Displaying 241 To 270 Of 13,190 Comments Letter from a Friend of a Friend Hahaha! Indeed we would! » Posted By kesmarn On November 14, 2016 @ 7:25 pm Don’t you have the feeling that Sarah Palin is one woman who has most thoroughly internalized misogyny, Q? From the stiletto heels to the gun-totin’ helicopter-hunting-babe routine, she craves male approval all day every day. Women like her and Phyllis Schaffley (who seemed to believe that every woman who was not her should be at home taking care of babies and letting men run the world) are so disheartening. They’re to feminism what Clarence Thomas is to the struggle against racism. » Posted By kesmarn On November 13, 2016 @ 6:23 pm Thanks so much for passing along a thoughtful and eloquent letter, Q. I know that I state the obvious when I say that people are going to be talking and writing about this election for a long, long time to come, but it’s true. It has been, can be and will be viewed through so many lenses. The lens of race. The lens of gender. The lens of class. Of economics. Just an hour or so ago, I discovered this article (coincidentally, also by a writer living in Ireland) which I found both disturbing and fascinating. Embedded in the article is a two-minute commercial. One of the last commercial ads run by the Trump campaign. It’s well worth watching. The narrative voice-over of the ad includes statements that could have been made by Bernie Sanders or Michael Moore. The author contends that what the Trump election (and the Brexit vote) signify is a howl of rage and resistance against the pernicious effects of ruthless global finance/capitalism. Is a Trump election (or indeed a Brexit vote) an effective way to fight back? Not likely. But I found this analysis very thought-provoking: http://paulkingsnorth.net/2016/11/07/the-revolutionary-moment/ » Posted By kesmarn On November 13, 2016 @ 10:32 am It’s hard to imagine the howls of outrage that we’ll be hearing when there’s no new magic healthcare plan, no Wall, no once-and-final-forever defeat of ISIS, and no millions of good union coal mining jobs. It won’t be pretty. » Posted By kesmarn On November 10, 2016 @ 9:05 am Absolutely right! » Posted By kesmarn On November 10, 2016 @ 8:41 am My “thumbs up” button isn’t available at the moment, AdLib, but all I can say is: “Bravo!” Well said. » Posted By kesmarn On November 9, 2016 @ 10:19 am Trump Campaign Cancelled Due to Low Ratings Wonderful, AdLib! I think a lot of us were making the comparison of Trump’s presidential run to a stomach-churning version of “The Producers” earlier in the campaign (including Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane). But little did we know how far that joke would go! We thought that surely the “Springtime For Hitler In Germany” number would cause his fans to run screaming for the exits, but no! They ate it up and begged for more. Sure, they did back off when the bawdy tape audio was released. But as your article says — there’s always 2020. By then Trump’s peeps will be more than ready for that shaved rabies-afflicted bear in a toupee waving an assault rifle and a Confederate flag to run for Prez once more. And they’ll stampede to get to the polls to vote for him. All 17 of them… » Posted By kesmarn On October 25, 2016 @ 7:03 pm Paul Ryan Declares He Won’t Defend Satan But Still Endorses Him So funny, AdLib! One of the best of this election season, and that’s saying something. I see Paul Ryan as the male version of this woman: [img]https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14642469_10207417489170559_4003719150817029107_n.jpg?oh=89d293677d9028d7365a5a580832f6a6&oe=58A7A6DC[/img] » Posted By kesmarn On October 14, 2016 @ 4:44 pm Alternate Reality News – Captain Trump on Titanic, “Trust Me, We’re Absolutely Not Sinking” AdLib, nobody can reproduce Trump-speak the way you can! (Should we be worried?) Hilarious. Recently I came up with the term #Donplorable for him. Somehow, “Donplorable and the Trumpanzees” — put together — sounds like the worst band ever assembled. They might want to start practicing “Nearer My God To Thee,” even though that doesn’t seem to be the direction they’re likely to be headed in, after the Trumptanic sinks. » Posted By kesmarn On October 5, 2016 @ 4:37 pm The Best Strategy for Hillary’s First Debate With Trump I’m with you on that, Homie. The contrast with Trump’s personality would be striking. » Posted By kesmarn On September 21, 2016 @ 5:30 pm I think the moment of Hillary humor that stuck with me was in the earlier campaign in which it was noted that she was not seen as warm and/or likable. She smiled wistfully and said: “Well now…That hurts my feelings!” Somehow that slightly self-deprecating, slightly vulnerable humor really worked then. I wish she’d do more of it. » Posted By kesmarn On September 20, 2016 @ 4:41 pm LOL! I hear you, Homie! You know it and I know it, but when are they gonna figure it out? » Posted By kesmarn On September 20, 2016 @ 4:38 pm I think there is that element, Homie. (Expensive macho-car driving Trump supporters.) But around here, it is the down-and-outers. North-western Ohio is very rustbelt, as you know. And the yard signs (and there are a lot of them) are in front of houses that are the worse for wear, and have 15 year old cars in the driveway. The recovery has passed areas like this by. So when these people are told that life is fabulous in 2016 America and we’ve never had it better, they’re looking around and saying: “Really?” » Posted By kesmarn On September 19, 2016 @ 8:34 pm Thanks so much AdLib. This is a very realistic and really comprehensive collection of tactics for Hillary to seriously consider before the first debate. I wonder if I could toss out just two more. (Are ya listening, HRC?) The first is that I hope she’ll consider turning loose what I’ve heard she has — and that is a terrific sense of humor. People who know her well say that she’s very funny. Nothing deflates a bully faster that a well-crafted joke at his expense. Chaplin knew that about Hitler. Use that wit, Hillary! The second is that she should make it crystal clear that she truly understands how many people have been left behind in this economy. Van Jones has said that he — as a Black man — has made a point of trying to get inside the head of a 53 year old white guy in Indiana who has just lost a decent union-wage job and is unable to find anything to replace it — other than a minimum wage one punching cash register keys at the Dollar Store for $7.25/hr. Jones has said that backing Trump is not a logical or acceptable reaction to that predicament, but “I can understand why that man would be looking at Trump.” Hillary needs to reach out to that man or woman and take away that economic “reason” (however unreasonable it is) for backing Trump. If there are still “persuadeables” (forget talking about the deplorables) out there, this is the time to go get ’em! » Posted By kesmarn On September 19, 2016 @ 4:22 pm Hillary Clinton and Coughing Up the Truth I’m with you on all points, AdLib! This is about much more than her, so she needs to think in “big picture” and “long game” terms. The current occupant of the White House has a PhD in those areas. She should have a good chat with him and listen hard! » Posted By kesmarn On September 13, 2016 @ 6:14 am It’s so completely undeniable that Hillary is a smart, smart woman. A hard working woman. A woman with dreams and ambitions. Why does she seem to periodically feel the need to self-sabotage? It makes me crazy! This is not the first time she’s fainted. She has broken an arm fainting and falling. She’s had a serious blood clot as the result of fainting and falling. And yet — still — she puts herself in the position of pushing herself to the literal dropping point. WHY? Her staff said today that she’s consistently “reluctant to drink fluids.” She knows what happens when she gets dehydrated and still she will not drink fluids. WHY? The doctors told her to rest with this pneumonia. But no. “Mother” must push onward, lest the children become frightened by the absence of “Mother.” Hillary, I mean this in the nicest possible way. And I speak — not as a mean, judgy person — but as a “Mother” type who has also at times believed that I single-handedly kept the solar system in motion: “This has to stop.” The only way to be able to take care of others is to take care of yourself. Anything else is hubris. Sorry for the tough-love talk, girlfriend. But it is hubris. You are human — just like the rest of us. You must sleep. You must stay hydrated. You must pace yourself. Otherwise this job is gonna kill you. And you’re only at the beginning. Now get well quick, Hillary! And go a little easier on yourself, okay? And tell the truth. People will forgive you for being human, for getting sick. But not for sticking to that old school cover-up game. It ain’t 1935 and you’re not FDR hiding his wheelchair from the public. Now here’s a bowl of virtual chicken soup, fellow Mom. Drink up. » Posted By kesmarn On September 12, 2016 @ 8:40 pm Weekend Music Thread – Turn, Turn, Turn P D Q Bach flips back and forth between German and “Texan”:
» Posted By kesmarn On September 3, 2016 @ 4:49 pm This Week in America’s Religious Nutjobs If “The Big Guy” came back in person 2000 years after his last visit, these are exactly the folks whose tables he would be flipping over in the temple. When he indulged in handicrafts — braiding whips, to be exact — those would be the people who would be on the receiving end of his products. Their names wouldn’t any longer be Wanda Sue or Lyle-Bob, but something more like “Whited Sepulchre” (“Whitey” for short”) or “Brood of Vipers.” That Second Coming that they claim to be anticipating so eagerly might not work out all that well for them. » Posted By kesmarn On September 6, 2016 @ 3:59 pm Trump Claims Hillary is a Zombie, MSM Asks Her to Prove She’s Not I think you’re on to something here, AdLib. All three of them are oh so negative. » Posted By kesmarn On August 29, 2016 @ 4:29 pm AdLib, are you as amazed as I am that Andrea Mitchell isn’t able to detect a real zombie when she sees one? I mean, when she goes home from her job as a corporate spokesmodel — errr — news reporter and sees that her husband Alan Greenspan and his BFF Henry Kissinger are in the library of the mansion, drinking very, very, very red wine — surely she knows exactly what they look like. » Posted By kesmarn On August 26, 2016 @ 3:04 pm Republicans Applaud Trump’s Behavior When He’s Sleeping LOL! The whole “Not So Young Frankenstein” theme just works way too well for the GOP and Trump this year. » Posted By kesmarn On August 10, 2016 @ 8:57 am AdLib, I’ve discovered some suppressed black and white footage of the Trumpster (Peter Boyle) and his campaign manager Paul Manafort (Gene Wilder) during a recent local appearance. Things seemed to be going well — until… Well, as Manafort/Wilder said: “Please! I beg of you. Don’t humiliate him!” (As if he doesn’t do a brilliant job of that himself.)
» Posted By kesmarn On August 9, 2016 @ 7:31 pm Sorry GOP, Trump is Like Herpes…There’s No Getting Rid of Him LOL! Zika/Palin 2020! Nothing would surprise me. Historians will be writing about this one for a long, long time. Trump makes George Wallace look like an elder statesman. » Posted By kesmarn On August 10, 2016 @ 6:07 pm Granted, AdLib, that the American public has an incredibly short memory — to the point that many of Trump’s earlier blunders have been flushed down the amnesia drain. The thing about Trump though, is that no matter how quickly Americans forgive and forget, he always manages to re-offend in newer and more shocking ways! He won’t let them forget! He won’t/can’t even take advantage of their notoriously short attention span. Those Gucci shoes of his are riddled with self-inflicted gunshot holes, and still he lumbers on. Truly one of the weirdest individuals ever to appear on America’s political landscape. And “weird” isn’t even necessarily “bad.” It’s when you combine it with “malicious” that the trouble begins. And that he has done many times over. » Posted By kesmarn On August 10, 2016 @ 8:51 am A terrific analysis of the state of the Trump campaign and the state of (so-called) “mind” of The Donald himself, AdLib. Once again it seems that you were prescient when you said: He would turn losing into a lie, a badge of honor and knowing his penchant for wanting to get even with anyone who he views as attacking him and his persona, he could even plot political revenge using his followers. As I just posted in Time Out, he recently hinted that his followers might need to “resort to 2nd Amendment options” if Hillary crosses them in the appointment of SCOTUS judges. Nailed it. Any working person who believes that The Donald is going to “be your voice” has only to look at the economic policy that Stephen Wright wrote and Paul Manafort put into “easy words” for Donald to read from the teleprompter to see what’s really going on. It can be summed up in one sentence: Death to the poor. Which is really even worse than herpes. » Posted By kesmarn On August 9, 2016 @ 3:02 pm Good to see you again, c’lady! And even better to hear that you’ll be back in the Fall — please God, not to grieve with us over a President Trump! (Seriously, I doubt that will happen.) The son is currently out West with the girl friend on vacation: Vegas and the Grand Canyon are on the agenda for them. He’s also working with a U of Wisc. prof/colleague on a presentation for a world wide software convention to take place in Buenas Aires in May. (I’m kinda jealous — having never been to S. America.) On the home front, the Maumee, Ohio employee-owned automotive machining and stamping plant is now thriving — with a “help wanted” sign out front for skilled workers. I think of you every time I drive by. Take care, and — yes — vote early and often! » Posted By kesmarn On August 5, 2016 @ 7:23 pm Nirek, as things stand right now I think the lobbying system is so corrupt that I’d have to go with your opinion that it really is an over all negative. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Planet’s very own choicelady, whose day job was actually as a lobbyist with a large group of churches who had joined together to push for the health care coverage reform that later became Obamacare. Now that — of course — is an example of lobbying for a righteous cause. So it can — and does — happen that good things can come from honest lobbyists. But now — with Citizen United — we have to ask whether honest lobbyists with very limited funds can ever get anywhere near many of the congressmen in DC. There are only 24 hours in a day, and there’s so much money floating around in Washington, how does a person who represents a good cause — but without a luxury golf vacation to offer — manage to get penciled in on a Senator or Rep’s calendar? I know I’m saying nothing new here, but having a Dem majority in Congress with a Dem president would be the perfect launching board for getting rid of Citizens United. If it didn’t happen under those circumstances, I would say that would be a real statement (and not a good one) about the state of Dem Party morality in the 21st century. We’ll all be voting — and then waiting and watching. » Posted By kesmarn On August 5, 2016 @ 3:44 pm An Intervention For Republicans Supporting Trump: How to End an Abusive Relationship One of the pundits said today, AdLib, that if Trump had just dug a hole in the ground and sat there silently throughout this campaign, he might actually have a shot at winning. (This guy was taking note of Hillary’s unpopularity.) But noooo! “Trump is defeating Trump,” is how this guy put it. He seems to be following the classic pattern that bullies engage in. (I think we’ve probably all seen this in work situations too.) They just have to overplay their hands. If they could in any way put the brakes on now and then, they might be able to have a little staying power. But — again — noooo! They just have to push it until the whole group they’re trying to tyrannize rises up and says: “YOU’RE FIRED!” » Posted By kesmarn On August 3, 2016 @ 5:04 pm What an amazing combination of satire and honest-to-God truth, AdLib! As you’ve said before, with characters like Trump, it’s almost impossible to satirize them. When you take it way over the top, you discover that they’ve taken the express elevator up there and are waiting for you when you get there, Coincidentally, I was poking around on You Tube looking for any info that would be helpful in understanding the weird phenomenon that is The Donald, when I came across this Australian psychologist who specializes in helping people get out of abusive relationships with narcissists. It’s striking how much of what she says really resonates when it comes to Trump and his campaign!
» Posted By kesmarn On August 2, 2016 @ 7:28 pm DNC Convention Thread – Sanity Strikes Back! Well, sadly, in many ways it’s anything but a brave new world, Homie. It’s an fearful old one. One that seems to be veering back to old cold war mentalities and is giving growing room and a listening ear to right wing fear-mongering and xenophobia. One that’s afraid of the kind of self-examination that might lead to the conclusion that this “exceptional” country has had a lot to do with radicalizing Muslim youth around the world. One that’s afraid to admit even a mere 10,000 Syrian refugees to this country who have already been thoroughly vetted and cleared. One that says “Love trumps hate,” but seems to be too fearful to actually believe it. » Posted By kesmarn On July 30, 2016 @ 9:07 amComments Posted By kesmarn
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