Holy cow
Where was this guy last week ?
He hasn’t been this alert in weeks
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They did a great job titrating his meds, but he was just hanging on. I think Biden’s performance was probably real, but from here on out we have to mindful of deepfakes…we’ll never know if what we see on TV is real.
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I’m afraid this will be the case for everything, from here on out. Together with AI-generated leftist “truth” - as promulgated by the unbeatable combination of the deep state and the MSM (this is ultra-refined fascism) - I fear we will be crushed into insignificance. They will flood the zone with ubiquitous visual and auditory fakery and it will be indistinguishable from reality for most all of us. All that will follow in the wake will be dueling ‘experts’ on how fake it is and why.
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I’m really sorry for banging on about the left/right paradigm—I admit that it’s an issue that’s been stuck in my craw lately—but at this point in the dumpster fire that is known as America, I really believe that not only is it not a helpful or useful distinction, it can be used to blind and deceive us. What we think of as the “left” isn’t always wrong or what we think of as the “right” always right (see war, Iraq). Also, the “right” can easily be co-opted by the “left” right under or noses (see marriage, gay). I think that the “right” would be more than happy to use AI-generated content to deceive and manipulate us if given the opportunity.
Instead of the left/right dichotomy, we should be thinking in terms of:
- Truth vs Fiction (Real vs Fake)
- Life vs Death (Peace vs War)
- Love vs Hate
- Justice vs Injustice
- Good vs Evil (Righteousness vs Wickedness)
Just my 2 cents. 
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Venn diagrams come to mind as a more accurate way of conceptualizing these classifications. At the level of retail politics, though, I think there is still some validity. As you suggest, a more granular understanding requires inclusion of the polarities you listed.
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I like your Venn diagram analogy. I would humbly suggest that the “left” and “right” circles on the Venn diagram are controlled by man and are constantly moving, while the other circles are fixed frames of reference (even if we, as humans, due to our imperfect nature, cannot accurately perceive them as such) defined by God.
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Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi are good recent examples. They are politically left of center but they oppose censorship of conservatives and lawfare against Trump. Both are journalists.
Jonathan Turley is politically left of center but has been critical of DACA and John Roberts and also the ludicrous cases against Trump.
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Yeah, there are a lot of good examples…Naomi Wolf and Jimmy Dore are some more. Although it’s hard to know who’s for real and who’s not…there’s a school of thought that says “if you know their name, they’re in the game”. I take everything with a grain of salt these days…I wouldn’t “hitch my wagon” to any of them if you know what I mean.
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Fair enough
Freedom of speech is a demarcation point. There are still a few liberals or those on the left who oppose censorship of opposing views. COVID mandates revealed the true authoritarians.
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I understand your point. I often call George W. Bush the worst president of my lifetime when speaking to Republicans to see if they are merely party loyalists. How do the Patriot Act, secret courts, the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA, or increased federal involvement in schooling align with their principles?
That said, there are differences between the Republican and Democratic parties, even if some Senators and Representatives seem similar. One difference is more obvious now than ever: Democratic voters don’t really select their candidates. They’re so focused on beating Trump that they might even support Hitler himself if told he was the only one that could beat Trump. At some point, you’d think the voters would feel not just anger but shame, realizing they are participating in a charade.
Before Trump, the Republican party was similar. Trump disrupted that pattern. While there were differences in who each party selected, both tended to choose establishment figures. This is partly why the establishment, including the “Never Trumperoos,” despise him. Imagine being part, an insider, of the selection process and suddenly becoming irrelevant.
I voted for Ross Perot because I believed most politicians, especially those in high positions, were frauds. They crave power and design their lives around accumulating credentials to gain it. I preferred a citizen over a career politician.
In 2007, I began to feel ashamed of my voting choices, often holding my nose to vote for the lesser of two evils. Voting for Mitt Romney was the first time it felt like a chore. I supported Herman Cain and believe he was taken out by the party. I still do.
I don’t know what I would have done if the party had imposed Nikki Haley. They manipulate our fears. It’s like being told you can vote for the best car but only being offered junkyard cars. Now they up switched the junkyard car and tell the Democrat voter to go out and claim it’s the best car ever. It’s as if they expect us to lie to ourselves.
I can’t recall who said it, but the communists would ask people to believe absurdities to degrade them. During COVID, after one absurdity was passed off as science, I joked that they would next tell us two pieces of toilet paper over our mouths were better than one. Sure enough, Fauci came out with a double mask recommendation. Who believed him? Who became the hall monitors for mask-wearing?
Michelle Obama was often described as gorgeous and elegant, but Melania Trump, a literal model, was not given the same praise. When magazines put a fat, unattractive woman on the cover and call her beautiful and healthy, who believes that?
While many Democrats also don’t agree with some of these absurdities, those that do agree are almost exclusively Democrat. In terms of the Venn diagram, the circle of those proposing and those believing absurdities is encompassed by the Democrat circle.
There are differences between Republican and Democrats. It would be different if the mainstream Democrats disavowed this dumb stuff, but they don’t. They advocate for it.
We may disagree. The way I see things with regard to government is through the lens of the constitution. I do not see government through the lens of a religion or even all my own values. For example, I think helping your neighbor when his car breaks down is important. I don’t think the government should be involved.
Expecting the government to enforce religious beliefs is a theocracy. There is an accusation that the religious right is trying to implement a theocracy. Statement like the quote makes me think that you believe the Republican party is synonymous with the religious right which would reinforce the accusation.
With the Venn diagram example, the US constitution/governing has never and never was intended to be the same circle as any religion. Many of the Christian beliefs implemented through government are actually tragedies. Charity in the form of the current welfare system is an example.
Also, I believe most Catholics are still Democrat. Now we are talking about the Republican party being not just a Christian party, but a specific type of Christian.
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This is part of the problem with the terms “left” and “right”…everybody has their own definition. When I use them, I don’t limit their meaning to government, but to a set of ideas and/or organizations/individuals (some of which are political) who espouse them…it is a rather nebulous concept.
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Well, every society has to have a set of animating principles. Like you, I’m not a fan of theocracy, but not a fan of what we’ve ended up with either. Which is worse? Hard to say.
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There have been 2 Catholic Presidents: JFK and Biden.
A good way to win PA is pander to Catholic voters. Make sure you have a photo op with the local priest.
Most Jews vote Democrat. Not exactly sure why, however most Orthodox Jews vote R.
They certainly don’t vote with their pocketbook. The same can be said for a lot of white blue collar folks who voted for Biden after Rush Limbaugh warned them you will lose your jobs such as cancellation of Keystone XL. Political habits are tough to break even if they hurt your bank accounts.
Regarding Christianity, many are Zionists. According to John Mearsheimer, 50 million Evangelical Christians are an important component of the Israel Lobby. Christian Zionists believe that the return of Jews to Israel is a precursor to the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world. They often advocate for political and military support for Israel, viewing its existence as essential for biblical prophecy to be fulfilled.
Netanyahu met with these folks yesterday in DC. He knows he can’t rely on AIPAC alone to ensure 100 billion plus flows into their military in perpetuity.
I do support Israel but not aid to Israel. Israel should pay for its own defense. They paid for their own defense in 1967 their most impressive military victory. Are we supposed to believe Israel lacks money for defense? Jews suddenly have no money?
If Israel is attacked then America should provide temporary assistance. But the amount of aid America has given Israel since 1973 is unconscionable. We can support Israel in the marketplace of ideas not the marketplace of military industrical complex.
An example of religion and fringe ideas of Rapture theology affecting adversely hurting US foreign policy in the Levant.
I like to tease American Jews and Israel but I am not anti-Semitic or anti Israel. Please don’t call me anti-Semitic because it’s so trite and tiresome and boring. I would expect Jews to attack with wittier ad hominems
Edit: I don’t hate Jews, I hate the way Jews vote.
In Israel the plus (+) sign is not used because it looks like a cross. How extremely petty. But it’s not important as long as they understand exponents and base 10. When you receive billions and trillions in aid, addition is superfluous.
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I understand how you could have interpreted what I said that way, but that wasn’t what I had in mind. By “God” I only meant that there is an objective reality…call it “laws of nature” if you wish…there’s no need for a religious overtone.
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This kooky heresy is promoted in the Scofield Bible, which has annotations and commentary that promote some of the quirkier ideas. This Bible includes Bishop Ussher’s young-Earth chronology.
And for this, US military and foreign policy are twisted into pretzel shapes.
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Fun fact about this affectation: it is relatively recent, dating from the 19th century. The plus sign itself is at least 500 years old.
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Seriously? By whom?
Big Mike is more like broad-shouldered and butch — kinda the opposite of gorgeous and elegant.
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- Vogue Cover: In December 2021, Michelle Obama graced the cover of Glamour’s sister publication, Vogue, wearing a stunning white Carolina Herrera gown. The issue highlighted her glamour and elegance, showcasing her natural beauty and impeccable style.
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Photoshop
Cheap fake
Body double
Edit: Michelle is 5’11, 2.95 sigma above the median, 5’3.5”
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