Major Harris, Kid Criminals, And Consequences

 

Kids are killing kids here in Milwaukee.

On October 14, Mallory Muenzenberger was found shot to death in the back yard of a home in Milwaukee. Authorities had difficulty identifying her and notifying her family because she was from Onalaska, WI, just outside LaCrosse. But when they finally did reach family members, they discovered that Mallory's three-year-old son, Major Harris, was missing. This prompted an Amber Alert and the entire city of Milwaukee came together in a municipal-wide hunt for the boy.

One week later, the hunt came to a tragic end. The remains of Major Harris were found in a storage bin off 35th Street, one block north of Villard Ave. The boy had been shot in the head.

Officers had quickly developed a suspect in Jaheem Clark. But as police approached his home on N. 41st and Custer Ave., he committed suicide. That was Sunday, October 17th.

Other suspects were arrested in the case, but Jaheem Clark appears (for now) to have been the ringleader, and the oldest among the suspects.

Not even legal drinking age.

Another tragedy took place in Wauwatosa on October 15th. Four juveniles, aged between 13 and 15, jacked a car in front of the Holiday Inn on North Ave. and Mayfair Road. The busted a window on a vehicle, but were scared off. Sunita Balogun, a 47 year-old Nigerian woman from Oshkosh, informed security at the hotel. Later, she spotted the kids from inside her Jeep. She caught up with the group, got out of the vehicle and confronted them, but the youngest of them, a 13-year-old identified as Jayden Adams, got past Balogun, hopped into the driver's seat of her Jeep, punched her in the face, then kicked the door into her. She fell, he hit the gas and ran her down. He then picked up his friends and they took off.

Sherwin Hughes reported that the kids later went shopping with Balogun's stolen credit cards.

When the stolen Jeep was recovered, it was found that the kids were in the process of repainting it. They were going to keep the vehicle!

The driver who struck her was only 13. He is being charged as an adult, and is facing 115 years in jail.

He was born in 2008.

He will never graduate from 8th grade.

These are just a few stories from the police blotter of the City of Milwaukee as of late. And one pattern becomes clear: Our criminals are KIDS!

Right now, there is a plague of car thefts on top of a plague of reckless driving. Often, the reckless drivers are the thieves themselves.

And they are KIDS! Not even old enough to drive, anyway.

Marshall High School has become an epicenter of this. Kids there are introduced to car theft before they're even old enough to take drivers' ed.

Part of this is the system. Kids steal cars, they joyride, they ditch the car afterwards. Even if the police catch them, they are usually let go. Only 2% of car thefts are ever prosecuted, much less convicted.

But the more crucial part is that the schools have failed. People often complain, "Where are the parents?" But when parents are forced to take on two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet, they simply can't raise a teenager responsibly. Nobody can.

This is where good schools are supposed to make up the difference. But in Milwaukee, schools are subjected to the School Choice Program - a positively Darwinian approach which leaves MPS utterly bereft of the resources it needs to teach kids properly.

But do charter schools work better? The numbers seem to say yes. But that's because charter schools bump out the most problematic kids after only three weeks. This boosts their academic numbers and allows them to brag about what a fine job they're doing with education. They also get to keep the school voucher money! But those kids who get booted have no choice but to return to MPS - which then has even less money to deal with. Zero vouchers for those who need them most.

In other words, the very kids who need the most remedial education, the very ones who need the most time, effort, and - yes, I'll say it - money, are the ones most left out in the cold.

Do Republicans really believe that has zero consequences?

Now, suppose you were thrown into that meat grinder as a teenager. Suppose the system failed you that utterly. You know damned well there's no future for you. You know damned well nobody will help you. You also know your best shot at a GED is from inside a jail cell.

Wouldn't you lash out? Wouldn't you steal cars just for kicks, too? Hell, you're headed straight for jail, anyway. Might as well have some fun before you go.

If you have been in favor of school choice, you have been in favor of exactly this. You have been in favor of letting public schools fail. But what you ignored was that when a school fails, all the kids in that school fail also. That comes back to us in the form of crime, crime, and more crime, and all it takes is one abandoned kid to make a troublemaker out to make our streets unsafe. Multiply that times the hundreds upon hundreds of kids whom MPS is forced to let down, and you get the hideous situation on the city's north and northwest sides.

If you backed school choice, you have some of Major Harris' blood on your hands. You have some of Sunita Balogun's blood on your hands. You have some of the blood of the 167 Milwaukee homicides on your hands.

You should have known this would inevitably happen. Fuck you.

It's absolutely clear what the solution is: FUND THE SHIT OUT OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!

You want to end crime? Are you "tough" on crime? Then give kids a reason to believe they can make it without going to jail! That means FUNDING THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!

You want reparations? Or at least, the beginnings of reparations? FUND THE ABSOLUTE SHIT OUT OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!

You want to end segregation in Milwaukee? FUND THE UTMOST SHIT OUT OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS! You'll be amazed how quickly quality education brings white people back into the city!

And if Republicans say, "But that's too expensive," the only proper response is that it got that way because YOU refused to pay the piper before. And now the interest on that account has grown!

It's time to pay the piper. And if I had it my way, I would seize Scott Walker's assets as a down payment. But barring that, I'll settle for the willingness of city officials to pony up, and white people generally shutting the hell up about the price tag.

It is not just the solution, it is the only solution.

Eric

*

Cancelling Dave Chapelle

I've realized something about cancelling people. It doesn't work.

I mean, if the general idea is to shame people into changing their minds, canceling does exactly the opposite.

Case in point, Dave Chapelle, who has built his career by being boldly offensive. He's also made a career making jokes out of uncomfortable truths. But in his latest Netflix special, "The Closer," he is being decidedly transphobic, and even highlighting some of his own past transphobic humor. As a result, many of my fellow Leftists are calling for The Closer to be canceled from Netflix. So far, Netflix is standing its ground, and for good reason - it's reached #3 on Netflix's Top 10. Chappelle remains popular despite, or perhaps even because of, his transphobia.

But Chappelle is no fool. He has an unusual clarity of insight which makes him good at his job, and sooner or later (I believe), this will make him see things differently.

IF we back off.

Don't get me wrong. I side with transgender issues. I'm all for trans rights. But canceling doesn't convince anyone of anything - other than that we are the Parisian mob of 1799, beheading anyone we disapprove of without scruple or supplication.

When I was a teenager, I was a Bible-thumper. I berated certain people all the time, usually classmates or family. They, in turn, tended to double-down on being rebellious, often rubbing it in my face.

Then I questioned my faith, and eventually left Christianity. And the people I used to berate all became responsible citizens. Some even embraced the Church!

Often, backing off is the best way to let people change their minds on their own.

I'm convinced that J.K. Rowling might have come around if people had backed off on her. I'm equally convinced that Richard Dawkins might not have dug in his heels if we'd "discussed" things with him beforehand instead of merely writing him off. But people hit back hard if you hit them first. Doubly so if they're hit by an Internet flash-mob! After that, it becomes personal, and changing one's mind becomes nearly impossible.

Is it too late for Rowling or Dawkins? I don't know. But as I've said repeatedly on this blog, forgiveness is not just for religious people.

What really gets me is the outrage. It's not the outrage regarding Chapelle's transphobia that's the problem. In fact, I think the trans community has a legitimate gripe. No, the problem is that the outrage is HERE, surrounding Chappelle, and similar outrage is NOT to be found regarding the impending fall of our Republic!

Doesn't anybody care that our Democracy is about to DIE? Doesn't anyone care about that MORE than they do about Chappelle's antics?

I'm sorry, but Trump attempting ANOTHER steal is way, way more important than Chappelle or Rowling. Because if we lose our Democracy, trans rights go with it, and bad shows on Netflix will be the least of our problems.

If ANYONE trying to cancel Dave Chappelle stays home for the 2022 election, I will personally cancel that fool right back. And if Chappelle somehow gets cancelled and Tucker Carlson isn't? I will go full-on Jesus-in-the-temple, throwing over every table I can find among my fellow Progressives!

Am I saying we have bigger fish to fry? No. 

I'm saying there's a goddamned SHARK on our ass! We might want to look to that.

I mean, if we want to be alive long enough to cancel Chappelle.

Eric

*

Let's Cancel Nicki Minaj

For those who haven't heard, Nicki Minaj recently made a bizarre claim on Twitter regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. According to her, her cousin's friend received the vaccine on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and became impotent, suffering from swollen testicles.

After everyone from health officials to free media scrambled to try and verify this story, it was finally confirmed to be 100% false. Yet the claim went so viral that Trinidad's own health minister, Terrence Deyalsingh, had to make a press conference to debunk it.

Now, I'm a fan of Nicki Minaj. Not of  her music. That stuff isn't my style. But I'm a fan of her dancing. I'm a fan of her giving voluptuous women a place in celebrity fandom. And I'm a fan of her generally.

So when I say this, understand that I'm making a personal sacrifice: We need to cancel her.

For all Richard Dawkins' faults, his remarks on Twitter didn't kill anyone, and never will. For all Harvey Weinstein's abuses, he didn't kill anyone, either. Even Bill Cosby didn't kill anyone. 

But Minaj? Her Tweet will KILL. It likely already has killed. It will go on to kill thousands. And no, she doesn't get a free pass because she's black, or even a black sex symbol, because in the end, her bullshit will likely have killed more than Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh and the 9/11 terrorists - combined.

Yes! Cancel her! Because if someone like Richard Dawkins deserves to be cancelled, Minaj deserves to be cancelled. If comparative teddy bears from Minnesota like Garrison Keillor and Al Franken deserve to be cancelled, so does Minaj.

If we are to be logically consistent at all, Minaj needs to go the way of Joss Whedon.

If we are to be logically consistent, the American Humanist Association should issue a statement of condemnation against Nicki Minaj. (Hint, hint.)

OR...

We could find a little bit more forgiveness in our hearts. We could understand that Minaj's cousin likely misinformed her. Or worse, pulled the story out of his ass. Or maybe his friend lied to him. (Maybe his balls are just fine.) We could finally learn that we all need forgiveness as an element of everyday life.

We could forgive Minaj, and Keillor, and Franken, and Whedon, and Dawkins. Because we all make mistakes. We all fuck up!

And we all need forgiveness. It's not just a religious thing.

Eric

*

The Most Effective Advertising Method: Hatred

I've recently gone back to read an old classic: Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. In it, Toffler discusses various aspects of Future Shock as an extension of the concept of culture shock. One experiences culture shock when one finds oneself suddenly in a different culture, but it can also happen if culture changes faster than one can adapt to the change. By the same token, future shock happens when changes in technology happen faster than one can adjust to the changes those technologies bring about. It was an important insight at the time, which was 1970.

Well, his predictions for the post-1970 future were interesting, but it's enlightening to see what he got spectacularly wrong. The one thing he got most obviously wrong (to me) was the prediction that companies would never be able to achieve lasting brand loyalty - because brands changed so rapidly. Noting that consumers regularly couldn't find their favorite brand on the store shelves anymore, Toffler concluded that brand loyalty was impossible in such a shifting environment.

This is laughable given what we know today, because we know that these brands disappeared from store shelves not due to consumers' choices but through corporate takeovers. Products were consolidated, and consolidated, and consolidated again until every variety of product was left with only two or three super-brands competing with each other. By the 1980's, there were almost no independent brands left. All one could find was Coke vs. Pepsi. McDonald's vs. Burger King. Nike vs. Reebok. And where there seemed to be some sub-brands beneath these behemoths, those sub-brands turned out to be mere subsidiaries of the larger corporations. There might be 30 different brands of soap, but they all boiled down either Procter & Gamble or Colgate Palmolive. Try to find something outside the giant corporations, and the options were all but nonexistent.

So a kind of brand loyalty was achieved at last - not by brands truly putting preferred products on the shelves, but by corporations eliminating the competition one by one, until finally, only one giant competitor remained - and anti-trust laws prevented them from eating that one as well.

But removal of choice was not the only way they achieved brand loyalty. For most, additional brand loyalty was achieved by appealing to the emotional center of the human brain - creating a sense of belonging to a "tribe" that was critical to one's identity. In this way, consumers which bought into the identity also bought the product. "We're the Pepsi Generation!" cried Pepsi in the 80's, while Coke marketed itself as "The Real Thing." Dr. Pepper was even more brazen in this tactic advertising, "I'm a Pepper! Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" McDonald's achieved amazing success by recognizing that customers saw eating there as taking a break. Their resulting ad campaign, "You deserve a break today," caused millions to identify with McDonald's as their place to take a break, and sales soared. Wheaties marketed itself, thanks largely to Bruce Jenner (back when she was "Bruce"), as "The Brand of Champions," meaning if you wanted to be a winner (and who doesn't?), then logically that had to be your cereal. Sales responded accordingly.

There is, however, another way to appeal to the emotions of consumers, and it can't be done with most products. One can create fierce brand loyalty by demonizing the competition.

We see this in a limited way in sports. Chicago Bears fans refer to their team as "Grizzlies" and the Green Bay Packers as "fudge packers." Green Bay fans counter by calling their team "Packerderms" and the Chicago team as "teddy bears." There are innumerable similar examples: Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees... the rivalry list goes on and on, with fans utterly demonizing the competition, and lionizing their own team.

Of course, these fans haven't done a damned thing to help their team win, other than buy tickets and cheer. But they see "their" team as a sense of identity - and that's the point. Even though they haven't stepped one foot on the playing field, they refer to "their" team as "us" and "we." And if they win, they then get to say, "we won!" as if they lifted one finger.

Also, the NFL stops short of outright endorsing demonizations of the other team. After all, at the end of each game, fans must go home peacefully.

When it comes to store-bought products, if corporations try to demonize their competition, they quickly find themselves on the wrong end of an expensive lawsuit. The plaintiff can claim that the negative ad is libel, and unfairly damages their ability to do business. Such a plaintiff invariably wins these lawsuits, and so corporations have learned to compete fairly, or at least be subtle about their slander.

And here's my major point: Such restrictions do not exist in politics. In fact, demonizing one's opponent while on the campaign trail is considered to be one of the most time-honored versions of free speech. So political demonization does not have the legal backlash that product demonization has. Oh, libel suits abound in politics, to be sure, especially if a slanderous claim has no basis whatsoever in fact. But on the whole, inciting hatred of the political opposition is not frowned upon in law. In fact, it is openly called for.

This would be just fine, except it has taken a sharp turn for the worse, because the NEWS has now been drafted into this war of words. There's always been bias in newspapers and media, but media networks have now been bought out by corporate consolidators who are experts in building brand loyalty, and they are not above using demonization to do it! On the contrary, they rely on it to drive up ratings! The op-ed page, once relegated to the back page of every newspaper, has now been made prime-time television on Fox News and its more right-wing cousins, OANN and NewsMax. Full-throated demonization has now been disguised as an official news broadcast - and millions buy into it! Democrats are demonized, 24-7, on millions of networks, everywhere. On the more liberal side, there is some bias to be sure, but news is still essentially news. The demonization is largely one-sided towards Democrats.

And this demonization is why millions are willing to attack the very Capitol itself rather than allow one little old fart of a Democrat to be sworn in.

They are literally generating Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock" on purpose.

The greatest need in our nation, right now, is for this ongoing travesty to stop!

We can't stop free speech - that's an absolute - but we can insist that news be news! You can lie and demonize anywhere else, but not there. No one must engage in KLONNING any more. No more featuring op ed without a countering voice on the other side. No more featuring op ed in a prime time slot! In fact, no more passing op ed off as news at all!

Lying on a news network IS shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater. There is fundamentally no difference.

At long last, the shellac must be scraped off of the polished turd! The stink must permeate the nostrils of everyone who was wrongly convinced that Trump was even remotely an option!

We need this more than we need oxygen. At long last, let news be news and nothing else!

Eric

*

Talking UFO's

Friends, let's talk about UFO's.

The recent 60 Minutes piece has lent credibility to the phenomenon of UFO's, or UAP (Unknown Aerial Phenomenon), as the new term is used.

The footage shown is compelling. The unknown objects, whatever they are, seem to move at fantastic speeds. They change direction suddenly, as if unconstrained by the strictures of physics. They disappear as suddenly as they appear. They are invisible, except in infrared.

What are they?

What amazes me most about the UFO/UAP craze is how quickly people jump to the unlikeliest of conclusions. There is a hierarchy of possibilities, and somewhere way, way down at the bottom of the likelihood pile is alien visitation. Yet that's the one people seem to want to pick first.

There's an old saying in the field of medicine. It applies to any mystery, whether diagnosing a disease, solving a murder, or looking at UFO footage. It goes like this:

"When you hear hoof-beats, think horses, not zebras."

In other words, go with the likeliest explanation before considering the more exotic ones.

Which, oddly, we never seem to do.

This goes for other scenarios as well, obviously. For example, do Democrats simply have a better message for city folk than country folk? Or are they winning elections by funneling money through a Satanic child pedophile ring?

If you need help with that, I have a horoscope I'd like to sell ya.

 

The hierarchy of likelihood regarding UFO's goes something like this:

1) Natural phenomena: lens-refraction, strange clouds, weather balloons, meteors, satellites, etc.

2) Deliberate hoax: faked footage or photograph, drone, CGI, etc.

3) New technology: experimental aircraft flown by the U.S. 

4) New spycraft: Flown by another nation (Russia, China).

5) Hallucination.

6) If none of the above apply, leave it an unsolved mystery.

7) Exotic explanations: alien visitation, time travelers, ancient gods, etc.

In this hierarchy, I would like to propose my own hypothesis, which wedges in nicely between #2 and #3. And then I would like to propose that it's the likeliest explanation for the footage seen on 60 Minutes last Sunday. Here it is:

These UFO's are caused by hackers.

We forget sometimes that our defense systems are getting more and more computerized every day. And those computerized systems are vulnerable to hackers in ways we might not yet have been able to fathom. Hackers in Russia and China might want to experiment with hacking our defense systems in ways that don't necessarily alert the military to the fact that someone's been tampering with our code. So, to test the waters as it were, they put small hacks in which make what appear to be strange objects in the sky.

In reality, these are no more than internally generated, CGI blips. But because they come from inside the defense system's computer, they appear to do amazing things. They will speed up and slow down at rates and speeds which are impossible by our currently known standards. They will appear suddenly, and then disappear just as suddenly again. They will be able to change direction at perfectly right angles without seeming to slow down. They will be invisible to the naked eye, yet visible on the infrared scopes.

All this makes sense, because the objects aren't really there. They exist solely inside the computer, and as a projection on a screen.

On some level, the Pentagon might even realize that this sort of thing is the result of a hack, which explains part of why they don't want to let the public know about it. After all, it would be embarrassing enough if Russia or China had better experimental spying aircraft. But Russian hackers making our defense systems see targets which aren't there? That's the sort of thing you bury, and bury deep! One hopes that they've secretly developed countermeasures, or else the next major conflict may see our planes firing on targets which aren't there, and hitting our own forces or civilians!

No, I don't have proof. But my hypothesis makes more sense than anything else out there currently, and perhaps it will persuade some of you out there to not bother so much with the "space alien" hypothesis, which, on the hierarchy of likelihood, is the least likely of all.

No, this doesn't explain all of the phenomena. But it explains much of it. For those it doesn't explain, possibilities 1 through 5 above are adequate. The fact that so very much UFO footage is explainable by my "Russian hacker" hypothesis should be deeply disturbing to everyone concerned.

Now, what I'd really like to know is why I'm the one offering this hypothesis, and not 60 Minutes.

Eric

*

The Worst Is Yet To Come

 

It is not over.

Derek Chauvin has been convicted. Yes, that's a turning point in the history of Minnesota, and in the nation. Yes, that's a positive development. But it is not over.

Because while Chauvin was being convicted, Tucker Carlson was pretending with Candace Owens that Chauvin was somehow innocent. Fox News in general was insisting that Chauvin was getting shafted.

The worst of them were even saying that Chauvin deserved a promotion, not a conviction.

It is not over.

Chauvin's own police captain and co-officers testified against them. I wonder how the pundits on Fox News think they know Chauvin's actions better than his own colleagues do.

On the very day Chauvin was being convicted, what was the House of Representatives doing? Censuring Chauvin? Passing legislation making it safer for citizens' being arrested? Maybe even making things safer for cops?

No, it spent the day censuring Maxine Waters for threatening the riots we all knew would happen if Chauvin got off.

That's right. No censure for the Right Wing Media Cult. No censure for Tucker Carlson. No censure for Sean Hannity.

Yes, Biden is in the White House. But 40% of the nation is still convinced by The Big Lie that he somehow didn't actually win.

Yes, things are getting done, yet not ONE Republican is willing to break ranks and support Biden for anything. It is a repeat of how they treated Obama all over again.

The very worst elements of the Right Wing Media Cult are getting stronger and more virulent, without Trump in power. Without Trump having money. Because Trump still has the Right Wing Media Cult on his side, and so long as they back him, he will forever be on the game board.

Make no mistake: The Right Wing Media Cult will make another attempt at thwarting democracy in 2024! Only this time, they'll be more blatant, better prepared, better planned, and better armed!

You have been warned.

Eric

*

The Native Advertising Goes On...

 

Native Advertising is a commercial which mimics the platform its on. We see this when we scroll through a news app and find an ad which is disguised to look like another news story. We see it as a sponsored post on Facebook or Twitter. We might even see it as an embedded news story, as I once did when I saw David Muir do a "news" segment on CBS about a new heart medication.

A skeptical eye can discern the difference between a genuine news post and a fake one. But skepticism is in short supply these days. This is one large reason why the plague of our time, misinformation, is so rampant, even in the so-called "Information Age."

What I've come to realize lately is that the entire "infotainment" industry is essentially native advertising. It is political advertisement disguised as news commentary. And what's really disgusting, is that this sort of crap is done as commercial television. So if you're watching, say, Sean Hannity, or Jeannine Pirro, or Tucker Carlson, and the show breaks away for commercials, you've actually seen your larger commercial interrupted for a smaller one. The entire hour is non-stop commercial!

I said after January 6 that such programming cannot, CANNOT, simply be allowed to go back to work as though nothing happened. But, of course, it was, and now we're in a situation where Republicans are acting like nothing happened at all. And that's because they're watching political ads disguised as opinion news programs. Back, to back, to back non-stop native advertising pushing the most extreme anti-liberal hatred.

I have no desire to spend the next two years warning people about the most severe threat to human freedom and yet see nothing done about it. But I fear that may be the case. True, it's only March. There's a long stretch yet in front of us to make changes. But so far, there has been ZERO accountability brought upon Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingram, and their ilk. Meanwhile, their faithful listening audience who sacked the Capital on their orders, and Trump's, are facing jail time and/or huge fines. Why aren't these suckers banding together and filing their own lawsuit? 

I imagined that by now, a flurry of lawsuits against everything involving Trumpism would be underway. And I know, Merrick Garland was only confirmed a week ago. But damn it, the wheels of justice are turning way too slowly!

I see no point in waiting for the Dominion lawsuit to take Fox News out of the cable TV lineup. The pundits will just go over to Newsmax or OANN and continue there. And nothing will be done about the vast number of AM radio stations lying to the white working class every working hour of every working day. The announcement by Westwood One that Dan Bongino would take over in Rush Limbaugh's radio slot is all the proof we need of this.

No, I won't spend two years pleading for people to get off their asses and deal some real-world consequences to the right-wing-pundit destroyers of America. I don't know what I'll do if we get to 1.5 years in, and still nothing is done, but I'll do something beyond words, that's for sure. 

Just please, someone at least hinder the non-stop commercials for the Right Wing Media Cult? Please?

Eric

*

So Long, El Rushbo

 

The good news is that one of the worst right-wing lying hacks has been taken off the air forever.

The bad news is that it took death from cancer to accomplish it.

I never take glee from the demise of a despised enemy. A life spent building something which must be completely torn down if humanity is to survive is a life truly wasted. Such needless retrograde. And it deserves to be truly mourned. For that reason, I am deeply sorrowful at the death of Rush Limbaugh.

I mean, he could have at least lived long enough for Biden to rescind his Medal of Freedom. Dick.

I would very much have preferred it if Limbaugh were removed from the air by a responsible right-wing media establishment which recognized that the lies he continuously told were doing harm to conservatism, and the Republican brand. I would have preferred it if Limbaugh were forced off the air by advertisers refusing to do business with any network which aired him. It would be nice if that were the sort of responsible media we had in this country.

Instead, the Powers That Be had to do their job for all of them.

And I do not have any delusions about the absence of Rush Limbaugh somehow making the Right Wing Media Cult quieter, any more than the absence of one fan at a playoff game makes the crowd noise less. There are thousands of dittohead Limbaugh clones out there who are ready to take his place, many of them being guest-hosts on the Rush Limbaugh show during his illness beforehand.

It is the cult which must die, not Rush.

So long as the Right Wing Media Cult receives legitimacy from established news networks, the lies will seem to be institutionalized. Listeners and viewers will rationally conclude that there must be some element of truth to the lies, or they wouldn't be on the air in the first place.

Institutionalized lies seem like truth.

We must de-legitimize Hannity, Ingram, Levin and the others immediately! If not sooner! Yet I see ZERO evidence that anybody is taking this action, even though it must be our #1 priority.

Fucking why?

I said after the attack on January 6th that the talking heads of the Right Wing Media Cult could simply NOT be allowed to just go back to work as though nothing happened! But they were!

And we saw the result in Trump's acquittal. Sorry - jury nullification. The sequel.

We need these hate-porn generators, like the late Limbaugh, moved to the non-news side of media.

The op-ed section must go back to the back-page of the newspaper - where it belongs!

We need this more than action on climate change.

We need this more than Covid vaccines.

We need this more than a Texan needs a working space-heater!

We can't simply wait around for the rest of the cult leaders to die, too.

Because by then, it will be too late.

Eric

*

Save The Republicans!

You read me right. Save the Republicans!

We can't stop the fount of disinformation in the Right Wing Media Cult. Not yet, anyway. But we can influence Republicans to impeach Trump.

Here's how it can work:

Look at the two votes recently cast regarding Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene. In both votes, the right thing was done. Liz Cheney was retained in her leadership role, and Marjorie Taylor Greene was removed from her committee appointments. Yet the Republicans cast two VERY different votes! Now, Greene may be "laughing" about the spare time she's been granted, and what she plans to do with it, but the ones who should be laughing are ourselves - at the composition of the House of Representatives.

The two votes could not be more different. Liz Cheney was overwhelmingly supported by Republicans, by a vote of 145 in favor to 61 against removing her from her committees. That vote was done by anonymous ballot, where the names of those voting were not revealed. Yet in Greene's case, her vote was public. Representatives had to vote on the record regarding her. Only 11 Republicans voted to remove her, and Greene was given a standing ovation earlier. That can only mean....

There are at least 134 Republicans in the House who are just plain ol' 'frady cats!

They want to hold Donald Trump accountable. They want to rid their party of him. And they were vocal about impeaching Trump - at first. They were scared straight by the January 6 attack on the Capitol. But then they were scared back crooked again! By what? Trump is powerless and penniless! What could he have to scare people with?!

The answer is the hordes of dittoheads who still follow the Right Wing Media Cult! They're all still with him, and the inertia behind their falsehoods hasn't died down yet.

The 134 Republicans on the House who supported Liz Cheney anonymously, but who were too scared to censure Greene, did this about-face out of fear. They know that Trumpism simply must die. But they're scared of what the Trump mob will do to them! Their wives and kids are receiving death threats! They vote in favor of Greene, and even applaud her, not because they approve of her, but because they don't want a bottle thrown at their wife's head when she goes to the supermarket!

What about the Senate? Are there similar 'frady cats in the Republican minority on the senate floor?

I argue yes! We know of the few that stand by their convictions: Romney, Murkowski, Collins... even Mitch McConnell is standing up to the bullshit somewhat! Ten Republicans were seen in broad daylight talking to Joe Biden about Covid relief efforts - a huge step! But are there more than ten? Remember, we need 17!

Yes! We know Lindsey Graham is one of them, fickle bitch that he is, and there are undoubtedly more.

And here's  how we get them to vote in favor of impeachment! We let them know that WE WILL PROTECT THEM!

Now is the time to write your Senators and let them know - if you vote against Trump, we WILL fight to guard YOU! To guard your FAMILY! To protect you from the hordes of Trumpers who dared to attack the very heart of our nation!

HERE is where you get to fight to REALLY make a difference. If you marched for BLM, if you protested police violence, if you were bound and determined to do SOMETHING this past summer, let me tell you...

ALL THAT WAS A WARM UP FOR WHAT YOU MUST DO NOW!

Tell your Republican Senators that if they vote to impeach, we've got their back! Tell them we'll protect their family at the store! Tell them that we will get in between any Trumpanzee and them!

Let them know: WE'VE GOT THEIR BACK!

And MEAN it! I don't know about you, but any Republican who votes against Trump (and keep in mind, in my case that means Ron Johnson - which is huge!) will be a person I'll FIGHT to PROTECT, PROTECT, PROTECT if anyone dares threaten him afterward!

This is not only HOW we fight, this is WHEN we fight! If you wanted to fight before, you should fight now! If you DID fight before, you MUST fight now! This is the winning shot!

PROTECT THE REPUBLICANS!

HERD THOSE 'FRADY CATS!

We need this. Now. RIGHT now!

 

 

Right now!

Eric

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"Klonning" - The Hate Crime Of The Century

What is "klonning?"

To answer that, I must lament the state of our media, and our country, because the one follows the other.

There's no words I can write which can express the utter and complete despair I feel when looking at what's going on in current events right now. Sure, Biden won, and he's finally been safely sworn in, but only eight days later it is abundantly clear that the underlying sickness cannot not be cured simply by Trump no longer being president.

As I said on this blog, in no uncertain terms, the right-wing pundits, who are the root cause of the seditious attack we endured on January 6th, could simply not be allowed to go back to work. Well, they were allowed to go back to work. They got back on the air, found every stupid excuse they could find for themselves and for Trump, and now we're seeing the consequences.

Only ten Republicans voted to impeach Trump in the House. Ten! On a vote which should have been unanimous! And now they, not the Republicans who voted against impeachment, are facing a huge backlash! Their constituency is actually saying to them, "How dare you vote that sedition and fascism are unacceptable!"

In the Senate, 45 Republicans sided with Rand Paul's silly claim that impeaching a president after his term of office ends is unconstitutional. Only five Republicans voted yes. Five! Out of a vote which should also have been unanimous! And they, too, are facing a backlash.

What's a little blatant treason among friends?

Nikki Haley, the sometimes oh-so-rational Nikki Haley, actually said on the Laura Ingram show Monday, "I don't even think there's a basis for impeachment."

Fucking what?!

Yeah, who cares about sedition anyway? The truth is dying. And nobody gives a fuck.

People make a serious mistake if they assume that a Biden presidency will fix it all. The underlying riptides of lying are there. Some serious urgency is needed to fix this situation right now, and all I see are people breathing sighs of relief.

As if this weren't the beginning of the battle, rather than the denouement.

What right-wing media is doing is so heinous, so criminal, that our language needs a new word for the crime. Merely saying "lying" doesn't cut it. People are too inured to the word "lying." And "treason" does not work, either. People dismiss "treason" as mere hyperbole, even when it is accurate.

What new word could possibly express how truly unacceptable their behavior is?

Here's my answer: KLON (pronounced like TRON).

It stands for Knowingly Lying On the News. K.L.O.N. Or "KLON." A person who knowingly lies on the news is a klon. What he's doing is called "klonning."

Example: If someone on the news says that Joe Biden stole the election, we know empirically that this is false. That person, assuming he or she isn't a mere guest on the show, is a "klon."

One is a klon if one knowingly disseminates false information on any form of news outlet, whether it be a news program, a news station, a news channel, or a newspaper. If it bills itself as "news," it must meet a  certain standard under the law.

The word fits. It sounds a little bit like "clown," which is both fitting and accurate. It also sounds a bit like "Klan," and for the same reason. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are proud members of the Ku Klux KLON.

QAnon commits KLON. It even rhymes.

Klonning is not freedom of speech! It is a betrayal of the public trust! It is deliberately misleading people in a way which produces real, physical, tangible harm, both mentally and sometimes physically.

Klonning is a hate crime.

There is a loophole. Klonning might be done legally, provided the media outlet is rendered as tabloid, rather than "news." "Tabloid news" is an oxymoron.

Klonning is acceptable in the National Enquirer.

There are liars, cheats, scoundrels, and klons, in descending order.

About two years ago, I invented another word that didn't really catch on, although I see it pop up every once in a long while. That word was "YARP." It's the word "pray" spelled backwards, and I invented it so that non-believers would have something to say to someone in distress besides, "I'll pray for you." Instead, one could say, "I'll yarp for you," meaning that I'm sending well wishes and good vibrations your way.

Well, I can only yarp that klon will catch on.

Eric

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The Limits Of Free Speech

 

Well, we survived.

After a rough and tumble four years, in which everything went wrong except the economy for the first three, and then even the economy tanked in year number four, we have finally emerged on the other side. The would-be dictator is gone; his insurrection, quelled. Joe Biden has been safely sworn in as our 46th president.

Now what?

Now, the ire of the righteous must turn towards tearing down the apparatus that built Trump in the first place. If we kill the Frankenstein monster, yet leave Victor Frankenstein un-lynched, the mad scientist will undoubtedly try again.

That means the high priests of right-wing misinformation in the cult, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingram, Mark Levin, Lou Dobbs, and Maria Bartiromo, must be held accountable for their lies.

But how? Isn't freedom of speech a divine right?

Yes! But not without limits. Let's explore what those limits are, and what they should be under the law.

We all know the analogy about shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater. A person who does that can ignite a panic which leads to many innocent people getting trampled. Surely, such a lie is prosecutable, and the person who shouted should be held accountable for the injuries or deaths that were caused.

In the same manner, the Hannity/Limbaugh caucus shouted "fire." More precisely, they shouted, "Fraud!" when there was none. Or, to be absolutely precise, there were irregularities, just as there are irregularities in every election, but the irregularities in this election seemed much larger and more ominous because it was more scrutinized than any election before.

If you look at something really close, it seems bigger, even when it isn't.

For four years, these Chicken Littles have been shouting, "The democracy is falling! The democracy is falling!" When it clearly hasn't been. You might think, just like in the children's tale, that at some point people would just stop paying attention to Chicken Little. And there has been a drop in Fox News ratings, that much is true. But that drop has not gone sufficiently below the kind of threshold needed to induce firings.

In fact, after a brief period of reality on January 7th, Fox News seems to be doubling down on the bullshit.

Does freedom of speech give one the right to say something which is untrue? In fact, it usually does. People may be genuinely mistaken and so pass along incorrect information with an honest heart. But it also protects citizens' right to outright lie. People may spread rumor, or even bluntly lie about any number of things, without fear of legal consequence in most circumstances. Comedians are free to do parody. Authors are free to do satire. Religions are free to preach faith-based falsehoods. So long as there is no discernible physical harm in these actions, such fictions are our right.

And yet, the right to fiction is not an absolute! For example, one could be sued for libel, if the lie resulted in tangible, physical harm, or measurable financial loss. A CEO who gets fired over a false rumor that he was sleeping with his secretary, might be able to sue the originator of the rumor for losses, and win in court.

There was real, physical harm, and measurable financial loss, arising from the lie that Joe Biden somehow didn't win the 2020 election. The phrase "Stop the steal!" has literally cost lives, and damaged property.

Which means that Trump, and the Hannity/Limbaugh caucus are in an actionable position under the law for those damages! Is there a lawsuit pending? There should be.

The right to fiction is also not applicable when it comes to selling products. If one sells a can of soup, one is legally required to list the ingredients on that can, and the contents of the can must not deviate from that list. If the list itself contains something harmful (monosodium glutimate, for instance), and the consumer buys it anyway, that's on the consumer. But if the product label says one thing, and the product contains another, that's on the manufacturer! For example, if the label says "gluten free," but the product actually contains glutin-based flour, the manufacturer can be sued! If a product is sold as a cure for various diseases, such as "magnet therapy" or "pyramid power," such product is also liable for a lawsuit.

In like manner, Hannity, Limbaugh and their copycats have been selling false product. They have been claiming themselves as truthful opinion-pundits, when in reality they have been spewing known falsehoods.

It is the equivalent of selling a bottle of bleach which is labeled "milk."

Of course, as we all know, it can be devilishly tricky to take certain fraudsters to court. If the peddler of some penis-enlargement pill (for example) is sued for fraud, the defense attorney will usually cite some shoddily done university study and get off the hook. Whether that university study is reliable or not isn't the point. All that is required is enough plausibility to make the vendor non-culpable.

Limbaugh, Hannity, and their ilk try a similar tactic. They label themselves "infotainment," branding themselves as entertainers rather than actual news broadcasters. Fine, except they are typically broadcast on actual news networks, and not on E!, or Lifetime, or USA.

I like to call it, "misinfotainment," because that's closer to the truth.

That covers the legal limits of freedom of speech which are already on the books. The Limbaugh/Hannity collective should already be facing lawsuits for the violation of those existing laws. But is there any way the preservation of truth in our information can be strengthened without violating our freedom of speech and expression?

I argue there is! Let's call it "the Integrity in News Bill."

I doubt this will ever be brought up for an actual vote. If it is, Fox News will hire ever lobbyist they can get their hands on to stop it. But it is a GREAT idea. Here it is:

If the media outlet labels itself "news," it is legally bound to adhere to a set standard of truth. Opinion shows must be balanced to show both sides of any political debate, somewhat like what CNN's "Crossfire" show used to be. No one on a media outlet branded as "news" is allowed to knowingly make a false statement, like the one Maria Bartiromo made a few days ago when she said that Antifa people were instigating the January 6th riot on the Capitol. Such a breech of public trust would result in a hefty fine, and/or the offending pundit being fired. If one's network is meant to inform the public, then it should be legally bound to inform the public! Not misinform the public! "Infotainment" shows get exiled to some other channel. Perhaps Hannity could land a job on TBN. Rush Limbaugh could go to the Playboy channel.

Maybe Rachel Maddow will end up on MTV. 

This fix needs to happen, and FAST! Because it is so easy to artificially beef up ratings with bullshit and anger-porn, that it's spread just about everywhere. Every major metropolitan area has at least one A.M. radio station devoted exclusively to right-wing bullshit. Most local television stations are owned by one or two companies, all of whom want their own right-wing propaganda given time on your local "News at Nine" broadcast.

70% of Republicans don't believe that Biden stole the election because one or two pundits say so. They believe Biden stole the election because ALL the right-wing pundits, AND Fox News, AND OANN, AND Newsmax, AND all their Facebook friends, AND their local pastor say so!

It's gotten WAY out of hand! The lies have NEVER been so institutionalized!

But it ALL begins with the right-wing bullshit masters, Hannity and Limbaugh. And they get it from right-wing spin-doctoring institutions like the CATO Institute.

Will any of this be stopped? Can it be fixed? I don't know. I hope it will. But one thing's for certain:

These right-wing pundits, after nearly burning down our ENTIRE nation, must NOT be allowed to simply go back to work as though nothing happened!

The piper must be paid!

Eric

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Justifying The Unjustifiable

Folks, it's as simple as this: If Trump is guilty of inciting a riot upon the U.S. Capitol (and he is), then those who incited Donald Trump are equally guilty. More so, in fact, because they are the root cause.

That means Limbaugh, Hannity, Dobbs, Ingram and Levin, among others, should be fired for cause, brought up on charges, and prosecuted for peddling a false product, and perpetrating a fraud upon the general public - both of which are federal crimes.

It also goes without saying that, after five years of shilling for Trump, the right-wing pundits have been proven dead wrong. The only rational conclusion people can make is that the Hannity/Limbaugh caucus simply cannot be trusted anymore.

Of course, they don't want that. So they're trying to find any excuse for Trump, and by extension themselves, that they can find.

Rush Limbaugh was quick to attempt to blame Left-wingers. On his January 7th show, he said that the crowd "undoubtedly" included some Antifa, pro-Democrat instigators. Social media quickly joined in spread rumors that Antifa members infiltrated the crowd and caused the attack. However, many arrests have been made since, and they're pretty much all right-wingers.

When that explanation failed, they quickly pivoted, trying to say that the attack was only "a few bad apples," and that the vast majority were kind and respectful. To that, all I can say is, 'roll the footage!' Do a head-count on everyone being unruly, violent, or disrespectful, and you'll see perfectly well that it was way more than "a few."

In fact, the right-wing origin of this riot was put well beyond shadow of doubt when footage circulated of Alex Jones participating in the crowd itself, after spending much of his own fortune promoting the event. Naturally, he sneaked off before the Capitol was breached. He is currently being questioned by the FBI.

On January 11ths edition of 'Fox & Friends,' Judge Jeanine Pirro equated the ban against Parler to Kristallnacht. No, really, she did!

On January 7th, Lou Dobbs claimed the Democrats were trying to "overthrow" Trump. No joke!

Even after Cumulus Media ordered its talk show hosts, like Mark Levin, to knock off the "stolen election" rhetoric, they went right on ahead anyway, most of them claiming to have not received the memo.

Mark Belling contributed to the madness the Monday after. You might think that after a weekend to reflect, Mark would see that his fiery rhetoric contributed to the boiling over of Trumpist extremism. But no. Instead, fearing to lose the job he doesn't need (because he's wealthy and of retirement age anyway) he calls the responsible crackdown on those who continually shout "fire" in a crowded theater, like himself, a form of oppression.

"Just checking over here, I want to make sure I haven't been canceled yet. Am I still on the air? Am I allowed to broadcast? I think it's beginning to dawn on people exactly what's going on. We are in the early stages in this country of total totalitarianism. And I'm not going to sugarcoat this because it's going to continue until it's stopped."

When you perpetrate a public fraud, there are laws which prosecute you. One cannot sell a fraudulent product in a grocery store, or a department store, because that will get you sued and your business shut down!

How much more important is our news media!

Now, I believe in freedom of speech. Belling should be able to go on spewing whatever bullshit he wants. BUT NOT ON A NEWS NETWORK!

The word "NEWS" is sacred! You tell the truth in that territory, or you get the fuck out!

And yes, there is room for editorializing. The Op-Ed page is as old as newspapers themselves. But not only should op-ed be clearly delineated, but those who do op-ed SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED SAY PROVEN FALSEHOODS! Because that crosses the line between opinion and fraud! If your opinion is based on the notion that (for example) gremlins are in control of the Pentagon, you should probably be held accountable if you decide to print or air that statement.

In the news, one can have an alternate opinion. One cannot have alternate facts!

"It is breathtaking that Twitter kicked Donald Trump off," Belling said on Monday. "Because if they can kick off the President of the United States, that means they can kick off anyone. What chance has Joe Blow in Joplin, Missouri have if Donald Trump can't survive on Twitter?"

Except that Joe Blow in Joplin doesn't have 80-odd million followers, 90% of whom will believe any bullshit he makes up.

This is a question which should have been brought up back when Twitter should have kicked Trump off four years ago! A better question is, why the hell did Twitter allow this to go on for so long? Why did it allow Donald Trump to spew anger, hatred, racism, bigotry and even sedition for four solid years with zero consequences? Isn't it fair to say that Twitter gave Trump way too much leeway just for being the president?

Trump is guilty. The right-wing media cult leaders who made Trump in the first place are even more guilty still. If Trump is to be made a pariah, if his impeachment is to be successful to bar him from participating in the 2024 elections, then so too much Hannity, Limbaugh, Levin, OANN and Newsmax.

They are snake oil peddlers, who should be treated every bit as harshly as Kevin Trudeau, James Van Praagh, John Edward.

Let them give their bullshit opinions. That's free speech. But if such opinions depend on dissemination of outright bullshit, they've started to sell fake product, and have thus crossed the line.

Our laws, or at least FCC policy, should reflect that.

 

Eric

*

An Alternate 2020

 

Everyone is recovering from the events at the Capital on Wednesday; from what was essentially an armed insurrection against our own government by Trumpers. On the political Left, this is yet another bridge too far - as if somehow Trumpism hasn't been passing bridges that were too far over the past five years. On the political Right, Trumpers seem to justify this by pointing to the George Floyd protests and the rallies held by BLM, as if any rioting and looting for any other reason could have somehow given their rioting and looting a - free pass? To commit an outright coup? Yeah, that's apparently their actual argument.

Remember when right-wingers were demanding ten-year sentences for anyone who assaulted a Federal building in Portland?

Now, any blunt assault I make on this blog against the utter depravity of this will bounce right off of Trumpers. I know that from experience. So instead I will use my favorite genre to make my case. I will use the art of science fiction to show Trumpers what they could have had - if only they had let go of Trump.

Alternate history is a fun genre within sci-fi and fantasy (and I will debate whether it is sci-fi or fantasy some other day). It shows effectively what could have been - and by extension, what still might be. So let's find a time machine. And it needn't be anything so snazzy as a Tardis or a shiny DeLorian. After all, we're only going back one year. maybe a simple device - like Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine.

Let's jump in our Wayback Machine to January of 2020. 

Trump has just been impeached by the House and is about to face Impeachment by the Senate. Remember that one? Oh, it seems so much longer ago than only one year, doesn't it? But this time, let's tweak the timeline a little bit. This time, let's say that only a few more Senators who recognized that this was the off-ramp for the insanity of Trumpism. Mitt Romney is joined by Lisa Murkowsky of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Corey Gardner of Colorado to break with Mitch McConnell, and vote Trump out of office with a 51 to 49 Senatorial vote. History is made.

**Note: I screwed this up in my initial posting. The senate must pass an impeachment vote with a 2/3rds majority. In my imaginary scenario, Romney and the others must persuade 16 other Republicans to vote for impeachment. Unlikely at the time, not so much in retrospect.

As Mike Pence is sworn in as president, Trump goes off on a characteristic tirade. He begins to hold rallies all over America claiming that the presidency was stolen from him, and that it was a conspiracy by the Deep State to remove him from office. Fans rally to his cause. Pence selects Congressman Burgess Owens, a black Republican from Utah, and the brightest rising star in the GOP, to be his new VP.

An immediate effect is felt on the Democratic side. The imperative of removing Trump no longer plays a major role in the primary race. Most of the minor candidates drop out, or don't bother launching a campaign in the first place. Attempts are made to stain Pence as Trump's enabler, but they largely fail. Perhaps Joe Biden drops out before the North Carolina primary, perhaps not. Good campaigns are waged by Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, and Corey Booker, but no one can beat the huge fan base of Bernie Sanders, or the North Carolina firewall of Joe Biden. One of them likely goes on to become the 2020 candidate. Probably Sanders.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus hits. Unlike Trump, Mike Pence takes the virus threat more seriously. He neither denies the virus nor calls it a hoax. He implements travel restrictions on China, then extends them to all other countries - particularly Europe. He begs churches to voluntarily restrict assembly, reminding them that "God knows your hearts." As an Evangelical leader, the churches agree. Anthony Fauci is named the head of the Coronavirus Task Force. The virus takes its toll, but nowhere near the level it had done under Trump.

But Trump eventually has to figure out what he's going to do for a living outside of being president. Lawsuits brought against him by New York State are threatening him, and he needs to do something for money besides holding rallies. By May, Trump launches TNN - the Trump News Network. The upstart conservative networks, OANN and Newsmax, are immediately crushed out of existence. Even Fox News suffers a ratings loss. Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Franklin Graham are frequent guests.

May 25th, 2020: George Floyd is murdered in the street by Officer Derek Chauvin. Protests ensue. But this time, something is missing. Trump supporters are not hidden within the ranks of the protesters to goad the rioters. Mike Pence is able to urge all Americans towards Peace and Unity - something Trump could not bring himself to do. Protests occur nationwide - but without as much rioting or looting. The temperature is much lower this time. Portland does not become the hotbed we saw it become in our own timeline. Nevertheless, the Bernie Sanders campaign is moved to adopt a more "law and order" approach to his campaign. Just like Biden, he is forced to select Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Trump, now armed with a network platform, begins to campaign strongly AGAINST the Coronavirus. People forget this about Trump, but he was once a CLASSIC germophobe! He washed his hands constantly, he would use a handkerchief to press the bottom button on elevators, and if someone was coughing in the same room as him he would order that person out! Freed of the burdens of the Oval Office, he does not feel that he MUST dismiss the virus in order to save the economy! He now sees the virus as a Chinese invader! He urges people to wear masks! He networks to aid financing for companies developing the vaccine! He actually FIGHTS Covid!

The economy still tanks, though not as badly. People suffer, though not as much. Pence works WITH Democrats to provide aid to people swiftly. No gamesmanship is involved with stimulus checks, or at least, there is much less of it. Pence takes a hit politically, but most people generally think that he's doing the best with an impossible situation.

The election of November 2020 arrives, and it is close. However, Sanders has lost the moderate center. Thanks in large part to Fox News and the Trump Network, Bernie is cast as a radical extremist. The black vote is not mobilized against Pence the way it was against Trump. Turnout is juuuust a bit lower for Democrats. The end results look very similar to those of 2016. Pence takes Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia, giving the GOP another 4 years, possibly 8.

Dear Trumpers: That's the outcome you could have had! Doesn't it sound better than what you have now? With the Capital literally sacked and vandalized? With Trump facing yet another impeachment only 13 days out from Biden being sworn in? Oh, to be sure, this is all speculative, but even Democrats acknowledge that a Pence vs. Biden election, or even a Pence vs. Sanders election, would likely have resulted in a Mike Pence victory! Instead, you stubbornly insisted on Trump. Ignored his obstruction. Ignored his un-presidential conduct. The result? Trump LOST!

Don't you really, REALLY, wish it had been the other way?

A monkey can be easily captured by placing something inside a hole in the monkey's presence. The curious monkey will then approach the  hole and reach into it to grab the item and find out what it is. But then, the monkey can't escape because his clenched hand is now too big to pull out of the hole! The trapper can then easily approach and grab the monkey! If the monkey were smart, he would simply let go of the item and escape! But the monkey is so determined not to let go that he gets caught!

Trumpers simply refuse to let go of Trump in exactly the same way! Like the poor monkey, they are too stupid to let go, and escape to a better outcome!

Trumpers, it's finally time to let go.

Eric

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