Category Archives: Politics

You Will Never Guess The Biggest Threat To Our Future

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Me.

According to emeritus professor John Ellis in the Wall Street Journal, who contends, “The biggest threat to our future isn’t climate change, China or the national debt. It is the tyrannical grip that a hopelessly corrupt higher education now has on our national life. If we don’t stop it now, it will eventually destroy the most successful society in world history.”

He wrote this before yesterday’s Congressional testimony about hate speech that no doubt thrilled him.

All is not lost though. Ellis has a solution:

“. . . the only real solution is for more Americans to grasp the depth of the problem and change their behavior accordingly. Most parents and students seem to be on autopilot: Young Jack is 18, so it’s time for college. His family still assumes that students will be taught by professors who are smart, well-informed and with broad sympathies. No longer. Professors are now predominantly closed-minded, ignorant and stupid enough to believe that Marxism works despite overwhelming historical evidence that it doesn’t. If enough parents and students gave serious thought to the question whether this ridiculous version of a college education is still worth four years of a young person’s life and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, corrupt institutions of higher education would collapse, creating the space for better ones to arise.”

Never mind his assumption that parents of graduating high schoolers are thoughtless, did Ellis just call me closed-minded, ignorant and stupid? That is one hurtful trifecta.

I should probably come clean, but I’m not the one who used “Jack” as his stand in high school graduate, as white and middle-class a pseudonym as there is. I would’ve used Karl as a nod to Marxism, or maybe Friedrich, or better yet, a more inclusive gender-neutral name.

Ellis is old even relative to me, and retired from the classroom, so every day I skillfully weave references to class relations, social conflict, the means of production, and the need for a proletarian revolution into my writing and multicultural education courses, I extend my victory over him. Scoreboard Ellis.

And thereby, become an even greater threat to our future.

Can George Santos Support Himself?

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The George Santos reporting has been excruciatingly superficial. The continuous platforming of a congenital liar; the should he or shouldn’t he be expelled; the can the R’s afford to possibly lose the seat; the Botox, Hermès, Sephora and OnlyFans.

Among many others, here are two questions no one seems to be asking:

How did he get 145,824 New Yorkers to vote for him in 2022? That’s 20,420 more than his opponent. Why did everyone find out about his mental condition after the election? Also, the 2022 New York Third Congressional election results were not an anomaly. Why are we still, despite access to unprecedented information about people, so incredibly susceptible to conmen and women? Maybe the avalanche of information works to their advantage? Clearly, we’re increasingly susceptible to congenital liars in politics, business/finance, religious life, fill in the blank.

The second thing you won’t hear a reporter ask is can GS support himself? Does he have any specialized work experience, knowledge, or skills that an employer would value enough to pay him a livable wage? Even setting aside his mental health issues and nightmare character,I highly doubt it. In that respect, he’s emblematic of many young men and women who are finding it exceedingly difficult to approximate their parents’ economic security and lifestyles.

By far, the easiest thing to do is to make fun of Mary Magdalene. Much harder is figuring out how to avoid being taken by GS-like charlatans over and over. Also much harder is helping the GS’s of the world live independent lives. Unless GS figures out how to exploit our celebrity culture in the spirit of his political mentor, the Former Guy, I expect him to end up in and out of prison, with the public paying his room and board.

And that’s the news from the edge of the Salish.

Postscript. Shit.

What Is This, North Korea?

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Trump, on Biden’s 81st birthday, releases doctor’s note that says he’s in ‘excellent’ health.

“Attestations of Trump’s rigor by his doctors have become a genre of their own.

In late December 2015, during his first campaign for the Republican nomination, Trump’s campaign released a glowing letter from the late Dr. Harold N. Bornstein that claimed Trump, a known fast food aficionado who eschewed vigorous exercise, would ‘unequivocally’ be the ‘the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.’

Bornstein later revealed that Trump had dictated the glowing assessment himself, calling it ‘black humor’ and admitting that he had written it in five minutes while a limo sent by the then-candidate waited outside his office.

‘I just made it up as I went along,’ he told CNN in 2018. ‘It’s like the movie ‘Fargo.’ It takes the truth and moves it in a different direction.’

By “different”, Bornstein means laughably false. What the “Elite Strike Force” is to law, Bornstein is to medicine.

It Was a Good Week

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A sign that you may be slipping. You can’t find where you wrote about our need for more fist fights in the humble blog’s archive.

Everyone’s lamenting the decline of the (dis)United States this week all because one Congressman allegedly elbowed another in the kidney and one Senator proposed fighting the Teamsters President during a formal hearing after the Teamsters President called the Senator a “clown” and “fraud” on social media before adding, “You know where to find me. Anyplace, anytime cowboy.”

That is good stuff. But it got even better.

The Senator replied, “Sir, this is a time. This is a place. You want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults — we can finish it here.”

I like the emphasis on both parties consenting. There has to be some sort of code. Fisticuffs should never be forced.

“OK, that’s fine. Perfect,” the Teamster President responded.

“Well, stand your butt up then,” Senator taunted, with Teamster President telling Senator to do the same.

Then, it was all RUINED by a Vermont Socialist who went all schoolmarm on his colleague.

Here’s what Senator Byrnes would’ve said if he was chairing the hearing.

“Thank you for not shooting at each other and risking not just your lives, but innocent bystanders lives. We should all take pride in the fact that no one died here today. Thank you to the gentleman from Oklahoma and the gentleman from the International Brotherhood for illustrating that some forms of violence are better than others. Similarly, we should all show some gratitude to the Former Speaker for opting to elbow his colleague in the kidney instead of shooting him. Clearly, we are evolving, maybe not as fast as some would like, but evolving all the same.”

Podcasts to Ponder

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On my commute this morning I listened to this one, “Can Mike Johnson Survive As House Speaker?” One guest, with no sense of irony said, “Predictions are hard. Especially about the future.”

A week ago, I listened to this podcast, “Morikawa vs. Hovland, Grading LIV’s Season, Predicting the Future“. Love me some Dylan Dethier and Sean Zak, but Zak shanked it bigly when he said, “Furyk wasn’t as good as Tiger.” Bold. Astute.

And during yesterday’s run, I listened to this one, “Brian Koppelman on TV, Movies, and Appreciating Art“. Koppelman is a writer, director, and producer known for his work on films like Rounders and Solitary Man, the hit TV show Billions, and his podcast The Moment, which explores pivotal moments in creative careers. During the interview, he shared his two favorite t.v. shows currently airing. . . The Crown and The Bear. That brought a smile because that is the exact correct answer to the two best shows currently airing. You know what they say about “great minds”.

Biden Should Take A Cue From Cable News

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Six months to a year ago, CNN replaced its middle aged prime time male anchors with 31 year old Kaitlin Collins and 34 year old Abby Phillips.

Shortly thereafter, CNN platformed The Former Guy with their right wing “town hall” and I swore to never watch any of their programming again. But I’ve backslidden. As one does. CNN’s Middle East coverage has been solid and I like Collins and Phillips a lot, especially compared to the oldy and moldy former guys. Among other strengths, Collins and Phillips do not get ruffled. And, to borrow from some other cable news outfit, they come across as fair and (relatively) balanced.

I’m sure Collins and Phillips both aspired to rise to the top of their profession, but I’m guessing they were surprised by just how fast they got there. And yet, they’re excelling so much maybe the CNN suits should’ve promoted them earlier.

Among other broadcasters, MSNBC has countered with 45 year old Alex Wagner, 41 year old Ana Cabrera, and 44 year old Jen Psaki.

Cable news, at least on the left, has become a youngish woman’s game.

I’m guessing I’m not alone in watching a little more of CNN’s and MSNBC’s newer programming.

How many Kaitlin Collins and Abby Phillips are sitting on the bench—in politics, in business, in every economic sector—patiently waiting for the coach to call their number?

The answer is a hell of a lot. There are a lot of smart, caring, talented men and women in their third and fourth decade who we are not asking enough of. Who we are not providing sufficient opportunities to lead.

The President, who has and is doing a fantastic job, should announce he’s not running for reelection, that he’s passing the baton to the next generation of Democratic leaders. Handing off to the Gretchen Whitmers, the Gavin Newsoms, the Andy Beshears, and the 41 year old Pete Buttigieg. Among others who we don’t even know are on the bench because the “starters” are sucking all the air out of the room.

Not because of a widely reported poll that has appeared exactly one year from the election, but because everyone declines a lot in their 80’s. Maybe Joe isn’t too old to do the job well today, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be able to do it as well in 1-5 years. Why should we risk hoping Joe’s decline is going to be much less noticeable than on average when we don’t have to? When we have such a deep bench?

CNN had an executive who whacked his starters and then elevated his second stringers for an obvious win.

The Executive Branch is a different animal. A large ego is a prerequisite. Absent Jill, or some other confidant whose perspective the President implicitly trusts, all we can hope for is he decides himself to raise his hand and signal to the coach, I mean country, to take him out of the game. Doing so would secure his legacy.

Moms For Liberty’s Truth As Only They Know It

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According to the Olympian, Moms For Liberty is gaining momentum.

“Marty Lobdell, a retired Pierce College human sexuality professor, came across an MFL booth at SummerFest. ‘The women in the booth told passers-by that kindergarten children were being taught sexual positions and shown pictures of people having sex,’ he said.

Lobdell, who also taught part time in the Clover Park School District, called the group’s assertions a lie. ‘I would love to see the Moms provide one verifiable case of any grade school child being taught sexual positions or viewing pictures of people having sex,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, once lies get out, they have a life of their own.’

Moms for Liberty says they are just trying to protect children and assert parental rights.”

Kindergarteners being taught sexual positions and being shown pictures of people having sex is MFL’s truth as only they know it.

Whose Slipping?

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The New York Times:

“Mr. Trump has had a string of unforced gaffes, garble and general disjointedness that go beyond his usual discursive nature, and that his Republican rivals are pointing to as signs of his declining performance.

On Sunday in Sioux City, Iowa, Mr. Trump wrongly thanked supporters of Sioux Falls, a South Dakota town about 75 miles away, correcting himself only after being pulled aside onstage and informed of the error.

It was strikingly similar to a fictional scene that Mr. Trump acted out earlier this month, pretending to be Mr. Biden mistaking Iowa for Idaho and needing an aide to straighten him out.”

In fairness to Joe, there are a lot of “I” states, not just Iowa and Idaho, but Illinois. And Indiana. It’s madness.

The Times adds:

“In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has also told supporters not to vote, and claimed to have defeated President Barack Obama in an election. He has praised the collective intellect of an Iranian-backed militant group that has long been an enemy of both Israel and the United States, and repeatedly mispronounced the name of the armed group that rules Gaza.”

Somehow, they left out my recent fave, Trump riffing on which would be worse, him dying from a shark attack or “electroclushion”. Many would settle for either.

Again, the Times:

“This is a different Donald Trump than 2015 and ’16 — lost the zip on his fastball,” Gov. Right Wing Nutter of Florida told reporters last week while campaigning in New Hampshire.

Okay, I may have doctored that last sentence a little. Sue me.