‘American Exceptionalism’ No More

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

A condensed explanation of “American exceptionalism” from Wikipedia:

“American exceptionalism is an ideology that rests on the notion the country is inherently different from that of other nations, stemming from its emergence from the American Revolution, becoming what one political scientist called “the first new nation” and developing a uniquely American ideology, “Americanism”, based on liberty, equality before the law, individual responsibility, republicanism, representative democracy, and laissez-faire economics. It’s also the idea that America has a unique mission to transform the world. In his Gettysburg address, President Abraham Lincoln said Americans have a duty to ensure, “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Finally, it’s the idea that America’s history and its mission give it a superiority over other nations.”

Trump is a walking, talking refutation of American exceptionalism. At this stage in our nation’s history, how can anyone feel a sense of superiority?

I’m Not A Political Consultant

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

But I could be. Imagine if Trump’s campaign was a bit more inclusive and I was hired to advise on messaging and strategy.

The incessant attacks on Biden’s character are a dead-end. A lot of Republicans fret about his probable policies, but they also know deep down, he’s a decent person. And human decency counts now more than ever. Instead, focus on real threats to American life by tweeting this out:

It’s grossly unfair that college professors have lifetime job security and an all-time great President has to reapply for his job after only four years.

Then just sit back and watch the “likes” and retweets.

And here’s how you blunt the criticism that the President hasn’t clearly communicated what he hopes to accomplish in a second term. Again, tweet this:

Authoritarianism. Just try it. What have you got to lose?

The first two-thirds of that would also make an excellent bumper sticker and pin.

Weeks ago, I also would’ve insisted on placing a voting box at every truck stop and boat ramp in Florida.

And lastly, that 400-person White House party planned for tonight, I’d trim that guest list by about 396 people.

Social Isolation Is a Bitch

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

WRIT 101. I finished reading Paper 3 over the weekend. My students don’t need a writing professor, they need a therapist.

Get Rich Or Become Politically Irrelevant Trying

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

From ‘Why Trump Can’t Afford to Lose‘ by Jane Mayer.

“Two of the investigations into Trump are being led by powerful state and city law-enforcement officials in New York. Cyrus Vance, Jr., the Manhattan District Attorney, and Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, are independently pursuing potential criminal charges related to Trump’s business practices before he became President. Because their jurisdictions lie outside the federal realm, any indictments or convictions resulting from their actions would be beyond the reach of a Presidential pardon. Trump’s legal expenses alone are likely to be daunting. (By the time Bill Clinton left the White House, he’d racked up more than ten million dollars in legal fees.) And Trump’s finances are already under growing strain. During the next four years, according to a stunning recent Times report, Trump—whether reëlected or not—must meet payment deadlines for more than three hundred million dollars in loans that he has personally guaranteed; much of this debt is owed to such foreign creditors as Deutsche Bank. Unless he can refinance with the lenders, he will be on the hook. The Financial Times, meanwhile, estimates that, in all, about nine hundred million dollars’ worth of Trump’s real-estate debt will come due within the next four years. At the same time, he is locked in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over a deduction that he has claimed on his income-tax forms; an adverse ruling could cost him an additional hundred million dollars. To pay off such debts, the President, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be two and a half billion dollars, could sell some of his most valuable real-estate assets—or, as he has in the past, find ways to stiff his creditors. But, according to an analysis by the Washington Post, Trump’s properties—especially his hotels and resorts—have been hit hard by the pandemic and the fallout from his divisive political career. “It’s the office of the Presidency that’s keeping him from prison and the poorhouse,” Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale who studies authoritarianism, told me.”

This explains why Jim Jordan is STILL on Fox News as a Trump super surrogate. And why so many others in the media or government are consciously going down with the ship. Every Trump acolyte has one thing in common—like their leader, they’re most interested in their own self-preservation. So why continue riding the Trump train when it’s hours from jumping the track?

Because, as others have speculated, the only way out of Trump’s financial and legal nightmare is for him to start a media company. And hope like hell it’s his first business success.

What does this have to do with Jim Jordan and all the other True Believers? To answer that, one has to understand Jim Jordan’s financial situation. He makes $174,000 a year and this is Ballotpedia’s estimate of his past net worth:

Screen Shot 2020-11-01 at 8.00.40 AM

When he’s blabbering on Fox News, he’s not trying to tilt the election, he’s auditioning for a top job at Trump Network with the expectation of making ten times more money. And the same for McEnany, Sarah Sanders, and Charlie Kirk. Don’t be surprised to see Ingraham and Hannity switch teams if the money’s right.

Rush Limbaugh Is Dying

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

Justin Peters with a smart history lesson on Limbaugh’s legacy. Peters argues we have him to thank for Trump in “Rush Limbaugh’s Fight to the Death.”

The conclusion:

“Limbaugh might have had a choice at one point, a choice to stop being a crabbed, reactionary loudmouth and do something different. That choice is gone now. The conservative movement—the wackos and the reply guys, the pundits and the dissemblers, the Q disciples and the truthers—has barricaded itself within the echo chamber Rush built. They swap memes and theories in a big windowless room that admits no outside light, and they have grown so accustomed to the smell that they’re convinced it’s the outside world that stinks.

This is the right wing we’re stuck with, even if Trump loses, even after Limbaugh dies. And a Biden victory can only make it worse, for there is nothing conservative media like more than playing the victim. Spinning spurious grievances into bullshit extending beyond the horizon is the quintessential talk-radio trick. Limbaugh pioneered it. Trump perfected it. It’s a potent, brilliant idea that will outlive them both.”

“Spinning spurious grievances into bullshit extending beyond the horizon.” If that prediction could be monetized into a proposition we could gamble on, I’d slide every last one of my chips into the center of the table.

Weekend Required Reading

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

Fauci says things won’t return to normal until 2022 so a heavy load. I have confidence in you though, I know you can do it.

1. McConnell Played Trump. Is Gruber giving The Turtle too much credit?

2. Investor Bill Gross accused of blaring ‘Gilligan’s Island’ song on loop to torment neighbor. Watching the ultra wealthy fight never gets boring. I want more content like this.

3. Are Dead People Voting By Mail? Findings from Washington State.

4. Quiz: Can You Tell a ‘Trump’ Fridge from a ‘Biden’ Fridge?

5. White House science office says Trump ended COVID-19 pandemic as US hits record cases. What the hell is this, North Korea?

6. Meet the 24-year-old who’s tracking every broken McDonald’s ice-cream machine in the US. It’s important to have a purpose in life.

7. Grateful for a Wedding in Prison. Can people completely change course?

8. UK’s top universities urged to act on classism and accent prejudice.

Seeking A Role Model

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

Man alive, nearly all of my boyhood heroes are biting the dust. Especially baseball players from the late 60’s and early/mid 70’s. Guess that’s how the life cycle works.

But one is still very much alive and kickin’. A golfer with 18 major championships. Goes by the name, “The Golden Bear”. Yesterday, TGB penned a love letter to the President and urged everyone to vote for him. Out of respect to you, I am not linking to it. Of course that’s his prerogative, just like it’s my prerogative to boycott him and his commercial empire.

There were clues along the way. He had zero sympathy for Casey Martin.

Now I find myself rooting for Collin Morikawa to win 18 more major championships sometime before I bite the dust.

So there’s a void in my life. Absent a role model, I feel adrift.

Maybe you would like to apply for the vacancy. Please submit an application starting with who you’ve voted for—or if an international friend—who you would’ve voted for given the chance. Major championship titles will only be used to break ties.

Uff da, The Dakotas Are Getting Hammered

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

Why is that? There are several clues in “Why North and South Dakota are suffering the worst Covid-19 epidemics in the US”.

“Unlike other states, South and North Dakota never fully closed down, with the Republican governors in each state resisting ever issuing a stay-at-home order. So most of each state remained open — allowing the virus to spread freely through bars, restaurants, parties, celebrations, rodeos, rallies, and other large gatherings. Among those potential spreading events was a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, in early August, which some experts now blame for a Covid-19 surge that followed in the region, particularly in the Upper Midwest.

Neither state has adopted a mask mandate, which research shows can help suppress the coronavirus. Based on some national data, both Dakotas have some of the lowest rates of mask-wearing in the US.

Bonny Specker, an epidemiologist at South Dakota State University, was blunt in her assessment of the situation in the Dakotas. “Federal and many state leaders have not implemented mandates or reinforced [public health agencies’] recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus,” she told me. ‘In South Dakota, the governor had the information needed to minimize the impact of this virus on the health of South Dakotans, but she ignored that information as well as national recommendations from the CDC.'”

It would be wrong to politicize a public health crisis of this magnitude by reiterating the “Republican Governors” point. So I won’t reiterate the “Republican Governors” point.

How Far Do You Want To Go?

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Ron Byrnes

There’s a growing consensus that the only people who should be allowed to inveigh on, or teach about contemporary issues, are those with relevant, direct lived experience with them. This sentiment makes sense given powerful people’s propensity to marginalize people different than them. However, extend the idea, and a lot of questions arise.

Should Catholic priests be allowed to do marriage counseling? Should men be allowed to teach Women’s Studies courses? Should white academics be allowed to teach African American history?

Extend it a touch further as many progressives are and a logical question is whether old, wealthy, heterosexual, white dudes should be allowed to inveigh or teach about anything after centuries of dominating nearly every discussion of consequence.

In which case, I should probably cycle more and write less.

Pressing Pause

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