Trump on the stump with his chumps
In Arizona today, Trump gave another of his blithering, stupid speeches, this one to kick off his campaign to win the midterms and then, again, the Presidency. If you didn’t hear this speech, you didn’t miss anything. Delivered to his usual audience of whooping, howling gullibles, Don the Con’s speech, served up in toddler English and slathered with golden superlatives about himself, was the same pastiche of bloviating, idiocy, lies, threats, and vague jingoism that we’ve all heard from him ad nauseam. Pull the cord on the Trump doll, and out it flows: “Look at the fake news media back there, they won’t tell you the truth, the Socialists stole the election, we’re going to take back our country, and we have to, or you won’t have a country anymore, and [long list here] they’re going to pay when we do”–blah, blah, blah, blah.
In this utterly predictable grievance rant, so predictable that a Mr. Potatohead doll could deliver it, he laid out what passes for a Vision of the Future among the leaders of the now fascist Republican Party. But here’s the rub:
If Trump and his ilk–McCarthy, Gaetz, Greene, Abbot, DeSantis, Cruz, Graham, Jordan, Cawthorne, Hawley, et al.–seize control of the U.S. government via the 2022 midterms and the 2024 Presidential election, they will have a far, far more difficult time making over the country to suit their oxymoronic (emphasis on the moronic) blind vision than they can possibly imagine. They have no clue, none whatsoever, how far behind most people in the country they are, how fitted their views are to being foisted onto a people of a previous century, not upon those of our own. Even if they find themselves controlling it all, millions and millions and millions of Americans simply aren’t going to goosestep to their tune. I suspect that after much turbulence, they will find actually governing according to their regressive, idiotic strongman notions impossible. If they knew any history, they would have some idea what they are setting themselves up for.
Hey Repugnicans, about your Vision of the Future: there is a Russian proverb that is much to the point:
Вилами на воде писано (vilami na vode pisano).
“The future is written with a pitchfork on water.”
Bob Shepherd | Praxis 
From my friend Greg:
I am not comforted primarily because the disarray of the various things that need to coalesce against all of them. Now. I am reminded of Kurt Tucholsky’s observation when he observed a similar scenario [during the Weimar Republic]: “Never before had Democracy reacted so promptly as did by doing nothing when it dealt with the prospect of dictatorship.”
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Bob, I also found it amusing a week or so back that Rump’s new social media operation is called “Truth Social.” What is the English translation of the name of that famous Russian “newspaper?” 🤣 But, of course, there was “no collusion!”
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Ha! Exactly, David. I commented on this on Diane Ravitch’s blog and included a little dialogue:
DT: So, what should I call the new network?
VLAD: Well, in the old days, we called the propaganda organ Pravda.
DT: OK, Pravda.
VLAD: No, Donald. It means “Truth” in Russian.
DT: You want me to call it “Truth in Russian”?
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Nice! I have been quite busy for the last several months. Haven’t done much blogging or reading of blogs. However, one of the more enjoyable books that I am in the process of reading is Max Tegmark’s “Our Mathematical Universe.” For a popular science work, it is well-written and actually very eye-opening as opposed to the tendency of a lot of books in this genre to rehash the same topics for the nth time. Given your wide-ranging interests, I think that you might enjoy it!
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He’s a fascinating fellow, Tegmark. I’ll give it a look. Thanks, and warm wishes to you and yours!
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Yes, Happy New Year, belatedly! My wife sold her accounting practice this fall and I have had to help move her office and computer systems twice since then 😮💨, first to a temp location while the acquiring firm built out new office space. She’ll be working part time for a few more years for them though to help transition the clients. I am also wrapping up my physics and math tutoring at the end of this school year. After plugging holes in the AP dikes for a decade, I am going to focus on learning things that interest me for a while now.
Also just had our third grandson at 12:44 AM the night after Christmas, about 3 weeks early. He was supposed to arrive on 1/19 but fortunately he’s doing fine despite being a bit early.
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Oh, that’s just wonderful, David. Congrats on the grandson and to your wife for her retirement! Focusing on learning things that interest you–now, that’s a delight. Love to you and yours!
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Hope you are doing well and are enjoying your retirement!
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