Monitoring Biden and other Contemporary Events

@snood,

I don't think I did. But I'd wager she's done far more than you or I to bring about actual change through her role as a prof and through the massive amount of educational work (and activism promotion) she does daily.

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New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan is within the hospital after struggling a stroke and present process surgical procedure, his workplace stated Tuesday.
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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

I don't think I did. But I'd wager she's done far more than you or I to bring about actual change through her role as a prof and through the massive amount of educational work (and activism promotion) she does daily.

It really seems like you did. I wasn’t in any way addressing HCR’s record for activism or public service.
The only thing I was saying is that the endless speculation (and by no means just on her part) about political motives leaves me cold as hell. It feels like just mental masturbation.

It was done A LOT during Trump’s ascendency. Why’s he doing that? What’s he thinking? Is he really racist, or just playing us against each other? I said the same thing back then: what the **** does it MATTER what moved the rat wheel in his mind?

What mattered back then was seeing him for what he was, and what he might do, and STOPPING him.

What matters now - as far as the voter suppression, and oppressive new censorship laws, and all the poison that Republicans are feeding into government - is figuring out how to beat them. I don’t need to know what three-dimensional chess moves are behind the poison. I don’t think it’s really need-to-know info for anyone, really.

Just like what matters now about Trump and the others behind 1/6 is that they are brought to justice. Not what their fucked-up plans are.

Why does it matter whether they are trying to turn the “little people” against each other, or if it’s just that they know that fighting dirty and lying wins elections, or whatever reason. Why?

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@snood,

Quote:

The only thing I was saying is that the endless speculation (and by no means just on her part) about political motives leaves me cold as hell.

Some people like historical background and political analysis. I think it even energizes people by giving them the certainty required to maintain their level of commitment to political change.

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What mattered back then was seeing him for what he was, and what he might do, and STOPPING him.

The only way he could be stopped would have been being removed from office, either through the impeachment process or at the polls. Critical coverage of his behavior was important during his two trials, during the '18 midterms, and during the presidential election. Commentators play an enormous role in shaping public opinion. I can't imagine what the whole four years of his presidency would have been like without investigative reporting and critical coverage.

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Just like what matters now about Trump and the others behind 1/6 is that they are brought to justice. Not what their fucked-up plans are.

But what if exposing their fucked-up plans convinces people of their guilt, complicity, or malfeasance?

Are you saying that I shouldn't post these commentaries because they "leave you cold"? What will that do to stop Trump? Would Trump be any closer to indictment if critics and historians stopped writing about him and his movement?

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@hightor,

Quote:

But what if exposing their fucked-up plans convinces people of their guilt, complicity, or malfeasance?

This. This right here is the crux of our differences on this.
You think that there are people at this stage who can be turned to reasonableness about Trump.

I think that it’s beyond obvious that anyone supporting Trump by now is as far beyond reason as a human can get and still walk about unaided.

And that’s why I think all your “political analysis” about Trump and his followers is more naval-gazing self-pacifying than anything else.

But yeah, I don’t doubt that “some people like it”.

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@snood,

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You think that there are people at this stage who can be turned to reasonableness about Trump.

Not that so much as giving people who don't like Trump reasons to keep their eye on the ball and increase their sense of urgency. Why should the Fox News and OAN version control the whole story?

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And that’s why I think all your “political analysis” about Trump and his followers is more naval-gazing self-pacifying than anything else.

I completely disagree. You seem to question the value of "political analysis" – I believe it's part and parcel of any decent opinion forum. There are a number of criminal investigations underway. Do you really think that not talking about them here would affect their progress in any way?

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@hightor,

It’s not a choice between talking about things or not talking about things. If I thought it better to leave things unexamined I would not have been here flapping my virtual gums for so many years.

I guess I just don’t see the point in certain kinds of dissection and redissection of certain things. Don’t see the point, and doubt the motives of those that do it.

And no Hightor, I don’t mean by “doubt their motives “ that I ascribe anything dark to the tendency to wax philosophical and theoretical about certain things that I think are best treated much more circumspectly (and by that I mean just treat skunks like skunks). I just think that it’s much mire of just a mental exercise than they seem to.

And I’m okay to disagree about that.

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@snood,

Quote:

What mattered back then was seeing him for what he was, and what he might do, and STOPPING him.

Easy to say. Recall, for just one example, that an unprecedented cadre of top conservatives (Never Trumpers) were trying. And they certainly weren't alone.

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What matters now - as far as the voter suppression, and oppressive new censorship laws, and all the poison that Republicans are feeding into government - is figuring out how to beat them.

Well, sure. But the "how to" seems key. And whatever the possible answers are to that question, they are going to have to be driven by a broad knowledge-based survey of what's actually going on.

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@edgarblythe,

Quote:

New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan is within the hospital after struggling a stroke...

50 - 49 Senate?

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@hightor,

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50 - 49 Senate?

Yes, for some while at least. Reports I've read suggest this was not a debilitating stroke but such reports aren't always accurate.

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

Well, sure. But the "how to" seems key. And whatever the possible answers are to that question, they are going to have to be driven by a broad knowledge-based survey of what's actually going on.

“A broad knowledge-based survey” might be appropriate when there are large unknowns involved.

And even in those cases where discussion is necessary for understanding, the line separating reasoning from bloviating gets crossed with gusto and regularity here.

But the things I’m talking about here - that Trump is guilty of crimes that need to be punished maybe for the survival of rule of law and democracy; that the nature of the assaults by the right on Roe, on voting, on speech do not take on any additional clarity by sparring about the right’s “true” motivations.

I’d argue that sometimes the issues just get murkier.

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Quote:

https://pressprogress.ca/anti-vax-convoy-organizers-previously-targeted-striking-oil-refinery-workers-in-alberta/

Despite presenting the so-called “Freedom Convoy” as a protest centered on the concerns of blue-collar workers, the “president” of the convoy apparently doesn’t believe in unity if you’re in a union.

James Bauder created “Canada Unity,” the group behind the “Freedom Convoy” that has shut down Canada’s national capital. Bauder also authored the group’s rambling “memorandum of understanding,” which calls for deposing Canada’s elected government...

Two years ago, Bauder was part of a similar far-right convoy that mobbed a picket line and threatened to run over striking oil refinery workers.

Bauder livestreamed the convoy’s anti-union protest, which featured interviews with figures linked to the far-right “Yellow Vest” group.

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@snood,

Quote:

But the things I’m talking about here - that Trump is guilty of crimes that need to be punished maybe for the survival of rule of law and democracy

It's not news that those with great wealth and power who commit serious crimes often end up with little or no penalties/punishment where a kid with a bag of weed goes to jail. And it's not news that American democracy (such as it is) is at risk.

But I very much doubt that if Trump keeled over with a massive, terminal heart attack that much would change as regards what we are validly angry and worried about.

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Anyone surprised?

Quote:

Kyrsten Sinema courted Republican fossil fuel donors with filibuster stance

With a crucial vote pending over filibuster rules that would have made strong voting rights legislation feasible, Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema flew into Houston, Texas, for a fundraiser that drew dozens of fossil fuel chieftains, including Continental Resources chairman Harold Hamm and ConocoPhillips chief executive Ryan Lance.

The event was held on 18 January at the upmarket River Oaks Country Club. One executive told the Guardian that Sinema spoke for about half an hour and informed a mostly Republican crowd that they could “rest assured” she would not back any changes with filibuster rules, reiterating a stance she took several days before during a Senate speech.

The Arizona senator also addressed some energy industry issues according to the executive, who added that overall he was “tremendously impressed”.

The day after the Houston bash, Sinema voted against changing filibuster rules, thereby helping to thwart the voting rights bill.

The Houston gusher of fossil fuel donations for Sinema from many stalwart Republican donors underscores how pivotal she has become, along with West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin, in an evenly divided Senate involving high-stakes battles for Republican and fossil fuel interests...

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@blatham,

While all this has been going our prime minister has been incredibly statesmanlike he flew to Ukraine and told Vladimir Putin, in no uncertain terms, that if one Russian soldier sets foot in Ukraine Putin will not be invited to any parties at Downing Street.

Scarey stuff.

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@izzythepush,

I recently read (by someone reporting from GB) that Murdoch's press coverage of the pandemic is much different there than in the US. Specifically, the claim was that Murdoch's press there tended to support Boris' administration while here the opposite is true. Do you have a good sense of whether that's accurate?

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Thomas Edsall has an interesting column with thoughts from a range of other reporters and journalists:

What America Would Look Like in 2025 Under Trump

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

Quote:
But the things I’m talking about here - that Trump is guilty of crimes that need to be punished maybe for the survival of rule of law and democracy

It's not news that those with great wealth and power who commit serious crimes often end up with little or no penalties/punishment where a kid with a bag of weed goes to jail. And it's not news that American democracy (such as it is) is at risk.

But I very much doubt that if Trump keeled over with a massive, terminal heart attack that much would change as regards what we are validly angry and worried about.

Are you saying that it would be the same for all intents and purposes, if Trump simply croaks, or if Trump is brought to some kind of justice for the world to see?

I hope you’re not saying that. Because besides being cynical to caustic levels, it is very dismissive of the legitimate concerns and feelings of people (like me) who believe Trump is an unprecedented stain on the country’s soul.

It almost sounds like you’re saying that I and others are just indulging in a sort of free-floating anger that will just fasten itself on something else if not Trump.

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@blatham,

By and large yes, Murdoch has always been anti EU and Johnson fronted the Brexit campaign, but there are limits. Mugdock likes backing winners and Johnson isn't looking like a winner right now.

If you want to look at contradictory messages coming from Murdoch it's all in the UK. The Sun, and the Scottish Sun ran very different campaigns during general elections.

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@snood,

Quote:

Are you saying that it would be the same for all intents and purposes, if Trump simply croaks, or if Trump is brought to some kind of justice for the world to see?

It would, of course, be better if that happened. But we're no longer in a political/media world such as was the case for Nixon.

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I hope you’re not saying that. Because besides being cynical to caustic levels, it is very dismissive of the legitimate concerns and feelings of people (like me) who believe Trump is an unprecedented stain on the country’s soul.

To disagree is hardly to be "dismissive" of other contrasting opinions.

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It almost sounds like you’re saying that I and others are just indulging in a sort of free-floating anger that will just fasten itself on something else if not Trump.

No. That's not a thought I've held. Trump has clearly been a catalyst for US collapse but his arrival in the WH and his place in the American right wing world of the present has come about because of the nature of the modern right wing world in America. If Trump were to be indicted and convicted and put in jail, this would have no measurable effect on racism or on voting rights or on the future GOP picks for Supreme Court nominees or on what Murdoch or the Koch crowd are up to.

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