monitoring ideological nonsense and relevant contemporary insanity

Blatham started a thread with a similar title to this one and it has had remarkable longevity and widespread participation, but it feels like it's running out of gas...at least for me. Despite the inclusion of "and relevant contemporary events" in the title" there seems to have been a common aversion recently expressed to any post that isn't focused on criticising, mocking or shrieking in horror at President Plump, tRump, The Orange Orangutan or any of the many other sophomoric monikers being used to refer to the president.

I know when I'm not wanted, and so I have decided to start this thread for topics which I find notable. interesting, infuriating and amusing. Anyone and everyone is welcome to contribute whatever happens to strike their fancies.

You can even go off on tRump if you think there isn't enough of it going on in blatham's thread...how can I stop you?

I intend to focus on news that supports the notion that our society is going to hell in a handbasket. That's the general theme of the thread, but again post whatever you want. (I suspect that hightor will rush to participate since he so loves criticism of Political Correctness )

First up:

HARVARD RESCINDS TRANSGENDER TRAITOR'S VISITING FELLOW INVITATION, PROVING AMERICA IS A "MILITARY/POLICE/INTEL STATE

Well that's what Chelsea Manning deduced from the recent development.

From the article



Of course many people view the Visiting Fellow title that way. It's intended to be an honorific. Manning was still invited to come to the school and speak at the John F Kennedy Jr Forum so despite her all too predictable wailing in her new role as Celebrity Victim, her voice has not been silenced, transgenders haven't been broadly insulted, and if she truly has "something to add to the conversation," she still can. She's just not getting the honorific she wanted and with it a platform to advance her new career, so she's pissed. Plus this is precisely the way Celebrity Victims are supposed to react to such slights: Tweeting one snarky complaint after another about how she's been marginalized and made to feel unwanted.

Obama commuted her sentence, he didn't exonerate her of all charges on which she was convicted. Unfortunately, regardless of what his intent was, in doing so the perception that she was somehow ruled innocent of wrongdoing was the predicatble result. Comparing her to other whistleblowers didn't help of course and makes one think that the then President of the United States didn't really think her crimes were all that bad, if bad at all.

What's going to be interesting now is how liberals square this with their new found love of the CIA. Critics of the move are of, of course, asserting that Harvard bent under pressure from the CIA. Maybe it did or maybe it just listened to reason and the arguments of the former and current agency Directors, but if the Agency is actually stifling free speech through bullying tactics because it has an ax to grind with Manning, why should we believe it's motives have been entirely pristine when it comes to tRump?

Well largely because we want to believe it is on the straight and narrow with Trump and to be able to, at the same time, believe its being underhanded and oppressive in terms of a transgender Victim.