Category: Presidential Politics

Friday Links

By , June 5, 2020 6:41 pm

I Must Object: [Glenn C. Loury’s] rebuttal to Brown University’s letter on racism in the United States

Did Trump Say He Hoped George Floyd, Looking Down From Heaven, Is Happy About Job Numbers? Another word salad, but not the salad people are claiming.

What is Fact-Checking without Facts? Andrew McCarthy, always even handed, talks to the Times. FWIW, I don’t agree with Cotton. I’d rather leave it to the governors right now..

Episode 224: What Happened to Concrete Terms? Michael Brendan Dourgherty hits the problem nail very hard on the head. Racism? White Privilege? Fascism? Socialist? Bigot? Pick your term; if it’s not concrete, it’s likely “shut up” masquerading as argument.

Building A Framework For Markets In The Year Of The Rona One of the most insightful writers on the internet is my son, especially on markets and investing. Take a look.

President Nelson Shares Social Post about Racism and Calls for Respect for Human Dignity One of the kindest persons on this planet has some advice for us all.

And with that, I try to jumpstart this blog. Have a great weekend.

“The Image” 50 Years Later

By , February 9, 2020 6:45 pm

My step-son asked me for advice on what a relatively political novice should read for unbiased insights on politics and controversial issues–aren’t they all? I’m not sure “unbiased” exists. No, that’s incorrect. There’s no such thing as unbiased. There are fair-minded people, however, so I thought I’d steer him in that direction. And then I remembered The Image; A Guide to Pseudo Events in America, a short book by Daniel Boorstin published in 1962, a book I read sometime between 1970 and 1973, a book that helped me grow up fast and develop a critical eye almost as quickly, a book I thought would help my stepson develop the critical thinking skills to approach any political “insights” with his thinking cap on.

Briefly, a pseudo-event is an event that is manufactured news. The killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is news, a real event. President Trump reporting that “The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him” is not real news; it’s a pseudo-event, an event manufactured by the White House to give President Trump face time before the American public as he stands in the Diplomatic Reception Room. Think about it: the news of al-Baghdadi’s death could have been delivered on chyron running beneath the talking heads on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC. Instead, we get a presidential statement, we get more of President Trump.

Because my stepson listens to rather than reads books–kids nowadays–I downloaded the book to my Audible account and shared it with him. Having done that, I figured it worth my time to listen again to the book after nearly 50 years of experience. It’s been an interesting experience so far, largely because all the references are so dated. In a discussion of the emphasis on the celebrity rather than the hero, for example, Boorstin uses astronauts Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepherd as proxies for heroes. I smiled when I realized that’s probably all he had to refer to. Gagarin was the first man in space on April 12, 1961, Shepherd the second, less than a month later on May 5, 1961. Boorstin’s book was published less than a year later, barely time to add other astronauts to his example.

Nevertheless, the “re-read” has been worthwhile. Boorstin’s discussion of pseudo-events rings even truer in a time when Tweets–the pseudoest of pseudo-events–make headlines on almost a daily basis. I’m only a chapter or two in, so I won’t report more. I will recommend you read the book. The best defense against the 24-hour news cycle is to know that very little of it is news. I’m not the only one saying this.

OR24 Caucus Report — It Wasn’t Like that at the Caucus I Attended

By , March 23, 2016 12:51 pm

I’ve read reports that ballot stuffers were hard at work last night, sealing the deal for Ted Cruz. How else to account for his resounding win in Utah when next door in Arizona the Donald won? Without going deep on that question, I’ll just say this about the OR24 (Orem 24) caucus last night:

  • There was no ballot stuffing last night.
  • There was no giving people stacks of ballots.
  • Kirby Glad ran the caucus in an orderly and controlled fashion.
  • Multiple people counted ballots in plain view of all in attendance.
  • I know at least four of the people counting ballots. The day they cheat is the day the world ends.

I say this as one who is not a party official. I have been a county delegate before last night–2008 and 2010, IIRC. I was there from start to finish of the voting. There was no hanky panky. And the results of our caucus virtually mirrored the final vote percentages for the state. Just sayin’.

So a Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Orem (Caucus)

By , March 23, 2016 12:39 pm

UCRP_2016-03-23_1237Actually, it happened at the Orem, Utah, Precinct 24 Caucus–OR24 for short. I was elected county and state delegate. (A really funny thing did happen, by the way. My son David–bored to tears by the very slow reading of the party platform–volunteered to read. You know those commercials with the speed talkers in them? Got nothing on him. He finished to loud applause.)

Anyway, I’m waiting for some information on my responsibilities from Precinct Chairperson Kirby Glad. I also must attend a training session for officers and delegates–I’ll do this on Saturday morning. My plan is to use my blog to keep people apprised of what I learn about the candidates and issue, so check back.

My How Times Have Changed! Or Is It the Media That Has Changed?

By , March 4, 2016 12:28 pm

I’m interested in what you think about the differences between the debates in these two videos, one from 1960 in West Virginia, the other from Detroit just last night. Not in the content so much–that is the policy proposals–but in the quality and type of questions the media poses.

Humphrey-Kennedy Primary Debate in West Virginia – 1960

 

Republican Primary Debate in Detroit, Michigan – 2016

 

My view? The media plays at least as large a part in creating these disasters we call debates nowadays as the candidates–more, much more, in my opinion. Fox, CNN, NBC. Doesn’t make a difference. Chris Wallace’s opening question, for example, is not worthy of a debate that will help decide who we might choose a president. (I won’t comment, for now, on the difference in the quality and type of questions in the Democratic debates, other than to say, there is a difference.)

The Roman Colosseum-like crowds? Don’t get me started.

Mitt vs. The Donald: The Donald Loses

By , March 3, 2016 10:49 am

When the Spotlight’s Not So Bright

By , March 1, 2016 8:49 am

Neil Goldschmidt_5629lFor a whiff of why the press is dumping on Trump—as well they should—and not so much on Hillary (and maybe Bernie), you only need read this.

Sunday evening, Spotlight won best picture for its portrayal of the Boston Globe’s coverage of the Catholic Church’s cover up of sex abuse. Abuse such as that should be exposed—and I say this as a fan of the Catholic Church. The light of day prevents rot. So where was the Spotlight in the case of the Mayor of Portland, then Governor of Oregon, Neil Goldschmidt as he cavorted openly with his 14-year old babysitter? Well, some people turned it off because, well, Goldschmidt was such a good governor.

Unless and until we have an equal opportunity Spotlight, things will only get worse. That Trump is leading in the polls is, in part, a response to partisan cover ups like this.

Here’s my take on Trump voters: They’re not responsive to all the well-sourced and factual mud being slung his way because they’ve learned that there’s mud to be slung at the other side, and it’s not being slung. The Spotlight was turned off on Bill Clinton’s shenanigans. Yes, I know the press covered Monica Lewinsky, but grudgingly. But it was all Juanita Broderick who? Kathleen Wiley who? Paula Jones? “If you drag a hundred dollar bill* through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find.” It’s just sex after all.

And in President Obama’s case, the Spotlight was used only to create a halo at photo ops.**

“So what the hell!” the Trump voter cries, “I’m voting for Trump!”

I’m not. But I know at least one reason why they are.

The Ursula Le Guin reference at the beginning of the second story deserves repeating:

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,’ is set in the ultimate Shining City on a Hill, a place of joy and happiness, full of educated, creative types who spend their days frolicking at festivals and occasionally indulging in (non-habit-forming) drugs that reveal the secrets of the universe while ‘exciting the pleasure of sex beyond all belief.’

There are ‘fast little trains and double-decked trams’ in Omelas. And a farmers’ market.

‘If the child were brought up into the sunlight, … all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed. … The child’s torture is no secret. The good people of Omelas know.’

How great is Omelas that we look the other way? Have a nice day.
.

*Only just now did I notice Carville’s Freudian slip.

**I won’t bring them up here, but I’m not oblivious to the fact that Right has done its fair share of covering up as well, the only difference being that the media is largely liberal, so such cover ups are less successful.

UPDATE: @MZHemingway_2016-03-01_1244

Hillary Clinton vs. William Safire

By , February 12, 2016 2:13 pm

Safire wins!

Sorry, this outburst was prompted by this morning’s Diane Rhem Show, where Diane and three reporters discussed the race between Hillary and Bernie. In taking about why Hillary wasn’t gaining traction among voters generally and women voters in FILE: William Safire, Speechwriter of President Nixon Dead At 79...WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 27: (FILE PHOTO) Columnist of the New York Times, William Safire, gestures as he attends a roundtable discussion on NBC's 'Meet the Press' during a taping at the NBC studios February 27, 2005 in Washington, DC. It was reported that William Safire, a speechwriter for U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and a Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist for The New York Times died at a hospice at the age of 79 on September 27, 2009 in Rockville, Maryland. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)particular, the three reports avoided the obvious–though one listener made them face the same fact that led William Safire to speak his mind on the matter of Hillary.

What an election.

Trump Tweets Trump Fans Won’t Re-Tweet

By , January 31, 2016 8:48 pm

This one, by Tom Nichols, for example.

And She’s Better Looking Too

By , September 22, 2015 8:52 pm

Fiorina struck it rich at the second Republican debate, while Trump sunk. Carly has her problems–many point to her time at HP, for example–but she’s quick on her feet. Only Rubio holds a candle to her when it comes to words.

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