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 ...
Inkberrow says:
Glad you escaped the imperialist carnage, and may you skirt the well-justified Islamist reprisals as well. I’m weeping for brave Soleimani tonight too.
Noskilz says:
I was a bit curious. You're still quite active on twitter, and doing the Baffler thing, so I assumed you were busy.
Art says:
Thanks for the update. I've missed your particular brand of wit. Keep up, to the extent practical, the good work.
Frankly, I've never really seen any need for Facebook. But, then again, rude bastard that I am, I still call people on the telephone without messaging them first to request an audience. If IM seems stilted Facebook seems vapid: a confection of smart-ass quips, acerbic asides, and vitriol. A hundred kilometers wide but a single millimeter deep. Damn it, I want both quips, and substance, in-the-moment observation, and analysis. You are good at that. That's why I have, despite a few months of minimal output, your blog pinned to my main browser page where I faithfully and expectantly refresh it every day.
sookabilly says:
You're back. Far F-ing Out!
Les Hatcher says:
Glad you are back. I also look at your blog almost daily.
I agree with Art and have no use for social media and have never used it. My wife was on Facebook for awhile but soon quit because of the BS.