Posts Tagged ‘MEXICANS’
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In Bureaucracy, Entertainment, History, Humor, Military, Politics, Social commentary on December 2, 2024 at 12:19 am
Many Republican strategists feared that, with the defeat of Donald Trump by Joe Biden in 2020, Democrats would have a lock on the White House in 2024.
And the base of the Republican Party continued to demand candidates who are increasingly Fascistic.
The top officials of the Republican Party decided that science held the answer: They would use cloning to create the perfect, unbeatable Presidential candidate.
They directed scientists from the National Institute of Health to resurrect—via DNA samples—several past, hugely popular Republican leaders.
The first of these was Abraham Lincoln: Destroyer of slavery and defender of the Union.
The scientists then introduced him to a sample of Republican voters to gauge his current popularity.
Abraham Lincoln
The test audience erupted—but not in the way party officials expected.
“Race-mixer!”
“He’s the reason we have all these damn civil rights laws.”
“He invaded the South—and destroyed states’ rights!”
To head off a riot, the scientists rushed the startled Lincoln-clone off the stage.
Then they introduced their next resurrected candidate: Theodore Roosevelt, the trust-busting conservationist.
Theodore Roosevelt
Again, the test-audience erupted:
“Tree-hugger! Tree-hugger!”
“He’s the guy who broke up the big corporations—lousy Socialist!”
Startled Republican officials hustled the Roosevelt-clone out of the building.
Finally, they brought out their third choice for victory: A cloned Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan
For the test audience, this was simply too much:
“Not him! He legalized abortion in California when he was Governor!”
“He let all those damn Mexicans come into California! We need someone who kicks them out!”
Desperate, Republican leaders went into a huddle.
“What are we going to do?” asked one. “Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan were our most popular Presidents.”
“Yeah, but that was in the past, before Donald Trump showed us the way,” said another. “We need a candidate who speaks to our base today.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. But there’s just one catch. The guy I have in mind wasn’t actually born in the United States.”
“So what?”
“That would violate the Constitution.”
“Screw the Constitution. You know what Donald Trump always said: Why spoil the beauty of the thing with legality?”
So the Republicans again ordered the scientists to return to work one last time.
When the last resurrected candidate was presented to the test-audience, the crowd rose as one, shouting: “That’s him! That’s him!”
“The one we’ve been waiting for!”
“The one who really speaks for us!”
“He’s totally anti-abortion—and he hates uppity women!”
“He makes even Trump look like a pussy!”
“Yeah—he hates Socialists, gays and nonwhites, and he really believes in a strong military!”
Then the audience suddenly hushed as their cloned savior raised his hand for silence.
“All right, all right, I vill do it,” said the clone-candidate. “But the last time I led people to greatness, they proved unworthy of me.
“So I vill do it again—but only on von condition!”
“Yes, yes!” screamed the test-audience. “Anything you want! What is it?”
“Ziss time….”
Adolf Trump
….no more Mister Nice Guy!”
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In Business, History, Politics, Social commentary on October 28, 2024 at 12:12 am
Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore.
In 2024, more than 70% of Americans are planning to celebrate Halloween. They are expected to spend $11.6 billion:
- $3.8 billion on costumes;
- $3.8 billion on decorations;
- $3.5 billion on Halloween candy;
- $500 million on greeting cards.
Those putting out this avalanche of money will, of course, be adults. And a lot of those costumes will be worn by adults at parties across the nation.
This will be especially true in San Francisco.
In 1979, Halloween in its Castro District shifted from being a children’s event to a celebration among homosexuals.
The massive crowds quickly overwhelmed the streets, mass transit and due to the Castro’s location along two major transport corridors, disrupted traffic flow well outside the neighborhood.
In 2002, 500,000 people celebrated Halloween in the Castro and four people were stabbed.
It continued to grow into a massive annual street party until 2006, when a shooting wounded nine people and prompted the city to call off the event.
In 2007, 600 police were deployed in the Castro on Halloween. By 2010, San Francisco had banned the event in the Castro, directing celebrants to various balls and parties elsewhere.
But there’s another force working to suppress Halloween joy among its participants: Political Correctness.
A number of articles highlight a series of costumes it’s now Politically Incorrect to wear on Halloween. As a result, it’s now virtually impossible to enjoy this occasion without fearing that you’ll hurt the Politically Correct sensitivities of almost every group imaginable.
For example:
Adolf Hitler: PC types damn it as offensive and upsetting to many people—such as Jews generally and Holocaust survivors in particular. (The same could be said for any actor who portrays Hitler in a movie, such as Downfall or The Bunker.)
Homeless Persons: Such costumes will hurt the feelings of bums who won’t be attending Halloween parties anyway.
Illegal Alien: It’s not nice to spotlight people who constantly violate the immigration laws of the United States.
Terrorist: You might upset Islamics, who make up the vast majority of the world’s terrorists.
Others on the list of groups that uber-liberals believes it’s Politically Incorrect to dress up as include:
- Blacks (if you’re white).
- Naughty priests: It’s offensive to mock religious hypocrites who violate the bodies of children.
- Caitlyn Jenner: It’s cruel to make fun of a man who, as a man, won gold medals as an Olympic athlete—and then had sophisticated surgery to make himself look like a woman.
- Mexicans (such as a woman wearing a mariachi outfit or a man sporting a sombrero, serape and drooping moustache).
- Pimp: It’s offensive to blacks—especially those who make their living through the sale of women’s bodies.
- Sexy nurse: Because nursing is a serious profession—and everybody knows that nurses never enter into romances with doctors.
- Fat costumes: It will hurt the feelings of people who can barely fit into an airplane seat—many of them because they simply eat too much.
- Crazed Killer: Because it’s not fair to make fun of psychopathic murderers who prey on innocent men, women and children.
- Sexy Convict/Prison Guard: You could be accused of “trivializing” the United States prison system.
- The Wall: Wearing an imitation brick wall reminds people that millions of Hispanics have illegally violated America’s immigration laws—and millions more intend to.
- Arab Sheik: It’s not nice to dress like a terrorism-bankrolling OPEC board member wearing a long flowing robe and headdress.
- Sexy Harem Slave: Consider this the flip side of “Arab Sheik.” It’s uncool to remind people that women throughout the Islamic world are treated like chattel.
- “Droopers”: An obvious parody of the “Hooters” outfit, this features a fake pair of drooping breasts, thus winning it dual charges of “ageism” and “sexism.”
- Geisha: You could be accused of “cultural appropriation.”
- Hillary in Prison: Depicting a woman who often skirted the law as paying the price for it is anti-feminist.
- Robert E. Lee: Once a Southern icon of the Civil War, he is now damned as a racist defender of slavery.
- Escaped Mental Patient: Wearing an imitation straitjacket makes fun of real-life whackjobs who need to be restrained—for their own safety and that of others.
- Indian Snake Charmer: This costume supposedly appropriates Middle Eastern culture and has “disturbing sexual undertones”—if you equate snakes with penises.
If you follow the guidelines of these articles, you might as well skip Halloween altogether.
Yet no one objects to children—or adults—dressing up as pirates like Blackbeard, who once terrorized the oceans as modern-day terrorists menace the world.
Blackbeard
No one objects to those who dress up like skeletons—when almost everyone has lost a friend or family member to death.
No one objects to those who dress up as witches, who have been associated with evil for hundreds of years.
No one objects to those who dress up as Satan—the literal personification of evil for millions of Christians, Jews and Muslims.
The whole idea of Halloween is to momentarily step into a character that’s utterly different from you.
So if you are a terrorist, try dressing up at Halloween as Dr. Albert Schweitzer or Florence Nightingale.
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In Business, History, Politics, Social commentary on October 30, 2023 at 12:24 am
Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore.
In 2023, about 70% of Americans will participate in Halloween, and will spend an estimated $12.2 billion. Yes, that’s with a “b”. This will surpass last year’s $10.6 billion.
The average American will spend $31.93 on candy, $19.42 on Halloween décor and $36.84 on costumes.
Those putting out this avalanche of money will, of course, be adults. And a lot of those costumes will be worn by adults at parties across the nation.
This will be especially true in San Francisco.
In 1979, Halloween in its Castro District shifted from being a children’s event to a celebration among homosexuals and lesbians.
In 2002, 500,000 people celebrated Halloween in the Castro and four people were stabbed.
It continued to grow into a massive annual street party until 2006, when a shooting wounded nine people and prompted the city to call off the event.
In 2007, 600 police were deployed in the Castro on Halloween. By 2010, San Francisco had banned the event in the Castro, directing celebrants to various balls and parties elsewhere.
Yet in 2023 Halloween will return to the Castro after The Civic Joy Fund pledged over $100,000 to reimburse merchants for hosting events, like parties and tarot readings.
But there’s another force working to suppress Halloween joy among its participants: Political Correctness.
Articles now highlight a series of costumes it’s Politically Incorrect to wear on Halloween. So it’s now virtually impossible to enjoy this occasion without fearing that you’ll hurt the sensitivities of almost every group imaginable.
For example:
Adolf Hitler: It’s offensive to Jews and Holocaust survivors. And it could remind liberals of the Republicans’ agenda.
Homeless: Such costumes will hurt the feelings of bums who won’t be attending Halloween parties anyway.
Illegal alien: It’s not nice to spotlight people who constantly violate the immigration laws of the United States.
Terrorist: You might upset Islamics, who make up the vast majority of the world’s terrorists.
Others on the list of groups that uber-liberals believes it’s Politically Incorrect to dress up as include:
- Blacks: If you’re white.
- Naughty Priests: It’s offensive to mock religious hypocrites who violate the bodies of children.
- “Tranny Granny”: It’s cruel to make fun of men who have sophisticated surgery to make themselves look like women.
- Mexicans: (such as a woman wearing a mariachi outfit or a man sporting a sombrero, serape and drooping moustache).
- Pimp: It’s offensive to blacks—especially those who make their living through the sale of women’s bodies.
- Handmaid’s Tale: Because it’s cruel to remind people that Republicans are trying to eliminate rights for women.
- Sexy nurse: Nursing is a serious profession—and everybody knows that nurses never have romances with doctors.
- Indian Princess: If you’re not an American Indian. Indians could be offended by your “cultural appropriation.”
- Fat costumes: It will hurt the feelings of people who can barely fit into an airplane seat—many of them because they simply eat too much.
- Crazed Killer: Because it’s not fair to make fun of psychopathic murderers who prey on innocent men, women and children.
- Prisoner: It’s not nice to make fun of people who are serving time for victimizing others.
- The Wall: Wearing an imitation brick wall reminds people that millions of Hispanics have illegally violated America’s immigration laws—and millions more intend to.
- Arab Sheik: It’s not nice to dress like an OPEC board member in a long flowing robe and headdress. Especially when they’re jacking up oil prices.
- Sexy Harem Slave: Consider this the flip side of “Arab Sheik.” It’s uncool to remind people that women throughout the Islamic world are treated like chattel.
- “Droopers”: An obvious parody of the “Hooters” outfit, this features a fake pair of drooping breasts, thus winning it dual charges of “ageism” and “sexism.”
- Geisha: You could be accused of “cultural appropriation.”
- Robert E. Lee: Once a Southern icon of the Civil War, he is now damned as a racist defender of slavery.
- Escaped Mental Patient: Wearing an imitation straitjacket makes fun of real-life whackjobs who need to be restrained—for their own safety and that of others.
- Indian Snake Charmer: This costume supposedly appropriates Middle Eastern culture and has “disturbing sexual undertones”—if you equate snakes with penises.
- Donald Trump: It’s not nice to remind people of the man who tried to overturn the 2020 election and intends to overturn the 2024 one.
If you follow the guidelines of these articles, you might as well skip Halloween altogether.
Yet no one objects to children—or adults—dressing up as pirates like Blackbeard, who once terrorized the oceans as modern-day terrorists menace the world.
No one objects to those who dress up
- Like skeletons, symbolic of Death—when almost everyone has had a friend or family member who died.
- As witches—who have been associated with evil for hundreds of years. Countless innocent women were sentenced to burning as a result.
- As Satan—the literal personification of evil for millions of Christians, Jews and Muslims.
The whole idea of Halloween is to momentarily step into a character that’s utterly different from you.
So if you are a terrorist, try dressing up at Halloween as Dr. Albert Schweitzer or Florence Nightingale.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on June 19, 2023 at 12:10 am
No shortage of pundits have sized up Donald Trump—first as a Presidential candidate, and now as the nation’s 45th President.
But how does Trump measure up in the estimate of Niccolo Machiavelli, the 16th-century Florentine statesman?
It is Machiavelli whose two great works on politics—The Prince and The Discourses—remain textbooks for successful politicians more than 500 years later.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Let’s start with Trump’s notoriety for hurling insults at virtually everyone, including:
- Latinos
- Asians
- Muslims
- Blacks
- The Disabled
- Women
- Prisoners-of-War
These insults delight his white, under-educated followers. But they have alienated millions of other Americans who might be willing to support him.
Not only has Trump insulted those who cannot harm him, he has attacked those who can.
Among these: Special Counsel Jack Smith, responsible for his indictment on 37 counts.
On June 8, Trump was charged with not only mishandling sensitive material, but also trying to hide records and impede investigators.
Trump’s response:
“The prosecutor in the case, I will call our case, is a thug. I have named him ‘Deranged Jack Smith. He’s a behind-the-scenes guy, but his record is absolutely atrocious. He does political hit jobs. He’s a raging and uncontrolled Trump hater, as is his wife, who happened to be the producer of that Michelle Obama puff piece. This is the guy I’ve got.”
Now consider Machiavelli’s advice on gratuitously handing out insults and threats:
-
“I hold it to be a proof of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards any one.
-
“For neither the one nor the other in any way diminishes the strength of the enemy—but the one makes him more cautious, and the other increases his hatred of you, and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you.”
Asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who he consulted about foreign policy, Trump replied; “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.”
Donald Trump
This totally contrasts with the advice given by Machiavelli:
-
“A prudent prince must [choose] for his counsel wise men, and [give] them alone full liberty to speak the truth to him, but only of those things that he asks and of nothing else.
-
“But he must be a great asker about everything and hear their opinions, and afterwards deliberate by himself in his own way, and in these counsels…comport himself so that every one may see that the more freely he speaks, the more he will be acceptable.”
Consider Trump’s approach to the greatest legal crisis of his life: Facing indictment for illegally taking dozens of boxes of highly classified materials from the White House and storing them in his private club in Florida.
His attorneys repeatedly advised him to return the materials after the Justice Department requested that he do so—and Trump repeatedly rejected that advice. Instead, he listened to the advice of Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, who told him he could keep the documents and that he should fight Justice Department efforts to see them returned.
The upshot of this was a 37-count indictment including:
- Willfully retaining national defense information;
- Conspiring to keep those documents from the grand jury;
- Scheming to conceal the possession of Top Secret documents from the FBI and grand jury;
- Ordering his attorneys to make false statements to the FBI.
A major reason Trump is now facing difficulties in finding talented legal counsel to represent him lies in his notorious unwillingness to listen to his attorneys. He believes himself an expert in virtually every field—including law.
(Another reason for his unpopularity among attorneys is that he is also notorious for stiffing those who work for him.
(Rudy Giuliani spearheaded Trump’s illegal effort to overturn the 2020 Presidential election from November 4 to February, 2021. He has repeatedly asked that Trump pay him for his efforts–and has been frozen out of Trump’s orbit.)
Now consider Machiavelli’s advice on the selection of advisers:
- “The first impression that one gets of a ruler and his brains is from seeing the men that he has about him.
- “When they are competent and loyal one can always consider him wise, as he has been able to recognize their ability and keep them faithful.
- “But when they are the reverse, one can always form an unfavorable opinion of him, because the first mistake that he makes is in making this choice.”
Finally, Machiavelli offers a related warning that especially applies to Trump: Unwise princes cannot be wisely advised.
-
“It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well advised, unless by chance he leaves himself entirely in the hands of one man who rules him in everything, and happens to be a very prudent man. In this case, he may doubtless be well governed, but it would not last long, for the governor would in a short time deprive him of the state.”
All of which would lead Niccolo Machiavelli to warn, if he could witness American politics today: “This bodes ill for your Republic.”
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In Business, History, Politics, Social commentary on October 29, 2021 at 12:17 am
Those putting out this avalanche of money will, of course, be adults. And a lot of those costumes will be worn by adults at parties across the nation.
Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore. The National Retail Federation estimates that an all-time high of $10.14 billion will be spent on Halloween 2021—an increase from the $8.05 billion spent in 2020.
The average American will spend $3 billion on candy, $3.17 billion on Halloween decorations, and $3.32 billion on costumes.
This will be especially true in San Francisco.
In 1979, Halloween in its Castro District shifted from being a children’s event to a celebration among homosexuals.
The massive crowds quickly overwhelmed the streets, mass transit and due to the Castro’s location along two major transport corridors, disrupted traffic flow well outside the neighborhood.
In 2002, 500,000 people celebrated Halloween in the Castro and four people were stabbed.
It continued to grow into a massive annual street party until 2006, when a shooting wounded nine people and prompted the city to call off the event.
In 2007, 600 police were deployed in the Castro on Halloween. By 2010, San Francisco had banned the event in the Castro, directing celebrants to various balls and parties elsewhere.
But there’s another force working to suppress Halloween joy among its participants: Political Correctness.
A number of articles highlight a series of costumes it’s now Politically Incorrect to wear on Halloween. As a result, it’s now virtually impossible to enjoy this occasion without fearing that you’ll hurt the Politically Correct sensitivities of almost every group imaginable.
For example:
Adolf Hitler: PC types damn it as offensive and upsetting to many people—such as Jews generally and Holocaust survivors in particular. (The same could be said for any actor who portrays Hitler in a movie, such as Downfall or The Bunker.)
Homeless Persons: Such costumes will hurt the feelings of bums who won’t be attending Halloween parties anyway.
Illegal Alien: It’s not nice to spotlight people who constantly violate the immigration laws of the United States.
Terrorist: You might upset Islamics, who make up the vast majority of the world’s terrorists.
Others on the list of groups that uber-liberals believes it’s Politically Incorrect to dress up as include:
- Blacks (if you’re white).
- Naughty priests: It’s offensive to mock religious hypocrites who violate the bodies of children.
- Caitlyn Jenner: It’s cruel to make fun of a man who, as a man, won gold medals as an Olympic athlete—and then had sophisticated surgery to make himself look like a woman.
- Mexicans (such as a woman wearing a mariachi outfit or a man sporting a sombrero, serape and drooping moustache).
- Pimp: It’s offensive to blacks—especially those who make their living through the sale of women’s bodies.
- Sexy nurse: Because nursing is a serious profession—and everybody knows that nurses never enter into romances with doctors.
- Fat costumes: It will hurt the feelings of people who can barely fit into an airplane seat—many of them because they simply eat too much.
- Crazed Killer: Because it’s not fair to make fun of psychopathic murderers who prey on innocent men, women and children.
- Sexy Convict/Prison Guard: You could be accused of “trivializing” the United States prison system.
- The Wall: Wearing an imitation brick wall reminds people that millions of Hispanics have illegally violated America’s immigration laws—and millions more intend to.
- Arab Sheik: It’s not nice to dress like an OPEC board member in a long flowing robe and headdress.
- Sexy Harem Slave: Consider this the flip side of “Arab Sheik.” It’s uncool to remind people that women throughout the Islamic world are treated like chattel.
- “Droopers”: An obvious parody of the “Hooters” outfit, this features a fake pair of drooping breasts, thus winning it dual charges of “ageism” and “sexism.”
- Geisha: You could be accused of “cultural appropriation.”
- Hillary in Prison: Depicting a woman who often skirted the law as paying the price for it is anti-feminist.
- Robert E. Lee: Once a Southern icon of the Civil War, he is now damned as a racist defender of slavery.
- Escaped Mental Patient: Wearing an imitation straitjacket makes fun of real-life whackjobs who need to be restrained—for their own safety and that of others.
- Indian Snake Charmer: This costume supposedly appropriates Middle Eastern culture and has “disturbing sexual undertones”—if you equate snakes with penises.
If you follow the guidelines of these articles, you might as well skip Halloween altogether.
Yet no one objects to children—or adults—dressing up as pirates like Blackbeard, who once terrorized the oceans as modern-day terrorists menace the world.
No one objects to those who dress up like skeletons—when almost everyone has lost a friend or family member to death.
No one objects to those who dress up as witches, who have been associated with evil for hundreds of years.
No one objects to those who dress up as Satan—the literal personification of evil for millions of Christians, Jews and Muslims.
The whole idea of Halloween is to momentarily step into a character that’s utterly different from you.
So if you are a terrorist, try dressing up at Halloween as Dr. Albert Schweitzer or Florence Nightingale.
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In Bureaucracy, Entertainment, History, Humor, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 4, 2021 at 12:05 am
Many Republican strategists fear that, with the defeat of Donald Trump by Joe Biden in 2020, Democrats now have a lock on the White House for 2024.
And the base of the Republican Party continues to demand candidates who are increasingly Fascistic.
The top officials of the Republican Party have decided that science holds the answer: They will use cloning to create the perfect, unbeatable Presidential candidate.
They have directed scientists from the National Institute of Health to resurrect—via DNA samples—several past, hugely popular Republican leaders.
The first of these is Abraham Lincoln: Destroyer of slavery and defender of the Union.
The scientists then introduce him to a sample of Republican voters to gauge his current popularity.
The test audience erupts—but not in the way party officials expect.
“Race-mixer!”
“He’s the reason we have all these damn civil rights laws.”
“He invaded the South—and destroyed states’ rights!”
To head off a riot, the scientists rush the startled Lincoln-clone off the stage.
Then they introduce their next resurrected candidate: Theodore Roosevelt, the trust-busting conservationist.
Again, the test-audience erupts:
“Tree-hugger! Tree-hugger!”
“He’s the guy who broke up the big corporations—lousy Socialist!”
Startled Republican officials hustle the Roosevelt-clone out of the building.
Finally, they bring out their third choice for victory: A cloned Ronald Reagan.
For the test audience, this is simply too much:
“Not him! He legalized abortion in California when he was Governor!”
“He let all those damn Mexicans come into California! We need someone who kicks them out!”
Desperate, Republican leaders go into a huddle.
“What are we going to do?” asks one. “Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan were our most popular Presidents.”
“Yeah, but that was in the past, before Donald Trump showed us the way,” says another. “We need a candidate who speaks to our base today.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. But there’s just one catch. The guy I have in mind wasn’t actually born in the United States.”
“So what?”
“That would violate the Constitution.”
“Screw the Constitution. You know what Donald Trump always said: Why spoil the beauty of the thing with legality?”
So the Republicans again order the scientists to return to work one last time.
When the last resurrected candidate is presented to the test-audience, the crowd rises as one, shouting: “That’s him! That’s him!”
“The one we’ve been waiting for!”
“The one who really speaks for us!”
“He’s totally anti-abortion—and he hates uppity women!”
“He makes even Trump look like a pussy!”
“Yeah—he hates Socialists, gays and nonwhites, and he really believes in a strong military!”
Then the audience suddenly hushes as their cloned savior raises his hand for silence.
“All right, all right, I vill do it,” says the clone-candidate. “But the last time I led people to greatness, they proved unworthy of me.
“So I vill do it again—but only on von condition!”
“Yes, yes!” screams the test-audience. “Anything you want! What is it?”
“Ziss time….”
….no more Mister Nice Guy!”
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In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on May 10, 2021 at 12:20 am
No shortage of pundits have sized up Donald Trump—first as a Presidential candidate, and now as the nation’s 45th President.
But how does Trump measure up in the estimate of Niccolo Machiavelli, the 16th-century Florentine statesman?
It is Machiavelli whose two great works on politics—The Prince and The Discourses—remain textbooks for successful politicians more than 500 years later.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Let’s start with Trump’s notoriety for hurling insults at virtually everyone, including:
- Latinos
- Asians
- Muslims
- Blacks
- The Disabled
- Women
- Prisoners-of-War
These insults delight his white, under-educated followers. But they have alienated millions of other Americans who might have voted for him.
Now consider Machiavelli’s advice on gratuitously handing out insults and threats:
-
“I hold it to be a proof of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards any one.
-
“For neither the one nor the other in any way diminishes the strength of the enemy—but the one makes him more cautious, and the other increases his hatred of you, and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you.”
For those who expected Trump to shed his propensity for constantly picking fights, Machiavelli had a stern warning:
-
“…If it happens that time and circumstances are favorable to one who acts with caution and prudence he will be successful. But if time and circumstances change he will be ruined, because he does not change the mode of his procedure.
-
“No man can be found so prudent as to be able to adopt himself to this, either because he cannot deviate from that to which his nature disposes him, or else because, having always prospered by walking in one path, he cannot persuade himself that it is well to leave it…
-
“For if one could change one’s nature with time and circumstances, fortune would never change.”
Then there is Trump’s approach to consulting advisers:
Asked by Joe Scarborough on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who he consults about foreign policy, Trump replied; “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.”
Donald Trump
This totally contrasts with the advice given by Machiavelli:
-
“A prudent prince must [choose] for his counsel wise men, and [give] them alone full liberty to speak the truth to him, but only of those things that he asks and of nothing else.
-
“But he must be a great asker about everything and hear their opinions, and afterwards deliberate by himself in his own way, and in these counsels…comport himself so that every one may see that the more freely he speaks, the more he will be acceptable.”
And Machiavelli has potent advice on the selection of advisers:
- “The first impression that one gets of a ruler and his brains is from seeing the men that he has about him.
- “When they are competent and loyal one can always consider him wise, as he has been able to recognize their ability and keep them faithful.
- “But when they are the reverse, one can always form an unfavorable opinion of him, because the first mistake that he makes is in making this choice.”
Consider some of the advisers Trump relied on in his campaign for President:
- Founder of Latinos for Trump Marco Gutierrez told MSNBC’s Joy Reid: “My culture is a very dominant culture. And it’s imposing, and it’s causing problems. If you don’t do something about it, you’re gonna have taco trucks every corner.”
- At a Tea Party for Trump rally at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Festus, Missouri, former Missouri Republican Party director Ed Martin reassured the crowd that they weren’t racist for hating Mexicans.
Comments like these didn’t increase Trump’s popularity among Hispanics.
- Wayne Root, opening speaker and master of ceremonies at many Trump campaign events, told Virginia radio host Rob Schilling: People on public assistance and women getting birth control through Obamacare should not be allowed to vote.
Comments like this outraged the 70% of women who had an unfavorable opinion of him—and anyone who received Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security.
- Trump’s spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson, claimed that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were responsible for the death of Captain Humayun Khan—who was killed by a truck-bomb in Iraq in 2004.
Obama became President in 2009—-almost five years after Khan’s death. And Clinton became Secretary of State the same year.
When your spokeswoman becomes a nationwide laughingstock, your own credibility goes down the toilet as well.
Finally, Machiavelli offers a related warning that especially applies to Trump: Unwise princes cannot be wisely advised.
-
“It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well advised, unless by chance he leaves himself entirely in the hands of one man who rules him in everything, and happens to be a very prudent man. In this case, he may doubtless be well governed, but it would not last long, for the governor would in a short time deprive him of the state.”
All of which would lead Niccolo Machiavelli to warn, if he could witness American politics today: “This bodes ill for your Republic.”
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In Business, History, Humor, Politics, Social commentary on March 26, 2021 at 12:10 am
On September 27, 2020, The New York Times broke the unprecedented story of President Donald Trump’s tax returns, which he has long held secret.
Among the revelations: He paid no federal income taxes at all for 10 of 15 years. And he paid only $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
For most newspapers and TV networks, such investigative reporting is a rarity. Most media outlets are little more than “happy news” or propaganda organs.
Two years earlier, on April 28, 2018, comedian Michelle Wolf had hosted the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. There she skewered high-ranking Trump administration officials and members of the nation’s elite media.
Most of here jokes were focused on Trump administration officials—especially then-Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Michelle Wolf
Erin Nekervis, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
But Wolf threw a series of sharp-edged zingers at some of the Nation’s most prominent media. And these comments have gone largely ignored.
They are, however, well worth examining—for the uncomfortable truths they reveal about much of the “news” being served up under the guise of fearless objectivity.
On CNN—where “news” now largely consists of a series of “talking heads” pontificating about stories that other journalists have dug up: We’ve got our friends at CNN here. You guys love breaking news, and you did it. You broke it. Good work. The most useful information on CNN is when Anthony Bourdain tells me where to eat noodles.
On Fox News’ sexual harassment scandals involving such prominent (and former) members as CEO Roger Ailes and commentator Bill O’Reilly: Fox News is here. So, you know what that means, ladies: Cover your drinks. Seriously.
On Fox News’ actual role as the propaganda organ of the Republican party: People want me to make fun of [Fox News commentator] Sean Hannity tonight, but I cannot do that; this dinner is for journalists.
On weak-rated MSNBC, which is the liberal version of Fox News: We’ve got MSNBC here. MSNBC’s news slogan is, “This is who we are.” Guys, it’s not a good slogan. “This is who we are” is what your mom thinks the sad show on NBC is called. “Did you watch ‘This Is Who We Are’ this week? Someone left on a Crockpot, and everyone died.”
On Megyn Kelly, who rose to fame and fortune as a Right-wing propaganda shill on Fox News: And, of course, Megyn Kelly. What would I do without Megyn Kelly? You know, probably be more proud of women.
And, by the way, Megyn, Santa’s black. The weird old guy going through your chimney was Bill O’Reilly. You might want to put a flue on it or something.
[This last jibe centered on Kelly’s infamous December 11, 2013 Fox broadcast where she claimed: “I kind of laughed and said this is so ridiculous. Yet another person claiming it’s racist to have a white Santa. For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white….Just because it makes you uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. Jesus was a white man too.”]
On the continuing demise of newspapers—on which TV “news reporters” depend for their information: There’s a lot of print media here. There’s a ton of you guys, but I’m not going to go after print media tonight because it’s illegal to attack an endangered species. Buy newspapers.
On the media’s—especially the television media’s—morbid obsession with Donald Trump: There’s a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we’re covering like three topics. Every hour, it’s Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don’t go home for Thanksgiving.
On the media’s responsibility for the rise of a President they now detest: You guys are obsessed with Trump. Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you. He couldn’t sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric, but he has helped you.
He’s helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you’re profiting off of him. And if you’re gonna profit off of Trump, you should at least give him some money because he doesn’t have any.
Donald Trump
[This last joke was probably the most painful the assembled media bigwigs had to endure. Because it’s undeniably true.
Trump’s campaign was saved from spending millions on TV advertising because the major TV news networks covered his every word. This was especially true when he was attacking women, blacks, Mexicans, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama—and even beauty pageant contestants.
Trump was “good for the news media” in the same way that Mike Tyson was “good for boxing.”
Both Trump and Tyson were seen as freaks—and thus guaranteed to lure viewers eager to find out: “What outrageous thing has he done now?”] And more viewers meant higher ratings–which meant money.
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Politics, Social commentary on October 5, 2020 at 12:21 am
On September 27, The New York Times broke the unprecedented story of President Donald Trump’s tax returns, which he has long held secret.
Among the revelations: He paid no federal income taxes at all for 10 of 15 years. And he paid only $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
For most newspapers and TV networks, such investigative reporting is a rarity. Most media outlets are little more than “happy news” or propaganda organs.
On April 28, 2018, comedian Michelle Wolf hosted the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. There she skewered high-ranking Trump administration officials and members of the nation’s elite media.
Most of here jokes were focused on Trump administration officials—especially then-Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Michelle Wolf
But Wolf threw a series of sharp-edged zingers at some of the Nation’s most prominent media. And these comments have gone largely ignored.
They are, however, well worth examining—for the uncomfortable truths they reveal about much of the “news” being served up under the guise of fearless objectivity.
On CNN—where “news” now consists of a series of “talking heads” pontificating about stories that other journalists have dug up: We’ve got our friends at CNN here. You guys love breaking news, and you did it. You broke it. Good work. The most useful information on CNN is when Anthony Bourdain tells me where to eat noodles.
On Fox News’ sexual harassment scandals involving such prominent (and former) members as CEO Roger Ailes and commentator Bill O’Reilly: Fox News is here. So, you know what that means, ladies: Cover your drinks. Seriously.
On Fox News’ actual role as the propaganda organ of the Republican party: People want me to make fun of [Fox News commentator] Sean Hannity tonight, but I cannot do that; this dinner is for journalists.
On weak-rated MSNBC, which is the liberal version of Fox News: We’ve got MSNBC here. MSNBC’s news slogan is, “This is who we are.” Guys, it’s not a good slogan. “This is who we are” is what your mom thinks the sad show on NBC is called. “Did you watch ‘This Is Who We Are’ this week? Someone left on a Crockpot, and everyone died.”
On Megyn Kelly, who rose to fame and fortune as a Right-wing propaganda shill on Fox News: And, of course, Megyn Kelly. What would I do without Megyn Kelly? You know, probably be more proud of women.
And, by the way, Megyn, Santa’s black. The weird old guy going through your chimney was Bill O’Reilly. You might want to put a flue on it or something.
[This last jibe centered on Kelly’s infamous December 11, 2013 Fox broadcast where she claimed: “I kind of laughed and said this is so ridiculous. Yet another person claiming it’s racist to have a white Santa. For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white….Just because it makes you uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. Jesus was a white man too.”]
On the continuing demise of newspapers—on which TV “news reporters” depend for their information: There’s a lot of print media here. There’s a ton of you guys, but I’m not going to go after print media tonight because it’s illegal to attack an endangered species. Buy newspapers.
On the media’s—especially the television media’s—morbid obsession with Donald Trump: There’s a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we’re covering like three topics. Every hour, it’s Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don’t go home for Thanksgiving.
On the media’s responsibility for the rise of a President they now detest: You guys are obsessed with Trump. Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you. He couldn’t sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric, but he has helped you.
He’s helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you’re profiting off of him. And if you’re gonna profit off of Trump, you should at least give him some money because he doesn’t have any.
Donald Trump
[This last joke was probably the most painful the assembled media bigwigs had to endure. Because it’s undeniably true.
Trump’s campaign was saved from spending millions on TV advertising because the major TV news networks covered his every word. This was especially true when he was attacking women, blacks, Mexicans, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama—and even beauty pageant contestants.
For the media, Trump was “good for ratings”—in the same way that Mike Tyson was “good for boxing.” Both were seen as freaks—and thus guaranteed to lure viewers eager to find out: “What outrageous thing has he done now?”]
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Politics, Social commentary on February 8, 2019 at 12:16 am
On April 28, 2018, comedian Michelle Wolf skewered high-ranking Trump administration officials and members of the nation’s elite media.
She did so as the host of the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C.
As a result, she found herself furiously attacked by Right-wing defenders of the Trump administration and some of the nation’s most prominent media.
Most all of their attention was focused on the Trump officials she ridiculed—especially Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Michelle Wolf
But Wolf threw a series of sharp-edged zingers at some of the Nation’s most prominent media. And these comments have gone largely ignored.
They are, however, well worth examining—for the uncomfortable truths they reveal about much of the news being served up under the guise of fearless objectivity.
On little-watched C-SPAN: This is on C-SPAN; no one watches that. Trump is president; it’s not ideal.
On liberal media’s obsession with “Russiagate”: I know there’s a lot of people that want me to talk about Russia and Putin and collusion, but I’m not going to do that because there’s also a lot of liberal media here. And I’ve never really wanted to know what any of you look like when you orgasm.
On CNN—where “news” now consists of a series of “talking heads” pontificating about stories that other journalists have dug up: We’ve got our friends at CNN here. You guys love breaking news, and you did it. You broke it. Good work. The most useful information on CNN is when Anthony Bourdain tells me where to eat noodles.
On Fox News’ sexual harassment scandals involving such prominent (and former) members as CEO Roger Ailes and commentator Bill O’Reilly: Fox News is here. So, you know what that means, ladies: Cover your drinks. Seriously.
On Fox News’ actual role as the propaganda organ of the Republican party: People want me to make fun of [Fox News commentator] Sean Hannity tonight, but I cannot do that; this dinner is for journalists.
On weak-rated MSNBC, which is the liberal version of Fox News: We’ve got MSNBC here. MSNBC’s news slogan is, “This is who we are.” Guys, it’s not a good slogan. “This is who we are” is what your mom thinks the sad show on NBC is called. “Did you watch ‘This Is Who We Are’ this week? Someone left on a Crockpot, and everyone died.”
On Megyn Kelly, who rose to fame and fortune as a Right-wing propaganda shill on Fox News: And, of course, Megyn Kelly. What would I do without Megyn Kelly? You know, probably be more proud of women.
And, by the way, Megyn, Santa’s black. The weird old guy going through your chimney was Bill O’Reilly. You might want to put a flue on it or something.
[This last jibe centered on Kelly’s infamous December 11, 2013 Fox broadcast where she claimed: “I kind of laughed and said this is so ridiculous. Yet another person claiming it’s racist to have a white Santa. For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white….Just because it makes you uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. Jesus was a white man too.”]
On the continuing demise of newspapers—on which TV “news reporters” depend for their information: There’s a lot of print media here. There’s a ton of you guys, but I’m not going to go after print media tonight because it’s illegal to attack an endangered species. Buy newspapers.
On the media’s—especially the television media’s—morbid obsession with Donald Trump: There’s a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we’re covering like three topics. Every hour, it’s Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don’t go home for Thanksgiving.
On the media’s responsibility for the rise of a President they now detest: You guys are obsessed with Trump. Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you. He couldn’t sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric, but he has helped you.
He’s helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you’re profiting off of him. And if you’re gonna profit off of Trump, you should at least give him some money because he doesn’t have any.
Donald Trump
[This last joke was probably the most painful the assembled media bigwigs had to endure. Because it’s undeniably true.
Trump’s campaign was saved from spending millions on TV advertising because the major TV news networks covered his every word. This was especially true when he was attacking women, blacks, Mexicans, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama—and even beauty pageant contestants.
For the media, Trump was “good for ratings”—in the same way that Mike Tyson was “good for boxing.” Both were seen as freaks—and thus guaranteed to lure viewers eager to find out: “What outrageous thing has he done now?”]
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THE IDEAL REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
In Bureaucracy, Entertainment, History, Humor, Military, Politics, Social commentary on December 2, 2024 at 12:19 amMany Republican strategists feared that, with the defeat of Donald Trump by Joe Biden in 2020, Democrats would have a lock on the White House in 2024.
And the base of the Republican Party continued to demand candidates who are increasingly Fascistic.
The top officials of the Republican Party decided that science held the answer: They would use cloning to create the perfect, unbeatable Presidential candidate.
They directed scientists from the National Institute of Health to resurrect—via DNA samples—several past, hugely popular Republican leaders.
The first of these was Abraham Lincoln: Destroyer of slavery and defender of the Union.
The scientists then introduced him to a sample of Republican voters to gauge his current popularity.
Abraham Lincoln
The test audience erupted—but not in the way party officials expected.
“Race-mixer!”
“He’s the reason we have all these damn civil rights laws.”
“He invaded the South—and destroyed states’ rights!”
To head off a riot, the scientists rushed the startled Lincoln-clone off the stage.
Then they introduced their next resurrected candidate: Theodore Roosevelt, the trust-busting conservationist.
Theodore Roosevelt
Again, the test-audience erupted:
“Tree-hugger! Tree-hugger!”
“He’s the guy who broke up the big corporations—lousy Socialist!”
Startled Republican officials hustled the Roosevelt-clone out of the building.
Finally, they brought out their third choice for victory: A cloned Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan
For the test audience, this was simply too much:
“Not him! He legalized abortion in California when he was Governor!”
“He let all those damn Mexicans come into California! We need someone who kicks them out!”
Desperate, Republican leaders went into a huddle.
“What are we going to do?” asked one. “Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan were our most popular Presidents.”
“Yeah, but that was in the past, before Donald Trump showed us the way,” said another. “We need a candidate who speaks to our base today.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. But there’s just one catch. The guy I have in mind wasn’t actually born in the United States.”
“So what?”
“That would violate the Constitution.”
“Screw the Constitution. You know what Donald Trump always said: Why spoil the beauty of the thing with legality?”
So the Republicans again ordered the scientists to return to work one last time.
When the last resurrected candidate was presented to the test-audience, the crowd rose as one, shouting: “That’s him! That’s him!”
“The one we’ve been waiting for!”
“The one who really speaks for us!”
“He’s totally anti-abortion—and he hates uppity women!”
“He makes even Trump look like a pussy!”
“Yeah—he hates Socialists, gays and nonwhites, and he really believes in a strong military!”
Then the audience suddenly hushed as their cloned savior raised his hand for silence.
“All right, all right, I vill do it,” said the clone-candidate. “But the last time I led people to greatness, they proved unworthy of me.
“So I vill do it again—but only on von condition!”
“Yes, yes!” screamed the test-audience. “Anything you want! What is it?”
“Ziss time….”
Adolf Trump
….no more Mister Nice Guy!”
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