Deja Vu, Anyone?


It's hard to watch Donald Trump debase himself and whatever legacy he might have achieved through his presidency. It's a creepy spectacle to watch as he throws away his last shreds of dignity and integrity in the blind pursuit of a delusion. 

Surrounded by a lunatic coven of Giuliani, Sydney Powell, and Mike Flynn with Stephen Miller lurking somewhere behind the curtains, an increasingly desperate Trump is making noise about declaring martial law only, in true Trump fashion, to then deny the whole idea.

In his desperation Trump is said to be plotting one final Banzai charge. When Congress gathers to confirm the Electoral College vote on January 6th, a number of renegade Republicans are preparing to vote no. To derail Biden's election, they need a simple majority in both the House and Senate. McConnell will see that doesn't happen in the Senate as will Pelosi in the House.

Watching this madness I'm reminded a lot of Tony Montana's exit in the movie 'Scarface.' 

Comments

  1. TrailblazerDecember 22, 2020 at 5:00 PM

    Maybe Trumps legacy will be that he exposed the ugly american.
    The america that was built from day one on it's military conquest and a large no restrictions marketplace.
    Battles are no longer won on the battlefield , america is testament to that, and Americas marketplace has much more competition.
    It's difficult to have sympathy for those that had so much opportunity only to throw it way in such a short time.
    President elect Biden has little chance of reversing the fortunes of the US.
    no Churchillian like speeches that the US adores is going to change the divide within the US.
    The divide is no longer defined by geography, but politics religion and values, so a USA north vs USA south is no longer a solution.
    A break up of the US will be messy at best.

    TB




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    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibDecember 22, 2020 at 5:13 PM

      I've not had much confidence that Biden, no matter how well intentioned, has much hope of healing America's mortal wounds. You can't restore social cohesion without dialogue and compromise but that, in turn, is entirely dependent on a shared reality. We all have beliefs but sensible people rely on facts and knowledge over belief or faith-based thinking. Once you have given in to belief-based thinking, critical thinking is abandoned.

      I think of Japan right up until the end of WWII. A people who profoundly believed in the divinity of their all too mortal leader. Soldiers eager to die for the emperor. That's madness and yet it was embraced by an entire nation.

      It appears that America is in the grips of its own form of madness. I pity the rational half having to live with the delusional half, often bitterly dividing even families. I read today that anti-mask protesters, including the now regular Proud Boys et al, assaulted police lines with pepper spray as they tried to occupy Oregon's state house. What's next?

      Delete
  2. TrailblazerDecember 22, 2020 at 5:35 PM


    I think of Japan right up until the end of WWII.

    O my; for King and Country!
    Or , perhaps for the glory of god!

    people wishing simple solutions for complicated questions have always been used..

    TB
    TB

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bill MalcolmDecember 22, 2020 at 9:13 PM

    So, what do you think of Chris Hedges' column in Canadian Dimension, placed just before this post of yours on the Progressive Bloggers list today?

    He seems to me to reflect much more of what I read in the alternative press about the retread warhawks and industry insiders Biden is "lining up" for cabinet posts, than all this the "sky is falling"running around about Putin hacking US computers, a sort of continuation of fatuous Russiagate theories the "liberal" press is and was trying to force down our throats.

    I happen to agree with most of what he says. I'm fed up with NYT's reflection of the old deep state line of utter drooling nonsense -- it's insultingly poorly thought out for anyone with a modicum of brainpower and logic. I haven't spent five minutes worrying about Trump since it became clear he lost the "election". The fix, as it were, was in, one way or the other, real or planned.

    Now we have to be concerned with the Democrats, who don't give a rat's ass about the American public anymore than the Republicans do, starting a few real wars. They put Bernie out to pasture, as expected, and it's back to doing what the plutocracy wants and the propaganda that accompanies it, uninterrupted by Trump tweets, loutishness and sideshows, which merely made keeping to script a tad difficult for four years. But the Democrats happily voted for giant military budgets. Gotta save American corporatism from Chicoms and that dastardly Putin and his Cossacks, what? Got to have an "enemy" or two to bind together the glorious uninformed citizenry. To hell with worldwide co-operation and peace with those "undemocratic nasties". Kill 'em! And pretend American "democracy" works and that the constitution and institutions held firm, the biggest line of BS there is in the world today.

    Hard to see much hope unless Biden has an epiphany, and he's more likely to just croak, upon which event the technocrats can then proceed apace with a minor nod to environmentalism. Ain't plutocracy sweet?

    Here's the best essay I've read by an American recently, better even than Hedges:

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/56064.htm

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    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibDecember 23, 2020 at 8:23 AM

      Bill, I tend to agree with Hedges but... but his views are fanciful. Is the America he wants realistic? Could Bernie have transformed the country, brought some grand enlightenment? No, of course not. I started TDL Mk. II on December 7. Since then I've done two posts on why Biden won't be able to accomplish very much without some congressional reformation.

      I think what Hedges has been on about these past few years would require revolutionary change. How many Americans, what percentage, would support a left-wing revolt? How many of them see Social Democracy and Communism as indistinguishable?

      One of the great successes of the American Right has been to erect strawmen. It's the Hispanics. It's the Muslims. It's those damned lefties. Whatever your grievance there's a handy scapegoat. It's a giant sponge for hatred and it powerfully deflects talk of real change.

      In my view, Bill, there's very little chance, close to nil, of an American reformation no matter who occupies the White House or who dominates the Senate and House. It's too late. There are too many forces already in play including the whole gamut of climate change impacts. Revolution? Yeah, that's possible but even Hedges knows the history of revolution and how the utopia initially visualized is quickly corrupted by an authoritarian power grab. Read Crane Brinton's 1949 classic, "Anatomy of Revolution."

      Delete
  4. Northern PoVDecember 23, 2020 at 6:27 AM

    "legacy" ... Trump ... same sentence?
    You are trolling us right?

    "heal America"
    Biden will find that hard to do when he is a manifestation of a slightly less toxic version of the metastasizing cancer killing the country.

    Yes, the current clusterfuck is much like the chess stalemate metafore from Bill Malcolm's link

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    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibDecember 23, 2020 at 8:26 AM

      It's inevitable that what began as a post about Trump's exit from the White House has been transformed into an autopsy of Joe Biden - before he's even inaugurated.

      Delete
  5. the salamanderDecember 23, 2020 at 6:50 AM

    .. 'dignity & integrity' ??

    I must have missed that Chapter in The Life Of Trump.. much like you I've met a ton of people.. literally a kaleidascope of personalities, characters, winners & losers, exemplars and dregs that just won't quit.. including obvious sociopaths. Never met Donald Trump.. or Stephen Harper, met Doug Ford but not Jason Kenney, Trudeau senior or junior no.. Marshall McLuhan yes, Lee Marvin yes. Jean Beliveau yes. Color me unimpressed by the current crop of 'public servants' and their secret lives.. (they can have them.. no envy here)

    Trump is non stop crying for attention 'Hey, look at me !' And odd as it seems, a lot of people think he walks on water, is 'the chosen one' .. and send him their money. It defies belief.. but lead poisoning, ignorance & recurring Mad Hatter disease (Mercury Accumulation) may be the only clinical explanation. If Donald Trump is your 'savior' .. well, good luck & good night

    I keep waiting for a US Marine to pass on the ludicrous salute.. just remain eyes locked forward.. get that piece of garbage aboard Marine One.. then AF One.. to Mar a Lago. It won't surprise me that he visits his 'southern White House' for the holidays and golf.. and then never returns


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    1. The Disaffected LibDecember 23, 2020 at 8:31 AM

      I too have wondered if Trump will return to Washington after Christmas, Sal. If he can't derail the election result when Congress meets on Jan. 6th, he'll look like a bad loser, "loser" being the operative word.

      Could you see Trump and Melania coming to the front steps of the White House to welcome Joe and Jill to their new home? Better yet can you see them beaming on as CJ Roberts swears in the new president?

      Delete

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