The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Feeds Trump's meme about protecting suburbanites

    This Seattle protest has nothing to do with police, it has to do with harassing owners of property in a gentrifying neighborhood in Seattle, and it's being played up a lot by right-wing users on Twitter:

    Comments

    I recall this kind of conflict was a major theme of a couple episodes of "Shameless" on Showtime a couple years back. The eldest daughter, Fiona, wants badly to climb out of the "white trash" life she was born into, scrapes together a way to buy a small apt. bldg. to rehab when an opportunity appears out of the blue and becomes a landlord, puts sweat equity into it and has to deal with similar accusations, protests and trouble. Even though she herself comes from the local "trash" who couldn't afford the rents she will charge.




    Rav is a 19 year old Sikh whose family got rich after emigrating to Canada, from which he has concluded white privilege is actually a fallacy.

    He is now an expert on not only "injustice, anarchy and violence", but also  on race, music, literature and culture and writes for Murdoch publications. 


    Appreciate you pointing that out. But to me that makes him all the more Interesting to read. Means he has "influencer" status. Getting published by Foreign Policy at 19 when there are tons of more experienced writers begging for work is no small feat. Certainly comparatively Newt Gingrich is no longer much of an influencer except with old crochety "get off my lawn" types (that said, I do believe that the WSJ editorial board still speaks to and for a significant audience of people with power in society.)


    The following story reminds me of a divide between far left activists and liberals and the Democratic party. One which I don't see addressed very much. The latter very much supports "the Feds", i.e., the F.B.I. and the federal prosecutors in pursuit of many instances of Trumpco breaking down the rule of law. But the latter also shows little vocal support of the very same pursing anarchist activity. Either staying silent or actually being supportive of ant-Fed activity like attacking Fed. courthouses, because those attacking are presumed to be part and parcel of the BLM movement:

    A Queens man wanted for allegedly torching a cop car had spray-painted “TOO LATE!” on his wall to taunt the feds — but he didn’t flee fast enough and FBI agents nabbed him anyway, Brooklyn prosecutors said.https://t.co/Z1srualifS

    — James A. Gagliano (@JamesAGagliano) August 15, 2020

    You're either for the Federal rule of law or ya ain't. If ya ain't, you are aligned with the libertarian ethos which traditionally aligns with the Republican party ethos. (This is also the main reason that they are not supportive of Feds investigating and prosecuting Trumpco.)

    I suspect this situation is eventually going to change now that the Democrats' vice presidential candidate is a former district attorney and state attorney general.


    another example of those evil Feds preying on extremists:


    Chicago this evening:



    Surprise, even tho they are part of the Deep State working against Donald Trump, FBI thinks burning police cars is not a good thing:

     


    It also seems they are proud of "Operation Legend" and are promoting it publicly.


    yeah here's proof that this is definitely a meme that the Trump campaign is planning to pound, hoping to get some of those suburban wimmin voters:


    The Portland crew just won't go home at night, they are addicted to war on the streets:

    Don't they see how counter productive this might be? How the end game might be that fellow citizens might vote for more police, not less?

     


    Black Republican woman running for Congress from MD, with video ad attacking Baltimore's failed government:

    Democrats don’t want you to see this.

    They’re scared that I’m exposing what life is like in Democrat run cities.

    That’s why I’m running for Congress
    Because All Black Lives Matter
    Baltimore Matters
    And black people don’t have to vote Democrat
    Help us win https://t.co/CSOjc9aQlS pic.twitter.com/XnEDTaDDIG

    — Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) August 17, 2020

    Kimberly Klacik @kimKBaltimore

    US House candidate, MD-7

    Republican Congressional Nominee in MD-District 7. ProTrump. Anti-Squad. Zero Tolerance for Corruption. TERM LIMITS, no lifelong pensions. Vote Nov 3rd  KimKForCongress.com

    Currently has 174,900 followers on Twitter


    She is running against Kweisi Mfume to replace the late Elijah Cummings. She doesn't live in the district, but promises to move there if she wins

    https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-whos-who-district-7-klacik-20200205-tpuj4p6ofng25e6p5i4oisxvgy-story.html

    But, she does have Twitter followers.


    The point is: her campaign operatives know it's an issue that resounds with many swing voter types and even possibly some normally loyal Dem types like are featured in the ad saying it's crazy want to want to defund police.  And she probably has real savvy campaign operatives, paid for with big Republican donations. We should all be grateful the talented operatives of the Lincoln Project are volunteering their time to be on Biden's side this go round. I note they avoid touching the defund police and BLM topic-how strange, NOT. NOT because it's better not to go there until at least the election is over! It's the economy and the pandemic, stupid, and throw in Trump corruptino. Republicans wil be glad to distract to the police/BLM topic because they know they can catch some important votes this way.

    If you don't think it resounds, go back and check out some of those Twitter followers, can't all be right wing nut cases.


    I'll wait for the election results.


    I doubt she's going to win, that's not the point. (And it will prove nothing to me if she loses.)That's not the point of those funding her either. Those Twitter followers and the buzz from them are the point. Their point is: it is okay to be afraid of what many BLM radicals are demanding, see even this black woman from Baltimore feels the same way enough so to run for Congress to change it. And stressed: it's okay to vote for a Republican even if you are black. Which translates to if you are white but don't like the idea of defunding police and want to vote for a Republican that does not support the same, does not mean you are a racist

    Here meme is being supported for the possibility of it's effect on national races allover.


    Mfume on personal experience with the police.

    Vic Carter: Can you describe a time when you feared for your life?

    Kweisi Mfume: I got pulled over on East North Avenue where the municipal court is. It used to be the old Sears building at the time, a real bustling community, in the middle of the day, around 1:30 in the afternoon… (I) got pulled over, got snatched out of my car, got thrown up against the wall. I was told to spread eagle, got patted down and while the guy was patting me down the other one just came up to me and whispered all sorts of racial epithets in my ear, saying ‘I dare you to do anything. I dare you. Go ahead and make a move you monkey, you this, you that.’

    As a powerful member of Congress, Mfume is a sponsor of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020.

    The legislation bans racial and religious profiling, chokeholds and no-knock warrants. It also mandates the use of dash camera and body-worn camera video and would create a national registry of police officers charged with wrongdoing.

    https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/06/22/kweisi-mfume-police-brutality-legislative-priorities-interview/

     

     


    I think it's called wisdom from experience:


    I follow this guy because he has a keen interest in art, he's a financial advisor who lives in NJ but loves NYC, calls the latter "his city." He's socially liberal but loyally pro-Israel so I suspect he's a swing voter. He mostly doesn't tweet about politics but he just tweeted this:

    https://t.co/gBo26pdPYV

    — Marc Leibowitz (@Marc_Leibowitz) August 18, 2020

    Were he a resident of NYC, this would be an example of your classic voter for Giuliani and Bloomberg for mayor.

    Certainly he and his wife would be excellent examples of "suburbanite" voters this time around.

     


    If he is voting for Giuliani and Bloomberg, what makes him a swing voter?


    huh? How the fuck do you think they became mayor of NYC? Tons of registered Democrats voted for them!


    From his twitter feed

    Michelle Obama is really posturing about "the nation that's on display for the next generation" and says nothing about the rioting, looting, and street beatings happening every night in a half-dozen US cities? Okay.

    He refers to a tweet about Chris Christie criticizing Kasich as "fantastic"

    .@ChrisChristie torches Kasich: "Do you know how many Republican governors....endorsed him? Zero & the reason they didn't endorse him is b/c he's a backstabber & untruthful guy....Biden's going to be getting calls from John Kasich, he's going to want to change his phone number."

    I am not seeing where this guy is a swing voter

    https://twitter.com/NoahPollak


    Chris Christie said it, must be true, amirite?

    And you think a guy who contributes to the Beacon Is what we mean by a "swing voter"? I hear the mushrooms are really good during lockdown season.


    Uh, cuz everything about him makes him seem Dem liberal? But if the Dem pols can't do their job, he'll swing the other way?


    Reminds me of this very publicly known very experienced Dem whose recent statements illustrate your point quite well:

     


    and my takeaway from all of this: I think it would be very helpful for the national offices this time around if more Dems spoke out like this about the mismanagment of big cities. Not just surretipitously leave them out of convention talk, but actually acknowledge the problem and say they are into helping fix it.'

    I have even seen some of the more troubled mayoralties say they would like some kind of help from the Federal government at this time but unfortunately at this time all they get is offerings of exactly the wrong thing.


    Sista Souljah, indeed - but dead babies are more important than chilling but mostly empty rhetoric.


    speaking of Sister Souljah, I see the line of thinking here being pursued by rmrd is in denial of the reality that four Republicans were invited to speak at the opening of the Democratic convention last night. He should be complaining to organizers how they let the enemy in? Talk about being in a bubble...in the bubble of the olden daze when everyone just voted party line

    and WTF was evil about voting for Bloomberg, seems to me many in the Dem party were begging him to run for president on the Dem ticket not so long ago


    Bloomberg was critical to Biden's acceptance - the Daddy (Warbucks) Figure couldnt cut it, validating Joe as the good enough not-Bernie - all his lukewarmness forgiven. (just please don't make me have to listen to another mawkish tale about Beau - he died at 46 after 6 years of illness, not tragically ať 13 nor in a freak accident bringing rescue items to Yugoslavia or Africa. I.e. people die all the time.


    I can't tell parody anymore.


    what the Financial Times saw:

     


    unless one's goal is to get Trump re-elected in order to start a revolution, it's just plain dumb to attack suburbanites and liberal gentry types over their privilege or some such; just hold it in until the November election is over for chrissake. Nothing such types are screaming they want accomplished is going to happen within a couple of months:

     


    especially you don't do this in the Midwest where you need all the friendlies you can muster and people will simply not cotton to this kind of public shaming, you are not in Portland, Dorothy, they don't get that coastal type stuff, they don't even get it when they see it in a movie unless they have higher education. Frank Luntz knows, these are the swing type people he's had in focus groups for decades. Just because they told the pollster they support your protest doesn't mean they are ready to be drafted for the front lines.


    Libertarian magazine helps give Biden/Harris "Sister Souljah moment buzz" they need to capture  more of the suburban wimmin swing vote:

    Reminder: Kamala Harris' terrible record as a prosecutor included fighting for harsher sentences, larger bail requirements, longer prison terms, more prosecution of petty crimes, and less accountability for bad cops.https://t.co/TMTXt7HdMv

    — reason (@reason) October 8, 2020

    I imagine Kamala doesn't care if it's a fair representation or not until after the election.


    update Nov. 4, ALAS

    Some Suburban Strongholds Swing Back to G.O.P. in N.Y. and Across U.S.

    Republicans are ahead in key congressional races in New York State, mirroring a national trend of apparent success in winning back swing districts.

    By Emma G. Fitzsimmons @ NYTimes.com, Nov. 4, 2020 Updated 7:38 p.m. ET

    Heading into Election Day, Democrats in New York had high hopes across the ballot, with three House races targeted in a national “Red to Blue” campaign.

    But by Wednesday morning, those hopes were greatly dimmed: The three Democratic candidates, all women, were far behind after the initial machine count of ballots.

    Elsewhere in the state, two first-term Democratic congressmen, Max Rose and Anthony Brindisi, were in danger of losing their seats; just two years earlier, they had been hailed by their party as trailblazers who prevailed in districts traditionally held by Republicans.

    And in the State Capitol, where Democrats harbored visions of a supermajority in the State Senate, the party seemed far from that goal and may even cede ground.

    With more than one million mail-in ballots still to be counted in the state, final results were far from certain in many races. But the preliminary vote totals seemed to reflect a resurgence of Republican power in the New York suburbs, where at one time some Long Island towns were among the party’s biggest strongholds in the country.

    The Republican hold seemed to wane in 2018, with Democrats taking seats in New York and similar suburban districts in other states. But on Tuesday, the tide seemed to turn back again, reflecting the Republicans’ success at ousting House incumbents in swing districts across the country.

    That trend was mirrored nationally in results from statehouses, with the lowest number of chambers slated to change hands in more than half a century. While Democrats won both legislative houses in Arizona, they lost the House and Senate in New Hampshire.

    While some Republican candidates sought to distance themselves from President Trump, whose popularity was thought to be waning, they still clung to a Trump-like law-and-order message.

    They tied Democratic candidates to defunding the police and progressive radicalism in the party, a strategy that seemed to work in many parts of the nation, as Republicans sought to maintain control of the Senate and claw back some House seats.[....]