Nicholas Kristof is one of "a dozen" journalists I'm always eager to read.
If you haven't time for his entire article, I encourage you to read the two paragraph excerpt I've set apart as a teaser.
If you haven't time for his entire article, I encourage you to read the two paragraph excerpt I've set apart as a teaser.
Can We Afford To "Reopen America?"
What The Numbers Show
Every day, my misgiving grows that people are not sufficiently well-educated for Democracy to function... or even survive.
Most people want the trappings, not the substance - the pharisaic bravado, not the buoyant good spirit.
Most people want control (mostly because they have so little in their own lives), and so at regular intervals they resort to moronic knuckle-draggers and fascist chest thumpers.
Anything but having to think.
More dreadful yet, the neo-neanderthals are outraged at any hint they must read and study, undertake discerning, intellectually rigorous research to supply them a trustworthy "database" to think upon.
I will wait and see how things turn out in November.
And if we oust the fascist, I will take keen interest in the next four year... primero Dios.
However, even if we undergo a miraculous turnaround in intellectual rigor and academic achievement, capitalist consumerism is the overpowering seductive force in American society, a power that captures us all with grown-up toys, gizmos and plain ol' Barnum-and-Bailey bullshit.
There used to be "a sucker born every minute."
But ever since Trump launched his proprietary brand of snake oil, there's a sucker born every nano-second.
Can We Afford To "Reopen America?"
What The Numbers Show
Every day, my misgiving grows that people are not sufficiently well-educated for Democracy to function... or even survive.
Most people want the trappings, not the substance - the pharisaic bravado, not the buoyant good spirit.
Most people want control (mostly because they have so little in their own lives), and so at regular intervals they resort to moronic knuckle-draggers and fascist chest thumpers.
Anything but having to think.
More dreadful yet, the neo-neanderthals are outraged at any hint they must read and study, undertake discerning, intellectually rigorous research to supply them a trustworthy "database" to think upon.
I will wait and see how things turn out in November.
And if we oust the fascist, I will take keen interest in the next four year... primero Dios.
And if we oust the fascist, I will take keen interest in the next four year... primero Dios.
However, even if we undergo a miraculous turnaround in intellectual rigor and academic achievement, capitalist consumerism is the overpowering seductive force in American society, a power that captures us all with grown-up toys, gizmos and plain ol' Barnum-and-Bailey bullshit.
There used to be "a sucker born every minute."
But ever since Trump launched his proprietary brand of snake oil, there's a sucker born every nano-second.
There used to be "a sucker born every minute."
But ever since Trump launched his proprietary brand of snake oil, there's a sucker born every nano-second.
Can We Afford To "Reopen America?" What The Numbers Show
Every day, my misgiving grows that people are not sufficiently well-educated for Democracy to function.
I will wait and see how things turn out in November, and if we oust the fascist, I will take keen interest in the next four years... primero Dios.
However, even if we undergo a miraculous turnaround in intellectual rigor and academic achievement, capitalist consumerism is the irresistibly seductive force in American society and that lubricious power captures us all with the allure of its silicone sisters, whiz-bang gizmos and plain ol' bullshit.
"Americans are fucked. They've been bought off. And they come real cheap: a few million dirt bikes, camcorders, microwaves, cordless phones, digital watches, answering machines, jet skis and sneakers with lights in 'em. You say you want a few items back from the Bill of Rights? Just promise the doofuses new gizmos." George Carlin
"Shopping and buying - and getting and having - comprise the Great American Addiction. No one is immune. When the underclass riots in this country, they don't kill policemen and politicians, they steal merchandise. How embarrassing." George Carlin
Every day, my misgiving grows that people are not sufficiently well-educated for Democracy to function.
I will wait and see how things turn out in November, and if we oust the fascist, I will take keen interest in the next four years... primero Dios.
However, even if we undergo a miraculous turnaround in intellectual rigor and academic achievement, capitalist consumerism is the irresistibly seductive force in American society and that lubricious power captures us all with the allure of its silicone sisters, whiz-bang gizmos and plain ol' bullshit.
"Americans are fucked. They've been bought off. And they come real cheap: a few million dirt bikes, camcorders, microwaves, cordless phones, digital watches, answering machines, jet skis and sneakers with lights in 'em. You say you want a few items back from the Bill of Rights? Just promise the doofuses new gizmos." George Carlin
"Shopping and buying - and getting and having - comprise the Great American Addiction. No one is immune. When the underclass riots in this country, they don't kill policemen and politicians, they steal merchandise. How embarrassing." George Carlin
"You Have NO Choice," A New Frame For George Carlin's Classic Shtick "The American Dream"
"There is just enough bullshit to hold things together in this country. Bullshit is the glue, that binds us as a nation. Where would we be without our safe, familiar, American bullshit? Land of the free, home of the brave, the American dream, all men are equal, justice is blind, the press is free, your vote counts, business is honest, the good guys win, the police are on your side, god is watching you, your standard of living will never decline… and everything is going to be just fine— The official national bullshit story. I call it the American okie doke. Every one, every one of those items is provably untrue at one level or another, but we believe them because they're pounded into our heads from the time we're children. That's what they do with that kind of thing—pound it into the heads of kids, ‘cause they know the children are much too young to be able to muster an intellectual defense against a sophisticated idea like that, and they know that up to a certain age children believe everything their parents tell them. And as a result, they never learn to question things. Nobody questions things in this country anymore. Nobody questions it—everybody is too fat and happy. Everybody's got a cell phone that'll make pancakes and rub their balls now— Way too fucking prosperous for our own good. Way too fucking prosperous, Americans have been bought off and silenced by toys and gizmos. And no one learns to question things."
"There is just enough bullshit to hold things together in this country. Bullshit is the glue, that binds us as a nation. Where would we be without our safe, familiar, American bullshit? Land of the free, home of the brave, the American dream, all men are equal, justice is blind, the press is free, your vote counts, business is honest, the good guys win, the police are on your side, god is watching you, your standard of living will never decline… and everything is going to be just fine— The official national bullshit story. I call it the American okie doke. Every one, every one of those items is provably untrue at one level or another, but we believe them because they're pounded into our heads from the time we're children. That's what they do with that kind of thing—pound it into the heads of kids, ‘cause they know the children are much too young to be able to muster an intellectual defense against a sophisticated idea like that, and they know that up to a certain age children believe everything their parents tell them. And as a result, they never learn to question things. Nobody questions things in this country anymore. Nobody questions it—everybody is too fat and happy. Everybody's got a cell phone that'll make pancakes and rub their balls now— Way too fucking prosperous for our own good. Way too fucking prosperous, Americans have been bought off and silenced by toys and gizmos. And no one learns to question things."
Trump is precisely where Cowboy Capitalism leads.
Even so, Trump is just a symptom.
At bedrock:
White "conservative" "Christians" (who are neither) are so "ass backwards" (which is the literal meaning of "preposterous" - https://www.etymonline.com/word/preposterous) that they see themselves as "The Only True Believers," convinced God wants them to prove their faithfulness by remaking themselves in the image of a cruel, vengeful, punitive Deity - a God itching to send infidels to Hell. And like Torquemada's Inquisition they're just the SWAT team to do it.
Trump is precisely where Cowboy Capitalism leads.
Even so, Trump is just a symptom.
At bedrock:
White "conservative" "Christians" (who are neither) are so "ass backwards" (which is the literal meaning of "preposterous" - https://www.etymonline.com/word/preposterous) that they see themselves as "The Only True Believers," convinced God wants them to prove their faithfulness by remaking themselves in the image of a cruel, vengeful, punitive Deity - a God itching to send infidels to Hell. And like Torquemada's Inquisition they're just the SWAT team to do it.
"Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Trump, Toxic Christianity And Cruelty As A Moral Obligation"
"My Gripe With Christianity"
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts Concerning The Coming Collapse Of Evangelicalism
"My Gripe With Christianity"
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts Concerning The Coming Collapse Of Evangelicalism
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts: What I Think About Christianity
A Confession: I'm Starting To Write Off Stupid People As Incorrigible
The Demonstrable Stupidity Of Trump-Cultists
A Confession: I'm Starting To Write Off Stupid People As Incorrigible
"Jaw-Dropping Stupidity: 3 Short Videos That Will Change Your View Of American Politics Forever"
"The Daily Show" Lets Trump Cultists Reveal Their Own Stupidity And Obsequious Boot-Licking
When The Electorate Is This Stupid, Is Any Delusional Thinking Out Of Bounds?
"Trump Is An Idiot's Idea Of A Genius": Find Out Why
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/03/trump-is-idiots-idea-of-genius-find-out.html
Mark Twain, Adolf Hitler And The Dunning-Kruger Effect
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/03/trump-is-idiots-idea-of-genius-find-out.html
Mark Twain, Adolf Hitler And The Dunning-Kruger Effect
Barack Obama: "It’s Like These Guys Take Pride In Being Ignorant."
As Hitler said midway through Mein Kampf, it's easy to persuade people of The Big Lie because common folk cannot believe anyone is so shameless as to pretend Total Bullshit is God's Truth.
As Hitler said midway through Mein Kampf, it's easy to persuade people of The Big Lie because common folk cannot believe anyone is so shameless as to pretend Total Bullshit is God's Truth.
"By an able and persistent use of propaganda, heaven itself can be presented to the people as if it were hell and... the most miserable kind of life can be presented as if it were paradise."
"Trumpistas Don't Just Lie.
They Are Hostile To Truth"
"The Hardest Truth: People Want To Be Lied To"
"Trumpistas Don't Just Lie.
They Are Hostile To Truth"
"The Hardest Truth: People Want To Be Lied To"Trump Could Begin Every Speech With The Words "Everything I'm About To Tell You Is A Lie" And...
Republicans Generally - And Trump Specifically - Are Eager To Lie And Cheat If It Expands Their Power
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Trump And His Cultists' Passion For Lying And Falsehood
Kimmel Illustrates All 3 Years of President Trump’s 16,241 Lies: "More Lies Than Visible Stars"
Truth Infuriates People Whose Lives Are Lies
Truth Infuriates People Whose Lives Are Lies
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