"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing": propaganda and the 2024 election. Yeah, I'm gonna write about him again.
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HERE'S ANOTHER WARNING, DEAR READER, I'M COMMENTING ON CURRENT POLITICAL EVENTS THIS WEEK. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU ARE BORED BY MY RANTS AGAINST A CERTAIN PERSON.
Every Person has their own opinion, and what follows is a collection of my thoughts and opinions.
So, if you'll forgive me for vomiting my political views all over this page,
THANKS!!
OK, if you've come this far, shall we begin?
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
You've got to hand it to ole Will (or the Earl of Oxford), he sure knows how to weave a spell with words. To tell you the truth, I wonder if he had Donnie in mind when he wrote it (lol). There is another man today (other than our immortal bard) who has the 'gift of the gab': you know where of I speak, Dear Reader?
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
It's our used car salesman's most dangerous "quality."
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So I understand, from multiple news outlets, that this week our resident used car salesman reportedly said that 'he had been treated worse than President Lincoln.' https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/05/03/trump-says-hes-been-treated-worse-than-lincoln/
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Maybe Donnie should try life as a 1950s housewife, so he could sympathize a little more with American women, who are still being judged against this stereotype.
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See? Even Dr. Who's shocked.
It's not just that he compared himself to one of our greatest politicians, it's because of the way Lincoln died and Donnie's lack of respect for it. He just dissed an assassinated man.
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I know, right?
Oh, but that's not all: Donnie also said that he's done more for the blacks in this country than President Lincoln. https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/trump-says-he-has-done-more-for-black-people-than-anyone-with-possible-exception-of-lincoln-88141381811
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Amen, Mr. President.
I gotta tell ya, even Nixon would've been appalled. He revered Lincoln, and properly mourned him. But then that was the contradictory character of Nixon--he was crooked, but in his own way, honorable (holy s**tballs did I just write that???). Oh dear, liberals all over America are about to slaughter me. Quick! Call the local....
Propaganda has always been a powerful political tool--Donnie certainly learned that lesson, that's obvious. But, he was following a practice that became perniciously effective in the 20th century.
Let me take you on a brief e-ticket ride through some of the highlights:
I suppose our first stop has to be Russia under the communists, who promoted pictures of power and persuasion, totally accepting the concept of Nietzsche's ubermensch. This propaganda theme was implemented immediately after taking control of the country in 1917. Let's take a look at some examples:
I think he's trying to tell me something, even if I don't read Russian.
Something tells me that the first male figure might've been the physique Lenin wished he had.
Now this image is classic early 20th century political propaganda. It was the kind of style that Russia literally pioneered. Such images were hyper masculine (i.e. can you find the phallus Waldo?), glorifying that particular sexual identity.
Yeah, women were a part of this propaganda. After all, everyone was needed in the labor force in Soviet Russia.
This poster needs ZERO explanation.
Even though women began occupying a more gender neutral space in early Soviet Russia, traditional sexual stereotypes snuck in.
One uber mensch image followed by another:
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Even later, in the 1960s, the Soviet State found something to celebrate:
The text on the top left of this poster translates as: 'listen, country, the dream of the people is calling! Today your people rejoice and sing.' The lower part of the flag reads 'all power to the Soviets [workers]!' Photograph: Michael Nicholson/Corbis
"The text on the top left of this poster translates as: 'listen, country, the dream of the people is calling! Today your people rejoice and sing.' The lower part of the flag reads 'all power to the Soviet [workers]!"' Photograph: Michael Nicholson/Corbis
Alright...our magic mystery tour now takes us to Italy in the 1920s, with the rise of Mussolini's interpretation (creation?) of what he termed "Fascism." A really weird note: the label 'Fascism' derives from the Latin word "fasces," which was once wielded by ancient Rome's Tribunes. Here's how 'fasces' is defined by the OED: "In ancient Rome, a bundle of rods with a projecting axe blade, carried by a lictor [also Tribunes] as a symbol of a magistrate's power; the word is Latin, plural of fasces ‘rod’.
...or
So! A symbol of strength, and masculinity at the same time.
Let's take a look at some classic definitions of Fascism, OK?
The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–43), and the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain were also Fascist. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach.
The name comes from Italian fascismo, from fascio ‘bundle, political group’, from Latin fascis ‘rod’."
Here's another interesting discussion on 'political religion' and fascism, one that examines totalitarianism with religions:
"One of the first to use the term political religion was a German-American professor of political science. In 1938, just before the Anschluss, Eric Voegelin, an academic based at the University of Vienna and a man appalled by the expansion of Nazism, wrote an essay called The Political Religions. Presenting analysis that stretched from the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton to the fascist and communist regimes that had developed since the end of the First World War, Voegelin warned how faith was being manipulated by modern dictatorships, fascist and communist. These new systems were appropriating elements of Christianity’s symbolism to create new types of collective affinity, based either on national identity and race or class. For him, this modern development was rooted in the breakdown of religious faith set in train by the Reformation and then the Enlightenment. Voegelin was a critic of secularisation, and so argued that modern political religions were the logical result of the decadence that the breakdown of traditional notions of faith represented."
"...the point is not to reduce all such examples to a single concept, but rather to use the term to develop a deeper understanding of the diverse forms political religions can take. For historians of fascism, it helps explain that fascisms are complex, and not simply a set of prejudices imposed on the masses. People living in interwar fascist regimes, or attracted to fascist movements, were not brainwashed. The faith held by leaders and wider society was symbiotic: many were true believers and were engaged in an ‘anthropological revolution’, an ongoing experiment to create a new type of society."
Benito Mussolini was indeed the founder of Fascism--the definitions of which you just read. In Mussolini's case, his target audience was the disaffected WW1 veteran, who collectively felt betrayed by the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles, that ended the conflict. It was not a peace treaty though; it was a document that guaranteed WW2.
But, more on that at a later time. Let's take a look at Mussolini-art (?)
I have nothing to say to this one. Absolutely nothing.
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As for the Nazi's I can only focus on one ridiculous image:
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Ye Olympian gods, I am utterly appalled.
So, how about the present day?
It's important (at least I think so), Dear Reader, to take a serious, long gander at the relationship in the propaganda released by the far far far far far far far far religious right, and the MAGA movement (or are they the same thing?). Perhaps you've heard about Donnie being referred to as the Second Coming?
take a look:
...and how about these shirts?
Oh, but wait!!!!! There's also this little gem:
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Gee, is the used car salesman trying to tell us something? OK. I'm getting majorly depressed. Enough for now.
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Until next week, Dear Reader.
postscript: I hope, Dear Reader, that you're properly horrified. Remember, whatever your political affiliations matter in the upcoming election--if you like living in a relatively free and relatively egalitarian society, you have to vote. Think about these things for a moment, if you don't mind:
"Make America Godly Again."
'Trump University'
Retribution on political opponents
Absolute powers, due to the recent SCOTUS decision
and a whole bunch more.
And, do you remember these examples of Donnie’s lack of wit:
The point is that you can't be too greedy.
"It's tangible, it's solid, it's beautiful. It's artistic, from my standpoint, and I just love real estate."
"Our politicians are stupid. And the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning. And they send the bad ones over because they don't want to pay for them. They don't want to take care of them. Why should they when the stupid leaders of the United States will do it for them?"
"I was a great student. I was good at everything."
"Windmills are going to be the death of Scotland and even England if they don't do something about them. They are ruining the countryside."
"We have to go see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what's happening. We have to talk to them, maybe in certain areas, closing that Internet up in some way. Somebody will say, 'Oh, freedom of speech, freedom of speech.' These are foolish people. We have a lot of foolish people."
"When I see the crumbling roads and bridges, or the dilapidated airports, or the factories moving overseas to Mexico, or to other countries, I know these problems can all be fixed..."
and to the sitting president at last week's debate, Trump showed so much respect for the office:
Trump: "I don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either."
...but Biden didn't exactly show respect for the electoral debating process when he said:
Biden: Trump has "the morals of an alley cat."
Trump: "I did not have sex with a porn star."
Oh. Right. So, Stormy Daniels is lying? Why would she?
And this site https://www.axios.com/2024/04/30/donald-trump-time-magazine-interview-news analyzes Trump's comments on several issues.Abortion: Trump told TIME that it is up to the states if they decide to monitor women's pregnancies so they know if they receive an abortion."I think they might do that," he said.
Trump also said that it is up to the states if they decide to prosecute women for getting abortions.
"The states are going to say. It's irrelevant whether I'm comfortable or not. It's totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions."
More...this one's on Ivanka:
Ewwwwwwwww
"Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression 'the weaker sex' was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye -- or perhaps another body part."
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting."
"It's really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!"
In a May 2011 interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump explained his stance on gay marriage like this:
"It's like in golf. A lot of people -- I don't want this to sound trivial -- but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It's weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can't sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist."
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting."
"It's really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!"
In a May 2011 interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump explained his stance on gay marriage like this:
"It's like in golf. A lot of people -- I don't want this to sound trivial -- but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It's weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can't sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist."
"I am totally in favor of vaccines. But I want smaller doses over a longer period of time. Same exact amount, but you take this little beautiful baby, and you pump--I mean, it looks just like it's meant for a horse, not for a child, and we've had so many instances, people that work for me. ... [in which] a child, a beautiful child went to have the vaccine, and came back and a week later had a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic."
OMG. Just OMFG.
And, who could forget this ole nugget? During an August 2015 CNN interview, shortly after the Fox News GOP debate, Donald Trump said of moderator Megyn Kelly: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her... wherever."
He then vehemently denied that those comments were a reference to Kelly's period.
And this might be our next first lady?
And, who could forget this ole nugget? During an August 2015 CNN interview, shortly after the Fox News GOP debate, Donald Trump said of moderator Megyn Kelly: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her... wherever."
He then vehemently denied that those comments were a reference to Kelly's period.
And, of course I can't leave our 'no I can't be First Lady, because I have to be a loving (not) mother' to my son who's in college out:
Ah, it's nice to see two people who're so much in love.
Frankly, I'm shocked she's holding his hand for this shot.
Boy oh boy, this gal sure does 'sullen' well, eh?
And, we absolutely must not forget this old chestnut:
No, Dear Reader, I'm not terrified at all....NOT.
Second Postscript: After the latest (2024) debate, I am currently watching all of the major news networks eviscerating Joe Biden over his performance in last week's debate. I've never been more horrified at these journalists' behavior. I'd like to see how well THEY AGE. I am also watching Democrats turn on THEIR president, preparing to devour him. I'm horrified at the behavior of my party, who are behaving like children. To them it's all about winning, and the attainment of power.. Of course, Republicans are acting horrifically satisfied. It's embarrassing how Republicans' are gloating, and waiting for an honorable Joe Biden to implode. Boy oh Boy, don't we look good in the eyes of the international community? And, is anyone else worried that our used car salesman's head is so far up Putin's ass?
Alright, now I'm really done. Until next week...tune in.
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