SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024
"There is no cure for human:" Especially since Donald J. Trump's birther days on the Fox News Channel, it has become a basic tenet of modern anthropology:
There is no cure for human.
So the scientists say.
In fact, those birther days extended over a period of several years. Thirteen years after Trump's onslaught started, a second phenomenon has become clear:
Information has (largely) ceased to exist within our failing discourse.
Information plays little role in what's left of our public discourse. At present, it's frequently nothing but Storyline—Storyline all the way down.
It's Storyline all the way down! Or so it seemed on Fox & Friends Weekend as the gang kicked off this morning's program, with Pete Hegseth on the scene in Butler, Pa., site of last month's "miracle."
Credit where due! On this occasion, the trio of friends were not asserting that "our lord and savior, Jesus Christ" saved Candidate Trump that day.
As we noted in this report, that's what the friends persistently said in real time. Just a guess:
Someone on the corporate end may have told them to stop.
At any rate, by 7:05 this morning, Hegseth was describing the "religious sense" on the ground as rally-goers arrived in Butler—the sense that "a miracle" had occurred that day.
Needless to say, rallygoers are free to hold such beliefs. We aren't saying that Hegseth's account of that feeling was inaccurate
That said, it was the interview with Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Michigan) which occasioned anthropologists to restate their dire assessments. Specifically, we refer to the performance by co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy at 6:45 a.m.
First, a word of praise! To our eye and ear, Rep. Moolenaar didn't come across as a propagandist as he spoke with Campos-Duffy today.
He almost seemed like a bit of a throwback. His thumbnail reads like this:
John Moolenaar
John Robert Moolenaar (born May 8, 1961) is an American politician and former chemist serving since 2015 as a U.S. representative from Michigan, representing the state's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2003 to 2008 and the Michigan Senate from 2011 to 2014.
Moolenaar was born on May 8, 1961, in Midland, Michigan. His family is of Dutch ancestry. He graduated from Hope College in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University in 1989.
In theory, chemists are required to traffic in facts.
That said, Campos-Duffy isn't a former chemist. When she interviewed Moolenaar, it seemed to us that she was working, live and direct, from approved tribal Storyline.
At present, Moolenaar is chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. In theory, it was in that role that he was being interviewed this day.
First, though, a different point of alleged concern! By now, this matter had been fact-checked within an inch of its life, but Campos-Duffy still didn't seem to have heard.
In the face of the tremendous damage caused by Hurricane Helene, she'd heard that "they" had "raided FEMA!" In fairness, she was just taking a guess!
CAMPOS-DUFFY (10/5/24): Congressman, great to have you here today. So tell us about this money that was spent—I guess they raided FEMA—to give it to illegal immigrants. What do you know about it? What should Americans know about it?
Campos-Duffy was just guessing! She was guessing about the way "they raided FEMA," thereby helping illegal immigrants and undercutting hurricane relief.
Had someone actually "raided FEMA" in the manner described? By now, the claim had been fact-checked within an inch of its life, but it remained a talking-point of the day on this gruesome "cable news" program.
By clicking here, you can see what Rep. Moolenaar calmly and sanely said in response to Campos-Duffy's request. As he spoke, he didn't start churning Storyline—so Campos-Duffy broke in with a second prompt.
In fairness, she was still just guessing:
CAMPOS-DUFFY (interrupting): Yeah but, I guess what I'm asking is, do you have knowledge that FEMA funds were raided in order to give to illegal immigrants?
"I have not seen specific evidence of that," the congressman now said. At that point, Campos-Duffy gave up and moved ahead to a topic involving China.
Had FEMA funds been raided to assist illegal immigrants? As of this morning, the claim had been fact-checked a million times, but it seemed to be one of the mandated points on this "cable news" program.
In fairness, Campos-Duffy was only guessing when she offered Moolenaar his prompts. But even on this religious day, the congressman—a former chemist—failed to perform as desired.
In fairness, there was no talk from the friends this day about the way "our lord and savior" had performed the miracle in Butler. That said, attraction to Storyline on this particular "cable news" program comes close to being a form of religious devotion.
Information is dead, the experts all say. In fairness, devotion to Storyline can also be seen on MSNBC programs, but the impulse is extremely strong on Red America's "cable news" channel.
There is no cure for human, we're persistently told. Also, it's hard to return to information once the critter named Tribal Storyline has arrived on the scene and has taken control.
Somerby is back to maligning humanity again this morning.
ReplyDeleteAnthropologists do not support any of the statements Somerby keeps making. Nor do scientists. Somerby makes up experts to support the other things he makes up.
Future anthropologists huddling in caves disagree.
DeleteInvestment is one of the best ways to achieve financial freedom. For a beginner there are so many challenges you face. It's hard to know how to get started. Trading on the Cryptocurrency market has really been a life changer for me. I almost gave up on crypto at some point not until saw a recommendation on Elon musk successfully success story and I got a proficient trader/broker Mr Bernie Doran , he gave me all the information required to succeed in trading. I made more profit than I could ever imagine. I'm not here to converse much but to share my testimony; I have made total returns of $10,500 from an investment of just $1000 within 1 week. Thanks to Mr Bernie I'm really grateful,I have been able to make a great returns trading with his signals and strategies .I urge anyone interested in INVESTMENT to take bold step in investing in the Cryptocurrency Market, he can also help you recover your lost funds, you can reach him on WhatsApp : +1(424) 285-0682 or his Gmail : BERNIEDORANSIGNALS@GMAIL.COM tell him I referred you
DeleteLovely post ❤️
Had FEMA funds been raided to assist illegal immigrants? As of this morning, the claim had been fact-checked a million times, but it seemed to be one of the mandated points on this "cable news" program.
In fairness, Campos-Duffy was only guessing when she offered Moolenaar his prompts. But even on this religious day, the congressman—a former chemist
Why would anthropologists huddle in caves when they have the knowledge to build first-class lodge houses?
DeleteSupply chain problems.
DeletePolitically motivated lies are not "Tribal Storyline." Ugly use of anthropological language implies that indigenous people (who are organized into tribes) are somehow more likely to engage in this kind of lying than sociopathic dictator-wannabes like Trump, who is an aberration, a deviation from what it means to be a normal human being.
ReplyDeleteAttempting to normalize Trump by portraying his disorder as just part of campaigning is what creates the confusion Somerby is pretending to decry. Yes, people can tell lies because we possess an imagination. But we are taught as children that lying is wrong, especially in situations requiring trust, and we learn not to lie. Our society has rules against lying for gain, such as the fraud laws Trump broke, for which he was convicted of 34 felonies. Lying is not an OK part of any human culture.
Somerby pretense that this is just what humans do, ignores what scientists (including psychologists) and anthropologists (who are also experts on human behavior) actually say and think about humanity. Somerby is too lazy to research this, so he just lies about what the experts think about such lying. That is not only lazy, but it compounds the problem.
Normalizing Trump is not something anyone should be doing these days. PP will say that Somerby is complaining about Trump and his followers. If that were true, he would (1) say so directly, (2) leave anthropologists and scientists out of it, (3) point out the problems that arise when Trump and his followers lie to prospective voters, (4) say something to support Harris, who is NOT lying, (5) defend the truth and debunk the claim about raiding FEMA, which Somerby claims has been debunked a million times without himself presenting the truth to offset the lies he repeated several times in his own post.
But there is also the issue of the behavior Somerby is modeling when he clearly shows us that he has been watching Fox 24/7, as he explicitly said he does. Why should anyone be watching Fox at all? Why do the lies spread there deserve retelling and enhancing by amplification via Somerby's own blog? When information is unreliable, you stop repeating it. Somerby does the opposite. That raises the issue of Somerby's own motives -- that he retells bad info without contradicting it, and then goes back every day for more of that propaganda. That isn't how someone opposed to spreading disinformation would behave.
Excellent comment, thank you.
Delete"Lying is not an OK part of any human culture."
ReplyDeleteTell that to David in Cal. He just shrugs at it.
Hello, as a newbie to cryptocurrency trading, I lost a lot of money trying to navigate the market on my own, then in my search for a genuine and trusted trader/broker, i came across Trader Bernie Doran who guided and helped me retrieve my lost cryptocurrencies and I made so much profit up to the tune of $60,000. I made my first investment with $2,000 and got a ROI of $25,000 in less than 2 week. You can contact this expert trader Mr Bernie Doran via Gmail : BERNIEDORANSIGNALS@GMAIL.COM and be ready to share your own, tell him you were referred by me
DeleteAt present, Moolenaar is chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. In theory, it was in that role that he was being interviewed this day.
First, though, a different point of alleged concern! By now, this matter had been fact-checked within an inch of its life, but Campos-Duffy still didn't seem to have heard.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeletePeople lie for instrumental reasons (to achieve goals). David is doing that and so is Somerby. That is all Trump ever does. Just like Trump is a transactional person -- everything he does is to benefit himself in some way -- lying is a means to an end.
DeletePeople lie for instrumental reasons (to achieve goals). David is doing that and so is Somerby. That is all Trump ever does. Just like Trump is a transactional people -- everything he does is to benefit himself in some way -- lying is a means to an end.
DeleteThe cure for lying is to tell the truth. Somerby has been lying here for years, at least since 2015 and perhaps earlier. He has never come clean. If Somerby wishes to do something about the rampant lying in this campaign, he can start by telling the truth about his own role on this blog. He won't do that because lying is his purpose here, just as it is for Campos-Duffy and Trump himself.
ReplyDeleteHaters gotta hate.
DeleteIt is important to pick the right target. You haven't done that.
DeleteLet me summarize: Somerby lies for the purpose of lying. (No examples, no supporting evidence whatsoever.)
DeleteThat strikes me as hate.
Not even close to what I said. But as you say, haters gotta hate.
DeleteSomerby lies for his own purposes, but we may not know what they are. I went on at length to explain why Somerby's statements today about humanity being incurable and the other hogwash is all a bunch of lies, inconsistent with what is known by actual anthropologists and by cognitive scientists (who study how people think and what that means for human behavior). You ignore all of that to target me because I said quite clearly that Somerby doesn't know what he is talking about, and he needs to come clean about why he is telling lies to his readers. I suspect money is involved, but only Somerby knows for sure why he works so diligently here to spread misinformation. Yes, including today.
You are defending Somerby. You are here promptly every morning (don't know what time it is where you may live). You attack those of us who complain about Somerby. Perhaps you are paid or perhaps you are a gaslighted Trump enthusiast with too much time on your hands. Either way, you never say anything substantive about the discussion in progress and you exist only to attack other commenters. So, you do the math. If you had a sudden attack of honest, you might tell us who pays you.
Why would anyone love someone who lies as much as Somerby does?
DeleteYou expect anyone to connect other Anon pieces to yours? How do you figure that?
DeleteIf you want me to connect your comments, use a nym. Otherwise, own the fact that you made a contentless accusation at 10:36 that Somerby lies for the purpose of lying.
DeleteAnd, BTW, I never read your previous comments because I rarely read screeds of more than ten lines.
DeleteYou are not a serious person interested in the issues discussed here. You are a troll.
DeletePP doing his/her/its part to boost the Howler's comment number.
DeletePP flings poo, that’s his/her role.
DeleteThe mice are hopping and skipping to the sound of my pipes.
DeleteIn your fantasies perhaps. I imagine they are slipping and sliding in the poo you fling, but they are rodents so they don't care. We humans do.
Delete"Why should anyone be watching Fox at all?"
ReplyDeleteHe's a media critic. Duh.
Somerby as media critic is another lie.
DeleteI lost my job few months back and there was no way to get income for my family, things was so tough and I couldn’t get anything for my children, not until a met a recommendation on a page writing how Mr Bernie Doran helped a lady in getting a huge amount of profit every 6 working days on trading with his management on the cryptocurrency Market, to be honest I was skeptical at first but I took the risk to take a loan of $500, and I contacted him unbelievable and I was so happy I received a profit of $5,500 with an investment of $500 within 7 days of trading , the most joy is that I can now take care of my family, i am just sharing my testimony on here. I don’t know how to appreciate your good work Mr. Bernie Doran, God will continue to bless you for being a life saver I have no way to appreciate you than to tell people about your good services. He can also help you recover your lost funds, For a perfect investment and good return on investment contact Mr Bernie Doran on Gmail : Berniedoransignals@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, there was no talk from the friends this day about the way "our lord and savior" had performed the miracle in Butler. That said, attraction to Storyline on this particular "cable news" program comes close to being a form of religious devotion.
Information is dead, the experts all say. In fairness, devotion to Storyline can also be seen on MSNBC programs, but the impulse is extremely strong on Red America's "cable news" channel.
Stop spamming this blog. Somerby would remove these commericial messages if he cared about his blog.
DeleteSomerby's alive?
DeleteRecording the success in Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is not just buying and holding till when bitcoin sky-rocks, this has been longed abolished by intelligent traders ,mostly now that bitcoin bull is still controlling the market after successfully defended the $60,000 support level once again and this is likely to trigger a possible move towards $100,000 resistance area However , it's is best advice you find a working strategy by hub/daily signals that works well in other to accumulate and grow a very strong portfolio ahead. I have been trading with Mr Bernie Doran daily signals and strategy, on his platform, and his guidance makes trading less stressful and more profit despite the recent fluctuations. I was able to Recover my losses and easily increase my portfolio in just 3weeks of trading with his daily signals, growing my $3000 to $35,000 profits . Mr Bernie’s daily signals are very accurate and yields a great positive return on investment. I really enjoy trading with him and I'm still trading with him, He is available to give assistance to anyone who love crypto trading and beginners on the trade market , he can also help you recover/retrieve lost or stolen cryptocurrencies, contact him on WhatsApp : + 1424(285)-0682 , Gmail : BERNIEDORANSIGNALS@GMAIL.COM for inquiries , Crypto is taking over the world
ReplyDeleteCampos-Duffy was just guessing! She was guessing about the way "they raided FEMA," thereby helping illegal immigrants and undercutting hurricane relief.
Had someone actually "raided FEMA" in the manner described? By now, the claim had been fact-checked within an inch of its life, but it remained a talking-point of the day on this gruesome "cable news" program.
OK, no truth and no discussion today, because Somerby is allowing spam.
ReplyDeleteThese lies are not coming from humanity because people are human. They are coming from Trump and Steve Miller because they are trying to steal an election by lying to voters:
ReplyDelete"MAGA Republicans are now lying about the federal response to Hurricane Helene in much the same way they lied about Haitian migrants bringing chaos and disease to Springfield, Ohio. Both disinformation efforts are flat-out lies, and both are designed to demonize immigrants. Immigration was the issue Trump was so eager to run on that he demanded Republican lawmakers reject the strong border bill a bipartisan group of lawmakers had hammered out.
The federal response to Hurricane Helene has drawn bipartisan praise, with Republican governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina thanking Biden by name for what McMaster called a “superb” response.
But on Sunday, September 29, two days after the hurricane hit, the right-wing organization started by anti-immigrant Trump loyalist Stephen Miller posted: “Billions for Ukraine. Billions for illegal aliens. And what for the Americans? Reprogram every single dollar that FEMA has dedicated to support illegal aliens to go towards Americans who are facing unprecedented devastation!”
Yesterday, in Saginaw, Michigan, Trump echoed Miller, claiming that the Biden administration is botching the hurricane response because it has spent all the money appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on “illegal immigrants.” “They spent it all on illegal migrants.… They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them,” he said. Today, he claimed that “a billion dollars was stolen from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants, many of whom are criminals, to come into our country.”
Early this morning, X owner Elon Musk posted to his more than 200 million followers: “Yes, they are literally using YOUR tax dollars to import voters and disenfranchise you! It is happening right in front of your eyes. And FEMA used up its budget ferrying illegals into the country instead of saving American lives. Treason.” On Wednesday, Dana Mattioli, Joe Palazzolo, and Khadeeja Safdar of the Wall Street Journal broke the story that Musk has been financing groups with ties to Miller since 2022.
But of course, it is NOT happening in front of anyone’s eyes.
Cont.
Delete"On Wednesday, Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in which FEMA is housed, told reporters that FEMA’s disaster relief fund is adequately funded for current needs. But, he warned, “extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity,” and we are not yet out of hurricane season. If another emergency hits, FEMA’s disaster relief fund will be stretched thin.
Congress also appropriated money for a different fund, the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), which is part of Customs and Border Protection but is administered by FEMA. Established under the Trump administration in 2019, SSP gives grants to states and local governments to provide shelter, food, and transportation to undocumented immigrants. After Trump’s accusation, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: “These claims are completely false. As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters. The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”
Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post did not leave the story there. “Trump has a habit of assuming other politicians act in the same way as he would,” Kessler wrote. So he looked into why Trump would have accused Biden “of raiding the FEMA disaster fund to handle undocumented migrants. It turns out that’s because he did this.”
In the middle of hurricane season in 2019, Kessler explains, Trump took $155 million from the FEMA disaster fund and redirected it to pay for detention space and temporary hearing locations for immigrants seeking asylum. “No, Biden didn’t take FEMA relief money to use on migrants,” the article title reads, “but Trump did.”
There is more where this came from:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-4-2024
Somerby could as easily have found this on substack and used some of this info to debunk the Fox lies he instead has spread today.
You have to be careful with Cox Richardson as she is not truly objective. She may cherry pick data and use emotional appeals to make her points. You may not want Somerby to read her because he may end up criticizing her (accurately) like he does Maddow. And we all know how fall apart when your ideas or beliefs are challenged even in a minor way. I would just try to keep Cox Richardson to yourself and stay within the warm and safe information cocoon the DNC has spun for you. I think that would be best for everyone.
DeleteThis is so untrue! A string of accusations aganst a professional historian with an academic appointment, which would be enough to have gotten her fired if any of it were true. With not one single example, no proof whatsoever of a serious claim that would be the equivalent of calling David the Actuary someone who fiddles with his numbers!
DeleteThis is the kind of crap that Somerby should ban. It is libelous. It also shows how desperate and mean-spirited the right wing trolls and fan-boys who come here to defend Somerby are. This goes beyond lying to the kind of death threats the right wing lodges at election officials to stop them from doing their jobs. (Read Smith's recent filing for examples.) The best evidence that Cox is telling the truth is the lowness of this attack on her.
How exactly should Somerby 'ban' certain comments? Do you really picture him writing 2 posts a day, then poring over each comment, many of which suffer from Somerby Derangement Syndrome?
DeleteHe controls his blog settings.
DeleteThe above article by Cox Richardson relies on emotional appeals and cherry picks data ("the storm of lies", "anti-immigrant Trump loyalist Stephen Miller", selective praise for Biden's hurricane response, omitting Trump’s supporters’ arguments).
DeleteIt's a hailstorm of subjective, partisan agitprop. You should enjoy it. It's conceived and written to make you feel good. But you are doing yourself a huge disservice if you think it's objective.
Because Cox Richardson calls the Republican Presidential nominee "Donald Trump", and not "Treason McRapey", I'm not sure I can trust het takes.
DeleteInformation has not ceased to exist, as Somerby suggests in his headline. Information is alive and well.
ReplyDeleteThe solution to Somerby ginormous insurmountable problem is for people to stop watching unreliable sources such as Fox News and the worse alt-right sources. They are lying liars (as Al Franken pointed out so many years ago, long before Trump was placed on scene by his handlers).
Every work on fiction on TV is, in a sense, a lie because it is not true. We recognize that and enjoy such works as fiction, suspending disbelief and immersing ourselves in "what if?" Trump can be viewed the same way.
There is a critical function in our frontal lobes that allows us to distinguish fact from fiction, to evaluate the source of info and decide whether (or to what extent) it is true. ALL human have this ability, but when people have dementia or head injury, disease (such as Parkinson's) or other brain damage, that area of the brain may function less well. That area is under-developed in children and is the last part of the brain to fully mature, hence the impaired judgment of teens and the inability to distinguish fact from fantasy of small kids. Normal adults have no excuse for failing to apply this critical function to info they encounter in their lives. Ignoring critical thinking occurs at one's own risk because people can be seriously harmed by bad info.
It is unclear whether Somerby encourages people in their consumption of unreality because he finds it entertaining, or because someone pays him, but it is cruel to encourage people in actions that will hurt them. Many writers have explained how the biggest victims of Trump's lying are his own followers. Tina Peters is the latest example (she is going to jail for 9 years because she believed Trump).
Confusing people about reality here, by saying that there is no cure for being human and lying is part of that, when telling the difference between truth and lies is actually what is part of being a normal human being, contributes to the confusion experienced by people who do not think as well as those with intact critical thinking processes. Shame on Somerby for attacking impaired people by encouraging them to watch Fox News and think of Trump as any kind of normal person! This is not how a responsible person behaves online. Somerby is as responsible for damaging others as those who engage in lying on Fox News (for their own profit). I don't know what Somerby's gig is here, but he is hurting people when he writes trash like today's post. He would do better to spend his days re-reading Homer, because at least them he isn't giving comfort to those who prey upon the confused.
Chemistry is bunk because Moolenaar failed to perform as desired?
ReplyDeleteA world leader, through sheer political and economic brilliance, creates what is hailed as the greatest economy in history. Yet, in the same country this leader serves, the majority of citizens are deep in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and highly depressed. Suicide rates have reached an all-time high, increasing by over 35% in the last two decades. One in three citizens, despite living in this so-called greatest economy, must work a second job just to make ends meet. On their way to this job, they pass permanent encampments of desperate, homeless citizens—also residents of this "great" economy, whom the leader is elected to serve. Meanwhile, on the radio, as they observe these encampments or reflect on their debt, they hear about the leader sending hundreds of billions of dollars to a foreign country they've never heard of.
ReplyDeleteThese citizens, burdened with debt, no savings, and stuck in a cycle of survival, are now asked by the leader for support in an upcoming election. Advocates for the leader insist that, because they live in the greatest economy ever, the leader deserves their vote.
This level of gaslighting, of sheer bullshit, compels citizens to send a message. It drives them to turn to charlatans who may be no better, and perhaps worse, but at least don’t gaslight them in such a blatant and offensive manner.
When a company has a line of credit, it is called cash flow. When an individual has a credit card, he is being called "deep in debt, living paycheck to paycheck" even though he uses that credit for the same purpose as the business does, to even out cash flow. Further, the days when anyone bought large items for cash are long gone, vanished before WWII. Nearly all houses and cars are bought on credit these days, by all but the wealthy. No one thinks of themselves as desperately poor because they do that.
DeleteThe main debilitating debt (based on studies of homeless people) is medical debt. That is being brought under control by Biden/Harris through improvements to ACA and widening of access to Medicaid, but would be solve by single-payer health care, such as inclusion of all workers in Medicare. In those states who have experimented with giving aid to the homeless, the number of people on the street has dramatically decreased. The amounts that would keep the homeless in their homes are smaller than expected. Aid to families with children during covid produced dramatic reductions in child poverty. Yet Republicans will not support such efforts. Needless to say, Biden and Harris have been working to implement measures to help those struggling financially, opposed consistently by Republicans.
Your theory that desperation driven by poverty is supporting Trump is wrong, based on studies of who votes for Trump. Trump supporters tend to be white, male, middle to upper middle class, with anger issues. Biden/Harris voters are working class, minority, educated and female. They think of support for Israel's self-defense and Ukraine's freedom as essential, not stealing from anyone's home needs. The dockworkers in particular are appreciative of Biden's efforts on their behalf.
You mention a world leader but you forgot the adjective "dear" so that readers will know which asshole voters are being gaslighted about. Trump's imitation of a two-bit dictator has earned him the title Dear Leader because he is promising to set up camps, deport citizens and make women second class citizens again, on day one. We all heard him say it.
Advocates for Biden say he has earned our votes because he is improving our lives and working for a better future for everyone, not just white guys with guns.
"It drives them to turn to charlatans who may be no better, and perhaps worse, but at least don’t gaslight them in such a blatant and offensive manner."
DeleteIf I read your parable correctly, Trump is the 'charlatan' who doesn't gaslight people in such a blatant and offensive manner'?
How would it be possible to gaslight people in a more blatant and offensive manner than Trump does? Or maybe you believe 'they're eating the dogs'?
https://hartmannreport.com/p/why-are-red-state-citizens-poorer-2ef
DeleteHartmann explains that (1) red states are worse off by most measures than blue states, (2) red states have worse stats on health and welfare issues:
And, second, it’s undeniably true (and documented with each hotlink below) that Republican-controlled Red states, almost across the board, have higher rates of:
— Spousal abuse
— Obesity
— Smoking
— Teen pregnancy
— Sexually transmitted diseases
— Abortion (at least before Dobbs; now it would be “forced births”)
— Bankruptcies and poverty
— Homicide and suicide
— Infant mortality
— Maternal mortality
— Forcible rape
— Robbery and aggravated assault
— Dropouts from high school
— Divorce
— Contaminated air and water
— Opiate addiction and deaths
— Unskilled workers
— Parasitic infections
— Income and wealth inequality
— Covid deaths and unvaccinated people
— Federal subsidies to states (“Red State Welfare”)
— People on welfare
— Child poverty
— Homelessness
— Spousal murder
— Unemployment
— Deaths from auto accidents
— People living on disability
— Gun deaths
..."The problem for Red states is that Republicans worship cheap labor, because it drives up profits for the fat-cats who own American businesses — and having a steady and reliable supply of cheap labor to maintain high profits requires widespread poverty, ignorance, death, and disease.
That poverty, of course, brings along with it the long list of social ills above, but Republicans are more than willing to tolerate massive, desperate levels of human suffering to make sure there’s a steady supply of cheap labor. In fact, they intentionally run their states that way to produce those results.
If you have any doubts about this, if that sounds like hyperbole, simply look at the policies the GOP has promoted for the past century:"
Hartmann's list includes:
--Republicans hate unions
--Republicans hate social security
--Republicans hate universal or inexpensive healthcare (and real Medicare for the elderly)
--Republicans hate the minimum wage
--Republicans hate empowered women
--Republicans promote hatred of racial, religious, and gender minorities
--Republicans hate education
--Republicans hate atheism and embrace a neofascist form of Protestant Christianity and a bizarre, rightwing version of Catholicism that goes by a Latin name
--Republicans hate food stamps, housing supports, aid to women and dependent children, and every other form of what they call “welfare”
--Republicans hate environmental protections
--Republicans hate unemployment insurance
Hartmann explains why, for each of these hatreds.
12:44 excellent comment, the others too.
DeleteNotably, pre Covid, from 2008 to 2018 homelessness decreased dramatically, by over 100k, but due to cutbacks on related government services, the homeless have become more visible even as their numbers fall, which is then preyed upon by ignorant people like 11:32 who seem to care more about dominating in arguments than helping those in need.
Your dopey old despair burger here is a tiresome cliche. Yes, the Republicans may be terrible, but at least they don't lie to us! Look what this has brought "conservative" America to. How sad.
DeleteWhat is Trump hiding about his health? Does anyone really want JD Vance as President?
DeleteWhere did FEMA's money go? FEMA has a budget of billions of dollars. This year's hurricanes have been unusually light, so one would expect FEMA to have an unusually large amount of money remaining. Yet, Mayorkas just announced that they're running out of money.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know where all this money went, because the Biden Harris Administration hasn't told us. In a democracy we should be entitled to that information.
The idea that excessive money was spent on illegal immigrants is just a guess, but it's a plausible guess. There's an unusual lack of money and an unusually large number of illegal immigrants. And, we haven't been given any other explanation.
Read the article at the link for Heather Cox Richardson above @10:55 am. It explains and answers all of your questions.
DeleteExplained in detail:
Deletehttps://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/fema-running-low-disaster-money-but-not-because-funds-went
MAGA proaganda
@12:29 link does not work
DeleteYou're always so goddamn suspicious Dickhead - could it be because every fucking Rightwing accusation is really a confession ? - but you're so lazy to research the validity of the latest rightwing smears. You're just content to toss the latest stink bomb out into the ether.
DeleteGlenn Kessler of the Washington Post did not leave the story there. “Trump has a habit of assuming other politicians act in the same way as he would,” Kessler wrote. So he looked into why Trump would have accused Biden “of raiding the FEMA disaster fund to handle undocumented migrants. It turns out that’s because he did this.”
DeleteIn the middle of hurricane season in 2019, Kessler explains, Trump took $155 million from the FEMA disaster fund and redirected it to pay for detention space and temporary hearing locations for immigrants seeking asylum. “No, Biden didn’t take FEMA relief money to use on migrants,” the article title reads, “but Trump did.”
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-4-2024
Now let us await Dickhead in Cal's explanation for why it was good for Trump to do it.
DIC is the laziest MAGA troll when he knows that researching the questions he raises would not favor his bullshit narrative. He is unabashedly dishonest, parroting the right wing outlets that feed him the misinformation he so desperately clings to.
Delete"The idea that excessive money was spent on illegal immigrants is just a guess, but it's a plausible guess."
DeleteNo.
"Where did FEMA's money go?"
DeleteThe question implies it went somewhere it shouldn't have. But it didn't. So this commenter is badly mistaken on this subject.
They should ask themselves: how did I come to be so badly mistaken? How was I misled? Was it my information sources? My inherent bias? How can I avoid being misled in the future?
Trump knows he can’t win, he’s pushing the anti immigration stuff to try to build a case for nullifying the vote and getting the House to decide the election.
DeleteIn this interview, both parties claim to know that FEMA spent huge amounts of money on illegal immigrants. Are they right? I don't know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJHB1gQ5efs&ab_channel=FoxBusiness
DeleteThe parties are more convincing when they describe how little money FEMA spent on needy Americans. Senator Tuberville had one fact that surprised me: FEMA's budget was $20 billion! That's a lot of money.
"The parties are more convincing when they describe how little money FEMA spent on needy Americans."
DeleteActually they're less convincing.
Both the interviewer and Tuberville characterized the $750 in FEMA $ as 'one-time assistance,' as if that was all those people were going to get.
But Harris said the $750 is included in the "total assistance being given, and that it was specifically "in order to meet people's immediate needs," which doesn't preclude other kinds of assistance.
And since Tuberville is a Trump supporter, you can reasonably infer he hasn't done any homework to see if what he was saying was true, but rushed to get on the air with his partisan grievance.
Instead of, for example, trying to help the people in some way.
"Senator Tuberville had one fact"
DeleteYou might as well stop there.
Every Republican is a fucking bald faced liar. They lie to gain power, the needs of hurting citizens be damned. They are despicable assholes.
Delete"Every Republican is a fucking bald faced liar."
DeleteI agree. Also every Democrat.
David in Cal,
DeleteCan you please remind us again how if you were in a room full of neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and "fine people" on the Right, you couldn't possibly be able to tell the third group from the other two?
I love that part of The Daily Howler blog.
9:28 " Are they right? I don't know." And whose fault is that? In this comment section you are routinely spoon fed information like a helpless baby, by others. Information that is readily accessible to anyone, free of charge. Commonly, more often than not, your links provide information that discredits the comment you think they support. How many times has Quaker in a Basement called you out on this? Your currency here is in the form of innuendo, and long ago you should have been aware that we are not accepting it. So fuck off if you think that marketing the lie that money was diverted from disasters to migrants will fly here if only you couch it in some form of innocent question, because we have access to the internet and can fact check that bullshit with the touch of a finger.
Delete"Reacting to a Washington Post report on the alarming trend of Donald Trump fans leaving early during his increasingly smaller rallies, the panel on MSNBC's "The Weekend" suggested it is a sign that the former president's act is growing tired and even his MAGA supporters are losing interest."
ReplyDeleteAccording to descriptions of Trump's rallies, people arrive and must stand in line for a long time before they are let into the rally site. Then Trump arrives habitually an hour or so late, so the rally doesn't start on time. I suspect people are leaving because they are exhausted before Trump even starts talking.
I don't know if this is typical for all political rallies, but we were taught as children that being late is disrespectful to the other attendees at a meeting or event. Is it that Trump's staff tries to get him going on time, but he disregards their efforts because the needs of others do not mean anything to him? I get the sense that Trump's staff is always spending a lot of time trying to get him to do things that are part of his job, going back to his first term in office. Perhaps, if he has no interest in campaigning or in being President, short of staying out of jail, he has no interest in doing what must be done in order to be the candidate. And there really isn't any way to bribe him to behave better.
I wouldn't want to be them, nor would I want to sit around in the sun waiting for Donald to appear, only to be so tired of his schtick that I leave early.
When people like Bob are willing to ignore Fox's attempt to help Trump throw the election and the massive payout it cost them, what is there incentive to get better? Most of the Trump era, Bob was making excuses for Trump as a mental case who should not be bothered for his crimes because he doesn't like to send people to prison.
ReplyDeleteSo as we approach this terrible showdown, Bob seems to have gotten (some) religion on right wing dishonesty. Next life Bob, don't spend a generation making every possible excuse for it and punishing people who point it out.
How many nonny mice are actually here to insist that Our Host is a big liar? Is it just one crank or are they several?
ReplyDeleteIf all that is the work of just one person, he/she/they need a careful psychological examination and diagnosis.
What matters is the content of the comments, not who said them (or how many agree). PP substitutes this useless counting for thinking.
DeleteSee, here is the problem. Heather Cox Richardson is brave and protected by a sterling professional reputation and yet someone above launched an attack on her livelihood (substanceless). The right wing targets and attacks people by doxing them and with all kinds of threats including bodily harm. Richardson is brave, but why would anyone else want to expose themselves to the lack of restraint on the right?
DeleteIt is unreasonable for PP to expect that anyone here is going to reveal themselves just so that he can address their individual comments more directly, when the right doesn't know how to behave itself on or off line.
I don’t know if you know this, but you retain your anonymity when you use a nym.
DeleteI find PP's argument rather compelling.
DeleteBut you have no nym…
DeleteYou must have meant 'And you have no nym...'
DeleteIt’s impossible to tell how many. I think Our Host could significantly improve his comment section simply by prohibiting anonymity.
ReplyDeleteSays the party that thinks free speech is in jeopardy.
DeleteYou’re defending the right to squeak?
DeleteYou're defending the right to PP (pee)?
DeleteSo the mice who skip and jump seem obsessed with pee and poo. I wonder what Freud would say.
DeleteWe didn’t choose your nym.
DeleteToday, we have plenty of information on bitcoin. Is that why Somerby hasn't deleted it?
ReplyDeleteHarris/Walz turned the arc of the election around by labeling Trump/Vance as “weird” and “creepy.” Remember? But Harris/Walz seem to have abandoned that framing completely, even though both Trump and Vance say things every single day that should readily reinforce that framing.
ReplyDeleteRupert Murdoch has a firm grip on the press in Australia, owning 75% of the print media, and as such largely controlling the political narrative. After the wildfires, something changed. Murdoch's endorsed candidates were not elected. His climate change narrative , like here in the US, had been to discredit the science.The public was no longer buying it. In response, all of Murdoch's media outlets did a 360 degree about face, launching a zero emissions campaign:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2021/12/09/media/australia-murdoch-media-diversity-intl-hnk/index.html
So: Murdoch's media in Australia vs the US have opposite views of climate science, largely because at a certain point, after the environmental disaster of rampant wildfires, the Australian public no longer was buying his anti science propaganda and cracks began to form in his political power.
As climate disasters become more common in the Southeast, we will see how accepting the public is of climate change denialism. Meanwhile, the current formula for aid to areas of natural disasters is 75% national money, 25% local. The 2025 project class for that ratio to be reversed. Be careful what you wish for, red states.
class=calls
ReplyDeleteYou know, I got a hold of Mr. James, and he said you are a nasty piece of work, and that your husband made the best decision of his life.
ReplyDelete