"The Ship of Fools" was a 1965 Stanley Kramer film based on the 1962 novel of the same title by Katherine Anne Porter. The plot followed the stories and interactions of passengers on an ocean liner traveling from Mexico to Germany in 1931. Porter intended the book to be a microcosm of human foibles in the years prior to WWII.
She took her title from a late 15th-century satirical poem by Sebastian Brant that concerned a ship sailing to the Fools' Paradise. Brant in turn based his poem on a section of Book 6 of Plato's Republic. Plato tells an allegorical story of a dysfunctional and incompetent crew trying to sail a ship. The allegory refers to the difficulties experienced by a society trying to develop and live with democracy, a new concept of governance at the time.
Here is that allegory, in a contemporary translation by Tom Griffith. I think it closely resembles the Trump administration:
There’s the shipowner, larger and stronger than everyone in the ship,
but somewhat deaf and rather short-sighted, with a knowledge of sailing to match his eyesight. The sailors are quarrelling among themselves over
captaincy of the ship, each one thinking that he ought to be captain,
though he has never learnt that skill, nor can he point to the person who taught him or a time when he was learning it. On top of which they say it can’t be taught. In fact they’re prepared to cut to pieces anyone who says it can. The shipowner himself is always surrounded by them.
They beg him and do everything they can to make him hand over the tiller to them. Sometimes, if other people can persuade him and they can’t,
they kill those others or throw them overboard. Then they immobilise
their worthy shipowner with drugs or drink or by some other means, and take control of the ship, helping themselves to what it is carrying.
Drinking and feasting, they sail in the way you’d expect people like that to sail. More than that, if someone is good at finding them ways of persuading or compelling the shipowner to let them take control, they call him a real seaman, a real captain, and say he really knows about ships. Anyone who can’t do this they treat with contempt, calling him useless. They don’t even begin to understand that if he is to be truly fit to take command of a ship a real ship’s captain must of necessity be thoroughly familiar with the seasons of the year, the stars in the sky,
the winds, and everything to do with his art. As for how he is going to steer the ship - regardless of whether anyone wants him to or not -
they do not regard this as an additional skill or study which can be acquired over and above the art of being a ship’s captain. If this is the situation on board, don’t you think the person who is genuinely equipped to be captain will be called a stargazer, a chatterer, of no use to them, by those who sail in ships with this kind of crew? 1
This is America today: Adrift with no one capable of steering on board.
--- Diogenes, 8/16/2020
¹ Plato, The Republic, Tom Griffith, trans., Cambridge University Press. p. 191-192.
U.S. Constitution
The foundation of the United States of America
16 August 2020
14 August 2020
STOP TRUMP!!! Save The USPS.
". . . absentee good. Universal mail-in, very bad."¹
Pop quiz: What's the difference between an absentee ballot and a mail-in ballot?
Being the smart folks you all are, everyone answered "none," right?
Precisely. That's a test the Jackass-in-Chief couldn't pass, because he thinks they're two separate things.
He also calls mail-in voting "universal mail-in," which isn't on anybody's radar except the states that have voting exclusively by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.
Here's the point: Tyrannical Trump has essentially said in so many words that he intends to disable the functionality of the U. S. Postal Service so that mail-in ballots won't go anywhere.
Of course Congress is into its August break, which I frankly find unconscionable. Right now they're the one group of people who might be able to do something about the Psycho-in-Chief and they're on vacation, treating the run-up to the most important election of our lifetimes like business as usual.
But the August break means your Congress critters will probably be near home, so it might be easier than usual to reach them. Please reach out, preferably by phone, and let them know in no uncertain terms that you want them to save the Postal Service. This will be especially important to you if you live in one of the vote-by-mail states.
We need to be fighting and making noise now if we expect success in November.
--- Diogenes, 8/14/2020
Share this with everybody you know.
¹ That absurd quote comes from an 8/13 "press conference" that was nothing but a campaign talk. Here's the link to the transcript: https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-coronavirus-task-force-press-conference-transcript-august-13
Pop quiz: What's the difference between an absentee ballot and a mail-in ballot?
Being the smart folks you all are, everyone answered "none," right?
Precisely. That's a test the Jackass-in-Chief couldn't pass, because he thinks they're two separate things.
He also calls mail-in voting "universal mail-in," which isn't on anybody's radar except the states that have voting exclusively by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.
Here's the point: Tyrannical Trump has essentially said in so many words that he intends to disable the functionality of the U. S. Postal Service so that mail-in ballots won't go anywhere.
Of course Congress is into its August break, which I frankly find unconscionable. Right now they're the one group of people who might be able to do something about the Psycho-in-Chief and they're on vacation, treating the run-up to the most important election of our lifetimes like business as usual.
But the August break means your Congress critters will probably be near home, so it might be easier than usual to reach them. Please reach out, preferably by phone, and let them know in no uncertain terms that you want them to save the Postal Service. This will be especially important to you if you live in one of the vote-by-mail states.
We need to be fighting and making noise now if we expect success in November.
--- Diogenes, 8/14/2020
Share this with everybody you know.
¹ That absurd quote comes from an 8/13 "press conference" that was nothing but a campaign talk. Here's the link to the transcript: https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-coronavirus-task-force-press-conference-transcript-august-13
13 August 2020
Too Stupid To Live (Repost)
I know--we're running past Diogenes posts the way broadcast TV used to do summer reruns. Just hang on a bit longer, please, and enjoy these if you missed them first time.
Today's title is the favorite saying of a former workmate. It's harsh, but there are some cases in which it seems apt.
To wit: People who blindly follow Donald Trump.
Near the top of the long list of things I do not understand is why anyone would follow Trump for any reason. I think they actually don't follow, because he has proven himself not to be a leader. Perhaps a better word would be adherents: they are drawn to him unconsciously, and just sort of clump around him.
Having thought about this for a while I've decided Trump's human conglomeration can be divided into four groups, as follows:
Toadies and minions
These are people who are in some way beholden to the unpresident or feel a strong attraction to him. The group includes his staff, the Cabinet, associate Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and probably most Congressional Republicans.
For many politicians, bureaucrats, and functionaries, D. C. is Nirvana, the Promised Land, and El Dorado. Most of them are power junkies who prize being near the center of power above all. The closer they can bind themselves to the chief executive, the more power adheres to them. Many of this group don't care who the president is. All they want is to keep hanging on to a job that keeps them near the Omphalos of government, and they will do anything the incumbent asks of them to stay in it.
The Party Faithful
There is some overlap between this group and the toadies and minions, but it isn't huge. By and large these people have been staunch Republicans all their lives, and are likely the children of Republicans. A good number of them have been in office far too long. They still wistfully refer to the Grand Old Party, but deep down they know the Republican Party is broken. The president is nominally Republican, but they can't go to him to fix it, because they now know he's the one who broke it. Nonetheless, when November 3 rolls around they will hold their noses and vote for him, because, by God, they're Republicans, and they vote for Republicans, period.
The Mob
I don't know if The Mob is the largest of these four groups, but they are the ones who are most visible and make the most noise. I equate them with British yobs, who can turn any soccer match into a bar brawl.
They're not political. They come out for the action, to confront protesters and/or cops, to strut around shirtless waving Trump flags, to pointedly defy rules (e.g. wearing masks), and to shout slogans about foreigners and minorities. If they have a goal it is to show the Dumbass-in-Chief that they are men, too, and they identify with his anger and his displeasure with anyone who doesn't agree with him or isn't like him. (I'm sorry for all the masculine pronouns, but this group is testosterone fueled.)
The Fringe
This is the group I was thinking of when I decided on the title. The fringe is the group that gets their news from social media and takes as Gospel anything uttered by their ultra-right authority figure du jour, be it the Idiot Child-in-Chief, Archdemon Mitch McConnell, the faceless Q of Qanon, Sean Hannity, or their foreman at work.
They propagate and embroider conspiracy theories with such outrageous premises that any reasonable (not to say sane) person would reject them out of hand. Yet they hold to these beliefs like religion because someone they believe to be in authority said it was so. It's easy to dismiss them as gullible fools and paranoiacs, but we would do so at our peril.
Because these people so desperately need something to follow or to believe in, they will believe virtually anything. They become easy to manipulate, and the darker corners of the Web where they like to hang out are perfect places to recruit and persuade them to a cause. If all this sounds just too "out there," I recommend this:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/
Don't read it before bed.
--- Diogenes, 8/13/2020 Reposted 10/14/2020
Please share widely.
12 August 2020
Don't Laugh
Yesterday I caught myself chuckling about a Trump idiocy one of my colleagues here at Vox Populi had related to me.
It suddenly occurred to me to ask if it was really funny. It's almost too easy to laugh at the Lunatic-in-Chief. Even making up names to call him (thereby stooping to his level) makes the process seem whimsical. We laugh at him because he's such a pathetic caricature of a leader. We sometimes even cringe when he says or does something especially egregious, as if we feel sorry for him.
We must not. We must never let empathy or sympathy or compassion cloud our vision of what he truly is: cheat, liar, coward, bully, cretin, adulterer, traitor, imbecile, creep, criminal, ass, bigot, loser.
I am tempted to add mass murderer of the thousands of Americans who have died of COVID-19 because of his criminal negligence in not even attempting to find a response to the disease, but I won't.
The response Americans should have toward him is raw hatred, screaming incandescent anger, a collective emotional pulse to make his head explode, a nationwide prayer for him to contract a massive case of COVID-19.
The thing I fear most about this election is that the Biden-Harris campaign won't fight dirty enough. Republicans almost always fight dirty. It was they who gave us Watergate, the "birther" absurdity, Iran-Contra, and Earl Butz. And that's just a sampling since the middle of the 20th century.
Democrats tend not to get what it takes. They don't get rage. Not paltry anger, but rage: The head-banging, bare-knuckle, red-mist-in-front-of-the-eyes emotion that comes so easily to the Ragged Right. I'm not suggesting that Biden challenge Trump to a fistfight, but I do wish the Democratic Party could muster the gumption to launch an all-out dirty-tricks, in-your-face, no-holds-barred campaign.
They probably won't because they're afraid the Litigant-in-Chief will sue them, but what the hell? He'll sue them anyway. Might as well get sued for something worthwhile. And another thing: The Republicans will sacrifice anything and anyone for victory. The Democrats have to be just as heartless if they're going to win.
I'm not talking about our parents' Democratic Party here, or even my generation's. I'm talking about a party that is going to have to adopt some distasteful practices if it hopes to meet the Republican incumbent and his mass of goons, foreign and domestic, on a level field.
I don't care how melodramatic it sounds, this election will be for the fate of the United States of America.
The Constitution must remain intact if this country is to survive. I fear it won't if Trump is re-elected.
--- Diogenes, 8/12/2020
It suddenly occurred to me to ask if it was really funny. It's almost too easy to laugh at the Lunatic-in-Chief. Even making up names to call him (thereby stooping to his level) makes the process seem whimsical. We laugh at him because he's such a pathetic caricature of a leader. We sometimes even cringe when he says or does something especially egregious, as if we feel sorry for him.
We must not. We must never let empathy or sympathy or compassion cloud our vision of what he truly is: cheat, liar, coward, bully, cretin, adulterer, traitor, imbecile, creep, criminal, ass, bigot, loser.
I am tempted to add mass murderer of the thousands of Americans who have died of COVID-19 because of his criminal negligence in not even attempting to find a response to the disease, but I won't.
The response Americans should have toward him is raw hatred, screaming incandescent anger, a collective emotional pulse to make his head explode, a nationwide prayer for him to contract a massive case of COVID-19.
The thing I fear most about this election is that the Biden-Harris campaign won't fight dirty enough. Republicans almost always fight dirty. It was they who gave us Watergate, the "birther" absurdity, Iran-Contra, and Earl Butz. And that's just a sampling since the middle of the 20th century.
Democrats tend not to get what it takes. They don't get rage. Not paltry anger, but rage: The head-banging, bare-knuckle, red-mist-in-front-of-the-eyes emotion that comes so easily to the Ragged Right. I'm not suggesting that Biden challenge Trump to a fistfight, but I do wish the Democratic Party could muster the gumption to launch an all-out dirty-tricks, in-your-face, no-holds-barred campaign.
They probably won't because they're afraid the Litigant-in-Chief will sue them, but what the hell? He'll sue them anyway. Might as well get sued for something worthwhile. And another thing: The Republicans will sacrifice anything and anyone for victory. The Democrats have to be just as heartless if they're going to win.
I'm not talking about our parents' Democratic Party here, or even my generation's. I'm talking about a party that is going to have to adopt some distasteful practices if it hopes to meet the Republican incumbent and his mass of goons, foreign and domestic, on a level field.
I don't care how melodramatic it sounds, this election will be for the fate of the United States of America.
The Constitution must remain intact if this country is to survive. I fear it won't if Trump is re-elected.
--- Diogenes, 8/12/2020
10 August 2020
J'Accuse
Not enough people are speaking seriously of the widespread criminal behavior that infects the Trump administration. So I will.
I accuse:
Donald J. Trump of treason for his secret collusion with Vladimir Putin and other potential enemies to interfere with the electoral process and to undermine the stability of the U. S. government.
Donald J. Trump of criminally negligent manslaughter for the deaths of 160,000 Americans from COVID-19.
Donald J. Trump of fraud and intent to defraud the American people with false promises and frivolous executive orders made only to enhance his chances of re-election.
Donald J. Trump of misuse of federal funds and resources for political gain.
Michael R. Pence of aiding and abetting the above acts.
The Cabinet, collectively, of violating their oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" by failing to invoke the 25th Amendment, relieving Trump of his presidential duties.
Attorney General William P. Barr of criminal assault, attempted murder, and criminal trespass for allowing federal agents to occupy American cities and act against American citizens exercising their Constitutional rights.
The Congress, collectively, for malfeasance and abandonment of their oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. for inciting other members of Congress to act contrary to their sworn oath.
Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. for conspiring with the president, other members of the administration, and other members of Congress selectively to block or promote legislation that would negatively affect the voting rights of Americans.
The Supreme Court, collectively, for taking blatantly political stands in violation of their oath to "administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and . . . faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me."
Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, and Secret Service Director James M. Murray for grossly endangering the American public by colluding with members of the administration not to hamper the actions of a clearly delusional president.
To this list I add five crimes Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) allege Donald J. Trump committed in connection with his shadowy dealings with Ukraine:
The penalty for treason is death.
--- Diogenes, 8/10/2020
Please share widely.
I accuse:
Donald J. Trump of treason for his secret collusion with Vladimir Putin and other potential enemies to interfere with the electoral process and to undermine the stability of the U. S. government.
Donald J. Trump of criminally negligent manslaughter for the deaths of 160,000 Americans from COVID-19.
Donald J. Trump of fraud and intent to defraud the American people with false promises and frivolous executive orders made only to enhance his chances of re-election.
Donald J. Trump of misuse of federal funds and resources for political gain.
Michael R. Pence of aiding and abetting the above acts.
The Cabinet, collectively, of violating their oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" by failing to invoke the 25th Amendment, relieving Trump of his presidential duties.
Attorney General William P. Barr of criminal assault, attempted murder, and criminal trespass for allowing federal agents to occupy American cities and act against American citizens exercising their Constitutional rights.
The Congress, collectively, for malfeasance and abandonment of their oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. for inciting other members of Congress to act contrary to their sworn oath.
Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. for conspiring with the president, other members of the administration, and other members of Congress selectively to block or promote legislation that would negatively affect the voting rights of Americans.
The Supreme Court, collectively, for taking blatantly political stands in violation of their oath to "administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and . . . faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me."
Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, and Secret Service Director James M. Murray for grossly endangering the American public by colluding with members of the administration not to hamper the actions of a clearly delusional president.
To this list I add five crimes Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) allege Donald J. Trump committed in connection with his shadowy dealings with Ukraine:
- Bribery
- Soliciting foreign campaign contribution
- Coercion of political activity
- Misappropriation of federal funds
- Obstruction of Congress
The penalty for treason is death.
--- Diogenes, 8/10/2020
Please share widely.
09 August 2020
The Open Road
Americans tend to think of it in capital letters.
The Road is a path to new worlds, new people, adventure, and excitement. The Road can take you to oceans, mountains, deserts, and swamps. It can lead you around and through this magnificent land of ours. It offers smooth cruising and white-knuckle cliffside corkscrews. It's the route through old-growth forests and seedy downtowns, to monuments and burned-out neighborhoods, to waterfalls and bayous.
The Road is a legend peopled with wanderers, vagabonds, hoboes, and minstrels. It carried the Great Migration that saw some six million Blacks leave the South for Northern jobs and equality; it gave hope to three million Okies headed for the promised land of California; it's where you go if life becomes unbearable.
The spirit of The Road is best represented by one iconic machine: the motorcycle. Sturdy, agile, and fast, bikes are the ultimate statement of freedom. They're a way out, an escape. No other vehicle represents a quick getaway quite like the motorcycle.
It's estimated there are about 13 million motorcycles in the United States. We all probably have some stereotypical image of a biker, but considering that eight percent of American households own at least one bike, it's almost certainly wrong. Ask anybody which movie best typifies biker culture, and you'll get a range of "wild" answers from "The Wild One" to "The Wild Angels" to "Wild Hogs," and any others, and they'll all be right. Bikers come in all sizes, colors, races, genders, and socioeconomic strata.
Every August thousands of them gather in Sturgis, South Dakota. You remember South Dakota, right? The state governed by pro-Trump COVID-19 denier Kristi Noem where the Fool-in-Chief hired an audience to watch him read a fifth-grade history lesson about the presidents carved into Mount Rushmore before having a photo taken that appears to show him joining them.
But I digress. Governor Noem has imposed virtually no COVID-19 restrictions anywhere, so for 10 days beginning the day before yesterday Sturgis is going to be one huge viral swamp.
I've taken a couple of days off to research this year's event in order to avoid the trap of stereotyping, and I offer the following with reasonable certainty.
Yes, the biker community is heterogeneous, but this year's gathering is likely less so. The 80th Sturgis rally is now estimated to draw between 100,000 and 250,000 bikers and aficionados. That is a lot, but way down from last year's attendance of nearly half a million.
When throngs of people with a special interest are reduced, true believers are the distillate, and I expect the majority of Sturgis attendees are going to be hard-core freedom-loving bikers who aren't going to wear masks or observe COVID-19 precations generally. Sturgis is a party, with lots of drinking, drugs, back slapping, hugging, and sex. Crowds will be shoulder-to-shoulder at bars, concerts, and other rally events.
Sturgis is an international event, which means anyone infected there could pass the virus on to a great many people. Not surprisingly, a lot of attendees are Trump supporters. Why? It's not political. They identify with his "I'm number one," "take what you want" attitude and his incessant anger. Not a few of them, I suspect, are "Sons of Anarchy" wannabes.
Native American communities have closed roads that lead to Sturgis and banned rally traffic on or through their territories. I'm sure the residents of Sturgis wish they could do the same. They were overwhelmingly opposed to the rally this year. But the event brings a lot of income to area businesses. Money talks, and the city council listened.
Thanks to Governor Noem's laissez-faire policy and the city council's avarice, the 2020 Sturgis rally may be remembered less as a party and more as a visitation by the Grim Reaper.
I hope not. I really do. I love The Road, and would hate for anyone's experience of it to be tainted by disease. Still, those who live large and take unnecessary risks have to expect some payback.
Ride fast, party hard, suffer the consequences.
---Diogenes, 8/9/2020
Please share as widely as possible.
07 August 2020
Eating Worms
"Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms."
Now that the real news folks have tired of DJTrump's interesting comment on his unpopularity, it's our turn to have a shot at it.
In case you missed it or don't remember, the statement came during a COVID-19 White House press briefing on July 28. As usual the "briefing" was a series of repeated tropes on ventilators, inept governors, testing, and the importance of blocking China.
At about 20 minutes into the briefing, responding to a question about his relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Mooncalf-in-Chief gave a typically self-contradictory answer, then went into ruminative mode, considering the relative popularity of Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and himself.
He came to this conclusion: "So it sort of is curious: A man works for us — with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Birx also highly thought of. And yet, they’re highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That’s all."
Let's parse that a bit. The delivery is uncolored, in almost a conversational tone. In the first sentence he redefines Fauci's status three times, elevating it each time: "A man works for us--with us, very closely." It's as if he's hoping to avoid another question about Fauci by precisely defining where Fauci stands relative to the Omphalos, i.e. DJTrump himself.
There's also a slight hint of discovery in that first sentence, as if he's just figured out that Fauci works with him--or for him, whichever.
The mention of Birx appears to be an afterthought. You can almost see the gears in his head working, churning out the thought that there's someone else he should mention, then the "Oh, yeah" moment.
Moving to the second sentence, there's that surprising admission: "Nobody likes me." Contrary to some commenters and analysts, that line is not delivered in a self-pitying way, but is stated matter-of-factly, with no noticeable emotion.
What is surprising to Trump here is that someone close to him can be "highly thought of" while he is not. He has continuously held to the idea that as the center of all things, all glory, popularity, and fame adhere to him, and are radiated to those around him as splendor emanates from a godhead.
And yet the notion that he's a dark center while those around him are esteemed does not appear to be a revelation to the Grand Poohbah. Rather, it sounds like something he has thought about for a while and he's turning to the press as an interlocutor. Then he says simply, without inflection, "Nobody likes me."
He states it as a fact. He knows it. He's not bothered by it because the adulation of lesser beings isn't important to him. He knows that he alone is important to the world, and these other names he mentions are nothing.
"Nobody likes me" is the phrase most people locked onto, but I think the penultimate sentence is most telling: "It can only be my personality." Whoa! Let's recontextualize that: "[The reason nobody likes me] can only be my personality."
Do you get what that is? That's Trump taking responsibility for people not liking him. He's not pointing fingers, not transferring the fault to someone else. We've not seen this, have we? Anywhere? Granted, he does speak of his personality as if it's something separate from him, but there's no way he can be separated from it.
"That's all" at the end is a throwaway line to get back into taking questions.
I opened this post with a line from a children's song because it reflects the usual response to being disliked. Trump is nowhere near ready to eat worms, and I think his flat emotional response to being disliked is a good indicator of his abysmal level of emotional intelligence.
Still, knowing that he knows he is disliked is another tool in the struggle.
---Diogenes, 8/7/2020
Now that the real news folks have tired of DJTrump's interesting comment on his unpopularity, it's our turn to have a shot at it.
In case you missed it or don't remember, the statement came during a COVID-19 White House press briefing on July 28. As usual the "briefing" was a series of repeated tropes on ventilators, inept governors, testing, and the importance of blocking China.
At about 20 minutes into the briefing, responding to a question about his relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Mooncalf-in-Chief gave a typically self-contradictory answer, then went into ruminative mode, considering the relative popularity of Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and himself.
He came to this conclusion: "So it sort of is curious: A man works for us — with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Birx also highly thought of. And yet, they’re highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That’s all."
Let's parse that a bit. The delivery is uncolored, in almost a conversational tone. In the first sentence he redefines Fauci's status three times, elevating it each time: "A man works for us--with us, very closely." It's as if he's hoping to avoid another question about Fauci by precisely defining where Fauci stands relative to the Omphalos, i.e. DJTrump himself.
There's also a slight hint of discovery in that first sentence, as if he's just figured out that Fauci works with him--or for him, whichever.
The mention of Birx appears to be an afterthought. You can almost see the gears in his head working, churning out the thought that there's someone else he should mention, then the "Oh, yeah" moment.
Moving to the second sentence, there's that surprising admission: "Nobody likes me." Contrary to some commenters and analysts, that line is not delivered in a self-pitying way, but is stated matter-of-factly, with no noticeable emotion.
What is surprising to Trump here is that someone close to him can be "highly thought of" while he is not. He has continuously held to the idea that as the center of all things, all glory, popularity, and fame adhere to him, and are radiated to those around him as splendor emanates from a godhead.
And yet the notion that he's a dark center while those around him are esteemed does not appear to be a revelation to the Grand Poohbah. Rather, it sounds like something he has thought about for a while and he's turning to the press as an interlocutor. Then he says simply, without inflection, "Nobody likes me."
He states it as a fact. He knows it. He's not bothered by it because the adulation of lesser beings isn't important to him. He knows that he alone is important to the world, and these other names he mentions are nothing.
"Nobody likes me" is the phrase most people locked onto, but I think the penultimate sentence is most telling: "It can only be my personality." Whoa! Let's recontextualize that: "[The reason nobody likes me] can only be my personality."
Do you get what that is? That's Trump taking responsibility for people not liking him. He's not pointing fingers, not transferring the fault to someone else. We've not seen this, have we? Anywhere? Granted, he does speak of his personality as if it's something separate from him, but there's no way he can be separated from it.
"That's all" at the end is a throwaway line to get back into taking questions.
I opened this post with a line from a children's song because it reflects the usual response to being disliked. Trump is nowhere near ready to eat worms, and I think his flat emotional response to being disliked is a good indicator of his abysmal level of emotional intelligence.
Still, knowing that he knows he is disliked is another tool in the struggle.
---Diogenes, 8/7/2020
05 August 2020
It Is What It Is
"It is what it is"--The mid-twentieth century statement of an absolute that has become a twenty-first-century dismissive, joining "Oh, well" and "Whatever."
"It is what it is." It's one of those phrases that sounds vaguely intellectual or philosophical. It is in fact, a gross oversimplification of Immanuel Kant's concept of "das Ding an sich," a "thing-in-itself" that exists outside human perception and knowing. The similarity is no doubt coincidental.
"It is what it is." People use it as a throwaway phrase to close conversations about something they either don't like or don't want to talk about.
"It is what it is" was the Jerk-in-Chief's throwaway line when he was recently reminded of the COVID-19 death toll by Jonathan Swan on AXIOS news. He first claimed that the pandemic was under control, then said, “They are dying. That’s true. And you – it is what it is.”
"It is what it is." People die, and when they do it is customary to offer condolences and perhaps a bright note about something in their life. We all have an aversion to death, but it is, after all, the price of living. The Denier-in-Chief must have a special hatred of it because he won't deal with it. Perhaps he fears it because he knows it is the one thing that he absolutely cannot control. Or perhaps he thinks if he ignores it, it will go away.
"It is what it is." On May 28, nearly six months into the pandemic and the day the U.S. COVID death toll reached 100,000, the Great Twit tweeted his one and only message acknowledging the great loss of life: “To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!”
"It is what it is." A mass message is better than nothing, I suppose. But what about some opportunities to join personally in the celebrations of other lives? It is traditional for presidents to attend the funerals of important Americans, but with one exception, the Avoider-in-Chief has chosen not to honor the fallen with his presence (the honor would proceed from the office of POTUS, not the individual holding the office).
"It is what it is." During his time in office, DJTrump has attended exactly one state funeral: that of former President George H. W. Bush--and he was not welcome. He could have but chose not to attend services for former First Lady Barbara Bush, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. John Dingell, Rep. John Lewis, and Sen. John McCain.
“They are dying. That’s true. And you – it is what it is.” The Great Pretender has only disdain for the American people, living or dead. He may be able to relate to 100,000 (now more than 165,000) as a big number but that is all it is to him--a number. He has no sympathy for the actual people or their families. Mostly he wishes they would just go away.
How to visualize that many people? This is a satellite photo of Salinas, California, population approximately 155,000.
Salinas is about five miles square. Imagine it as a ghost town. Imagine walking through streets with thousands of vacant homes, stores, and industrial buildings. No traffic, no sounds, no life, nothing moving that's not blown by the wind. No smells of food, smoke, sewage, or diesel. No sensory input at all.
That's what 155,000 missing souls feels like.
COVID-19 is beginning its second wave, and is starting to have a significant impact on the population of our country. Cities similar in size to Salinas are Springfield, MA, Bellevue, WA, and Alexandria, VA. If you're close to any of them, visit. Take a drive around and imagine it as a ghost town. Think of the economic impact of losing hundreds of thousands of people.
The Denier-in-Chief will not look at this, will not acknowledge it, will not mourn the dead nor comfort the surviving. It has nothing to do with him because he feels nothing outside the bounds of his imaginary world.
Yet COVID-19, hand in hand with Death, marches on.
It is what it is.
---Diogenes, 8/5/2020
Please share as widely as possible.
"It is what it is." It's one of those phrases that sounds vaguely intellectual or philosophical. It is in fact, a gross oversimplification of Immanuel Kant's concept of "das Ding an sich," a "thing-in-itself" that exists outside human perception and knowing. The similarity is no doubt coincidental.
"It is what it is." People use it as a throwaway phrase to close conversations about something they either don't like or don't want to talk about.
"It is what it is" was the Jerk-in-Chief's throwaway line when he was recently reminded of the COVID-19 death toll by Jonathan Swan on AXIOS news. He first claimed that the pandemic was under control, then said, “They are dying. That’s true. And you – it is what it is.”
"It is what it is." People die, and when they do it is customary to offer condolences and perhaps a bright note about something in their life. We all have an aversion to death, but it is, after all, the price of living. The Denier-in-Chief must have a special hatred of it because he won't deal with it. Perhaps he fears it because he knows it is the one thing that he absolutely cannot control. Or perhaps he thinks if he ignores it, it will go away.
"It is what it is." On May 28, nearly six months into the pandemic and the day the U.S. COVID death toll reached 100,000, the Great Twit tweeted his one and only message acknowledging the great loss of life: “To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!”
"It is what it is." A mass message is better than nothing, I suppose. But what about some opportunities to join personally in the celebrations of other lives? It is traditional for presidents to attend the funerals of important Americans, but with one exception, the Avoider-in-Chief has chosen not to honor the fallen with his presence (the honor would proceed from the office of POTUS, not the individual holding the office).
"It is what it is." During his time in office, DJTrump has attended exactly one state funeral: that of former President George H. W. Bush--and he was not welcome. He could have but chose not to attend services for former First Lady Barbara Bush, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. John Dingell, Rep. John Lewis, and Sen. John McCain.
“They are dying. That’s true. And you – it is what it is.” The Great Pretender has only disdain for the American people, living or dead. He may be able to relate to 100,000 (now more than 165,000) as a big number but that is all it is to him--a number. He has no sympathy for the actual people or their families. Mostly he wishes they would just go away.
How to visualize that many people? This is a satellite photo of Salinas, California, population approximately 155,000.
Salinas is about five miles square. Imagine it as a ghost town. Imagine walking through streets with thousands of vacant homes, stores, and industrial buildings. No traffic, no sounds, no life, nothing moving that's not blown by the wind. No smells of food, smoke, sewage, or diesel. No sensory input at all.
That's what 155,000 missing souls feels like.
COVID-19 is beginning its second wave, and is starting to have a significant impact on the population of our country. Cities similar in size to Salinas are Springfield, MA, Bellevue, WA, and Alexandria, VA. If you're close to any of them, visit. Take a drive around and imagine it as a ghost town. Think of the economic impact of losing hundreds of thousands of people.
The Denier-in-Chief will not look at this, will not acknowledge it, will not mourn the dead nor comfort the surviving. It has nothing to do with him because he feels nothing outside the bounds of his imaginary world.
Yet COVID-19, hand in hand with Death, marches on.
It is what it is.
---Diogenes, 8/5/2020
Please share as widely as possible.
04 August 2020
On Hiding
There are four major reasons people hide things: Fear, Greed, Guilt, and Shame.
Donald John Trump has a lot of stuff hidden.
DJTrump thinks he's smart and says so frequently. "I'm, like, a really smart person." But factual accounts of his student days don't always square with his claim.
Needless to say, his butt never sat at a public school desk. Consider his education:
He attended, in order, the Kew-Forest School, which bills itself as "The oldest independent school in the borough of Queens;" the New York Military Academy, where he was sent in hopes of straightening out his incorrigible bad behavior; Fordham University, a Jesuit school in the Bronx, which his niece alleges he got into by paying someone else to take his SAT; and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with the default degree, a B.S. in Economics (he has occasionally boasted of having the prestigious Wharton MBA--not true).
During the 2016 campaign, Trump ordered his minions to threaten all those schools but Kew-Forest with criminal charges if they made the Dunce-in-Chief's academic records public.
Why might the Litigant-in-Chief make such threats? Academic records are already protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Threatening a lawsuit would be overkill--the act of a person desperate to keep those records in deep darkness.
This kind of behavior never fails to make us Homo Saps curious. We're naturally nosy. Why hide records? What's the big deal? Come on, Donny, tell!
In my professional life as an educator I've noticed that most students react to grades in one of two ways: with joy and pride, or with disappointment and chagrin. Those who are proud of their grades as an accomplishment boast of them to anyone who will listen. The others go off and sulk.
Trump is a sulker. He has said he was first in his class (without designating a school), but those records that are public are clear: he never achieved honors and was never on a dean's list.
So here's my take on a non-mystery that's as plain as day: Donald John Trump was a terrible, uninterested, and unmotivated student. He spent his time in school playing and doing just enough to avoid flunking. He may have cheated on his SAT, and there is evidence that family connections got him into the Wharton School.
I doubt he cares overmuch about the grades themselves. He managed to get a degree so he could fit into a certain type of society. With the records sealed he could boast and lie about his academic prowess and never be challenged.
What exactly motivated him to bury his records? Unlikely as it sounds, I think it might have been shame, or the fear of being shamed. If the records were revealed somehow he would no doubt dismiss them as forgeries or an attempt to discredit him. But somewhere deep down, maybe the Liar-in-Chief knows that most Americans still have faith in the integrity of America's universities.
Just not in its chief executive.
---Diogenes, 8/4/2020
Donald John Trump has a lot of stuff hidden.
DJTrump thinks he's smart and says so frequently. "I'm, like, a really smart person." But factual accounts of his student days don't always square with his claim.
Needless to say, his butt never sat at a public school desk. Consider his education:
He attended, in order, the Kew-Forest School, which bills itself as "The oldest independent school in the borough of Queens;" the New York Military Academy, where he was sent in hopes of straightening out his incorrigible bad behavior; Fordham University, a Jesuit school in the Bronx, which his niece alleges he got into by paying someone else to take his SAT; and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with the default degree, a B.S. in Economics (he has occasionally boasted of having the prestigious Wharton MBA--not true).
During the 2016 campaign, Trump ordered his minions to threaten all those schools but Kew-Forest with criminal charges if they made the Dunce-in-Chief's academic records public.
Why might the Litigant-in-Chief make such threats? Academic records are already protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Threatening a lawsuit would be overkill--the act of a person desperate to keep those records in deep darkness.
This kind of behavior never fails to make us Homo Saps curious. We're naturally nosy. Why hide records? What's the big deal? Come on, Donny, tell!
In my professional life as an educator I've noticed that most students react to grades in one of two ways: with joy and pride, or with disappointment and chagrin. Those who are proud of their grades as an accomplishment boast of them to anyone who will listen. The others go off and sulk.
Trump is a sulker. He has said he was first in his class (without designating a school), but those records that are public are clear: he never achieved honors and was never on a dean's list.
So here's my take on a non-mystery that's as plain as day: Donald John Trump was a terrible, uninterested, and unmotivated student. He spent his time in school playing and doing just enough to avoid flunking. He may have cheated on his SAT, and there is evidence that family connections got him into the Wharton School.
I doubt he cares overmuch about the grades themselves. He managed to get a degree so he could fit into a certain type of society. With the records sealed he could boast and lie about his academic prowess and never be challenged.
What exactly motivated him to bury his records? Unlikely as it sounds, I think it might have been shame, or the fear of being shamed. If the records were revealed somehow he would no doubt dismiss them as forgeries or an attempt to discredit him. But somewhere deep down, maybe the Liar-in-Chief knows that most Americans still have faith in the integrity of America's universities.
Just not in its chief executive.
---Diogenes, 8/4/2020
03 August 2020
On Kneeling
We kneel before gods, monarchs, and executioners.
For the first two we take the posture to swear our fealty and allegiance. In the third, so our bodies will not have so far to fall to the ground.
Kneeling is an ancient gesture of respect and submission. It says, "I humble myself before you and I pledge my allegiance to you." It is a reasonable and legitimate way to express one's patriotism.
It is also a protest.
The prescribed manner for saluting the flag and the national anthem is: "During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart."¹
I am not a fan of professional sports, but I admire and respect those players who "take a knee" when the national anthem is played. The action was initially taken by Black players, who have been joined in solidarity by many of their teammates of other races.
In 1787 the British ceramic artist Josiah Wedgwood created a design to be an emblem for abolitionist groups in Great Britain and America. The emblem, featuring a fettered Black slave kneeling, with the caption "Am I not a man and a brother" was a powerful boost to antislavery movements on both continents:
In the context of Black history this image has great power. The slave in the image is a supplicant. Not so those who kneel today. Their intended message is that they will not stand in recognition of a country that enslaved their ancestors and has practiced systemic racism throughout its history up to the present day.
Therein, I think, is an interesting conundrum. Is there a difference in the way one kneels when swearing allegiance and when protesting? Is there some subtle difference in the placement of the knee or the angle at which the head is held? Or is the only difference in the mind of the kneeler? And if that is the case, who's to know for sure the intent of the action?
Regardless of intent, it maddens DJTrump and his ilk. Why? Mightn't it be possible that some of those kneeling are in fact offering allegiance to the United States in their hearts while physically supporting their colleagues?
Doesn't matter. They don't like it because it's not the way they want it to be. They're Conservatives, and they don't like change. They learned to put their hands over their hearts when that song played, and by God that's the only salute that should be allowed. Anything else is rocking the boat, crossing a line, going a step too far--all anathema to Conservatives.
It's one more reminder for the Whiner-in-Chief that things in this nation are moving in ways he can't control. In his mind the only good changes are those he makes, and lately he's been unable to make many, while some have been forced on him. His world is unraveling like that obscene hair he wears.
He despises everyone who is different from him, and that's damned near everyone else on the planet. He fears change, he fears anyone who might be better than him, and he fears patriotism because he's never felt it.
Patriotism lives in the heart, not in actions.
--- Diogenes, 8/3/2020
¹ USC Title 36, Chapter 10, §171. The flag rules are meant as guidelines. They are virtually unenforceable and violation of them carries no penalty.
For the first two we take the posture to swear our fealty and allegiance. In the third, so our bodies will not have so far to fall to the ground.
Kneeling is an ancient gesture of respect and submission. It says, "I humble myself before you and I pledge my allegiance to you." It is a reasonable and legitimate way to express one's patriotism.
It is also a protest.
The prescribed manner for saluting the flag and the national anthem is: "During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart."¹
I am not a fan of professional sports, but I admire and respect those players who "take a knee" when the national anthem is played. The action was initially taken by Black players, who have been joined in solidarity by many of their teammates of other races.
In 1787 the British ceramic artist Josiah Wedgwood created a design to be an emblem for abolitionist groups in Great Britain and America. The emblem, featuring a fettered Black slave kneeling, with the caption "Am I not a man and a brother" was a powerful boost to antislavery movements on both continents:
In the context of Black history this image has great power. The slave in the image is a supplicant. Not so those who kneel today. Their intended message is that they will not stand in recognition of a country that enslaved their ancestors and has practiced systemic racism throughout its history up to the present day.Therein, I think, is an interesting conundrum. Is there a difference in the way one kneels when swearing allegiance and when protesting? Is there some subtle difference in the placement of the knee or the angle at which the head is held? Or is the only difference in the mind of the kneeler? And if that is the case, who's to know for sure the intent of the action?
Regardless of intent, it maddens DJTrump and his ilk. Why? Mightn't it be possible that some of those kneeling are in fact offering allegiance to the United States in their hearts while physically supporting their colleagues?
Doesn't matter. They don't like it because it's not the way they want it to be. They're Conservatives, and they don't like change. They learned to put their hands over their hearts when that song played, and by God that's the only salute that should be allowed. Anything else is rocking the boat, crossing a line, going a step too far--all anathema to Conservatives.
It's one more reminder for the Whiner-in-Chief that things in this nation are moving in ways he can't control. In his mind the only good changes are those he makes, and lately he's been unable to make many, while some have been forced on him. His world is unraveling like that obscene hair he wears.
He despises everyone who is different from him, and that's damned near everyone else on the planet. He fears change, he fears anyone who might be better than him, and he fears patriotism because he's never felt it.
Patriotism lives in the heart, not in actions.
--- Diogenes, 8/3/2020
¹ USC Title 36, Chapter 10, §171. The flag rules are meant as guidelines. They are virtually unenforceable and violation of them carries no penalty.
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