The New York Times ran a piece bundling up a list of former Trumpers, world leaders, and family members who’ve come out against the decaying orange convicted felon/child rapist. I’m certain you’ve heard most of the comments before. I’m sure we’ll hear more of them, and probably for some not yet on the list.
Yet there are a still too many out there remaining silent, and by doing so still riding the Trump train over an America helplessly tied to the tracks. I only highlight this list as it made me wonder what would happen if we actually had a second coming from Jesus Christ and he intervened in the election to tell folks not to vote for the guy.
I hate to call this MAGAt nonsense a cult, because that removes some of the personal culpability from some caught up in and/or profiting from this twisted nonsense, but I’m guessing there would be a cult-like reaction.
Too many have twisted themselves and scripture into such knots continuing to support Trump that my hunch is that after a brief lurch while everyone took a breath, far too many would quickly move on to disproving and then denouncing Jesus.
I’m not anti-religion and I don’t wish ill on anyone who finds something in their faith that helps them through the night. That said, the folks who’d like to keep us in the dark need some comeuppance from somewhere.
On some imagined plane of existence I can’t say I would be afraid to see this happen. In fact, I’d relish it.
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.
Fall is creeping in and things are creeping me out.
The world continues its whirl, the vultures continue circling, and down here on the ground we keep working hard to turn the tide on the ignorant before it’s too late. Still, it’s time to sit down, breathe and enjoy if you can some Sunday Morning Reading.
Perhaps you aren’t aware of the Second Circuit of Appeals decision rejecting the Internet Archive’s fair use defense. You can check out info on the decision here. Reading beyond that check out Matthew Ingram’s post The Second Circuit’s Decision in the Internet Archive Case is Bad. It is bad news for all of us. As a side note, Matthew has recently struck out on his own and you might want to check out his writing on The Torment Nexus. It promises to be a great place to read about issues in the intersection of technology, media, and, well…life.
Politics, or what passes for it these days, continues to dominate much of our attention even as it gets darker and more stupid with each passing day. Springfield, Ohio found itself the unwelcome center of the political world with all of the talk about eating pets and immigration. Isabel Fattal has a very good piece in The Atlantic titled The Springfield Effect. FWIW I don’t think Springfield is going to catch a break anytime soon, but then neither are the rest of us.
Sanewashing is just a new name in a long line of new names for ignoring the crazy, idiotic, and dangerous ways of the decaying orange convicted felon/child rapist and his followers. Parker Malloy tells us Why The Atlantic’s Critique of Sanewashing Doesn’t Hold Up. There’s a link to the Atlantic piece in Malloy’s article. When a thing becomes a thing to criticize it becomes just another excuse for ignoring the truth.
There’s sadly a chance of some sort of carnage, physical or psychic, post-election. Certainly there will be political casualties. Perhaps that’s why we should read Ian Rose’s piece The Hidden Value of Vultures. Let’s hope the vultures doing the cleanup are only feasting on those who caused the mess.
Karen Hao takes a look at Microsoft’s Hypocrisy on AI when it comes to Microsoft working with fossil-fuel companies while purporting to fight climate change.
Before you clear your palette and move on to whatever you move on to, take a brief trip along with NatashaMH to Bangkok City in When The World’s Your Oyster.
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.
For some reason the Wall Street Journal Editorial Pooh-Bahs have just recently discovered that there is a “growing segment of the American Right” that’s gone off the deep end.
Well, there is a reason. Apparently Trump is hanging out and flying around with right-wing nutball Laura Loomer who is apparently toxic enough to taint part of the great unwashed and possibly influence the thoughts of the decaying orange convicted felon/child rapist. The old guard of crackpot fascists are apparently just fine, but this is a racist crackpot too far.
In an editorial titled Donald Trump and Loomer Tunes the Editorial Board seems to have decided enough might just be enough to quit spinning its own conspiracies in favor of ditching a 9/11 truther like Loomer.
Another favorite quote from the editorial is “Ms. Loomer is usually described in the press as ‘far right,’ but that’s unfair to the fever swamps.”
For goodness sakes, let’s protect the fever swamps from any association with Trump’s rumored new squeeze. Fever swamp dwellers vote too, you know.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some things we know, yet somehow pretend we discover anew now and then. It’s not rocket science.
Donald Trump is a convicted felon.
Donald Trump is a racist.
Donald Trump is a child rapist.
Donald Trump is a dangerous psychopathic narcissist.
Donald Trump’s agenda is in writing. It’s called Project 2025 sometimes masked as Agenda 47. It’s evil.
J.D. Vance is a self-serving opportunist and a useful idiot.
Both Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are bought and paid for looking to cash in further on you.
The party that used to be the GOP embraces and coddles criminals of all stripes instead of wanting to see them in stripes.
Those that support Trump/Vance/GOP will not be content until they can turn back the clock on the things that they irrationally fear.
If you think there’s a choice in this November’s election, or if you feel like debating what the choices are, you support all of the above. If you wonder why someone may vote for Trump, stop wondering. They support all of the above and either don’t care or think this is who we are or should be.
It’s that simple.
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.
Pick your metaphor. Pick your favorite song lyric from Hamilton. Pick your poison. The U.S. political and media world is nothing short of a mess as the GOP Coronation, excuse me, Convention, continues in Milwaukee.
I’m not watching the event, but have seen enough highlights (lowlights?) to know that bending the knee has leapt beyond typical humiliating political expediency into something that absurdist playwrights, much less contemporary fiction authors, couldn’t possibly imagine. Public ass kissing may not be an Olympic sport, but if it was, America could field one helluva team based on the competition in Milwaukee.
It’s really not fair to blame the media for coverage of the event. They seem to know no better than a child sticking their hand in a fire and there’s nothing normal or predictable about this election cycle. There used to be journalists who would call things as they saw them. There also used to be dinosaurs.
Watching the watchers cover what looks like the closest thing we’ve seen to a Nazi rally in this country for several generations and not calling it what it is pisses me off. The media’s problem is that this is a playbook that’s been plagiarized from the 1930’s in ways that large language models must envy. But the media capitulated then and so here we are. Again. It may not be new, but it’s damn dangerous and they are trying to shoehorn that into an old world model that failed then and will fail again. Things may not be normal but they are too damn predictable. Guess what? That’s the damn story.
Set aside the clichés about not presenting both sides when one side says it’s raining and the other doesn’t. We’re witnessing a complete capitulation to something that’s beyond my understanding. If the red hat brigade takes power, most of those currently sucking up will be in line for internment camps once they’ve reported on how many migrant families have been separated. At least they will be credentialed.
Granted the media isn’t getting much help from the Democrats. That helpless bunch wants to play fair. Again. Thinking the high road will get them there, while the other side is tunneling out the ground underneath them is simply shrinking from the real challenge while grasping at straw men. The only fight they can seem to muster is one against themselves. Hell, they don’t even have the guts to really have that fight, much less finish it. But go ahead. Play nice.
So. Today is my birthday. Given family history I never thought I’d make it this far. But I have. I have two birthday wishes. Here’s the first: I’d love to see some Democratic politician when confronted with some MAGAt gish galloping their well rehearsed rhetoric say directly “take your white supremacist, fascist, misogynistic bullshit and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” Hell. Don’t even wait to do it to their face, just do it in front of a camera. Often. Call them on their bullshit hourly. Make them defend against the comment.
For the uninitiated, that’s called politics.
The second wish is that I’d love to see a headline somewhere that says, “The GOP has nominated a convicted felon to run for president.” The lede should read: “The party once proud to wrap itself in the mantle of law and order has now disrobed and re-draped itself as the party that welcomes and supports criminality.” Tell me, what’s not factual about that?
I won’t get either of those wishes. I’m pissed about that. And I’m pissed that it looks like I’m going to be around to watch what this country stood for during the six plus decades of my life rapidly decline and disintegrate during what’s left of it.
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.
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 