The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
Sarah says:
Love the subtext, too. "White supremacists orchestrated a mass shooting, but can you blame them? Look at these illegal brown people coming across the border!"
Tom says:
Also, the giant Cialis ad. Says so much about their readership.
Fmguru says:
The commercials on Fox are always hilarious, and aimed squarely at their core audience of 70+ year olds – medigap policies, adult diapers, reverse mortgages, mail-order catheters, mobility scooters. Everything is about decline and impending death. The commercials are more horrifying than the news coverage, incredibly enough.
DenialistDuck says:
I hate to break it to you Ed, but internet ads are usually based on your own viewing habits.
Ed says:
That ad is not of the Google Ads variety. I'm 35, it's not quite Dick Pill time yet, I promise.
All of my targeted ads based on search history are for Priceline, camping equipment, and cars.
Phoenician in a time of Romans says:
I recall one time I managed to get my computer hacked with a persistant ad bringing up touts for hair loss remedies, chronic tiredness uppers, and Viagra.
Damn if I know how they managed to get so much detailed information on me, but it was scary…
Skipper says:
Here, Ed, add this to your "death of the empire" file
http://www.necn.com/06/17/14/2-officers-injured-after-being-attacked-/landing.html?blockID=868052&feedID=11106
Matt says:
@Skipper: they look like the sort of folks who own more firearms than teeth.
c u n d gulag says:
Peak?
No, I don't think we'll see peak FOX and Reich-Wing lunacy for another 2+ years, during the 2016 Presidential Election.
They're still warming-up.
bago says:
Ah GNIDA, one of those ad hijacking persistent ads that downloaded a package to slow down your computer and offer ads to help speed up your computer. I got to reverse hack that one. Wound up getting a picture of the author's kitties!
Remember kids, flash is born of the security hole.