It's October 31, and here in the U.S., that means it's Halloween. For
most of us who live in a post-superstition world governed by rational
thought, Halloween is a festive time, when young (and not so young) kids
can get into costume, go trick or treating for candy from the
neighbors, and generally have a lot of fun. For those who live in a less
scientific, less logical place in their minds, Halloween is a dark and
truly scary time; so much so that a surprisingly vocal part of our
society has called for the abolition of this national custom. I've
written about that previously, in a post entitled Angels, Demons, and Charter Schools.
There's an article in today's edition of the UK newspaperIndependentthathighlights a recent survey conducted in Florida by Public Policy Polling.
Among other interesting points, the poll finds that "40 per cent of
Donald Trump's supporters believe his White House rival Hillary Clinton
is an “actual demon”. " Not a figurative demon, but an "actual" one. So,
let that sink in, and while you're at it, try to remember that we're
living in the 21st century. It seems that a whole lot of people have
been drinking from the vat of toxic political Kool Aid.
On one level, it's amusing to think that there are so many people in our
country that continue to have lives that are controlled by superstition
and dread. I mean, most of us pay good money to go to a theater so we
can spend a couple hours being immersed in, and being thrilled by, a
filmmaker's imaginary world full of dark and sinister forces. These
people, on the other hand, live in those dark spaces 24 hours a day, and
they don't even have to pay for that experience.
Another entertaining question in that same poll finds that 75% of
Republican voters believed that their nominee "respected women, with
only nine per cent disagreeing with the idea".
But getting back to reality, if that's possible here, it's more than a
little disheartening that so much of our national discourse, not to
mention the important decisions affecting the future of our country and
the rest of the world, is being influenced and sometimes controlled by a
not inconsiderable portion of the population who believe in the
existence of demons, whether or not they think those creatures are
running for public office.
Remember, the election is only eight days away. Happy Halloween, and may all your nightmares be good ones!
While loading stuff into the car before going to rehearsal yesterday, I
walked out to see one ray of sun, filtered between the branches of the
big fir across the street, spotlighting onto the front porch. Whoa.
Grabbed the camera quick, and took this shot; almost immediately, the
sun was gone.
Maybe it's just a coincidence that I'd spent much of the afternoon making pumpkin pies:
Okay, maybe my pies aren't going to win any prizes for being pretty.
Kind of like caveman pies. But they sure do taste pretty good.
Especially with freshly whipped heavy cream, lightly sweetened, with a
touch of vanilla.
It's definitely autumn here in western Oregon. I just now got in from a
couple hours of raking leaves from the oaks, maples, and sweet gums
around the house. Time to have a piece of pie with a cup of tea - warm
food for a cool day.
On the day after the third and last Presidential debate, The New Yorker magazine published this cartoon by Benjamin Schwartz, as a follow up to his cartoon from the day before, "Finish Him".
It has no caption, nor does it need one, although The New Yorker has a comment on its Daily Cartoon index page: "It's a knockout."
Schwartz here references John Rooney's iconic photograph of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston after delivering the knockout punch that ended their heavyweight championship boxing match on May 25, 1965:
Our mail-in ballots were delivered a couple days ago here in Oregon, and early voting has started in a few states nationwide, so it's time to make a decision. Most of us made our choices some time ago, and nothing is going to change our minds, probably. On the radio, NPR has been interviewing some undecided voters, and it's interesting to hear people bare their souls, as well as their anguish, while describing their inability to make decisions: should I have a waffle, or an omelette for breakfast? Life is tough!
Instead of making my usual amateurish word slaughter essay, maybe a better way would be to let someone else do the hard work of making an endorsement. Probably no person or institution is more qualified to do that then one of the most respected, and conservative, daily newspapers out there, The Arizona Republic, who has not endorsed a Democrat for President since their founding in 1890:
"Since The Arizona Republic began publication in 1890, we have never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president. Never. This reflects a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles.
This year is different.
The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified.
That’s why, for the first time in our history, The Arizona Republic will support a Democrat for president.
The challenges the United States faces domestically and
internationally demand a steady hand, a cool head and the ability to
think carefully before acting.
Hillary Clinton understands this. Donald Trump does not.
Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president. Donald Trump does not
Clinton knows how to compromise and to lead with intelligence,
decorum and perspective. She has a record of public service as First
Lady, senator and secretary of state.
She has withstood decades of
scrutiny so intense it would wither most politicians. The vehemence of
some of the anti-Clinton attacks strains credulity.
Trump hasn’t even let the American people scrutinize his tax returns, which could help the nation judge his claims of business acumen.
Make no mistake: Hillary Clinton has flaws. She has made serious missteps.
Clinton’s use of a private email server
while secretary of State was a mistake, as she has acknowledged.
Donations to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of State
raise concerns that donors were hoping to buy access. Though there is no evidence of wrongdoing, she should have put up a firewall.
Yet despite her flaws, Clinton is the superior choice.
She
does not casually say things that embolden our adversaries and frighten
our allies. Her approach to governance is mature, confident and
rational.
That cannot be said of her opponent.
Clinton retains her composure under pressure. She’s tough. She doesn’t back down.
Trump responds to criticism with the petulance of verbal spit wads.
That’s beneath our national dignity.
When the president of the United States speaks, the world expects substance. Not a blistering tweet.
Clinton has argued America’s case before friendly and unfriendly foreign
leaders with tenacity, diplomacy and skill. She earned respect by
knowing the issues, the history and the facts.
She is intimately familiar with the challenges we face in our
relations with Russia, China, the Middle East, North Korea and
elsewhere. She’ll stand by our friends and she’s not afraid to confront
our enemies.
Contrast Clinton’s tenacity and professionalism with Trump, who began his campaign with gross generalities about Mexico and Mexicans as criminals and rapists. These were careless slaps at a valued trading partner and Arizona’s neighbor. They were thoughtless insults about people whose labor and energy enrich our country.
Trump
demonstrated his clumsiness on the world stage by making nice with
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto only a few hours before appearing in Phoenix to deliver yet another rant about Mexican immigrants and border walls.
What’s more, Arizona went down the hardline immigration road Trump travels. It led our state to SB 1070, the 2010 “show me your papers” law that earned Arizona international condemnation and did nothing to resolve real problems with undocumented immigration.
Arizona
understands that we don’t need a repeat of that divisive, unproductive
fiasco on the national level. A recent poll shows Arizonans oppose both more walls and the mass deportations Trump endorses.
We need a president who can broker solutions.
Clinton calls for comprehensive immigration reform,
a goal that business, faith and law enforcement leaders have sought for
years. Her support for a pathway to citizenship and her call for
compassion for families torn apart by deportation are consistent with
her longtime support for human rights.
As secretary of state, Clinton made gender equality a priority for
U.S. foreign policy. This is an extension of Clinton’s bold “women’s
rights are human rights” speech in 1995.
It reflects an understanding that America’s commitment to human rights is a critically needed beacon in today’s troubled world.
Trump’s
long history of objectifying women and his demeaning comments about
women during the campaign are not just good-old-boy gaffes.
They are evidence of deep character flaws. They are part of a pattern.
Each
of those comments show a stunning lack of human decency, empathy and
respect. Taken together they reveal a candidate who doesn’t grasp our
national ideals.
Many Republicans understand this. But they shudder at the thought of
Hillary Clinton naming Supreme Court justices. So they stick with Trump.
We get that. But we ask them to see Trump for what he is — and what he
is not.
Trump’s conversion to conservatism is recent and
unconvincing. There is no guarantee he will name solid conservatives to
the Supreme Court.
Hillary Clinton has long been a centrist. Despite her tack left to
woo Bernie Sanders supporters, Clinton retains her centrist roots. Her
justices might not be in the mold of Antonin Scalia, but they will be
accomplished individuals with the experience, education and intelligence
to handle the job.
They will be competent. Just as she is competent.
Trump’s inability to control himself or be controlled by others
represents a real threat to our national security. His recent efforts to
stay on script are not reassuring. They are phony.
The president commands our nuclear arsenal. Trump can’t command his own rhetoric.
Were he to become president, his casual remarks — such as saying he wouldn’t defend NATO partners from invasion — could have devastating consequences.
Trump said President Obama and Hillary Clinton were “co-founders” of ISIS, then walked that back by saying it was sarcasm.
It was reckless.
Being the leader of the free world requires a sense of propriety that Trump lacks.
We understand that Trump’s candidacy tapped a deep discontent among
those who feel left behind by a changed economy and shifting
demographics.
Their concerns deserve to be discussed with respect.
Ironically,
Trump hasn’t done that. He has merely pandered. Instead of offering
solutions, he hangs scapegoats like piñatas and invites people to take a
swing.
In a nation with an increasingly diverse population, Trump offers a recipe for permanent civil discord.
In a global economy, he offers protectionism and a false promise to bring back jobs that no longer exist.
America needs to look ahead and build a new era of prosperity for the working class.
This
is Hillary Clinton’s opportunity. She can reach out to those who feel
left behind. She can make it clear that America sees them and will
address their concerns.
She can move us beyond rancor and incivility.
The Arizona Republic endorses Hillary Clinton for president."
* * *
And if the idea of a mail in ballot sounds like a good idea to you, get in touch with your state government, and see what it would take to make that happen where you live. Chances are, though, you'll have to elect a Democratic governor, as well as a majority legislature, first, like we had to do in Oregon. Good luck!
At the Portland Japanese Garden yesterday, one of the docents called it
"a peak day for the Garden", and she was right. After a couple weeks of
rain, the sun came out for most of the day, the light was almost
other-worldly for this time of year, and the maples were in full color. A
great day for taking photos.
There were a lot of professionals and semi-pros wandering around with
their portable studio kits - multiple giant SLR bodies and lenses and
tripods jammed into huge armored back packs; ordinary civilians with
humongous handheld entertainment devices ("phones"), often stuck onto
hard to avoid bumping into selfie-sticks; a few younger photography
enthusiasts with compact SLRs hanging from their necks; but hardly any
pocket cameras, a category of digital device that seems to be going the
way of the dinosaur.
My Canon PowerShot 790 IS Digital Elph, which is an oversized name for
such a little device, was probably the only older silver bodied camera
in all of Portland yesterday. Yes, most newer phones are capable of
taking stunning and detailed monitor-friendly images, so it's no wonder
that small digital cameras are redundant for most people. This old
Canon, which I picked up in almost new condition for $30, is essentially
a disposable camera; if it dropped onto a stone, or fell into a koi
pond, I would shed no tears for its passing. Small, lightweight, and
able to take good enough photos for an easy to please guy like me, I'm
always happy to have it stuck in a pocket when the day calls for a lot
of hiking around.
All photos taken with a Canon Elph 790IS, no photoshopping. Click or tap on any picture for a larger, higher def image.
Trump fatigue has set in. What made the media think we all had some kind of high level of tolerance for 24/7 Trump? Possibly there's a huge demographic in this country that has a need for really edgy, really irritating, in your face entertainment, I don't know. But if you're getting tired of Trump, I suspect you're far from alone.
In Jack Vance's Sci-Fi classic The Dying Earth, there is a character named Chun the Unavoidable, who is literally inescapable - no matter how far you go, or how fast you run, or how many walls and locked steel doors and mountains of rock you put between you and Chun, he will always be there when you turn around. Donald Trump seems like another incarnation of Chun the Unavoidable.
For over a year now, if you have the radio on in the car, and the news comes on, there's Trump's voice. Open up the morning paper, and there's Trump's face. Get online to any news aggregator site, and there's Trump did this, and Trump said that. Trump, Trump, Trump: Trump all the time. If I hadn't stopped watching TV years ago, I would have lost my mind by now - it appears that many people haven't been so lucky.
Clio Chang at The New Republic says "I
am tired of seeing his scrunched-up face on TV. I’m tired of hearing
his voice through a microphone, amplifying his absolutely bonkers, incoherent arguments... I am tired of Donald Trump. I hope America is, too."
Maybe if you think he's the new Messiah, this level of exposure to your hero might be comforting; for the rest of us, the net effect seems to be a growing distaste for this guy and his ideas.
Speaking of losing one's mind, there's this article at Raw Story:
"Matt Forney, a self-described alt-right radio host, suggested this week
that there would be a “white baby boom” after the November election
because “women are having sex dreams” about Donald Trump."
Sure, you can say "What mind to lose?", or "Alt-right = neo-nazi, so what do you expect?", but still...
All you crazy people, please go away. That goes for you too, Donald.
The New Yorker magazine's Afternoon Cartoon,
from yesterday, October 19, 2016, published just prior to the third and
last presidential candidate's debate. Benjamin Schwartz shows Mortal
Kombat video game character Scorpion instructing (presumably) Hillary
Clinton, backstage at what appears to be a debate event, to "Finish
him".
According to an article at Inverse
by Gabe Bergado, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon sent this cartoon out
to his almost quarter million followers on Twitter yesterday. How this
will affect the eventual outcome of this year's election remains to be
seen.
Immediately after the debate, a few comments on Reddit referenced this cartoon:
"And she did. Ate him alive in fact"
"FATALITY!"
"FLAWLESS VICTORY"
"BRUTALITY"
"She DESTROYED him"
"Hillary Kombat Clinton"
This morning, poll statistician Nate Silver posted an article at FiveThirtyEight entitled "Clinton Probably Finished Trump Last Night".
It's been the most interesting election in like, forever.
* * *
Update, Friday, October 21: At last night's annual Al Smith fundraiser dinner for Catholic charities held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, Donald Trump seemed unaware that the well heeled attendees had donated multiple thousands of dollars apiece and expected to be entertained. Instead, he gave a variation of his usual campaign rally stump speech, for which he was repeatedly booed. One of the catcallers in the crowd yelled out to him, "Finish!"
Sometimes it's hard to see things clearly when we're looking too closely, and it's always interesting to get an outside opinion, another take, a fresh perspective, just in case we may be missing something. Here's the cover of a recent issue of the UK satire and commentary magazine "Private Eye".
Hey, we didn't laugh at you Brits when you really screwed up Brexit!
"30 Days, 30 Songs is an independent website that will release
one song per day from October 10 until Election Day. It is produced by
the creators of 90 Days, 90 Reasons, which sought to motivate voters to give President Obama a second term, and it features work from artists across the country.
As artists, we are united in our desire to speak out against the
ignorant, divisive, and hateful campaign of Donald Trump. We will not be
duped by Mr. Trump’s rhetorical contortions, by his pandering and lies
and false promises. He has shown the content of his character time and
time again, and the very fact of his candidacy is a blight on the
nation. His words incite hatred and celebrate inequity. Most troubling
of all, over the past year, the country has become inured to the
towering vileness of his rhetoric and deeds, his attacks on women,
Mexican-Americans, Muslims, and those with disabilities. But we have to
remember these acts, and act against them. In the words of Cornell West,
we cannot become "well-adjusted to injustice.”
In contrast to Trump’s demagoguery and complete lack of
qualifications and temperament, Hillary Clinton is a calm, intelligent,
empathetic professional with more relevant experience — as First Lady,
Senator, and Secretary of State — than any candidate in the modern era.
For those of you who find Clinton uninspiring, that is fine and
understandable. But you don’t have to fall in love with a candidate.
This is not a romance. We are electing the leader of the most powerful
nation on earth. This is a decision for the head, not the heart. Hillary
Clinton will keep the country on an even keel, and will build on the
achievements of President Obama.
Donald Trump would subject the country to the same hateful cycle of
drama and madness that we have been assaulted with for the last year. He
will continue to demonize minorities and objectify women. He will throw
the economy into chaos and gut environmental regulations. He will
devastate our standing in the world.
It’s not enough to sit on the sidelines on this one.
We ask that you register to vote and volunteer and share these songs
of protest. You are a steward of this democracy and your actions shape
it at every turn. When you speak out, you shape our democracy and when
you remain silent, you shape it as well.
Do not let your voice go unheard. Join us and demand an America of
tolerance, respect, and equality. Demand an America that moves toward
racial, economic, and environmental justice.
We hope these songs provide both motivation and soundtrack to doing
the right thing these last few weeks before this most pivotal election.
Consider this the music by which you will register to vote and cast your
ballot for Hillary Clinton, the only candidate who can prevent the
apocalypse that would be Donald Trump as president.
"Que no hayan novedades". May no new thing arise. In the Spanish speaking world, this old benediction is a blessing for safety and happiness, conferred upon pilgrims on their journeys, as well as those who stay at home. It's a simple wish, and in today's novelty seeking culture, it may seem quaint or even unrealistic; but deep down, most of us know that any new unknown could turn out to be the antithesis of stability and security.
Arizona's oldest and highest circulation daily newspaper The Arizona Republic was founded in Phoenix in 1890, during a Wild West era when there were still gunfights in the streets between renegade cowboys and ruthless lawmen. Throughout its 126 year publishing history, straddling three centuries and into the modern age, it has never backed a Democratic candidate for president. That editorial stance was unsurprising, and expected, given the traditionally deeply conservative views held by a majority of Arizona's population, and the newspaper itself.
Last month, when The Arizona Republic's editorial board broke with long standing custom and made an unprecedented endorsement of Hillary Clinton, it was expected that there would be subscription cancellations and many irate letters to the editor. Unfortunately, that has been accompanied over the past weeks by more than a few threats of violence, including very specific death threats, against the newspaper's editors and staff. For a quick review, CNN Money has a run down on this story, and there's an article on The Republic's website detailing how the paper is responding to the threatening behavior directed at them.
The Arizona Republic isn't the only major conservative leaning daily newspaper to endorse Clinton; so have The Columbus Dispatch, The Dallas Morning News, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and The Cincinnati Enquirer, among others. What makes the Republic's position unique is the volume of criticism and the number of threats of violence they have received. It's probably no coincidence that Phoenix is also the seat of Maricopa county, whose voters have kept Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has made a career out of racially divisive law enforcement policies, in office for over 26 years.
Getting back to "Que no hayan novedades", we seem to be living in a time when new and previously unheard of things have arisen: Conservative news organizations are endorsing a Democrat for president. The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, regularly engages in rhetoric and behavior that smashes any sense of civility in politics. His supporters have threatened the press, attacking journalists and menacing their children. There have been threats by his fans to blow up the Civil Rights Museum.
This all may be entertaining to those of you who enjoy staring at grisly
car wrecks, or see in it a setup for your revelational religious
rapture, but most everybody I know are kind of dismayed by the whole
scene. After this election is over, can we all just go back to stealing yard signs and yelling at each other?
These first two pictures were taken of the crowd at Donald Trump's campaign rally
held in Cincinnati, Ohio last night. If they look angry, it's because
they were - at the press covering the event. Something to do with media coverage of the candidate's rather unusual style of introducing himself to women.
Here are some more from recent events:
What struck me, looking at these photos, is the remarkably
homogeneous nature of these crowds. Try to find just one African
American face. One Asian face. One Latino face, Native American, any
people of color at all. To be fair, if you look at enough photos on the
google, you'll eventually find a couple here and there. But it's not
easy.
It's been said, not only by his supporters, but
by the candidate himself, that Trump is America's salvation. Just what
he's going to be saving us from, maybe we don't really want to know.
Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for literature, and predictably, a
bunch of clueless artsy intellectual types had a meltdown. For the
benefit of those who find it hard to understand, Prof Sara Danius of
the Nobel prize committee had to spell it out, slowly, for the hard of
comprehension:
“We’re really giving it to Bob Dylan as a great poet – that’s the reason
we awarded him the prize. He’s a
great poet in the great English tradition, stretching from Milton and
Blake onwards. And he’s a very interesting traditionalist, in a highly
original way. Not just the written tradition, but also the oral one; not
just high literature, but also low literature.” Prof Danius also added,
“I came to realise that we still read Homer and Sappho from ancient
Greece, and they were writing 2,500 years ago. [Their works] were
meant to be performed, often together with instruments, but they have
survived, and survived incredibly well, on the book page. We enjoy their
poetry, and I think Bob Dylan deserves to be read as a poet."
What's kind of hilarious about anyone having a hissy about a great
poetic songwriter getting a Nobel Prize (and I'm not gonna link to anyone having a mini meltdown, since they're all wankers, doing wankery), is that this year, the
Nobel was also given to a couple guys who came up with a new way to
write business contracts. Seriously.
So what I want to know is: hey, Nobels - why did it take you so long?
Here's some poetry, with musical accompaniment:
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
Bob Dylan
Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child’s balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying
Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool’s gold mouthpiece the hollow horn
Plays wasted words, proves to warn
That he not busy being born is busy dying
Temptation’s page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover that you’d just be one more
Person crying
So don’t fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It’s alright, Ma, I’m only sighing
As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don’t hate nothing at all
Except hatred
Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Make everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It’s easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked
An’ though the rules of the road have been lodged
It’s only people’s games that you got to dodge
And it’s alright, Ma, I can make it
Advertising signs they con
You into thinking you’re the one
That can do what’s never been done
That can win what’s never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks they really found you
A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit
To satisfy, insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not forget
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to
Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to
For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something they invest in
While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him
While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society’s pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he’s in
But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it’s alright, Ma, if I can’t please him
Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn’t talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony
While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer’s pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death’s honesty
Won’t fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes must get lonely
My eyes collide head-on with stuffed
Graveyards, false gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough, what else can you show me?
And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They’d probably put my head in a guillotine
But it’s alright, Ma, it’s life, and life only
In a post a couple days ago, I'd mentioned some crazy unhinged stuff
floating around the right wing conspiracy-o-sphere. Who knew that anyone, except
the spiritual zombies who eat that stuff for lunch, even paid attention
to any of it?
Obviously, our President knows good joke material when he sees it. Oh,
and also turn it around and totally marginalize his critics while he's at it.
Well done.
This morning, longtime Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich told NPR that supporters of Donald Trump "have absolutely lost touch with reality, they're literally face down in the Kool Aid". That's an interesting metaphor, but what does it allude to, what does that mean?
Jim Jones was a "charismatic" religious leader and self-styled prophet from Indiana who started his own church in the 1950s. Moving with his followers to South America to escape what he considered to be religious persecution, Jones and his flock found, in 1978, the ultimate escape. A summary at About Education has a quick historical take on the cult's end: "On November 18, 1978, Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones instructed all
members living in the Jonestown, Guyana compound to commit an act of
"revolutionary suicide," by drinking poisoned punch [cyanide mixed with Kool Aid]. In all, 918 people
died that day, nearly a third of whom were children." Oddly, when the bodies of the almost 1,000 dead were found, they were all laying face down.
Unfortunately, sales of the classic powdered drink never fully recovered after the incident and its associated bad publicity.
In the decades since Jonestown, "Drinking the Kool Aid" has come to
mean someone or a group losing the capacity for independent
thought or self volition, and diving headlong into a new belief system,
often at odds to their own best interests. Mac Stipanovich may be the
first to use the term "face down in the Kool Aid", and by that he may be
suggesting that a large proportion, maybe even a majority, of his own
party might be committing political suicide.
How has the Republican party come to this particular spot on the road? Stipanovich refers to Trump's followers having lost touch with reality, but in fact they have merely substituted the world that the rest of us sees, with an alternate reality, a new thought bubble more or less free of objective fact. Nourished on a steady toxic diet of Fox News, multiple right wing hate radio networks, and fringey conspiracy theory laden web sites such as Drudge, Breitbart, and Infowars, somewhere between 30 and 35 percent of the American public have come to inhabit a newly created social fabrication so real to them that no matter how outrageous, crazy, or demonstrably false the statements made by their candidate or his surrogates may be, they will still believe them.
As an example of the sort of crazy social cyanide available for self
administration, here's Trump ally and campaign advisor Alex Jones on his
webcast and AM radio show, in a transcript dated
Oct 10, 2016:
"ALEX JONES (HOST): I'm never a lesser of two evils
person, but with Hillary, there's not even the same universe. She is an
abject, psychopathic, demon from Hell that as soon as she gets into
power is going to try to destroy the planet. I'm sure of that, and
people around her say she's so dark now, and so evil, and so possessed
that they are having nightmares, they're freaking out. Folks let me just
tell you something, and if media wants to go with this, that's fine.
There are dozens of videos and photos of Obama having flies land on him,
indoors, at all times of year, and he'll be next to a hundred people
and no one has flies on them. Hillary, reportedly, I mean, I was told by
people around her that they think she's demon-possessed, okay? I'm just
going to go ahead and say it, okay?
They said that they're scared. That's why when I see her when kids
are by her, I actually get scared myself, with a child -- with that big
rubber face and that -- I mean this woman is dangerous, ladies and
gentleman. I'm telling you, she is a demon. This is Biblical. She's
going to launch a nuclear war. The Russians are scared of her.
[...]
Imagine how bad she smells, man? I'm told her and Obama, just stink,
stink, stink, stink. You can't wash that evil off, man. Told there's a
rotten smell around Hillary. I'm not kidding, people say, they say --
folks, I've been told this by high up folks. They say listen, Obama and
Hillary both smell like sulfur. I never said this because the media will
go crazy with it, but I've talked to people that are in protective
details, they're scared of her. And they say listen, she's a frickin'
demon and she stinks and so does Obama. I go, like what? Sulfur. They
smell like Hell."
Voices like Jones are the drivers behind the alternate reality bubble that many of our neighbors, co-workers, and family members currently live in. Having drank the Kool Aid for years, it has metastasized into their beings, to the point where they truly believe that Hillary and Michelle are witches, Obama is a demon. Maybe to Alex Jones this is a big joke, but not to his audience.
Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Governer Mike Pence, who plays the role of a devout Christian on TV, has been for some years an outspoken supporter and advocate of the unscientific and psychologically damaging procedure known as "Gay Conversion Therapy". I wonder if there's a "Right Wing Conversion Therapy"?
Don't mean to be selfish, but I want my old good, decent and non-crazy America back.
I was not, absolutelynotgoing to comment on "Pussygate",
not only because it feels weird for me to get all like moral on anybody
else, but also because 30 million other people are already doing that.
But.
Assuming it's true that a lady is more apt to jump in the sack with a guy because he's rich (which is highly debatable), and if, if Donald Trump is as much God's gift to women
that he imagines himself to be, then he wouldn't have to go grabbing
them, wherever. They would be grabbing him.
Okay, forget "Pussygate", the next two presidential debates, Russian
involvement in Trump's campaign, whatever - none of that matters now.
This election is over. The crew of the starship USS Enterprise has
officially endorsed Hillary Clinton.
According to an article in the International Business Times, "A group of cast and crew of the "Star Trek" franchise belonging to the
different films and series have united for a common cause: Trek Against Trump":
“We cannot turn our backs on what is happening in the upcoming election.
Never has there been a presidential candidate who stands in such
complete opposition to the ideals of the Star Trek universe as Donald
Trump.”
Yes, there will be weeping and grief in Outer Trumpistan tonight; after
all of their hard work, yelling racial slurs, screaming at reporters,
yanking out neighbor's Hillary signs, their many long nights spent on
Twitter, it was all for nothing. When you've lost the Star Trek
universe, it hardly matters what happens on Earth.
Spock, Scotty, Bones, and Gene are gone to that Great Starship in the
sky, and Kirk, it turns out, is a Canadian citizen, but there can be no
doubt where any of them would have stood, if they could. Anyone who has
watched even one episode of Star Trek knows that the crew of the
Enterprise always made a stand against enemies of equality and
tolerance.
Today, Sunday, October 9, 2016, a lot of us are obsessing on some of the more titillating political gossip, and to a lesser extent, tonight's second presidential debate. There isn't going to be a lot of movement in public perception until tomorrow morning; in the meantime, here are a few words of wisdom from someone who has been a witness to history, and been a part of it as well:
The Road Ahead
I have always been deeply proud to be an American. In the time I have left, I pray that will never change. I am in my 100th year. When I was born in 1916 in Amsterdam, New York, Woodrow Wilson was our president.
My parents, who could not speak or write English, were emigrants from Russia. They were part of a wave of more than two million Jews that fled the Czar’s murderous pogroms at the beginning of the 20th Century. They sought a better life for their family in a magical country where, they believed, the streets were literally paved with gold.
What they did not realize until after they arrived was that those beautiful words carved into the Statute of Liberty in New York Harbor: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,” did not apply equally to all new Americans. Russians, Poles, Italians, Irish and, particularly Catholics and Jews, felt the stigma of being treated as aliens, as foreigners who would never become “real Americans.”
They say there is nothing new under the sun. Since I was born, our planet has traveled around it one hundred times. With each orbit, I’ve watched our country and our world evolve in ways that would have been unimaginable to my parents – and continue to amaze me with each passing year.
In my lifetime, American women won the right to vote, and one is finally the candidate of a major political party.An Irish-American Catholic became president. Perhaps, most incredibly, an African-American is our president today.
The longer I’ve lived, the less I’ve been surprised by the inevitability of change, and how I’ve rejoiced that so many of the changes I’ve seen have been good.
Yet, I’ve also lived through the horrors of a Great Depression and two World Wars, the second of which was started by a man who promised that he would restore his country it to its former greatness.
I was 16 when that man came to power in 1933. For almost a decade before his rise he was laughed at ― not taken seriously. He was seen as a buffoon who couldn’t possibly deceive an educated, civilized population with his nationalistic, hateful rhetoric.
The “experts” dismissed him as a joke. They were wrong.
A few weeks ago we heard words spoken in Arizona that my wife, Anne, who grew up in Germany, said chilled her to the bone. They could also have been spoken in 1933:
“We also have to be honest about the fact that not everyone who seeks to join our country will be able to successfully assimilate. It is our right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish here…[including] new screening tests for all applicants that include an ideological certification to make sure that those we are admitting to our country share our values…”
These are not the American values that we fought in World War II to protect.
Until now, I believed I had finally seen everything under the sun. But this was the kind of fear-mongering I have never before witnessed from a major U.S. presidential candidate in my lifetime.
I have lived a long, good life. I will not be here to see the consequences if this evil takes root in our country. But your children and mine will be. And their children. And their children’s children.
All of us still yearn to remain free. It is what we stand for as a country. I have always been deeply proud to be an American. In the time I have left, I pray that will never change. In our democracy, the decision to remain free is ours to make.
My 100th birthday is exactly one month and one day after the next presidential election. I’d like to celebrate it by blowing out the candles on my cake, then whistling “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
As my beloved friend Lauren Bacall once said, “You know how to whistle don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.”
* * *
Kirk Douglas is a contributor to The Huffington Post, where this article was originally published.
Randy Rainbow's brilliant take on the first presidential candidates'
debate is totally outrageous and fun but somehow, a more fitting
commentary than any of the usual talking bobble heads on TV news.
It's old news by now - more than a week since the debate(!) - but we
were too busy that night to sit and watch it in real time. Thanks to the
internet, we finally got around to seeing it a couple days ago.
Gripping TV, eh? A knock-down, drag out battle of wits between an antsy,
hopped-up on something former reality show star armed with an
oversized, almost impervious ego suit, and a calm and cool, pragmatic
politician with killer instincts, who showed up with a whole basketful
of sharp knives. Who won? I wouldn't have bet on the orange bear.
By the way, "Braggadocious" might just be a "real word", since spell check sometimes lets it go without comment.
Here's something more recent, Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon in last week's Saturday Night Live cold open:
SNL has usually had a tradition of even handed savaging of both
presidential candidates, and this is no exception, although if you're a thin skinned
fan boy (or girl) of either nominee, you may not get it. The only departure from that was Norm Macdonald's 1996 Bob Dole take-down, which
was pretty brutal; maybe Bob had pissed Lorne Michaels off or
something, who knows.
What's amazing here, and it's a tribute to not only Alec Baldwin's and
Kate McKinnon's dead-on comedic timing (and Michael Che's well modulated Lester Holt), but also the show's writers,
that this skit went beyond parody and impersonation, past merely
magnifying character traits for comic effect. They essentially distilled
Clinton's and Trump's very public personas down into one, easily
swallowed nine minute comedy pill, that basically told you everything
you needed to know about the two people in competition to be our next
President. If you really wanted to know, that is. Anyway, really Bravo, well done.
"Unfortunately, empathy, social responsibility and common decency isn't en vogue with nearly 50% of the nation. As for the current state of affairs, we have no one to blame but ourselves. What a disgusting period of collective social consciousness we live in. The fact that Trump is in consideration for any elected office, let alone the presidency, is disgraceful.
Win or lose, his ascension to the forefront of American politics proves the dangers of groupthink, and casts a serious doubt on the ability of an overpopulated and under-educated nation to adhere to its democratic ideology. Dictatorship and idol worship is staring us in the face and the sad fact is... we created it. If this election is a precursor to the evolution of human intelligence on this planet then sign me up for the Mars mission."
We'd like to think that something like this would be unthinkable, except for the fact that it involves Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
The Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina is built on the site of the Feb 1, 1960 sit in protest of racial segregation by four young college students that became a seminal moment in the history of the civil rights movement. On that day, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr. and David Richmond sat in the "Whites Only" section of the lunch counter at the Woolworth's department store in Greensboro; the media attention from that event resulted in widespread awareness throughout the country of the segregationist racial policies then existent in the southern states.
Representatives of the Trump campaign requested that the museum close its doors to the public for five hours on September 20th in order for the candidate to stage a publicity photo op. Possibly, the word requested is a bit mild; according to museum staff, Trump's reps were "aggressive, rude and bullying". After the museum declined participation, reaction among Trump's fans was immediate, and fairly extreme, although sadly almost predictable.
Museum CEO John Swaine toldThe Greenboro News and Observeron this past Tuesday that since then, museum staff members have received numerous threats via phone calls and social media. Using foul language and racial epithets, “The callers were threatening to come over and burn down the building
and to shoot up the building,” he said. “They’ve lessened in frequency
this week, but they’re still coming in.”
When contacted, the Trump campaign declined to comment.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article105924857.html#storylink=cp
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article105924857.html#storylink=cp“The callers were threatening to come over and burn down the building and to shoot up the building,” John Swaine, the museum . “They’ve lessened in frequency this week, but they’re still coming in.
