A Saturday Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Saturday, September 5, 2020
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26 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Covid-19 Vaccine Developers Prepare Joint Pledge on Safety, Standards
Translation: “The trump admin has FUBARed so many regulatory processes so often that we are well and fully cognizant of the fact that nobody in this country trusts them to not screw this up too. So please, trust us, we won’t let them fuck you up. We want you alive for as long as possible so that you are subject to our predatory pricing schemes.”
How fucked up is it that we are now in the position of having to trust the same people who gave us Oxycontin?
Trump orders crackdown on federal antiracism training, calling it ‘anti-American’
There you have it folks, white supremacy is the official policy of the US government.
Because nothing is more important than the feelings of white “conservatives,” in quotes because they aren’t. All you people of color complaining about the blood sacrifices you have to make on the altar of white supremacy? You need to quit complaining so much. You’re upsetting people who watch FOX news.
South Dakota dismisses ‘elite class of so-called experts,’ carries on with state fair after Sturgis rally fueled COVID-19 surge
‘Nuff said.
Or not: South Dakota’s COVID-19 cases are surging, and now we’re the worst in the nation
The headline of the day-
Australian customs officials destroy $19,000 handbag
Something a little lighter from Texas Monthly: Passing the Time With the Ghosts in the Dirt
What a lucky girl!
She goes on to tell the story of how it got there and why it was so popular.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Pharma CEOs: listening to the Former Reality Show Host’s rantings and promises, witnessing the dysfunction at the FDA and CDC. Collectively a light bulb goes on in their heads, damn, this could end real badly and we’ll be blamed.
@Sleeping Dog:
You got that right.
My nomination for the most ridiculous statement of the decade (I know we are less than one year in):
VP Pence: “To know President Trump is to know someone who’s word is his bond.”
He had to have thrown up a little bit in his mouth when he said this.
@senyordave: He’s an evangelical, born-again Christian, so he’s had a lot of practice with that. Also, according to wikipedia he’s been a “great disappointment of his mother.”
@Bill:
I was expecting a story about an accidental destruction…
@senyordave: “He had to have thrown up a little bit in his mouth when he said this.”
That suggests he has any kind of conscience.
Hey. Suckers….
Take some notes on how winners win
https://www.nationalmemo.com/now-in-government-food-aid-boxes-a-letter-from-trump
Maybe one day you’ll stop losing….
This no longer surprises anyone:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54039710
@Slugger:
I’m fervently hoping that one of these days, every single thing that Putin has on Trump will be made public.
Other people get fascism and QAnon in their YouTube suggestions, but the algorithm has blessed me with this: https://youtu.be/IwCvYhFWjPY
It’s an angry monster singing a love/hate song about “god fvcking damn it Dave”
I’m not sure the algorithm is wrong. I’ve watched it about 8 times, and I have no idea of the context of it, but I kind of love it.
@CSK: Because I tend to assume the worst motivations for Trump, I suspect that Putin has nothing on him. No pee tape, no easily-explained financial misdealings… nothing.
And Donald J. Trump, worst of his name, cannot bring himself to criticize Putin because it would require admitting he was wrong. He cannot even admit that to himself because then he would be a loser.
Think about it, which is more pathetic; being blackmailed into doing horrible things or just doing horrible things anyway?
@Gustopher:
I see your point. I’m not sure I agree entirely, but what you say makes a good deal of sense, particularly in the light of what we know about Trump and his total inability to admit error.
One other factor here is that back in 2015, Putin referred to Trump as “intelligent.” (I’m sure he was being sardonic.) Trump responded immediately by lauding the “highly respected” Putin. As has often been observed, Trump is incapable of criticizing anyone who praises him.
But just to satisfy my own curiosity, I’d like to be sure Putin has nothing on Trump. If he does, I want to know what it is.
A quote* for today and one I doubt Donald Trump ever considered-
Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes was interviewed around the time he turned 90 years old and he was still serving on the court. The person asked what was the key to his success.
“Young man, the secret of my success is that at a very early age I discovered that I’m not God.”
*- I came upon the quote while reading Merle Miller’s oral biography of Harry Truman titled ‘Plain Speaking’
@CSK:
It’s too bad that life don’t imitate Star Trek.
@Gustopher: IIRC one of the techniques of Russian Kompromat is to be vague about what you have and let the blackmailee assume the worst.
@Gustopher: After having searched the interwebs for information on Broadway Karkat, I still don’t get what they are and what their schtick is, but you’re right about the piece being bewitching. And I never get anything like this from the algorithm, but then again, I don’t surf YouTube, either. Too much like trying to decide what to watch on 250 cable channels. Not good at FOMO.
ETA: I must be confused, I thought the *monster* was Dave.
Multiple boats in distress, sinking at Trump Boat Parade on Lake Travis
Kind of like his campaign.
@Just nutha ignint cracker: Apparently this is fan art from something called Homestuck. I don’t know how closely this hews with the official materials — a webcomic that went on for years. It might have furries? Some giant fandom with cosplayers at least.
But the song is pretty universal. Who hasn’t been in love with someone that you hate for not thinking you’re anything special? Someone so randomly enchanting that your entire mood is affected by whether they look at you and for how long and they are entirely oblivious to their power over you and you hate it.
I just wonder what random things I have watched that sent the algorithms down that path rather than some darker path. The song and video are adorable. I can’t stop watching it.
And he’s horns over heels for GFDI Dave, so Dave isn’t the literal monster. He’s probably not a monster in other ways, just kind of cute (at least to the monster… troll I think)
Oh, I don’t know about that…when Biden beats Trump, Biden can serve in the role of Kirk while Trump babbles incoherently just like Nomad…
@Gustopher: Sorry, Putin has stuff on him. His obsequious behavior in Vlad’s presence, his refusal to condemn anything the Russkies do… I’m sorry, I don’t buy the “he is just an egotistical idiot” argument. Yes he is, but his absolute subservience goes way beyond that.
@Gustopher:I was thinking demon because the short horns are kind of a meme in anime, but they were really short, so they might mean something else.
On to other matters: fashionistas are wondering what message Harris is making by wearing Converse sneakers on the campaign trail. To me the message couldn’t be clearer–just like a t-shirt a student at Woosong was wearing put it, “I don’t give a Chuck.”