POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Nah I will be shot cause I am a Jew...which apparently means I am now Hitler. I wonder what Adolph would think about that...

I thought Adolph had some Abe in his tree, ironically.

[The Rube]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

I thought Adolph had some Abe in his tree, ironically.

IIRC, you are correct. Don't quote me, though.

Possible, but....https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/was-hitler-jewish

[Handyman]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

I thought that was debunked. Although technically any Jew/Christian/Muslim is a descendent of Abe so...

And I worked the Republican National Convention in '08. I made a crapton of money off those people and they never suspected I wasnt one of them I also almost got to be a CBS correspondent for Australia for the last night because I helped close out a media party and gave a case of beer to the guy. (it was all free it was a host charge)

[The Rube]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

I thought that was debunked. Although technically any Jew/Christian/Muslim is a descendent of Abe so...

And I worked the Republican National Convention in '08. I made a crapton of money off those people and they never suspected I wasnt one of them I also almost got to be a CBS correspondent for Australia for the last night because I helped close out a media party and gave a case of beer to the guy. (it was all free it was a host charge)

It's debunked, mostly. It's possible at best. Not quite tinfoil hat, but.......there's a chance.

[rufus]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Republicans say they're moving ahead with plans to gather tens of thousands of people at the 2020 Republican National Convention — even as Democrats weigh their options for convening during the pandemic. https://t.co/zYKfxAiUDE

— NPR (@NPR) May 16, 2020

Anyone want to go there and start coughing?

Can't wait.

[The Rube]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Can't wait.

I have an Asian friend that has said, and I quote, "I go to WalMart and Costco and it's great. I just start coughing, and everyone just moves out of the way!"

FTR: He also has a shirt that says, "Yes, I Speak English."

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

These ads are better than Bloomberg's.

[Slap Shot]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Little Fascist Donnie is at it again.

Trump Says Tech Giants Controlled by ‘Radical Left,’ Vows Action

[bronconick]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Obama: “Do what you think is right. Doing what feels good—what’s convenient, what’s easy—that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.”

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 17, 2020

[Handyman]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so
without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose. It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power.

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) May 16, 2020

[Jimjamesak]

Obama: “Do what you think is right. Doing what feels good—what’s convenient, what’s easy—that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.”

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 17, 2020

He’s gone full Luther!

Audio GIF from Obama GIFs

[SonofSouthie]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

The Era of Stupid
President Trump’s moronic behavior is the defining feature of American life.
By Michael A. Cohen Globe Columnist

Americans have long divided our nearly 244-year history into eras. There was the Era of Good Feelings in the 1810s and 1820s; the Gilded Age in the late 19th century; the New Deal Era in the 1930s; the Reagan Era in the 1980s; and, more recently, the era of the War on Terror.

I have a suggestion for how we should define the Trump Years: The Era of Stupid.

Granted, “stupid” is not a highbrow word, and I’m dubious that it will catch on in the same way as the “Jazz Age.” But in its simplicity and crudeness, it vividly captures the absurdity of our times

There are so many “stupid” examples one can choose from: Sharpie-gate; the president’s talk of buying Greenland; his musing on whether it’s possible to nuke a hurricane or inject people with disinfectants; his refusal, aped by many of his followers, to wear a mask in the midst of a global pandemic. The list goes on and on.

But president’s latest fixation is perhaps Peak Stupid — “Obamagate.”

I should say from the outset that writing about Obamagate raises a tricky question: How does one pass judgment on something that doesn’t actually exist?

As best I can tell, Obamagate refers to a charge that former president Barack Obama and former vice president Joe Biden knew in advance about, or perhaps conspired in plotting, the FBI interview of former national security adviser Michael Flynn that led to his prosecution. It also appears to refer to efforts in late 2016 to “unmask” Flynn, which describes a routine national security process to reveal the identity of Americans mentioned in National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence reports.

The problem with these accusations is that they elide some rather pertinent facts.

For example, the FBI interview of Flynn happened after Trump took office in January 2017. And how exactly was the Obama Administration targeting Flynn for unmasking when they could not have known Flynn’s identity before the unmasking? (I feel stupid even writing this question.)

All of this is somehow connected to the Russia investigation, Trump suggests. But many of the unmasking requests from Obama administration officials appeared to revolve around Flynn’s shady dealings with the Turkish government, for whom he was lobbying. And the vast majority came before he got entangled in the Russia affair with his controversial call to Sergei Kisylak, the Russian ambassador to the United States — a call he lied about to the FBI. That lie was a crime, to which he later pleaded guilty.

Far be it from me to inject facts into the Obamagate fever swamp, but there does seem to be a simple reason Flynn was regularly being unmasked by Obama administration officials — he was engaging in behavior that merited unmasking requests.

Of course, facts don’t really matter here because trying to untangle the web of inanity at the core of Obamagate is like trying to debate molecular biology with a 2-year-old. Indeed, when pushed at a White House press conference to identify what crime former President Obama allegedly committed, Trump answered, "You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody, all you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.”

These are words. Any connection to reality is purely coincidental.

Of course, the goal here is not to prove a crime, it’s to suggest with raised eyebrows, declarative tones, and a wink and a nod that something bad happened. What is that bad thing? Well no one really knows, but believe me — it’s bad. Really bad. It’s bad like nothing you’ve ever seen.

Because we live in the Era of Stupid, many people seem primed to believe this bad thing they can’t actually describe. The president said it’s true. So did Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. It’s all over Facebook and Fox News: Michael Flynn is the most persecuted man since Nelson Mandela.

There has been speculation that the Obamagate stuff is an effort to distract attention from Trump’s catastrophic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the president appears to actually believe that Obamagate is real. Just as he clearly believes that the Russia investigation is a hoax. Just as he once believed, and may still believe, that climate change is a Chinese plot. Like his committed followers, he spends much of his day religiously watching Fox News. He fervently believes right-wing conspiracy theories. And because he’s president, he has a large and influential platform for regurgitating them for mass consumption.

It creates an almost perfect feedback loop, because when he spouts off, fellow Republicans, the White House staff, and conservative media embrace and amplify it. The result is an entire political ecosystem devoted to the propagation of stupid.

To be sure, inane conspiracy theories are not the province of one political party or ideology. It’s long been a bipartisan exercise. But rare is the moment when an entire political party, and its titular head, are taken captive by it. Alas, this is the time in which we are living; when the stupid, mindless, and inane have not just entered the political mainstream, but have come to define it. All of us, whether we believe it or not, are stupider as a result.

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

The Era of Stupid
President Trump’s moronic behavior is the defining feature of American life.
By Michael A. Cohen Globe Columnist

Americans have long divided our nearly 244-year history into eras. There was the Era of Good Feelings in the 1810s and 1820s; the Gilded Age in the late 19th century; the New Deal Era in the 1930s; the Reagan Era in the 1980s; and, more recently, the era of the War on Terror.

I have a suggestion for how we should define the Trump Years: The Era of Stupid.

Granted, “stupid” is not a highbrow word, and I’m dubious that it will catch on in the same way as the “Jazz Age.” But in its simplicity and crudeness, it vividly captures the absurdity of our times

There are so many “stupid” examples one can choose from: Sharpie-gate; the president’s talk of buying Greenland; his musing on whether it’s possible to nuke a hurricane or inject people with disinfectants; his refusal, aped by many of his followers, to wear a mask in the midst of a global pandemic. The list goes on and on.

But president’s latest fixation is perhaps Peak Stupid — “Obamagate.”

I should say from the outset that writing about Obamagate raises a tricky question: How does one pass judgment on something that doesn’t actually exist?

As best I can tell, Obamagate refers to a charge that former president Barack Obama and former vice president Joe Biden knew in advance about, or perhaps conspired in plotting, the FBI interview of former national security adviser Michael Flynn that led to his prosecution. It also appears to refer to efforts in late 2016 to “unmask” Flynn, which describes a routine national security process to reveal the identity of Americans mentioned in National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence reports.

The problem with these accusations is that they elide some rather pertinent facts.

For example, the FBI interview of Flynn happened after Trump took office in January 2017. And how exactly was the Obama Administration targeting Flynn for unmasking when they could not have known Flynn’s identity before the unmasking? (I feel stupid even writing this question.)

All of this is somehow connected to the Russia investigation, Trump suggests. But many of the unmasking requests from Obama administration officials appeared to revolve around Flynn’s shady dealings with the Turkish government, for whom he was lobbying. And the vast majority came before he got entangled in the Russia affair with his controversial call to Sergei Kisylak, the Russian ambassador to the United States — a call he lied about to the FBI. That lie was a crime, to which he later pleaded guilty.

Far be it from me to inject facts into the Obamagate fever swamp, but there does seem to be a simple reason Flynn was regularly being unmasked by Obama administration officials — he was engaging in behavior that merited unmasking requests.

Of course, facts don’t really matter here because trying to untangle the web of inanity at the core of Obamagate is like trying to debate molecular biology with a 2-year-old. Indeed, when pushed at a White House press conference to identify what crime former President Obama allegedly committed, Trump answered, "You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody, all you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.”

These are words. Any connection to reality is purely coincidental.

Of course, the goal here is not to prove a crime, it’s to suggest with raised eyebrows, declarative tones, and a wink and a nod that something bad happened. What is that bad thing? Well no one really knows, but believe me — it’s bad. Really bad. It’s bad like nothing you’ve ever seen.

Because we live in the Era of Stupid, many people seem primed to believe this bad thing they can’t actually describe. The president said it’s true. So did Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. It’s all over Facebook and Fox News: Michael Flynn is the most persecuted man since Nelson Mandela.

There has been speculation that the Obamagate stuff is an effort to distract attention from Trump’s catastrophic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the president appears to actually believe that Obamagate is real. Just as he clearly believes that the Russia investigation is a hoax. Just as he once believed, and may still believe, that climate change is a Chinese plot. Like his committed followers, he spends much of his day religiously watching Fox News. He fervently believes right-wing conspiracy theories. And because he’s president, he has a large and influential platform for regurgitating them for mass consumption.

It creates an almost perfect feedback loop, because when he spouts off, fellow Republicans, the White House staff, and conservative media embrace and amplify it. The result is an entire political ecosystem devoted to the propagation of stupid.

To be sure, inane conspiracy theories are not the province of one political party or ideology. It’s long been a bipartisan exercise. But rare is the moment when an entire political party, and its titular head, are taken captive by it. Alas, this is the time in which we are living; when the stupid, mindless, and inane have not just entered the political mainstream, but have come to define it. All of us, whether we believe it or not, are stupider as a result.

Lowbrow or not, stupid is the perfect word to describe the current era. republicans have become stupid. trumps followers are stupid.

For at least 40 years now conservatives have been decrying education, they've left our public schools to struggle in most places, and let them flat out fail in many parts of the country. The elite conservatives did this at the same time they were telling their followers that there is something a little less manly and American about an educated, intelligent person, someone who works with their mind and with words. If you aren't shooting your own food or changing your own oil or fixing your own roof, you are something less than a real man. It's one of the reasons I hate the movie Red Dawn. Men of action and violence are the heroes, men of politics, compromise and words are, well they're actually not men. This attitude is not an entirely republican party notion, to be sure. It bleeds into other corners of America. But it seems nearly universal among trump supporters, and I have yet to meet someone who supports trump whole-heartedly that appears to be able to read at an effective high school level or would be able to do math beyond addition, subtraction and maybe a little multiplication and division. And forget about a well versed understanding of history and civics. Those topics were lost totally 40 years ago.

My guess is less than 5% of republicans know the meaning of the word "elide," used in the piece. Another guess is perhaps a quarter of all republicans are intelligent enough to read this piece, and make an effective attempt to refute anything in it intelligently. I don't question the writer's accuracy in the piece, it is spot on and I am sure entirely (or at least virtually entirely) correct. That doesn't mean an intelligent person can't offer an intelligent rebuttal.

40% of this county is just plain dumb. Sadly, the conservative, republican, trump supporting dummies don't seem to realize they are just a form of cannon fodder for the 1% out there who are interested mainly in hoarding as much wealth as they can. Our society can't handle this much stupidity. We are beyond the saturation point and it is making it almost impossible for those of us who know how to think and consider and be critical to be able to move our world in a positive direction.

[Kepler]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Lowbrow or not, stupid is the perfect word to describe the current era. republicans have become stupid. trumps followers are stupid.

For at least 40 years now conservatives have been decrying education, they've left our public schools to struggle in most places, and let them flat out fail in many parts of the country. The elite conservatives did this at the same time they were telling their followers that there is something a little less manly and American about an educated, intelligent person, someone who works with their mind and with words. If you aren't shooting your own food or changing your own oil or fixing your own roof, you are something less than a real man. It's one of the reasons I hate the movie Red Dawn. Men of action and violence are the heroes, men of politics, compromise and words are, well they're actually not men. This attitude is not an entirely republican party notion, to be sure. It bleeds into other corners of America. But it seems nearly universal among trump supporters, and I have yet to meet someone who supports trump whole-heartedly that appears to be able to read at an effective high school level or would be able to do math beyond addition, subtraction and maybe a little multiplication and division. And forget about a well versed understanding of history and civics. Those topics were lost totally 40 years ago.

My guess is less than 5% of republicans know the meaning of the word "elide," used in the piece. Another guess is perhaps a quarter of all republicans are intelligent enough to read this piece, and make an effective attempt to refute anything in it intelligently. I don't question the writer's accuracy in the piece, it is spot on and I am sure entirely (or at least virtually entirely) correct. That doesn't mean an intelligent person can't offer an intelligent rebuttal.

40% of this county is just plain dumb. Sadly, the conservative, republican, trump supporting dummies don't seem to realize they are just a form of cannon fodder for the 1% out there who are interested mainly in hoarding as much wealth as they can. Our society can't handle this much stupidity. We are beyond the saturation point and it is making it almost impossible for those of us who know how to think and consider and be critical to be able to move our world in a positive direction.

This is the first time in which the political parties have split based on education. Reactionaries tend to be stupider than progressives but this was historically countered by the retrenchment of successful people into conservatism to protect their wealth. But now even intelligent and successful conservatives have abandoned the Republicans, repelled by their racism and virulence. Only a handful of billionaires who view their fellow Republicans as cattle to be fattened for votes and then slaughtered for profit remain, and only wholesale bribery in politics has allowed them to remain a force.

The Republican party is an angry hive of failures, bigots, and imbeciles. It is daunting that that 40% of the country fits those descriptions. But 60% does not, and if it were not for systemic racism and electoral malfeasance the 40% would have no federal voice.

Keep plugging: we can and will beat these criminals and losers. 60% of America is human. We will bury the zombies.

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: POTUS 45.64: Governance By Unhinged Twitter Rants

Keep plugging: we can and will beat these criminals and losers. 60% of America is human. We will bury the zombies.

I'm going to keep plugging because that is the only real choice. But 40% is enough to destroy us. We were not able to eliminate them when it was a lot more lopsided than 60/40. A good portion of that 60 has all they can handle just putting food on the table and a roof over their heads, they don't have anymore left to fight with. It is why people don't vote. If everyone of that 60% was in the same boat I am in (fairly healthy, know where my next meal is coming from, could go without a job for at least a little while) we'd be this close to winning. But half the country can't weather a storm that might take $500 to live through, how can we expect them to understand what this country is up against, existentially? As much as we say the MAGAs are hopeless, in reality, we have to find a way to reach at least some of them.