#also one of the dogs was under 1 year i love democracy. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gardensgrey · 2 years

Photo

When people say Hillary should just "shut up and go away," I think back on this photograph. It's from the 3rd Presidential debate where Hillary destroyed Trump. He was humiliated. Remember? It was the debate where Hillary quipped back: "Well, that's because he [Putin] would rather have a *puppet* as President." The look on Trump’s face was priceless. No one had so thoroughly deconstructed and dismantled “The Donald” to his face -- in-front of millions. Maybe that’s why he still holds such a grudge against Hillary? And guess what? Hillary was right (as usual). Putin feared Hillary after witnessing her tenure as Secretary of State. He also realized Trump was a charlatan that stupid Americans would vote for. This led to a massive Russian propaganda effort to sway the election in Trump's favor. Ultimately, Trump won most of the swing states by less than 1% -- 80,000 total votes made Donald Trump the winner of the electoral college. This illegitimate victory has forever undermined our democracy and standing in the world -- exactly what Putin wanted. A weaker America. Twice in the last 20 years a Republican has lost the popular vote but won the electoral college. I simply can’t wait for the day a Democrat wins the electoral college but loses the popular vote. Republicans will freak out and never shut up about it. Point is -- Hillary proved during the debates that she is highly intelligent, articulate, tough, and can out-debate pretty much anyone. Hillary warned us first and she was right about pretty much everything: --The “deplorables.” --Trump's dangerous temperament: "A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons." --Dog-whistling to racists. --Collusion with Russia (Trump has never been able to win a fair fight -- I hope it was worth it, Donnie!) So when I hear people say Hillary should go hide under a rock, I look back at the debates. Why? Because after watching them no one can deny that Hillary Clinton has irreplaceable wisdom and irreplaceable experience. No one can deconstruct and dismantle Trump the way Hillary can. From his dog whistling to racists, dangerous temperament, and treason with a foreign government to steal the Presidency, Hillary calls out Trump like no one else can. I rarely see someone who is able to cut through Trump’s BS so articulately. That's why to this day Trump still attacks Hillary. He can't get over it. He can't get over the fact that she got 3 million more votes than he did (even despite Comey and Russia interfering). Deep down Trump knows he is a puppet that won because of outside forces (primarily the electoral college). On the contrary, Hillary is the rightful choice of the American people. Trump is an illegitimate President. Imagine if Russia and the FBI had favored Hillary and hurt Trump. Imagine if a Republican had won the popular vote but lost the electoral college. Would Fox News ever get over it? At the end of the day no woman has ever been a Presidential nominee for a major U.S. party. No woman has ever won the popular vote by 3 million votes. Except for former Yale graduate, lawyer, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, two-time New York Senator, and Secretary of State Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton. Personally, I'm loving the unfiltered Hillary. We truly need her voice now and forever. So never discount or dismiss Hillary's wealth of knowledge and ability to dismantle and deconstruct Trump. Hillary humiliated buffoon Trump during the debates. Never forget this. And remember -- any man with this resume would have easily won the Presidency: WATERGATE: Youngest lawyer ever appointed to an impeachment trial. 26-year-old Yale Law graduate Hillary Rodham. CHILDREN’S DEFENSE FUND: Investigated African American juveniles being placed in South Carolina adult prisons, and posed as a racist housewife to expose segregation throughout schools in the South. FIRST LADY OF ARKANSAS: Hillary successfully reformed the entire K-12 Arkansas educational system, expanded healthcare for those in rural Arkansas, worked at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Legal Services, and co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. First female partner of the Rose Law Firm. The joke in Arkansas was that they “hired the wrong Clinton.” FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Hillary spearheaded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Foster Care Independence Act, Office on Violence Against Women, the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy (lowering abortion and teenage pregnancy rates), and the Children’s Health Insurance Program — providing 8.9 million low-income children with healthcare access. In 1994, Hillary proclaimed on the world stage in Beijing, China: “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.” TWO-TIME NEW YORK SENATOR: Hillary secured 20 billion in federal funds to rebuild downtown New York City after 9/11. She also secured healthcare for 9/11 First Responders and expanded access to care for the National Guard, Reservists, and their families. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Passed the first-ever U.N. Resolution on gay rights (proclaiming: “human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights” on the world stage), and made it so trans Americans can legally change their gender on their passport. Hillary also rebuilt relations with every nation after the disastrous Bush Administration, traveling to 112 countries — more than any other Secretary of State. Our worldwide favorability rose 20% during Hillary’s tenure. Her primary focus was on women’s rights and health, bringing up issues such as forced abortion and maternal mortality rates. Hillary re-opened relations with Burma, enacted a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and killed Osama Bin Laden. She also was instrumental in putting together the Paris Climate Agreement, something Trump has since removed us from. “I’ve been called many things by many people. Quitter is not one of them.” ~Hillary Rodham Clinton “When you stumble, keep faith. And when you’re knocked down, get right back up, and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.” ~Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary has shown us that we must never give up. To always be resilient. “Onward Together!” -- Hillary’s new organization that is helping train, equip, and fund progressive candidates across America.

24 notes · View notes

anexperimentallife · 3 years

Text

Been too busy for original posts for a while, so here’s why, a quick introduction for new folks, and a brief refresher on my usual content

I am frantically working on story for this new app, and let me tell you it’s a doozy. I basically accidentally created a new subgenre with the novelette Karma, and the interactive story based on it is... well, the folks I’m working with, some of whom have been in the IF field for over a decade, have said that to their knowledge, nothing like it has been attempted in IF before. The only downside is that right now it is consuming ALL of my time.

So a refresher for new followers on who I am, and some brief bullet points about my normal rants and screeds:

Who I am: I am a cishet (so far), mostly-white autistic man. I am a small-time professional F&SF author with bipolar disorder, ADHD, CPTSD, a memory and focus-affecting mild brain injury, along with a spine injury that causes chronic pain, and sometimes leaves my right hand marginally operable. I have been a professional musician, a construction worker, a restaurant server, a baker, a singing telegram messenger, a comic author, a soldier, and... basically, I failed at a wide range of careers before landing on writing.

I am a leftist who used to be a hard-right conservative asshole, and I am still deprogramming myself on a daily basis. I am originally from the US, but have lived in Germany, and now live in Baguio, Philippines, high in the mountains of Northern Luzon, with the lovely @thesurestthing . I can’t really take credit for all the positive things in my life right now--honestly, I just lucked into a lot of the good things happening for me right now.

After my two adult sons died in the early 2010s, I stopped writing for a long time, but now, despite being old af, I will be a father again any day now. (And a lot of my younger followers on here call me “Uncle Rob.”)

My usual rants and screeds:

If you are still alive, I am so proud of you for persevering. Sometimes it’s hard. (If not, I’m not ashamed of you, because, again, it’s hard to be alive sometimes--but you probably aren’t reading this.)

If you are on meds, please take them. Set alarms if you need to. Or maybe give your pet (if you have one) a treat at med time every day. If you forget your meds, they may remember to demand their treats.

If you have access to drinkable water and edible food (there’ve been times when I haven’t), please drink some water and eat something. Nutritional stuff is best, but a candy bar or a cookie is better than not eating at all.

If you are able to move your mortal form around a bit without screwing yourself up, please do so. Also, if you’re able to get out under that big ball of hellfire in the sky for a bit, that might do you some good.

If this moment is miserable for you, keep in mind that this moment is not forever. I cannot promise things will get better, but I can promise that there is always POTENTIAL for things to get better. A few years ago I was basically waiting to die. Now I am almost overwhelmed by how much better my life has become.

Trans men are men. Trans women are women. Non-binary or genderless folks are who they say they are. Not gonna debate on this.

Black Live Matter. Indigenous Lives Matter. Also not up for debate.

Fascism BAD. Diversity GOOD. And as I’ve actually studied the rise and impact of fascism in the mid-20th century academically and independently, I don’t just call fascism “anything I don’t like.”

Punching and/or otherwise striking out against Nazis and other bigots is always morally correct and justified. Read up on the “Paradox of Tolerance.” Any society that tolerates intolerance will be taken over by the intolerant.

The new piece of shit in the white house is MUCH better than the orange shitgibbon, but he’s still a corporate-owned, warmongering, serial lying (among other things, claiming to have worked in the civil rights movement, when he in fact worked AGAINST it), serial plagiarizing, corrupt, anti-democracy piece of shit who has spent his entire political career serving the 1% and fighting to oppress the poor and minorities for profit--despite serving with America’s first Black president, and the token he selected as his VP. He just smiles more and says nice things (when he isn’t accusing anyone who asks him uncomfortable questions of being, and I quote, “a dog-faced pony-soldier”), and isn’t as publicly BLATANT about opposing democracy as the orange shitgibbon.

Oh, and here’s what I look like (TOLD you I’m old af lol):

And now, back to writing to earn my paycheck. :-)

#rob says stuff #me #face #uncle rob says stuff #uncle rob says take your meds #my face #selfiie #literal gpoy #actual gpoy #I only have eyes for queue

52 notes · View notes

tisthepoetl · 3 years

Text

There are many stressors in a modern day lifestyle.

Usually these include the looming threat of death, the monotony of working for currency that stopped being useful years ago and deer.

There are so, so many stressed people. Made worse by the apocalypse that didn’t happen, the riots that most definitely happened, and the negotiations that have been “in progress” for the last few years.

The amount of rapid budget changes are stressing out some people. The amount of rapid cultural exchange is stressing people out. If you work in any field, any field at all, you are likely to be stressed as all hell.

Eventually, they have to pick someone on the ship to be shown as an expert negotiator. No one is prepared for this. Most of them are middle men, most of them don’t have a clue what they’re supposed to be doing, and all of them are panicking.

So they drew straws. The most important decision of all time is made by dumb luck, and honestly that’s a pretty good metaphor for everything happening right now.

Name someone on their haphazard crew and they will have a conflict of interest. Name one member and they will be grossly under qualified.

America has four ambassadors out of the eight chosen. Not because they’re the most presentable, or the most qualified, or the best possible choice, but because they overpaid for a privilege nobody wanted.

If all of this goes to hell they're getting the blame. And if they get the blame the only plan is to point at whoever was voluntold to be leader and pray for leniency.

Every part of this is a desperate attempt to stall before the actual powers back home have found a way to bullshit having any actual control of things.

It shows.

It really, really shows.

So, who was the unlucky scapegoat for the possible downfall of all of humanity?

If you guessed Samantha who wasn’t supposed to even be on this ship, you would be correct!!

Seriously, she was the back up for someone who was almost conceivably qualified. Sort of, if you squinted and ignored the fact they were only there via nepotism, only to be pulled out once everyone realized they were sacrificial lambs.

And then the replacement was also saved from this bullshit via bribery and blackmail and probably some other third sketchy thing she doesn’t know about.

So, here she is, Samantha who had planned on changing her name before realizing she wasn’t getting out of this. Samantha, the replacement for the replacement who was chosen by a lottery held only for the illusion of equal opportunity.

There are literally billions and billions of people whose lives will be affected by whatever she ends up doing. Countless children, parents, lovers and friends and siblings. All of whom would either die or live by whatever ends up happening.

Luckily, she has one coping mechanism which never fails: Repression!!

So she thinks about literally anything else. Thinks about her favorite song as the ship nears the giant towering shape of the Galactic Senate’s meeting place. Thinks about fluffy dogs as she is led by the hand through walls and portraits and treasures with descriptions she can’t read because there are no translators yet.

Thinks about her mother, thinks about her sibling, thinks about the fact everyone could literally die and it would be her fault, and wow she’s already here.

The meeting place has a mouthful name that she could only pronounce if she managed to dislocate her jaw, grow a new set of teeth, and get a proboscis. Everyone calls it the Meeting Place, because again, there are no working translators, they all have to rely on vague equivalents.

The Meeting Place is a moon sized ship, so incomprehensibly large that any species will be able to fit. It has a dock, and a large empty room with nothing in it except for alien leaders who could slaughter them all at a whim.

There are no chairs. The temperature is set to “Mildly unpleasant but liveable.” Unity and democracy means that everyone is equally uncomfortable, because this exact temperature is workable for most species.

Samantha feels a chill down her spine, both from the cold and the fact that so many of them are glaring at her. She is in the center, her crew is placed too far away to help her, and their borrowed ship is miles away from where they are now.

She prays to the gods she doesn’t believe in and hopes she can stall well enough for the clusterfuck back home to get their shit together.

“H…” she starts eloquently. She tries to refind where the rest of humanity’s first impression was stationed, but her view is blocked by the hundreds of giant aliens. “He..llo?” she finishes.

There’s a click, and she flinches back because what if that’s a weapon. A small cube clatters to the ground in front of her, before popping up and showing a hologram.

She would be visibly impressed, in awe, if it weren’t for the fact she’s half sure these diplomats could take any reaction as an insult.

She wouldn’t be able to explain herself either, it’s too early for any sort of translator to have been made, it’s too early for anything about human body language to be common knowledge.

The crowd surrounding her rustles, fins are raised and noises are made and colors are changed. It means something, probably, but she can’t tell what.

The hologram cube makes a loud, ear splitting sound, like a mix between a flatlining heart in a movie and a fire alarm going off. It snaps her out of her spiraling.

There are two large lines pointing at a screen that is pulsing with the most neon red she’s ever had the unfortunate luck of seeing. She stares at it, and realizes it’s a quiz.

Well, more like a shitty rushed powerpoint. Like something you would make in under an hour for the fun of it.

It says, “What Human Want [Ask],” and she has the sneaking suspicion that whoever made this wasn’t trying very hard. Underneath are barely recognizable butcherings of numbers, listing answers from one to three.

“1. Want hurt. Want no us. Lone want.”

“1nd. Want love. Want share. Want us help.”

“1rd. Want no meet us. Want late meet. Want lone.”

All of it is….confusing to say the least. At this point she doesn’t even know if this is a joke or not.

Then again this wasn’t supposed to be her job, she doesn’t understand them either, and maybe they were genuinely trying here. But then again there are so many of them, they probably have enough resources to make at least a dozen Earths and this meeting took multiple years to take place.

The red that flashed before flashes again, than flashes a disturbingly real fingerprint on top of the answers.

She presses the second one, and wills herself to not regret it immediately. Love, sharing, help, all of that sounds good.

Except what if the help is from humanity? What if their definition of help, share, love is killing everyone ever living and she just doomed it all?? What if it means—

“[Greeting] [Greeting Happy] [Greeting Love] [Greeting Happy Angry Bored] [Greeting (Deragotory)]” a voice drones through a translation of the crowd. Samantha wonders when this will be over, and if she’s going to die of anxiety before that happens.

“[Greeting Small Childish] [Greeting Sad Fear] [Greeting (Endeared)] [Greeting Pain Hurt] [Greeting Love Fear Pain]” it doesn’t stop, running through every risen scale and moving limb to translate some vague approximation.

The aliens have translators. The translators are awful. This is taking so much time, which is good for the mission of stalling and bad for Samantha’s sanity.

“[Species Name (Derogatory)] [Mother (Derogatory)] [Criminal (Deragot—]“ the whole crowd is making noise, some like barks and some like tweets and some like a monster out of hell.

And all of them seem to be arguing? Or insulting each other? Either way it continues on for a long stretch of time with nothing but noisy aliens and a robotic voice reciting nonsense that always ends in “(Derogatory.)”

“[Wrong: Too long.] [Wrong: Too fast.] [Wrong: No word Human.]” The sounds are longer, most of the crowd making them rising and puffing out to be bigger. “[Plea Slow.] [No Word for Our Word.] [New Local Child Pet Ally speak.] [No word for Our Word.]”

Samantha realizes once again, that she should’ve left when she had the chance. And never entered that stupid lottery.

“[I hate every single one of you.] [Stop! The Ally-New-Child-Local may hear.] [You are all stupid [Species Name]]” the noises transition into understandable sentences. “[The small Diplomat-Traveler will be confused. Stop.] [They are doing fine. They will not understand our words.] [When is that useless translator going to update, Myy-Rrr-Pl?]”

Humanity as a whole can only take so much. One human as a whole can only take so much. She is halfway to a mental breakdown, fully confused and honestly she just wants to go home. This is the kind of wonder she would love if she didn’t have to personally deal with the consequences.

So she goes the way of most unqualified, underpaid workers, and gives up. She isn’t going to scream or sabotage anything, but her ability to feel was already warring with the tempting concept of not giving a fuck.

She speaks, for the second time. “I can hear you. And I don’t much appreciate being called a child.”

“[.....]” the crowd is finally silent. She basks in the peace.

“[I told you to stop confusing the Ambassador.] [Shut up Myy-Rrr-Pl. You didn’t even get these made right, we had to make a presentation, that’s how awful you and your tech were.] [It's working now, okay?]” The peace was lovely while it lasted.

“Humanity wants, uh, to not be dead,” she says. “And to not be enslaved either. Or like used as food.”

“[Can you understand it?] [Of course I can, I’m the one who learned the language.] [You barely learned it. You put half that presentation into a free-use translator.]” they keep talking, keep barking, chirping, hissing over her. “[This is a disaster.] [It’s not that bad. My presentation went over well enough.] [Myy-Rrr-Pl shut your beak about that [intercourse (derogatory)] thing.]”

“CAN YOU BE QUIET FOR ONE SECOND??” Samantha shouts above the arguing ambassadors. There is only so much she can tolerate, the noise alone is irritating but the senseless, contextless bickering is unbearable

“This is ridiculous,” she continues. “I don’t even know what’s going on, none of you dropped us an explanation. Why can I suddenly understand you? Who the hell is Meer-er-pull? And what the fuck is going on?”

There is no more translation, and nothing to translate into constant robotic rambling. There is no peace in the silence, just an underlying tension as every alien in the room turns to stare her in the eyes.

She wonders if she’s fucked up, if she’s doomed literally all of humanity because she couldn’t tolerate it all and lashed out. There’s an apology on the tip of her tongue, but she can’t manage to push it out through the indignation and fear.

No one breaks the silence. None of them speak. Samantha’s momentary confidence wavers and she considers making a run for it before realizing there are more of those giant aliens stationed at every exit.

“[....Aumko, I think we may have [intercourse (deragotory)] this beyond fixing.] [Feces (Derogatory) Feces (Derogatory) Feces (Derogatory)—]” Luckily, it doesn’t sound like she’s going to be executed for this. Unluckily, the aliens are just as unprepared as they were, and it wasn’t going to get any less confusing, was it?

“[I told you [Anatomical Feature (Exapserated)] that we should’ve started with a smaller group of diplomats. Instead of a “proper” meeting with everyone involved, we should’ve picked one from each of the 3 species, then gone from there. That would’ve been—]”

“I’m not getting any less confused here!!” Samantha cuts off the alien. “I’m not getting any younger either, I’m sick of your childish bickering, get over it and give me an explanation. Please, for the love of god.”

There’s a moment of pause as the translator spits out a bunch of meaningful white noise. It takes a couple moments before one of the birds speaks up.

“[We should cancel this until another time,] the bird chirps. Which isn’t satisfying, which isn’t an explanation, but hey it does technically fulfill the mission of stalling. And honestly she’s taking any win she can get from this. “[We’ll meet up with one of their diplomats, in a less noisy location. They’ll meet with one ambassador from each of our species.]

“[That doesn’t make sense though!!] [How will we even choose?] [A smaller meeting would be a sign of disrespect, we must show that we don’t view the New-Ally as lesser.]” the noise starts up again immediately.

“[SHUT UP!!]” roars one of the giant bears in a show of irritation that she can relate to on a spiritual level. “[Myy-Rrr-Pl will serve as the [Error: No suitable translation]’s ambassador. I’ll be the second ambassador. The third will be Kss’ta.]

There are ruffled feathers, low growls, no outward arguments but no agreements either.

“[I will quite literally fight anyone who decides to waste my time any further.] the bear is...puffing up? The mane of fur around its neck is puffed up like the pelt of an angry cat. “[Myy-Rrr-Pl is the only one who can even half speak the language, and who has the most context. Even if her presentation was awful.]”

“[I’m going to be there personally to ensure this doesn’t happen a second time. And Kss’Ta is the only one of you [Species Name] [Intercourse (Derogatory)] who doesn’t argue around in circles.”

The crowd is unhappier than ever. The bear speaking sounds done with it all. Samantha is too exhausted to give a shit at this point, and just decides to be glad it’s finally over, for now.

“[Is everyone here agreed with me?”] it flares about the room, ears pinned flat to its head and mane big enough to engulf the whole of its neck. All of the crowd flinches back, no one argues too vehemently, though complaints are muttered.

The bear turns to Samantha. “[You have my apologies for my own behavior, and the behavior of these [Species Name (Derogatory)]. We’ll escort your ship back to your station.]”

Relief hits her in a mix of “it’s finally over,” and “thank fuck no one died.”

Everyone leaves, with the mission sort of accomplished, with the peace talk sort of working, and a compromise no one is happy with. Except for Samantha.

But then she learns she’s the ambassador for humanity again, and a piece of her dies at the revelation.

Humanity’s welcome to the galaxy was chaotic, idiotic, ill prepared, and an overall clusterfuck of literally galactic proportions.

At least no one died.

#the terror of being known #humans are weird

13 notes · View notes

dweemeister · 4 years

Text

2019 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Many of my longtime followers will know what is below. And yes, it’s that time of year again!

There are a few folks I wanted to extend invites to that I wasn’t able to get to in time (because of stuff IRL). If you are listed (and are interested), let me know so I can sort you into a group as soon as possible: @dansmonarbre, @dog-of-ulthar, @fredsbarandgrill, @loveless422, @shadesofhappy, @somequeerdistortion, @thethirdman8. Otherwise, you will still be tagged for the MOABOS final anyways because of your prior participation in previous years.

As is the year-end tradition on my blog, there is an Oscar-like ceremony honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time in their entirety this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey"). I’ve always considered MOABOS a musical thank-you for your moral support on and offline throughout the year.

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. Twenty songs will compete in this preliminary round. Like every year there has been a preliminary, there are two groups - Group A and Group B. Even moreso than last year, songs from musicals dominate and, after a year where personal time has come at a premium, it has also resulted in the most monolingual field we’ve had in a preliminary.

INSTRUCTIONS IN THE GROUP YOU HAVE BEEN SORTED INTO, please rank (#1-10) at least five of your group's songs. Please consider (to the best of your ability): how musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration); its lyrics; quality of performance; context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for those who haven’t seen these films); choreography/dance direction (if applicable); and the song's cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and the least important factor). Imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. The top four songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. I reserve the right to pick 0-2 songs from one or both groups that finished outside the top four in their respective groups to contest the final round. This was never a true democracy, as you all know!

The deadline for submission is Tuesday, December 10 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That's Friday, December 11 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET. This deadline may be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time - but I would rather not have that happen, especially because more people are going to be called in for the final round. Feel free to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it’s always fun to read reactions to individual songs, and it usually makes the process (for everyone) more enjoyable! Tabulation details are under the read-more.

Take your time, and and listen more than once if you wish. Please pay attention to which group you have been sorted into. The songs are (“Song title”, composer and lyricist, film title):

GROUP A

“Can You Imagine That?”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Performed by Emily Blunt, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, and Nathanael Saleh

Shortly after Mary Poppins (Blunt) becomes the governess for the Banks children (Davies, Dawson, and Saleh), she draws a bath after the children have covered themselves in dirt. The bath, however, is infused with Mary Poppins’ signature magic, leading to a fantastical segment.

“Detroit”, music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Performed by John Davidson and Lesley Ann Warren

(partial use in film)

Lovebirds Cordy Biddle (Warren) and Angier “Angie” Buchanan Duke (Davidson in his film debut) have been discussing their future together. Angie does not want to inherit his father’s tobacco business - instead wishing to head to Detroit to be a part of the automotive industry (the film is set in 1916, as the city was booming because of the auto industry).

“Gay Paree”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria (1982)

Performed by Robert Preston

In this musical, Carroll “Toddy” Todd (Preston) is a gay performer at the Chez Lui nightclub in Paris. This songs appears shortly after the opening credits and a short introductory scene. The use of the word “gay” in this song may be interpreted however you wish.

“Honolulu Baby”, music and lyrics by Marvin Hatley, Sons of the Desert (1933)

(Initial performance) / (brief reprise) / (non-film version)

First performance by Ty Parvis; reprise by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; full non-film version by The Beau Hunks

Laurel and Hardy have tricked their wives into believing they have taken a Hawaiian cruise rather than attending the national meeting of a fraternity known as the Sons of the Desert - their wives disapprove of the latter for reasons that give away too many jokes in one of the best (and funniest) films I saw all year. The reprise is part of a joke that I’d also rather not spoil.

“I Dug a Ditch”, music by Burton Lane, lyrics by Lew Brown and Ralph Freed, Thousands Cheer (1943)

Performed by the Kay Kyser Band, Kathryn Grayson, Georgia Carroll, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, M.A. Bogue, and chorus

NOTE: An entirely separate song, “Should I”, is integrated from 3:04-3:36.

Apologies for the text overlaying the video. The second half of Thousands Cheer is essentially an elaborate revue musical performance for American World War II troops in which the film’s initial pretense of attempting a story is entirely dropped. “I Dug a Ditch” is one of the songs appearing in the film’s second half.

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”, music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin, Rocketman (2019)

Performed by Elton John and Taron Egerton

This is the first song played over the end credits of this biopic of Elton John. This is John and Taupin’s (John’s songwriting partner through the 1960s-1990s) first collaboration outside the Sherlock Gnomes series for this decade.

“Into the Unknown”, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen II (2019)

(end credits version)

Performed by Idina Menzel and AURORA; end credits version performed by Panic! At the Disco

Some years after being crowned Queen of Arendelle (which happened at the end of Frozen), Elsa hears an eerie voice calling out to her - a voice that will connect Elsa to her parents’ tragic fate. The voice’s melody will reprise throughout the film’s score.

“The Shady Dame from Seville”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria (1982)

(Initial performance) / (reprise to be watched at your own spoiler-y risk)*

Performed by Julie Andrews; reprise by Robert Preston

*watch at your own spoiler-y risk because it gives away the film’s comical musical ending

Victoria Grant (Andrews), after making her Parisian debut playing a man named “Victor” who is impersonating a woman, has become the hit vaudeville act of Paris. This is one of her signature performances. Preston’s reprise - which appears near the film’s conclusion - was done in one take, hence his sweaty and fatigued appearance at the end.

“Trường Tương Tư”, music and lyrics by Leon Le, Song Lang (2018, Vietnam)

Performed by Isaac and Liên Bỉnh Phát

Lyrics in Vietnamese

English translation and context are in the link.

“(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

Performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda

This is the opening song in Mary Poppins Returns. Lamplighter Jack (Miranda) is turning out the London gaslights as night turns into morning, as he bikes through the city’s streets - filled with indicators of the Great Depression, industrial pollution, and the general overcast weather that tends to be associated with England. Jack reprises the songs a few times across the film and the song is quoted in the film’s score.

Group A participants include: @addaellis, @cokwong, @halfwaythruthedark, @myluckyerror, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @yellanimal. Between six to ten others will be participating in this group, including myself and my sister.

GROUP B

“Crazy World”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria (1982)

Performed by Julie Andrews

Victoria Grant (Andrews) is a woman playing a man named “Victor” who is impersonating a woman. Victoria, as Victor, has become the hit vaudeville act of Paris. This is Victoria’s first performance as “Victor” not pretending to be a woman. Is your head spinning yet?

“East Bound and Down”, music and lyrics by Jerry Reed and Dick Feller, Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Performed by Jerry Reed

This is the theme song for this comedy, which also describes the plot somewhat. Smokey and the Bandit is about two truckers - “Bandit” (Burt Reynolds) and “Snowman” (Reed) - who have been offered $80,000 by a rich Texan to pick up 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas and return to Atlanta within twenty-eight hours. In 1977, Coors was only found in the Western U.S. and transporting it across Southern state lines was illegal (giving Coors a mystique in the Eastern U.S.).

“Fortuosity”, music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Performed by Tommy Steele

Irish immigrant John Lawless (Steele) is one day off his Transatlantic ferry and is soon to take up a job as the Biddle family’s butler. This is the first song in The Happiest Millionaire, performed shortly after the opening credits. The song is also on the musical rotation for Disney parks’ Main Street and is reprised during the film and quoted in its score.

“Fun and Fancy Free (I’m a Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow)”, music and lyrics by Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss, Ned Washington, and Eliot Daniel Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Performed by Dinah Shore, chorus, and Cliff Edwards (as Jiminy Cricket)

Played over the opening credits; the main musical ideas are used a few times in the film’s score. This is Jiminy Cricket’s second appearance in a canonical Disney Animation Studios feature film.

“The Joint Is Really Jumpin’ in Carnegie Hall”, music and lyrics by Roger Edens, Ralph Blane, and Hugh Martin, Thousands Cheer (1943)

Performed by Judy Garland and Jose Iturbi

The second half of Thousands Cheer - where this song is found - is essentially an elaborate revue musical performance for American World War II troops in which the film’s initial pretense of attempting a story is entirely dropped.

“The Next Right Thing”, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen II (2019)

Performed by Kristen Bell

Anna (Bell) has seemingly lost her friends and her sister at what is the lowest point in the film. Uncertain what to do, she recalls a small piece of advice that leads her forward.

“Nowhere to Go but Up”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Performed by Angela Lansbury, Ben Whishaw, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Jeremy Swift, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, David Warner, Jim Norton, and company

On a sunny spring day, the Banks family and Mary Poppins go out to the local park to make a day of it. Certain non-lyrical inclusions in this song cannot be explained without spoiling the film. This is the final song of Mary Poppins Returns.

“Sương Chiều”, music and lyrics by Leon Le and Hoàng Song Việt, Song Lang (2018, Vietnam)

Performed by Isaac and Tú Quyên

Lyrics in Vietnamese

English translation and context are in the link.

“Trip a Little Light Fantastic”, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

Performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Blunt, Tarik Frimpong, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, and company

After being scolded by their father, the Banks children are taken home by Mary Poppins (Blunt). Along the way, they encounter their friend, lamplighter Jack (Miranda), as they take a lengthy detour. The cycling skills seen in this number are probably anachronistic.

“Woodstock”, music and lyrics by Joni Mitchell, Woodstock (1970)

Performed by Crosby Stills, Nash & Young

This song appears in the end credits to Woodstock - the official documentary film for the eponymous August 1969 musical festival.

Group B participants include: @emilylime5, @ideallaedi, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @mindo80, @themusicmoviesportsguy, @nazur, @stephdgray, and @underblackwings. Between six to ten others will be participating in this group, including myself and my sister.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the process or the songs involved, you may contact me at any time in any way you prefer. If you are having difficulty accessing the videos (especially if it is region-locked), please let me know as soon as you can.

Thank you all for being amazing followers and friends, and I thank you for your participation and support for the Movie Odyssey, this blog, and for me personally - no matter how long I’ve known you or in what capacity. I didn’t do as much outreach this year due to personal reasons, but I hope we have a healthy amount of participation. You will all be tagged for the final round regardless of your participation here. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I may ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. There is no pressure if you can’t do this, everyone. Thank you all again, and happy listening!

TABULATION

This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been used since the first time I asked friends, tumblr followers, and family to help out. A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. This method, for the first time ever, will not be used for the final round. Tiebreakers for above: 1) total points earned; 2) total #1 votes; 3) placement on my ballot; 4) placement on my sister’s ballot; 5) tie declared

#2019 Movie Odyssey Awards

6 notes · View notes

scientificphilosopher · 5 years

Text

Book List 2018

I’m a couple weeks behind on this, but here’s the list of books I read in 2018. I’ve broken it down by category, though this is pretty loose since, you know, genres bleed into one another and such. You can also find reviews of some of these books here, and I always take requests for reviews as well. Follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading and rating.

Let me know what you think if you’ve read any of these books or have recommendations, and, as always, please feel free to send me malicious personal attacks if I say something you disagree with.

Non-Fiction

Philosophy

Pragmatism and Feminism: Reweaving the Social Fabric by Charlene Haddock Seigfried

The Pragmatic Turn by Richard J. Bernstein

Race Matters by Cornel West

Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism by Cornel West

American Philosophy: A Love Story by John Kaag

Ethics Without Ontology by Hilary Putnam

Meaning in Life and Why It Matters by Susan Wolf

The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love by Susan Wolf

The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World by Owen J. Flanagan

Meaning in Life by Thaddeus Metz

The Human Eros: Eco-Ontology and the Aesthetics of Existence by Thomas Alexander

Naturalism and Normativity by Mario De Caro (Editor), David Macarthur (Editor)

Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity by Michael P. Lynch

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

Experiments in Ethics by Kwame Anthony Appiah

Ethics in the Real World: 86 Brief Essays on Things that Matter by Peter Singer

The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant

Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment by Robert Wright

A Defense of Buddhist Virtue Ethics by Jack Hamblin

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought by Dennis C. Rasmussen

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams

Reality, Art and Illusion by Alan Watts

Democracy and Social Ethics by Jane Addams

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds by Daniel C. Dennett

Science

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Stephen Brusatte

Why Dinosaurs Matter by Kenneth Lacovara

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—And Us by Richard O. Prum

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us by Sam Kean

Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne

What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by Adam Becker

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

The Physics of Time by Carlo Rovelli

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku

The Spinning Magnet: The Force That Created the Modern World--and Could Destroy It by Alanna Mitchell

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan

Visions for the 21st Century by Carl Sagan et al.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

The Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage by Chet Raymo

The Virgin and the Mousetrap: Essays in Search of the Soul of Science by Chet Raymo

Politics/Race/Gender

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay (editor)

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Race Matters by Cornel West

Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism by Cornel West

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Tears We Cannot Stand: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson

What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

The Common Good by Robert Reich

Transgender History by Susan Stryker

Memoir

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

South of Forgiveness: A True Story of Rape and Responsibility by Thordis Elva

Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker

The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman

My Own Life by David Hume

Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good by Kevin Smith

Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton

Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth

Calypso by David Sedaris

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

Ink Spots by Brian McDonald

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin

History/Biography

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan

God: A Human History by Reza Aslan

One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America by Kevin M. Kruse

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang

Fiction

Literary Fiction

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

Another Country by James Baldwin

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Blues for Mister Charlie by James Baldwin

Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

Home by Toni Morrison

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

The Dead by James Joyce

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

A Confederacy of Dunces by Jonh Kennedy Toole

The Dork of Cork by Chet Raymo

Genre Fiction

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Slice of Life by Kurt Vonnegut

2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Pure Drivel by Steve Martin

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The Green Mile by Stephen King

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1 by Lemony Snicket

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Worst of 2018

Every single book I read this past year had redemptive value. Even if it was total garbage, it still taught me some stuff (like how not to write a book). Even a bad book can be a good book if you let it be.

So, here’re a few books that didn’t quite hit the spot for me:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Ink Spots by Brian McDonald

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

Best of 2018

It was genuinely difficult to choose my top books of 2018. What a literary year it has been for me. 2018 marks the most books I’ve read in a year, and I was lucky enough to come across some real game-changers. I finally read the Harry Potter series and, boy howdy, did it ever live up to the hype. What took me so long?? But this was, more than anything, the year of James Baldwin. He has made an indelible mark on me as a reader, a writer, and a human. What a year this has been! I hope to read a fraction as much beautiful, lovely, challenging, profound prose in 2019.

In no particular order, here are the books of 2018 that most moved me, shook me, rattled me, rolled me:

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

The Pragmatic Turn by Richard J. Bernstein

Pragmatism and Feminism: Reweaving the Social Fabric by Charlene Haddock Seigfried

The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by Adam Becker

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan

The Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage by Chet Raymo

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Well, there you have it, folks. Here’s to many more good books in the years to come!

The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story. —Ursula K. Le Guin

#reading list #2018 #nich #reading #books #writing #long post #long

319 notes · View notes

bountyofbeads · 5 years

Text

Stone-Cold Loser https://nyti.ms/2S85c83

Roger Stone, who was arrested in a dawn raid at his home in Fort Lauderdale, has long been fond of the Somerset Maugham line that Florida is a "sunny place for shady people."

"Just as Nixon went down in history as a disgrace to the office of the president, so now will Stone go down as an accomplice to enemies of the republic," writes Eric Caine from Modesto in a comment on @MaureenDowd's column, "Stone-Cold Loser."

"Stone-Cold Loser"

By Maureen Dowd | New York Times Opinion | Published Jan. 26, 2019 |

Posted January 27, 2019 |

WASHINGTON — Roger Stone has always lived in a dog-eat-dog world.

So it was apt that he was charged with skulduggery in part for threatening to kidnap a therapy dog, a fluffy, sweet-faced Coton de Tuléar, belonging to Randy Credico, a New York radio host.

Robert Mueller believes that Credico, a pal of Julian Assange, served as an intermediary with WikiLeaks for Stone. Mueller’s indictment charges that Stone called Credico “a rat” and “a stoolie” because he believed that the radio host was not going to back up what the special counsel says is Stone’s false story about contacts with WikiLeaks, which disseminated Russia’s hacked emails from the D.N.C. and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

Stone emailed Credico that he would “take that dog away from you,” the indictment says, later adding: “I am so ready. Let’s get it on. Prepare to die (expletive).”

As the owner of two Yorkies, Stone clearly knows how scary it is when a beloved dog is in harm’s way. When he emerged from court on Friday, he immediately complained that F.B.I. agents had “terrorized” his dogs when they came to arrest him at dawn at his home in Fort Lauderdale.

The last thing Stone posted on Instagram before his arrest was a video of a terrier, with a high-pitched voice-over, protesting, “Roger Stone did nothing wrong.”

Always bespoke and natty, living by the mantra that it’s better to be infamous than never famous, Stone looked strangely unadorned as he came out of court to meet the press in a navy polo shirt and bluejeans.

As the master of darkness who had been captured in darkness stepped into the bright light of Fort Lauderdale, he was his usual flamboyant, unapologetically meretricious self. He proclaimed his innocence, flashed the Nixon victory sign and reiterated the old saw from his mentor, Roy Cohn, that any attention is good attention.

But it fell flat. Being Roger Stone had finally caught up with him.

He has always said Florida suited him because “it was a sunny place for shady people,” borrowing a Somerset Maugham line. But now the cat’s cradle of lies and dirty tricks had tripped up the putative dognapper. And it went down on the very same day that Paul Manafort — his former associate in a seamy lobbying firm with rancid dictators as clients, and then later his pal in the seamy campaign of Donald Trump — was also in federal court on charges related to the Mueller probe. Manafort’s hair is now almost completely white.

One of Stone’s rules — along with soaking his martini olives in vermouth and never wearing a double-breasted suit with a button-down collar — is “Deny, deny, deny.” But his arrest for lying, obstructing and witness tampering raised the inevitable question about his on-and-off friend in the White House, the man who is the last jigsaw-puzzle piece in the investigation of Trumpworld’s alleged coordination with Russia: Is being Donald Trump finally about to catch up with Donald Trump?

Stone, who famously has Nixon’s face tattooed on his back, is the agent provocateur who is the through line from Nixon, and his impeachment, to Trump, and his possible impeachment.

As Manafort said in the 2017 documentary “Get Me Roger Stone,” Trump and Stone “see the world in a very similar way.” And that way is theatrical and cynical. Do whatever you have to do to get what you want; playing by the rules is for suckers.

In 1999, when I went on a trip to Miami to watch Trump test the presidential waters, Stone orchestrated Trump’s Castro-bashing speech to Cuban-Americans. The bodybuilding, swinging strategist, christened “the state-of-the-art sleazeball” by The New Republic in the 80s, said he was “a jockey looking for a horse.”

Stone, who was mixed up in Watergate at the tender age of 19, “made the transition from the Stone Age of dirty tricks to today,” as David Axelrod puts it.

He watched Nixon rally the silent majority with a law-and-order message and racial dog whistling. He helped Ronald Reagan create Reagan Democrats.

For decades, believing “past is prologue,” Stone urged Trump to be the successor to those pols, revving up angry, white working-class voters who felt belittled or scared of “the other.” It would be so easy to divide and stoke resentment, as Stone and Trump proved when they inflamed the birther controversy against Barack Obama.

“Hate is a stronger motivator than love,” Stone told the documentarians. “Human nature has never changed.”

The tribal tensions in America made Stone’s favorite tricks easier than ever; he didn’t have to operate in the shadows. He wore a T-shirt with Bill Clinton and the word “Rape” at 2016 campaign rallies. As Stone boasted in the documentary, his “slash-and-burn” tactics “are now in vogue.”

Trump has had periods of estrangement with Stone. In 2008, in an interview with The New Yorker, he called the strategist “a stone-cold loser,” a state Trump himself has been relegated to this past week, courtesy of Nancy Pelosi.

Stone will not go gently. When he is asked about the tattoo of Nixon, he says he got it to remind himself, “A man is not finished when he is defeated; he is only finished when he quits.”

At the moment, though, dogged by Mueller, Stone and Manafort are the dog’s breakfast. The pair has given practicing the dark arts a bad name.

"There's one piece of history about Roger Stone that never gets enough press, Ms. Dowd. That is, Roger Stone was involved in the "recount" in Florida and swinging it to George W. Bush. Specifically, he was behind a political group attacking three Democratic state Supreme Court justices threatening Bush's possible victory: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/07/11/fla-may-fine-gop-figure-for-2000-recount-actions/af72ec6a-082e-4292-913c-f8ed14c2fc62/?utm_term=.9e4d3fc6c5f3 These sleazy political operatives, from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove to Paul Manafort to Roger Stone on the Right have been getting away with this disgusting behavior for decades. Trump is a direct result of this cancer. Lock them all up." V of LA

"The ghost of Nixon past still haunts us. Just when you thought it was safe to trust our democracy, we get the Nixon salute and see his face on Stone’s back, just not quite low enough, in my opinion. The president was bad enough, but now it looks as though he’s merely the apex of a vast pyramid scheme so vile and full of duplicity that only Betsy DeVos could fully appreciate it. But it’s clear that the president didn’t accomplish his takeover on his own. He was socially promoted to a position higher than he could have ever reached without dirty tricks, lies and conspiracies galore. If today’s events aren’t disgusting enough, we’re even picking up echoes of Roy Cohen. There’s even a faint whiff of Joseph McCarthy that you can just make out while watching the nightly news. It recalls a time when powerful people weaponized fear and ignorance, and nearly turned us into animals at each others throats. We can only hope that people who voted for the president were among those fearful of going broke during the government shutdown. You can talk to people all day about why an unread, crotch-groping narcissistic moron is not a good candidate for president of the United States, but until they feel it in their guts, and their wallets, they’ll never fully understand. Do we have your attention now? Have you taken note of the sleazy, lying manipulators who manufactured this presidency with your help? Mueller might undo some of the damage, but it's up us not to let it happen again." gemli of Boston

"Imagine assembling a clown show of Trump, Junior, Jared, Manafort, Bannon, Stone, Flynn, KA Conway and some sideshow characters like Carter Page and Papadopoulus. Deliver some memorable campaign promises for America's future like "Lock her up" and "Build the Wall", while encouraging mobs to beat up reporters. Toss in a few surprise tapes about assaulting young women. Then openly conspire with Russian intelligence to interfere in the US election while being watched by the FBI, CIA and 6 European country intelligence services. And make plain as day efforts to relieve sanctions on Russia, support the pro-Russian cause in Ukraine, make over 100 contacts with Russian government officials during the campaign and transition and attempt to set up a secret communication channel through the Russian Embassy that US intelligence cannot monitor. Even after all of this, the chaos and the soaring deficits of the first two years of the Trump Administration, around 40% of Americans still think he is doing a great job. Based on personal experience working in all 50 states, I don't believe that part of the population is going to change much. But we need to take back the government on behalf of future generations and do it soon." Look Ahead of Washington

"Like Trump, Roger Stone is a man with no redeeming qualities and no morals at all. Cohen and Manafort as well. They admire and emulate the tough guys of organized crime without actually BEING those tough guys. But the Russians working for former KGB agent Putin are those tough guys, and that's who the phonies chose to do business with. Stone is blustering but he's counting on a Trump pardon, not realizing 3 things: 1) Trump WILL throw him under the bus. A pardon is unlikely. 2) A Trump pardon means he cannot use the 5th Amendment to keep from testifying--meaning he must tell the truth or face contempt or perjury charges. 3) He will still be liable to state charges, and the new NY AG would love get him in her cross-hairs. Stone is finished and doesn't even know it!"Dad of 2 /NJ

"Roger Stone is a truly mean-spirited figure. No wonder he, like Trump, his soul mate if you will, were proteges of Roy Cohn. One thing is certain, nobody is going to feel sorry for Stone, Manafort or any of Donald Trump's merry band of mean, vindictive misfits. Once our national nightmare is over, it will take a long time to heal, if we ever can. Because Stone and Trump poked the racist beast of a certain segment of the nation, unleashing virulent emotions, conservative-fed conspiracy theories, and disdain for truth, fact checking, and critical thinking. The president, a man who doesn't read, aligned himself with a man who did but used his reading to polish his dark arts, and tries to make ignorance seem cool. As a result, they got an entire political party to totally overhaul its thinking on foreign policy goals, belief in climate science (indeed, belief in any science) and even, I venture to say, the biggie: immigration. Trump, egged on by Stone, has done more damage to our politics, rule of law, and views of government than any foreign invader could have. Stone, more than Trump, grasped an essential truth: the worst damage a country can undergo is from within."Christine McM of Boston

"If Stone and The Donald have used "revving up angry white working-class voters" as a tactic to win elections, one wonders whether they are themselves authentic racists or whether they believe in nothing but power for its own sake. Are they "merely" impersonating bigots or are they true believers? Either way they represent a pestilence that needs to be driven out of the body politic, and yet if they're being disingenuous with respect to their own feelings about white supremacy (a disease that normally infects only the feeble-minded) one wonders how they manage to live with themselves. Can one ever attain enough wealth and power to compensate for the loss of one's soul? Perhaps it's a moot point but I somehow can't get past it."

Stu Freeman of Brooklyn

"No Stone left unturned, no creatures hiding under rocks. Spring IS coming, the flowers will bloom, the stench will dissipate, the gloom will dissolve. Thank you, Mr. Mueller." Stu Freeman of Brooklyn

Phyllis Dalmatian of Kansas

"Stone is Johnny two-face: he threatens to harm a security dog then uses his own two dogs' reaction to his early-morning arrest as proof of the FBI's perceived heavy-handed tactics. He trumpets his dedication to "the truth" while lying (all his life) and throughout the Mueller investigation--threatening former criminal associates if they cooperate with--i.e. tell the truth to--the feds. He professes patriotism while working in league with his country's greatest adversary to undermine an American presidential election. It is no wonder anyone this duplicitous should be an acolyte of Richard Nixon and a life-long driving force in the Republican Party. That's the way the GOP grows its alleged leaders--by rewarding them for wrecking American values without demonstrating any consciousness of guilt. "CMary of Chicago

"Concerning stones method of arrest, he merely found out how it is to be treated by law enforcement in many zip codes in this county, no sympathy whatsoever."No Party of FLA

"Why is it so many Americans believe whatever they are told? People like Trump and Stone commit crimes and lie in plain sight and many of our countrymen lap it up like duck soup. Was it growing up in the era of Disney and Spielberg that has made so much of the public susceptible to political special effects? "Of course President Obama is a Muslim, my TV said so." You can't fool all of the people, but you certainly will have no trouble fooling half of them. These remain dangerous times."Socrates of NJ

" Looking back....as you do in this piece....there is really only one question “Was your desperate focus on stopping Hilary from being elected worth it?”

David Martin of Paris

"Meanwhile, Trump can't stop telling us about women in vans with duct tape on their mouths. Perhaps his past is catching up with him involuntarily." Jerry Summer of NC

Another day, another Trump associate is arrested... What was that you were saying about HRC's emails again, Ms Dowd? Nick Adam of Mississippi

#donald trump #politics #trump administration #republican politics #legal issues #president donald trump #trump #trump scandals #republican party #russia investigation #2016 election #politics and government #white house #must reads #robert mueller #roger stone

1 note · View note

weecb1983 · 5 years

Text

Such a parcel of rogues in a nation…

O would, or I had seen the day

That treason thus could sell us,

My auld gray head had lien in clay,

Wi' Bruce and loyal Wallace!

But pith and power, till my last hour,

I'll mak' this declaration;

We're bought and sold for English gold -

Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.

Interpretation of poetry has never been my strong point, but I’d hazard a guess that The Bard was pretty pissed off when he wrote these words. More than 200 years later, I have to wonder – are we still a “parcel of rogues in a nation”?

I started off 2019 with two resolutions:

1. Don’t worry about things until they happen

2. Stop tweeting

I lasted until the 2nd of January before I came across a tweet from the Scotsman…”End indyref2 talk in 2019, campaigners TELL @NicolaSturgeon” and felt compelled to retweet with a sarcastic comment and a bemused emoji. Fast forward a few hours and I’m awake at 3am, anxious about the state of the country and a Brexit that hasn’t happened yet.

Earlier in the year, to relieve my anxiety, the “other half” begrudgingly agreed to me stockpiling food. So I set about compiling a “Brexit Cupboard” filled with pasta, rice and other staples from the continent such as olive oil and sundried tomatoes that may be hard to come by in the even a no-deal Brexit scenario. I received a lot of stick for this from friends and family, who suggested that I was catastrophising and perhaps I had too much time on my hands, being on maternity leave at the time. It was time I went back to work.

Brexit cupboard ready to go, I still find myself awake at stupid o’clock in the morning, so in another attempt to get a decent night’s sleep I thought I’d try to take the thoughts that are troubling me and put them down on paper….

Back in 2014 when Scotland voted No, I was heartbroken but I understood and accepted the result. I don’t blame my friends and family who voted No (openly). Initially, my gut reaction was No. It was a risk, but I decided that since it was such a serious decision, I should partake in some research. I had never been interested in politics before and, prior to 2013, wasn’t even registered to vote. Coming from a predominantly socialist family, I was conscious that my vote should be an informed decision and not based on what those around me thought. The more I read, the more convinced I was that Scotland should be independent, and the more incensed I became that we weren’t already.

I joined Twitter, entered into discussion with “Unionists”, asking questions and looking for a reason as to why Scotland should remain as part of the UK. I am still looking. For one single reason. Instead I have received nothing but condescending replies, questioning my intelligence and level of education, or lack thereof. One lovely chap asking, “not very bright are you?”. Regarding the ever divisive topic of Scottish Independence, polite discourse quickly descends into “sharing and pooling” and “fiscal transfer” and “go away, you don’t understand”. I’ve tried with GERS. I really have, and I don’t think it’s that GERS figures are beyond the comprehension of the average “cybernat”. Just that they are far too dull to hold the attention of all but the most dogged “Britnat”, who would rather see Scotland burn to the ground than be independent (they might get their wish come April). They wait eagerly for “GERS-figures day” every year and, like a dog with a bone, rip them to shreds and shout “See! They are your own government’s figures and they show that Scotland is too wee, too poor! Get back in your box”. From what I can understand, these figures are based on Scotland being part of the so-called “United” Kingdom and can’t be used to predict what an independent Scotland would look like so I really don’t see what all the hoo-hah is about to be honest.

Sometimes I think, in an alternative universe, where Scotland voted Yes four years ago, what would my unionist friends and family think if the country was in the state that it is now? I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be biting their tongue, going by the continuous loop of “SNP-bad” rhetoric that still prevails, despite none of this current shit-show being of their doing.

Looking at the state of affairs, it is extremely disturbing to see what people will accept nowadays. If you had told me four years ago that the UK would be stockpiling food and medicine, preparing the army for civil unrest and that Schrödinger’s drones would cause Gatwick airport to grind to a halt, I would have said, no one in their right mind would vote for that….but then again, they didn’t put that on the big red bus.

Credit where it’s due to the Westminster establishment, they have been extremely clever in this respect. Of course it would never have worked to put “Vote for martial law” on the bus! Instead, over two years they have, little by little, gone from “£350 million for the NHS!” to “a no-deal scenario wouldn’t be the end of the world” with Westminster’s very own resident hobbit Michael Gove kindly suggesting that we allow people to scavenge on rubbish heaps. Even better, it will give us a chance to go back to the good old days of the Blitz when everyone pulled together. To anyone who says that, I say, get yourself down a trench during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. I visited the WW1 battlefields in 2015 after 97 years of peace, and it was traumatising enough.

To anyone who is (even now!) unsure about whether Brexit is all bad, I simply say, look at who supports it…for the love of God! Imagine, stumbling across a party and looking around to see Boris Johnson, Hobbit Gove, Nigel Farage, Andrea Leadsom, Dominic Raab, Priti Patel, John Redwood, Vladimir Putin and last but by no means least, the smiling assassin, Jacob Rees-Mogg and his fellow Dickensian panto-villain Julia Hartley-Brewer (never trust anyone with a double-barrelled surname). I would be turning on my heel and getting out of that place before they started burning £50 notes (or as it will be known post-brexit…$5,000,000).

I happen to think Theresa May herself would also be at that party. I am not for a minute buying that she was ever a Remainer. I reckon her husband (senior executive at an investment fund that profits from tax-avoiding companies) would stand to lose a pretty penny from the EU’s Anti Tax Avoidance Directive which was presented on 28th January 2016 (!) and requires its member states to apply these measures as of 1st January 2019…3 months before the Brexit deadline. Coincidence? No deal has always been the end goal and who better to run down the clock than the cringe-worthy curtseying Theresa May who campaigned so emphatically for Remain? Theresa May, who is trying to broker a deal that is best for the WHOLE country and one that supports the democratic vote…the last democratic vote you’ll ever have, by the way. Because now democracy means that when you voted once, based on an illegal campaign that no-one has been held accountable for, you are no longer entitled to change your mind because that is what democracy means now. Is Theresa May the Keyser Söze of Westminster? Albeit her daft walk at the end is to the tune of Abba? Is she that clever and forward-thinking to have orchestrated this whole clusterbourach?

No, she is merely a puppet and her strings are being pulled by disaster capitalists who know exactly what they are doing. They will have prepared for every eventuality.

Panto villain Mogg has been popping his polite, well-spoken, over-privileged and under-achieving head up recently to air his views whenever he can on the main-stream media. I noted that he voiced his support of the late Margaret Thatcher featuring on the new £50 note. Margaret Thatcher, who was a known admirer of General Pinochet.

This is a quote from Naomi Klein’s book, The Shock Doctrine:

“The British prime minister was well acquainted with what she called “the remarkable success of the Chilean economy”, describing it as a “striking example of economic reform from which we can learn many lessons”. Yet despite her admiration for Pinochet, when Hayek first suggested that she emulate his shock therapy policies, Thatcher was far from convinced. In February 1982, the prime minister bluntly explained the problem in a private letter to her intellectual guru. “I am sure you will agree that, in Britain with our democratic institutions and the need for a high degree of consent, some of the measures adopted in Chile are quite unacceptable. Our reform must be in line with our traditions and our Constitution. At times the process may seem painfully slow.”

I wonder if 30 odd years is slow enough and I think by “quite unacceptable”, she means this…

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-pinochet-affair-i-saw-them-herded-to-their-death-i-heard-the-gunfire-as-they-died-1179543.html

Make no mistake, this is a right-wing coup. It’s just that it’s being carried out in an orderly fashion – the British way.

No one wants to talk about Brexit anymore. The majority of the people in my life are completely ignorant about the consequences of a no-deal scenario, blissfully so, and encourage me to join them. The apathy shown towards the biggest political disaster to happen to this country in living memory is beyond my comprehension. So half the country is sleepwalking and half have just about reached Brexit saturation point and all the time we are being nudged, slowly towards the edge of the cliff. ….and when we’re pushed over the edge, there will be Sajid Javid waiting on an armed boat shouting “CRISIS! - NO MIGRANTS ALLOWED!”. The neoliberals stand to make a tidy profit while the country is reeling from the chaos that would inevitably ensue from a No-deal. We can look forward to the swift privatisation of our Health Service, abolition of the welfare state, chlorinated chicken, etc.

In 2014, Scottish independence was about hope and the ability to control our own affairs. Now, it’s about the survival of our democracy. If Scotland is not independent come March 29th 2019, I predict that, freed from the burden of EU laws, Westminster will adopt Henry VIII powers to abolish the devolved parliaments. It has already shown what it is capable of, and its contempt of the Scottish parliament, by taking them to court over the Continuity Bill. Scotland has barely been mentioned throughout the Brexit “negotiations” and has been disregarded and disrespected at every turn. We are absolutely not, as was promised, “Better Together”. Independence is the only option now and I, for one, hope to begin 2020 as part of an independent Scotland with my human rights still intact.

However, if anyone is reading this in a post-Brexit version of “The Handmaid’s Tale”….nothing to see here! All left-wing views out the window. God save the Queen.

#Brexit IndyRef2 StopBrexit

1 note · View note

nancypullen · 5 years

Text

Annnnnd We’re Back!

So I wished you all a happy Thanksgiving and then I dropped off the end of the Earth. Sorry. We kicked our holiday prep into high gear so that we could ship boxes north...

and then we packed our bags and took off for D.C. We played for a couple of days and spent the remainder of our time snuggling the world’s cutest grandbaby. What a wonderful trip! While in D.C. we reacquainted ourselves with the National Air and Space Museum - it’s fascinating no matter how many times we visit. Of course I had to pop into the gift shop for a look and I was so happy to see the variety of things available for kids.

We also visited the new Law Enforcement Museum. The mister has donated for years, always in honor of a couple of good trooper friends that he lost, and he was so happy to hear that construction was complete and that the museum opened in October. Across the street from the museum there’s a small memorial park that’s been in place for quite a while. The walkway walls are covered in the engraved names of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. There are four bronze sculptures of lions guarding the path, two at each end - one male and one female, standing guard over cubs. Below each lion is carved a different quotation:

"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived." —Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor

"In valor there is hope."[—Tacitus

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion." —Proverbs 28:1

"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream." —President George H. W. Bush

I noticed that there appeared to be a bouquet resting in the forearms of one lion., so of course I walked over to have a look. Oh, what a lump in my throat when I read saw that it was a birthday greeting for a fallen officer.

As in any just about any profession, there are those who perform their duties with the purest of intentions and those who seek only to have power over others. During Mickey’s decades in law enforcement I’m grateful that we knew far more of the former than the latter. When I scan the thousands of names carved into those walls I think of the families. The spouses who received a hurried kiss before their officer reported for duty, the kids who understood that a parent wasn’t at their recital or little league game because they were out “catching bad guys”. The mothers and fathers who were both proud and terrified that their child chose to stand between good and evil. Oh, my heart. YIKES! I didn’t mean to get melancholy and fill this post with sorrow. Trust me, the museum itself is not at all like that. It was filled with interesting information, lots of interactive stuff (I can pick the right person out of a line up but I’m terrible at tailing a suspect), some really cool displays, and beautiful tributes to everyone from law enforcement helicopter pilots to sniffer dogs. Moving on! We ran around D.C. and acted like tourists, zipping all over on the Metro, and ending our last day in Chinatown. I love D.C.’s Chinatown! Best restaurants and shops around! That’s where we ate lunch before hitting the museum, and guess what we had for dinner? Did I mention that I love Chinatown? I mean, even the crosswalks are fun!

Even better, after we left Chinatown we headed just down the street a bit to the D.C. Holiday Market. Oh, what fun! Each stall offered unique items - paintings, pottery, needlework, metal work, one-of-a-kind home decor, clothing, photography, leather crafts, and I know I’m forgetting a million things. Add to that some catchy live music and delicious treats and you’ve got yourself a heck of a holiday market. It was cold, the lights were cheerful, the goods were fascinating, and it certainly put this shopper in a Christmas mood. Perfect ending to a perfect day.

The next day we hopped a train toward Tyler’s house, knowing he’d be waiting at the station to pick us up. We texted when we boarded and he told us where he’d be parked. Try for just a minute to imagine my surprise and the whoop of joy that I let out when we arrived and Tyler exited his car...and so did MATT! Those two boys f mine had planned a surprise and boy did it work! Matt had flown in from Minneapolis earlier that day and timed it so he’d arrive at the station just before us. I think I skipped across the parking lot to hug them! We spent three days soaking up love and laughter, enjoying our boys under one roof and snuggling the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful baby ever born. Jamie prepared an incredible feast and we had a second Thanksgiving. When I say she prepared a feast, you have no idea. She’s an amazing and creative cook - every little thing is from scratch, and she makes it all look effortless. Everything was delicious and the leftovers were even better! I’ll wrap this up by saying that time spent with our grandbaby is nothing short of magical. She is such a delight and my heart fills up over the tiniest things - patting my face or reaching for me, giggling at me, or snuggling up. Oh my. I’m not allowed to post pictures of her on the internet, so just imagine blue eyes, golden hair, dimples, and chubby cheeks. She’s got a little bed head going on in this one, but you can’t see her face so I’m safe!

Cutest little booty in town!

So we’re back, and life is chugging along. I still have some gifts to ship, then I’ll get busy writing cards. The tree is up and lit, but I didn’t hang any ornaments before we left because I didn’t trust a certain cat. cough*Phoebe*cough I’ll need to finish trimming the tree, and that’ll do it. Mickey hung all of the outside lights and decor right after Thanksgiving, so we’re the sparkliest house on the block. Is that a word? It is now. My holiday wishes have come true, so I don’t want or need a darn thing. Still, if Santa wants to stop by he’ll always find a warm welcome here. Don’t laugh. When you stop believing, you get underwear. Hope you’re feeling loads of holiday cheer! XOXO

1 note · View note

hillaryisaboss · 6 years

Link

When people say Hillary should just “shut up and go away,” I think back on this photograph:

It’s from the 3rd Presidential debate where Hillary destroyed Trump. He was humiliated on the world stage. Remember? It was the debate where Hillary quipped back:

“Well, that’s because he [Putin] would rather have a puppet as President.”

The look on Trump’s face was priceless. No one had so thoroughly deconstructed and dismantled “The Donald” to his face – in-front of millions. Maybe that’s why he still holds such a grudge against Hillary?

And guess what? Hillary was right (as usual). Putin feared Hillary after witnessing her tenure as Secretary of State. He also realized Trump was a charlatan that stupid Americans would vote for. This led to a massive Russian propaganda effort to sway the election in Trump’s favor.

Ultimately, Trump won most of the swing states by less than 1% – 80,000 total votes made Donald Trump the winner of the electoral college. This illegitimate victory has forever undermined our democracy and standing in the world – exactly what Putin wanted. A weaker America.

Twice in the last 20 years a Republican has lost the popular vote but won the electoral college. I simply can’t wait for the day a Democrat wins the electoral college but loses the popular vote. Republicans will freak out and never shut up about it.

Point is – Hillary proved during the debates that she is highly intelligent, articulate, tough, and can out-debate pretty much anyone.

Hillary warned us first and she was right about pretty much everything:

–The “deplorables.”

–Trump’s dangerous temperament:

“A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”

–Dog-whistling to racists.

–Collusion with Russia (Trump has never been able to win a fair fight – I hope it was worth it, Donnie!)

So when I hear people say Hillary should go hide under a rock, I look back at the debates. Why? Because after watching them no one can deny that Hillary Clinton has irreplaceable wisdom and irreplaceable experience.

No one can deconstruct and dismantle Trump the way Hillary can. From his dog whistling to racists, dangerous temperament, and treason with a foreign government to steal the Presidency, Hillary calls out Trump like no one else can. I rarely see someone who is able to cut through Trump’s BS so articulately.

That’s why to this day Trump still attacks Hillary. He can’t get over it. He can’t get over the fact that she got 3 million more votes than he did (even despite Comey and Russia interfering). Deep down Trump knows he is a puppet that won because of outside forces (primarily the electoral college). On the contrary, Hillary is the rightful choice of the American people. Trump is an illegitimate President.

Imagine if Russia and the FBI had favored Hillary and hurt Trump. Imagine if a Republican had won the popular vote but lost the electoral college. Would Fox News ever get over it?

At the end of the day no woman has ever been a Presidential nominee for a major U.S. party.

No woman has ever won the popular vote by 3 million votes.

Except for former Yale graduate, lawyer, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, two-time New York Senator, and Secretary of State Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.

Personally, I’m loving the unfiltered Hillary. We truly need her voice now and forever.

So never discount or dismiss Hillary’s wealth of knowledge and ability to dismantle and deconstruct Trump. Hillary humiliated buffoon Trump during the debates. Never forget this.

And remember – any man with this resume would have easily won the Presidency:

WATERGATE:

Youngest lawyer ever appointed to an impeachment trial. 26-year-old Yale Law graduate Hillary Rodham.

CHILDREN’S DEFENSE FUND:

Investigated African American juveniles being placed in South Carolina adult prisons, and posed as a racist housewife to expose segregation throughout schools in the South.

FIRST LADY OF ARKANSAS:

Hillary successfully reformed the entire K-12 Arkansas educational system, expanded healthcare for those in rural Arkansas, worked at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Legal Services, and co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. First female partner of the Rose Law Firm.

The joke in Arkansas was that they “hired the wrong Clinton.”

FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES:

Hillary spearheaded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Foster Care Independence Act, Office on Violence Against Women, the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy (lowering abortion and teenage pregnancy rates), and the Children’s Health Insurance Program — providing 8.9 million low-income children with healthcare access.

In 1994, Hillary proclaimed on the world stage in Beijing, China:

“If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.”

TWO-TIME NEW YORK SENATOR:

Hillary secured 20 billion in federal funds to rebuild downtown New York City after 9/11. She also secured healthcare for 9/11 First Responders and expanded access to care for the National Guard, Reservists, and their families.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE:

Passed the first-ever U.N. Resolution on gay rights (proclaiming: “human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights” on the world stage), and made it so trans Americans can legally change their gender on their passport. Hillary also rebuilt relations with every nation after the disastrous Bush Administration, traveling to 112 countries — more than any other Secretary of State. Our worldwide favorability rose 20% during Hillary’s tenure. Her primary focus was on women’s rights and health, bringing up issues such as forced abortion and maternal mortality rates. Hillary re-opened relations with Burma, enacted a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and killed Osama Bin Laden. She also was instrumental in putting together the Paris Climate Agreement, something Trump has since removed us from.

“I’ve been called many things by many people. Quitter is not one of them.” ~Hillary Rodham Clinton

“When you stumble, keep faith. And when you’re knocked down, get right back up, and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.” ~Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary has shown us that we must never give up. To always be resilient in the face of defeat.

“Onward Together!” – Hillary’s new organization that is helping train, equip, and fund progressive candidates across America.

youtube

Hillary’s smile at the end is perfect. She knew she baited him and got him good.

#hillary clinton #bill clinton #barack obama #bernie sanders #donald trump

119 notes · View notes

newagesispage · 3 years

Text

APRIL 2021

THE RIB PAGE

*****

The Grammy’s held their ceremony. Bla Bla.. Noah Cyrus wore a popcorn dress. Harry Styles was hot as hell. Dua Lipa, Cynthia Erivo, Ingrid Andress and Megan Thee Stallion were my best dressed. Cudos to Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak for their little Richard tribute!! Hooray for Tiffany Haddish!!

*****

The Oscar noms are out and Mank ran away with the most. Woo Hoo! The trial of the Chicago 7, Nomadland and Gary Oldman were all nominated. I was surprised that One night in Miami did not get more love but hooray for Leslie Odom Jr. I was thrilled for Crip Camp and My Octopus Teacher which are about the best movies of the year but sad not to see All in: Fight for democracy. I would bet on Ma Rainey’s black bottom for costmes!! Glenn Close has now been nominated 8 times with no wins. Winners will be announced on April 25.

*****

The Torlonia exhibit may soon be coming to America. I can’t wait!! The ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures are one of the greatest private collections.

*****

Here comes the George Floyd trial! The testimony gets worse everyday.

*****

All hail Lady Dynamite!!!! Maria Bamford just gets better with age.

*****

The art collective behind the “Satan shoes” has been sued by Nike. The lil’ Nas X 666 shoes sold out but Nike claims trademark infringement. Nike did not design or release them and does not endorse them. They are really black and red air max 97 sneakers. The company, MSCHF modified them as they did in 2019 with the “Jesus shoes.” I do not think they were sued for that. Fair?? I say make your own!!

*****

A guy named Brian created his own video store in his basement during the quarantine. He is not the first but it is bringing national attention.

*****

Volkswagon pulled an IHOP and fooled the media into thinking they were changing their name to Voltswagon. They claimed they are highlighting the electric car but it was just a joke. Why do these companies think they are so clever?? They just end up looking ridic!! VW seemed perplexed that people did not react all that well to the fake out.

*****

The Catholic Church does not want to bless same sex marriages. The announcement caused Elton John to let us know that the Church had invested in the movie, Rocketman. The Church won’t comment but it has since been confirmed that they invested 1.2 mil.

*****

Why would they think we wouldn’t notice how bad they are trying to fuck the voters? Coca cola is one of the big funders in this endeavor to take away rights. ** Hooray for the house for their sweeping election reform bill.

*****

How the fuck did Ron Johnson get elected? Can we stop it with electing the stupid people?

*****

The Dr. Seuss family and the publishers decided to pull 6 books from print. The books did not sell well and had a few racist pages so good riddance. That is just good business. I don’t understand the big deal.

*****

Why is Piers Morgan such a dick? I do not know anyone that is surprised about the Sharon Osbourne story. I don’t know if I have ever heard a good story about her. She is now out at the Talk with a reported 7 figure settlement to leave.** I don’t know if the cancel is right or wrong but hearing less from Piers and Sharon sounds like a more peaceful world. They just always struck me as rich, unhappy people.

*****

Scary Clown 45 has asked that supporters send $ directly to him and not to the GOP. ** Lara Trump, chairwoman of a dog charity are under scrutiny for bringing us another scam.** Fauci flattered Trump into telling people to get vaccinated.

*****

Don Cheadle will narrate the new Wonder Years.

*****

It feels like the “Bridge era”. Bridgerton, Phoebe Waller- Bridge and Phoebe Bridgers are having a moment. Every so often there seems to be these famous names with familiarity that come in cycles. There was all the Seth’s and all the Kristen variations and of course, Dermot and Dylan.

*****

Heard the best porn name on James Corden: Bonkers Eddie.

*****

This month in sex offender news: Deshawn Watson has been accused of sexual assault.** Alabama Shakes drummer Steven Johnson was arrested for child abuse.** I see people also talking again about a 2018 revelation. It is said that Brendan Fraser’s career was sabotaged after being sexually assaulted by the ex- President of the Hollywood foreign press, Philip Berk in 2003. In Berk’s memoir, he claims it was a ‘joke.” Another reason he was out of work was the surgeries after the Mummy movies. The stunt work caused him to have a laminectomy, partial knee replacement, back and vocal cord surgeries over a 7 year period.

*****

Hackers broke into Tesla with live footage from the factory floors. There have been large outbreaks from the Tesla plants.

*****

Please stop admiring people who would kill you for profit. – Mike Monteiro

*****

Biden once told Putin that he had no soul and Putin apparently told him, “We understand each other. “ Biden also called him a killer.

*****

Death penalty for abortion? Yea, that makes sense.

*****

Bats don’t recognize borders and China won’t let anyone really know where it all began. Bat dung collectors test samples all the time. Thus far they have not had one positive test. The World Health Organization is in a quandary about their report because of China’s lack of compliance.

*****

Are U ready for debauchery and fun?? I After all the restraints that SOME of us have shown, I predict that 100 years after the Roaring 20’s, they will be back with a vengeance. The crazies who want all to be normal already.. wait!! Save lives and after the vaccines are all handed out, look out!!!** Wouldn’t it be funny to put that old 20’s type narration over today’s headlines? **Kudos to the wrestlers in Mexico who were forcing masks on people.** Before the end od March, I have since heard others prediction of the Roaring 20’s.

*****

$143 billion has been spent in Afghanistan and a recent investigation shows that a lot of that was mismanaged. A lot of what was supposed to come with that, never happened.

*****

The film, The Last Blockbuster made me sentimental for my old job managing video stores. No wonder other endeavors never seemed fulfilling. I did hate the dusting but that was a small price to pay. I will admit, also, like Kevin Smith admitted in the film, there was some sex in the video store. Good times!

*****

The Atlanta massage parlor killings come at a time when our family just found out some secrets. A bunch of the males in a particular part of the fam who claim religious superiority and love of Trump were recently seen in a new light. The patriarch of said fam had taught his son and son in law to visit strip clubs and less reputable massage parlors on the quiet.** There has been a 150% increase in Asian hate crimes.** Bill Maher mentioned the Christian and Muslim shooters and then said, “Today an atheist went crazy and rearranged his books.”** The body of one of the Atlanta victims, Daoyou Feng has yet to be claimed.

*****

Imagine calling yourself a Christian and thinking following Jesus means giving people weapons and denying them water. –Mike Jollett

*****

Face the Nation has become the Covid Report. There are other things going on. Not to mention that until there are enough available vaccines, what is the point? When will my elderly Mother be eligible because so far, it has been a no go, no matter what we do. Let’s worry about the people who do not want it after we vaccinate the ones that do.

*****

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill to grant Dr.’s and medical professionals the right to refuse patients based on “moral, ethical or religious grounds.”

*****

Brian Kemp signed a 95 page Georgia GOP voter suppression bill.

*****

I can give a person waiting in line to vote in Georgia a gun but not a drink of water. –E. Jean Carroll

*****

Bernie Sanders is trying to lower the age for Medicare to 55.

*****

Are there large versions of Zingers or Suzy Q’s?? It seems like Hostess would make a killing on birthday or wedding cakes that looked like the lil’ snack cakes. Just think of it, giant ding dongs!!

*****

Virginia abolished the death penalty which brings the total of states without capital punishment is 23.

*****

The film Nobody with Bob Odenkirk was # 1 with a $6.7 mil debut.

*****

Riverdale will be back for season 6. Any program that shows homage to NFB 418, I’m in.

*****

The Sharon Osborne story brings up the old dilemma; Can we separate the person who’s never done anything from the work they’ve never done? –Frank Conniff**

*****

Yaphet Kptto helped Michael Moore expose taxi drivers refusal to pick up black customers on TV Nation in 1993.

*****

Arrested Development could never be the same without Mama Bluth. I never thought I would say this but I hope there is never another Arrested. Without Jessica Walter, it could never be the same.

*****

R.I.P. John Burks, Richie Tienken, Tony Hendon, Bunny Wailer, Bill C. Davis, Barbara Rickles, Isidore Mankofsky,Yaphet Kotto, Atlanta shooting victims, Beverly Cleary, Glynn Lunney, Larry Mcmurtry, George Segal, Larry the cat and Jessica Walter.

0 notes

licheninsect · 3 years

Text

The political amplifier

If you really believe in democracy, you can’t hack democracy. But if you don’t believe in democracy—how can you hack democracy? Easily—and legally.

You just have to build a political amplifier. An electrical amplifier adds gain to an input signal, emitting the same output signal with a higher energy. For a political amplifier, the input signal is collective will and the output signal is collective impact. It’s very cool and very legal.

In English: a political amplifier just means making your voters as powerful as possible. There are plenty of perfectly legal, but weird and counterintuitive, ways to do this. We are hacking the rules—not hacking the voting machines. Are you up for it? Of course, we would never even dream of doing anything illegal.

Of course, the whole spiritual principle of democracy is that everyone deserves power. Moreover, everyone deserves the same amount of power. While no one actually believes this fake idea, your enemies always want you to believe it as much as possible. They, of course, believe they deserve all the power. And they like, kind of seem to—have it. Legally, of course.

You don’t know enough French to express what you think of these people. Perhaps, as Xenophon said of the Helots’ attitude toward their Spartan lords, you’d eat them raw. At this point? You’d eat them rotten. Culturally, at least, I am one of them—so I don’t find this a super pleasant situation myself. (I am just doing, like, the Coriolanus thing.)

But whenever you start thinking about how to make this happen, preferably without any cannibalism at all, you fall down a bullshit mine from which you never emerge—because you believe in democracy. In fact, as hardcore a MAGA man as you may be, your dream is to restore democracy. It would be easier to restore the Stuarts—literally. Not that that would be easy (or ideal)—but it wouldn’t be fundamentally impossible.

Because you take democracy seriously, you think about it in ineffective ways. You generally think only about principles (more highbrow) or personalities (more lowbrow). If you are really a total bowtie sperg, you might even think about policies. Your enemies pretend to be thinking the same way—but in fact are only thinking about power.

Which is easily seen by how fast they turn on a dime—hardcore anarchists on Friday, by Tuesday they can be two-thirds of the way to full Pinochet—a sort of ethical Tesla, in “ludicrous mode.” It’s almost too impressive.

There’s a new thing where they pretend to be Christians, which is just embarrassing. And if they believed in anything at all, which they obviously don’t, the last thing they would believe in would be actual democracy—which they call “politics.”

Their view—which they barely bother to hide—is that politicians should have no real power at all, like the Queen of England. Hearing them screech the sanctity of sacred democracy is like listening to a crocodile lecture interminably on the virtues of salad. Everything is special pleading. You don’t know why he wants you to go into the garden—but you can guess.

But you are not pretending—which is why you always lose. You thought you were going to get tired of winning. Might you by any chance be starting to get tired of losing?

In that case, maybe you should consider hacking democracy, instead of believing in it. That seems to work pretty well for them. Come with me if you want to live.

Principles of political amplification

To embark upon the path of the political amplifier, you need to not only want as much power as possible—you must believe it is your duty to capture and hold all the power. That seems to work pretty well for them. Why would you try to throttle the gain on your own amplifier? What do you think politics is? What?

Of course, a political amplifier is completely legal under the Geneva conventions. It’s just a social network—just an app, really. You could certainly use it to help break the law. The same is true of a telephone. (Not breaking election laws, in specific, will take the assistance of lawyers who bill at four figures an hour. Suck it up and pay them.)

Your input signal is the collective will of some set of people. Without an amplifier, this signal will be too weak to have any impact at all—like connecting your VCR directly to the speakers.

If you connect 75 million VCRs (hello, fellow boomers!) to one speaker, you probably will hear something. Is it loud enough? Was it loud enough? Did it even sound good? If the answers to all these questions are no—you might want to try using an amplifier.

A supple example

For example, a “lobby” in our present system of government is a kind of amplifier. Without a ferret lobby, the collective will of ferret owners has no meaning. No one cares about you, ferret owners! Your little smelly weasel things are just gross: half rat, half snake, and all vermin... should any speak this way, the National Ferret Council will not rest until it has shut their lying mouths. I mean—corrected them in a press release.

Your output signal is the collective impact of a group of people. What can they make happen, by working together to make it happen?

For example, many states remain wildly prejudiced against ferrets. Their anti-ferret laws seem to have been written by legislators who were at best pardonably ignorant— or in the outright pay of the corrupt anti-ferret lobby. Politics is a dog-eat-dog world, kid—and that goes for ferrets too. You got to pay to play the game, capische?

So by exercising the collective will to perform the coordinated individual action of sending a check to the National Ferret Council, the set of ferret owners buys fair, or fairer, legislation for the friends of ferrets and the ferrets they love. The system works! No individual ferret owner could take any useful action at all; nor could the collective of all ferret owners take any useful action, without the amplifier.

Measuring political input

The universal formula for collective energy is one you might have seen before:

E=mc^2

Political energy is mass (quantity of human capacity) times commitment (what these humans are willing to do) times cohesion (how well-organized they are).

Mass is simple: headcount scaled by ability. Obviously, no two human beings are equal. And some humans are much more useful for certain tasks than others. (I’m very sorry if this comes as a surprise to you.) However, for the purpose of generating power—more is better, of course.

Commitment is how much your humans are willing to put into the cause. 0 is nothing. 1 is voting, once every few years. 2 is a write-in vote or a campaign contribution. 10 is a suicide bomber.

Cohesion is the capacity of a group of humans for intelligent coordinated action. 0 is every man for himself. 1 is a slogan or a party label. 2 is a party line or publication. 10 is a fanatical robotic cult.

Your democratic bias always makes you want to think that E=m—and an m not scaled to ability. This isn’t necessarily wrong, or right. For example, ISIS showed significant success with very low mass, but very high cohesion and commitment.

In general, any modern population has extremely low ratings on both commitment and cohesion, especially commitment. We live in an age of low-engagement casual politics. Many political approaches that fail regularly, but are regularly tried since they worked in the past, assume levels of commitment and cohesion that existed only in the past.

By the standards of his great-grandparents, the modern American citizen is utterly disconnected from politics and would never consider following any kind of real leader. Small wonder his real political power—as measured by the real personal power of the politicians he elects—was also euchred out of his hip-pocket as he dozed like a hippo.

On the other hand: there are, like, 75 million of him. The problem can’t be unsolvable. We just have to think it through clearly from first principles.

Measuring political output

We see four targets of collective political action: in order of effectiveness, personality, principle, policy, and position.

The target of personality is for the most part the level of politics today. The personality voter picks a politician with whom he feels a parasocial bond. Through the imaginary telepathy of this bond, a victory that makes the politician important—or purportedly important—makes the voter feel important.

The stake of most personality elections is this claim on meaning. The political formula of the personality election is that the state will take on the personality of the politician—the “Trump administration”—which means that the voter, through the parasocial bond, has become in a weird “Being John Malkovich” sense the President himself. This kind of politics is only slightly more real than “supporting” a football team.

The next target up is the goal of principle—or, pejoratively, ideology. The formula of the principle election is that the politician represents an ideology. Every politician being a philosopher, or at least having a deeply felt philosophy, he parades this principle before the voters. If they share the same conviction, they can rule by electing him. In office, he will make the shared principle the ideology of the state.

As with the personality election, it would be going too far to say that a principle election never works. But it is no longer the 18th century; John Adams is no longer in the building; and few of our politicians believe or even think anything. Where they do, “the best lack all conviction / while the worst are full of passionate energy.”

With the target of policy—stuff the government actually does—we enter the level of effective political action. Trump is a personality; nationalism is a principle; building the wall is a policy. Getting the policy you want is a success by definition.

But how much of a success is it? Power has given you a fish. You have not taken any power to fish. Anything that is given can be taken away. In a financial sense, policy wins are the dividend of power; but any serious player has to be after the capital.

The premier target of collective action is position (as in field position). A victory in position is any victory that makes further victories easier. Position is the true capital of power. The highest form of position, stem position, wins further victories in position itself. Below it is leaf position, which generates only policy victories.

There are two kinds of victories in position: zero-sum and positive-sum. In a positive-sum victory, you build power, but no one directly loses power. In a zero-sum victory, you take power away from the enemy. Obviously, a zero-sum victory is better.

Zero-sum victories are particularly desirable because they are measurable. A simple body count measures the number of enemy jobs eliminated. It is not a win to fire an enemy if he will just be replaced with another—politics is anything but mere cruelty.

(And in the end, anyone who loses their job not through their own fault, but through what is essentially an act of war if not an act of God, has to be especially well taken care of. Both in politics and war, your true enemies are structures, not people.)

We often see a mighty mass movement, with a genuinely enormous support base, that not only has never gotten anyone fired, but has no idea how to get anyone fired. Of course, positive-sum victories in position can also create jobs for friends; but unless these jobs were taken from enemies, the power to protect them is not demonstrated.

Reviewing this scale of political action, we see immediately that we cannot expect the contemporary American right to accomplish anything, because at maximum power it barely gets into the policy space.

In position, it is totally powerless. It does not have its own official and/or quasi-official institutions, cannot create any, and cannot even touch the institutions of its enemy. When I was in elementary school, the “Reagan Revolution” produced some headcount reductions in USG. It is not clear that this had any particular impact on history—and it is the last time anything like that happened.

As someone once said: you’re going to need a bigger boat. That can be done. But it will require leaving some of your old illusions ashore.

Designing the amplifier

While everyone wants more mass, the engineering variables we can actually control are commitment and cohesion. Engineering commitment is very hard—it is hard to imagine an Amerikaner ISIS, suicide bombers and all. Can we just—not go there?

Engineering cohesion, however, is an interesting problem that seems worth a look. We are pretty good at cohesion these days—since we have apps. The traditional approach to the problem of producing cohesion in an electoral democracy is the political party. Therefore the intersection which defines our design space is both a party and an app.

The problem with the concept of a political party is that this concept is ritualized into our political system. When we imagine creating a party, we think of the Constitution Party, or the Green Party—but it makes no sense to be a Party in this formal sense.

Here are three historical analogies for the kind of “party” that is a true amplifier. One: the Communist Party USA, in the 1930s. Two: the Muslim Brotherhood, today. Three: the Iron Guard, in Romania, in the 1930s.

The last two are—to be frank—pretty weird and scary, so let’s focus on the first. Of course, everyone cool was a Commie in the “Red Decade,” or at least a fellow traveler. Who was cooler than Dorothy Parker? I’ll wait while you think about it.

Engineering principles of a real party

A so-called “party” in the “Green Party” sense is an evolutionarily castrated version of the real thing—almost a kind of vaccine. Let’s talk about a proper virus.

First: a real political party is exclusive. You cannot just decide that you are a member, any more than you can just decide that you’re a Hell’s Angel. You have to apply. And once you’re in, you have to keep paying your dues—in money, in kind, or both.

Second: a real political party is disciplined. As a member of the party, all your political actions are through the party and for the party. You do not make your own independent political choices; you delegate your political autonomy to the party. Of course, you may contribute to decision-making within the party.

Third: a real political party is anonymous. While the party, if out of power, should not intentionally come into conflict with power, sometimes such conflict is unavoidable. Members should be as safe as possible from daytime consequences of their party life.

Elections and party discipline

As a party member, you vote the straight party line in every election. Period. Why else would you join the party? What else is a party? What? We’re not the Republicans here.

Political participation is fun and meaningful—but only within the party. Internally, there may be an uninhibited discussion—even an internal election, essentially a private primary—over what candidate the party should vote for. But the party has one vote. (Of course, “fellow travelers” are free to follow this vote, without being party members.)

This cohesive unanimity makes the party into a bloc vote—which is the main source of its political gain. A cohesive voting bloc is much more powerful than its individuals.

Consider the position of a bloc with 10% of the vote, in a binary election. Perhaps the bloc cannot pick one of the two candidates. 10% can swing any close election, though—so both candidates are likely to bid strongly for the support of the bloc.

Furthermore, because of its loss of cohesion and commitment over time, our electoral system is full of low-turnout elections. Often, a small but highly disciplined bloc can overwhelm the last civic diehards of the old system in some primary or minor election. (Of course, the bloc registers its voters in whatever official “party” is most useful—it is never its own “third party.”)

If all else fails, the party can least make a little splash with a bloc write-in vote, usually for comedic or other media-stunt purposes. What if “Bronze Age Pervert” racked up even—2% of some election? Would that not be a show of defiance and strength, in the face of the bluehaired longhouse state? Politics is always and everywhere a work of art.

Elected officials and party discipline

Eventually, the party will start winning elections. Party discipline does not end with the election—all actions of the elected official are under party control (assuming the official wants to be reelected on the party slate).

For example, if the party controls seats in a legislature, these seats will vote in a bloc. Anyone who deviates from the bloc even once will be off the ticket at the next election.

Of course, this means that party officials are interchangeable—the individual barely matters, though ideally they are charismatic and competent. The task of vetting these individuals, which formerly rested on the shoulders of the voters, now belongs to the party—which can actually be equipped to do it. When elected officials can hire a staff, the staffers are actually party staffers. There is no independent authority anywhere.

Party direction and governance

The purpose of every action the party takes is to improve the position of the party. Any question of personality, principle or even policy is generally irrelevant.

A real political party is a political amplifier. The purpose of a political amplifier is to gain power. How much power? As much as it can gain. Any party operating on any other principle is defective—its real function is to neutralize its own supporters.

Obviously, the maximum possible objective of a party is unconditional sovereignty. The party, capturing the state, becomes the state. Even if this goal is unrealistic, any party that at least knows what it would do if it beat this final boss has an advantage: since it has no cap on its potential power, its expected outcome is higher. (Also: do you think we don’t have a one-party state now?)

It does not matter how the party governs itself. That said, the principles presented here are essentially Lenin’s idea of democratic centralism. The ideal party governance mechanism is Lenin, but less angry, plus some kind of accountability mechanism—a hard problem we won’t get into today.

Remember, Dorothy Parker was a Leninist—so you can be too.

The 21st-century version

Everything above could be implemented without any IT—aside from a hand-cranked printing press in an attic full of empty wine bottles, cats, drugs, revolutionary posters, and casually discarded lingerie.

But today, of course, a party is literally a social network—which makes it an app. The revolutionary attic has become a gleaming server room—with a little bell that rings every time someone gets their party card. Or rather, their party account—or even their party token.

In the democracy of the future, you have only one decision to make: which party app to install on your phone. Sometimes the app will tell you to go to a polling place and vote. It will show you a sample ballot, which you manually enter into the voting machine. Other than this tedious but necessary process, you don’t have to think about politics.

But the app is not just a voting app. It is a social network. Specifically, it is a powerful form of social network: a high-trust social network.

A dinner party is a group of people you trust enough to let into your house, and even drink there. A political party is not really different from a dinner party. Fundamentally, you trust these people more because you know they agree with you. There are all kinds of productive ways to use this trust.

Today’s political social networks, like Parler and Gab, are crude horseless-carriage versions of this digital party. They are built as mere Twitter clones, which makes no sense at all—while these are networks for outcast shitposters who want to own the libs, you simply can’t own the libs where there are no libs. If you want to shitpost, underwater frogman guerrilla warfare is your only respectable option. In the end, it still may be the shitposters who save the world—but only the respectable ones.

A social network of trusted people who agree with you is much more powerful and valuable than an information superhighway devoted to sharing witty little remarks. What can a real digital party do?

What a real digital party can do

First, the party is your primary information conduit. It furnishes you with a complete narrative of historical present reality.

This is not just a matter of a feed full of shitposts and unverified rumors. Nor is it a feed full of wire reports. Your party dues go to pay journalists—or people who do that same job, anyway. These journalists are the party’s eyes and ears; they see the world through the party’s perspective; they, not you, decide what is true and false.

This journalism apparatus is the party’s brain. Since the party’s journalists are always right, you as a party member are always right. Party journalism has a pleasant tone because it is not meant to attack the normie world—it is only for party members, and only so they can observe and understand that world. There is no harm if it leaks out, since it will only impress normies and make them wonder about joining the party.

The party is its own end-to-end media company. When you watch news from normie world, you can only roll your eyes and laugh. Still, it is important to understand what the normies are thinking and why, so the party has a whole division of normie studies—in case you see some CNN in an airport, or something, and want to know what they’re even talking about.

Second, the party is your primary social conduit. It knows where you live and who lives near you. It will organize you into informal local friend groups. It also gives you local as well as central news—it becomes the equivalent of Nextdoor or Citizen. But without people who don’t agree with you telling you what you can’t say. Single and looking for love? Or even just fun? Neighbor, you don’t want to date a normie. That’s just trouble.

The party provides social structure for your whole life. You’ll work out at a party gym; you’ll go on group tours with a party guide; if you get sad, you’ll call a party helpline; if you lose your job and you’re broke, you can talk to someone in the party. Everything you get for being a Mormon, you should get from the party—even if it costs as much.

Third, the party is an important professional asset. If you need a job or an employee, it is always best to talk to your friends in the party. Why would you want to work with a normie? For 40 hours a week? What? I mean, unless there’s absolutely no choice… In Hollywood in the ‘30s, the CPUSA was almost a screenwriter’s guild—to work, you had to be in the party. Nobody sees anything wrong with that now, so it must be cool.

Fourth, besides voting, a digital party can coordinate all kinds of demonstrations and other peaceful, friendly and beautiful democratic action.

A conventional demonstration takes a lot of organizing, but an app can notify you on the dot where to be, when to be there, what to wear and what to bring. It can even extend the concept of a “demonstration” as we know it—currently just a loosely clumped rabble of badly-dressed people, carrying ugly, unpleasant handmade signs.

In fact a true demonstration is always and everywhere an artistic performance. The etymology of the word reveals the nature of the exercise: the purpose is to demonstrate, meaning show, the power of the party. The purpose of every performance is to impress.

While a demonstration of mass is impressive, a demonstration of cohesion is also quite impressive—especially if it is colorful and fun. For example, uniforms are good—not ugly, frightening camo, but what about a Union Army Zouave uniform from 1861? China can make a copy of anything. No one would be scared by a perfect platoon of Zouaves, Napoleonic Hussars, etc, performing classical drill maneuvers impromptu in Golden Gate Park. It would certainly be both colorful and fun.

An app is pretty good for crowd cohesion. It can tell everyone exactly where to be at any time, and track where they actually are. It can have a control panel for a party leader that lets the leader call up a well-trained crowd of any size, then drag them around on the map like a game of “Snake.” A controlled crowd is much more useful. For instance, if Trump had had such a crowd-control app, he could have easily directed his supporters away from swarming the Capitol—and he wouldn’t have the troubles he has now, as my Jewish grandpa used to say.

But is this realistic?

Hell, I don’t know. All I know is: it’s not impossible. It also won’t implement itself. Also, everything that is obviously possible is subtly impossible, making it a trap.

I’m not even a prole myself. I’m doing perfectly fine in perhaps the most evil economy in human history, perhaps excepting late Rome. No one has even persecuted me, very much, yet. All I know is: the proles are not doing fine. They are getting stomped. And their only way to stop getting stomped is to get as much power as they can. Which means designing, constructing and inhabiting the most powerful political amplifier.

When we internalize this model and look back at lower-class politics as it is today—culminating in the disastrous, yet hilarious, dead-end of MAGA sacking the Capitol— we can say that, where the political amplifier is a system of collective action, the old way of politics—taking democracy seriously—is more a system of collective acting out.

The fundamental purpose of acting out is internal, not external. The performance is not optimized to change the outer world, but to satisfy the inner world. In particular, effective external action involves a lot of following, whereas satisfying internal action involves only leading. So everyone becomes their own leader, and is largely useless.

Can proles be taught to change these habits? I don’t know. It certainly won’t be easy. I don’t see anything else they can do, tough.

#mencius moldbug #curtis yarvin #gray mirror

1 note · View note

blushdressshop · 3 years

Text

Greyhound 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts

Delay the Election and Suggested That He Will Not Leave Office If He Loses His Is Not Normal and We Must Never Treated like It Is under This Administration Authoritarianism Has Taken Root in Our Country I and My Family and Many of Yours Know the Insidious Way Authoritarianism Destroys the Democracy Decency and Humanity As Long As I Am Here I Will Work with Progressives with Moderates and Yes with Conservatives to Preserve This Nation from a Greyhound 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts Threat That so Many Although Heroes Fought and Died to Defeat This President Is Not Just a Threat to Our Democracy but by Rejecting Science He Has Put Our Lives and Health in Jeopardy Trump Has Attacked Doctors and Scientists Trying to Protect Us from the Pandemic While Refusing to Take Strong Action to Produce the Masks Gowns and Gloves Our Healthcare Workers Desperately Need Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned Trump Golfs His Actions Planned This Pandemic Resulting in over 170 000 Deaths and a Nation Still Unprepared to Protect Its People Furthermore Trumps Negligence Has. Requiring kids to wear masks in any public place like schools and stores you are taking their one and perhaps only hope of being found if taking their face and the image that she was referring to is right here these kids they all got masks on her face on a phases and you can tell sodas and truth that shit is truth that you penalize the grammar I can’t really let you are because I’m stream in your streaming live on YouTube to so if you want to see the slideshow to get over to you to set my citizen and channel and you actually see the images and on putting up so sorry about than anybody else on his grand I want to watch this get over you to citizenmanYouTube. Coronavirus almost compact major pressure country across the world have struggled with nursing home nursing homes and crown working strategy to improve quality nursing staff quality owners from family condition Tory parties nursing home from providing care to their paperwork we overhauled the control to ensure inspectors were actually resulted in a number of the information on the quality nursing home clear when you cry my very Linux requires nursing homes to inform families to operate a nursing home also report that information directly to important to efforts around surveillance going forward we opened the country increased reimbursement from that you might nursing home critical for torrent monitoring and surveillance efforts start We coronavirus controlling nursing is normally years showing information nursing homes we try to protect our vulnerable seniors post weekly calls with nursing homes as part ultimately life nursing homes and work going nursing homes called upon local leaders to support nursing homes

Source: Greyhound 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts

Greyhound 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts, Hoodie, Sweater, Longsleeve T-Shirt For Men and Women

Greyhound 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts

See more: Life Is Simple Like Drink Fuck Oregon Ducks T-Shirt

Premium Trending This Summer Season will Presents Who Love:

This is a Greyhound 5 Things You Should Know About This Woman Dog Mom She Loves Dogs More Than Human Tee Shirts show 100 only dumb people believe in it the whole thing is also even the stimulus bullshit that going back and forth to give you the sole cost 600 what you think it’s about is just a show for the dome for distraction why they give you the New World I what is right to smirk think anybody dumb can fool a lot of people but I tell you if the world was only dumb people there would already crash the shit already EME but you better wake up there’s a lot of people can see to the fall Creek and asked why do you have to put off so many psi ops to try to convince these people that they really pay attention to this work on this one face that get in greater you never get it it’s a hoax 100 in will look at the neck at this one people would and if I look in Nick you think is a real woman yes and then running for president and in dropout cancer that so called election running and then end up being the vice president running for the vice president right now it Biden all you think that happen you. And eight year old beautiful girl killed in Atlanta when her mom made a wrong turn into the chop zone there you watch my interview with Horace Lorenzo Anderson Senior he lost his 19 year old son in the summer of love zone when the mayor out there allowed the anarchist takeover city blocks and police precincts we now know about Kemal Harris’s view I’ve mentioned it to my opening monologue Joe Davies try to walk it back say police then become the enemy and he’s all for reallocating funds away from the police and Kemal Harris pray the LAPD for the of the cuts in that city 1 billion kind New York and it’s become a disaster your reaction to this whole deep on the police after madness is going on the country well it’s ridiculous and we should do the opposite of the funding we should help the police more they have been taken gets up and take it out and it’s it’s very sad that we talked to the governor if you look at Oregon and and you look at what’s going on out there were willing to Alpena we need is supposed to. It Susie Buckingham her aunt was already guessing she will delay as long as she can history CII just yet he can just keep running running out the clock until January if you don’t even have to get to the new president on the 20th usually to get to and a new potentially union new sandwiches like January 3 Riverside we are disappointed but over it’s not over in the past Democrats a lot of energy behind that it’s just a Democrats the reading look at that we look at that face of 50 what’s that what’s what’s is proud resistance kind of on his word for it to try to slow things down trying to not sabotage best just in a tweet to Schumer good good good in Lexington hospice and okay above the reading what aren’t the Democrats going to do Maryland we’ve been through the fire we will come out of the fire with victory yes we shall oh yes we shall delay delay yet about the reading star battery delay hold still hold still hold still hold still that’s what hope is best about the reading delay delay delay base of the reading See Other related products: Heart Love For Dad Hydrocephalus Awareness Peach Ribbon Warrior T-Shirt Hoodie Sweatshirt

#Greyhound #5 #Things #You #Should #Know #About #This #Woman #Dog

0 notes

nolimitsongrace · 3 years

Video

youtube

Developing a Gratitude Attitude

26 Reasons to Be ThankfulNovember 1, 2020

If there were ever a time when we needed to focus on being thankful—it’s now. As Thanksgiving Day approaches, let’s take a step back from the temptation to grumble about the state of our world and magnify the good things God has given us to enjoy.

As we’ve learned from so many others before us in the Bible, complaining and failing to be thankful never yield good results. Gratitude and praise, on the other hand, are tightly connected to spiritual blessings. Thankfulness paves the way for healing and miracles. Thankfulness improves relationships, increases contentment, wards off depression, reduces stress, promotes generosity and positivity, and makes you more likable. Most important of all—it shows the world what God is really like.

No matter what is going on, there is ALWAYS something to the thankful for—many somethings, in fact! Every day, we can choose to be thankful, and not just as a general feeling, but directing our gratitude to the One who is “the giver of every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17). In no particular order, here are 26 reasons (of thousands) to be thankful this Thanksgiving season and every day!

1. Salvation

If you are a born-again Christian, you can be thankful every day that you’ve been saved by the blood of Jesus! The blood of Jesus has blotted out all your sins, redeemed you from every curse, and rescued you from the powers of darkness. Now, that’s something to shout about!

2. Furry Friends

Dogs, cats, guinea pigs or any other cuddly pet bring so much joy to life. Be thankful for your furry friends. They can bring a smile to your face no matter how your day is going, they love you unconditionally, and they’re funny!

3. A Home

It might be easy to take it for granted, but having a home is a HUGE blessing and something to be thankful for every day. Not only does a home provide shelter, but also comfort, safety and a place to make memories. Today, be thankful for your home and praise God for providing one for you.

4. Family

Family can get messy sometimes. They can hurt or disappoint you. But those who work to be a blessing are a real joy to the heart. Focus today on being thankful for family members who stand by you through the good and challenging times. Be grateful that God has given you an even bigger family of believers to walk through life with and spur each other on to greatness.

5. Good Health

Even if you’re believing for healing in one area of your body, you can be thankful for good health in the rest of your body! In fact, praising God for good eyesight, a strong heart, good hearing, strong muscles or anything else that is right in your body will increase your faith for healing wherever it’s needed.

Watch Kenneth and Gloria Copeland teach you why faith works in a grateful heart.

6. Church

If you weren’t grateful for your church and the right to attend church, the events of this past year have likely changed that. We should have such thankful hearts that we can gather together with other believers to lift high the Name of Jesus! There are so many blessings to be found in church.

7. Your Country

No matter what is going on in your country, you can be thankful for your citizenship there! Democracy, capitalism and the right to vote are all things we should be so thankful for in America, in particular. No matter where we live, we have the honor and privilege of praying for our own country—the one God has called us to steward.

8. God’s Word

God’s Word is the most precious gift we could ever receive. If you have a Bible, you are blessed to have the Word of God—His promises, His instructions, His blessings and His commands all wrapped in one life-giving book. Be thankful for God’s Word and that you have access to the words of the Most High every day.

9. God’s Creation

Beautiful green trees, fluffy clouds, the bright blue sky, and shimmering stars in the night sky. There are so many reasons to be thankful for God’s creation. You can see Him in the mountains, the crashing ocean waves, the sunrises and sunsets. They were all created for our enjoyment. His power and majesty, and the depth of His love are all seen in His creation.

10. Good Food

God, in His goodness, created good food for our enjoyment. It’s amazing how much a good cup of coffee or a slice of decadent chocolate cake can enhance your day! What a blessing it is to have access to nutritious food and even an occasional treat.

11. Holidays

Celebrations bring so much joy to life! The food, the decorations, the air of excitement are all things we look forward to throughout the year. Turkey dinner, pumpkin spice, Christmas cookies, Christmas lights, presents under the tree and that warm feeling you get. We can be thankful for holidays, the freedom to celebrate and all the wonderful things they bring to our lives during the season.

12. Marriage

What a blessing marriage is! No, it isn’t easy. Yes, it takes a lot of work. But the rewards of your efforts are unending. If you’ve been focusing on the flaws of your spouse lately, take some time today to write down a list of all the wonderful things about your husband or wife. Then, be sure to give it to him or her! It will remind you both why your relationship is so powerful in the Kingdom.

13. Children

Psalm 127:3 (NKJV) says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” Jesus loved children for the same reason many of us do—they are innocent, full of faith, ready to believe the best about people and situations, and full of excitement and wonder. Children can change your perspective with one simple statement or a heartfelt giggle. The way they view the world is so positive and fresh. Today, let’s be thankful for children—not only for our own children and grandchildren but for all those we are blessed to have in the world.

14. A Job

Sometimes it’s easy to take for granted what it means to have a job. It can be tempting to grumble or complain about the demands, a boss or a lack of recognition. But a job is a great blessing from the Lord. Next time you’re tempted to complain about your job, remember how many people are without a job—a means of providing the necessities for themselves and their families—and be thankful for your job.

15. Forgiveness

Whenever you repent to the Lord for any sin—great or small—doesn’t a sense of relief and gratitude wash over you? The devil wants to tattoo every slip-up right on your soul for all eternity. But God, in His goodness, said no and instead sent Jesus to wash them away as if they never happened. It’s a good day to be thankful for forgiveness—today and every day—because, above all else, it sets us totally and completely free.

16. Hope

Maybe you’re saying, “I don’t have hope right now.” But hope is a choice. Hope isn’t just wanting something or wishing for it—it is supernatural expectation.

No matter what, we always have hope. Our hope is found in Jesus, who redeemed us from the curse, cleansed us of all sin, and set us free into a life we are to live abundantly. No matter what is going on in the world or in our personal lives, we always have hope in Him. And that is something to be thankful for.

17. Peace That Passes Understanding

We have something the rest of the world doesn’t: peace. And not just any peace, but a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). That means, when others are panicking, we’re relaxed and certain of our victory. What others fear doesn’t even faze us. That’s a peace that is beyond any human’s ability to understand. It just doesn’t make sense to them. But they want to have it. God is so good. We can be thankful for something all the world would love to have—peace that passes understanding.

18. Healing

Glory to God, healing belongs to us as children of God! We can be thankful for healing because through the blood of Jesus, by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). We can live and walk in divine health and healing all the days of our lives. We have power and authority over sickness and death. That is not only exciting but something to be thankful for today!

19. Recreation

Isn’t it wonderful to be blessed with the ability to spend time doing things you really enjoy? Vacationing, hiking, kayaking, shopping, skiing, knitting, golfing, spending time with friends or anything else you enjoy is a real blessing of the Lord. Recreation is so important in our lives and can refresh us for the work ahead. Be thankful for recreation, and be sure to participate in fun activities on a regular basis!

20. Laughter

When is the last time you had a good laugh? Maybe it’s been too long! Laughter is not only fun, but it is proven to be good for your physical and mental health. It prevents disease and strengthens your spirit. Laughter really is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22)! Take some time to be thankful for laughter and work to incorporate more laughter into your life each day. You’ll be thankful for the benefits of laughter for years to come.

Check out 5 Surprising Health Benefits of Laughter HERE.

21.Wisdom

Wisdom is a game changer. It makes good decisions, it pleases God, it treats others well, it always seeks the truth, and it isn’t wise in its own eyes. In short, wisdom will give you great success in every area of life. But wisdom isn’t available to just anyone. God says He gives wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5). We have access to Wisdom Himself, which is beyond any knowledge the world could ever acquire. We can be thankful for wisdom because it is a rare treasure, indeed.

22. Love

Love is the most powerful force in all the universe. There is nothing on earth that love can’t conquer. And we have access to it every minute of every day! Because God is Love, if you are born again, you have access to everything that goes along with this powerful force. Love fuels our faith, love covers over sin, love forgives, love endures, love triumphs, love perseveres, love heals, love delivers, love saves, love comforts. Love never fails. So be thankful for the love of God, the love of others, and the love we can express to others.

23. Friends

Godly friends are a blessing. They encourage, listen, make you laugh, and if they really love you, call you out in areas where you could improve. Walking through life with wise and caring friends makes you a better person and improves your health, too! If you haven’t expressed thanks to your friends for who they are in your life, today is the day! And be thankful to God for bringing them into your life.

24. New Opportunities

Every day is a new opportunity! God opens doors for His people all the time. All we have to do is obey to Him, fellowship with Him and seize the moment when it comes. Be thankful for every new opportunity in your life—a new ministry, a new friendship, a new job or a new chance to bless someone else.

25. Prayer

Communion with the Father is a sacred and precious line of communication with the Most High. Prayer is a comfort anytime, any day and in any situation. When those who are not saved face trials, they face them alone. But we have a line to heaven that opens the door to supernatural answers, intervention and MIRACLES. Don’t make prayer a ritual or something to check off your to-do list. Be thankful that you can talk to God about anything and everything.

26. Who God Is

Imagine being in this world alone—no one standing with you no matter what, no matter where, and no matter how long. But we don’t have to imagine such a hopeless scenario because we have Almighty God. Above every other reason listed, be thankful for who God is. He is your Comforter, your Healer, your Deliverer, your Defender, your Strong Tower, your Corrector, your Teacher, your Very Present Help in Time of Need—to name only a few. God is a good God, and He calls you His friend. That’s something to be thankful for more than anything else you could ever have in this world.

These 26 reasons to be thankful will renew your attitude of gratitude this Thanksgiving! The devil will always try to keep you focused on the negative in life, but when you refuse his invitation to grumble, and instead focus on being thankful, you will be happier, healthier and in a perfect position for breakthrough.

Watch Kenneth and Gloria Copeland teach you why it’s so important to have an attitude of gratitude.

0 notes