Brownshirted, Hitlerian Trump-lovers surround a Biden-Harris bus on its way from San Antonio to Austin, Tx. for a campaign event, which had to be cancelled out of safety concerns.
This is a traffic violation and attempted homicide. Why hasn’t anyone been arrested? pic.twitter.com/QnfF4vXMQn
Later: [Update: This video was taken down by its poster, but I can assure you it was stomach-turning.]
When Joe Biden is declared the winner on Tuesday evening, or on Wednesday or shortly thereafter, parts of this country will see its own variations of Kristallnacht, night and day, for a frighteningly long time. There will be no national reconciliation. The poison of Trumpism will live on. American Nazis — i.e., hardcore Trumpers — won't give up, they won't stop, they'll never cease hating, and each vile incident — with the momentum of escalation — will encourage another. In reaction, something just as violent will have to be done.
Our commander in chief, at work in the Oval Office — and this is just one example of his madness:
In one meeting about the border wall, Mr. Trump called a person "who built a flagpole at one of his golf courses," said an official in attendance that day. Mr. Trump explained that because this person "got in a big fight about the size of the flagpole" and because it was "really big," "the president thought, of course, they would understand how to build a wall."
"Obviously," this official said, "it is not the same."
And this idiot still has a 40+ percent job approval rating.
A few weeks ago I wrote the Louvre and offered to paint another Mona Lisa if they would just give me the one they have. Because hey, after all, I dabble in oils, not much less than Leonardo did. I expect a positive reply any day now.
I've been getting slammed hourly by progressive organizations' emails reporting that not only is the sky falling, there are Trump meteors headed straight for us from every direction. Joe's now losing Michigan! Wisconsin is becoming the Toast State! and both coasts are turning spanking red. OH GOD! So send $50 now.
Here, however, is Nate Silver's latest summary (from this morning):
"We’ve gotten a lot of new polls in the past couple of days, but so far, there’s little evidence of the race tightening. If anything, Biden is continuing to make gains in the Midwest (1.7 points, on average, since the final debate). It’s a closer race in Pennsylvania, though, as Biden leads Trump by only about 5 points in our polling average."
That's a sound, reasoned, verifiable assessment, objectively directed at no one in particular. And yet it makes me want to contribute even more to Biden & Democratic Associates in these final days of Trump's roiling hell. Because I don't want this swindler merely removed from the office he has disgraced. I want him electorally exterminated for being the parasite he is.
I'm a little unclear as to whom the aforementioned, hysterical pleas are aimed at, though — except, perhaps, the progressive organizations' bank accounts? I, for one, wouldn't shell out one dime to such unabashed hustlers. They shame us with their Atwaterlike tactics.
To hell with what to do about Maria. She'll be fine with Christopher Plummer. What puzzles is American voters who simply will not listen to reason.
"I’m petrified of Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi getting power and doing all this stuff that’s going to totally destroy the economy," says one Ryan Walsh, 32, employed by a Pennsylvania state agency.
The incontrovertible history of the economy under Democratic vs. Republican administrations has been graphed, charted, pictorialized and spelled out in the plainest possible English year after year, and yet certain voters just refuse to see what is right in front of them.
Notes the Times: "[Walsh] cited a string of proposals that trouble him — broad tax increases, the Green New Deal, 'Medicare for all' — that Mr. Biden has said he opposes."
Are you with us, Ryan? I mean, conscious? How often must Biden say it? "Mr. Walsh does not believe him," adds the Times. So there.
Journalist Eve Fairbanks, a brilliant observer of the world, goes local in a NYT op-ed. The final two lines of these two passages are perhaps the most concise analysis of millions of TrumpHeads I've yet read.
"Commentators focus on a category they call 'shy Trump voters.' These are voters who supposedly support Mr. Trump but won’t acknowledge it publicly. But I think there’s another category developing under the radar: 'Shy Trump doubters.'
"These are public Trump fans who, in private, acknowledge that his tweets are humiliating, his crowing about his victories is tasteless, his policy flip-flops are dispiriting and some of his statements are hurtful and damaging. They won’t say they’re tired of him to a pollster. It can be as embarrassing to admit you liked Mr. Trump and now fear him as it was to admit you were attracted to him in the first place. Mr. Trump’s critics portray his supporters as fools, and to say you only now realized he has problems seems to concede the point."
But I hope there are binders-full of them.
October 29, 2020
I have to be gone most of the day. I'll see you tomorrow, or perhaps later today.
***
Update; I sorta fibbed this morning, implying errands, because I didn't know what was happening. First a clinic for (usually) normal, embolism-related bloodwork, which then sent me to an ER for the afternoon. I was afraid, terrified, damn-near ready to draw the old pearl-handled six-shooters and slowly back out before they could ship me to a larger hospital. But I'm home now waiting for calls back. No gunfire was needed.
So one thing is for sure, I'll be here Friday, with guns blazing elsewhere.
A reader, contributor and friend posted this 1966 performance elsewhere, and I can't resist reposting it. It's just about the cutest thing — on German prepositions! of all things — I've ever heard. And father/daughter are Danish.
If you care, the lyrics:
Die Präpositionen … die Päpositionen … An, auf, außer, hinter, in, Neben, über, unter, vor und zwischen. An, auf, außer, hinter, in, Neben, über, unter, vor und zwischen. Aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu! Aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu! Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer … Durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, Wieder, bis, entlang — wir wiederholen: Durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, Wieder, bis, entlang — und die Pronomen: Ich, mich, meiner, mir, Du, dich, deiner, dir Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer … Wann sagt man das? Wann sagt man die oder der? Das ist doch immer für uns Grammatikalisch so schwer! Sagen Sie mir, Wann sagt man dich oder dir? Auch weiß man nie Wann zu sagen ihn oder ihr. An, auf, außer, hinter, in, Neben, über und zuvor. Zwischen, an, auf, außer, hinter, in, Neben, über und zuvor — zwischen. Aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu, Aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu. Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer … Aller, einer, einige, Jeder, keiner, mancher, mehrer[e], viele. Aller, einer, einige, Jeder, keiner, mancher, mehrer[e], viele. Der, dem, dessen, den, Wer, wem, wessen, wen? Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer … Niemals haben wir gelernt, Wann wir fressen oder essen sagen. Heißt es hätte oder hat? Ja das müssen wir uns immer fragen. Ich habe gehabt, du hast gehabt, er hat gehabt, wir haben gehabt, ihr habt gehabt, sie haben gehabt. Ich habe gehabt, du hast gehabt, er hat gehabt, wir haben gehabt, ihr habt gehabt, sie haben gehabt. Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer … Denken Sie mal, Wieviele Mühe es war, Für einen Mann mit Gitar[re], Und seine Tochter sogar. Haben gehabt, Das ist ja ziemlich egal. Denk nicht daran! Wir versuchen nur noch einmal: Aller, einer, einige, Jeder, keiner, mancher, mehrer[e], viele. Aller, einer, einige, Jeder, keiner, mancher, mehrer[e], viele. Der, dem, dessen, den, Wer, wem, wessen, wen? Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer … »Dürfen«, »können«, »mögen« kennen wir, Sollen, wollen wissen, aber das ist Schwer, sehr schwer, sehr schwer …
In English:
The prepositions ... the prepositions ... On, on, except, behind, in, Next to, above, below, before and between. On, on, except, behind, in, Next to, above, below, before and between. From, at, with, to, from, to! From, at, with, to, from, to! Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ... By for up to without, Again, up, along - we repeat: By for up to without, Again, up, along - and the pronouns: I, me, mine, me You, you, yours, you Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ... When do you say that? When do you say this or that? That's always for us So grammatically difficult! Tell me, When do you say you or you? You never know either When to tell him or her. On, on, except, behind, in, Beside, above and before. Between, on, on, except, behind, in, Beside, above and before - between. From, at, with, to, from, to, From, at, with, to, from, to. Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ... All, one, some, Everyone, none, some, several, many. All, one, some, Everyone, none, some, several, many. That, that, that, that, Who, whom, whose, whom? Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ... We never learned When we say eat or eat. Does it mean had or has? Yes, we always have to ask ourselves. I had, you had, he had, we had, you had, they had. I had, you had, he had, we had, you had, they had. Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ... Think How much trouble it was For a man with a guitar And even his daughter. Have had, It doesn't really matter. Don't think about it! We're just trying again: All, one, some, Everyone, none, some, several, many. All, one, some, Everyone, none, some, several, many. That, that, that, that, Who, whom, whose, whom? Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ... We know »may«, »can«, »like«, Should, want to know, but that is Difficult, very difficult, very difficult ...
With Trump, to hell with mercy — just ask confused, caged children at the border, or 230,000 dead Americans — it's the quality of loyalty that is, at best, strained. I have yet to read of even one business associate, capital investor or, now, political supporter who hasn't had his or her trust in Trump returned by anything but a treacherous kick in the butt. The Daily Beast:
"Trump … has not visited South Carolina to support his erstwhile ally, and likely will not before the Nov. 3 election, when [Sen. Lindsey] Graham faces Democrat Jaime Harrison. A former chair of the state’s Democratic Party, Harrison entered the race a long shot but has turned the Senate contest into a toss-up race, after raising a record $100 million sum for his campaign from a national liberal base that detests Graham."
Lindsey has dishonored himself in every Trump-supportive manner since 2016. And now his groveling, shameless opportunism and almost historic hypocrisy have his little ones in a vice. But Trump knows S.C. is a lock in his favor in the presidential race. So Senator, go blow. You're on your own.
And this time, for once, the victim deserves Trump's self-centered abuse.
The term "psychological projection" is thrown around widely and frequently these days, perhaps too frequently, since projection is a complex phenomenon which lay persons, such as I, come up short in a comprehensive understanding of. Nevertheless, the catch phrase is handy, especially in politics, in which hypocrisy and projection have been long-time mates. And every now and then, a pol's projection is as thunderingly conspicuous to the lay person as Beowulf's Grendel — and never, ever before had we seen a clinical example of it quite this striking:
I most enjoyed Trump's emphasizing that "somebody" should know this, that voters must be informed about corrupt Biden & Family's self-dealing, even though "everybody's talking about it."
Yesterday I cited Nate Silver's optimistic tone in his piece, "Is Joe Biden Toast If He Loses Pennsylvania?" Not really, concluded Silver. Yet he also wrote:
"The polls have been [tight] in Pennsylvania.... Biden’s current lead is just 5.1 points, and in 2016, polls were off by 4.4 points in the Keystone State — Trump won it by 0.7 points after trailing in our final polling average by 3.7 points there. So with a 2016-style polling error in Pennsylvania, Biden would be cutting it awfully close, perhaps even so close that court rulings on factors like 'naked ballots' could swing the outcome."
My puzzlement? This is the most conservative, pretty much unrealistic, damn near inconceivable pro-Trump election map that I can imagine — without Pennsylvania:
So …….. how could Biden even possibly be toast without the Keystone State?
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I once had a ladyfriend who was quite talented not only in writing prose, but lyrical poetry as well. She lacked a route to pursue them professionally — a university degree in English, but family, jobs, no Woolfian "room of her own" and all that — she told me. Damn shame. I also, on occasion, correspond with an American expatriate in Canada of impressive poetical power. And I think of them both when I read other gifted poets — among whom I qualify not — who combine the lyrical with the political (my gig), such as this segment from R. Rodriguez's partially titled "Better Angels."
Hate must not break our sacred bond
of affection nor our will to love again
Only love can take us far beyond
And break the curse brought by Cain
The mystic chords of memory
Will swell when again touched as
surely as they will awaken every
Passion for peace our country has
And then there are elegiac quatrains that are essentially nonpolitical — but with merely a smattering of one's imagination, they become transformative in these pivotal times, such as this one from Jay Ungar and Molly Mason.
Under the moon the mountains lie sleeping Over the lake the stars shine. They wonder if you and I will be keeping The magic and music, or leave them behind.
I wish I could write like that. But it doesn't really matter. Because they can, and I can read them.
The Washington Post has followed up with a few 2016 Trump supporters. Here are a few of the few; all of them are here. Some of the responses are genuinely heartening, some are near coherent, some are indecipherable, and some still call for large bulky men in white coats carrying butterfly nets.
“In 2016 … I held my nose and voted for Donald Trump. This time, I won’t be holding my nose.”
Jay Maynard, 60, FAIRMONT, MINN.
“However much or little you ascribe blame for the current restlessness of the country to Trump, he’s definitely not the solution.”
Max Mordell, 34, CINCINNATI
“If I were in a swing state, I might consider voting for Trump, but not Biden.”
Rhonnie Cough, 32, COLUMBIA, S.C.
“I don’t see either party working to fix … systemic problems. That’s why I’m putting all of my energy behind getting more options for our future.”
Kirsten Johnson, 35, MINNEAPOLIS
“I’m still glad the Clintons are not in the White House, but I will be voting for Biden in November.”
Howard Gaskill, 80, GEORGETOWN, DEL.
“President Trump’s foreign policy achievements in four years are impressive and have exceeded that of many two-term presidents.”
Keep in mind that these are just polling averages from FiveThirtyEight, but numbers-guru Nate Mahatma Silver observes with fair confidence that, with only a week to go, Joe Biden could take substantial hits in Michigan and Wisconsin, as Hillary Clinton did in 2016, and still win the states.
Clinton lost both, of course, yet in 538's final 2016 averaging she held precarious leads in them: 4 points in Michigan; 5 points in Wisconsin — neither of them far from the margin of error. She then went on to lose those states by less than 1 percent in each.
Biden, however, leads in Michigan by 8 points and by 7 in Wisconsin.
Which means — Ode to Joy: Freude trinken alle Wesen / An den Brüsten der Natur — that "Biden’s extra cushion means he could survive a 2016-magnitude miss," notes Silver.
The little child shall lead him, and then kick Donald's butt back to his gilded, red-velvety, New Orleans whorehouse-fashioned Manhattan lair.
Should a deistic Providence, Satan or the Supreme Court (excuse the redundancy), or American karma permit Trump's reelection, this is what we are looking at. Next time, successfully.
Huge "LOCK HIM UP" chants erupt after Trump talks about the "Biden scandal" in Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/1DlzlEBxKr