Donald Trump and the Moment Conservatives Have Been Dreading

by Nomad

After years of divisive politics, Republicans are now reaping what they have sowed in the form of their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump. 

The Moment Has Come

Well, ladies and gentlemen, here we are. 

We have finally arrived at the moment. The moment when all of the Republican candidates have been vanquished. The moment many in the party have feared when nothing whatsoever stands between billionaire Donald Trump and the nomination. The road thus far has revealed the true character of the man, his pettiness, superficiality, his ugly bigotry and lack of judgment. 

All of the things that would in any normal election have delivered him into the rubbish heap of US political history.

(This was once, after all, the same nation that disqualified a candidate because of an overzealous war-whoop during the primaries made him look too too ridiculous.)  

Mainstream media has a lot to answer for in allowing this strange reality-tv show character to rise to the top. A lot of people should be held responsible. 

In terms of what kind of president he would be, what he represents and what he believes in, Trump has been vague, bereft of both specifics and sense. Indirectly, however, he has given us a general idea of the mentality.
Carpet-bombing ISIS may sound tough but it is a very stupid idea. Building a wall is neither a practical, nor a plausible solution to illegal immigration.  

Yet, with the state of American journalism today, right wing voters were encouraged, persuaded to take the man seriously. When it came to asking difficult questions, there's always been a bias between the two parties. Palin could be asked what newspapers she read and her party could condemn the interviewer as engaging in "gotcha" journalism.
Thanks to the mainstream media, low-information politicians were suitably paired with low-information voters who thought education and intelligence were products of elitism. 

After Ebola: Congress Would Rather Take Time Off than Vote on $1 billion in Emergency Zika Funding

by Nomad

Less than two years ago, the nation was gripped by hysteria over the possibility of an Ebola epidemic inside the US. Republicans, assisted by right wing media, largely incited a panicked overreaction with baseless conspiracy theories  along with an irrational distrust of health officials.
Strangely, when it comes to Zika, Congress appear to be ignoring the problem altogether. So, what gives?

The Ebola Hysteria

Remember when Republicans and the right-wing media wigged out when they imagined Ebola was poised to attack the US? 

There are a lot of members of Congress who, if they could, would prefer that everybody forgot the things were said and done during the so-called Ebola panic. Understandably too. 

At that time, if you listened to right-wing media, (and much of the mainstream media) you might have thought the world's population was just about to be wiped out. Action had to be taken to save the US. 

Now!

Fox News became the theater in the round for the performance which went on for weeks in September and October 2014. At one point, talk show host Elisabeth Hasselbeck demanded that the entire country be put on lockdown like a prison. 

Hasselbeck is described as a "television personality," not- repeat, not a doctor nor political analyst and certainly not a journalist. Yet, despite her lack of serious credentials, before stepping down from Fox and Friends, she pulled in a million dollar salary at Fox News. 

Nice work if you can get it.

Alternet has other examples from Fox News:

In a bit of race-baiting, Andrea Tantaros of Fox suggested that people who travel to the country and show symptoms of ebola will “seek treatment from a witch doctor” instead of go to the hospital. Fox host Steve Doocy suggested the CDC is lying about ebola because they’re “part of the administration”. Fox also promoted a conspiracy theorist who is trying to claim the CDC is lying when they caution people not to panic.

Fox News was, by no means, the only outlet that used the Ebola crisis to boost ratings. Probably not since the days of yellow journalism has the mass media clamored so stridently for the sitting president to make such a sizable blunder.

The hysteria spread through the right-wing media faster than the most virulent contagion.

Ted and Carly: Just Think About That

by Nomad

Homefront: How WWII and the US Military Provided the First Spark for the Civil Rights Movement 2 / 2

by Nomad

In Part One, we took a look at how the approaching World War provided an opportunity to reform hiring practices in the defense industry.

In this part, we examine the post-war years and the momentum from that initial reform were about to push for an even more astounding shift in attitudes.

Upon Roosevelt's death, the torch was passed to Truman who was far less reserved support for income equality for all. After the war was over, the pressure was off the defense industry to hire minorities.
The question was: would the federally-imposed hiring practices for the defense industry during the war be recognized as a standard for all hiring?

G.I. Bill and the Discovery of Two Americas

As we mentioned in the first installment in this series, Roosevelt signed the G.I Bill of Rights on June 22, 1944.
It was an attempt to prevent the miserable situation that Depression-era veterans faced. The Bonus Army March on Washington was a shame for the entire country and, the president felt, should never be allowed to happen again.

In real terms, the law provided enough support so that vets who had served their country should not be burdened economically after his service.

McConnell's Supreme Court Gamble and Ted Cruz's Scare Tactics Spell Disaster for the GOP

by Nomad

Candidates are apt to get a bit carried away while they are on the campaign trail. However, when it comes to Ted Cruz's stoking the fears about the Supreme Court, there's been a whole new level of manipulation, misrepresentation and just plain old nonsense.

One Justice Away

Late last year, Ted Cruz hit upon the phrase "we are just one liberal justice away from...."  He has used the heck out of it, building upon that opening statement well beyond reason and into a strange hysteria.

He told the Des Moines Register in October that we are all just one liberal Supreme Court Justice away from utter disaster. Calamity and catastrophe will follow unless he becomes president and prevents liberals from causing mayhem. Why, it's going to be so bad that we won't even recognize the nation. 

Are you frightened yet?  

"One more liberal justice and our right to keep and bear arms is taken away from us by an activist court. One more liberal justice and they begin sandblasting and bulldozing veterans memorials throughout this country. One more liberal justice and we lose our sovereignty to the United Nations and the World Court."

In January he warned his supporters what could happen to the high court if a Democrat became the next president. This time he upped the imagery. (That's always a clear sign of manipulation.)

"We're just steps away from the chisels at Arlington coming out to remove crosses and stars of David from tombstones."

In Cruz's world, teams of determined liberal masons with chisels sandpaper and hammers will soon be scouring the cemeteries, mandated to remove all traces of the religious symbols on the tombs of dead war heroes. 

It's the kind of thing that post-midnight radio call-in shows used to discuss. Today these ideas are being spread by the candidate the Republican Party offers as the sane alternative to Donald Trump.