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 ...
Icarus says:
You have a lot of great posts that you obviously put a lot of time into. Have you ever considered breaking the posts up with pictures? It makes it easier for us feeble minded attention span challenged to stay focused.
otherwise, get some rest.
Greg says:
Please more sounds of America
Emerson Dameron says:
As a man in his increasingly late 30s, I am aware of the healing properties of this weird new thing called "sleep in a bed."
JustRuss says:
Sleep is crucial. If you ever find yourself choosing between tossing us comment fodder or getting much need z's, for fuksake, go to bed. We'll wait. You can give us a 50% discount for the delay.
mrearl says:
I see Gin's at the top of the ticket. Its presence can only improve the Republican debates.
Robert says:
My husband says I think all problems can be solved by more sleep and drinking water.
Well, if that doesn't solve the problem, at least you're rested and hydrated.
Noel Barrett says:
I just won election as a Township Supervisor and I used magnetic bumper strips – many more people used them saying they would never use the stick-on kind – I'm going to buy one of yours but would rather have a few magnetic which I would give to friends – check them out – a bit pricey but worth it
RosiesDad says:
Okay, I did my part. It will soon be adorning my son's dorm room door at his prestigious Librul Arts college.