Six months ago, after four years of ever-increasing fealty to an ignorant, narcissistic sociopath with a tenuous relationship to reality, one of the two main political parties in the United States, having evolved into a totalitarian death cult based on the worship of this demagogue (and non-stop liar), openly declared war on both the country and its system of government. After thousands of supporters attacked the US Capitol, with one of their stated goals being the murder of the Vice President and numerous other members of Congress and other representatives, they praised these insurrectionists (who beat police officers with metal pipes and other weapons) as loyal, non-violent patriots. (It should be noted that on other days they described these same people as avowed enemies of the state working on behalf of their opponents.)
Since January 6, that war has only increased, albeit without the spectacle of additional riots. The idea that any future election not producing a Republican victory is fraudulent is now the core foundation of this pro-sedition party. To that end, they have made voter suppression legal in several states while also clearing a path to legally nullify votes and overturn any future election losses.
The policies of this party are grounded in hatred and fear of its opponents, with their only tangible benefit being the self-enrichment of the anti-democracy politicians promoting them, along with a steady stream of "cultural" end-of-the-country-as-we-know-it distractions: Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potatohead, Lola Bunny's breasts, and the unavailability of Chick-Fil-A sauce packets (to name only four). Blatant lies are presented as self-evident truths, with inconvenient facts of history rewritten every day with the eager assistance of some of the nation's most popular news personalities. Basic equality is considered treasonous while white supremacists' entire arsenal of hate is welcomed and embraced, and public support is freely given to foreign countries who have waged war on, and murdered citizens of, the US or attempted to fix its elections.
16 comments:
The leaders of this party seem to become more popular when news of their criminality is reported or they display yet more evidence of their seemingly depthless stupidity. One representative is an overgrown entitled frat boy currently under federal investigation for child sex trafficking and other crimes; another misspelled her own name on social media, does not know about constitutional amendments, and married the man who exposed himself to her when she was a minor; a third publicly admitted to learning for the very first time (at the age of 47) that Hitler's policy of mass extermination of Jews was not good. She has also made reference to the date June 31, stated black people should be "proud" to see Confederate monuments, has failed to understand that the federal government funds public schools, and insisted that white men are "the most mistreated group of people in the United States today".
Maybe leave the political rants off the baseball forum
Excellent six-month recap. Your comment here is pretty good too!
No wonder 'we move to Canada' 'cuz there's fuck-all to cheer about to your south.
Thank you [I think] for this bleak reminder. I know there will be lots of people who say sports and politics should not mix, but imho every athlete in every sport, almost, is also a US citizen, and therefore politics is as much their business as anyone else's. The same goes for sports bloggers. Pay no attention to the haters.
Maybe leave the political rants off the baseball forum
Maybe find another baseball "forum" to read.
There is not one word that is untrue in what you wrote, Allan. Authoritarian death cult that is not just a threat to democracy at home but also a threat globally for its war-mongering, racism, climate change denial, and demonstrating that there are no consequences (legal or otherwise) to blatant lying. They have exported their brand of "what-about-itsms" and gaslighting worldwide(amplified by their media trolls). So much so that friends from a different corner of the world are asking me questions like "why should only black lives matter and why not all lives"
Fantastic Summary & those who ignore the TRUTH do so at their own & their Country's Peril
I've seen that raging hatred in person many times. Still scares me, but I know how to deal with it.
What was most upsetting about the Jan 6 crowd was the majority that were vapid followers, with no idea what they were actually doing when they followed their leaders during the Rally and then down the Avenue and up the Capitol steps. The empty look in their eyes, the surrendering of agency, the hunger to believe whatever they were told - Zombie Authoritarianism.
Those people scare me the most, because I don't know what to do with it.
Jeez, you krazy guy, next it's going to be mfy schadenfreude in 'Tested by Research'! Can't we keep baseball out of politics?
Can't we keep baseball out of politics?
"Stick to Politics!"
Well, it's a nice reminder that I can still trigger a thin-skinned troll or two.
So much so that friends from a different corner of the world are asking me questions like "why should only black lives matter and why not all lives"
Googling "why not all lives matter" brings up dozens of links to help answer that question.
Saying "All lives matter" shows a complete misunderstanding of what the phrase "Black lives matter" means. It does not mean "black lives matter more than any other lives". It points out that black lives are unequal and undervalued and everyone should understand that pervasive inequality and should work towards its end. "All lives matter" also effectively shuts down the important conversation about racism against black people. It ignores and dismisses the problem of racism, pretending that it does not exist and implying that white people have the same level of problems existing in society as black people. Plus, the phrase was quickly adopted by white supremacists and other hate groups, such as the Republican party. . . . Do the people sputtering "All lives matter" show by their actions that they truly believe "All lives matter" equally? I think the answer to that is a resounding No! Are you fucking crazy?. (Those self-righteous "Blue lives matter" people were also beating several blue lives to near-death with lead pipes and metal flagpoles and other weapons at the Capitol, so we know they are utterly full of shit.)
This is a man's private blog. He often writes about the Red Sox, or baseball at large, but he's also well within his right to use his personal blog to comment on any other subject that fascinates, interests, or impassions him.
I can't help but sadly shake my head at the dictators amongst us who feel any authority, whatsoever, to tell a blog owner what topics he or she should restrict themselves to.
If you like the man's baseball commentary, then you either can, or can not agree with, contest, or ignore his commentary on other subjects. Do not come here - or anywhere else - demanding that everyone else hew to your pronouncements on "acceptable" topics for conversation. There are any number of alternative forums for you to find a political comfort zone. If you can't accept that people around you have different political opinions then you do, the Internet is probably not going to be a warm, inviting place.
Who are you to tell the blog owner what topics he can offer his opinions about?
Seriously, dude.
I can only agree wholeheartedly with Das Funk.
Don't like it,go elsewhere.
(Those self-righteous "Blue lives matter" people were also beating several blue lives to near-death with lead pipes and metal flagpoles and other weapons at the Capitol, so we know they are utterly full of shit.)
Completely agree. I put my point across far less eloquently than you, Allan. I am stunned at the fact that while such issues require more than a few sentences to explain, misinformation and disinformation campaigns run by bad right wing faith actors who coin terms like "blue lives matter" and spin it across the web to other parts of the world at the speed of light. They are effectively vetoing a good faith democratic debate on racism and unequal application of justice by throwing charges of hypocrisy. They have done that for almost 30 years with climate change, effectively vetoing any concrete action(look! the poor countries are hypocritical they wont give access to our expensive CFC alternative for refrigerators and ACs and they wont cut emissions, but they want our economy to be run to the ground by calling for us to limit CO2, all when scientists try to explain that a major portion of the CO2 in the atmosphere today is from rich countries ).
It shows how much more a threat the ecosystem around GOP is to the entire planet. They have found out a way to stop action with bad faith moves and zero consequences. Quite the contrary, the internet is rewarded them with more converts from across the world with the culture wars framing of ideas.
It's great to see social issues on JoS again. Jimmy21 can go suck an egg.
Ooo Das Funk, nicely said!
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