Showing posts with label Merka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Merka. Show all posts

Monday, September 26, 2016

Still Foolishly Waiting For the Old "Great" America?

People regret how America isn't the America of the 1950s. Are YOU the person of your younger years? No, and neither is America. Do you want to be? Disconnected from the world at large as it has moved on, even if you haven't? Therefore being completely dysfunctional, rather than just somewhat dysfunctional as any normal country is?

Obviously, this involves Donald Trump. Sadly.



Tonight is the first debate between candidates on both sides. America's and the world's hope for decency and progress, Hilary Clinton, and the InternNational Embarrassment that is... Donald Trump. It should make for interesting political viewing. Interesting Reality TV viewing. Interesting studies in the path politics is taking in the world. Because we're slow to follow other countries in some of this (like fights breaking out in congress...see Japan, Italy, etc.), but we're blazing the trail on other aspects of this complete nightmare.

Not American? Then Hope, and if you're into that kind of thing, Pray (not that it will do anything other than make you feel better for a little while, then let you down in the end), that this kind of thing doesn't befall your own country!

For the record, I don't believe any of those things in this article from the Washington Post on "Why Smart People Believe all the Crazy Things Trump Says", except the Bush Administration knowing about the WMDs in Iraq. That, as it indicates, shouldn't be on that list. Why? Because it's true/untrue in the best of presidential plausible deniability. From what I've gathered over the years from what those who have spoken out on it (and in some cases you have to read a book, remember those?), the Bush Administration pushed the intelligence community into finding what they wanted to hear. They had wanted to go to war in Iraq before Bush became president in 2000. And so on. All documented. All easily and reasonably pieced together. 

So no. The Bush administration WAS told there were WMDs in Iraq. But it's not that simple. It is in part how our government works, but in this case it was above and beyond and led initially to a reasonable conclusion which later turned out to be an unreasonable one.

But this here and now deals with things like Hilary's reputation, who she is, who the Clinton's are, who she would be as president. 

Right wing conspiracy about her as usual in these kinds of things, paints a picture of her as world class James Bond villain. It's a child's view of the world, such as Republicans and conservatives tend to paint it in "knowing" what they expect to believe, what they want to believe, what assuages their need for information where there is none. It's an amateur, arm chair quarterback view of the world. 

With just a little bit of knowledge in how to research, in digging into disparate information sources and discounting and supporting reality, in listening to and triangulating what those in the know, those involved in these things have said and shown to be true, the actuality is sometime, quite obvious.

It is the information and political form of seeking a black hole in space. A scientist finds what is there through what is available and what isn't. An amateur does not have full access to the same kinds of information and therefore there is a lot of chaff and fluff in that arena. To be sure there are professional style amateurs, but they are few and far between compared to the more lazy forms out there. 

And so we have a mass of people beleiving in conspiracies. And now they have a leader. First the Republican party since the 90s if not 80s, and now in Trump who will fight to win at all costs, at any price, even that of the veracity of America across the world, the ideal and substance of America itself, and the self respect and sanity of the American people, themselves.
Have you ever noticed how parenting, even just making it through life is a series of guesses and hopes that you got it right? Some seem to just slide through life making all the right decisions. Many seem that way but it's just their deftness at making people believe that is the case. Most of us make mistakes along the way and then it's about how quickly and accurately we react to make things work right. Sometimes it's a series of corrections we make to make our mistakes functional. Most of us find a way to make that appear effortless so our boss or coworkers or the public thinks we are brilliant when really, we are just making it through life. Those are the things conservatives yearn for. That illusion of our greatness rather than our effective humbleness. We present this bold and brash cowboy attitude to the world, but we're just doing the best we can. Bullies too, fearful of the world unless they are sociopaths, put forth a brave and brash face which behind that facade is a scared and ignorant child. The world has gotten so complex, no one really knows what the right answers are. Those who tell you they know, are liars and charlatans, or politicians. People we hired to make us feel safe and when we don't, we blame them, rather than ourselves. Once you realize... "We have met the enemy and he is us." You are only then approaching adulthood. Then you can look around and see how frightened and ignorant we are. Then you can realize those who profess greatness and wisdom, are just expert actors displaying to you what they know you want to see. You complain when you don't get what you want, and then when you do, you see how things don't work right and you complain. rather than tearing down, try to support and build up, to see the bigger picture, to see you count as much as everyone else and they as much as you. Once you see that, things will start to become more functional again. Until you see that, it will just be more of the same and you have to understand, we have built the world we wanted. Because what you do, is what you have done, have allowed to happen, have asked for. At some point ignorance is no excuse, not a justification and you have to take responsibility because being a part of a nation requires that. If you don't like it, leave. Because going up into the wilderness isn't disconnecting yourself from the nation, only leaving it, rejecting citizenship, does that. And you're not willing to do that. So get involved, learn reality and stop with your wishing for what never was or what you really don't want to go back to, when you merely think you want to because in your colluded memories, the past last sloughed off the bad and you're only remembering the good. Good us all around us. Make that your reality. And work to bring us all as citizens of one nation, as much more as we can, not just for you, but for Americans. Otherwise, you are not an American. You are an old Soviet comrade, bitching at real Americans who ARE trying while you call THEM comrade, push your form of belief onto them, those who have no idea what you're talking about. You need to grow up. That is why things seem so bad for you. Hurry up, because the rest of us are waiting on you.

NOTE: Now, post first debate between the two candidates, a lucid and accurate journalist in a Sydney Morning Herald speaks out. I give you, Jonathan Bradley: Donald Trump's debate performance shows he has no business being president.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Calling for New American Party Mascots

I wonder sometimes if our political party's mascots have any relevance whatsoever to today's world. They are established, traditional, and let's face it, weird.
"In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party."
“The Third Term Panic: An ass, having put on the Lion’s skin, roamed about in the forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish Animals he met with in his wanderings.” Thomas Nast for Harpers, 1874.
I think we can all agree, the Democrat and Republican mascots have outlived their usefulness. While they may have at one time been effective, when the parties switched their political paths in the late 1800s, the mascots should really have switched with them.
"So, sometime between the 1860s and 1936, the (Democratic) party of small government became the party of big government, and the (Republican) party of big government became rhetorically committed to curbing federal power." Natalie Wolchover - LiveScience.com 9/24/2012

The party of Lincoln, is no longer Lincoln's party. He simply wouldn't recognize it now.
So when Republicans say that, call them out. They're lying, or possibly more reasonably they're simply ignorant. The true mainstay of their party platform, Ignorance.
I'm proposing here however that we just kill them off. The mascots. We could have a big Republican sponsored game hunt. They should love that idea. Right?
My replacement suggestions are a slide for Republicans and a ladder for Democrats. Democrats are always trying to raise us up above the muck and Republicans are always trying to slip us back down into it, unless you have the money to save yourself. Which let's be honest, most of us don't have.
Republicans want things to be easy, not grey but black and white, good vs evil, as children view the world. They view things as simple when usually they are complex. Even if it kills people. Then they point the finger at their opponents, typically Democrats, liberals, progressives... or science.

When they do try to think in complex terms they tend to go in useless directions, spinning up obfuscations, improperly weighted situations, getting nowhere but wasting vast amounts of energy in looking like they are doing something, when they are just spinning their wheels and wasting as well, huge sums of OUR tax dollars with no apparent end in sight or purpose.

Other than self aggrandizement or extending their typically silly if not utterly destructive agendas. Ideologies based in make believe. Make believe frequently based in religion. Religion typically of a Judeo\Christian form. More of the three main defective revealed harsh desert religions from the Middle East.

Democrats however seem always to be trying to progress up to better things. While also sometimes using a slide for a short time...WHEN it just might be useful and helpful, overall it's hard and usually harder for them to do so.

And yet they keep on climbing, keep on trying, though usually too quietly.

While Republicans if they ever even try a ladder, only seem to make it up a step or two and then start in on any distraction they can think of. They don't want to do much, just appear to be doing much. Like a morbidly obese person trying to be distracted from doing exercise. Or in the case of extremist conservatives, to distract from any real thinking or analysis, or from doing any actual work and this is imperative...that they could be held accountable for.

So I give you our new modern political mascots: The Republican Slide and Democratic Ladder!

Now you just have to ask yourself. Which side of the platform do you want to be on?