Trump Presidency Explained

Can this be true?

Sad.

Sad.

Depressing.

He's One of Us - We Own This Mess

English-language media have compared President Trump to more than 120 different people, ideas, things and nonhuman life forms in the last 18 months, according to one rough tally, including the Zika virus, Richard III, a Galaxy Note 7, P.T. Barnum and, of course, Adolf Hitler. For a media struggling to understand Trump’s improbable rise to power, “Trump is like X” has become an exceedingly popular genre.

[...]

[O]ne iteration of this trend — comparing Trump to Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian leaders — often does double-duty as a way to bash countries hostile to U.S. interests. Not only that, it contributes to the whitewashing of Trump’s quintessentially American origins.

[...]

[W]hile some comparisons can elucidate, the practice of analogizing Trump to foreign enemies has the effect of veiling Trump’s right-wing agenda. Pundits who engage in it seem more comfortable criticizing “authoritarianism,” a Davos-friendly catchall, than 21st century conservatism.

  Adam Johnson @ LA Times

I'm guessing because the majority of these pundits (if not all of them in practice if not in name) are 21st cenury conservatives.

The groundwork for Trump was laid by Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Fox News and the Drudge Report. All pushed the limits of “post-truth,” all spent years stoking white grievance, demonizing immigrants, spreading “black on white crime” panic.

[...]

“Trump is like Bad Leader X” meme-makers may not realize it, but they’re indemnifying the forces that gave us Trump: the GOP establishment, which acquiesces at every turn; NBCUniversal, which ignored Trump’s anti-black racism for years while revitalizing his career; and a corporate press that gave Trump almost $2 billion in free media in 2015.

[...]

[T]his approach allows them to, at the same time, praise George W. Bush while treating Trump as beyond the pale, despite the fact that the two men share many of the same political objectives, including a bloated military, economic policies that favor Wall Street and the installation of anti-choice judges on the Supreme Court.

And frankly, they share pretty much the same personality. Trump is a lot like Bush - arrogant, infantile, privileged, ill-informed even after an ivy league education, to name a few traits.  Trump is just moreso and less constrained in public.

[F]oreign leader analogies notwithstanding, Trump’s agenda is largely the same as the broader Republican Party; his rise, moreover, was the logical manifestation of the xenophobic, “insurgent” tea party movement — funded and supported not by foreign governments, but by entirely domestic billionaires.

There’s a reason why Republican senators from John McCain to Marco Rubio have voted to confirm Trump’s nominees: They basically agree with him. How strange, then, that we have zero hot takes drawing parallels between Trump and McCain or Trump and Rubio, and dozens of hot takes drawing parallels between Trump and Latin American leftists.

[...]

Trump is a raw, unfiltered expression of American nativism and white grievance. The effort to stop Trump would be better served attacking these threads — and their specific right-wing ideology — than continuing to draw lazy parallels to foreign enemies in bad standing with the U.S. national security establishment.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

American Exceptionalism and NPD

So Hillary Clinton says the United States is THE indispensible nation on earth. Apparently, it's true.

Speaking at a campaign event in Colorado two days ago, President Obama, in the course of prattling on about all the things America's the best at (weirdly, he didn't mention income equality, social mobility, health care, poverty, basic education, longevity, or literacy, but never mind), also said this:

"And so no matter what the naysayers tell us, no matter how dark the other side tries to make things look, the fact is there is not another country on Earth that would not gladly trade places with the United States of America."

  Barry Eisler

Let's take a world-wide poll, shall we?

Read the rest...

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Narcissist Party Candidate

I won't foist the link on you, but this is the tag line of a Donald Trump Tweet:

It says two other things before that:  "75 minutes total speech time," and "24 minutes total applause time."

He's doing this purely for attention.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Archetypal/Psychological Explanation for Trump

We have called forth the gods. Or, one in particular.

I like it.

What dreadful forces are being summoned this time? Tremors ripple through the noosphere. Can you feel them? It’s eerie, as though the dogs have all stopped barking at once, the birds have flown away together to parts unknown, and the sky has turned green.

The strangeness of the moment exceeds the descriptive capacity of what passes for civil discourse. Even the people who are right on the particulars are wrong on the whole. What’s worse, any attempt to explain Trump’s popular ascent is doomed because these events cannot be explained in the empirical fashion to which modern people are accustomed. The election is nothing less than a psychogenic storm. As such it can only be discussed in metaphysical terms that sober, prudent, smartphone-having people are unwilling to countenance.

[...]

The key to understanding this election cycle—and its energetic locus, Trump—is to accept that we are not dealing with an ordinary man, bound by the rules of decorum and the presupposition of coherence. I have another idea. I propose that Donald Trump is the personification of a Norse god named Loki.

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Crucially, [famed psychoanalyst Carl] Jung argued [in the 30s] that modern people could not accept the reality of any manifestation of the unconscious; and that is what caused all sorts of problems. This is as true today as it was eighty years ago—perhaps more so, in this tech-obsessed time of data journalism, STEM supremacy, and quantitative hegemony. The more adamantly people deny the influence of unseen forces—that is to say, unconscious impulses—over their own behavior, the more power those forces exhibit.

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[Y]ou might be thinking that it’s unfair to attribute disagreeable voter behavior to mass psychosis. To which I say, keep watching the news. Is it really so far-fetched to suggest that America has literally gone mad? And if it indeed may be the case that the nation, or a large part of it, has lost its mind, then how do we even begin to talk about it? This is where armchair psychomythology becomes useful.

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The only contemporary observers who fail to grasp how dire economic circumstances might inspire irrational and destructive impulses in wide swaths of the public are the fortunate few who’ve managed to avoid job loss, eviction, a health crisis, or any other potentially life-destroying random event over the duration of what has amounted to an eight-year depression. Such lucky bastards abound within the ranks of the clueless political press corps and the establishmentarian loyalists in both major parties.

[...]

[T]he mysterious alchemy of the unconscious mind remains fundamental to the one profession that is indispensable to the American political process: advertising. [...] The cynical construction of political persona and “narratives” that exploit unconscious anxieties may entail a great deal of obnoxious mumbo-jumbo, but that’s no proof it doesn’t work.

[...]

Like Hitler, Trump has promised a restoration of past greatness through racial purity and has invoked as a scapegoat a supposedly sinister and back-stabbing minority that is actually vulnerable and victimized. But there are differences to be considered between the two men. Hitler’s paramilitary brownshirts were far better organized than the goons who stalk Trump rallies looking for protesters and dark-skinned people to beat up. For his part, Trump has done Hitler one better by promising terrifying purges and concentration camps from the very get-go, rather than waiting until after his election to reveal the full scope of his vicious designs.

But the most profound commonality is in the indisputable psychic power wielded over supporters and opponents alike.

[...]

Just as Hitler was not known to crack wise from the podium, Trump’s stump speeches do not call to mind “storm and frenzy.” Trump is no [Odin - the god Jung argued was personified in Hitler], no berserker—he is a wisecracker, adept in the cool medium of television. He represents an entirely different Jungian archetype—namely, the pan-cultural mythological figure of “the trickster,” who arrives at moments of uncertainty to bring change, often of the bad kind. In the Norse pantheon, the shape-shifting trickster character is Odin’s blood brother, Loki, god of mischief and lies.

[...]

If further proof is required that Trump the Insult Comic Candidate is a manifestation of the Norse trickster deity, it must be noted that Loki is a master maligner who, in one epic roast, delivered cutting put-downs to the other major lords of Asgard in a sort of Viking version of the 2016 presidential debates.

To complete this reprisal of Jung’s analysis, we must revisit the fraught matter of national character. I submit that if [Odin] summed up the Furor Teutonicus, then the quintessentially American deity must be Loki.

[...]

Is it really so shocking that a racist, misogynist, mafia-connected, serially fraudulent boor could find a successful place in American life—especially in this age of misinformation and artifice? Loki has awoken. He walks among us, gaining strength, and he doesn’t need your stupid vote, loser.

  The Baffler

Joseph Campbell might well agree.

So that's what that hair is hiding.

Yes.

And check this out:  How to win an election...



Says the guy who helped put W Bush in the White House - twice.

And, if you still have time on your hands, Guardian readers explain why they will be voting for Trump.  Guardian readers.  Not your typical American redneck.

Still have time?  How about another "god"?  The Devil:  American crossroads: Reagan, Trump and the devil down south

Whiteness

View from a Canadian.

You feel your whiteness properly at the American border. Most of the time being white is an absence of problems. The police don’t bother you so you don’t notice the police not bothering you. You get the job so you don’t notice not getting it. Your children are not confused with criminals. I live in downtown Toronto, in one of the most liberal neighborhoods in one of the most open cities in the world, where multiculturalism is the dominant civic value and the inert virtue of tolerance is the most prominent inheritance of the British empire.

  Guardian

The article may contain truths, but that final statement brings every single word of it into question. British tolerance??? Ask any Arab. Or black. Or even the Irish.

For people who love to dwell in contradictions, the US is the greatest country in the world: the land of the free built on slavery, the country of law and order where everyone is entitled to a gun, a place of unimpeded progress where they cling to backwardness out of sheer stubbornness. And into this glorious morass, a new contradiction has recently announced itself: The white people, the privileged Americans, the ones who had the least to fear from the powers that be, the ones with the surest paths to brighter futures, the ones who are by every metric one of the most fortunate groups in the history of the world, were starting to dying off in shocking numbers.

I did not know that. Are we dying from being poisoned by our own toxic intolerance?

The Case and Deaton report, Rising Morbidity and Mortality in Midlife among White Non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st Century, describes an increased death rate for middle-aged American whites “comparable to lives lost in the US Aids epidemic.” This spike in mortality is unique to white Americans – not to be found among other ethnic groups in the United States or any other white population in the developed world, a mysterious plague of despair.

Oh, not poisoned by our toxic intolerance, but death by despair.

In one way, it was easy to account for all this white American death – “drug and alcohol poisoning, suicide, and chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis” according to the report.

[...]

[I]t was the economy or it was demography or it was godlessness or it was religion or it was the breakdown of the family or it was the persistence of antique values or it was the lack of social programs or it was the dependence on social programs.

[...]

If you believe the [...] report, white people are victims of their own privilege – literally. Their cherished right to own guns, and the vast increase in the ownership of weaponry, means that their suicide attempts are more effective. They have more access to opioids because doctors are more likely to trust white people with them. They have the money to make themselves lonely and drink.

[...]

Case and Deaton call it “an epidemic of pain”.

Despair.

On the I-94 [in Illinois], you do find yourself asking: what the fuck is wrong with these people? I mean, aside from the rapid decline of the middle class obviously. And the rise of precarious work and the fact that the basic way of life requires so much sedation that nearly a quarter of all Americans are on psychiatric drugs, and somewhere between 26.4 and 36 million Americans abuse opioids every day. Oh yes, and the mass shootings. There was more than one mass shooting a day.

[...]

And you know what Americans were worried about while all this shit was raining down on them? While all this insanity was wounding their beloved country? You know what their number one worry was, according to poll after poll after poll?

Muslims. Muslims, if you can believe it.

Quite right. We have given up on fixing any of the real problems. And our "leaders" and "journalists" don't talk about those things.

Truly, we're not very bright. We're descended from the English.

But this article was written about a campaign trail trip, and this may be the crux of it...

The vagueness of American politics is what astonished the outsider. It’s all about feelings and God and bullshit.

[...]

The fundamental difference between the Trump and Sanders crowd[s is] that the Sanders’s crowd has more money, the natural consequence of the American contradiction machinery: rich white people can afford to think about socialism, the poor can only afford their anger.

Indeed, poverty prevents harmony, and the American two-party political system absolutely depends upon that.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

American Bloodthirst

What is it about American troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan? From Abu Ghraib  to the Mahmudiyah killings to the Hamdania murder of a crippled old man to the horrors of the Haditha massacre, it’s been one atrocity after another [...]  More recently it was the “rogue” team of killers that murdered Afghan civilians in the Maywand district for sport. Then it was US troops urinating on corpses, followed shortly afterward by the Koran-burning incident, the second such example of American contempt for the people they are supposed to be “liberating.” Now we have this, which – we’re told – is the result of a US soldier having a “breakdown.”

[...]

That hardly a month goes by without some kind of atrocity being committed should tell us something.

[...]

“Honor the troops” is a given on the left as well as the right, because the above-mentioned atrocities are just “isolated incidents,” examples of soldiers who had “breakdowns” and went “rogue.” Their actions have nothing to do with our mission, our mentality, or our decadent culture, which glorifies violence and disdains foreigners – especially if they’re Muslims. Oh no: these are all anomalies.

[...]

During World War II, American atrocities were relatively few and far between, although no less reprehensible. As the American presence abroad grew more substantial, however, and the cold war heated up, such incidents increased in number, and took on a more horrific – and systematic – character.

In Korea, American troops massacred hundreds of Korean civilians at No Gun Ri, and stood aside while their South Korean allies did the same at Kwangju. During the Vietnam war, vast areas under Viet Cong control were deemed a “freefire zone,” and entire villages were wiped out by US troops. The My Lai massacre revealed how American policy had ended in an orgy of brutality, and support for the war plummeted to new lows.

Embarked once again on an international crusade to save the world, our demons are unleashed – and they are more bloodthirsty and sadistic than ever. Why is that?

[...]

By the time we get around to attacking Iran, our homicidal maniacs in uniform will be so hopped up that we’ll be getting atrocity reports shortly after the first American soldier sets foot on Persian soil.

[...]

A major factor in the increasing level of criminality in our armed forces has got to be the apparent immunity of our political elites from the rule of law. In spite of the boasting of former Vice President Dick Cheney that he personally approved and authorized torture, the Obama administration has refused to indict him – even though he has violated US law. Others who participated – the lawyers who justified it, the officers who covered it up – have been granted similar immunity. In short, these guys are getting away with it – so why shouldn’t the grunts?

[...]

US military personnel are shipped from one trouble spot to another with dizzying speed and little regard for their mental equilibrium. This has resulted in a record number of suicides and dismissals from the armed services on mental health grounds. In addition, criminal activities in the ranks are on the upswing, with gang members actively seeking to be deployed to combat areas: they consider it on the job training.

[...]

So you want to kill people and collect their bones as “trophies”? Well, then, son, the US Army is the place for you!

[...]

[Also, the] craziness spreading through the ranks is a function of the policy, which – consciously or not – encourages and even rewards brutality. In spite of all the BS about “winning hearts and minds” which is part of the “new” counterinsurgency doctrine of the US military, the reality is that American troops are occupiers surrounded by a hostile populace which hates them and wants to see them gone. Soldiers returning from the front tell us how they feel surrounded by enemies on every side, and that’s because it’s true: they are surrounded on every side by people who hate them and want to see them dead. No wonder some go crazy and start killing people randomly.

[...]

As these outrages against human decency and morality provoke worldwide revulsion at the perpetrators, perhaps one day we’ll go looking for “terrorists” in the vicinity of a mirror – and see ourselves for what we’ve become.

  Justin Raimondo

Reference and source links embedded in the article.

I agree with Raimondo's assertions about the character of the US having grown more depraved and brutal over the decades, but I'm still left with the question: Why is that? It seems from the surface that the same trend has occurred in Britain, but not in France or Germany.

I Guess He Didn't Like His Role

Something odd happened recently in professional wrestling — a real fight broke out. Former professional wrestler John Levi Miller, 23, has sued Clinton Woosley (who performed under the name Guido Andretti) for failing to take a fall as planned and actually kicking him in the groin — causing the loss of a testicle. Woosley was the designated “heel,” or loser in the bout. [Image shows Blue Demon, Jr. wrestles El Hijo Del Santo].

Miller said that Woosely refused to map out or choreograph the bout as is customary — allegedly dismissing Miller’s concerns. Miller said that Woosely then failed to go down as planned as the designated heel and then kicked him in the groin causing the injury. He said Woosely appeared intent on winning.

I must confess that I have never understood professional wrestling and why people love to see men pretend to be hurting each other.

  Jonathan Turley

Because we just can't get enough violence and blood. The American culture is steeped in it, and when we can't get enough of it in reality, we stage it in our entertainment. Our best-selling movies are full of it. We thrill to the news that we've killed another “terrorist.” Our blood lust knows no bounds. Imagine how rich you could get if you could run an old Roman Coliseum in this country.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Definition of Insanity

I used to find somewhat baffling this bizarre aspect of American public opinion: time and again, Americans support whatever new war of aggression their government proposes, then come to regret that support and decide the war was a “mistake,” only to demonstrate that they learned no lessons from their “mistake” by eagerly supporting whatever the next proposed war is. Thus did the widespread belief that Vietnam was a “mistake” have no impact on their support for the attack on Iraq, and now — with some polls showing Americans, before their government even proposes it, preliminarily willing to cheer on an attack on Iran — it is clear they have learned nothing from their acknowledged “mistake” in supporting the attack on Iraq. Most Americans continue with this strange mindset: we realize we were wrong to support those past wars you gave us, but we stand ready and eager to support this next one!

[...]

The only thing unusual here is that, with Iran, the American media actually seems out in front of the U.S. Government in the propaganda effort rather than in their normal position of submissively marching behind.

  Glenn Greenwald

They got tired of being number 2, or they're vying for the position of teacher's pet.

Read the whole article for all the latest in the Iran hysteria, the upshot of which is that we (US of Israel) constantly rattle our sabers over Iran while imposing harsh sanctions on its people and then crow about the possibility of an Iranian response to our actions, which would then of course require us to (oh so reluctantly and after much “diplomacy”) go to war against them.

And for more of the same, Justin Raimondo has a post up about an Armed Forces Journal article by Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis (Truth, lies and Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down ) debunking the Pentagon's lies and laying much of the blame on the US media's embeddedness with the US military. I'm assuming Davis is retiring.

If Americans were able to compare the public statements many of our leaders have made with classified data, this credibility gulf would be immediately observable. Naturally, I am not authorized to divulge classified material to the public. But I am legally able to share it with members of Congress. I have accordingly provided a much fuller accounting in a classified report to several members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, senators and House members.

And good luck with THAT.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.