Author: Mark Alexander

Still Timely Advice

"It's Not Gonna Suck Itself!"

Do You Hear Me?

If You Saw This, You'll Appreciate This Take on the Scene

The Guardian Will No Longer Post on X

To be filed under FAFO:

The Guardian has announced it will no longer post content on Elon Musk's social media platform, X, from its official accounts.

In an announcement to readers, the news organisation said it considered the benefits of being on the platform formerly called Twitter were now outweighed by the negatives, citing the "often disturbing content" found on it.

"We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X," the Guardian said.

The Guardian has more than 80 accounts on X with approximately 27 million followers.

[Source]

Your move, rest of the media…

FAFO

Step One in Fighting Against Donald Trump This Time

From Palmer Report:

As we continue to grapple with this startling new reality that we're facing, the same question keeps surfacing: where to begin? The other day I talked about some of the mistakes we made the last time we were forced to resist a Trump regime. Today I want to talk about something we got right last time, because we need to make it Step One this time around.

One thing we've constantly seen with modern U.S. Presidents is that their ability to govern and get their way is based on their approval rating more than anything else. It may feel like just a number on paper. But in reality it's what gives a President political capital with the American public.

Trump's ability to carry out this or that corrupt initiative will be based almost entirely on how popular or unpopular he is with the American people on any given day. He may have Congress, he may have the courts, but at the end of the day both those entities will be more afraid to go along with Trump's antics if he's stuck with a very low approval rating.

We saw this in action last time around. Trump entered office with a historically low approval rating for an incoming President, already down to the forties, and it crippled him politically right out of the gate. The media saw that the public was quickly turning against Trump, and so the media started feasting on him. Each of his initiatives was covered as a scandal instead of as a political plank, and it sank a lot of what he was trying to do.

The one thing we couldn't quite do last time was drive Trump's approval rating all the way below the magical 30% number. If we'd have gotten him down into the twenties, that would have been the only story about him, and it would have meant the end of his agenda. We came close, but we were only able to drive Trump down into the low thirties, before he settled in and ended up around 40% for the long haul. It was just enough for him to limp along with his agenda.

This time around we need to take this even further. We need to quickly make the mainstream American public – yes the same dummies who just tepidly voted for him and/or stayed home on election day – embarrassed by the fact that Trump won. We need to convince these folks to have immediate buyer's remorse. We need Trump's approval rating to already be down in the thirties by the time he takes office, and down into the twenties sometime in early 2025. That way the entire story ends up being about how unpopular and untenable Trump is, and neither he nor his allies have any room to drive anything else.

So how do we make this happen? We focus on the things about Trump that are the most embarrassing. We focus on how deep into dementia he is. We keep asking why he's all but disappeared since being declared the winner. We focus on the extremist and absurd nature of his initial cabinet picks. He's really floating a Fox News host as Secretary of Defense? That sounds so bad to the average American, it's something we can use against him. You get the idea of how this works.

So let's bury Donald Trump's presidency under the weight of his own low approval rating before it even begins. It's the best leverage that we have. If we're going to fight this guy, this is how we do it.

I Can Smell This Picture 😈

What happens next?

This Spoke to Me Today

I've been pulled to pieces, I've got an arm over here
I've got a leg over there, I've got my ass somewhere upside down
But I'm back, I'm here to tell you I'm back, better than before
Can't keep a good thing down, uh-uh

Well I've been kicked around, never thought that I could fall
Thought that I was standing tall, turned out I was the ball
And you know what, and I, and I, and I've been kicked around
Baby after all, I took all the shots you called
Turned out I was the ball, you kicked you pushed

And I've been kicked around, and I've been upside down
Oh I've been bounced around, kicked around
I'm gonna get you, get you, your very momma will regret you
I'm going to stomp and drag you to your knees
Your very papa will forget you, kicked around

Oh I, Oh I, Oh I've been bounced around
Let me tell you, I'm here to tell you
You can get up, you can put all the pieces back together
Yeah, don't let him stomp on you baby, get up now!
I said you made me feel so small, bouncing me against the wall
Just like I was the ball, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Oh I, Oh I, Oh I, Oh I've been kicked around
Now look at me baby, (trips alone) paved the memories you gave me
My eyes are open, eyes are open, now I can see
You're nothing but a bad, bad memory
I'm all together now, all together now
I'm the biggest ball you ever did see, I'm gonna roll on you
I'm gonna fall on you, I'm gonna stomp on you
I'm gonna punch on you, I'm gonna choke on you
I'm gonna rip you, drag you to your knees
Your very papa will regret you!

Getting Old Sucks…and Not in a Good Way

A couple weeks ago I went in for my annual visit with my Ear/Nose/Throat doctor. Same routine as always: snake the laryngoscope up my nose and down my throat, make some vocalizations, receive an "all clear" from him, and on my way for another year.

That visit was different, however. This time he spotted a polyp on one of the vocal folds. He said he didn't think it was anything to be concerned about, but considering my history, he wanted to err on the side of caution and recommended a biopsy to be sure. Since he's on the verge of retirement (same guy I've been seeing for the last 20+ years) and now only working part time, he referred me to a colleague.

I met the new doc (very easy on the eyes—very easy), and was immediately impressed with how thoughtful, thorough, and caring he was. He had a look at the little nubbin as well, agreed with the assessment of my primary ENT, and scheduled the biopsy for last Friday.

Even though I was getting knocked out completely, I figured it would still be a simple in-and-out procedure just like such things have always been in the past. I was wrong. My O² levels in recovery were consistently below 90%. I ended up being put on supplemental oxygen and was checked into the hospital for observation. They attempted to wean me off the O², but were continually unsuccessful. After a CT scan, a pulmonologist was brought in, and she suspected lingering pneumonia or some other non-specific respiratory infection based on the imaging. It was her opinion I was well enough to go home on a full course of antibiotics and if I was willing to stay on the O²

By that time I was crawling the walls to get out and jumped at the opportunity.

So here we are. I have a followup this afternoon with the surgeon. I had to run some vials over to the hospital this morning and I took a chance and went without being hooked up to the O² (the hospital is only a few minutes from the house and I had the canister with me just in case). The whole time my meter was reading between 93 and 95%, which is the best it's been since all this started, so it looks like the antibiotics are finally taking hold.

And oh yeah…I'm home for the duration of the antibiotics, so there is something positive to come out of all this.

I Weep For Our Species

365 Days of UNF: November 13th

Released 40 Years Ago Today

Madonna: Like A Virgin (1984)

November 12, 2024November 12, 2024

THIS

I Hope You're All Happy Now

This is directed specifically at a former friend (whom I've known since the 80s) who told me last summer that he wasn't voting for Biden because "He's already got California sewn up and this is to protest his policies toward Israel and Palestine."

I haven't spoken to him since.

China is Gonna Pay for the Tariffs is the Same BS as Mexico Will Pay For the Wall

China is gonna pay for the tariffs is the same BS as Mexico will pay for the wall.

I don't want to hear a single Fucking complaint when a $900 laptop now costs $3000.

"Fine Art Prints"

"All The Finest People"

From Tengrain:

This is the thing to note about the staffing of Hair Füror's new 4th Reich: these already announced buffoons have no domain expertise. This is alarming at a high level, but beneath that these bums need to know how stuff works and who to talk to to find out how stuff works. Instead of boning up, they are likely to be boned by their own incompetence and hubris.

These jamokes are the people who are going to still be looking for the light switches weeks later.

All that said, I think this take is just about right:

"If anyone believed the nonsense about Donald Trump's second term shifting away from chaos and towards ruthless efficiency his initial personnel rollout is putting that to rest. We're going to have four more years of chaos and inept presidenting. Keeping in mind that incompetence is at least and probably more dangerous than ruthless efficiency."

"A few things spark this. One is that he's rolling out his picks in a totally arbitrary, willy-nilly fashion; presidents-elect who know what they're doing don't start with the UN ambassador and the head of the EPA before they get around Secretaries of Treasury and State (which is now to go to Marco Rubio, unless it doesn't). And also neither of those selections, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin, have subject-matter experience. Which isn't the end of the world for a cabinet-level pick, but it's not exactly a plus, either."

"Oh, also, Trump has already selected two sitting Members of the House (Stefanik and National Security Advisor designate Micahel Waltz) for his administration despite the ongoing vote-counting still leaving the size of what appears to be a tiny Republican House majority up for grabs, with the most likely outcome a tiny 220-215 majority and a possibility of a more tiny 219-216 or even 218-217."

"[…] Sure, Trumpists put in place might be eager to carry out what the president wants…but they may also have their own creative, or self-serving, or just wacky interpretations of what Trump may want about this or that issue that the president hasn't actually spent a minute of his life thinking about (and while Trump is an extreme case, no president is expert or even has vague opinions about many of the things that government does; there are just too many of them). Or they may only have pretended to be Trumpists, and really be out after their own interests (including self-interest) in mind. One of the whole points of having a large, organized, disciplined White House staff is to fight for the president's agenda in all of those departments and agencies — and to solve problems before they harm the president. Presidents simply can't do it themselves."

Firing the bureaucrats and replacing them with loyal idiots will not make an efficient and ruthless killing machine, as we all feared, it will make a clown show. That's not to say that the 4th Reich will not seriously damage the country —they will— but it won't be strategic, it will be as a side product of their complete incompetence.

So yeah, for now at least, point and laugh at them, it makes them nuts.

I've long maintained that the only thing that may save us from the worst of his intentions is the gross incompetence of the people the Orange Russian Wig Stand surrounds himself with.

Maybe you've been asking yourself:

What Happens Now?

Nixon's landslide victory in 1972 made him appear invulnerable. He wasn't.

1. "How could Donald Trump have won 51 percent of the popular vote?"

2. "How hard is it to immigrate to New Zealand?"

3. "What the actual fuck?"

Fair questions. Let's try a thought experiment. Could Tuesday's election results have been any worse?

Well, what if, instead of 51 percent, the Republican nominee had won 59 percent? Or 61 percent? And what if he had won 49 states?

Those aren't hypotheticals. Those were the results of the 1972 and 1984 landslides that reelected Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

With thumping victories like those, what could possibly go wrong for the winners?

If history's any guide, some nasty surprises await Donald Trump.

In 1972, the Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern, won just 37.5 percent of the vote, carrying only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia for a total of 17 Electoral College votes. He didn't even win his home state, South Dakota.

In 1984, Democrat Walter Mondale did carry his native Minnesota, but that was as good as it got for him. In the Electoral College, he fared even worse than McGovern, with a whopping 13 votes.

In the aftermath of these thrashings, the Democratic Party lay in smoldering ruins, and Republicans looked like indestructible conquerors.

Now, some might argue that those GOP victories, though statistically more resounding than Trump's, weren't nearly as alarming, because he's a criminal and wannabe autocrat.

But Trump's heinousness shouldn't make us nostalgic for Nixon and Reagan. They were also criminals—albeit unindicted ones. And they were up to all manner of autocratic shit—until they got caught.

The Watergate scandal was only one small part of the sprawling criminal enterprise that Nixon directed from the Oval Office in order to subvert democracy. For his part, Reagan's contribution to the annals of presidential crime, Iran-Contra, broke myriad laws and violated Constitutional norms.

The hubris engendered by both men's landslides propelled them to reckless behavior in their second terms—behavior that came back to haunt them. Nixon was forced to resign the presidency; Reagan was lucky to escape impeachment.After the Watergate scandal forced Richard Nixon from office, this bumper sticker helped Massachusetts voters brag that they handed him his only Electoral College loss in 1972.

Of course, Trump would be justified in believing that no matter how reckless he becomes, he'll never pay a price. He's already been impeached—twice—only to be acquitted by his Republican toadies in the Senate. And now that the right-wing supermajority of the Supreme Court has adorned him with an immunity idol, he'll likely feel free to commit crimes that Nixon and Reagan could only dream of. Who'll stop him from using his vast power to persecute his voluminous list of enemies?

Well, the enemy most likely to thwart Trump in his second term might be one who isn't on his list: himself. The seeds of Trump's downfall may reside in two promises he made to win this election: the mass deportation of immigrants and the elimination of inflation.

Trump's concept of a plan to deport 20 million immigrants is as destined for success as were two of his other brainchildren, Trump University and Trump Steaks. The US doesn't have anything approaching the law-enforcement capacity to realize this xenophobic fever dream.

And as for Trump's war on inflation, the skyrocketing prices caused by his proposed tariffs will make Americans nostalgic for pandemic-era price-gouging on Charmin.

It's possible that Trump's 24/7 disinformation machine, led by Batman villains Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk, will prevent his MAGA followers from ever discovering that 20 million immigrants didn't go anywhere. And it's possible that if inflation spikes, he'll find a scapegoat for that. (Nancy Pelosi? Dr. Fauci? Taylor Swift?)

And, yes, it's possible that Trump will somehow accomplish his goal of becoming America's Kim Jong Un, and our democracy will go belly-up like the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.

But I wouldn't bet on it. I tend to agree with the British politician Enoch Powell (1912-1998), who observed that all political careers end in failure. I doubt that Trump, with his signature blend of inattention, impulsiveness, and incompetence, will avoid that fate.

And when the ketchup hits the fan, the MAGA movement may suddenly appear far more fragmented and fractious than it does this week. You can already see the cracks. Two towering ignoramuses like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert should be BFFs, but they despise each other—the only policy of theirs I agree with.

If things really go south, expect MAGA Republicans to devour each other as hungrily as the worm who feasted on RFK Jr.'s brain—and that, my friends, will be worth binge-watching. I'm stocking up on popcorn now before Trumpflation makes it unaffordable.

One parting thought. Post-election, the mainstream media's hyperbolic reassessment of Trump—apparently, he's now a political genius in a league with Talleyrand and Metternich—has been nauseating. It's also insanely short-sighted. Again, a look at the not-so-distant past is instructive.

In 1984, after Reagan romped to victory with 59 percent of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes, Reaganism was universally declared an unstoppable juggernaut. But only two years later, in the 1986 midterms, Democrats proved the pundits wrong: they regained control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1980. Those majorities enabled them to slam the brakes on Ronnie's right-wing agenda, block the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, and investigate Iran-Contra.

The lesson of the 1986 midterms is clear: the game's far from over and there's everything to play for. If we want to stem the tide of autocracy and kleptocracy, restore women's rights and protect the most vulnerable, we don't have the luxury of despair. The work starts now.

Andy Borowitz