dagblog - Comments for "White Lives Matter"

I love it and I agree. We can

tmccarthy0 — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:16:31 +0000

In reply to He's a man-child with self

I love it and I agree. We can do this the right way. And the fight begins with Medicare privatization.

He's a man-child with self

Obey — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 14:16:23 +0000

In reply to While I've been spending time

He's a man-child with self-esteem issues and little interest or capacity for management and policy. Sure. But goading him into stupid fights HAS JUST BEEN TRIED, NO? With such awesome results.

What's that line about wrestling pigs in shit...

How about acting like grown-ups instead, putain merde tabernacle!

Find wedge issues to hammer separating Trump's base from the hardline corporate conservative government that this is shaping up to be. Throw the kitchen sink at Pence, Mnuchin, Bolton and co on big finance, gutting safety net, on Iraq and foreign policy over-extension.

Make THEM damaged goods and drive Trump back towards the center. He's an asshole, but he's pragmatic when it comes to changing tack (watch his two successful campaign reshuffles) and is addicted to approval of any kind. The least worst kind of populist. Work with that.

That's all I got...

Except we have the worst of 2

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 05:23:04 +0000

In reply to ANOTHER YEAR OF FASCISM:

Except we have the worst of 2 worlds - Chavez' party couldn't really survive without him, nor wouldn't Erdogan's. But the Reoublicans have kept and expanded their lockhold on state houses before Trump, and that's ignoring their corrosive effect. So far it's been a perfect storm for the wanKKKers.

5) Pre-midterm 'limited'

NCD — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 03:49:09 +0000

In reply to One thing we can say about

5) Pre-midterm 'limited' bombing 'response' on Iran.....lots TV stuff blowing up....acts to rally pissed GOP Base to vote. Then.....

Iran hardliners set gulf on fire, oil skyrockets. Post midterms turns out US. needs to invade Iran to secure Gulf of Hormuz/coastal areas. Body bags.......2020 GOP turns the war over to Dems.

While I've been spending time

quinn esq — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 03:43:02 +0000

In reply to One thing we can say about

While I've been spending time, like everyone else, being scared shitless of what these bastards can do, there is, in fact, a very different line of thought we should consider.

Namely, that these ass-clowns are... ass-clowns.

The gang that couldn't shoot straight.

Not far-seeing, perfect-planning, ultra-powerful figures who will initiate some grand New Right/Reich.

Trump has failed at most of his businesses. Almost unbelievably at times.

He was a shitty debater.

He is, as you say, a disastrous manager.

He has no attention span, can be goaded, lured, and conned like a teenager.

Newt is also a klutz, who has spun disastrous decisions multiple times.

Christie and Rudy are past their prime, or have just had their public personas broken.

Ryan doesn't know whether he hates them all or not.

And they could EASILY step into 101 traps.

For instance, an aggressive step into Social Security or Medicare.

Or an ill-conceived foreign adventure.

A clash with a little guy that makes them appear as bullies.

Or... a clash with a pop culture figure who maintains a lot of respect. Imagine a serious Trump vs Springsteen clash.

Or a bad tax cut announcement.

Or a head-on run-in in a California or New York or Chicago where... they lose.

When ass-clowns have their aura punctured, the air can go out in a hurry.

And to my mind, that's what these guys are. Fuckwits. Morons. Guys from the 1880's who stumbled and face-planted their way into money and success in the 2010's. Players whom history will deal out of its deck.

We should be aiming to puncture these guys and see if we can get them out sooner, rather than later.

Too much fear and respect is not a great tactic.

One thing we can say about

Michael Wolraich — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 03:09:00 +0000

In reply to I think your PS gets at the

One thing we can say about Trump, his self-interest outweighs ideology, which makes him more like Belusconi and Erdogan than Chavez or the old-school fascists.

Two, he seems more spontaneous than any of these guys. There is no master plan; he just careens off the wall in whatever direction seems right at the moment.

Three, he can't control his mouth.

Four, he's a bad manager. We've already seen major shake-ups and factional battles in his campaign. It's just going to get worse. The Priebus-Bannon combo is a recipe for civil war.

Five, he always, always counterpunches, no matter what direction the hit comes from.

Upshot: a very erratic presidency, not smooth like Putin. One week, he'll badmouth NATO, the next talk tough against Russia. He'll pledge support to Israel, then dog whistle about Jewish financiers. His unruly team will go in all different directions.

Biggest threats:

1) He gets caught in an escalating cycle of vitriol with some foreign leader that leads to war

2) He falls under the spell of some Rasputin who really does have a seriously evil master plan (e.g. Bannon)

3) He politicizes our institutions--courts, military, police, intelligence, media--enabling him to subvert the state to his whims, like Putin, Erdogan, Chavez.

4) He works with Congress to gut progressive institutions--Medicare, SS, education, etc.

P.S. I really CAN'T believe

quinn esq — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 02:43:33 +0000

In reply to ANOTHER YEAR OF FASCISM:

P.S. I really CAN'T believe that Garudian headline. Holy shit. "Normalise."

I think your PS gets at the

quinn esq — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 02:42:46 +0000

In reply to ANOTHER YEAR OF FASCISM:

I think your PS gets at the real question of the day. WHAT KIND of authoritarian shit-heel will Trump be?

And I GET why people are scared shitless.

Here's a couple of thoughts I've been swapping with a British friend:

1. We know Trump is into personal aggrandizement and financial cons. Absolutely. What is less clear is whether, beyond his personal affairs, he is into inflicting real-world suffering and violence on people. That's a bit different thing. His daughter has strong Jewish links, and he and his family have actually crossed party lines, racial lines, many times. So YES, he's racist. But a lot of people are, and have been, but without becoming Nazis-esque monsters. Think of that entire world of racist-as-hell Southern politicians we've just come through.

2. Comparing Trump to the 30’s fascists doesn't work in m,any ways. Trump inherited wealth. They were often penniless. He’s a billionaire. He fucks global models - they had undescended testicles. Trump owns enormous, lavish, publicly-loved hotels and TV shows. He runs a major beauty pageant.

This is not a tiny worm of a man like Hitler. With all that wealth and status, he looks more like a Berlusconi, perhaps.

3. Today, he named a Republican hack as his Chief of Staff. But then an alt-right racist as his Head of Strategy. Announced he wanted to reverse Roe v Wade on abortion, but then supported gay marriage. Renounced deporting all 11 million illegals to just the 2-3 million illegals who have broken a law. Said he wants a wall in places, but a fence in others. Announced he’s not going to prosecute Clinton, threatened someone else with legal action. Tough to determine how a man like that will act.

4. Some of his policies will be, strangely enough, those I believe the Democrats should long have pursued. Populist in nature, they also have a real-workd economic case in their favour. For instance, he wants to rip up or renegotiate the big trade deals. He wants to slap China down for currency manipulation and for producing too-cheap goods by abusing labour. He wants a huge infrastructure spend.

Now, what we need to prep for here are that these policies may just, like some of Reagan's, result in job growth. Especially if he combines them with tax cuts, and repatriation of US corporate dollars sitting offshore. So we shoyldn't automatically predict economic collapse. [And also, we may want to be ready to dig open the inevitable corruption that will happen here.]

5. He’s got Newt Gingrich and Rudy Guiliani and Chris Christie with him. These are utterly detestable men. But. They have RUN major cities like New York, or the state of New Jersey, and fancy themselves as thinkers and men who will have a “legacy.” Shits, yes, but not simply worms and petty murderers and career-losers like many Nazis. They may want some sort of elite APPROVAL for their actions.

So, as you say, he could be a "Putin, Erdogan, Chavez, Duterte, Orbán, Berlusconi... or a Mussolini or Hitler." I think it's worth thinking about these clown-monsters. Especially now. One of my studies from college days, who really helped me keep my eye on the Tea Party, was Pierre Poujade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Poujade

ANOTHER YEAR OF FASCISM:

Michael Wolraich — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 02:21:00 +0000

In reply to And in the name of God, can

ANOTHER YEAR OF FASCISM: Italy Perplexed WILL MUSSOLINI "NORMALISE"?

-- Headline, Manchester Guardian, Dec. 31, 1926

Do you like how I hit both your comments with one quote? I'm pretty impressed with myself, myself.

What gets me is "weaponized." I see journalists using this cliche du jour several times a day.

PS In all seriousness, your point about figuring out how Trump's brand of evil will play out is right on the mark. I think the strongman populist-chauvinists of the 21st century--Putin, Erdogan, Chavez, Duterte, Orbán, Berlusconi--offer more useful models than the old fascists of the 20th. Not that Trump is exactly like any of those guys, but he resembles them much more than Mussolini or Hitler.

Thanks for saying that. I am

CVille Dem — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 01:40:54 +0000

In reply to "With Clinton, you knew what

Thanks for saying that. I am so sick of this thoughtless meme about HRC that is nothing but GOP talking points. LAZY!!!!!