Author: tristero

Feeling hopeful today? I thought not, but just in case:

…just one in five Republicans fully rejected the premises of the QAnon conspiracy theory. For Democrats, 58 percent were flat-out QAnon rejecters.

Mr. Jones said he was struck by the prevalence of QAnon’s adherents. Overlaying the share of poll respondents who expressed belief in its core principles over the country’s total population, “that’s more than 30 million people,” he said.

“Thinking about QAnon, if it were a religion, it would be as big as all white evangelical Protestants, or all white mainline Protestants,” he added. “So it lines up there with a major religious group.”

He also noted the correlation between belief in QAnon’s fictions and the conviction that armed conflict would be necessary. “It’s one thing to say that most Americans laugh off these outlandish beliefs, but when you take into consideration that these beliefs are linked to a kind of apocalyptic thinking and violence, then it becomes something quite different,” he said.

Put another way, more than 30 million Americans, believe, or at least think it’s plausible, that “the levers of power are controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles” — and many of them are prepared to kill in the name of this belief. This raises an important question:

Are there senior discounts on one way tickets to Mars yet?

Talk about doubleplus stupid ideas:

 A new Bible that includes the U.S. Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance is generating controversy before it has even hit the market.

The “God Bless the USA Bible” is expected to go on sale in September, in time to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a Nashville-based marketer who will distribute the book.

It has already prompted cries of blasphemy and concerns that the book will promote Christian nationalism, the idea that America is and should remain a Christian nation.

The Bible will also include lyrics from singer Lee Greenwood’s hit song “God Bless the USA,” which topped pop charts after Sept. 11, 2001.

Aside from the obvious bad idea — what the fuck is the Constitution and the Pledge doing in a Bible??? And that godawful song???— there’s this. We’re talking Revelation 22:18, dear friends! And since, as we allllllll know, the Bible has to be taken literally — every single word of it — the publishers of this abomination are perpetrating an act of obscene blasphemy:

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.

The worst idea anyone in this country has come up with since January 6.

(Ok, that’s hyperbole, but for a reason.)

Never-Trumper Jennifer Rubin today:

If 53 percent or 56 percent of Republicans actually believe something that is patently false, one party suffers from delusional thinking. There is no way to “understand” MAGA voters, nor is there is any possibility of reaching political agreement with them. They are beyond the bounds of rational political debate. Those who comprehend how dangerous such delusions are in a democracy must break away from them, not enable them to win elections.

And it goes on in that way for graf after graf. And yes, it’s true, and yes, it needs to be said. So what’s my problem? Simple:

You figured this out just now, Ms. Rubin? The dysfunction has been obvious for years as Digby reminded us recently, even to establishment figures like Norman Ornstein.

But it took aTrump, someone who merely re-packaged the Republicans’ pre-existent authoritarianism without the raised Beltway pinkies, for her to finally figure out that the GOP suffers from “delusional thinking” that is “beyond the bounds of rational political debate” and that the only sensible response is to “break away from them.”

Too late. When it may have still actually made a difference, say in 2003, clear-eyed commentators who could actually see the Republican party for what it was were locked out of mainstream gigs. The observations Rubin now proffers in the WaPo were branded “unhinged” back then, not fit to print. But they were very, very true. And it’s waaaay too late now to make much of a difference.

Don’t get me wrong. Rubin’s a pretty good writer. But I’m sorry, “better late than never” doesn’t cut it when the stakes are serious threats to democratic governance in the world’s most powerful country. Now, we will have to live with the awful consequences of the mainstream’s obliviousness to the beginnings of the GOP’s descent into fascism. And there is no way to avoid them.

Sure, Rubin should continue to play catch up. Good for her, but let’s look for contemporary insight as to what to do now to those who always saw the modern GOP for what it was.

This headline from CNN is typical: “Marjorie Taylor Greene confronts Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez outside House chamber.” But that’s not what happened.

What happened was that Representative Ocasio-Cortez wouldn’t let herself be pushed around by a sleazy bully. When the bully persisted, AOC turned around, threw up her hands, and walked away. There was no confrontation, no accosting. She — quite properly — refused to lower herself to the bully’s level. Good for her.

I’ve seen not a single headline, anywhere, that got this bizarre incident right.

Calculate 2% of 350,00. Answer: 7,000.

That number — 7,000 — is the number of deaths every single day from COVID in India based on a rough but reasonably accurate world average COVID mortality rate of 2%.* The equivalent of two 9/11’s every day. And that is an underestimation.

Now, multiply 7,000 x 7. Answer: 49,000

That number — 49,000 — is the minimum estimated number of deaths every single week from COVID in India if the current rate continues. And again, that is an underestimation.

I did the calculations this morning and nearly collapsed from the horror. Then I thought of the mentally ill adults in Beverly Hills who accost children and fill their heads with the lie that COVID is a scam. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe the sheer stupidity, paranoia, and malevlolent entitlement such actions betray.

Please, please, get vaccinated if you haven’t already. And please, please, don’t for even one second coddle those twisted, selfish people who refuse to do so out of some idiotic “principle.” Millions have already needlessly died. And don’t let those off the hook who are perfectly fine with millions dying provided they’re not required to wear a mask. It is simply nuts.

*Currently, India’s mortality rate is reported at slightly over half the world average. That is about to change for the worst given that India’s health system is on the verge of becoming completely overwhelmed.

Rick Santorum:

We came here and created a blank slate. We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here. I mean, yes we have Native Americans but candidly there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.

Rhetoricians have a term to describe Santorum’s strategy.: vas stercore. Go ahead, look it up. And when you’re done, treat yourself to Rumble, a truly amazing movie.

Yes, the movie refutes Santorum but that’s not the reason to watch it. Rick’s too culturally ignorant to bother trying to refute. No, the reason to watch the movie is because the music and the people in it are simply wonderful. And any excuse will do to watch it.

I’ll* be joining the wonderful West Coast music group Salastina on their terrific Happy Hour series tonight. It is at 6pm Pacific / 7PM Mountain 8PM Central and 9 PM Eastern. It’s completely free! Here’s the link.  You’ll need to sign up beforehand.

If Salastina is new to you, they’re a group of young musicians in the LA area with an informal and charming attitude towards concert music of all stripes. They’ve hosted many fabulous performers and composers including Hilary Hahn, Susan Hellauer (Anonymous 4), and Kenji Bunch. I’ll be playing various videos of my music and discussing how/why I wrote it. 

*”tristero” has been my nom de blog since 2003. I usually don’t discuss or mention my music on Hullabaloo but given this event is both free and Salastina is such a fun group, I’ve made an exception.

Please come!

Looks like alumni of the most corrupt and incompetent and anti-American presidential administration to date are having trouble finding work. Bummer:

Before she joined the Trump administration as transportation secretary, Elaine Chao earned millions of dollars over the past decade by serving on the boards of big public companies such as Dole Foods, Protective Life and Wells Fargo, according to corporate filings.

She offered sterling credentials to businesses eager to keep current with the Republican leadership: A former banking executive, she became the first Asian American woman to serve in a Cabinet when President George W. Bush tapped her to serve as labor secretary. She has been a regular at conservative think tanks including the Heritage Foundation and the Hudson Institute. Her husband is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

But now Chao is encountering a fraught reentry into the private sector.

Headhunters who have sought similarly prominent work for Chao have found little interest, according to two headhunters she’s consulted personally…

While the small numbers make comparisons difficult, corporations don’t seem to have an immediate interest in other top Trump administration alums either. Roughly half of the S&P 500 companies have filed their 2021 investor disclosure reports, listing a total of 108 new or prospective board members, according to data from Insightia, which provides information to shareholders. No Trump Cabinet officials who served in the final quarter of his term are among those nominated.

Very sad. But memories are short. And it is only a matter of time before each and every one of these Trump-enablers, even the worst of them, will find eventually find work.

Case in point:

Homeland Security Today, the nation’s leading news and analysis site for homeland security, today announced that Kirstjen Nielsen, former Secretary of Homeland Security, has joined the editorial board.

To understand how appalling this is, here’s a reminder of what Nielsen did:

It’s not yet clear exactly what role Nielsen played in creating and implementing the set of policies that led the administration to separate more than 2,700 children from their parents. But while other departments (including the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services) played a part, the task of defending family separation at hearings and press conferences frequently fell to Nielsen, making her the public face of the policy…

April 23rd, 2018: This is the date the government notes at the top of the “smoking gun” memo obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by watchdog organizations. In the memo, the heads of ICE and CBP offered Nielsen three options for implementing zero tolerance. Nielsen signed off on the option they suggested, which, in effect, made it possible for the DHS to “permissibly direct the separation of parents or legal guardians and minors held in immigration detention so that the parent or legal guardian can be prosecuted.”

Amazing how prescient Frank was.

For the past few days, musicians everywhere have had a blast harmonizing a remarkable* rendition of the National Anthem that this woman sung at CPAC. This is, imo, the best, from a quartet of Canadian singers.

*”remarkable” is a euphemism.