The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump

[Z Buck McFate]

We should come up with euphemisms for the whole lot. I was just trying to incorporate the word "pudding" into something for Barr, but it's difficult because "Pudding Head" is one of the names I call my cat. Is there a special name for Jello dishes with meat in them? Maybe that'd work.

AP News: Barr tells DOJ to probe election fraud claims if they exist

Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities, if they exist, before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud.
​

 

[Red Herring]

We should come up with euphemisms for the whole lot. I was just trying to incorporate the word "pudding" into something for Barr, but it's difficult because "Pudding Head" is one of the names I call my cat. Is there a special name for Jello dishes with meat in them? Maybe that'd work.

You mean aspic?

 

[Z Buck McFate]

You mean aspic?

Yes, but it doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well as I'd hoped. I'm going to have to keep working on it.

 

[Red Herring]

Yes, but it doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well as I'd hoped. I'm going to have to keep working on it.

Hmm, I'd say William Aspic Barr does have a ring to it.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Thinking about Savory Jello-with-ham Barr.

I could possibly get used to William Aspic Barr.

I guess really it's a wait and see type thing, to see where it ends up.

 

[FemMecha]

It kind of eats at me that some of the polls were dead on the money (apparently fixed from mistakes in 2016) and yet there were these states where the polls were inexplicably off by even more than they were originally -- these battleground states. I wonder if they will ever figure out what happened or if the polling problems would persist without Trump in the race.

Just the fact that he invariably accuses others of doing what he is doing (so consistently!), it has to cross one's mind that somehow he has been gaming the votes... but of course I don't know how that would be done in those states nor do I have evidence of that, so I can't say. But it's just weird. And he has the fury of a man who not just lost but someone got out-gamed. Can you imagine if he did cheat in some way (besides the obvious ways being used, like undermining mail voting during a pandemic, slowing down the USPS, disenfranchising certain groups of voters) ... and still lost?

But anyhoo.



It still amazes me.

This crossed my mind as well. It is established that he lies or cheats to get what he wants, so certainly he would have at least attempted to rig the election in his favor. I've been having a feeling that as voter fraud is looked into the Biden might even end up with another blue state and shocks everyone - like Texas or something. I think maybe they should investigate all of it. I'm not entirely convinced Trump got as much of the Hispanic vote as it seems. The folks I know are extremely upset about issues at the border. If they are investigating a bunch of state's votes, let's include Texas.

Elsewhere I mentioned to Aerix I thought he was charismatic. He IS charismatic, esp when younger -- but he's reached a stage where you either are won over by him somehow or you despise him. Those who don't see through the game thinks he's wonderful and worship him like he's some kind of god; those who do see through it find him repulsive. It's that kind of charisma. And he'd have to have it, because he's just not competent at least by this point in time. He's been operating in some kind of solipsistic fog for years. While he was still using his reasoning skills to justify his whims in early seasons of "The Apprentice," he seemed more sane at that point in time, and could be talked to. Not now.

I think Bill Clinton had charisma too, and it worked in reverse. the GOP hated him (and hated Hillary) beyond passion, whereas his supporters thought he was wonderful. (However, Clinton was actually extremely intelligent by any standard, even if not wise at times, and he had a remarkable recall of facts. Maybe he wasn't honest in his personal life, but he didn't throwing out fuzzy comments all the times that had no content.)

I am kind of amazed at how the entire world seems ecstatic (aside from a few countries, we all know which ones) over this turn of events. It's like a "welcome back" party. The church bells were ringing.

Trump does have charisma for the people we see supporting him in a frenzy. It is his certitude and the lack of boundaries is a way to express dominance. He makes some people feel secure. His religious advisor Paula White also has charisma that appeals to certain people. They don't make that impression on me, but I can see that they have that ability to impress others socially.

None of this shit is going to work, is it?

I haven't seen anything in Yahoo News feed -- although they've been stoking all other kinds of fears. (e.g., ,"What happens if the president elect dies before inauguration?" and other stupid shit..

I hope that Biden and Harris' security details are as heightened as possible. I fear for their lives because whether it is Trump or his supporters, this frenzy is going to make some people attempt to kill them. I'm sure that the FBI and security teams know this in greater depth than my observations, or at least I hope so.

 

[xenaprincess]

Hmm, I'd say William Aspic Barr does have a ring to it.

How about Ass Pick.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

HCR's Letter from last night:

Maybe what’s at stake is that last Tuesday’s election left control of the Senate hanging on two runoff elections in Georgia. Today the Republican candidates in those races tagged on to the cries of voter fraud to call for Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign. Raffensberger is the top elections official in the state. He is a Republican. There is no evidence of any irregularity in the 2020 Georgia election, and the two senators did not offer any. But if they can get Democratic votes thrown out, Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler might avoid the runoffs that look like they might well result in Democratic victories.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is determined to keep control of the Senate, and ginning up a conviction that the election was rigged could do that. McConnell defended Trump’s challenging of the election today, although he did not explicitly say he believed the election had been fraudulent. Trump’s attacks are working: new polling shows that 7 out of 10 Republican voters now think that the 2020 election was illegitimate. Barr met with McConnell before he signed onto the idea of voter fraud by announcing that federal prosecutors could go after it.

Still, while control of the Senate is likely driving McConnell, it seems highly unlikely that Trump cares about it. Perhaps the president is simply deep in a narcissistic rage, unable to face the idea of losing.

But there is something else niggling at me.

Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Biden’s win means that the current administration is denying him the right to see the President’s Daily Briefing (the PDB) which explains the biggest security threats facing the country and the latest intelligence information. Trump can keep Biden from seeing other classified information, too.

Today, Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper (by announcing the firing on Twitter), and replaced him with a loyalist, Christopher C. Miller, who will be “acting” only. Trump also selected a loyalist and Republican political operative, Michael Ellis, to become the general counsel at the National Security Agency, our top spy agency, over the wishes of intelligence officials. Ellis was the chief counsel to Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), a staunch Trump loyalist. Trump is also reportedly considering firing FBI director Christopher Wray and CIA director Gina Haspel. Last week, he quietly fired the leaders of the agencies that oversee our nuclear weapons, international aid, and electricity and natural gas regulation, although the last of those officials was moved to a different spot in the administration.

In other words, Trump is cleaning out the few national security leaders who were not complete lackeys and replacing them with people who are. It’s funny timing for such a shake-up, especially one that will destabilize the country, making us more vulnerable.

Today Washington Post diplomacy and national security reporter John Hudson noted that a source told him that the “Trump administration just gave Congress formal notification for a massive arms transfer to the United Arab Emirates: 50 F-35s, 18 MQ-9 Reapers with munitions; a $10 billion munitions package including thousands of Mk 82 dumb bombs, guided bombs, missiles & more….” This deal comes two months after the administration’s Abraham Accord normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE opened the way for arms sales.

The UAE has wanted the F-35 for years; it is the world’s most advanced fighter jet. They cost about $100 million apiece. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has secretly been pushing for the sale of the arms to the UAE in the face of fierce opposition by government agencies and lawmakers.
​

So, this makes sense of why Diarrhea-Face is now backing Trump's election fraud bullshit.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Something to support the argument that these fraud allegations are just more smoke-and-mirrors bullshit from Emperor Blowhole, from Huffpost: Trump Supporter Arrested For Requesting Absentee Ballot For Dead Mother

The president accuses Democrats of “voter fraud,” but one of his supporters became the first person in a Pennsylvania county charged with the crime in 30 years.​

 

[FemMecha]

I hesitate to share this, but have one specific point I'm trying to make. This is one of Trump's affairs talking, but it is very much a Trump promo hidden as scandal. This will make most people admire him more even though he was cheating on his wife yet again. This isn't the issue that enrages me, even though I don't admire the behavior, but it is still consensual.

My point: at minute 41:40 there is casual mention of Donald Trump being good friends with Dylan Howard, the director of AMI. I haven't studied the media extensively, but I have been starting to suspect that some of Trump's great suffering by the media is precisely his schtick. The people who follow him love the "liberal media berating him". I think that might even function as positive propaganda for him. Karen McDougal to Melania Trump: I’m sorry - YouTube

I ordered and read a small book called "Propaganda" written in 1938 that described early 20th Century approaches and it struck me how sophisticated it was even at the beginning. I grew up thinking early propaganda was hamfisted because of the Hitler and Stalin videos, but it's always been more strategic. In the book they described that a company wanted to market and sell pianos. Instead of attempting to sell pianos, they started a cultural movement for every home to have a 'music room'. That way consumers could feel that they individually came up with the idea they needed a piano without even being told in marketing. That was 1938. Propaganda is about coming at people sideways, letting them feel they have the AHA! discovery, it is their own independent thought, but in reality it is manufactured.

The movie "Plandemic" was very successful using the strategy that the media is against them and "oh no! their promos keep getting deleted! If you want the information you better watch it fast". Well, their youtube video stayed up just fine until there was about a million views, then it was taken down. Their website remained up with no problems of deletion, and their marketing strategy was specifically that this information is going to be taken down.

This is an off-shoot theory, but I think Trump controls more of the media than it seems and is deliberately constructing this image as the outsider constantly attacked by the evil Liberals, constantly deleted, a lone fighter against the mass media, and boy is that the most effective PR possible.

People need to realize that effective propaganda will leave them "feeling" like an independent thinker. That is the most effective realization of its success and control.

 

[Totenkindly]

I ordered and read a small book called "Propaganda" written in 1938 that described early 20th Century approaches and it struck me how sophisticated it was even at the beginning. I grew up thinking early propaganda was hamfisted because of the Hitler and Stalin videos, but it's always been more strategic. In the book they described that a company wanted to market and sell pianos. Instead of attempting to sell pianos, they started a cultural movement for every home to have a 'music room'. That way consumers could feel that they individually came up with the idea they needed a piano without even being told in marketing. That was 1938. Propaganda is about coming at people sideways, letting them feel they have the AHA! discovery, it is their own independent thought, but in reality it is manufactured.

ARTHUR: Okay, here's planting an idea: I say to you, "Don't think about elephants."
(Saito nods)
What are you thinking about?
SAITO: Elephants.
ARTHUR: Right. But it's not your idea because you know I gave it to you.
SAITO: You could plant it subconsciously-
ARTHUR: The subject's mind can always trace the genesis of the idea. True inspiration is impossible to fake.
COBB: No, it isn't.

You simply have to make people feel like it was their own idea all along.

And yes, Trump is really great at tossing out vague ideas, expecting everyone to fill in the missing pieces, especially when anything attempted to correct the misinformation or render toothless the supposed conspiracy just can be viewed as one more level of the conspiracy.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Spend a night drinking with an ex AB member, and I think anyone would be just as alarmed as they'd be after a night with an Islamic fundamentalist. I just wish the typical moderate Trump supporter had the opportunity to spend some time around some of these guys. I am in a tricky spot, family friends with someone who turns out to be a member, and apparently they have been mingling with other AB members since 2020 began. And I'm in a very tough spot right now because our kids are friends and we had promised to invite them over for a cookout soon. Lots of anxiety about this. Pretty sure they know we voted for Biden too. Do I have this person over and hope politics doesn't come up? I am pretty sure we qualify as the ultimate betrayers of white America. I mean we have a copy of the Koran on our bookshelf. Sure, it's next to other religious texts because I consider myself an amateur in religious studies, but I doubt they'd see it the same.

In the wake of the election, with feelings high on both sides, I'm having a lot of anxiety about Trump supporters that we know. It's not alarmism either, I'm basing it on actual observations, first hand, not what the media says. Some of these people I've encountered really do seem to believe that democrats or progressives are mortal enemies or inherently evil, amoral persons. I'm really scared.

 

[Totenkindly]

What's the AB?

 

[Stigmata]

Spend a night drinking with an ex AB member, and I think anyone would be just as alarmed as they'd be after a night with an Islamic fundamentalist. I just wish the typical moderate Trump supporter had the opportunity to spend some time around some of these guys. I am in a tricky spot, family friends with someone who turns out to be a member, and apparently they have been mingling with other AB members since 2020 began. And I'm in a very tough spot right now because our kids are friends and we had promised to invite them over for a cookout soon. Lots of anxiety about this. Pretty sure they know we voted for Biden too. Do I have this person over and hope politics doesn't come up? I am pretty sure we qualify as the ultimate betrayers of white America. I mean we have a copy of the Koran on our bookshelf. Sure, it's next to other religious texts because I consider myself an amateur in religious studies, but I doubt they'd see it the same.

In the wake of the election, with feelings high on both sides, I'm having a lot of anxiety about Trump supporters that we know. It's not alarmism either, I'm basing it on actual observations, first hand, not what the media says. Some of these people I've encountered really do seem to believe that democrats or progressives are mortal enemies or inherently evil, amoral persons. I'm really scared.

You've got several decades of right-wing propaganda media birthed by Reagan's abolishment of the fairness doctrine in 1987 to thank for that.

 

[Jaguar]

The sister organization of the CD.

 

[Totenkindly]

The sister organization of the CD.

So, American Bandstand + Clog Dancers?

I knew they were in cahoots!

 

[ceecee]

What's the AB?

Aryan Brotherhood - Wikipedia

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

tease if you guys want, this is a serious and real concern. asshats

 

[Totenkindly]

tease if you guys want, this is a serious and real concern. asshats

No one is teasing you. It's pretty obvious we're all concerned.

Next time just spell out your acronyms at least the first time, in case people don't know them.

 

[Red Herring]

tease if you guys want, this is a serious and real concern. asshats

How did you end up spending the night drinking with a (former) violent criminal with (former) neonazi sympathies? If you guys merely know each other through your kids and you are okay with that friendship, is there a way to sort of server politics from your relationship (as in "let's not go there because I like you but we have very different opinions and I don't wanna fight")?


I never met a nazi, as far as I know, but I do have a colleague I occasionally have to work with who is this really sweet lady who happens to think migrants are criminals, climate change is bogus and corona is harmless and the Merkel government is using anti-corona measures to install a dictatorship. We keep conversations to work and our kids...