Politics – Page 23 – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

I Don’t Think We Need A Debate

Why have a debate when we already know what’s going to happen?

The hype machines are running full tilt for next week, whipping up a frenzy of sound and fury that will eventually signify something, but in the end nothing. I’m not talking about the annual run up to Apple’s announcements of new iPhones or the kickoff to the NFL season, both of which generate enough hype to overwhelm their respectve events. I’m talking about the debate between Kamala Harris and the decaying orange convicted felon/child rapist Donald Trump. I just don’t think we need to have a debate.

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Sure debates have been a part of political campaigns since time immemorial. It’s been accepted canon that we need to see how candidates stack up side by side and face to face. But we’ve long since wrung any substance out of these beauty contests in American politics. And this one promises to continue that trend and deepen the trench our politics has fallen into.

Let’s get real. We already know the candidates positions or lack thereof. Nothing new of substance will be announced during a debate. We also already know what the candidates will say of each other. The only suspsense is how Harris will choose to respond to the bullshit Trump will spew all over the stage. We also already know the debate moderators won’t bring up the high stakes that this election is really about. They’ll dance around January 6th and Trump’s stealing of classified material. They’ll also piroutette away from asking directly if Trump wants to dismantle the constitution and serve as a dictator.

It will be left up to the candidates to “fact check” each other, a task that offers no real benefit since Trump gish-gallopped out of Reality TV into this surreal reality we all deal with now. Perhaps, and more importantly, no matter how the debate goes we already know the spin that’s going to be spun in the hours and days after the debate. God could moderate this debate and declare a winner and it wouldn’t matter to most.

What I think also doesn’t matter and I’m guessing I’m not alone. Sure, there might be a relative handful of undecided voters who tune in to see what’s what, but call me cynical, I don’t think I want those folks deciding the future of the country given what we face and what we’re living through.

The debate will happen. Apple will also announce new iPhones and the NFL will kick off another season. It will be a week. And then we’ll move on to the next big thing to over hype, over ripen, wishing it would just be over.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

They Shoot Horse Race Journalism, Don’t They?

Close but no cigar, James Risen almost provides and answer.

James Risen, an excellent journalist, dances right up to the point of winning, but then quits dancing instead of leaving it all on the floor in an terrific piece, Why The Media Won’t Report the Truth About Trump.

Decrying the “horse race journalism” of political campaigns, he hits his marks early on saying the deplorable coverage of the twice impeached, four time indicted, once already convicted conmen fronting the GOP party feels like the press has amnesia. He wonders why the crimes and behavior everyone is aware of get such short shrift.

But then he falls back into discussing the history of political coverage from the 1960’s onward through our digital age and media business model pressures. You know that argument, the system is at fault. All of what he lays out so very well is true, especially the part about how the candidates and the campaign professionals take advantage of a the news media’s continued failings.

What he leaves out is a simple truth. The media likes it this way. Regardless of why and how the traditional news media remains stuck in a rut of its own making, it is a choice. An exhausting one surely, but a devastatingly addictive one.

All choices have consequences. As Risen points out there are and will be consequences on the media dance floor when the music stops, especially when you think you’re the one making the music. But there are also deadly dangerous ones for those of us who once thought we could rely on them.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Sunday Morning Reading

Fiction, fears, dreams, and Chicago Corruption dot this Sunday Morning’s reading.

Good Sunday morning. I’m in Memphis for a few days to participate and celebrate in The Ostrander Awards in which my recent production of The Lehman Trilogy was nominated for seven awards, so this will be an abbreviated version of Sunday Morning Reading.

Designer (3). There was lots of joy at the Democratic Conventon in Chicago nominating Kamala Harris as candidate for the presidency. There was also lots of joy (and some disappointment from the media) that this year’s convention didn’t turn into 1968 all over again. Nevertheless, Chicago is still Chicago. Rick Kogan gives us a terrific look at some of Chicago’s colorful and sordid history of corruption in Boodlers, Bandits, and Notorious Politicians. Fun read.

No One’s Ready For This by Sarah Jeong takes a look at the question we’re all going to be asking more frequently in the age of AI: “What the hell is a photo these days anyway? That question has been around for awhile, but in the wake of Google’s release of its Reimagine Tool for the Pixel 9’s Magic Editor, that question might be asked with a bit more urgency in the near future. Or not.

Joan Westenberg tells us Why We Need Fiction.

David Todd McCarty wanders into our dreams or rather how we might be able to realize them by overcoming our fear of failure in The Magic of Failure And The Perils Of The Very Good.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. You can also find me on social networks under my own name.

Sunday Morning Reading

From James Joyce to finger painting, some Apple spoiling, some Peter Falk, some politics and what will the LLMs spit out next?

“Every life is many days, day after day.” But Sundays are for reading. Here’s a mix of politics, tech, and culture into what I hope is a tasty smorgasbord of good writing and good reading. Also some good fun. Enjoy this edition of Sunday Morning Reading.

There aren’t many areas of interest I follow that don’t seem to be fraught with tension and turmoil these days. Apple, its technology and business practices, is certainly one of those. One of the best recent pieces I’ve read on how the tides of popular and populist opinion may be shifting against the folks in Cupertino is one written by Matt Birchler. Check out Is This The Slow Decline of Apple’s “Cult”?

This is a terrific read and a terrific piece of theatre and entertainment history. Wayne Lawson’s When Peter Falk Was My Roommate, and Theater Ruled NYC is a trip down a memory lane most of us probably never were aware of.

Joan Westenberg takes a look look at The Bruised Egos of the Intellectual Narcissists that want to populate our thoughts. Joan also takes a good look at Truth Social, Twitter and the Loneliest Reich.

David Todd McCarty thinks we should rekindle some of what we lost as we pass through the years and recommends borrowing a four-year-old to help us see the world through their eyes in Finger Painting Through Life.

On the politics front, Marc Elias is doing the work for us all in his legal efforts to secure voting rights and the all important counting and certifying of the vote. Best piece of political news I’ve heard this week is that Elias has joined the Harris campaign’s legal team. Check out The Fight To Certify Elections Has Already Begun. We can’t say we haven’t been warned.

Perhaps you remember when the Nord Stream Pipeline exploded earlier in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Bojan Pancevski gives us one helluva story in A Drunken Evening, A Rented Yacht: The Real Story of the Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage.

It’s easy to think this tempest of a political moment we’re in is something that’s suddenly sprung upon us. Aaron Timms reminds us that it’s been brewing for awhile in The Decade That Mangled The American Right.

Artificial Intelligence may be losing some of its luster as its purveyors continue to lust after our data. For those who enjoy seeing this play out, Aaron Drapkin gives us AI Gone Wrong: A List of AI Errors, Mistakes and Failures. I wonder how the LLMs will incorporate Drapkin’s work and spit it back out.

If you don’t recognize the quote that begins this week’s Sunday Morning Reading, perhaps Natasha MH gives us a clue in her piece Reading James Joyce Ulysses Will Be Fun, They Said. Tackling Joyce may or may not be worse than a trip to the dentist, but you can risk being “embalmed in spice of words.”

We Don’t Need a Debate On Trump’s Mental State

Who’s crazy now? The one suffering or those trotting them out in public?

Trump’s grasp of reality is fading and fading fast. The only things fading faster are those that continue to prop him up, but as long as they can continue to leech off of him, they’ll keep him as their front man, even though he can’t sing the lyrics in order any more. Shutterstock 1481938511.

I don’t need a debate on the mental state of the decaying orange convicted felon/child rapist. I’ve lived long enough and seen enough to recognize when the marbles start rolling around the wrong way on their way to being lost, careening into one another loud enough for outsiders to pay attention.

If Trump ever was the sharpest knife in the drawer someone lost the whetstone years ago and all of that orange makeup has sure obscured whatever dull edges there are on the blade. Trust me, I have no sympathy for the man. He’s cut his own swath and deserves whatever stains he’s left along the way.

I’m not trying to be mean or insensitive to any one, older or younger, who suffers mental issues, especially those that come with old age. It happens. It’s always tragic. I will not hesitate to be unkind to any of those around them who take advantage of the situation, especially when they try to hide it in something as important and grueling as a political contest.

This isn’t the first time (but it is the most recent-of this election cycle) that a political party has propped up a faltering candidate or office holder. I’m not arguing that all of those suffering the beginnings of a decline should be removed from office or disqualified from running. What I’m curious about is how those who do the propping up justify their own humanity in the face watching someone they supposedly care about continue to humiliate themself in public for something they believe to be a greater good.

When life becomes transactional, too many checks get written that will never be cashed.

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You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

There Are Two Fights to Save Democracy. Pay Attention to Both

Enjoy the enthusiastic fight ahead, but remember it doesn’t end on Election Day.

Call it joy, call it a sugar high, call it a huge sigh of relief. Whatever you call it, there’s no doubt that that the Harris/Walz campaign has energized the political dynamic in America. The momentum at the moment is swinging the Democrats way. On the other side, the campaign to elect a convicted felon, child rapist, and doddering old dangerous fool is still trying to figure out how to run a campaign while keeping its candidate’s mouth shut.

At the moment it certainly feels like the enthusiasm will carry through to election day on November 5th. There’s certainly no guarantee of that, because as this last month or so has proven anything can happen. But in the short election cycle this has become, the chances are increasing. To make good on that rush of enthusiasm a lot of work has to happen, because as we all know the margins of victory in each and every state will matter, once the other side starts playing the games they’ve been plotting since Trump’s defeat in 2020.

While the work has to happen to ensure large victory margins, work also has to happen on what is sure to come following Election Day on November 5th. I hope you’re paying attention during this surge of relief, because the MAGAt folks have already laid significant ground work to do what they tried to do in 2020 and move the vote into the House of Representatives.

If that someone does happen, the MAGAts will be in the driver’s seat towards its goal of putting Trump back in the White House. Even though the Dems may win the House back, it doesn’t appear that they will control the majority of House delegations. And if this election gets tossed into the House each state gets one vote. 26 votes decides the presidency.

So, pay attention to articles like these from The Bulwark and Rolling Stone. I don’t want to dampen any enthusiasm or be negative amidst all of the joy, but this underhanded work is happening and in some places is even locked in. Yes, the Democrats are working to prevent this, as this article points out, but keep in mind that timing and the calendar don’t work when you dealing with corrupt officials, judges, and Supreme Court justices who will try to use existing laws and constitutional provisions to further their goals.

Here’s hoping that this dangerous story moves beyond the pages of the publications above and all of the good work that Rachel Maddow is doing to highlight it on cable. This needs to be a talked about loudly and often in the months ahead, as much as we need to talk about voting and increasing margins.

We can’t say we haven’t been warned.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

The Chattering Class is Discombobulated with Walz

Harris/Walz sends the media into a tizzy

I didn’t realize just how much the chattering class dislikes middle America. I also didn’t realize how many of them would be trying to figure out where Minnesota is. Listening and reading most of the media deal with the fact that Kamala Harris pulled a fast one and named Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate, it feels like they are all looking for the floor after someone pulled the lever on a trap door.

Apparently the nattering nabobs were all in for Josh Shapiro to be the choice. According to one friend I have in one large newsroom they were already deep into preparing the pros and cons articles on the pick and hadn’t even gotten anything going on Tim Walz.

Who knows how the pick of Walz will help beyond the initital enthusiasm bounce. Certainly he will in some quarters. I happen to like the guy and imagine quite a few others do as well. No one knows how Shapiro or any of the other good choices would have helped or hurt either.

Face it, we’re very much still in unchartered waters with the MAGAt’s thinking beyond election day to how they can rig this election into the House of Representatives or the Supreme Court. Keep in mind that’s the real threat.

Perhaps, just perhaps, given the opponents and the hateful and vindictive agenda they are pushing, the Harris/Walz campaign might just succeed in not only winning enough votes to make it an argument in November and December, but changing the conversation in ways that can get us out of the slop our politics have become in this century.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Nick Offerman Sings Proud To Be A Kamala Man in Hysterical Parody

Nick Offerman sings Proud To Be A Kamala Man as only Nick can.

My old buddy and iconoclastic actor Nick Offerman took to the Comics for Kamala gathering online last night and unveiled his parody rendition of Proud to Be an American, rechristened as Proud To Be A Kamala Man.

Nick and I tackled Robert Schenkkan’s opus The Kentucky Cycle years ago before his career took off like lighting in a bottle as Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation. One late night (there were many) over a pool table, Nick described the two-part 6 and 1/2 hour production as not a play, but a way of life. There are stories.

But back to the video, here’s a taste of the lyrics:

“I’m proud to be a Kamala man, who has quit the GOP, because I can’t just abide by a man who’s tried for 34 felonies. And I’ll proudly stand up and face the facts that the men that I once cheered are a bunch of wingnut white nationalists … Well, those guys are fucking weird.”

Sung from the perspective of a MAGAt who’s changed his stripes the rest is just as fun, with a few exceptions for scansion issues. Check it out yourself.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Sunday Morning Reading

Toddling around with toddlers, politics, the Overton Window and dash of satire.

We’re in the dog days of summer and the dogged days of an election cycle that keeps getting weirder by the day. Today’s Sunday Morning Reading will have it’s share of politics, a look through the Overton Window, and close out with some satire. Enjoy!

Speaking of weird, David Todd McCarty tells us What We Mean When We Say Weird.

Not weird at all, but a warning to be well heeded. Marc Elias tells us that The Fight To Certify the Election Has Already Begun. Pay attention to this folks, becuase the fight isn’t over with the election.

The concept of Christianity has taken a hit that it might not recover from. Some are trying to fight back. Eliza Griswold gives us The Christian Case Against Trump.

Joan Westenberg gives us an explainer of the ever shifting Overton Window. If you don’t know what that is check out The Overton Window: An Explainer. Heck, check it out regardless.

Natasha MH finds some guidance from a toddler in The Teetotaler and the Toddler.There’s always magic and redemption in watching the young ones discover the world. One day we’ll learn not to screw that up.

Brilliant and Dispassionate. Jim Bauman takes a look at who intelligence benefits and who it hurts.

Michaela Zee highlights an interview with Vince Vaughn who says R-Rated Comedies Aren’t Made Anymore Because the ‘People In Charge Don’t Want to Get Fired:’ They ‘Overthink It.’ I’m not sure it’s overthinking as much as thinking more about making money, rather than thinking about telling a story.

And to close things out this week, Garret Epps posits a satirical spin on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Fitting, since we seem to have turned current day debates into a parody. Check out The Lost Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the Trump Saloon.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.You can also find me on social networks under my own name.

The Political Fundraising Game

Every time you donate to a candidate you’re feeding the corporate media beast.

It’s such a game. And it’s rigged. Sadly it’s a necessary game. But it’s rigged.

I’m talking about political fundraising. Certainly there have been cases where candidates who trailed in the fundaising game have won elections, but they are few and far between. That doesn’t really happen on the national stage any longer. Candidates need that money for staffing, polling, phone-banking, etc…. Most importantly they need it for advertising buys.

Complaints about political fundraising appeals are as legion as the appeals themselves. Side by side, and increasingly complaints are growing about corporate media.

The next time you complain about coroporate media remember this. A large portion of any donation you make goes right into the pockets of the media conglomerates. So, you’re feeding the beast every time you donate to the candidate of your choosing. It’s also one of the reasons campaigning never stops. If campaign advertising disappeared tomorrow, so too would most of the manna corporate media feeds on. They have a vested interest in seeing political races stay heated.

Again, it’s a necessary game. It’s one we’ve allowed to evolve and Citizens United opened the floodgates. I’m not suggesting that you stop donating. I’m just suggesting that you understand who profits off of your largesse.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.