The Economy?

 

Remember James Carville’s Clinton era campaign slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid”?

Well, as Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does”. None of us are immune from saying and doing stupid things. But many of us seem to enjoy the liberating feeling of being stupid and not knowing it. Enter the Dunning Kruger Effect, named after David Dunning and Justin Kruger. They described the cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a given area of expertise overestimate their abilities.

This applies to our politics more than ever. What many voters think they know is far less than what they actually know. Everyone who took Trump at his word unwittingly embraced this effect. But Trump’s true believers aren’t the only ones suffering from this quirk of cognition. Enough swing voters also fell into the effect. They didn’t bother to educate themselves about Trump’s crime spree and propensity to be a pathological liar. They likely spent less time thinking about how to vote as I did while writing this little essay.

I’m going to argue that believing falsehoods and ignorance of vital information affected the election more than anything else. So naturally the economy has become the media punditry’s explanation for Trump’s win over Kamala Harris. After all, there was a serious rise of inflation. The fact that it was brought down didn’t get the same attention.

Pro-Trump and corpo-media did an excellent job of blaming Biden for post-pandemic supply chain issues that aggravated global inflation, while the Democrats did a poor job in messaging its causes. The economy is strong, manufacturing is up, and unemployment is low, but we are still stuck with the higher prices elevated by global inflation and corporate greed. 

Yes, inflation was a factor, but I reject that simple excuse as the most significant influence.

The reality is Republicans are better at propaganda. They have their own mendacious media empire to catapult the propaganda. Hell, they’ve even had Russia in their corner since Trump came along. The most powerful weapon to destabilize the US was dropped into Putin’s lap.

True to the authoritarian playbook, Republicans and the far-Right mastered scapegoating and the blame game. Democrats were weak in both their own defense and offense, as in framing their opposition as a threat to democracy, decency, the rule of law, and the truth.

Democrats should have run footage of J6 and Trump’s praise for his thugs 24/7 throughout all of October. They didn’t. They failed to exploit the far Right’s greatest flaw.

Merrick Garland’s painfully slow initiative in investigating Trump’s crimes took its toll. The final nail in justice’s coffin was hammered in by Trump’s authoritarian and corrupt partisan allies on the Supreme Court.  “Presidential immunity” was never a thing in the history of the republic, until the derelict Court decided to reject our ideal of equal justice under law and openly enable Trump’s criminal behavior. How the hell did these NOT have profound significance in the election?

I suggest there are several more factors that had far more influence than the economy. Apathy, ignorance, emotional manipulation, and the intellectually lazy and incurious low information voters all took a toll.

It’s the disinformation, stupid.

Trump’s endless stream of lies was amplified by both corporate media and his sycophantic propagandists. Mike Flynn’s Q-Anon domestic psy-ops fed his marks massive troves of lies and wacky conspiracy theories like “Pizza-gate”. Youtube pushed this disinformation exponentially. Gullible people fell for it all.

It’s the hate, stupid.

Trump’s rallies were nothing but extended Orwellian “Two Minute Hate” rallies, inciting constant anger, and fueling groundless scapegoating and blame in the minds of his gullible true believers. The free press was called the “enemy of the people” while Democrats and judges holding him accountable were labeled “the enemy within”.

It’s corporate media’s “horse race” normalization and “sanewashing” of a criminal, stupid.

Age was a critical issue with Biden, but magically not for Trump. Trump’s obvious criminal behavior and resulting indictments were basically ignored after his circus of lies and outrageous rhetoric became the next day’s headlines.

It’s social media, stupid.

Twitter, facebook gossip, and Trump’s so-called “Truth Social” became primary sources of disinformation for duped buffoons who “did their own research”.

Exhibit A: “They’re eating the dogs in Springfield!”, howled the man who sent an angry mob to storm and desecrate the Capitol, terrorize Congress, and beat cops bloody to overturn a fair election he lost.

Exhibit B: Many Trump voters didn't understand the consequences of their support for Trump until it was too late. Buyers' remorse is setting in. Many Arab third party and Trump voters are realizing Trump's ambassador to Israel said, "There's really no such thing as a Palestinian". Google searches for "How to change my vote" and "Will tariffs cause inflation" spiked after Trump won. Searches for "Did Joe Biden drop out" popped up on Election Day!

The reality is this: Everyone who voted for Trump is either misinformed, willfully ignorant, believes his lies, or just doesn't care.

In short, “It’s the stupidity, stupid”.

Bamboozled

 

Today is astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan’s birthday (November 9, 1934, > December 20, 1996)

Most Americans do not learn from history. They will ignore, deny, or rewrite it to conform to their ideological bias.

We can’t expect the average American to be knowledgeable or even curious about science. It requires a basic foundation of math, biology, and chemistry with an understanding of the scientific method. An open mind and motivation to pursue a vast and enlightening, but also confusing, area of study isn’t in the nature of most people.

I’ve read some books by Carl Sagan and Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and even “A Brief History of Time” by Stephan Hawking. That was enough to make my head spin, but also gave me a glimpse of our universe and a primitive understanding of astrophysics.

History, on the other hand, is more suited to simpler folks like me. Its lessons can be of equal importance to humanity as what we learn from science.

"Never again" seems to never sink in.

Sagan wrote a book on the evolution of human intelligence titled “Dragons of Eden” that explored human psychology and behavior in our journey from the trees to the savannah and caves, up to our so-called “advanced civilization”.

In his later book from 1995 “Demon-Haunted World” he notes a disturbing trend in America that explains its inevitable fall into Christian Nationalism and Trumpism.

Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness... The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.

This week’s election has revealed the disturbing reality that most American voters have succumbed to negligent, self-serving corporate media dereliction of purpose, and the primitive emotional manipulation by a con man, that resulted in this kind of bamboozled celebration of ignorance. 

American Dream 2024

Crime pays.

Hope

 

What does it tell us that Donald Trump can win a plurality of only white voters? Don't overthink it.

As Americans decide whether we are a nation of paranoid, duped, and authoritarian white people or a multiracial democracy, most of us in the latter group are justifiably anxious about this election. 

If a criminal autocracy prevails, Americans will not see America made great again. We'll see more of the demolition of representative democracy, social order, and the rule of law. 

That darkness of autocracy might be what is necessary to turn the public against the authoritarians. If Democrats have a majority in the House or Senate, the damage may not  be irreparable, I have to believe there will still be hope for a future election when the country can right its course.

As bleak as our next four years would be under a criminal autocrat, there are people who have even more to worry about.

If we think we are in a state of anxiety, just imagine what the Ukrainians are feeling. This is more than freedom or tyranny to them. It is life or death under the brutal tyrant who enjoys the admiration and envy from Donald Trump.

Poland and the Baltic states are no doubt enduring their own sense of dread and foreboding today. They can clearly see Putin's imperialist intentions. The people of Taiwan are in a similar state of dread under the threat of communist China.

The world's dictators are all in for Trump. Their information/cyber warfare is working for Trump. Putin's shill Tucker Carlson is earning his rubles. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the non-credible threats that briefly disrupted voting at two Georgia polling places originated from Russia. “We identified the source; it was from Russia," he said.

This is all because America is still plagued by semi-literate duped voters and paranoid white racists, an industrial level flood of disinformation, and immoral political leadership that benefits from their engendered lies, fear, hate and racism.

It's up to us to reject the lies, fear, hate, racism and criminality of the Party of Trump. The consequences will be dire and lethal if Trump wins or steals this election.

With today's vote, we are the hope of the free world.

"Qualifications"

 

The Wall Street Journal editorial board understands how Mr. Trump is qualified for office. "Mr. Trump was too undisciplined and his attention span too short to stay on one message, much less to stage a coup".

So, no worries there.

In this final weekend before the election, let’s review Trump’s “qualifications” to hold the highest office in the land. Whether he is fairly elected, or successfully steals the election, he will be “qualified” for, and granted, immunity from criminal prosecution by his loyal Supreme Court consiglieres. 

Presenting the List of Trump's "Qualifications" for Reelection to the office of President of the United States of America:

=

Felony Convictions:

34 felony counts for Trump’s falsifying business records in the first degree.

Invoices for legal services - Guilty on 11 of 11 charges

Checks paid for legal services - Guilty on 11 of 11 charges

Ledger entries for legal expenses - Guilty on 12 of 12 charges

=

2020 Election Interference Charges

Count 1: 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States)

Count 2: 18 U.S. C. § 1512(k) (Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding)

Count 3: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c)(2), 2 (Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding)

Count 4: 18 U.S.C. § 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights)

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Mar-A-Lago Documents Charges (Dismissal Pending in Appeals Court)

Counts 1-31: 18 USC 793(e) Willful Retention of National Defense Information

Count 32: 18 U.S. Code § 1512(k) Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice

Count 33: 18 U.S. Code § 1512(b) Withholding a Document or Record

Count 34: 18 U.S. Code § 1512(c) Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record

=

State of Georgia Charges:

Violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act

Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (2 counts)

False statements and writings (2 counts)

Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2 counts)

~~~

As anyone can plainly see, Donald Trump is the most “qualified” presidential candidate in the history of the universe.

Evil Returns

 

American fascism came full circle Sunday night in New York City.

Not since the pre-WWII American Nazi rallies has Madison Square Garden been filled to the rafters with racism, lies, and hate. Sunday’s rally was a spectacle of the once dormant fetid fruit of fascism returning to the venue.

I credit Aaron Ruper for sharing some of the highlights, or lowlights, of the American neo-Nazi hate speech at the rally.

Two hours before Donald Trump was set to take the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City, right-wing “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe warmed up the crowd with a shockingly racist performance.

“Where are my proud Latinos at tonight? You guys see what I mean? [The border’s] wide open. There’s so many of them.”

“These Latinos, they love making babies, too,” he added. “There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside just like they did to our country. (Audience groans) Republicans are the party with a good sense of humor.”

“Why is our money involved in these wars when it comes to Israel and Palestine?” he said. “We’re all thinking the same thing — settle your stuff already. Best out of three: rock, paper, scissors. You know, the Palestinians are going to throw rock every time. You also know the Jews have a hard time throwing that paper, you know?”

Hinchcliffe turned to Puerto Rico, “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico”.

The Trump campaign needed to resort to damage control. Campaign adviser Danielle Alvarez needed to lie, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”. Right. And pigs fly.

He also made a remark about Black people who “carved watermelons” instead of pumpkins for Halloween.

Later Hinchcliffe absurdly declared Democrats “have no sense of humor”. Could this be because MAGA “humor” is ALWAYS drenched in hate, bigotry, and racism?

Byron Donalds spouted, "I'll be damned if you're gonna have some school tell my boys that they can now be girls. Not on my watch. Not on the watch of Donald Trump."

And the hits kept coming.

Sid Rosenberg showed there's no hate like MAGA hate when he raged, "She is some sick bastard, that Hillary Clinton. What a sick son of a bitch. The whole fucking party. A bunch of degenerates. Lowlives, Jew-haters, and lowlives. Every one of 'em. Every one of 'em." 

Mike Johnson spewed the standard neo-Nazi lie that Democrats are "full on to Marxism".

"They thought they could kill him" -- Alina Habba on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Dr. Phil said "they" shot Trump.

"America is for Americans and Americans only" -- Sturmbannfuhrer Stephen Miller

"They even tried to take his life" -- Stephen Miller on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Brandishing a crucifix, David Rem hysterically shrieked, "She is the devil. She is the antichrist." No doubt this crackpot's idea of making America great again would take us back to the Salem witch trials.

"They're on the side of the terrorists!" -- Rudy Giuliani fear-mongered about Palestinians.

"Now they're trying to kill him" -- Rudy Giuliani on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Putin's paid American mouthpiece Tucker Carlson confessed, "The liberation he has brought to us is the liberation from the obligation to tell lies.” This was followed by his racist attack, “It’s going to be pretty hard to look at us and say, ‘You know what, Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s just so impressive as the first Samoan, Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.’”

"They even tried to kill him" -- JD Vance on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Lara Trump claimed, "Donald Trump made New York City".

Donald Trump Jr. added, "The king of New York is back to reclaim the city that he built".

Trump took to the stage and spoke the words every American white supremacist and fascist loves to hear.

“On day one I will launch the largest deportation program in American history and get the criminals out. I will rescue every city in town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible. The United States is now an occupied country, but it will soon be an occupied country no longer. ... On Nov. 5, 2024, nine days from now, it will be Liberation Day in America.”

And for Americans waiting for Trump’s healthcare plan to replace Obamacare, he referred to RFK Jr: "I'm gonna let him go wild on health. I'm gonna let him go wild on the foods. I'm gonna let him go wild on the medicines."

Who needs doctors, virologists and medical science anyway?

And finally, let’s note Trump’s loudest and clearest racist dog whistle to his fellow white nationalists in just these few words: “My beautiful white skin.” 

When fascism comes to America it will be embraced by duped and frightened racist white men.

~~~~~~~~~

"The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Remembering William Butler Yeats and "The Second Coming", I offer this update:

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Dulled and lulled by lying leaders and platitudes

Numbing us all and clouding our thoughts with

Monotonous tired clichés and trivial drivel

When mendacity ascends, something worse is sure to follow

Decency and reason are soon cast aside

Deceit, blame, anger and hate are unleashed

And together they rage across the land

Distorted vision darkens souls with bitter resentment

And a stand for truth draws wrath from the believers of lies

A National Crisis

 

This election is truly a state of emergency for the republic. A criminal has taken over the Republican Party and wants to impose his dictatorial rule over America. If this isn’t a national crisis, I don’t know what would be. 

From the New York Times:

Former Marine general John Kelly and the Trump White House’s longest-serving chief of staff told the New York Times that he believed that Donald Trump met the definition of a fascist.

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy. So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America. Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So, he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”

“And I think this issue of using the military on — to go after — American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing — even to say it for political purposes to get elected — I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it,” Mr. Kelly said.

“He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too,’” Mr. Kelly said Mr. Trump told him.

We recall former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told Bob Woodward, "He is now the most dangerous person to this country," and a "fascist to the core".

What does it say about our country that these generals who worked with Trump are ignored and dismissed by the Republican Party? This is not just abnormal. It's an unfolding national nightmare.

Republican Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu was asked on CNN whether Trump praising Hitler causes him to reconsider his support for him.

SUNUNU:  "No ... It’s all about the results. Look, we've heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump. Unfortunately, it’s kind of par for the course. With a guy like that, it's kinda baked into the vote at this point."

BOLDUAN: Are you okay supporting someone who Marine Gen. John Kelly says fits the definition of a fascist?  

SUNUNU: I think most of America is gonna go this way.

Well, every FASCIST American will go this way, followed by the obedient herd of shameless, sniveling, sycophantic, submissive conservative Republican cowards like Sununu.

Q: What kind of people vote for a fascist?

A: Fascists.

This is not who most Americans are. 

But there are enough of them to elect Trump if decent Americans don't overwhelmingly vote to stop the criminal Tangerine Tyrant.

Fascists are authoritarian bullies. They are consumed by anger and resentment, seeking vengeance and retribution towards those they hate, or hold them accountable, or otherwise get in their way.

Trump has declared his intention to send the military after Democrats, calling them the “enemy within”. Hell, yes, that fits the definition of a fascist.

On October 22, 2024 NPR reported Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punish perceived enemies.

Vice President Kamala Harris “should be impeached and prosecuted,” Trump said at a rally last month.

“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump said last year.

“ELIZABETH LYNNE CHENEY IS GUILTY OF TREASON,” reads one post Trump reposted on his social media site, Truth Social, regarding the former Republican congresswoman.

“START ARRESTING THE POLL WORKERS AND WATCH HOW FAST THEY TELL YOU WHO TOLD THEM TO CHEAT,” reads a message Trump reposted on social media in 2023.

Trump and his toady Rudy Giuliani falsely and viciously accused black poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss of fraud and interfering in the 2020 election.

Rudy will be parting with some of his nice things.

NBC News announced the judgement against him.

A federal judge in New York has ordered former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to turn over his luxury Manhattan apartment and many of his valuables to the two Georgia election workers he defamed.

In a decision released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani, a longtime ally of and former lawyer for former President Donald Trump, to transfer personal property "including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment to a receivership" within seven days.

Trump and Giuliani were cheered by their fellow racists for this shameless and cowardly smearing of the two innocent women. Trump is their Great White Hope.

When fascism comes to America it will be welcomed by duped and frightened white men.

Sadly, they are just following the worst of American traditions.

America has a long history of racism and white supremacy.

Since before the Civil War they have been ripping our country apart by dividing Americans against one another.

And for 90 years since the rise of Hitler there have been American Nazis among us. They seriously conspired to remove FDR by force.

At the sedition trial of American Nazi agents during WWII, former Nazi Dr. Hermann Rauschning offered the following testimony.

“Adolf Hitler said the United States was threatened with a bloody revolution. He said he would be able to make this revolution come to pass. He explained the methods by which he would be able to paralyze the national unity of the United States and the power of resistance on this country…He said the cleavages in the population could be widened to disunite the country.”

“We have to paralyze the will and national unity of these and other countries,” Hitler said. “The great issue was to liberate the world from the poison of democracy, with its degenerating doctrine of liberty and equality”.

One of the worst dictators of the 21^st Century was paying attention. Putin has Trump as his weapon to accomplish what Hitler could not.