The Joy of Trump
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Friday, January 25, 2019
Jim Carrey Puts Terrifying ‘Jaws’-Style Spin On Donald Trump's Shutdown
Jim Carrey Puts Terrifying ‘Jaws’-Style Spin On Donald Trump's Shutdown
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will interview MSNBC
Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will interview MSNBC
Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will from WaPo interviewed on MSNBC Last Word 4/5/17
Original WaPo article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...
Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will interview MSNBC
Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will interview MSNBC
Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will from WaPo interviewed on MSNBC Last Word 4/5/17
Original WaPo article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Plato saw democracy would give rise to a tyrannical leader filled with “false and braggart words”
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reuters/Jean-Pierre AmetPlato believed democracy really is just a prelude to tyranny.
DEMOGOGUECRACY
Plato saw democracy would give rise to a tyrannical leader filled with “false and braggart words”
Plato saw democracy would give rise to a tyrannical leader filled with “false and braggart words”
By Olivia GoldhillJune 2, 2018
Plato was not a fan of democracy. Many might consider this just a blip on the philosopher’s otherwise excellent political analysis. But his description of the “democratic man” does give pause for thought.
In the Republic, written in 380 BC, Plato describes such the democratic man—by which he means a democratic leader—as one of “false and braggart words and opinions” who dismisses moderation, calls “insolence ‘good breeding,’ licence ‘liberty,’ prodigality ‘magnificence,’” and “temperance they call ‘want of manhood’ and banish it with contumely.”
Remind you of anyone?
Josiah Ober, professor of political science and classics at Stanford University says the passage does read as “a particularly harsh description of the most tyrannical parts of Trump’s public personality.” Plato’s Republic, which evaluates the nature and justice of various political regimes, and examines how individuals’ moral psychologies are interlinked with the moral psychology of their state, is intended as a work of philosophy rather than a prediction of how political events would unfold. That said, Plato’s critique of democracy contains a number of aspects relevant today.
Plato believed that the key and driving feature of democracy is desire for freedom; this very trait, though, ultimately leads a state to tyranny. A democratic regime involves such a plurality of interests, he believed, that the only way anything can be achieved under it is to have strong leadership that can unite interests. “It’s not a complete portrait of modern democracy but it captures something: This desire for a strong leaders who can give guidance to diverse pluralistic uncoordinated desires,” says Oder.
Strong leaders, in Plato’s view, ultimately become demagogic tyrants. “The tyrant wants to be completely free of all constraints and yet he’s the most enslaved, because he has to surround himself with bodyguards, and yes-men, and people who will feed his ego and desires,” explains Ober.
The tyrant mistrusts both those within and outside his circle, and so essentially ends up in a sort of servitude himself.
Those around him are “necessarily slavish,” Ober adds, as “they’re willing to debase themselves to the grotesque deformed soul of the tyrant.” But the tyrant mistrusts both those within and outside his circle, and so essentially ends up in a sort of servitude himself. “He recognizes that he’s always in danger and sees plots everywhere,” says Ober. “He therefore lives a life that’s as abjectly awful as possible to live. Though he seems to be living in a glittering palace with wealth and access to all good things, in fact he lives a shrunken existence as a slave to slaves.” Paranoia and desire for sycophancy are familiar features of many contemporary democratic leaders.
In Plato’s view, each political state naturally devolves into another in systematic order. Rule by philosopher-king gives way to timocracy (rule by property owners), which gives way to oligarchy, followed by democracy and then tyranny. As democracy is preceded by rule of the rich, Plato believed that under a democratic regime, there would be considerable resentment against the wealthy; the first step of the democratic demagogue, he claimed, would be to attack these wealthy elites. “He says they’re bad people and we should prosecute them, especially in the law courts,” says Ober. Accusing the wealthy of crimes and prosecuting them is, in Plato’s view, simply the easiest way of extracting wealth from them. Contemporary politics only half fulfill this assessment: There’s certainly considerably resentment towards the elite, but there’s noticeably little criminal prosecution of the very rich, even among those who’ve committed serious crimes.
Certain aspects of the democracy Plato describes—and which we are now seeing—are not sudden, recent developments. Politicians have long been criticized for being loose with the truth or pandering to populist interests, for example. But Ober believes many modern democratic states have a declining sense of shared interests; this, in Plato’s view, makes them particularly vulnerable to tyranny. Brexit has divided Britain, he notes, Belgium is fracturing along its French and Flemish demographic lines, the United States is more partisan than ever. All these divides can lead to the decline of a functioning democratic state.
“A platonic vision of a state that’s divided against itself is vulnerable to this demagogic appeal, a tyrannical takeover,” says Ober. “I think we’re at greater risk than before.”
Can we resist tyrannical leaders? Plato believed that a constitution, which should lay out clear rules that everyone must abide by, provides some protection. It may not prevent demagoguery, but it can offer a baseline of equality under the law. He also advocated citizen responsibility: “[Citizens] have to know enough about what’s going on, to speak out and join with other citizens when there are violations,” says Ober. They can’t wait for others to do the work for them.”
Despite these protections, Plato pessimistically believed that democracy inevitably devolves into tyranny. On this point, though, Ober disagrees. “Historically, it can,” he says. “But democracies emerge in rejection of tyranny. You get democracy by saying we refuse to be ruled by a tyrant, king, or small gang of elites. When democracies work, we remember that’s what they’re all about”
For a more optimistic interpretation of today’s political regimes, Ober suggests looking to Aristotle, who understood that true democracy is fundamentally opposed to tyranny. Contemporary politics may cause consternation, but Ober says it’s worth believing in the political regime. After all, he adds, “Democracy has to be built on hope.”
Don Trump is a short fingered vulgarian
"Don Trump is a short fingered vulgarian", said Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen
Monday, January 21, 2019
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Leyla McCalla - Money Is King [Official music video]
Leyla McCalla - Money Is King
Track taken from "The Capitalist Blues"
Out January 25th on Jazz Village.
Order + add to favorites here : http://smarturl.it/LeylaMcCalla2019
Director: Nisa East
Co-Director / Gaffer: Sarrah Danziger
Producer: Weenta Girmay
Cinematographer: Nisa East
Stylist: Kai Bussant
Make up and Hair: Claire Simmons
Assistant Camera: Elijah LeNoir
Choreography: Damas Louis
Order + add to favorites here : http://smarturl.it/LeylaMcCalla2019
Director: Nisa East
Co-Director / Gaffer: Sarrah Danziger
Producer: Weenta Girmay
Cinematographer: Nisa East
Stylist: Kai Bussant
Make up and Hair: Claire Simmons
Assistant Camera: Elijah LeNoir
Choreography: Damas Louis
Language Expert: Donald Trump's Way Of Speaking Is 'Oddly Adolescent'
Language Expert: Donald Trump's Way Of Speaking Is 'Oddly Adolescent' | ...
Columbia University professor of linguistics John McWhorter joins to
discuss the unique way Donald Trump speaks which is unlike any president
America's had before.
» Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc
discuss the unique way Donald Trump speaks which is unlike any president
America's had before.
» Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc
Saturday, January 19, 2019
MOVE. IMPROVE. EVOLVE Resolve to be fit This new year its time to break and remake
MOVE. IMPROVE. EVOLVE
Resolve to be fit This new year its time to break and remake http://bit.ly/RDXF1tNe55Gear #RDXSports #WeightLifting #DeadLift #Fitness #Fit2019 #NewYear #BodyBuilding
Trump and a room stacked with Fast Food may be the most Trumpian photo ever taken
This may be the most Trumpian photo ever taken | Analysis by CNN's Chris Cillizza https://cnn.it/2DctAgw
CNN PoliticsVerified account @CNNPolitics
Donald Trump's Nemesis will be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“The idea that a freshman member could come in and be effective by doing things differently was just so cynically dismissed for so long.”
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/photos-new-women-of-congress/ …
Donald Trump's Nemesis will be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall.
Nemesis - Greek Mythology
Nemesis was the goddess of divine retribution and revenge, who would show her wrath to any human being that would commit hubris, i.e. arrogance before the gods. ...
One myth concerning Nemesis is that of Narcissus. He was a young man who was very arrogant and disdained those who loved him.
Nemesis
was the goddess of divine retribution and revenge, who would show her
wrath to any human being that would commit hubris, i.e. arrogance before
the gods.
Nemesis was considered a remorseless goddess that would give what was due to the protagonist.
One myth concerning Nemesis is that of Narcissus.
He was a young man who was very arrogant and disdained those who loved him.
Nemesis led him to a pool, where he saw his reflection and fell in love with it.
Unable to abandon his reflection, he died there.
Nemesis was considered a remorseless goddess that would give what was due to the protagonist.
One myth concerning Nemesis is that of Narcissus.
He was a young man who was very arrogant and disdained those who loved him.
Nemesis led him to a pool, where he saw his reflection and fell in love with it.
Unable to abandon his reflection, he died there.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Trump : A "schismatic" is a person who incites such rifts, often to their own ends.
Monday, January 14, 2019
Trump - Russia troubles
The next time you hear Trump claim that he's "tough" on Russia, remember that he has:
--Weakened NATO and the EU
--Given Putin cover on Crimea
--Repeated Kremlin talking points
--Ignored election interference
--Lifted sanctions on key oligarch
--Disregarded US intelligence
Trump's wall and shutdown are designed to distract from the real issue. The president of the United States was asked over the weekend by a friendly interviewer whether he is a Russian agent. He refused to answer.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Death of Benito Mussolini
The death of Benito Mussolini, the deposed Italian fascist dictator, occurred on 28 April 1945,
in the final days of World War II in Europe, when he was summarily
executed by Italian partisans in the small village of Giulino di
Mezzegra in northern Italy.
in the final days of World War II in Europe, when he was summarily
executed by Italian partisans in the small village of Giulino di
Mezzegra in northern Italy.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Canada’s inclusiveness is vital: to counteract the Rise of Populism
The Rise of Populism
Canada’s inclusiveness is vital to counteract the Rise of Populism
This statement highlights how Canada is so different from Trumplandia.
Peter Munk was born into a prosperous Jewish family in Budapest in
1927.
When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, he escaped with his family
to Switzerland on the Kastner train, ultimately arriving in Toronto in
1948 at the age of 20 with nothing but a small suitcase.
An immigrant
with neither social connections nor a command of English, Munk
nevertheless felt welcomed by Canadians, and he would go on to profess a
lifelong love of his adoptive country.
He insisted throughout his
tenure as Barrick’s Chairman that the company remain headquartered in
Toronto.
In 2011, he remarked, “Canada’s inclusiveness is vital: it is a
characteristic of overwhelming value and importance and distinguishes
Canadians from anybody else. This is a country that does not ask about
your origins but concerns itself with your destiny.”
Peter
Munk CC was a Hungarian-born Canadian businessman, investor, and
philanthropist. He was involved in a number of high-profile business ventures, including furniture and electronics company Clairtone, real estate company Trizec Properties, and Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold-mining corporation.
Born: November 8, 1927, Budapest, Hungary
Monday, January 7, 2019
Trump's Champion: Benito Mussolini and the complicity of silence.
Fascist poster boy Benito Mussolini said if you pluck a chicken one feather at a time, people don’t notice.
His analogy spoke to the fact that a leader might consolidate power feather by feather and before you know it you have that scariest of bald chickens: fascism.
The Trump campaign then Presidency saw outrageous words and actions elicit outlandish defensives or an equally heinous complicity of silence.
The collective shrug of most Americans is in many ways the most disturbing, as they support a scary normalization of each of fascism’s feathers.
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