Wafers-
Let me begin by quoting my last message, on the previous thread:
"Let's get real. The 2nd presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10th. Schmiden will not, between now and then, or after, step aside as the Democratic candidate. He may shine this time around (altho not likely), but it won't make any difference. On Nov. 5th, he'll get creamed. He'll have his ass handed to him on a silver platter. Or it may be close, but either way, he will be defeated, and Trumpaloni will become the president-elect. And why, my friends, why? It all comes down to this: Schmiden is a douchebag. There is simply no denying this core fact. It won't matter that Trumpi is lower than pond scum, a fascist and a total bulvan. All that matters is that Schmiden is a douchebag, and douchebags are unelectable.
"And with that, we will enter the end phase of the American empire."
The fact is, with this incredible, anti-democratic decision, the Supreme Court handed Trumpi a victory in November. (Imagine: the SC ruled that Trump was above the law. Gott in Himmel!) It makes no difference if Schmiden is replaced by Gov. Newsom or anyone else. At this pt, Trumpi cd be running against God, and still win. I predicted the end of America in the Twilight book, 24 years ago. I spelled out what had to be done if America was to avert disaster. Not only was this ignored (whoever heard of me, anyway?), but in the case of each of the 4 factors of decline I indicated, that needed to be arrested, the US did exactly the opposite, thus accelerating the decline. 24 years later, it has all come to pass. Trump will win, and America will be effectively finished by 2030. I mean, come on: Cassandra (me) has been right all along; is it likely that my predictive powers have suddenly deserted me? Dark times await us, amigos, and they are going to be very dark.
On the bright side, getting the US off the international stage, relegating it to 3rd-rate status, means it won't be able to do as much damage as it usually does. From rogue country to broken country, we might describe it. (Consider the post-imperial impotence of England, as a gd example of this.) Most of the planet will hardly mourn our passing;
ca va sans dire. Karma, my friends; karma. You reap what you sow.
-mb
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteIf Trump wins, which looks likely, it makes me want to send a letter to Michiko Kakutani and ask her if she wants to take back any of her review of Dark Ages America? Of course, that would be silly and petty, but just the thought is amusing. I want to write an essay, "This IS who we are, you Dumbfucks!" Only in my piece I would put less blame on Biden. Americans clearly WANT Trump, not because Biden is doddering and zombified, they want him because he is cruel, vacuous, mendacious, vulgar, stupid, rich, boorish, ignorant, without scruples, etc. and they fucking love it! They love HIM. If they put Josh Shapiro or whomever in there, we will get the same result. And even if we don't, I will feel contempt and disgust towards all the tens of millions who will make it a damn close race. I'd still prefer Biden on a slab full of formaldehyde to Trump. But it is the Americans themselves who are the real culprits. There are raving buffoons at the end of every bar counter in America. We chose to worship and lionize THIS hideous and disgusting buffoon--because he is so quintessentially us!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeIZb1lZDy0&t=1462s (I would gladly vote for this Trump)
Megan-
ReplyDeleteWhat I've been saying for yrs now: the single most important factor in the decline of America is the American people.
mb
ps: New bk from one of my heros: Ilan Pappe, "Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic."
ReplyDeleteHola Professor,
ReplyDeleteBeen a while since I last commented, but I wanted to check in. As I've stated in the past, I came across your work through an interview you had with Michael Krasny back when you were discussing Twilight. I read all three of your books on the decline of America - you called it correctly. Nailed it, in fact.
And here we are. The debate - if you told 12 year old me that this is what a presidential debate would look like, I never would have believed it. As bad as things may have already been in that era (Reagan years), candidates were still able to string together coherent sentences and make a point, no matter how much was fibbed.
I'm curious as to whether you're familiar with any of Adam Curtis' documentary work for the BBC, especially his "Century of the Self" series? I found it quite illuminating and it helps make sense of where we are now.
-Anders
Anders-
ReplyDeleteWelcome back. Not familiar w/Curtis, but it is customary on this blog to provide links to items referred to. A courtesy to other Wafers, one might say. As to where we are now: check out "The Crisis of Our Time."
mb
Please forgive me for breaking the 24 hour rule. Just want to post a link to the doc. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/eJ3RzGoQC4s?feature=shared
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteTime to update our post-its! Here are a few suggestions:
SCHMIDEN IS TOAST
AMERICA IS TOAST
SCHMIDEN IS A RANCID BAG OF DOUCHE FLUID
SCHMAMALA, THE SAME
ONLY GISELE BUNDCHEN CAN SAVE US NOW
TULSI WHERE ARE YOU?
I just stumbled on an absolutely brilliant book, that is really worth reading. It is called "Defying Hitler," by Sebastian Haffner. It has so much resonance with the current moment. I read it in about two days, and it is really gripping. It is told from the perspective of a literate, cultured, narrator (his prose is excellent), and he depicts how his society and friends gradually went mad all around him. People always ask, "How did that happen to Germany?" and no other book or documentary makes it nearly so clear as this book does. He starts by talking about how as a young boy, the First World War utterly consumed him. How, even though he was starving, he felt swept up in this grand and noble adventure. How so many young Germans, who later went on to become passionate Nazis, also felt that, and how all meaning had crumbled to dust with the defeat in 1918. But there are countless subtle insights throughout the whole book. About how people who knew better, gradually came to say things like, "It is perfectly right to put a bullet in Liz Cheney's head for treason!" Or am I mixing them up with us? The more you read, the harder it is to tell.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Defying-Hitler-Memoir-Sebastian-Haffner/dp/0312421133/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S3YL7NIYYDWD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DavWP_q5Q-dRyeoaxraZKfNsC8N
ReplyDeleteIt’s fitting! Leading the way this year with the first mass shooting on “Independence” Day is that family values, uber conservative, 2nd Amendment/gun loving/ state that always is screaming about “seceding”.
https://www.newsweek.com/fourth-july-texas-shooting-san-antonio-multiple-shot-injured-1921135
But perhaps by the 2030 implosion of this wasteland, the daily mass shootings merely will have been part of the bloodshed that is being promoted by the far right. And especially with Trumpi in power for life.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kevin-roberts-heritage-revolution-bloodshed-1235052706/
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Today Amerikkkans celebrate their so-called “freedom” in a land where those in tent cities have nowhere else to go after the encampments get bulldozed. But since their plight has now been criminalized by the highest court, they have the “freedom” to be fined & thrown in a cage. Can't get any more ironic than this!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/28/supreme-court-decision-bans-homeless-encampments/73677194007/
Anon-
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't post Anons.
Fly-
Not clear to me why the Supreme Court didn't recommend shooting them in the street, like dogs.
mb
I was doing a crossword today and one of the clues used the word kayfabe as part of the clue. Having no idea what that word meant I proceeded to the internet and found this definition:
ReplyDelete"the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to pretend that overtly staged wrestling events, stories, characters, etc., are genuine...
broadly : tacit agreement to behave as if something is real, sincere, or genuine when it is not."
Given what I have learned from your books and this blog it seemed to me a pretty good definition for the USA as a whole. Maybe Independence Day could be renamed Kayfabe Day. I suspect it will never catch on with anyone but Wafers. So to all you American Wafers Happy Kayfabe Day from your northern neighbour.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kayfabe#:~:text=1,anything%20not%20to%20break%20kayfabe.
Anjin-
ReplyDeleteMight also catch on w/Native Americans, altho they probably have words for 'kaka' in all of their various languages. I think Israel cd also reasonably be renamed Kayfabe.
mb
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6383/Gaza:-Israeli-army-systematically-uses-police-dogs-to-brutally-attack-Palestinian-civilians,-with-at-least-one-reported-rape
ReplyDeleteSome more evidence that Israel is using dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners. This source corroborates the claims made by other sources I previously mentioned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hao1KscQeU
Candace Owens, a popular right-wing American political commentator, recently declared that she's "no longer a member of the cult of science" while using her computer and her internet connection - both of which are products of science - to peddle her nonsense. Millions of Americans admire her "deep thinking" and "insightful commentary" because they're just as stupid as she is.
David-
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link on this (horrible) information. Painful!
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteThe Brits finally wake up. It looks like a landslide victory for Labour, after 14 yrs of cruel and destructive Tory rule. Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak--what goofballs these people are. Possibly the highest level of buffoonage ever achieved. I vomit upon them.
mb
ps: Trumpi just called Schmiden a "broken-down pile of crap." I'm having trouble refuting this.
ReplyDeleteGood Evening Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI hope that you are well despite all of the wonderful news in the world.
Below is a link to a piece with Gore Vidal that Paul Jay did a few years ago. I find that what he had to say is just a relevant today as it was recorded.
https://theanalysis.news/mini-doc-gore-vidals-history-of-the-national-security-state/
You, I, and all Wafers are pretty well aware of how close we are to total war with the Russia. But I am sure that none of us believe that most americans are acutely aware of the type and scale of that war would even look like.
Given the state of country, I am having a hard time discerning what people are celebrating today.
Peace,
Vince
YouTube just recommended me this video from a year ago . One of trumps former administration official wrote a book detailing how trump talked about what it would be like to have sex with his daughter Ivanka. And his chief of staff John Kelly had to remind him she is his daughter. It feels like some kind of movie that this guy was president before and will be president again.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/62-ySWapMIc?si=cTk_d-kzGF57VFoa
Mo-
ReplyDeleteHow many times have I said it? We are living in degradation.
Vince-
You mean, "what buffoons are celebrating."
mb
"It is perfectly right to put a bullet in Liz Cheney's head for treason!"
ReplyDeleteIt occurs that Trump is perhaps really stepping in it with this whole Liz Cheney gambit. I mean, her daddy is still Dick (freakin') Cheney. I'm guessing Dick still knows a guy, or two, or two hundred, that would dispatch Trump with extreme prejudice on his dark behalf rather than allow his daughter to be executed in a TV show trial conducted by a game show host.
Found this article by Henry Giroux on the aftermath of the coronation of King Trump:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/07/05/the-dismantling-of-democracy-a-grim-projection-of-american-fascism-under-trump/
As MB has pointed out many times, whenever liberal intellectuals write about how hopeless a political situation is, they unfailingly feel obliged to tack a smiley-face ending onto their horrifyingly plausible prognostications.
"We are doomed, but don't worry, maybe we aren't?"
Budget-
ReplyDeleteGd article, altho if Trumpi wants to close down the NYT, I'll be there to help. As for liberal intellectuals, they'll probably get on the Trump bandwagon (just a question of time). Meanwhile, across the pond, England is finally rid of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, both of whom lost their seats in Parliament. What utter goofballs. They need the Special Wafer Slapping/Urine Treatment. A gd beating wd also be in order, imo.
mb
Dr. Berman and All,
ReplyDeletemy book is being returned because Americans don't understand how there can be something beyond a broken American Dream. Despite the book description is about it! They cannot comprehend how someone cannot like America. It is beyond their lizards brains. They quote it is "too negative, full of hatred," and I was just describing my way of life. Even Dr. Gabor Mate says America indeed is a toxic society. They don't read him either. Also, they still believe America is the best and most wonderful: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/people-sharing-everyday-comforts-most-001603198.html
And the comments are even more wonderful. How Americans even the ones who traveled around the world will say: "Yes, America is the best from what I experienced while living abroad." How can be someone so brainwashed it blows my mind. Nothing will save America. I can't wait for Trump to win and speed up the dismantling of America.
And here we are in the midst of another annual violent deadly holiday weekend with obviously a ways to go with the mass shootings. San Antonio started the action with one I mentioned in an earlier post. This was followed in the past 24 hours by the City of Brotherly Love. Then Taneytown, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. Then Albany, New York. Then Chicago where they had two. There undoubtedly is more to come in the traveling mass shooting circus.
ReplyDeletehttps://6abc.com/post/mass-shooting-philadelphia-9-people-including-4-juveniles/15031295/
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/multiple-shot-taneytown-home-sheriffs-office-says/61513254
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/six-teens-wounded-mass-shooting-albany-19556078.php
https://www.albanyherald.com/news/friday-morning-mass-shooting-leaves-one-dead-three-injured-in-east-albany/article_74c9bf24-3adf-11ef-9d1b-635d5fa6f288.html
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/more-than-a-dozen-people-injured-in-2-separate-shootings-across-chicago/3481634/
And do you want to know the REAL reason why we celebrate July 4th? Look no farther than the young prodigy/future member of Trumpi’s cabinet. LOL!
https://x.com/ThisIsKyleR/status/1808927105658597803
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
There’s many articles now on Amerikkkans growing more pessimistic. A particular one in the WSJ looks @ surveys of how they see the current state of their union. Btw, the author is a psychologist, who basically chalks it up 2 perception
ReplyDeletehttps://archive.ph/20230407135940/https://www.wsj.com/articles/pessimism-is-the-one-thing-americans-can-agree-on-3fc98797
She calls herself a “cock-eyed optimist” who hopes columns like hers can “make people more hopeful about the future “. Well, things ARE objectively declining in Amerikkka, & it's not all in ppl's minds. They have lots 2 b pessimistic about. This was the biggest pc. of horseshit I ever read. But Amerikkkans need hopium & copium, since they have nothing else
Fly-
ReplyDeleteThe crucial pt is that Americans have shit for brains, including most psychologists. Altho a few, apparently, are beginning to look reality in the face. Who woulda thunk it?
Liv-
99% of the American population consists of buffoons, so you can't really be all that surprised. There will be no wakeup day for most of them. Meanwhile, I think Amazon may have deleted my review of yr bk. As for Trumpi, who by now certainly can't lose: I have written him, offering to be his Director of Dismantlization. I told him I want a special badge, and a plaque.
mb
MB, in France atm. Learning. I’ve been told that the way the French look at someone, their eyes, is like the Cans, while Amricns are a lil diff. Then hearing tht Amrcns differ by region (ofc) with them being outgoing whl some are more US-centric than others. Someone said that NYers can be warm. French gov more centralized. Also apparently Ottawa is the worst city to live in Can. One person frm FR tld me Ott is hyper-indvldulst, insular, ppl only talk to get smthn from u. My experience corroborates this; even in prog alt scenes u get cynical hustlers who learn the right words to say to get them access to wht they want. I’ve seen in Ott drag scene ppl will sometimes accuse someone of trrble stuff to get them outta the picture and eliminate competition. For the wknds a lot of ppl stay at home, keep to themselves by default. Ppl there are almost aftaid to talk to someone outside their bubble, also sometimes racists from surrounding towns move there.
ReplyDeleteWafers, enjoy a piano reduction of Beethoven written by Liszt and performed amazingly by Cyprien Katsaris. The end of the first movement shakes the ground upon which I stand.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5RQqeKQJ5PSSRDZGuaKbYT?si=l3_2oTY1SH-P2FMiCkmknw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6FqRLd3MrOwk2cE7dceX7x
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I42Afr-OUso
Crispy-
ReplyDeleteEnuf w/the abbreviations; I can't understand half of what yr saying. Other than that, just remain crunchy, and you'll be all right.
mb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpc5mY9JebQ
ReplyDeleteCaitlin Johnstone on the unnatural ways in which modern society turns the human into a ghoulish perversion.
I'm positive she's read your works, Dr. Berman. In this video, she talks about how 'Narrative' serves to make people behave in ways they otherwise wouldn't. There's a lot of parallel with your thesis.
America's narrative has been 'invincibility' since the conclusion of World War 2, yet here we are on the precipice of electing Trump and CONFIRMING that America is a decayed and rotting corpse of a civilization.
I'll be long gone from this world when America emerges from its run of fascism, but I wonder how the permanent wounding of this country is going to change its perception of itself.
A minor correction:
ReplyDeleteRishi Sunak did win his seat, but, of course, was replaced by Keir Starmer as prime minister.
https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/24432361.election-result-rishi-sunak-wins-richmond-northallerton/
Last-
ReplyDeleteYes, yr rt; my mistake. It wd be gd, however, if he were beaten to w/in an inch of his life, and then thrown on a dung heap (along w/Liz and Boris).
Xen-
I doubt there will be a chg in perception. Heads are rammed in buttocks, across the board.
mb
ps: I just wrote leading Democrats, urging them to start publicly addressing Biden as 'Schmiden', and also referring to him as 'Schmiden'. I added that 'President Doofus' wd also serve. Tell me I'm not patriotic.
ReplyDeletecube-
ReplyDeleteRemember: we are a discussion forum, not a bulletin board. Thank you.
mb
ReplyDeleteGo Indy! It perhaps is the road rage capitol of the world! LOL! Check this out, Wafers. The Indiana State Police says that this wonderful mid-western city has had 40 violent ones this year so far. One truck driver says he sees 10 to 20 daily while traversing around this wasteland.
https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/isp-40-road-rage-incidents-in-indianapolis-area-so-far-this-year
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/indiana-state-police-investigating-3-road-rage-shootings-in-past-week/531-c538e7da-3d0a-4ee5-b618-394b2a4e36b5
And check out other angry, hot headed USAin drivers in various other parts this holiday weekend.
https://www.klfy.com/local/opelousas-native-almost-killed-in-road-rage-incident-near-baton-rouge/
https://www.wwlp.com/news/crime/man-arrested-in-enfield-road-rage-incident-involving-gunfire/
https://www.ktvh.com/news/road-rage-incident-results-in-guns-being-drawn-at-east-helena-town-pump
p.s. Oops. I almost forgot to include the latest holiday weekend mass shooting.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/florence-mass-shooting-ridgecrest-drive-4-dead-suspect/61521550
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
ReplyDeleteA very interesting article, criticizing the elites (mostly the Democratic party elites) has appeared in the NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/06/opinion/populism-power-elites-politics.html
Here's a telling quote from the piece:
"The response to Mr. Trump’s success, unfortunately, has been the opposite. Seeing him elected once, faced with the reality that he may well win again, most elites have doubled down. We have not failed, the thinking goes; we have been failed, by the American people. In some tellings, grievance-filled Americans simply do not appreciate their prosperity."
The last sentence of the could easily have been directed toward douche bag Paul Krugman, the man who keeps writing columns on how wonderful everything is with economy.
I'm somewhat surprised that the Times published this article.
Another particularly a propros book for the current moment is by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, called "Strongmen."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Strongmen-Mussolini-Present-Ruth-Ben-Ghiat/dp/0393868419/ref=sr_1_1?crid=H1IW8YNM1HTG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QfjIFzHiqsF4n0jWhb19tfU1KwxUapf7aty2ycZj6kdt9J7Qen652lU_4XCbW6MJr7dhqNKTWyWIGeHApELSSw.k1iaAv9LxvmncZpz_a2MiKmnSyo6ILU9FM2KLp-d3Ck&dib_tag=se&keywords=STRONGMEN+BEN+GHIAT&qid=1720334984&sprefix=strongmen+ben+ghiat%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-1
In the book, Ben-Ghiat looks at a long list of authoritarian figures, like Putin, Orban, Bolsonaro, Trump, etc. and dissects their methods for achieving and maintaining power. It's a really good book, and worth checking out. She focuses on the emphasis that these types put on "machismo," and this is something that I think the Dems overlook.
Incidentally, the Red Pill MMA/Dana White crowd seem pretty much all in for MAGA. Plus, look at any of the comments sections in Trump videos, like the ones under that video of Trump calling Biden a "broken-down piece of crap," and most of the comments are along the lines of "spoken like a boss!" The only person who could beat Trump, is another flamboyant and unflappable "alpha," like James Carville (if he were thirty years younger and had a full head of hair). But if Ben-Ghiat is right, then the Dems solution of "Buttigieg" (Beta male), Kamala (Woke Blue Pill schoolmarm), are going to be disastrous. At any rate, Ben-Ghiat is pretty sharp, and worth checking out on Youtube (another link will probably make this too long however)
ccg-
ReplyDeleteVery enlightening essay, thanks.
mb
dermot-
ReplyDeleteI guess yr not familiar w/how this blog works. We are not interested in statements of opinion. Anyone can have an opinion; this is no big deal. What we *are* interested in is evidence: links, reliable references, and so on. You provided none of this.
mb
Amerikkka is divided on whether their failed dream is still possible, a study by the Pew Research Ctr. revealed. The ones likely to say it's still in reach were older folks, predictably
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-dream-is-still-possible-pew/
What those older buffoons don't know is that the Amerikkkan dream was a commodified myth. Remember that famous line by George Carlin about needing to be asleep to believe it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-54c0IdxZWc
Like the title of a Good Rats song, “We’re Taking It to Detroit”, the holiday weekend Mass Shooting Express stopped in the Motor City early Sunday. Before that it had stopped off in Milwaukee on Saturday. Shortly after the Detroit stop-off it was back down to Chicago for two more.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2024/07/07/2-killed-18-injured-in-detroit-block-party-shooting/
https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/4-hurt-after-shooting-early-saturday-morning-milwaukee-police-say
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-crime-4-wounded-2-critically-after-gunfire-erupts-between-groups-citys-south-side
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/3-wounded-after-gunman-opens-fire-near-uchicago-medicine-officials
Wow! What a nation’s celebratory birthday weekend it’s been. We await the official total number of deaths, maybe a record, to be counted and published. The “Greatest Country in the World”, the “Beacon for Humanity”, and “the Land of Exceptionalism” certainly showed its true colors yet again.
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
O surely not:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/netanyahu-and-allies-trying-sabotage-ceasefire-israeli-report-says
O Israel wdn't do that, wd they?
mb
Fabulous News:
ReplyDeleteThe defeat of Marine Le Pen and her collection of fascists! (She herself is a Holocaust-denier. I barf on her head.) Her party came in 3rd. Whew!, is the reaction of the rest of the country. Now if they cd only get rid of Macron, who is a douchebag.
mb
Wafers know the point of electing Biden was never to save the US, but to bring us in for a rough and turbulent landing instead of a crash landing (Trump's brand of fascism). The elites that brought the plane down won't die; it will be the poor working slobs in the cheap seats that will be killed and maimed. So, why not a replacement to keep Dems in power another 4 years at least? Anyone who can complete a sentence would be an improvement, and the electorate desperately wants a 3rd choice.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Biden cronies, sycophants, and blood suckers are spreading lies to keep him propped up through another election. (Besides the lie that he doesn't have dementia.) "There's Only One Reason Why Biden Won't Drop Out" https://electionlawblog.org/?p=144283
Michael-
ReplyDeleteThat seems very unlikely (very convoluted logic), and is pure speculation on yr part. The link you provide certainly doesn't establish it.
-mb
Dr. Berman—
ReplyDeleteFor anyone wondering how far gone Biden might be from his performance, I'd estimate he's in at least Stage 4 if not Stage 5 dementia.
https://www.presbyterianhomes.org/blog/memory-care-for-stages-of-dementia/
No one seems concerned about this: Biden couldn't run a fruit stand. So who is running things in the White House? Here's an article on Leslie Stahl who, like today's media, balked at reporting that Reagan was in a similar condition.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/reagan-alzheimers-family-feud-lesley-stahl/
Why no reporting on dementia? Why no wondering about who is running things?
My question for hard-line democrats: Since democrats are happy with the way things are being run now, why don't we find out who actually IS running things and put that person(s) on the ballot?
Oops-
ReplyDeleteThe country is being run by Hymie Schwartz. He operates a chopped liver stand on the Lower East Side. But keep this under yr hat.
mb
I know Fukuyama has been ridiculed many times on this blog and John Gray has been referenced as an intellect worth listening to. Here they are having a debate on the death of liberalism.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZbR7HE_ER8
I find Fukuyama's opinions on the Ukraine/Russia situation to be off the mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEzvtLX6dZA
ReplyDeleteIt turns out that the Lancet did its own study on the Israeli genocide and concluded that 186,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF since October 7th. This number is more than four times as large as that usually trotted out by the mainstream media. If current trends continue, that number will be something like 300,000 by October 7th of this year. A nation as small as Israel killing 186,000 people in less than a year is, in a very sick and twisted way, very impressive. It's as bloodthirsty as the 13th century Mongolian hordes that destroyed half the world.
David-
ReplyDeleteYIKES!
mb
On an unrelated note, I hafta say I'm tired of being ignored. In 2000 I wrote that the American empire was finished. It took major political commentators 24 yrs to say the same thing. And for how many months have I been saying that Schmiden was a senile doofus? And only NOW are prominent Democrats admitting this? WTF? It's more than annoying; it's insulting.
ReplyDeleteLet's be clear abt these things: America is dead meat, and Joe Biden is not Joe Biden. He is Schmiden, a turkey.
mb
ReplyDeleteYa gotta love Florida! One of its Far Right crazies, Matt Gaetz, is joined by none other than that young conservative poster boy crazy at a gun rights rally. In Kyle’s own words, “Gun ownership is our god-given right. Our Constitution was based on Biblical principles; and not a lot of people recognize that.” So now he, a high school dropout who didn’t make it past ninth grade, is a Constitutional scholar giving a lecture! LOL! Listen to him also say that he’s “putting pressure on politicians who don’t do the right thing.” This functionally illiterate doofus is pressuring elected politicians; they must be even bigger doofuses for listening to an idiot like him. What’s hilarious is that he represents many young conservatives in this country. Yes, the future here certainly is rosy. President for Life Trumpi on January 20th should reward him by making him his Secretary of Defense!
https://weartv.com/news/local/congressman-gaetz-and-kyle-rittenhouse-advocate-for-gun-rights-at-milton-rally
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsVH9KGYdL8
See him also practicing. He is so influential he often makes the pages of Newsweek.
https://x.com/ThisIsKyleR/status/1810025983673520224
https://www.newsweek.com/kyle-rittenhouse-mocks-himself-shooting-video-1922220
Finally, today’s mugshot is of an idiot (also a Floridian) who steals a forklift, then takes cops on a slow speed police chase. It only happens here in the U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
https://weartv.com/news/local/video-stolen-forklift-pursuit-over-three-mile-bridge-into-pensacola-on-4th-of-july#
A teen was suspected of trying to carjack a US Marshal who was protecting the home of Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor. The punk ate some lead, & got thrown in a cage for good measure
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/suspected-carjacker-shot-outside-home-of-supreme-court-justice-sonia-sotomayor/ar-BB1pH1v5
I tell ya, Amerikkka is truly FUCKED. I'm certain that the kids growing up now will have it worse than their parents did
Ukrainian parliamentarian wants a statue of Ronald Reagan in Kiev square : NPR
ReplyDeletehttps://www.npr.org/2024/07/09/nx-s1-5031295/ukrainian-parliamentarian-wants-a-statue-of-ronald-reagan-in-kiev-square
How bizarre! Having the old Gipper's mug plastered in place in Kiev Square... They're really kissing some ass for some more missile money.
Wafers,
ReplyDeleteNot sure I want to get all eschatological, but wow it might be time to quote WB Yeats: "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity..."
If it is possible, all that matters now is that the electorate stop the orange shit-gibbon. They are broadcasting how they will take over and impose their garbage on the rest of us (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/7/8/2252568/-NEW-Biden-Campaign-Creates-Website-to-Highlight-Project-2025-Threat)
Is anybody listening? Sure doesn't seem like it. I never thought I would see such a plain, existential threat to the fabric of the US, but here it is: the SCOTUS making shit up and rewriting the Constitution, and people acting like nothing's wrong with that.
Here is John Oliver, a comedian, doing a better job than the mainstream press on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwqpx6lp_s
I sure hope not, but I fear it really is all over but the shoutin'
DTE
There is now an epidemic of baby boomers being homeless. This is a YouTube video of a 72 years old boomer living in her car. News like this is about housing and economics but I think it also tells the story of the breakdown of American family and social contract. She says she has two kids. Where are they ? What kinds of kids would let their mother live in her car? Also where are her cousins, uncles , in-laws ? Where are her neighbors and pastors? It seems like nobody in America wants to help each other anymore.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/wXigmmgo1kA?si=kibcEqnYK_1Ex-gJ
It was never supposed to work anyway; nothing more than PR, beating off:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/10/us-gaza-aid-pier-dismantled
Dio-
It *is* all over but the shouting. I predicted the end of America in Twilight (2000), and here we are. Our choice is between a fascist and a doofus, end of story.
Trumpi called Schmiden a pile of crap; which is true. But he is also a pile of crap, as is the US, and also that absurd Gaza pier.
mb
Mo-
ReplyDeleteWhen did they ever (want to help each other)? The US is abt "I'm going to get mine."
In other news...
Some yrs ago I remember rdg a strange report regarding the IDF, that in some strange, sick twist of irony, they had labeled their units after leading Nazi figures. So there was a Mengele Unit, a Goebbels Unit, an Eichmann Unit, and so on. Go figure. And now, another sick version of copying the murderers of the Jews. A favorite 'tool' of the Nazis during the Holocaust was fierce German Shepherds, to frighten the Jews and keep them in line. Now, the IDF is doing the same thing w/the Palestinians. They've apparently even trained the dogs to rape the Pals. We've come a long way from Hillel's Golden Rule, one might say.
mb
ReplyDeleteDoctor and Wafers,
Here’s some absolutely great news in the never ending creative and unconscionable land of U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.! capitalist hustling: vending machines are selling ammunition! Now USAins at the grocery stores can stock up on all the ammo they want before they partake in any of the daily mass shootings; shoot other drivers to death in their many violent road rages; or take out their endemic anger by blowing their ( Love thy) neighbor away in our concomitant upcoming Christian theocracy.
https://www.nbc-2.com/article/ammo-vending-machines-oklahoma/61532992?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1OZl4hX_pZerMU_jNJOh12Rufz9Ttru78hO_LoUWpo0UOqGu60OOPrPKU_aem_FjSRLsKC6qQwTqKKkqb3qA
Joe-
ReplyDeleteDid you post 2x w/in the last 24 hrs (wh/is a no-no)? I can't figure it out. Anyway, when vending machines start selling chopped liver, you know we'll be in the clear. Just keep in mind that Schmiden is a complete horse's ass.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteHere is what the West looks like to the East (whose star is rising, as ours is sinking):
-Lauren Boebert gives handjobs in public
-MT Greene is insane
-Schmiden is a lost cause
-Trumpi is a very sick man
-Schmamala is a bit of a joke
-Elon Musk is a horse's ass
-Mark Zuckerberg is a douchebag
-Both political parties are laughable
And the list goes on and on...
mb
ps: For example:
ReplyDelete-The Supreme Court destroyed the country
-Prince Harry and Meghan are tedious bores
-Nikki Haley is a piece of dreck
-Tulsi? Who can say?
-Schmiden literally has no idea what he's doing
-University presidents are full of shit
-Universities are full of shit
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteImagine a little wagon pulling up to the front door of the W.H., to take Schmiden off to the Happy Valley Nut House. He refuses to go, so 'they' send in the Marines. He is put in a rubber-lined room, where he sits and drools and talks to himself. Every hr, a nurse leans into the room and says, "Schmiden, yr a turkey." He grunts, waves his arms in the air, to no apparent purpose.
mb
Dr. B and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteI've come to the conclusion that the Biden Administration is actually fairly comfortable with the Republican Party's Christian fascism and domestic terrorism. It has treated the January 6th insurrectionists very gently; instead of charging them with insurrection, it has charged them with much less serious offenses. Moreover, it has done absolutely nothing to overturn Louisiana's new and blatantly unconstitutional law that forces classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Only the ACLU and a few individual dissidents - none of which are part of the Biden Administration - have taken steps to challenge this law. As always, the Biden Administration is exercising "restraint and moderation" as Republican lawmakers exercise neither.
I must conclude that the Biden Administration is braindead. Every half-sentient person knows that "restraint and moderation" will lead to a Trump victory, and that a Trump victory could lead to the execution of all his current and former political opponents, including the fools in Biden Administration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/25/us/what-is-seditious-conspiracy-insurrection-treason.html
https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-ten-commandments-lawsuit-school-classroom-a1255c8383d06fc04c3bafe899b67816
David-
ReplyDeleteThat NYT article is pretty interesting. However theoretically real these distinctions might be, I'm not sure it matters all that much, because I believe several hundred 'insurrectionists' (or whatever) have received pretty hefty prison sentences. Not gentle treatment, in other words.
Meanwhile, I just sent Trumpi the following email:
Dear Future President:
On Sept. 10 you will have a 2nd opportunity to clean Schmiden's clock. Last time you did it by means of constant referral to the immigration issue. I suggest you forget about that. When you come to the podium, you will find a notepad and a pen. Take a sheet and write on it in large block capitals:
BIDEN IS A DOOFUS
Hold it up during the debate, and keep repeating the phrase, over and over. Because (a) it's true, and (b) it's all anyone cares about anymore. At this point, you simply cannot lose the election. Driving the point home, that the guy is a doofus, will cement your victory.
And may I add that America is finished, and that you are the man to complete the job. Onward, amigo!
mb
ps: I know you want to hurt a lot of people once you're in office. Please put this turkette high up on your list:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.spaywall.com/news/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/us/politics/yale-maurie-mcinnis-police-protest-stony-brook.html
Rap truly is the MOST American musical artform. Themes of greed, violence, and relentless self-absorption have ALWAYS been there. It could NOT have come from any other place than this living Hell on Earth we call 'America'.
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of Dr. Berman's thesis of American culture being ONLY about hustling, let me present to you the lyrics of a rap song called "New Jack Hustler":
I had nothing, and I wanted it...
You had everything, and you flaunted it...
Turned the needy into the greedy...
With cocaine, my success came speedy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGy5tp_CDU0
That's all we are. Hustlers. Always looking for innovative ways to sandbag our fellow man to gain an extra nickel. We're scum.
Xen-
ReplyDeleteC'mon, don't hold back; tell us how you *really* feel!
Well, I don't think America is *only* abt hustling, but I do see it as Numero Uno in our hit parade.
Of course, it's politically incorrect to diss Rap, but I confess, the lyrics are quite often ugly. I reproduce a bit of a white rapper, Eminem, in WAF, tho I can't remember the exact stanza. Something about "All those bitches on my dick." Nice, eh?
mb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZguQ9CoVFo
ReplyDeleteHere's a hilariously stupid Youtube channel created by and for American douchebags. Its stated goal is helping Americans improve their hustle so they can join the 1%. This doesn't require any further analysis, but IMO, it's very funny, so I thought I'd share it with you guys.
ReplyDeleteDems figuring out Biden is way too senile to win, but Harris at least has a shot. Big money donors are freezing money. https://www.kten.com/story/51018837/everything-is-frozen-donors-hold-back-dollars-amid-fallout-over-bidens-candidacy. Many see Harris as safer than a contested convention. Now they just have to convince brain-dead delusional Joe to move aside. No one is sure this can be done. https://www.axios.com/2024/07/11/biden-house-democrats-call-drop-out
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-gets-bad-news-about-kamala-harris-1923889
I will go out on a limb and predict Harris vs Trump, Harris barely wins. Don't worry Wafers, America has still failed. This would simply buy 4 more years of US corrupt and ineffectual business as usual, delaying the implementation of Trump's fascist "2025 plan." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977njnvq2do
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-drops-replace-harris-trump-polls/story?id=111648515
Michael-
ReplyDeleteSmall problem: Kamala (Schmamala) is a dope!
mb
Dear Professor Berman.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree. But unlike Biden, she can walk and talk. Being a prosecutor, she can effectively debate Trump, where as Biden can only stand there and drool. Dems are loudly It just takes 1-4% of voters looking for a non-dementia alternative. Let the games begin!!!!
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-reelection-insiders-no-path-debate-rcna161296 For comic relief, I find Jon Stewart effective (sorry for long link)
q=jon+stewart+youtube&sca_esv=868aeb5872767b9e&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1060US1060&sxsrf=ADLYWIKEdpYnKDB0wO5JwmKEOTGW5jHYyg%3A1720795461074&ei=RUGRZpOUBNKl5NoPq_KQ4A4&ved=0ahUKEwjTysDR3qGHAxXSElkFHSs5BOwQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=jon+stewart+youtube&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE2pvbiBzdGV3YXJ0IHlvdXR1YmUyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESJwTUJ0GWLEQcAF4AZABAJgBP6ABlwOqAQE4uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIJoAK9A8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgINEC4YgAQYsAMYQxiKBcICDhAAGLADGOQCGNYE2AEBwgITEC4YgAQYsAMYQxjIAxiKBdgBAsICCxAuGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIQEAAYgAQYsQMYQxiDARiKBcICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAggQABiABBixA8ICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAhoQLhiABBixAxiDARiXBRjcBBjeBBjfBNgBA8ICBxAAGIAEGAqYAwCIBgGQBhO6BgYIARABGAm6BgYIAhABGAi6BgYIAxABGBSSBwE5oAelNA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ab9d2f4b,vid:S9LZXheHddI,st:0
Michael-
ReplyDeleteThere's always the possibility that Trumpi will urinate on her shoes. In wh/case, her debating skills won't be of much use.
mb
Doctor & Wafers,
ReplyDeleteMaybe he unconsciously likes The Don. Maybe he also has this secret plan to unite the two parties. So don’t forget to back, with all your hearts, the Biden/Trump ticket this fall. LOL! As a team they certainly would expedite the upcoming 2030 implosion of this shithole. Ha!Ha!Ha!
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/biden-calls-harris-vice-president-trump-while-answering-to-candidacy-concerns-214696005962
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
I have a question for you, Dr. Berman.
ReplyDeleteYou've mentioned the 'Wah-Tulsi' several times. How does one do it?
Do you hop on the dancefloor, ram a chicken sandwich up your ass, then drool on your own shoes? We need instructions for this dance when 2030 arrives.
Many thanks!
Xen-
ReplyDeleteTulsi is largely history, and will be totally off the radar once Trumpi is elected. In the meantime, yr dance suggestions strike me as being the rt way to proceed. Just add that during the dance it's impt to yell "Tulsi, Schmulsi, Let's All Convulsi!"
mb
ps: How is the US *not* finished? Voters are now supposed to choose between a narcissistic liar and a senile warmonger. Unless the latter is replaced by Schmamala, wh/wd be worse. And note that altho American 'democracy' was never really real, it's what we supposedly stood for; and now, the Supreme Court has gutted even that.
ReplyDeletemb
ps2: I'm no longer much of a fan of Bill Maher's, but last night he called America 'a sitcom'. Which is correct, but
ReplyDeleteI myself wd prefer to refer to it as 'a beatoff thon'. Just think Clarence Thomas, or Nikki Haley, for example--the far edge of beating off.
Mr. Berman, years ago in New Jersey I remember sitting in the library and reading your books. If it's any comfort, even Confucius wasn't recognized during his lifetime. From what I know, neither was Nietzsche or Van Gogh, and there is probably a host of many others.
ReplyDeleteNietzsche, "The fragmentation into atomic political bodies is the most distant perspective of European politics still imaginable,, in case the petty states are swallowed up by the superstates, the latter by the monster state, and "the monster state finally bursts apart because, in the end, it lacks the girdle to encompass its body: the hostility of neighbors."
Perhaps the future of the West is one of fragmentation. After globalism, or in other words, the quest for world domination, the beast collapses to the the ground in exhaustion, strewing the planet with it's wreakage.
Nietzsche: An Introduction to the Understanding of His Philosophical Activity
Karl Jaspers
https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=7F70E9800AE40C96AB1640FE7A90CC27
Something happened to Trump, an assassination attempt maybe. If so, he's gonna win big time, it only gonna add oil to the fire that is the myth he's creating. Get ready to Trump Caeser, dictator for life.
ReplyDeletehttps://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-rushed-off-stage-disturbance-pennsylvania-rally/story?id=111913361
Piotr-
ReplyDeleteYrs from now, digging thru the rubble of the NY Public Library, Chinese scholars will come across my work. They will cluck their tongues. "This guy Belman had it down all right. He warned them. But did they listen? No!" If there is any justice in the world, I'll be the subject of many doctoral dissertations. Titles like "Cassandra Against the Morons."
mb
I just heard about the Trump incident referenced by an earlier poster, due to a favorite radio program getting interrupted. I really couldn't give a damn about the phony circus Amerikkkans call “Politics”. Whoever tried to shoot him must be under the illusion that these elections actually mean shit. Amerikkka is a failed state beyond fixing
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-reportedly-injured-in-possible-pennsylvania-shooting/ar-BB1pVX6h
joker-
ReplyDeleteYou can kill Trump, but you cannot kill Trumpism. Trumpism is in the American DNA, and the only way it will go away is when the country collapses, once and for all.
mb
Wow. Today was historic.
ReplyDeleteAny other predictions on what it's going to look like for us?
I have my money on American style 'Irish Troubles'. We've got so many militias and paramilitary groups in this country, it seems like an inevitability. The greatest absurdity to me is the idea of a buffoon like Trumpi becoming a political martyr, but here we are.
The tinder has been here for a while, and it sure seems like the fuse got lit today.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/photos/555460/20-militant-murals-northern-ireland
A popular saying by men to women on the roads here is, “Show us some teats.” Maybe with this angry wasteland’s many road rages, the newest fad saying will be, “Show us some ass.” LOL!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cleveland19.com/2024/07/12/woman-cited-after-she-moons-other-driver-during-westlake-road-rage-incident/
And don’t miss the ongoing Republican Comedy Show this upcoming week. It stops off in Milwaukee for their convention. Two of the scheduled speakers appeal to the violent psyche of this wasteland. One of them is dog killer Kristie Noem; the other is the CEO of that pathetic ultimate fighting “sport”, Dana White. But the important question is: Will Trumpi’s future Secretary of Defense show up to say a few words?
https://x.com/js_politics/status/1811056543212650746
And if he does, will he, in the name of innovative capitalist hustling, peddle his “defense wares” to the MAGA “patriots”? Especially so after the assassination attempt on The Don?
https://x.com/ThisIsKyleR/status/1811868731624292732
https://www.ar500armor.com/rittenhouse-bundle.html
https://www.ar500armor.com/rittenhouse-independence-kit.html
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who do not have it." == George Bernard Shaw
ReplyDelete"The Trump presidency is not an anomaly but rather it is a symptom of something that has gone very wrong with this country".-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Trump does not have even one redeeming quality-- some writer
Trump IS lower than pond scum. Pond scum is organic and Trump is a deadly malignancy.
Robert-
ReplyDeleteWhere did AOC say this? A link, por favor? (Context wd be helpful)
mb
the machine works fast. Trump assassination tshirts just dropped
ReplyDeletehttps://truepatriotsupplyco.com/collections/trump-assassination-attempt-t-shirts
and, the decline shirs are here too
https://www.redbubble.com/i/kids-t-shirt/USA-Empire-in-Decline-Waving-American-Flag-by-Maljonic/113988947.VXRIW
you gotta love hustle culture, this is beautiful
french-
ReplyDeleteAmerica hustles everything. If Trumpi got killed, there wd be a T-shirt w/a coffin on it. Meanwhile, I'll need to order several dozen shirts, as I have a lotta friends.
mb
Looking at this, it smells. First, why is that secret service sniper waiting on the roof with his sniper rifle trained on the would-be assassin, but then just waits for the guy to squeeze off four or five shots at Trump before taking him out? I mean, that alone does not pass the sniff test.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the photos of the assassin on the roof both before and after he was killed, you can see he has straight dark brown hair, not the blonde wavy hair of Thomas Matthew Crooks. He looks in fact exactly like who some early reports claimed he was: Maxwell Yearick. Yearick is a Pennsylvania Antifa guy the FBI had arrested years ago.
This really looks like a planned assassination of Trump but the gunman just (barely, by perhaps an inch to the left) missed. Maybe Tucker actually called this one?
https://youtu.be/tFBES_2QsoA
Putnam on loneliness & division: “What stands upstream of all these other trends is morality, a sense that we’re all in this together and that we have obligations to other people. Now, suddenly, I’m no longer the social scientist, I’m a preacher.”
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/magazine/robert-putnam-interview.html
I know "Bowling Alone" is frequently referenced here!
Trump shooter. 1st you hear: such an nice boy, so intelligent, never in trouble. We can't believe this. Scratch the surface, and the truth: came to school in military fatigues, sat apart, loner, was bullied every day. Since he was so intelligent, why hadn't his parents noticed that 2 years out of HS he is wearing a hairnet serving lunches to the elderly? Not a bad thing, but why not even in Community College? The parents had money, too busy hustling to notice their son had gone off the deep end. Not blaming parents, guidance counselors, classmates, anyone, but just saying, this is American society at its core.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-gunman-thomas-crooks-was-loner-who-wore-hunting-gear-to-school
B. Pundit - Thomas Crooks does not have blonde wavy hair. He has dark straight hair in every photo of him. Can we please not echo Fox without at least fact checking first? Maybe SS should have shot and killed proactively, but that's another debate, showing different camera angles, second guessing what he saw and knew. Also link was just right wing hyperbole w/o substance, comical. Yes its my 2nd post, apologies, but just fact checking critical error.
ReplyDeleteWafers-
ReplyDeleteOne thing we can expect in the coming wks are endless conspiracy theories abt the assassination attempt. We can also expect Trumpi's poll ratings to increase, and to see him in the W.H. on 20 Jan 25.
mb
To your point Dr. Berman, a friend of mine remarked that this could be a unifying moment for the country were Trump to respond to it in an intelligent manner.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it’s ridiculous to even entertain such an idea. As you pointed out above, the decibel level of conspiracy theorizing is going to be deafening now, in no small part due to Trump’s agitation of his constituency.
Yesterday’s attempted assassination was an accelerant for our destination. Though you’ve been proven right time and time again, 2030 now seems distant compared to how quickly we’re unraveling.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trump-rally-shooting-conspiracy-theories-flourish-online-rcna161752
Xen-
ReplyDeleteWhether Schmiden will run against Trumpi, or Schmamala, or Tulsi, or Lauren "Handjob" Boebert, some other Democrat is now a moot pt. Trumpi emerges from this event heroic, fist raised high. There is simply no way he won't be elected on Nov. 5th, regardless of who will be running against him, and that's the end of Schmiden and his abysmal presidency. In a year, Schmiden and the Schmiden years will be little more than a dim memory. What will follow will be even more abysmal, of course (w/exception of an end to phony Ukraine war), but there is simply no stopping it. And certainly, no stopping the complete collapse of America. Which may, indeed, occur prior to 2030. We were a violent nation, and a stupid one, and karma now looms large in our future. We dug our own grave. There will never be a wake-up moment for America, or for Americans; of that, all Wafers can be sure. What are we, really? A nation of cowboys, and of woke morons. Douchebags, in a word. Gd fucking luck.
mb
I want to apologize for something that I wrote here. I should not have put the words of AOC in quotes. I do remember her for saying something very much like this in the early part of 2017 after the Orange Monster was installed. I agreed with her then and I am still appalled that so many millions of Americans can't wait to vote for this gangster and traitor. I don't think that Trump could have been elected in 2012 or earlier. Something was happening to our media-saturated "culture" of blathering right-wing pundits and propaganda networks like Fox and others that paved the way to Trump to win just 77,000 votes in 3 swing states that gave him the Electoral College and the presidency. I am 75 and I have never seen such a deep level of dumbness in the general populace. Facts, logic and reason are endangered species. We turn away from them at our peril. Here's an accurate quote -- "I love the poorly educated." -- Donald Trump.
ReplyDeleteMilosz-
ReplyDeleteWd you like to get posted on this blog? Here's how to do it:
1. State a thesis or argument you have regarding the collapse of the American empire;
2. Provide evidence for your views in the form of links or reliable references.
Think you can do that?
Robert-
Source for the Trump quote? Failure to substantiate your quotes is not something we admire on this blog. Please stop doing it. But as for the stupidity of the American people: Jesus, I was substantiating that in the Twilight bk way back in 2000, and the situation has gotten dramatically worse since then.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteCheck it out:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/07/trump-assassination-attempt-evan-vucci/679011/
To celebrate Schmiden's political demise, I have composed a short poem (best if it's sung):
Schmiden, Schmiden, marching down the line!
Schmiden, Schmiden, come kiss my behind!
Pretty gd, eh?
mb
comrade-
ReplyDeleteAre you new to this blog? Do you think we post pure opinion, backed by no evidence whatsoever? What in the world cd you possibly be thinking?
mb
I read The Mandibles because of your enthusiastic endorsement. Since then I’ve become a huge fan of Shriver’s bravery, wit and brutal honesty. Shriver has written an interesting article about what would have happened had the assassination attempt been successful. Much like you, she concludes a Trump victory is all but inevitable now.
ReplyDeletehttps://unherd.com/2024/07/the-martyrdom-of-donald-trump/?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups%5B0%5D=18743&tl_period_type=3&utm_source=UnHerd+Today&utm_campaign=fe5452a7a0-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_07_15_08_34&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79fd0df946-fe5452a7a0-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D
Doctor,
ReplyDeleteHow are you? Sorry I've been away but I'm busy with my second book, Never Lose Sight of the Dark-crazy advice for crazy times. It's actually on Amazon now but I decided to add a few more pages so I'll let you know when the second edition is available. I made about $100 royalties on my first book even though I spent 1000s of dollars promoting it. Of course some of the companies turned out to be scams. In fact, I now realize that unless you're with a respectable publisher, the independent book publishing industry is more or less a scam. Still, like you, I thoroughly enjoy writing and am now working on book 3.
Any plans to visit NYC in the near future? I'll certainly attend another Wafer summit. I did buy your poetry book. My only regret is that you did not include Allen Ginsberg. Howl made a great impact on me while in high school as well as his America and Kaddish. I did get to interview him at the first Earth Day in 1970 in Philadelphia-definitely a kind, gentle soul.
By the way, are you familiar with Mahmood Od and Laith Marouf? Both are well versed on what's happening in Gaza and Israel. You can find both on YouTube. Apparently, Trump took the 100 million from Adelson's widow so long as he allows Israel to annex both Gaza and the West Bank-one of the many horror stories to come.
Dan-
ReplyDeleteGd to hear from you, and congrats on all the work yr doing. I've been thinking abt another Wafer Summit, but $ is tight rt now; I really can't afford it. But keep in touch, I'll let you know if things ease up. As for Ginsberg: I was actually saving him for a later study. I'm currently working on a bk called "The Jews and the Irrational," abt Jewish writers who see the world as senseless, as well as hostile. I start w/Kafka, then move on to Ginsberg, Salinger, et al. It shd take me a while, however. Trumpi is now a shoo-in, wh/will be gd for Russia, horrible for the Palestinians. Do you need a new post-it for yr bathrm mirror: Try this:
SCHMIDEN IS TOAST
SCHMAMALA IS A RANCID BAG OF DOUCHE FLUID
Jamie-
Check out her latest, "Mania," wh/is really gd (except for the ending).
mb
MB,
ReplyDeleteI've been binge-reading some articles on Reaganomics, & what those policies did 2 Amerikkka. I wasn't around during Reagan's era, but it's my understanding that he got Amerikkka in the debt hole it's in now.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26402-2004Jun8.html
https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/Reaganomics.html
Do u know of any bks where I can learn more about the Reagan era?
P.s, With or without Reagan, Amerikkka's ruin was always in the cards. I DO wonder where it'd be if someone more different was @ the helm
Fly-
ReplyDeleteMost Reagan bios are hagiography, wh/tells u something abt the American people. Philip Roth correctly labeled the guy a 'knucklehead'. I personally believe he was a clown, a doofus, an utter simpleton, who did enormous damage to the US.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteSchmiden's admin is probably the worst in the history of the US. Maybe Millard Fillmore is worse, I dunno. I have written Trumpi urging him to fire all of Schmiden's diversity appointments and ship them off to some South Sea island. There, they can toast each other, and congratulate each other on their diversity. But once a week, they all get waterboarded, and have their shoes drenched w/urine. The op-ed crowd at the NYT will, of course, join them. Meanwhile, I will receive a plaque naming me America's foremost citizen.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDelete"You asked for it, you got it: Toyota." Well, much worse than Toyota, of course. In 2000 I said it was game over, and 24 yrs later, it's game over. Declinists shd feel a frisson of joy, really. Trumpi, who is a very sick and violent and dangerous man, is a shoo-in for the presidency. Schmiden is revealed as a piece of horse dung. And Schmamala: don't get me started! Meanwhile, there isn't an institution in the US that isn't soaking in fraud. Just look at the Supreme Court, fer chrissakes! What a pile of crap and corruption. Followed by the universities, the health care system, and on and on. You may remember, my friends, how I said, long ago, that the endgame wd not be pretty. Well, amigos: DOES THIS LOOK PRETTY TO YOU??!
mb
ps: you look at America, and it's hard to hold back on yr vomit.
ReplyDeleteFollow up to my post on Origins of Sadism: Latest updates:
ReplyDeleteIsrael’s Netzah Yehuda: How an army unit deemed abusive by the US is shaping the fight in Gaza | CNN
Israeli weapons packed with shrapnel causing devastating injuries to children in Gaza, doctors say | Palestinian territories | The Guardian
People in Gaza City trapped in houses and bodies left on streets, say officials | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEzvtLX6dZA
It turns out that the Lancet did its own study on the Israeli genocide and concluded that 186,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF since October 7th. This number is more than four times as large as that usually trotted out by the mainstream media. If current trends continue, that number will be something like 300,000 by October 7th of this year.
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6383/Gaza:-Israeli-army-systematically-uses-police-dogs-to-brutally-attack-Palestinian-civilians,-with-at-least-one-reported-rape
Does it get more sadistic than this? America made a lot of it possible.
mb
NEW! explosive declassified docs show how much Clinton team knew Russia would recoil from NATO expansion and we're already feeling 'snookered' thirty years ago.
ReplyDeletehttps://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-russia-nato/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enB0ZWu0HVw
ReplyDeleteIsrael is bombing refugee camps in Gaza, and won't stop until they kill as many Palestinians as possible. Israeli politicians been very open about their plan to annihilate the Palestinian population, and as MB just mentioned, America made much of this possible by arming Israel and shielding it from accountability. Neither nation has any right to exist; both are colossal mistakes for a whole host of reasons.
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who need a little pick-me-up: my landlady in Berlin usta play this on the piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_ESdzyxclI
And you say I never do enuf 4u!
mb
On the other hand, this shd make you kinda sick:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/16/israel-gaza-aid-tax-deductible
How vile are Americans, and Israelis!
Maybe we shd put him on the Supreme Court: here's yet another piece of American garbage (we are wallowing in it):
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/16/bob-menendez-bribery-verdict
ps: And let us add, in the human garbage dept., Rebecca Grossman, Clarence Thomas, Nikki Haley.....=the quintessence of America, and its 'values'.
ReplyDelete"There's a shitstorm coming"--Kurt Vonnegut, many years ago.
Note to Emily-
ReplyDeleteSorry, I wasn't able to run your post. I guess yr not familiar w/blog rules. 1st: send messages to latest post; no one reads the older stuff. 2nd: limit messages to half a pg max. Thank you.
mb
Widespread recognition (finally!) that it's game over:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGzKb-bPOxM
Note to Jack L.:
Like you, I am excited abt the upcoming conference at Evergreen on "Buffoonage in America." However, I think we need to tell Tulsi that her giving the keynote address is contingent on her saying what the Five Basic Principles of Tulsism are. She's constantly being interviewed, and talks abt Schmiden, the Democrats, how awful they all are, etc. But not once has she told the American people what Tulsism consists of! Let's say to her: Tulsi: put up or shut up.
mb
Want another good hearty laugh? Get this. Members of the ongoing Republican Comedy Show stop-off in Milwaukee—delegates, elected leaders,et al.--are thanking, as George Carlin would call him, “the Invisible Man Up in the Sky” for employing divine intervention and protection and saving Don the Con’s life. It doesn’t get any better. LOL!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/us/politics/trump-followers-devotion-shooting.html
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Joe-
ReplyDeleteWell they are, after all, buffoons, n'est-ce pas?
mb
Wafers everywhere should note that Tulsism still is exerting a subtle gravitational pull on Trump’s steady march toward the November Presidential election. Beyond the sound bite she offered to media post-assassination attempt where she said such vile action was the inevitable result of demonizing Trump as Hitler, she warned prior to the Republican convention that Trump picking Marco Rubio as his Vice Presidential candidate would be a “grave mistake.” She then complimented Trump as a “master of entertainment.” Tulsism indeed worked its magic as Trump subsequently announced that JD Vance would be his VP.
ReplyDeleteGiven this turn of events, I think the Institute of Buffoonology at Evergreen College should renew its attempts to contact Tulsi for its upcoming symposium with an offer to give the opening presentation with the suggested title, “Beyond the Workout Video: The Promise of Tulsism Revealed.”
https://x.com/tulsigabbard/status/1812359308937662529
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COFFtzf-rlA
https://www.megynkelly.com/2024/07/10/tulsi-gabbard-says-it-would-be-huge-mistake-for-trump-to-pick-rubio-as-vp/
Jack-
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking we need to revive Herman Cain's 999 Plan. This Plan, combined w/a Tulsi-Gisele combo, might well save America. But then, is it true that Trumpi arranged the attempted assassination? A nation waits for clarification. (But then note that no chopped liver canapes were served at the Republican convention.)
mb
More things to look forward to during Trumpi v 2.0:
ReplyDeleteNOAA Project 2025 Weather
Socialism for the rich, but rugged individualism for the rest! Let our tax money that already pays for free weather forecasts be sold back to us as a service by these corporations.
Stupid Americans.
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeletedharma talk:
-America consists of 342 million morons, and the peppered wind is *not* at its back-
end of dharma talk
Roshi Miles
Roshi-
ReplyDeleteYou are surely full of wisdom. Let's look at our leaders. Schmiden is a war criminal, a warmonger, a senile doofus, and really, a piece of garbage. Schmamala is a rancid bag of douche fluid--also garbage. And what abt the American people? It's not rocket science: very few are not garbage. The path ahead is clear: garbage.
Emily-
See my reply to Roshi. Note that declinists are excited abt the coming (inevitable) collapse. I already wrote Trump, offering to dismantle the NYT.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteCompare this essay to what I have been predicting for the US over the last few yrs:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/17/american-republic-democrats-us-trump-demagogue
mb
This is the sort of thing buffoons are concerned with:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/the-next-commodity-in-the-taylor-swift-economy-1-200-friendship-bracelets-f352d38e?mod=hp_listb_pos2
A few days ago you mentioned how every institution in America is failing. Here is just one example. NASA spent $450 million to build a rover to send to the moon. Now it has cancelled the mission and is dismantling the rover. I live in America and pay taxes. I just think if they gave me a 10k tax refund out of the $450 million and how it would change my life. There are hundreds of examples of waste and failures like this I can chronicle on a daily basis.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/17/science/nasa-viper-moon-rover-canceled.html
Mo-
ReplyDeleteHere's another complete pile of shit:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/17/military-dismantle-gaza-aid-pier
mb
MASS DEPORTATION NOW! signs distributed at the RNC.
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/GSvE-vDawAElMuE?format=png&name=small
Are we there, yet?
Yes, in fact we ARE THERE!
Is fascism living up to your expectations, America? Do you like the things life is showing you?
I have to say this, Dr. Berman. Your blog is such a source of relief for me. I'm constitutionally incapable of drivel or evasive conversation as I approach 50. A few of my friends have gone numb from America's descent into collective madness and no one wants to talk about how HISTORIC this all is.
I think it's the first stage of grief on a national level.
Regarding Nikki Halley's utter lack of principle and integrity as well as her grotesque abandonment of everything but raw power and "political relevance," this wry mainstream commentary was kind of cute and amusing:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXB7dvGC504
And lest you lose all faith in the human race, if only by way of contrast, and to cleanse your mind of all the American filth, watch this riveting (and historically accurate) short film about a TRULY great young woman (close to the top of my all-time greatest list) and try to deny that this Sophie was genuinely fu#king inspiring and magnificent! (Who is remotely up to this level in American society?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM3MDmk1x5U&t=224s
It really is important to read and watch stuff like this, especially in the current dark and unlovely moment. All the ugliness, corruption, amorality, tension, etc. is poison to the spirit.
Xen-
ReplyDeleteIt's really the only blog worth paying any attn to. Sometimes I hear of people going to other blogs, and it makes me very sad. I just hafta shake my head. This is a one-stop-shop. You get the news, bk and movie reviews, occasional music, etc. But above all, you get Reality, and that's hardly available at, say, the NYT.
Megan-
"American filth" is, of course, a redundant expression. Same goes for "Israeli filth." In the past, I discussed the various paths a nation cd take toward collapse or disintegration. My own choice is secession. But fascism is certainly another option, and that appears to be the path Americans have chosen. There won't be much left of us by 2030.
mb
ps: one can't get filthier than Nikki Haley.
ReplyDeleteReply to Roshi:
ReplyDeleteDark times ahead
The Deep State exhales
Wafers smile
Jack-
ReplyDeleteA brilliant haiku. I'm sure Roshi will agree.
mb
Buffoons on parade: What cd be more stupid?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/18/donald-trump-fans-wear-bandages-on-ears-to-show-support-in-pictures
ps: And now, my turn:
ReplyDeleteTrump wins
America in toilet
Flush!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G31nNyrfrHs
ReplyDeleteSome Americans have apparently realized that the American Dream was always a nightmarish con. If you take a look at the comment section, you'll immediately notice how some of them echo the sentiments expressed on this blog. "American Dream: living lavish at someone else's expense." is particularly on point. A few thousand Americans waking up won't change America's trajectory, but it's still nice to see.
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteMB-
That Guardian article is an example of the new literary movement called "Bermanesque." I believe we will be seeing quite a bit more of it, w/o any actual Berman citation, when Trumpi wins in November.
MB, Wafers-
Biden now has COVID for the third time, which will set his anemic campaign back even further. By the by, here's an interesting piece about Biden's legendary stubbornness and belief in his own unlimited greatness, going back to his first failed run for the presidency in 1988 and beyond, and how it is now paralyzing the Democratic Party:
https://newrepublic.com/article/183722/biden-1988-campaign-prescient-richard-cramer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tnr_daily
Miles
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteThousands of Palestinians died from arms Biden shipped to Israel. This is well documented. Why shdn't he be tried at the International Court as a war criminal, and then hung? (Normally I'm opposed to capital punishment, but Schmiden is an conscious and deliberate agent of genocide.)
As far as the election goes, will he step aside? I certainly wd like to see Schmamala in the W.H. She's a certified dope, and can only accelerate our decline (maybe even faster than Trumpi).
What a collection of crap our leaders are.
mb
I'm glad Newhart had a long and wonderful life. He was hysterically (deadpan) funny in "The Big Bang Theory," playing the role of Arthur Jeffries. I'm sad he's gone. One of the gd guys.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jul/18/bob-newhart-dead-comedian-sitcom-star
This American Life:
ReplyDeleteSeattle police officer Daniel Auderer fired for ‘cruel comments’ following death of Jaahnavi Kandula, interim police chief says | CNN
Man gets 226 years in deaths of 2 Alaska Native women. He filmed the torture of one | CNN
The phrase Potemkin Village describes circumstances that's made to look impressive or prosperous, but hides an ugly reality. I think this is an apt description of Amerikkka today.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Potemkin-village
It may LOOK like Amerikkka is doing fine on the surface, but behind the fancy skyscrapers is a polarized nation on a downhill slide.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-trade-deficit-widens-may-weak-exports-2024-07-03/
“In Israel at least 15 major hospitals have been affected, according to local media.”
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna162664
IT glitch you say? By the way: there’s still an Information technology glitch in the Gaza health care after you bombed their hospitals back into the Stone Age you fu_king bastards. At least 84% damaged or DESTROYED.
https://www.npr.org/2024/06/01/g-s1-1780/gaza-israel-infrastructure-water-schools-hospitals#:~:text=Current
Reply to Roshi
I look down at my hand.
It’s not a gun.
It’s only a chicken sandwich.
I am not going anywhere.
But dearest dharma holder: when I gaze long
enough into my chicken sandwich
the chicken sandwich gazes
into me
Ya gotta hand it to “the ultimate hustler”, as the GSWH refers to him. Now Don the Con is “capitalizing” (USAin hustling economic pun intended) even on his attempted assassination.
ReplyDeleteSneakers at the exorbitant price of $299 a pair already are sold out in various sizes. And once again, concomitant with this is the TRUE first law of USAin capitalist economics: “As the price goes up, the demand goes up”! LOL!
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-assassination-attempt-sneakers-1235062261/
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Joe-
ReplyDeleteBuffoons will buy them. Given the # of buffoons in the US, Trumpi will become even richer.
"Our lives are X-rated;
For we are buffoons--and degraded!"
mb
To follow up on the IDF using dogs to kill Palestinian civilians:
ReplyDeleteGaza man with Down's syndrome attacked by IDF dog and left to die, mother tells BBC
What a bunch of monsters. But in more important news, Kim Kardashian drops a turd in the forest and accidentally scratches herself using a pine cone for toilet paper.
Em-
ReplyDeleteSuch big hearts the Israelis have. As for Kim: she *is* a turd (which is why millions of Americans adore her--a case of like knows like).
mb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X49xy-Ugoy8
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Heights
It turns out that Trump is (or pretends to be) such a fervent Zionist that Israel has planned a settlement named "Ramat Trump" (Hebrew for "Trump Heights"). However, Israel shouldn't stop there; it should rename itself "Trumpistan", and rename Jerusalem "MAGA-Ir" (Hebrew for "MAGA City"). In fact, it should rename *everything* of significance after Trump and MAGA, including foods, holidays and customs. Instead of eating latkes, Israelis can eat Trumpkes! Instead of getting bar-mitzvahs, Israeli boys can get bar-MAGAs! Moreover, Israel should transform the Jewish scriptures so they glorify Trump and espouse MAGA ideology. Instead of detailing the life of King Solomon and his peaceful, kindhearted philosophy, the Torah should sing the praises of King Donald and his holy scams and genocides!
All jokes aside, Israel and Trump seem like two peas in a pod. Also...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiLw-auIWdc&lc=UgwwNKoddiURAUhxM0t4AaABAg.A62Of-YXYKXA62PK_ySZCs
Biden recently said "Palestinians should thank me, because I've been their biggest champion." I agree with MB; he should be hung.
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI had just discovered (July 19) the following link in regard to 2 shootings that resulted in 7 deaths and 10 injuries in Birmingham, Al. This occurred on the same day (July 13) of the Trump shooting. It's a bit surprising that this was not mentioned by MSM, but I guess there does come a point when the media doesn't have the time to report this mess.
https://www.al.com/news/2024/07/birmingham-police-ask-for-help-solving-shootings-that-killed-7-most-tragic-day-in-my-time.html?itm_source=parsely-api
David-
ReplyDeleteTrump and Schmiden are a couple of shmates.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteI had a kind of waking dream, in wh/Pres. Trump created a new cabinet position, House Vomiter. He appointed me the first HV to serve, and said I cd pick 7 people to puke on on national TV. Here's my list:
1.Schmiden
2.Schmamala
3.Lauren "Handjob" Boebert
4.Kristi Noem
5.MT Greene
6.David Brooks
7.Daniel Auderer
(Seattle police officer Daniel Auderer fired for ‘cruel comments’ following death of Jaahnavi Kandula, interim police chief says | CNN)
I'm eager to hear what your favorites wd be.
mb
Anon-
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't post Anons.
mb
MB. My favorite is not on the list. I think Krugman should be number one. He came out with another article a few days ago telling the masses everything is great . I only read half of it. It’s the same bs. He is either a lying sociopath covering for the elites or a complete moron. I think he is a liar because he is too accomplished to be a moron. The man has a noble peace prize.
ReplyDeleteI’m only sharing the article because of the comments to the article. It’s the best part. Many of his readers are not buying it. Maybe they are waking up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/opinion/inflation-prices-economy.html
Emerging from my extended sabbatical to answer the nausea challenge:
ReplyDelete1. Schmiden
2. Lindsay Graham
3. Debbie Wasserman Shultz
4. Rachel Maddow
5. Adam Schiff
6. Paul Krugman
7. Kellyanne Conway
Zen-
ReplyDeleteGd list! It's a pity, to be limited to 7. Surely we must add Rebecca Grossman, Clarence Thomas, Nikki Haley, and Thos Friedman. (In the case of Nikki, I think a double-vomit session wd be in order.)
mb
Re the title of your blog Dark Ages America and the title of this essay And So We Come to the End it seems to me that the deeply psychotic Repugnant Party MAGA gabfest is very much a sign that the long anticipated end is well and truly here.
ReplyDeletePlease find two related references which describe the situation
www.ninaillingworth.com/2024/7/19/how-it-happens-here
www.nplusonemag.com/issue-45/politics/j-d-vance-changes-thesubject-2 subtitled A Senator From the Unconscious
Clem-
ReplyDelete2nd link didn't work.
mb
Businesses in Houston are taking a hit from the power outage wreaked upon them by Hurricane Beryl.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.yahoo.com/news/houston-power-outages-continue-impact-235225873.html
Amerikkka can’t even keep the lights on for millions of people after a storm, like what's happening there & elsewhere. People are dropping dead from no electricity for their oxygen tanks, medical alert bracelets that can’t be used to signal for help, etc. Amerikkkans won’t get off their asses long enough to screech about why the electric grid is antiquated, outdated and falling apart even when they're suffering as a result of it. This shithole spends ALL our imaginary tax $ on the war machine, & they’ve no problem with that shit since they're directing their anger @ the wrong folks. What a damn joke
Clem's second link should be:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-45/politics/j-d-vance-changes-the-subject-2/
Lost this week with all attention given to the far Right Clown show, with special guest The Huckster, was the typical daily USAin mass shooting. Today’s mugshot shows the guy who blew away his family.
ReplyDeletehttps://abc3340.com/news/local/five-people-killed-in-bibb-county
Doctor, Since one big (or in Don the Con’s own favorite words, “HUGE”) cash cow group of money-donating idiotic suckers for him is the Christian Right; and along with their very own idea of the American Dream—turning this country into a Christian theocracy—here are 7 Bible-thumpers that repeatedly should be puked upon:
1) Franklin Graham
2) Kenneth Copeland
3) Paula White
4) Sarah Huckabee Sanders
5) Harrison Butker
6) Ralph Reed
7) Ryan Walters
Note: I can’t include Joel Osteen because he has his very own, highly successful religious con business.
Joe-
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that Brandon's wife and kids were probably annoying him, so really what choice did he have? (Being an American)
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteWhy am I rdg this crap?:
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/20/style/leather-clothes-summer-trend-lotw/index.html
Oh, I forgot: for most Americans, this is news.
mb
180-degree scumbags (aka people w/o a soul):
ReplyDelete-Ted Cruz
-Nikki Haley
-J.D. Vance
What trash America produces!
Funniest thing about this video is that it's from Australian television. I think sometimes Americans forget that—as the foremost train-wreck nation on the planet—the cameras and eyes of the world are always on them and their madcap shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteThe Democratic Party and their media lackeys have worked themselves into a "we want Kamala!" frenzy, as if no one who has seen that elite-tier douchebaguette in action over the past four years hasn't already recoiled in horror.
‘Cackling idiocy’: Sky News host blasts ‘inept bumbling giggler in chief’ Kamala Harris
https://youtu.be/sNHCCM-OzeM?feature=shared
Good Morning Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI woke up to this headline story at the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ngwzd4y83o
You have to love the picture of the woman with the T-shirt that reads "I am voting for the Felon".
I would just like to share this thought / observation with you and fellow Wafers.
It occured to me that the fake bandage that all Trump's supporters are wearing is really a small head diaoper that is inteneded to keep the caca inside their heads from falling out.
Peace,
Vince
Budget-
ReplyDelete"A YouGov poll (margin of error 3.1) conducted July 13 - 16 and released Thursday found Biden would lose to Trump 41% to 43%, while Harris would perform slightly worse, losing to Trump 39% to 44%."
Personally, I'd like to see Harris win, tho it ain't likely. But it wd be so great, to have an actual dope in the W.H.--a fitting way for the US to end its tragic career.
mb
As flawed as the United States is, and despite the ongoing collapse of all our institutions, Biden's decision to withdraw from the Presidential race was a moment of selflessness, albeit somewhat forced, on behalf of our beleaguered nation. Perhaps this is the seed for the renewal of the currently fantastic notion that for a nation to survive a degree of social cohesion beyond brute force and materialism is required.
ReplyDeleteNorm-
ReplyDeleteI guess you don't know how this blog works. First, send all messages to most recent post. No one reads the older stuff. 2nd, don't just send in an opinion. Anyone can have an opinion. Instead, present an argument, and then defend it with links or reliable references--evidence, in short. Thank you.
mb