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<\/a><\/p>\nBack to assorted posts on current events and politics.<\/p>\n
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- Trump dreams of economic disaster since he doesn’t actually care about Americans, only his chances to win the next election, and this aligns with modern conservatives’ notions about Jesus and the Bible;\n
- Short items about weather control and assassinations, false history and cults;\n
- And R.E.M.’s song “I Remember California”.\n<\/ul>\n
Whose side are Republicans on? Not that of ordinary Americans; apparently only themselves.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nNY Times, Paul Krugman, 11 Jan 2024<\/strong>: Trump Dreams of Economic Disaster<\/a><\/p>\n
Opening:<\/p>\n
Did Donald Trump just say that he\u2019s hoping for an economic crash<\/a>? Not exactly. But what he did say was arguably even worse, especially once you put it in context.<\/p>\n
And Trump\u2019s evident panic over recent good economic news deepens what is, for me, the biggest conundrum of American politics: Why have so many people joined \u2014 and stayed in \u2014 a personality cult built around a man who poses an existential threat to our nation\u2019s democracy and is also personally a complete blowhard?<\/p>\n
So what did Trump actually say on Monday? Strictly speaking, he didn\u2019t call for a crash, he predicted one, positing that the economy is running on \u201cfumes\u201d \u2014 and that he hopes the inevitable crash will happen this year, \u201cbecause I don\u2019t want to be Herbert Hoover.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you think about it, this isn\u2019t at all what a man who believes himself to be a brilliant economic manager and supposedly cares about the nation\u2019s welfare should say. What he should have said instead is something like this: My opponent\u2019s policies have set us on the path to disaster, but I hope the disaster doesn\u2019t come until I\u2019m in office \u2014 because I don\u2019t want the American people to suffer unnecessarily, and, because I\u2019m a very stable genius<\/a>, I alone can fix it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
And<\/p>\n
Trump […] has been predicting disaster under Biden for more than three years, without ever admitting that his predictions haven\u2019t come true. What we\u2019ve gotten from Trump instead is a series of desperate false claims<\/a> about the state of the economy. No, the price of bacon<\/a> isn\u2019t \u201cup five times<\/a>\u201d under Biden.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This gets interesting near the end:<\/p>\n
I hate saying this, but I do understand why millions of people are drawn to Trump\u2019s dictatorial ambitions, his encouragement of violence<\/a>, his declarations that immigrants are \u201cpoisoning the blood of our country<\/a>.\u201d The sad truth is that there have always been many Americans who fundamentally don\u2019t believe in America\u2019s democratic ideals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“The sad truth is that there have always been many Americans who fundamentally don\u2019t believe in America\u2019s democratic ideals.”<\/p>\n
When you think about this, it makes sense. And it aligns with recent comments from some Christians, who when shown what Jesus actually said, react that his words are too “woke” for the modern day. (OnlySky<\/a> citation) The Constitution was written by a group of idealists trying to overcome the shackles of religion (among many other things), and many people (conservatives) mindlessly venerate the Constitution, just as they do the Bible, without actually understanding what either document says. For many people, the ideals of Jesus, and the Constitution, don’t overcome their base, intuitive, morality, the one that evolved on the Savannah over millions of years. As I’ve discussed before.<\/p>\n
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Shorter items.<\/p>\n
Crackpot thinks her enemies are controlling the weather:<\/p>\n
Laura Loomer: The Deep State Is Using Its Weather Machine To Rig Iowa Caucus In Favor Of Nikki Haley<\/a><\/p>\n
And<\/p>\n
Trump ally Laura Loomer: Nikki Haley and the deep state might be using \u201cweather manipulation\u201d to \u201crig the Iowa Caucus\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
(Weather manipulation does not exist.)<\/p>\n
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Texas governor says he would have immigrants shot, if it weren’t illegal.<\/p>\n
Texas Gov: We\u2019d Shoot People Crossing The Border But Then The Biden Admin Would \u201cCharge Us With Murder\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
This aligns with the piece about what Jesus actually said.<\/p>\n
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Even assassination is in the Republican playbook. They’re behaving like the mafia.<\/p>\n
New Audio Shows Roger Stone Calling For Assassinating Democratic House Reps Eric Swalwell And Jerry Nadler<\/a><\/p>\n
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“Predictably…”<\/p>\n
Oklahoma State Sen. Nathan Dahm Spreads False Christian Nationalist History<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ten Commandments is not controversial,\u201d Dahm declared. \u201cOur entire structure of our government, our U.S. Constitution was founded by Christians on biblical principles. They\u2019ll say that the First Amendment says that you can\u2019t have an establishment of religion, but that\u2019s specifically applied to the federal government. If you go back and you read the state constitutions\u2014read the Virginia Constitution of 1776, they specifically say that people need to have moral Christian behaviors. They specifically mentioned Christianity in their state constitution.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And then,<\/p>\n
Predictably, actually reading the Virginia Constitution of 1776<\/a> reading that it makes no mention of Christianity and says nothing<\/em> about the people needing to have \u201cmoral Christian behaviors.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We’re in David Barton territory here.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nJennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 12 Jan 2024<\/strong>: Opinion | The media\u2019s worst lapse: Refusing to identify Trump as a cult leader<\/a><\/p>\n
Sample:<\/p>\n
A message from a mentally sound, serious leader (President Biden) cannot be equated with the message of an authoritarian who seeks absolute power through a web of disinformation and, if need be, violence. (When the media doesn\u2019t grasp this, we get laughable headlines<\/a> such as: \u201cClashing Over Jan. 6, Trump and Biden Show Reality Is at Stake in 2024.\u201d)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Today’s R.E.M. album: Green<\/a>, one of its middle-period pop albums. The one song that still strikes me is this one:<\/p>\n