Author: mosqueeto

So, the other day in the locker room at the gym this guy I know vaguely started going off about goddamn fucking communist Bernie Sanders, and goddamn fucking criminal Hillary Clinton, and goddamn fucking parasite bastard kids these days who want everything for free. Whattyagonnado, I said, studiously arranging my stuff in my locker.

Mostly I wear earbuds, and I don’t hear the lighthearted banter that goes on around the weight machines, but my wife doesn’t wear them, and she tells me that it’s a hot bed of Trump supporters. I just notice the enormous beefy guys with torn sweats and heavy work gloves, and another guy strutting around with a tee shirt with a picture of an AR-15 and something written in Arabic. I avoid all eye contact with them. Occasionally I exchange glances with some of the others in the over-60 crowd, though. We tend to keep a low profile.

And in the bathroom, I’m sitting there when some guy enters the stall next to me, sits down, and starts raving on and on in a really LOUD voice about the fucking establishment and how corrupt the system is and the injustice of it all. He’s really fond of the word “corrupt” and says it several times in a row. I think he’s a homeless person that sneaked in past the gym staff to use the toilet.

I sat there quietly until he was gone. Sometimes that’s what you have to do.

Originally shared by Daniel Keys Moran

Five Presidents, from two parties. Not one supporting Donald Trump for President. But what would they know about what the job takes?

Originally shared by Laura Brodbeck

“It is not correct to call [him isolationist], since Mr Trump has also proposed some foreign adventures, including the occupation of Iraq and seizure of its oilfields. Rather it is a Roman vision of foreign policy, in which the rest of the world’s role is to send tribute to the capital and be grateful for the garrisons.”

Originally shared by The Register

Another miracle…

Interesting analysis of rhetorical techniques.

Originally shared by Cindy Brown

I think this sums it up well for me, too. Remember, I don’t watch his speeches. I read transcripts or follow CC if it’s supplied and not too wonky. So if there’s a fired up crowd or charisma or whatever, I’m not getting that. And this IS what I see:

This [standard Sanders] stump speech uses three rhetorical techniques that I find particularly frustrating in politics in general:

1) Binary thinking

2) Fear-based language

3) Unilateral change independent of legislative, executive, and judicial branches

While all campaigns utilize binary thinking or fear-based arguments at times, Sanders has based his entire campaign around them, and framed himself as the only person (along with his followers) who can effectively save the country from these threats.

The enemies he highlights – corruption in large corporations, centralization of wealth, and the disproportionate influence of lobbies – are all completely legitimate problems. I am frustrated, however, with the simplistic approach he uses to discuss the problems associated with economic inequality.

I like him. I like that he’s bringing up issues we absolutely need to talk about. I like that he’s pulled the discourse further left after so much rightward swing that a moderate centrist like Obama is considered a raging socialist.

But I want to see him move past this framework into some real discussion. And he hasn’t done that yet. And I’m not sure what kind of presidency he’d have as a result. One like Jimmy Carter? (and again, I admire Carter & even what he managed to do while in office, not just after, but there were distinct shortcomings there too).