Decision Time: LIVE Coverage of Election Night 2024

by Nomad

Election Day has finally arrived. 

If you choose to believe the polls, Decomcratic Vice-President Kamala Harris and former Republican president Donald Trump have been running neck-and-neck for weeks. 

Given that annoying fact, media outlets may have to wait before calling the winner. (Translate that as high anxiety this evening.)

QAnon's Phony Shaman: A Portrait of an American Traitor

by Nomad

Imagine being stupid enough to purposely make yourself the most recognizable member of a crowd that's committing a serious crime. As we all know by now, you don't need to be smart to be a Trump supporter. 

In fact, that might just disqualify you.

You simply need to be willing to believe anything con artists tell you and, at least in this person's case, have a desperate need for public attention.

 

The Covid-19 Crisis and the Unraveling of a President

by Nomad

Embed from Getty Images

As the Covid-19 crisis deepens, President Trump held another press briefing on Sunday in the Rose Garden and it went pretty much as anybody could have predicted. 

Fears that President Trump's Racism is Undoing the Military's Anti-Extremist Policy

by Nomad

Social media erupted with outrage on Saturday after video footage seemed to show cadets from West Point and midshipmen from the Naval Academy flashing what some claim to be white supremacists hand gestures.
Was it a case of "much ado over nothing"- a harmless bit of horsing around, or yet another case of "everything Trump touches turns to crap"? President Trump had traveled to Philadelphia to attend the annual football game and reportedly received a standing ovation.

Is Netanyahu's Refusal to Step Down to Face Charges a Foreshadowing for the US?

by Nomad

What with the impeachment hearings and the non-stop insanity emanating out of Washington, you will be forgiven if you haven't been keeping up with the constitutional crisis unfolding in Israel.  Most of us would agree that we have enough on our plates, especially during Thanksgiving. 

The events in Israel might seem far away and trivial. However, they could well be a portent of what's to come in the US if Trump loses the 2020 election.  

Journalist Chemi Shalev, writing for Haaretz, observes that Israel is currently in a state of chaos with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding his own country hostage in his " unrelenting effort to avoid criminal prosecution"  after being charged with fraud and breach of trust. 

Nixon and Trump

by Nomad

Agent of Chaos: Our Sinister Joker in the White House

by Nomad

What with all the outrageous things going on day after day, you might not have heard of the controversy regarding the upcoming film called "Joker."

Starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips, the film is many steps removed from the superhero genre that provides its source material.
Forget the capes and the spandex tights. Forget the glitzy special effects and the Marvel Comic cliches. This film is closer to "Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy” and "American Psycho." Grim and gritty and full of angst.

The Joker, one of the most iconic and perverse villains of the Batman comics, has been completely "reimagined" as a person who, as Variety critic puts it, "spends every moment trying to twist himself into a normal shape, but he knows the effort is doomed, so he turns it all into a “joke” that only he gets."

Why Trump's Evocation of Executive Privilege is a Doomed Act of Desperation

by Nomad

Trump's decision to use executive privilege to defy Congress is a last ditch effort to escape accountability. If history is any guide, it is unlikely to succeed.

Contempt

This week, Attorney General William Barr joined the list of Trump administration officials who have thumbed their noses at Congress by threatening to stonewall House committee oversight.

After a disastrous testimony before Congress, the House Judiciary Committee threatened to hold Barr in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller’s unredacted report. Said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the committee.

“Yes, we will continue to negotiate for access to the full report. And yes, we will have no choice but to move quickly to hold the attorney general in contempt if he stalls or fails to negotiate in good faith."

Good faith was clearly in short supply.

This H. L. Mencken Quote about Hypocritical Evangelists Could Hardly be More Timely

by Nomad

About a century ago, writer H. L. Mencken perfectly summed up the problem for politically-minded evangelists:

They have gained (at least transiently) a formidable power over politicians even worse than they are, but they have wrecked their church. They have won a battle and lost a war.

But he also saw the demolition of the church as a reason for optimism.

The wrecking of such churches as these, whether they be spiritual or secular, seems to me to be an excellent gauge of the progress of civilization. For men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt.

Operation InfeKtion: The Worldwide War on Truth - Part 3

by Nomad

Taking Action Against Active Measures

When it comes to mounting a defense against Russian disinformation, targeted governments from Pakistan to Mexico, from the UK to the USA, have shown themselves to be woefully ill-equipped.

Jared Kushner, Son-in-Law and Trump's Hidden Genius

by Nomad

Nikki's Non-Sarcastic Remark

A most extraordinary thing happened this week. Oh, I know. You are saying, "But Nomad, you say that every week." Every week I mean it, too. It is usually something extraordinary mixed with a dollop of ridiculousness combined with a whole septic tank of nastiness.  

When U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced her resignation, she lavished praise on the president's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner. But that wasn't the extraordinary thing.

After all, sucking up to this president is a full-time job. That and swiping documents off his desk, coming up with the appropriate lies to explain the inexplicable, and finding a way to tell the man there is a tiny bit of you-know-what stuck to his heel.

Halley said

"I can’t say enough good things about Jared and Ivanka [Trump]."

That pithy remark has remarkable pivoting power if you cared to analyze it. Enough good things? Claiming Jared and Ivanka are well-washed and smell nice is probably sufficient for any half-way honest person.
Ambassadors, as we all know, are trained to say the most absurd things without blinking and Nikki, as incompetent as she is, has picked up that talent along the way. She added:

"Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands."

Why Michael Cohen's Plea Arrangement Likely Also Implicates Donald Trump Jr.

by Nomad

It's hard not to view yesterday as a turning point in the Trump debacle.
At the trial of Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight felony charges, five tax fraud charges, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. He faces a maximum of 80 years in prison.

Meanwhile, in a Manhattan court, Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen yesterday pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws. He told the District Court judge that the payments to the women were made “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.”
And that candidate was not Hillary "Lock 'er up!" Clinton.
Altogether, it was a terrible day for Donald J. Trump and a terribly good day for the rule of law in America.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un: Trump's "Honorable" Little Rocket Man

by Nomad

Recent surprising comments from President Trump calls into question his ability to judge the character of his adversaries.

Open and Honorable

Despite over a year of saber-rattling and the trashing any kind of negotiation with North Korean leader, President Trump recently did an inexplicable about-face. 

Just the other day, Trump declared that the dictator Kim Jong-un "has really been very open and I think very honorable based on what we are seeing." Trump also said that he was looking forward to meeting Kim "very soon."

Roseanne Barr, the Bomb-Dropping Darling of Trump's Base

by Nomad

Whatever you think about Roseanne Barr, there is one thing all of us would agree with. She certainly knows how to get attention. Clearly, she is devoted to the idea that there is no such thing as bad publicity.  

Insecurity on Display: Trump's Pompous Parade and Nixon's Palace Guards

by Nomad

Back in January 1970, then-president Richard Nixon took a good look at the White House guard (secret service uniformed division) and made a decision. The attire was not suitably fancy.

It would not do.

And so, he ordered an overhaul of the uniforms to match what he had seen in palaces worn in other countries.

From now on, the president ordered, the guards would be decked out in uniforms which featured a white, double-breasted tunic with gold shoulder trim and a stiff shako hat with peaked front.  

How Trump's "Alternative Facts" Fuel His Racist Policies for Urban America

by Nomad

Recent remarks from Trump have reopened accusations of his racism. Yet, looking back to his campaign, Trump's racism has always been on full display, particularly when it came to his views on the urban life.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump preferred to paint an ugly portrait of urban life where things were on the verge of collapse and crime was out of control.

In his narrative, things were falling apart in the black community.

“Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they’ve ever been in before, ever, ever, ever. You take a look at the inner cities, you get no education, you get no jobs, you get shot walking down the street.”

Ungovernable: How Partisanship Wrecked US Politics Just as George Washington Predicted

by Nomad

Trump the Partisan President

Commentator John Dickerson on a recent episode of the podcast Slate's Political Gabfest, was talking to the show's host, David Plotz, about why President Donald Trump represents something new and foreboding in American politics.

He pointed out:

"One thing we are witnessing is our first purely partisan president. The rise of partisan politics in the presidency has been increasing since 1980 for a variety of reasons. But the idea of the president who could build a coalition from members of both parties- kind of fly above the party fights and pass legislation- has been declining.

According to Dickerson, there has been a sea change in the rhetoric under Trump. There was a time when a president would, at the least, give a nod to the idea of  Americans' putting aside their differences and working together. True, most of it was less than sincere when push came to shove. 

Trump Card: Why VP Pence is Never Going to be Trump's Impeachment Ace in the Hole

by Nomad

There was a time when vice-president Mike Pence was thought to be the Republican trump card. Any discussion of impeachment was countered with Pence's option of pardoning any and all of the accused- whether or not they were convicted of any crimes. 
However, as the scandalous stain of Russian collusion expanding, that's becoming more and more unlikely.

Pence's Sinking Ship

In June, with the Trump Administration deep in the Russian collusion scandal, vice-president Mike Pence announced that his longtime aide and chief of staff would be stepping down.
In a variety of roles, Josh Pitcock had been with Pence since 2005. Starting to the time when Pence served in the House of Representatives, to Pence's term as Indiana governor, where Pence went, Pitcock was sure to follow. 

And at the beginning of a tumultuous summer, he bolted.
Meanwhile, the once vague allegations of wrongdoing looked more and more realistic.   

Last month, something similar happened. Pence's press secretary, Marc Lotter, also said "hasta la vista" to the administration. In that case, Lotter saw a brighter future in making the rounds defending Trump and Pence in the news media as a so-called surrogate. 

Some Surprising Reasons Why Identifying Psychopaths is Harder Than You May Think

  by Nomad

Confessions of a Psychopath-Spotter

I recently found this extremely interesting and amusing TED talk by Jon Ronson. Even though you've probably never heard of him, Ronson's career covers a lot of ground: a journalist, author, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and radio presenter. And one other thing,  he is also a certified psychopath-spotter. He's taken the course and everything.

His TED lecture begins with Ronson stumbling across a DSM manual, the comprehensive manual of mental disorders. If you don't know, the DSM Manual is produced by the American Psychiatric Association and serves as the official authority on mental health diagnoses (and related insurance claims).

Louisiana Parish's Ignorance of Constitution May Cost Taxpayers in Legal Fees

by Nomad

Taking a Stand in Louisiana

Last week, a Louisiana parish school district took a controversial step to support President Trump and his stand against the NFL players who refused to honor the American flag.  

Superintendent Scott Smith of Bossier Parish notified 34 schools that standing during the national anthem prior to sporting events would be mandatory for all student-athletes. Smith said he would support decisions taken by school principals to make sure athletes stand.
According to his statement, it would be up to individual schools to discipline any defectors. Potential punishments range from “extra running to a one-game suspension.” 

To make this policy clear, a letter to athletes and parents describing the school’s rules during playing of the national anthem. Smith said:

"In Bossier Parish, we believe when a student chooses to join and participate on a team, the players and coaches should stand when our National Anthem is played in a show of respect. It is a choice for students to participate in extracurricular activities, not a right, and we at Bossier Schools feel strongly that our teams and organizations should stand in unity to honor our nation's military and veterans."

That might have been music to Trump's furry ears, but it, as we will see, extremely misguided.