Tag Archives: election

Trump Times Entry 89 – Impersonal Attack

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Impersonal Attack

February 5, 2017developers-will-resist

Have you noticed, the Donald spends lots of time lashing out? In the eighty-nine days since our Russian themed election, he’s lashed at judges, attorneys general, reporters, women and, even, children.

For a guy famous for his name-calling while lashing-out chops, he wields an unimaginative assortment of words like terrorist, traitor, dopey, bloody and diaper wearing with the precision and grace of a bulldozer. But, I suppose, being plainspoken makes him a great.

While all politicians feel obligated to fuck with the opposing point of view, Trump skips the foreplay and starts by assaulting the person rather than the idea. It’s easier, I guess – people have flaws (except the Donald). So, pick a (truth optional) flaw, pick an ugly word or phrase to describe it, then throw the words at the opponent. Before you know it, we are all talking about the ugly words – the original topic left behind like an orphan in wartime.

Some claim it’s genius, how he controls communication with sentence and idea fragments – akin to other great communicators like Reagan, Hemingway or Hitler. I find that range a little broad, but see similarity with one.

It’s more likely that all things Trump are symptoms of incomplete socialization. The young Donald, clearly, did not receive the minimum number of ass-kickings required to temper his overly-aggressive nature. Hence, he never made it out of adolescence – never had to. His parents and military school domineers fucked up. Now the republic is left with the mess.

So, either the disenfranchised majority provides the necessary ass-kicking or the Donald will never grow up. Actually, there is little chance he’ll grow up regardless; seventy-year-old men aren’t big on change. So, I guess we’re just in it for the ass-kicking. (The question is who’s?)

Comrades?

In Peace and Justice,
osv

Trump Times Entry 67 – Illegitimate Legitimately

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Illegitimate Legitimately

January 14, 2017meashomer2

While the number sixty-seven is prime, this sixty-seventh day of Trump calculus is not. The latest Trump related events (and aren’t they all Trump related) include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Revelations that Trump Transition Team was on the phone with Russia the day we imposed sanctions on Russia.

Well, I’m sure they were talking about something other than sanction lifting – more likely they were just arranging entertainment for some upcoming Moscow diplomatic missions.

2. In a closed-door meeting, FBI Grand Commissioner Comey, apparently gave the Democrats his middle finger in response to charges that he politicly meddled with the election. Unverified sources suggest that his formal response was, “Na Na Boo Boo! We beat you!” after which he presented some unspecified body part.

The Democrats, as expected, were outraged. But, nevertheless, remain committed to their “When they go low, we go high” bully management strategy. So, in response, a few crossed over and voted with the Republicans on pharmaceutical regulations. Go team!

3. Oh, there’s the latest Trump Russian prostitute thing. Back in the day, this would be the lead story everywhere, but it’s starting to fall off the radar already. Apparently, the Donald’s sex life just isn’t all that interesting.

4. Finally, Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis publicly declared “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president.”

It comes as no surprise that the only congressman with enough backbone to speak the self-evident truth out loud is John Lewis.

It’s also no surprise that the media and other congressmen are doing so much hand wringing over this that there’s been a carpal tunnel treatment spike in the DC area. I especially enjoyed watching Anderson Cooper squirm around grasping for a way to criticize Lewis without jeopardizing his career. It’s so hard to know who to sell out to these day.

The very fact that this is the news doesn’t, so much, beg the “legitimate president” question as answer it. Foreign collusion is treason, sexual impropriety is impeachable and the FBI is required to be non-political are all conservative principles. Yet our “conservative” leaders have nothing to say other than “We support our president.”

Makes one wonder, are they legitimately conservative?

The republic stands on an expectation of honor, but offers no guarantee. We exalt a man who claims, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” And present the Donald as proof that legitimately is not required.

In Peace and Justice,
osv

Trump Times Entry 61 – From Russia with Fondness

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From Russia with Fondness

January 8, 2017mefront2

As we wander through day sixty-one of Trump altered reality, I wonder could a post-retirement career as a Russian translator be right for an old-school programmer like me. I don’t speak or read any Russian, but that’s not a deal breaker – not with the internet. If I limited my market to written correspondence… Yeah, could program a system to bulk-translate Russian documents. And I’ve a feeling the bulk of Russian documents requiring translation is about to go way up.

Yup, since the Donald is committed to “Working with the Russians” there’s going to be a shitload of Russian in our future. Why not cash in?

With enough time (and monetary motivation) I could make the system tunable. You know, provide an option to create Russia positive translations only – could call it the Trump filter. Or maybe, an implied blame switch to reorder phrases to shift intent. Russian phrases like “We know she did not do it” could be reasonably output in English as “Do we not know, she did it?” – for a price. Just spit-balling here, but see the potential? Natural language as a soft target – subtle, indirect, kind of Russian.

Wow! Just realized, while block-charting this new project, I’ve fallen victim to, perhaps, the most common software design flaw: Not thinking big enough!

Why limit program function to Russian–English translation with output tuning? Why not English to (tuned) English?

After all, there’s real value in filtering for an intended audience. A program like this could take boring email logs, riddled with silly facts, and turn them into stories of international intrigue with blame focused exactly where ever desired. Conversely, the Trump filter could take volumes of intelligence reports about any topic and produce a concise one-pager explaining why the Russians had nothing to do with it and, if they did, it was for the purest of purposes.

My only remaining design decision is selecting a good name. In the software game, names are important. I’m thinking maybe iFoxNew or eRepublican, but putinCloud seems the bolder choice.

While the republic stands on raw truth, all the cash is in processed information. Hence, fair and balanced has lost meaning in favor of market priced.

In Peace with Justice
osv

#Traitor
#RussianDupe

Trump Times Entry 50 – Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

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Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

December 28, 2016paul-ryanhorns

The book Fifty Days of Solitude by Doris Grumbach is not so much about solitude, but more about distractions to the perusal of solitude. On the other hand, these first fifty days of Trump are all about the Donald as both subject and distraction. He catches our attention by screaming something ugly, but when we turn to look, he’s not there. Either he’s moved on to yelling new ugly things somewhere else or has magically transmuted into a different, less coherent, Donald – self-righteously yelling self-contradictions.  It causes one to yearn for solitude.

The Donald tracking can be very confusing. While alcohol doesn’t really help, it does dull the pain. If I were the republic my stance would be unsteady due to the dizzying Trump rhetoric and the medicinal wine required to internalize that rhetoric. But I’m sure we’ll be fine; that’s not what I really want to talk about.

I’m more concerned with that we are being distracted from. While Trump presents a danger to both himself and to us, Paul Ryan and his merry gang of sycophants are preparing to blitzkrieg those reviled entitlements. They see an opening to strike a blow for selfishness and hope to do it in private.

In order to expedite the “People’s Business”, Paul Ryan and the gang have proposed a congressional rule change. He would prefer that no cameras or other recording devices be allowed during debate. After all, dismantling public institutions could go much quicker if done in private. Unfiltered public reaction is such a bother.

Paul Ryan, a product of our social welfare system (SSI), is an embarrassing example of how the system can fail the greater good. Understandably, he thinks a system that produced him should be dismantled. But, I don’t think it appropriate to penalize everyone in that system just because one of them became alt-right strumpet. That’s overkill, Paul!

Yup – behind the curtain. Where there’s one, more will follow – that’s how this kind of parasite rolls. Unlike the Donald, they are quiet and prefer the dark.

(Cheery, hey?)

That’s all I got today. Take care of yourselves and each other,
osv

Trump Times Entry 49 – Republican Governance is an Oxymoron

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Republican Governance is an Oxymoron

December 27, 2016

One Less Than Fifty

as we wait, on America great
again elected time

can you feel the form, of a coming storm
back here from forty-nine
?

(Sorry, but sometimes prose seems so, well, wordy.)

Yeah, day forty-nine and who would have guessed political chaos, if applied daily, leads to boredom. The news keeps repeating the same stories: Trump tweets something stupid and provocative, Trump appoints some asshole to dismantle some agency or social program, Paul Ryan continues his metamorphosis from garden-variety sociopath to soulless golem. Same old, same old.

Luckily, there’s variety on the state level. The variation is not so much in tone (still dark and shrill), but rather in application. At the local level, the horrible shit Trump and his minions allude to, is actually happening. Our laboratories of democracy, now maned by Tea Party Walter Whites, are engaging in human experimentation, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Josef Mengele.

We have Michigan’s governor permitting cities to be poisoned, because “it’s cheaper”. Then there’s North Carolina’s small government crowd reaching into the public restrooms to assure Christian values are preserved within the stalls. Moreover, when the restroom stalking cost them the gubernatorial election they just changed the rules to make sure power doesn’t fall into the wrong (non-Republican) hands. All legal, democracy at its finest.

Perhaps most striking was North Dakota unleashing both private and public forces upon an unarmed Native American encampment. The Pinkertons and Sheriffs waging the white man’s war on a tribal gathering – not exactly a new story, but more compelling than Trump’ shitty spelling.

The list of unfortunate Republican governance examples go on and on. I think they don’t believe in government because they’re just really bad it. To them governing like a complex toy, way to sophisticated – frustrating. I fear they may break it while throwing an alt-tantrum.

Governed by government deniers, the republic stands gerrymandered, bound in place by those insisting change only occur in reverse.

That’s all I got today. Take care of yourselves and each other,
osv

mefront2

Trump Times Entry 48 – Bogus True Believers

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Bogus True Believers

December 26, 2016inthought2

We’ve had forty-eight days, since the Donald seized power, to anticipate what’s next. But, given the events over the last year, we predict at our own peril. After all, the traditional media tell us Trump is something new – they have no idea what he’s really up to. They see no historical or social model that fits. As usual our media is full of shit.

There are, of course, many historical examples of populism, demagoguery and fascism. Countless educated people have published enumerable studies of those topics. But to point to such historical cases and studies would require something the modern press does, in fact, lack – backbone.

Way back in 1951 Eric Hoffer wrote a petty good depiction of the Trump movement in his classic “The True Believer”. In it Hoffer describes mass movement followers as those who feel their lives have been irredeemably spoiled, typically the new poor. They tend to favor faith over reason and use doctrines as “fact-proof screens between the faithful and the realities of the world.” (Sound familiar?)

Hoffer suggests mass movements require self-sacrifice from the participants – the movement demands a “total surrender of a distinct self”. Wow, I don’t think anyone in the Trump-for-God movement was really planning on self-sacrifice. Hell, they think they’ve sacrificed enough – what with the foreigners and gays taking all the good jobs. Imagine their surprise when the Donald starts taking shit away. Gonna need to sacrifice Medicare – bad for insurance industry. Per Paul “POS” Ryan, food assistance is bad for the recipient’s soul – so dump it. Social Security – ha!

Yup mass movements require sacrifice, especially human. So, some things are just going to have to disappear.

I wonder, when the last teacher has moved on to the private sector, when the last researcher has given up because funding only goes to the godly, when the last progressive has finally been chased off the grid and when the bankers have finally monetized the very air we breathe, I wonder…

I wonder how they will blame the libtards for the mess they are in.

The republic stands, based on our willingness

That’s all I got today. Take care of yourselves and each other,
osv

Trump Times Entry 33 – Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain

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PSA
the following blog
contains decidedly inartful
imagery

while intended to
provoke could
offend

the sensitive
victim autocrat
i hope

 

Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain

December 11, 2016mefront2

For thirty-three days we’ve endured –Trump bully tweets, Trump Russian collusion, Trump handing off to Wall Street, Trump inspired white nationalists, Trump trolls yelling at us for not liking them. Trump, Trump, everywhere Trump. Like a consequence to a bad national one night stand, he has spread across our culture like a case of pre-penicillin syphilis. No longer limited to the private sectors, he now presents publicly orange and unsightly – yelling, “Look at me!”

Bent, but standing, like an infirmed patient, the republic does just that – looks at the Donald. We just can’t help it; medical drama is fascinating.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the Republican microbes have been eating away everything they don’t believe in. And they don’t believe in much. Medicare, slash it; Social Security, cut it; Veteran benefits, fuck it – but, thanks for your service.

Remember all those pre-election Republicans who, for reasons of principle, just couldn’t support the Donald? Well, it turns out they can support him now. Yup, our Republican friends, currently out of the spotlight, are seizing the moment. While we stare at the Donald, they work to cut all those messy social programs and agencies. After all, they’re just living up to their conservative small government, less regulation, free market principles. Making America great again for all of us – right?

Wrong! Their principles lack any nuance beyond “Me first!” They didn’t support Trump before because they didn’t think he would win. Period! There were no other layers – no other reasoned thought. Now that, surprisingly, the they find themselves in power they’ll support whoever got them there.

Hell, they’re going to get to cut spending on social stuff, spend more on bombs and jails and, with the Donald leading the way, spend more on themselves. With conflict of interest a historical artifact and corruption institutionalized they’ll be free at last. Free at last.

While Trump promises moral and ethical damage to our national soul, the material damage will be affected by the soulless sycophants the follow power wherever it leads – like our the 115th congress majority.

That’s all I got today. Take care of yourselves and each other,
osv

Trump Times Entry 2 – Feelings Shared with Media Polls

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inthought2Feelings Shared with Media Polls

November 10, 2016

“Polls?  Nah…  they’re for strippers and cross country skiers.” – Sarah Palin 2016

In the wake of this current crisis, I harbor some unexpected feelings.

Sure, I got the usual anger, denial, dazed thing going.  But beyond the anger, beneath the denial, glowing in the haze is something else.  Something less comfortable.

Ever get that “something’s wrong” feeling?

Like when you head out for a walk and call your dog – that feeling just before you realize she passed away last month.  Or when it’s 25th of the month and in the back of your mind it’s unclear how to get next month’s rent.  Or when you reach for the phone, then remember the call you’ve been making every day, for the last six years, won’t be needed any more.  That feeling…

When my memory drifts back to election night, whenever I hear the phrase “Trump Cabinet” or “Trump’s first hundred days” that’s what I feel.  Loss with some alienation on the side.

(beginning of rant)

On the other hand, my feelings regarding our mainstream polls and media are simple.  To suggest that they made mistakes, but who could see it coming?  To assert that they have learned and are ready to move on, is frankly insulting.

The polls and media weren’t just wrong; they were spectacularly wrong.

The polls predicted a greater than ninety percent likelihood of exactly what did NOT happen.  The media, apparently, never detected, so never reported the actual election winning narrative.  They didn’t see the story, even when characters in the story were screaming at them.

Plainly, the current crop of mainstream media and polling staff are not competent enough to do the work required in our democracy.  All the polls: 538, Huffington Poll, Gallup, Rasmussen… lack credibility.  All the mainstream media: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, MSNBC … lack the imagination, curiosity and courage to act as our eyes and hears.

Our mainstream media and polls were gamed and easily manipulated by Donald Trump.  They were outsmarted by team Breitbart.  They should all step aside and let someone else give it a try.  Clearly, they’re not good enough to play in the big leagues.

(end of rant)

That’s all I got today.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

osv