Friday, March 18, 2016
Weekend Music
Monday is Johann Sebastian Bach's (331st) birthday, so we'd like to take a few minutes to enjoy this lovely music to get us in a Spring mood for the weekend. This is "Aria Da Capo" from "Goldberg Variations, BWV 988," first published in 1741.
Tweet Of The Day
The problem w/ppl who want more God in govt is that they keep voting for guys who worship the Golden Calf.— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 18, 2016
Republican politicians like to talk endlessly about "unleashing the free market," and encouraging "job creators," by which they actually mean slashing regulations protecting the public and coddling the economic elites that benefit from Republican tax cuts. Predatory plutocrat Willard "Mittens" Romney and neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump are just the latest to convince large numbers of gullible, God-bothering Bible bangers to vote for them, and thus against their economic well-being and security.
Across The Universe, Cont.
Another week, another Hubble Space Telescope phenomenon (click on image to enlarge):
From NASA:
"Astronomers using the unique ultraviolet capabilities of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have identified nine monster stars with masses over 100 times the mass of the sun in the star cluster R136. This makes it the largest sample of very massive stars identified to date.
This Hubble image shows the central region of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The young and dense star cluster R136 can be seen at the lower right of the image. This cluster contains hundreds of young blue stars, among them the most massive star detected in the universe so far. Credits: NASA, ESA, P Crowther (University of Sheffield)"
Reckoning With Trump (UPDATED)
Timothy Egan:
In temperament and judgment, this is now Trump’s party. And take him at his word: His supporters will riot, as he predicted this week, if he doesn’t get his way. Sane Republicans, perhaps a third of the party, have no choice but to plot an honorable discharge. The exit polls in Ohio found that 42 percent of Republicans said they would consider a third-party candidate. They can also support Hillary Clinton, or sit this one out. But they cannot show up in Cleveland and have their principles paved over by Trump’s bullies.Eugene Robinson:
In his primary-night appearances at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, Trump has begun calling for party unity. He may get it, or at least an approximation. Some establishment Republicans will decide it’s better to let Trump suffer a crushing loss and rebuild the party afterward, rather than tear it apart at the convention.Molly Ball:
That would be an abdication of responsibility. Great political parties do not nominate for president someone who so glaringly lacks the knowledge and temperament to be the leader of the free world. But here we are.
Henry Barbour, a Republican committeeman and consultant from Mississippi, also couldn’t say what he would do when November came. “I don’t think Trump is any sort of a leader for our party or our country,” he said. “I find him highly divisive, highly embarrassing, often wrong, and unrepentant.” Barbour considered himself a party stalwart and had previously said he’d support the GOP nominee, whoever that was. But now he said he could no longer make such a promise.Charles P. Pierce:
“He just seems to have this natural tendency to want to divide, to slap people down who disagree with him, and it makes me very nervous for him to be the commander in chief,” he said. “That’s a very serious thing, and I don’t know that he has the temperament for it.”
The notion of a Third Way candidate in Cleveland is patently absurd. For one thing, the threat of a Trump uprising is not an idle one, especially if he shows up with north of 1000 delegates. Second, what makes them think that Cruz will get out of the way for, say, Paul Ryan or, worse, Willard Romney? Even if you accept the notion that He, Trump is not the perfect manifestation of the conservative prion disease afflicting the Republicans, and I don't for a moment accept that, you cannot deny that Cruz is an even more perfect product of the Party's madness. After all, he will show up with a boatload of votes fairly won over the previous seven months, a legitimate claim to be the party's second choice, and his profound belief that the Deity has marked him to lead this nation to Canaan. Who's going to tell him he's wrong? Quin Hillyer? And is there any doubt that both He, Trump and the Tailgunner are greasy enough to enter into an ad hoc alliance to blow the whole thing sky high if they don't get what they want?As long time observers of Republican politics, we bear no illusions that there's a silent majority, or even plurality, of party leaders -- much less base -- who will make a moral decision not to back Rump in the general election. Rationalizations have already been made (see Christie, "Krispycreme," and Ben "Benny the Knife" Carson) for abandoning purported "principles" as the Rump train departs the station. A few (very few) elected officials have announced that they would not vote for Rump (Sen. Sasse of Nebraska and Gov. Baker of Massachusetts come to mind).
We are sure of one thing: were Rump polling even with Hillary Clinton, the vast majority of Republicans would find any moral objections to Rump paling by comparison to their political tribal instincts to support the candidate with the "R" next to his name.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Trump As President Rated A Threat Equal To Destabilization Of Global Economy
The Economist magazine's Intelligence Unit has ranked a potential Presidency of neo- fascist buffoon Donald "Rump" Trump as being a global threat equal to Islamic jihadi terrorism destabilizing the global economy. Here's their ranking of threats (click on image to enlarge):
 |
| (Source: EIU) |
Among the factors cited by the risk assessment group: "the Republican frontrunner could prove a dangerous world leader, damaging global trade, stirring up trouble with Beijing and adding to instability in the Middle East."
Eine kleine faschistische Musik
When you've got the music critics noticing...
Chris Richards, music critic at the
The first thing resembling music at Saturday’s Donald Trump rally comes from the crowd waiting outside of Cleveland’s I-X Center, barking their man’s name in vicious staccato. The sound rips clear across the parking lot, where six cops on horseback patrol the blacktop, expecting the worst.
That’s because Trump’s rallies have become malignant assemblies where violence is not only tolerated, but encouraged without shame and practiced without remorse. The Republican presidential front-runner recently described the flying fists of his constituency as “a beautiful thing,” only to backpedal after being asked whether paying the legal fees of his sucker-punchiest supporters might sanctify their violence.
Trump has provided this toxic American moment with its own distinct soundtrack — his rallies feature a variety of benign rock songs played at unforgiving volumes. And while the pundits have enjoyed some high-quality giggles over the quirkiness of Trump’s song selection, what matters far more is how this music shakes the air, how it shapes the psychology of the room. [snip]
Nobody’s singing along to any of these tunes. Nobody’s bobbing their head. Nobody’s even chewing their Doublemint to the backbeat. Nothing. Instead of energizing this crowd, Trump’s playlist simply replaces silence with a different kind of emptiness. It creates an absence of mood, an anti-mood — authoritarian hold music. [snip]
In addition to agitating audiences, the cranked volumes also stifle direct human conversation. Reporters say they’ve had trouble interviewing folks at these rallies, which casts an ominous little prophecy: If you’d like to be heard in Donald Trump’s America, your options will be to shout or to be Donald Trump. (our emphasis)The psychological and physical brutalism that's playing out at these Rump anger fests should be strong signals to anyone who still thinks Rump and his Stormrumpers can be "controlled" or "civilized" through the election season. Authoritarian narcissists like Rump aren't going to (pardon the expression) change their tune. They're just going to turn up the volume.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Today's Cartoon - The Latest Trump Threat
(click on image to enlarge)
(Jim Morin, Miami Herald)
The latest
Trump warned Wednesday morning that there would be widespread unrest if he does not "automatically" get the nomination as the candidate with the greatest number of delegates.
"I think you would have riots," Trump said during an interview with CNN, adding that he represents "many, many millions of people," including several first-time voters. [snip]Nice democracy you have there. Be a shame if anything happened to it.
"If you disenfranchise those people, and you say, 'Well, I’m sorry, but you’re 100 votes short, even though the next one is 500 votes short,' I think you would have problems like you’ve never seen before. I think bad things would happen," Trump continued. "I wouldn’t lead it, but I think bad things would happen."
Obama's SCOTUS Nominee: Merrick Garland
The President has announced that Merrick Garland, 63, the highly regarded chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, will be his nominee to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia's death:Settling for a centrist candidate with nearly two decades of judicial experience, President Barack Obama will nominate Merrick Garland, a federal appeals judge in Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, according to The Associated Press and congressional sources.Though considered a judicial "moderate," the chances of Garland getting a hearing, much less a vote, by the obstructionist Republican Senate this year are 1) slim and 2) none, to the everlasting shame and discredit of those knuckle draggers.
If confirmed, Garland, 63, wouldn't bring diversity to the court as much a lengthy résumé in public service, including stints in the Department of Justice and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where he has served since 1997 and is now the chief judge.
BONUS: Not that anyone should care, but here's what "voice of Republican yoot" Meghan "Baby Walnuts" McCain had to say in a chat with Fox Business' Stuart Varney:
“The average person at home probably doesn’t realize all these intricacies happening,” Meghan McCain told Varney. “Because it’s exactly why people hate President Obama because he will possibly sacrifice this man’s career simply for his own political benefit.”Mmm. Still upset about Obama kicking your daddy's ass? How about you STFU!? Okay? How about that?
“I don’t think they hate President Obama,” Varney speculated.
“Okay,” McCain sighed. “A lot of people dislike President Obama strongly. How about that?”
BONUS II: Here's a good read on the Rethug reaction to Judge Garland's nomination, and their flawed gamesmanship.
Tweet Of The Day - Alternate Universe Edition
From Republican National Committee Chairstain Reince "Prepuce" Priebus:
Only GOP candidates are putting forth policies that put our country back on track & bring opportunity & security Obama failed to deliver— Reince Priebus (@Reince) March 16, 2016
Check out the responses at his Twitter account -- they're priceless.
This from the same empty suit that even neo- con
If he consolidates his frontrunner standing in Tuesday’s primaries, you can expect more and more Republicans to begin trying to persuade you, and themselves, that there is nothing to fear from the real Donald Trump.
Trump is showing that he can appear reasonable, conciliatory, even tolerant when he wants. Red-faced and strutting, he fantasizes aloud about punching a protester in the face. Later, he can calmly deplore (while still sympathizing with) his supporters’ violence.
Some Republicans have been fine with either version from the start. Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, is emblematic of the amoral functionary for whom Trump’s bigotry and demagoguery are irrelevant. “Winning is the antidote to a lot of things,” Priebus has observed. (our emphasis)That's Reince Priebus in a nutshell: an "amoral functionary" who continues to willfully lie about President Obama's record while at the same time praising the sh*tshow that is his party's rotting, reality- detached carcass.
Mid-Week Anniversary & Remembrance Songs
The '60s were a time of intense musical experimentation and discovery, with musical genres seeming to mix and regenerate. One American band on the cutting edge of much of the innovation was The Byrds, who 50 years ago (!) this week released the iconic "Eight Miles High." Viewed by many to be the first psychedelic rock song, the complex, free-form guitar break is actually heavily jazz-influenced (specifically John Coltrane). Despite the song's assumed reference to psychedelic drugs, the song's authors made the case that it was actually about their flight to London, England ("rain gray town, known for its sound") in 1965 (eight miles high would be an airliner's altitude limit in those days). Nevertheless, many radio stations banned the "controversial" song. *
Last weekend, Keith Emerson, a member of the British progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer passed away, sadly by his own hand after a debilitating battle with depression and heart disease. As the group's keyboardist, Emerson was an early player of the Moog synthesizer, which dominates the last minute or so of one of their hits, "Lucky Man." RIP.
* For a study in contrast, check out Gene Clark's acoustic version here.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Rubio Quits Race For Nomination
Future Aquafina spokesperson and soon to be ex-Senator Marco "Roboto" Rubio has announced that he's suspending his campaign (8:23 Eastern time), following his landslide defeat in his home state of Florida to neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump. The votes are still being counted, but Rump is maintaining a lead in the neighborhood of 20%. Roboto may end up with around 30% of the vote, which means that 70% of Rethug voters in his own state voted against him. That doesn't bode well for his future in Florida politics, much less nationally. And to think, he was once the darling of the Beltway media, who fluffed his candidacy like a feather pillow even when he was flopping. It doesn't help that the organization assembled by J.E.B.! : ( thinks that Young Roboto is a presumptuous upstart that stole their guy's place in line.
So for now, hasta la vista, Marco Roboto.
BONUS: Jonathan Chait on dodging the Roboto bullet.
A Job Program For One
Idiot savant Dr. Ben "Bennie the Blade" Carson was, for a while, the darling of the evangelical faction within the Republican wingnut base, due somewhat to his personal Jesus fetish and to his rude behavior toward President Obama at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. He was riding high initially, before the debates exposed him as a weird, somnolent guy, prone to quietly fading out of the conversation altogether. Last week, after withdrawing from the race, Bennie the Blade popped up to endorse neo-fascist narcissist Donald "Rump" Trump, who would appear to have been his exact opposite. Strange, no?
Think Progress is reporting (tip of the hat to P.E.C.) that Bennie the Blade decided to endorse Rump after being offered a job in a (never-gonna-happen) Rump Administration, "certainly in an advisory capacity," according to Carson. That's interesting. It also would be illegal, since the law prohibits a candidate from offering someone employment in exchange for an endorsement.
The only position Bennie the Blade might qualify for would be the NASA Administrator, since he spends most of his time in outer space.
Today's Cartoon Trifecta - The Trump "Group Mentality"
(click on images to enlarge)
(Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
(Steve Benson, Arizona Republic)
(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
More on the "group mentality" Donald "Rump" Trump is fostering -- and the "group" seems to be thriving on it as much as Rump.
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