minorities come out for a weak Democratic candidate? Will they come out for Bernie Sanders should Hillary crash and burn? We might have to depend n minority voters to stave off a fascist takeover of America. Women? Married white women vote just like their white male counterparts. Besides, isn't there something dangerous about having to rely on demographics instead of nominating a strong candidate who speaks to legitimate middle class concerns?
In short. as Matt Taibbi says, Donald Trump has stopped being a joke. He has started to become a threat. Are you sure it can't happen here?
Friday, August 28, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Corporate Media Is Destroying America
Guess what Americans? While our back was turned, the First Amendment was stolen from us. The Koch Brothers right to bury the airwaves with unlimited attack political ads? Protected by the First Amendment. Their right to do it secretly, hiding behind a phony":advocacy group" ? Protected by the First Amendment. Your right to protest a politician where Mr. Big Shot can actually see you? NOT protected by the 1st. Stand in an Orwellian-named First Amendment Zone waaaaay over there, far away from Mr. Big. Get any closer and that gang of stormtroopers over there will kick the living crap out of you, constitutional rights be dammed. You want to talk about your constitutional rights? Well, you have the right to get the fuck out of here before the cops Taser your ass. Let freedom ring!!
Guess who else the First Amendment protects? Fox News. The Supreme Court in the case of N.Y. Times v. Sullivan essentially says you can say anything you want about a "public figure" as long as you do not engage in "malice". What do these words mean? Anything the courts say they do. If the courts say its not malice, its not malice. This is why a malice machine like Fox News that does nothing but lie and libel and spray venom on its perceived enemies is allowed to operate with impunity. If you are an honest decent public figure who wants to serve the public good, its easy to stop Fox from smearing you. First, spend millions to hire lawyers to sue Fox and fight their army of lawyers. Then after years of litigation delay, get a court to say Fox acted with "malice". Good luck. The fact that nobody has pulled this off despite the fact that Fox is a 24/7 malice machine goes to show you how the modern day First Amendment protects the big boys and not ordinary citizens.
Don't worry, you say, we will always have the Internet, right? Maybe not. If the big boys get their way and destroy net neutrality, the big corporate giants will be able to spread their propaganda for free while suppressing dissenting voices, like this one. Think the courts will use the First Amendment to defend your right to blog for free? Think again.
You see, the corporate media does not give a damm about the public interest anymore. Once upon a time they did care. Yes, the media's first objective was to always make money and media mavens like Paley, Luce, Chandler and others were ruthlessly obsessed with the bottom line. But the idea that they were running a public trust was very real. Sure, they always didn't live up to their ideals, but during the Cronkite era, the ideals were there. Now that is all out the window. To hell with the public interest, profits are everything. If it bleeds it leads and if it thinks it stinks. If you think this hasn't had a negative effect on America, think again.
Take the issue of crime. Violent crime in America has gone down across the board the last 20 years, in some places dramatically so. yet the media's coverage of crime has gone up SIX TIMES during the same period! what happened? O.J. Simpson happened. The media made tons of cash from its obsessive coverage of the Simpson trial. Kato! Furman! Dancing Itos! Kaching! The lesson that the networks got from this is that crime is money. Thanks to the media, we now have millions of Fox and local news addled people holed up in their homes in front of their TV sets terrified of armies of black thugs and cheering on Donald Trump's promise to keep all the Mexskins out. Never mind that the truth is that crime has gone down. There are corporate profits to be made my scaring the living shit out of people. And don't get me started about TERRORISM. Nine-Eleven did many things but nobody talks about how media corporate profits soared because of obsessive terrorist coverage. Who can forget the fake terror alerts? Watch out, there's a Muslim in your closet! The rise of ISIS is a horrible thing for its victims, but it's great for the American bottom line.
Our spastic, childish media is like a bunch of monkeys gathering around a Bright Shiny Thing. Right now, that shiny thing is Donald Trump. Every Trump utterance is obsessively covered. Hell, Trump is insulting the media at every turn and still they keep coming, like some sadomasochistic performance art. Its because their bosses want TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP! The Donald has been money in the bank for 35 years. Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds addressing real issues people care about. He has been as visible in the mainstream media as Casper The Friendly Ghost. I guess coverage of serious, dumpy looking, candidates don't make any money. Is this good for the country? Who gives a fuck.
Our mainstream media does not understand that with rights come responsibilities. The courts are shooting holes in the First Amendment and it will get worse if the media does not grow up. The sad fact is, if the Mainstream Media got suppressed as it is, decent people would not give a damm. So much for the First Amendment.
Guess who else the First Amendment protects? Fox News. The Supreme Court in the case of N.Y. Times v. Sullivan essentially says you can say anything you want about a "public figure" as long as you do not engage in "malice". What do these words mean? Anything the courts say they do. If the courts say its not malice, its not malice. This is why a malice machine like Fox News that does nothing but lie and libel and spray venom on its perceived enemies is allowed to operate with impunity. If you are an honest decent public figure who wants to serve the public good, its easy to stop Fox from smearing you. First, spend millions to hire lawyers to sue Fox and fight their army of lawyers. Then after years of litigation delay, get a court to say Fox acted with "malice". Good luck. The fact that nobody has pulled this off despite the fact that Fox is a 24/7 malice machine goes to show you how the modern day First Amendment protects the big boys and not ordinary citizens.
Don't worry, you say, we will always have the Internet, right? Maybe not. If the big boys get their way and destroy net neutrality, the big corporate giants will be able to spread their propaganda for free while suppressing dissenting voices, like this one. Think the courts will use the First Amendment to defend your right to blog for free? Think again.
You see, the corporate media does not give a damm about the public interest anymore. Once upon a time they did care. Yes, the media's first objective was to always make money and media mavens like Paley, Luce, Chandler and others were ruthlessly obsessed with the bottom line. But the idea that they were running a public trust was very real. Sure, they always didn't live up to their ideals, but during the Cronkite era, the ideals were there. Now that is all out the window. To hell with the public interest, profits are everything. If it bleeds it leads and if it thinks it stinks. If you think this hasn't had a negative effect on America, think again.
Take the issue of crime. Violent crime in America has gone down across the board the last 20 years, in some places dramatically so. yet the media's coverage of crime has gone up SIX TIMES during the same period! what happened? O.J. Simpson happened. The media made tons of cash from its obsessive coverage of the Simpson trial. Kato! Furman! Dancing Itos! Kaching! The lesson that the networks got from this is that crime is money. Thanks to the media, we now have millions of Fox and local news addled people holed up in their homes in front of their TV sets terrified of armies of black thugs and cheering on Donald Trump's promise to keep all the Mexskins out. Never mind that the truth is that crime has gone down. There are corporate profits to be made my scaring the living shit out of people. And don't get me started about TERRORISM. Nine-Eleven did many things but nobody talks about how media corporate profits soared because of obsessive terrorist coverage. Who can forget the fake terror alerts? Watch out, there's a Muslim in your closet! The rise of ISIS is a horrible thing for its victims, but it's great for the American bottom line.
Our spastic, childish media is like a bunch of monkeys gathering around a Bright Shiny Thing. Right now, that shiny thing is Donald Trump. Every Trump utterance is obsessively covered. Hell, Trump is insulting the media at every turn and still they keep coming, like some sadomasochistic performance art. Its because their bosses want TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP! The Donald has been money in the bank for 35 years. Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds addressing real issues people care about. He has been as visible in the mainstream media as Casper The Friendly Ghost. I guess coverage of serious, dumpy looking, candidates don't make any money. Is this good for the country? Who gives a fuck.
Our mainstream media does not understand that with rights come responsibilities. The courts are shooting holes in the First Amendment and it will get worse if the media does not grow up. The sad fact is, if the Mainstream Media got suppressed as it is, decent people would not give a damm. So much for the First Amendment.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Donald Trump: Americans say the Hell with Jesus
The rise of Donald Trump should not surprise anyone who has watched this bloated, arrogant country that thinks it can live without God. We liberals have largely left the spiritual playing field, allowing the conservatives to turn Christianity into a mirror for America's hatred' greed and fear. And who has stepped into the breach? Why Donald Trump, of course.
Much has been written about the surprising rise of The Donald. Americans are angry, we are told. Or Americans want a "straight shooter". Or Americans are "tired of getting pushed around". All of this is soft-pedaling the real problem: Americans, especially white Americans' are sick and tired of being told they have to be GOOD. They want to indulge their hatreds, their greed, their lust, and their fear. In short they want to indulge in sin. And since we are "exceptional" we don't want any do-gooding Christian to tell us how bad we are.
So, along comes America's Favorite Billionaire Reality TV Star to tell us that it is OK to hate your neighbor. Never mind Jesus, who tells us that we must love our neighbor like ourselves. What does He know? How many casinos does Jesus own? How many starlets has He screwed? So the Donald dehumanizes the Other. Build a Big Fence to keep the Mexicans out! Round 'em up and deport them! Their women are running wild, dropping "anchor babies" like a dog drops a turd on your freshly mowed lawn. Some of the Donald supporters are running with this, saying that we should just shoot them. Why should you be shocked? Once you have ignored Jesus and accepted the fact that I am better than Those People, anything goes. The next step is to believe that these "Illegal Aliens" are subhuman. The concentration camps will soon follow. Think it Can't Happen Here Mr. White Patriotic American? Wake up, it already has. Cops are blowing away people for the crime of having above average levels of melanin in their skin, and white Trump supporters are cheering them on. Trump Bless America because Jesus certainly wont bless this garbage.
You might be angry at me for the self-righteous tone of the above paragraph. Well , I am angry for having to write it. Believe me Angry White American, I understand better than you know. Read my previous blog post about the Tea Party. I share your anger. I am a white male too and this crushing corporate capitalism has hurt me as much as anyone. But I disagree violently with your solution. The solution to what ails our once great country is not the Donald or the latest charlatan to come down the pike. The solution is Jesus. Love, not hatred. A recognition that we are all God children. A recognition that united we stand, divided we fall. When we are under pressure, we can choose the Darkness or we can choose the Light. and too many of us are choosing the Darkness. To Hell with the people who say I have to love those Others! To Hell with the people who say I shouldn't be greedy! Who are you too tell me what to do? Donald Trump is saying what I believe and I am going to support him AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU AND YOUR JESUS THINK!!
Well OK. Jesus is certainly not going to stop you. He loves us so much he gives us free will. He says with his soft but loving voice, "I love you. I died for you. I would have died for ONLY you. I am your Consolation in this life and your Delight for all eternity. But if you want to dance with the Devil, I will not stop you. If you love his cheap empty promises more than Me, go ahead. I will be here when you come to your senses. Because I love you."
Dance with your Donald Angry White American. I will dance with the Lord.
Much has been written about the surprising rise of The Donald. Americans are angry, we are told. Or Americans want a "straight shooter". Or Americans are "tired of getting pushed around". All of this is soft-pedaling the real problem: Americans, especially white Americans' are sick and tired of being told they have to be GOOD. They want to indulge their hatreds, their greed, their lust, and their fear. In short they want to indulge in sin. And since we are "exceptional" we don't want any do-gooding Christian to tell us how bad we are.
So, along comes America's Favorite Billionaire Reality TV Star to tell us that it is OK to hate your neighbor. Never mind Jesus, who tells us that we must love our neighbor like ourselves. What does He know? How many casinos does Jesus own? How many starlets has He screwed? So the Donald dehumanizes the Other. Build a Big Fence to keep the Mexicans out! Round 'em up and deport them! Their women are running wild, dropping "anchor babies" like a dog drops a turd on your freshly mowed lawn. Some of the Donald supporters are running with this, saying that we should just shoot them. Why should you be shocked? Once you have ignored Jesus and accepted the fact that I am better than Those People, anything goes. The next step is to believe that these "Illegal Aliens" are subhuman. The concentration camps will soon follow. Think it Can't Happen Here Mr. White Patriotic American? Wake up, it already has. Cops are blowing away people for the crime of having above average levels of melanin in their skin, and white Trump supporters are cheering them on. Trump Bless America because Jesus certainly wont bless this garbage.
You might be angry at me for the self-righteous tone of the above paragraph. Well , I am angry for having to write it. Believe me Angry White American, I understand better than you know. Read my previous blog post about the Tea Party. I share your anger. I am a white male too and this crushing corporate capitalism has hurt me as much as anyone. But I disagree violently with your solution. The solution to what ails our once great country is not the Donald or the latest charlatan to come down the pike. The solution is Jesus. Love, not hatred. A recognition that we are all God children. A recognition that united we stand, divided we fall. When we are under pressure, we can choose the Darkness or we can choose the Light. and too many of us are choosing the Darkness. To Hell with the people who say I have to love those Others! To Hell with the people who say I shouldn't be greedy! Who are you too tell me what to do? Donald Trump is saying what I believe and I am going to support him AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU AND YOUR JESUS THINK!!
Well OK. Jesus is certainly not going to stop you. He loves us so much he gives us free will. He says with his soft but loving voice, "I love you. I died for you. I would have died for ONLY you. I am your Consolation in this life and your Delight for all eternity. But if you want to dance with the Devil, I will not stop you. If you love his cheap empty promises more than Me, go ahead. I will be here when you come to your senses. Because I love you."
Dance with your Donald Angry White American. I will dance with the Lord.
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