Yes, it's true. After five years, for the first time since the pandemic, I am actually going out of town on a vacation. (I did go on a trip that I wrote about four years ago, in the early days of COVID, but that was only spending the night in another room of my home which I set up like a trip away, so it doesn't really count as "out of town.") The main reason for the delay is a wariness of traveling during COVID. And while I know a great many people have been traveling for a long time, I just haven't felt comfortable doing so. And still don't completely. But enough that I made the reservations and head off today. It turns out that traveling is somewhat like a muscle. You have to use it to keep in shape. I'm out of shape with traveling, and all the little things you have to do to get ready, but I think I'm all set. I did have one screw-up, though -- I made a taxi reservation with a mom-and-pop company I like a lot that happily are still around. A few days later, I was checking my notes about something else entirely...when I saw I'm made a stupid mistake, and ordered my taxi for another time I had considered leaving, later than the flight I settled on. Oh-so fortunately, I caught this, called the cab company the next morning, and they were able to move up my ride. So, all's well. I'll be going to Chicago, which I always love, but all the more since I have always gone there once (or sometimes twice) a year, and five years away is much, much too long. I'll be visiting some favorite locales, like the Arti Institute and Chicago Botanic Garden, visiting with family and friends I haven't seen in too many years (though have stayed in touch with, of course), a Cubs game needless-to-say, and eating at some of my favorite restaurants that I dearly miss. I can't wait. Happily, the elves will be able to come here and take over the place while I'm gone. (One had been nagging me for a couple years about when in the world I'd be going somewhere, so they could move in. Temporarily, of course. Oh, yes, he said, though I think I caught a laugh and knowing wink to his friend.) I won't likely be writing as much here while I'm away -- and the timing of posts will likely be different, considering the time zones. But I'll do my best to check in every day. If you have any problems, take it up with the elves.
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The other day, I decided to correct the latest MAGOP talking point, that Democrats are the real fascists, not Republicans. Putting aside that it seems obvious from this that they have no more idea what fascism is than they know what communism or socialism are (despite trying to pain Democrats with that for the past 70 years), what they most are completely unaware of is that fascism is specifically a conservative political philosophy. So, calling a liberal a fascist is a contradiction in terms.
It turned out that MAGOPs don’t like hearing this. The vitriol came pouring down. Unrelentingly. I responded to many, continuing to explain politely that, no, they were incorrect, though for the most invective-laced it was clear why the “Block” button was invented. Occasionally, though, I did even reply to a few of those that cried out for an answer. For instance, I would reply, “Just so you know, starting a note to a total stranger with “Dumbass” is generally not going to start a meaningful exchange.” Or to those who would send a graphic meme that said something like, “You are a stupid idiot idiot idiot idot. You make me sick,” they would get the response, “That is not a compelling argument.” I particularly liked the person who explained back that fascism was actually just an offshoot of communism. It was near-impossible to let that fly past, so I’d just point out that that would be a neat trick that could not be found anywhere in reality. I didn’t engage anyone of these in conversation and debate – clearly, there was no point in that. Minds were certain, locked in. But to be clear, the reason I did reply at all was for other people reading the wildly off-base comments who didn’t know the truth, and I felt it was important to correct the disinformation so they didn’t go away believing it all. And yes, I understood full well that it was like playing whack-a-mole in a cornfield of whack-a-mole that spread as far as the weary eye could see. That’s all well and good. I was okay with the responses, since I eventually realized it was easy to ignore them. Replies on Twitter go to your Notifications folder, so all one has to do is not read your Notification folder for a couple days, when the vitriol usually dies down. It does mean you want see the “Likes” and “Reposts” and any comments from people you know who you might want to reply to. But it’s a minor downside to the beatific comfort of silence. What I didn’t count on was the magical world of algorithms, especially those set up by Elon Musk. Those are the computer codes that identify content and match it up with like-minded content it thinks you might enjoy. That’s one of the nefarious results that allows hate-filled posters to find one another and reinforce their anger and echo chamber. And it turns out that by answering many of these corrosive slams and lies and disinformation, my algorithm buddy seemed to think, “Hey, this guy is responding to these people, he must want to continue doing so! Okay, here, let me dump all this garbage on your timeline…” There is good news/ bad news to all this – The bad news is…well, obvious. It’s pretty hideous what solid MAGOP writes. Not to me, but just in general, and mostly to themselves. And they write a whole lot of it, too. It’s hateful, ignorant, often filled with lies and actual “fake news” (whimsical for people who claim they supposedly detest it so much) that they believe, and believe all the more so because it gets reinforced. And I have to wade through this tripe to get to the actual news and exchanges I’m there for. (To be clear, I’ve always gotten a mix of political tweets on my timeline. Mostly liberal, yes, but enough that’s conservative and MAGOP -- some of which I’ll reply to, most of which I’ll at least be aware of. And that’s fine, and as it should be. But this kind of empty, angst-ridden venality is just a detestable bubble.) The good news is that it’s important to see how desolate that unsubstantiated fury is. It’s disturbing, to say the least, but it’s important to know what the sane world is dealing with. And yes, the bad news part in this dynamic overwhelms the good news. But I’m glad for that perspective. What I don’t know is if I’m stuck with this algorithm from now on when rummaging through Twitter – especially since occasionally there will be something SO profoundly inaccurate or a hurtful lie about something that demands being corrected, or if it will fade back to normal, as long as I keep my replies to such things to a minimum. Time will tell. If it doesn’t, it might render Twitter useless, or at least as only a platform to post on and not bother reading. Or perhaps greatly limit what accounts can get sent to my timeline. I’m hoping for a return to normal. I’ll accept semi-normal. But I do mean it – I’m glad to see how insane and angry and utterly misinformed the core MAGOP world is. And no, that's not bias. It’s an accurate description of the equivalence of people saying “2 plus 3 equals ‘French toast,’ and I hate you, and all libs are scum, minorities should be deported, and Trump is God.” And just to cleanse the palate and end on a refreshing note -- the correct answer is 5. In our continuing, albeit periodic series on Nichols & May, this may be one of the more famous of Mike Nichols and Elaine May’s most famous early sketches. And being early, it might not be as well-known as some of the later one's. It’s a couple of teenagers parked on a date, as the raging, but nervous hormones of the boy battle with the equally nervous rectitude, but interest of the girl. It’s worth noting one joke in the piece that Nichols later used when directing The Graduate, when an uncertain Benjamin has his first tryst with Mrs. Robinson, and tries anxiously to figure out when to make his move. He finally dives in, and you'll see where that joke came from here. A large, well-to-do, white area of Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, was given permission by the state Supreme Court to break away from the city and start its own city, to be called St. George. That's named after a previous, lost city in the state, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is an allusion to the legendary knight who fought and defeated a dragon. In this case, I suspect "the dragon" to them is the majority of citizens of Baton Rouge, the majority of whom are not white. As the New York Times described the new logistics, "The city will consist of an area of East Baton Rouge Parish, which is run by a blended government that oversees both Baton Rouge and the broader parish. It also carves out a largely white and more affluent section of the parish, southeast of Baton Rouge." St. George will have a population of over 100,000, making it the fourth largest city. The blow to Baton Rouge is that a significant part of its tax base is now gone. The blow to the state and the country is the message that if you live in a democracy and don't like how the majority rules and it has people of a different color that you don't like, you can ignore the standards the rest of people in a democracy live by, trying to create a majority of those who agree with you, trying to reach agreements and compromises with those you live with and must get along with, and ignore election results, say they don't apply to us and have your middle finger ready to show how you plan to screw them all. The city council of Baton Rouge has needless-to-say been upset, though the major has been impressively conciliatory. Hoping to work together with St. George (for whom the concept of "working together" seems alien), hoping that one day -- ideally soon -- the two cities can be joined again. The main complaints of the affluent white residents of St. George has been the school board, apparently teaching things they don't like or believe in, like maybe (for all I know) science, and crime. I have no idea how the whole school thing will go, but if they think crime will ignore St. George because creating your own city magically builds an invisible force field around you, they will likely be very disappointed. Perhaps crime will go down -- perhaps, too, being in the exact same physical location they were before, nothing will change. There is a question of how essential services will be paid for in St. George. Some believe the tax base will suffice, others have shown statistics that that is not the case at all. Baton Rouge has said that they will provide some services, like (for now) police services, though those will of course have be paid for. It's too early to know how this will work out. For both cities. There are a great many unknowns. The only thing that's clear is that this action is pure MAGOP. It's ignoring how democracy works, it's outrage at not getting your own way, it's white privilege, it's ignoring election results, and it has enough racism built in as a final MAGOP touch. A short while back, I noted how I love the Thanksgiving episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers every year. That’s when he has his parents and brother Josh (who’s an actor – and has periodically appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s short in sketches) as the only guests. They generally throw in some competition for the family to play, which tend to be a lot of fun. As I noted, his parents are very natural, open and funny. This one is for a game they called, “How Well Do You Know Your Meyers?” Time magazine has a deeply revealing cover story this week from an extensive interview they did with Trump, and they got him to open up a great deal on what he would want to do if he is elected president. And it was ghastly, damning and chilling. There's no guesswork here, he's telling you in black-and-white. There are a few places he avoids answering specific -- for now, though I think it will be tough to maintain that for another six months. But for the most part -- he tells you.
One of those exceptions is that he dodges explaining what his own position on abortion is, continuing repeat his mantra that it's up to the states. Even when asked specifically -- but what is your view? -- he passes it off as how it's irrelevant, it's up to the states. Well, of course, it's not "irrelevant." The president has the Bully Pulpit and leads the public discourse. And his opinion informs the public who he is and what his direction will be on a myriad of issues that might not be up to the states, but are related. For instance, he's asked about what he'd do if a bill was sent to him about birth being deemed starting at conception -- as some House Republicans are pushing -- and he evades it by saying that it's immaterial because the issue is up to the states. Well...no, that doesn't answer the question. If a bill was presented to him, and it was put on his desk...what would he do? As I said, I think it will be hard to dance around that for six months, but even if he does -- in a whirlawind fandango that would put Gene Kelly to shame -- of course Democrats will continue to paint the ban of abortion at his feet, since there's so much video of him claiming that. And assuming that there's a debate, he will be asked. And if he avoids answering that, President Biden will certainly answer. And point out that Trump is unwilling to -- and point out Trump's previous statements. There's also the reality that just because Trump says he want to do all these fascist things that he will be able to. Some he will. But some will no doubt require Congressional approval, and I feel pretty comfortable that at least the House will flip to Democratic. This all also presumes Trump wins, but is hardly a certainty -- especially since we are still six month away, there are no "official" nominees yet, and the public hasn't begun to pay attention yet, and are just giving approval ratings to polls. That said, it's obviously no certainty that he won't win. Which brings us back to the Time, and Trump's dystopian fascist view of the future. A vision that includes deporting 11 million undocumented Mexicans (an improbable undertaking, yet ghastly in the proposed attempt) -- and worse, using the U.S. military on American soil. Setting up internment camps, a concept that is widely accepted as being one of the darkest periods in U.S. history when it was done to Japanese-Americans during WWII. Allowing states to test women in order to see if they might have gotten an abortion -- perhaps even if that was in a state where it was legal. Possibly firing his Attorney General if he didn't follow Trump's direct order -- a massive violation of American tradition keeping the judiciary separate from the Chief Executive, even when a presidential appointee. And a great deal more. It's not necessary to name everything -- it's all in the article and in much of the news coverage -- but just the few issues noted are more than enough to see the dark alley Trump wants to lead the country down. (I was going to write "...the unsuspecting down", but then I realized they shouldn't be unsuspecting since Trump is telling everyone! But then, there will certainly be many who don't read the article or the news, and will be unsuspecting. Unfortunately, many of those, if not most, will be fine with all he says.) Certainly the hope -- and I think, expectation -- is that by November most others, which is the majority of the country will know. And will be sickened. And will show up in droves to vote. But that will take a huge amount of effort by President Biden's team and Democrats, not something to rely on "expectation." But the expectation is based on that. (Side note: on Alex Wagner's MSNBC show last night, she opened the broadcast by doing a piece on the Time article for about 10 minutes, and then said that she would have the author of the story, Eric Cortellessa, later in the show -- "but first" they cut to coverage of the protest and arrests at Columbia University...which they stayed with for the remaining 50 minutes. I fully acknowledge the protest was important and visually good television and should have been covered. I would also suggest the future of democracy and a Trumpian fascist future is more important, and they could have returned to their own lead story and Mr. Cortellessa after perhaps a half-hour. It is my hope that they have him back tonight.) In the end though, the reality which is deeply problematic is that, as I've written so often in the past, this isn't about Trump -- we do know who he is, even this bleak. It's about the elected Republican officials who willingly enable him...and the Republican base that blindly follows their cult leader. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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