Geoff > Status Update

Geoff wrote: "This is the real president's real answer when asked his thoughts on a two-state solution

"So I’m looking at two states..."

I know. Unbelievable. I would laugh (as some in the room did) if it was not so horrific.

By like, May, he's not gonna be president anymore right? I mean, this can't keep going on, right? He's clearly not even fit to babysit, much less, you know..

Certainly feels like this can't go on long, but then again the entire time he was a candidate it felt like he was 5 seconds away from completely imploding.

Do you think it's going to be possible to go back to a normal president again after this?

Crisis of the ruling class? the Trump presidency as the great Lisbon quake of neoliberalism?

David wrote: "the great Lisbon earthquake of neoliberalism"

This is what the Accelerationists are hoping for, no? I'm not convinced it is the best way forward.

Bush went on for 8 whole years. Many people thought the exact same things. He outright lied about the evidence that led us to war with Iraq and paid no price for it. Unless the IC provides evidence that cannot be ignored, I don't see Paul Ryan going after him.

David wrote: "Certainly feels like this can't go on long, but then again the entire time he was a candidate it felt like he was 5 seconds away from completely imploding.

Do you think it's going to be possible t..."

I think, to some degree seriously, that for the next few election cycles it will be celebrity billionaires for both sides. There's already talk of Mark Cuban or Zuckerberg 2020 for the Dems. So yeah, totally a crisis of the ruling class. Because now reality really is reality TV.

Tom wrote: "Bush went on for 8 whole years. Many people thought the exact same things. He outright lied about the evidence that led us to war with Iraq and paid no price for it. Unless the IC provides evidence..."

I think the difference is competence. Bush, as much as I reviled him, could run a functional White House. Trump apparently cannot.

Oh also, I was just thinking, remember during the campaign Trump said he was going to sue those, what, 16 women who accused him of sexual assault and make them stand up in front of a court and admit they were lying? Why you think he isn't following through on that? I mean, that's defamation! He should make them admit their horrible lies! Unless, you know... Aw schucks he's probably just too busy running that well-oiled machine of a White House, that he told us all today was a well-oiled machine. So's gotta be true!

Tom wrote: "Bush went on for 8 whole years. Many people thought the exact same things. He outright lied about the evidence that led us to war with Iraq and paid no price for it. Unless the IC provides evidence..."

Yeah, Bush was definitely what first radicalized me. Gradually it dawned on me that it made no difference that he lied constantly, and that he could easily be shown to be lying. All the liberal, rational arguments against his administration made no difference at all. It was necessary to go deeper for a more systemic critique (which at the time I found by reading Chomsky).

Today we should remember it'd be very easy to win a rational argument with Trump or Conway, but being able to do this does not actually mean we've won. These things aren't decided on the level of rational discourse.

Geoff wrote: "Tom wrote: "Bush went on for 8 whole years. Many people thought the exact same things. He outright lied about the evidence that led us to war with Iraq and paid no price for it. Unless the IC provi..."

He was more competent, I suppose his experience as governor proved an asset. He didn't struggle with simple things, like creating a staff. The Iraq war was a collosal mistake and was executed very poorly. Afghanistan was very poorly executed as well since we had the NA fight for us. Then there was the whole plunging the global economy into the abyss moment. It's apples and oranges at this point, since Trump has not had to respond to a crisis. Outside of making some speeches about 9/11, Bush was an unmitigated disaster. Also, don't forget the Chinese spy plane incident, it foreshadowed his coming incompetence.

David wrote: "David wrote: "Today we should remember it'd be very easy to win a rational argument with Trump or Conway, but being able to do this does not actually mean we've won. These things aren't decided on the level of rational discourse."

Yeah I totally agree and I am not sure what to do about it. Without dialogue, what is there?

Tom wrote: "Outside of making some speeches about 9/11, Bush was an unmitigated disaster."

Absolutely right. It's crazy how now I am even romanticizing Bush. It feels that desperate.

Tom wrote: "Without dialogue, what is there?"

I think this is the essence of the crisis, at least within the populace of our country. There is not even a common language about the problems, a common reality on which we stand, a common normative space where our ideas might overlap. Where do we go from there but down, down, down...

To assume there is no dialogue because some have elected failed leaders is a fallacy. And I think there is still room for dialogue. Don't discard the town halls and debates and conversations going on about the country--Bernie is going around to impoverished counties to hold town hall meetings on major news networks. People are flooding town halls with their representatives in mass protest. People are engaging in thoughtful debate about healthcare (again Bernie, with *shivers* Ted Cruz a few weeks ago).

Sure, it's messy and fraught, but it looks like democracy and smells like democracy and it's a great start. If people pushed a campaign to call their representatives and senators to meet regularly with constituents in town halls, imagine how improved things might be. This is an extension of the CU decision, but representation has been too detached from the electorate for long before that disaster.

Ian wrote: "To assume there is no dialogue because some have elected failed leaders is a fallacy. And I think there is still room for dialogue. Don't discard the town halls and debates and conversations going ..."

That's all true - thank for the hopefulness Ian!

Tom wrote: "Without dialogue, what is there? "

Why, the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat of course!

David wrote: "Why, the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat of course! "

Of course! Except I think most of them voted for Trump :(

Quick question ;; anyone who actually watched the entirety of that press thing -- was there even anything remotely related to the operation of government discussed? Was anything remotely related to the People's Business addressed? I mean, disaster=politics aside, was anything substantive even remotely in the air? Any little straw of, like, there's some serious shit that needs to be addressed? In otherwords, anything at all that appeared to be Statesmanship? Just curious....

I'm just looking for an iota subscript.

For you, NR, I'll go watch the thing in entirety and report back.

Geoff wrote: "For you, NR, I'll go watch the thing in entirety and report back."

I'm glad to know you well enough to understand that when you say that you mean the opposite.

Here's for you ::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTxSN...

No but I did listen to Ace of Spades, like the whole record, for real. And drank beer!

And as the latest "fuck you" to sanity and the future survival of civilization from this unending crotch-punch of an administration, Scott Pruitt, climate change denier, attorney general who spent years of his life suing the EPA, was just confirmed as head of the EPA. Outrageous.

All people of all political persuasions should be horrified when the president tweets :

"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!"

Pure fascism.

Geoff wrote: "And as the latest "fuck you" to sanity and the future survival of civilization from this unending crotch-punch of an administration, Scott Pruitt, climate change denier, attorney general who spent ..."

Dark times. Imagine how the people who work there must feel. I don't think I can.

Dark times indeed. The American people have but 1 enemy and one enemy only: Trump. I am still baffled by his election and his public performances are abysmal and downright frightening. The horrror.....the horror!

Geoff wrote: "And as the latest "fuck you" to sanity and the future survival of civilization from this unending crotch-punch of an administration, Scott Pruitt, climate change denier, attorney general who spent ..."

On the upside, it's rumored that I, Nathan "N.R." Gaddis, he of Good Amish Blood, he of four hundred years of pacifist resistance against the oppression of the military=industrial=congressional complex, am in the listings for a MAJOR role in the Pentagon......

We're gonna rip this motherfucker off.
We're gonna tear this motherfucker down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezK2N...

Never even spent a day in BoysScouts, just like DeVosie.

Just putting this out there :

John McCain. Nope.

So tired of hearing about Yianaodapolohidipsh@!^$!#%*!

Rather than taking the time to google him again, listen to Chapo Trap House instead, particularly this one episode where they interview Jeremy Scahill

https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-hou...

2095. According to Heinlein's Future History timeline, the corrupt theocratic dictatorship of the Prophet is nearing its end, and the Revolt of 2100 is just around the corner.

Despair not! There is hope!

2068. In Judge Dredd, Robert Booth becomes president under dubious electoral circumstances (ballot rigging and whatnot) and says he can make America great Again. Riding the wave of xenophobia that carried him, he declares war on the rest of the world, confident in the belief that America's nuke shields will protect her. They fail.

This isn't meant to be fatalistic or anything. I think that if America needed a clarion call for sanity this is as close to one as I can conceive. Based on a satirical comic book no less.

Bright lights on horizons ::

"For the first time since the Spanish Civil War, anarchists controlled a nation-size territory, and Rojava soon became a celebrated cause of the international left."

Anarchists vs. ISIS in Rolling Stone ::
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/...

And in other news, here's what Sweden tried to import into Oakland last night. But the cops shut it down ::

"MARDUK Concert In Oakland Canceled Due To Security Concerns"
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/mard...
For better or worse.

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Bright lights on horizons ::

"For the first time since the Spanish Civil War, anarchists controlled a nation-size territory, and Rojava soon became a celebrated cause of the international left."

..."

And the Red, Black, and Orange did rejoice. Lets hope they can keep it.

The man who rails about fake news gets his news from Faux News...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-ca...

What a joke...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...

If Trump said it, it has happened.

Anyone still thinks it is possible to engage Trump supporters on the basis of facts, stats, reality...

Jibran wrote: "The man who rails about fake news gets his news from Faux News...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-ca...

What a joke..."

Jibran, I have now seen three highly qualified psychiatrists explain why it would be incorrect to assume that Trump has mental health issues simply on the basis of an apparent inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality and a habit of letting the whole world know about his confusion. We must respect their expertise. As they say, there are any number of possible explanations.

In all fairness, I did kind of suspect he was talking about one of these 'immigration and crime' stories which are always so popular. What concerns me is how little he understands of what he sees/hears/reads--he doesn't even understand what it is Fox is saying. Like how he totally shut down that one Jewish reporter, totally misunderstanding a veryFriendly question as a hostile one. I don't think it's just a matter of him hearing what he wants to hear, he just can't at all understand anything from any other point of view whatsoever, even a veryFriendly point of view. He can't hear.

Manny wrote: "We must respect their expertise."

These 35 experts?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/op...

"Mr. Trump’s speech and actions demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions. His words and behavior suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists).

"In a powerful leader, these attacks are likely to increase, as his personal myth of greatness appears to be confirmed. We believe that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president."

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "I don't think it's just a matter of him hearing what he wants to hear, he just can't at all understand anything from any other point of view whatsoever"

Another reason for his incoherent utterances might be that he gets conflicting views from two of his major advisors; his son-in-law, a Jewish-orthodox, and Bannon, an anti-Semite. What's a mentally challenged person like Trump supposed to do? His poor brain can't handle it.

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Manny wrote: "We must respect their expertise."

These 35 experts?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/op...

"Mr. Trump’s speech and actions dem..."

Yes, well, I guess we must respect their expertise too. I was taking it for granted though that Trump would have the best experts pronouncing him not just sane, but the sanest person they'd ever met, in fact saner than Jesus, Einstein and Winston Churchill rolled into one. Minus the belief that he's the son of God and the autism and the bipolar... er... anyway, you know what I mean. I can fix the wording later.

If it hasn't been said, here is what David Brooks of the NY Times said last night: “Enemy of the people, I’m an enemy of the people. You know what? My fear of the administration as it’s shaken out so far is not that it’s incipient fascism it is that it is anarchy. There are 696 appointed jobs that require senate confirmation and the Trump administration hasn’t named 692 of them. So there is nobody home in the government.”

Jessaka wrote: "If it hasn't been said, here is what David Brooks of the NY Times said last night: “Enemy of the people, I’m an enemy of the people. You know what? My fear of the administration as it’s shaken out ..."

It is really weird and scary. It's almost like they know for some reason that a government won't be necessary any more. But probably they just haven't found the document yet listing all these jobs they need to fill.

Trump has picked out racist and criminal for his cabinet, and the Democrats are fighting against it tooth and nail, but most get through, and as in the case of Flynn, he was fired. I am sure you know all this already.

I wonder if fascism follows anarchy? I know so little about politics, but I didn't want to learn it this way.

Trump is right about the situation in Sweden.

Niklas wrote: "Trump is right about the situation in Sweden."

Jaha? Jag kollade DN och SvD, och de verkade inte precis ta det på allvar.

Article in English here.

Manny wrote: "Article in English here."

Looks like once again both Fox and Trump are out in left field, or maybe roaming around in a corn field. (With apologies to Field of Dreams.)

Regarding anarchism, if you toss out all the B.S. about bomb throwing and no law whatsoever (which stems from Russian anarchism in the nineteenth century) the views of anarchist movements is pretty darn uplifting. See the link in this discussion back up somewhere, perhaps on the previous page - about the anarchist and left wingers fighting ISIS in Syria. This is I think a different link to a similar article: http://www.cvltnation.com/anarchists-...

You guys see how that one fascist clown just had his new book pulled by Simon & Shuster. Why did they have to wait to pull it until that pedophilia stuff surfaced? Is that the only uncrossable line? Fascism's okay, but not pedi stuff?

edit : I don't even understand why any of us even know he exists. Is that just the situation of the famous for being famous?