Tag: Politics

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. 

Image by arzualtincicek

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. 

Weird?

Is it weird or is it just me?

Weird. Maybe it’s the word. Maybe it’s the truth. Maybe it’s just “weird.” 

The political world in its ever unquenchable thirst for a meme, a talking point, a gaffe, or just a good time, has latched on to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s description of the Trump/Vance ticket as “weird.” Of course the implication means those who worship them are weird as well. For the most part, I can’t disagree with that. 

I guess that means that we’ve moved past “deplorable.” Because, you know, “weird” can be lovable and it’s hard to deplore something that’s lovable. But hey, weird can also be bad. But we’ve long since moved beyond the bounds of being “bad” as a disqualifier in the world of politics. “Bad” seems to be what far too many want as long as they can use their version of “bad” to punish what they think is “bad.” 

Labels cut both ways, depending on who’s wielding the label maker. 

I’m not suggesting that we stop calling the MAGAts “weird.” It is indeed a fun attack that more than seems to fit and goodness knows if it works then keep using it.

If for some reason you’re weird enough to have avoided all of this and you’re looking for a laundry list of the MAGAt ticket’s  “weirdness” check out David Todd McCarty’s article The Maga Movement Has a Weirdness Problem. Fun article. Not weird at all. Also check out Anna O’Malley’s article from 2012 on The True Meaning of Weird. 

As glad that as I am that label seems to be sticking I am also just a bit sad that it has. I’m just “weird” in the way i see both sides of a coin and also its edge. I used to pride myself on being a bit “weird.” After all, I’m a theatre geek so I’ve always been looked at as weird by most of my non-theatre friends and my family (we can’t blame the mailman because my dad was the postmaster.). In fact, I’ve spent a good deal of my life celebrating weirdness. So, it’s weird that I see this label sticking in what passes as political discourse. But then that entire game has always been weird. 

That said and worth repeating, if it keeps the MAGAt ticket from winning the election I’m all for it. Just keep in mind that the election will just be another battle in this weird war that won’t end with on election night. These folks might be “weird” but they are also pure evil. 

I’d rather tattoo that on their foreheads. 

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 Marsh Family takes on J.D. Vance in Parody Song

This is just too good not to share. Using Abba’s Dancing Queen as the tune, The Marsh Family does a terrific parody song that hits all the notes we know so far about the MAGAt candidate for Vice President J.D. Vance. 

The lyrics are just too damn clever. Bravo! Well done. Share this around, watch from your couch and enjoy the laughs. 

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. 

Trump Says You Won’t Have to Vote in the Future: “We’ll Have It Fixed”

There’s saying the quiet part out loud and then there’s shouting it from the rooftops. 

 Maybe this time it will stick. It’s not schtick. It’s more than a tell. It’s the plan.

Trump once again ranted about getting rid of the fundamentals of American democracy screaming and begging for Christians to vote for him, capping off his comments with “You gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”

In the past, voters and the media have seemingly chalked up previous dictator wishes from the decaying orange turd to just the rantings of a lunatic. I hope not this time around. Sadly the headlines this morning seem to continue to take the convicted felon, child rapist and dictator wanna be for granted and ignore the threat.

Pay attention folks. Because this is the plan if he’s elected or otherwise assumes office.

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. 

Rupert Murdoch’s Reverse Logic

Maybe it’s the tax cuts. But I doubt it.

Stories have surfaced that Rupert Murdoch and his children are in a fight over who gets to control the empire after the seemingly ageless Murdoch shuffles off his mortal coil. 

Given that everything is viewed through a political spectrum these days, the narrative is that Rupert wants to preserve it as a conservative political force. That may well be, but it seems to me the best way to preserve that and keep the money flowing would be to see Democratic victories across the board in this fall’s election. Murdoch properties do better as the raving, rabid opposition than they do when they have to support the party in power. 

Regardless, the family squabbles feel like they watched too many episodes of Succession and have become too enamored of their own reflections in that mirror.

They may be filthy rich, but these are not serious people.

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.