Donald Trump

[Marc]

Last few posts were excellent !

I guess my biggest issue on this thread is the issue of the next 10.5 months . I know that will allow folks to once again speak about the last few months but my point with Apple stock way back and the Toronto Blue Jays as well proved my point . That point is that the past is the past , and the line of " the trend is your friend " , is a great way to trade or live but when the trend stops , it stops .

No doubt , our fearless leader has been very right so far . The Adam as well as been spot on and while they both get credit for being "correct " , their level of correctness has been to be correct about not calling one primary state correct yet ( neither have I ) , and none of us has called this election either .

The irrationality of crowds is just that .

To presume that this continues , against all odds of a non politician ( Yeah yeah , Governor Reagan was an actor - I know , I know ) to march easy and direct to the Oval office simply because of crowds is only one piece of the puzzle .

DT is brilliant

DT knows business

DT is reality tv show brilliance

DT knows his shit !

Fighting the entire establishment , both sides of the aisles careers , the lobbyists , and etc etc etc and Sheldon .

Ummmm ,

ZERO

ZERO

ZERO

Zero chance !

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Marc,

Ha!

Ever heard of David?

He had a little duel with a dude named Goliath.

It didn't work out so well for Goliath...

America was built on that story. They've tried to bury it since Bush the Elder, but when threatened for real, you have no idea how many Davids come out of their homes, look Goliath right in the face as they warm up their slinging arm.

Ayn Rand called this spirit the American sense of life. She worried that a country could not exist on sense of life alone, but she did recognize that this is what has kept America going during collectivist threats. (I believe this was in an essay near the end of her life called "Don't Let It Go.")

It's the oddest damn thing to see a business magnate who relishes wealth like Donald Trump in the role of David, but archetypes aren't picky about externals when they start speaking to a public's unconscious.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

This got me to thinking. The last David and Goliath story that worked well in America was Obama's first election.

But, man, was there a plot reversal just waiting in the wings with that one.

Michael

[MereMortal]

Pat Condell has a few words for those offended by Trump:

video

[Brant Gaede]

PC is damn good on this.

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

On the Bidinotto Facebook discussion I have been having about Trump, a person showed up and called me a "true believer." (I believe he meant in an Eric Hoffer manner since Bidibob had written previously that he thinks Trump followers reflect Hoffer's profile. btw - That is an excellent book, albeit the elevated vocabulary and writing style are tough going at times.)

I had mentioned that Trump speaks in headlines to get attention, then backs up and shows what he means over time. The guy basically said Trump speaks what he really means in headlines and "true believers" (like me) come along and rationalize it.

I don't care what they think of me, but I like this kind of interaction because it prompts me to go deeper and put more words on something I see clearly. Why is there a need to put more words on it? Because the words that I have been using up to now don't work to communicate correct identification to people like that.

Is this a losing battle? Are they forever going to set up my very existence in their minds in a strawman frame so they can knock it down?

Probably.



So far, as best I can tell, these are people who need reality to reflect their pre-ordained judgments regarding Trump (and regarding many things, for that matter--apparently they think this is what thinking in principles means in practice). Anything in reality that conflicts with their prejudices, they refuse to identify.

Even me they refuse to identify. And I'm there right in front of them--with a long history with Bidibob to boot.



But for OL readers, the following might be interesting. To me, it is a pretty good statement of just how important it is to keep words connected to observable reality and not just floating logical constructs or core storylines that are more myth than reality.

Actually, Trump's "true believers" help him build magnificent projects--in reality--not in some Kantian realm where every gotcha becomes a universal if framed with the right word game.

Try putting up a skyscraper with a gotcha. Try running a top-rated TV show for 14 years with a gotcha. Try writing a string of bestsellers with a gotcha. Try raising magnificent productive children instead of spoiled brats with a gotcha.

(Try making America great again with a gotcha.)

Trump starts his deal-making with a headline to get leverage. He even says so. But the gotcha people who believe more like Kant than like reality think the headline is reality. That the headline is the whole project.

Trump works with achieving goals. His goal right now is to win an election. He studied how to do it and is doing it. He's doing it like nobody else has done it in American history (to my knowledge) and he's doing it decisively. This is called competence.

People who want deeds to be mere reflections of gotchas that they can project to universals will never understand this. They think the mess the world is in is because some people said the wrong things and that led others to do the wrong things.

Bullcrap.

Human intercourse is governed by many things, not just manipulation through words.

There's a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. The fixed mindset person doesn't understand why a seed becomes something else over time. He wants it to stay a seed. He wants to slap a word on it that won't allow it to change. He wants to control it.

Oh, he understands growth in a plant, but not in a productive human enterprise. He needs words, not correct planning and execution, to reign there to understand it. And he needs this reign to be frozen in time--once a word is spoken, it becomes an unchanging fact governing reality (as opposed to representing a fact within reality).

He can combat words. He has no way to combat correct planning and execution because, in the social realm, he doesn't understand it. The sad part is he doesn't want to understand it. He needs Kantian-like words in Kantian-like constructions so that reality can become a series of strawmen he can knock down with other words.

Fortunately, productive Americans who normally don't vote are growth mindset people. That's how they do their jobs, develop their families, conduct their affairs, do everything they love. Words to them are tools for growth, not a replacement for growth.

These people were busy as the American government went down the tubes, but they woke up to the problem. They were busy with their own lives, not with word games. Note to the word-game masters. People like this normally don't vote because they actually are busy--productively busy growing things--not because they are stupid, low-information, true believers, or any of that.

These people recognize growth--in reality--when they see it, as opposed to word games.

(Apropos, they get amused by word games about growth because they always look for the deed that grows. And in word games, the growing deed is never there. Screw-ups generally are. )

When they see Trump, they see a person who knows how to grow a project and make magnificent things. Not just talk about it or make excuses.

Then these people, who just woke up, act. That's my man, they think when they look at a grower like Trump. And they get tickled because he makes the word game masters crazy--with word games at that.

When these people act, they serve no word game masters. Not one. Once that happens, the fixed mindset people are left sputtering and calling them "true believers." Their word games don't work with these people and for the life of them, these poor word game masters can't figure out why.

It must be because these people don't think, they think.

(Hint, when reason gets used as a replacement for reality instead of being used as a tool, it is no longer reason even if you still call it that. It becomes a word game called reason.)

I've started collecting articles out there that try to explain Trump. There are a bunch of them with a bunch of different word game reasons. They are left, right, religious, atheist, libertarian, Objectivist, all of it. Lots and lots and lots of word game reasons--all wrong. They're hilarious because there are tons of different conflicting ones, all presented in the tone of the Gospel truth. Word games.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here is exactly the kind of thing I am talking about. I wanted to discuss this ever since I saw it a week ago.

 

Glenn Beck with Megyn Kelly:

 

 

According to a repeating storyline that we can see in history that Glenn brilliantly identified a few years ago (before he decided to become a Holy Prophet), when living conditions get so bad, people start thinking about nothing other than making it stop and go away, a strongman usually appears and says he can solve the problem and make people safe. Then people elect a dictator--one that might have looked like a savior to begin with, but soon people find out what they really elected.

 

Glenn, I believe, has put this principle so deep into his premises, it is now more valid than reality to him. This is a perfect example of what I mean by normative before cognitive reasoning. He starts with a value judgment pegged to an image in his mind, an abstraction, a principle, then goes around trying to find pieces of reality that back it up. Along the way, he ignores the parts of reality that don't fit.

 

The principle is all and full reality is shit!

 

(I used the phrase to convey the emotion I think they feel--that is people who do normative before cognitive thinking on important issues. Obviously, they would not use the words I just did, but rationalized phrases instead.)

 

Here are some of the tell-tale traces to notice that indicate a prejudice instead of reality-based reason.

 

 

1. A simple persuasion technique. Glenn told Megyn that he is not comparing anyone to Hitler, but Hitler, Hitler, Hitler... yada yada yada... and Hitler did this strongman principle and Trump is doing this strongman principle.

 

The persuasion technique is guilt by association, but Glenn does his simple CYA move at the beginning to sound reasonable (I'm not comparing anyone to Hitler, oh no, I would never do that... ).

 

 

2. Glenn uses a really wicked persuasion technique at the end of the video. But from reading comments in general, it didn't take with Trump supporters. I don't know if there is a name for it except reframing, but it is deeper than reframing. Glenn knows Trump's audience well enough to know they think Trump speaks the truth about many things--and he speaks it in a form that is in their minds.

 

For example, these people believe most terrorism these days come from the Muslim world. That is true to them (and it is). Rather than debate this, Glenn tells people that Trump actually speaks truth, real truth, but then comes the whammy. Underneath, all this truth is just a disguise. The sheep's clothing for the wolf so to speak.

 

In other words, he tries to get people to be wary of the very truth they hold in the minds. He tries to get them to see their thoughts as bait for a monster. If taken further, this seed of doubt he is trying to plant turns into a form of gaslighting, where people doubt their own minds in general, thus they need instruction about simple reality from a guru.

 

Ironically, Trump, who wants to restrict immigration of Muslims, is not the bigot. All he wants to do is figure out how to get Muslims from committing acts of terrorism in America so we can all live in peace, including Muslims. And he wants to get the USA out of the fights and wars between Muslims. Let them fight among themselves if they want to.

 

But check this out. Glenn, who tries to sound more reasonable, is the one who wrote It IS About Islam: Exposing the Truth About ISIS, Al Qaeda, Iran, and the Caliphate, which positions the problem as a religious war that America must win. That's right. He thinks America needs to fight a religious war, a war based fundamentally on religion.

 

What if a reform movement happens in Islam? True, he says Muslims can reform Islam (and only Muslims), but he frames it in terms where it is clear he doesn't believe reform is possible--and neither should you. Then he basically says he won't tell you what to do, but you can take it from there...

 

 

3. Now to Hitler. Here is where a humongous blank-out occurs. Take a look at Hitler's past before he was elected. He has always been a violent man. People know the details and there are plenty of examples, even if they only want to start at the Beer Hall Putsch. Now take a look at Trump's past. What do we see? Violence? Hell no. We see a string of skyscrapers, luxury resorts, TV shows themed on excellence, bestselling self-help books, the world's top beauty pageants, and so on. (A few stumbles, but very few.)

 

Is there anything in Trump's professional life to indicate that he wants to be a fascist? 

 

Blank out.

 

Or be like Hitler?

 

Blank out.

 

Or is a progressive like George Soros, for God's sake?

 

Blank out.

 

So while the principle is true that people gravitate toward a person who exudes an aura of strength when they feel insecure, that doesn't automatically make the strong person a dictator wannabe.

 

Now tell that to a person who is only looking for indications that it does make the strong person a dictator.

 

 

4. Let's even look at the crisis. When Hitler came to power, there was an inflation in Germany that made hair grow on your rectum. They had just gotten their asses kicked in World War I. Nobody could eat. Literally. That is a crisis.

 

Here in the USA, people are manipulated by fear in the media, but when they go home at night, it's still a pretty damn good place to be. Good dinner. Good shelter. Good family. Good entertainment. Good everything. And more peolpe have their own guns than not.

 

So I don't buy it that most Americans are so oppressed a strongman dictator looks good to them, or worse, they are cowards running to a savior. The Trump supporters I know are confident productive people who want a competent leader who will clean up the mess from the last few decades and get the morons out of the way so everyone can get back to work.

 

Are they afraid of a terror attack? Of course they are, but this is the fear of precaution, like looking out for snakes during a hike in the woods. It's not the paralyzing fear of "better Red than dead" (remember that one?). They want a competent executive who will deal with the Islamist threat, deal decisively and move on. Not a savior of mankind who will lead them to God's gloryland and stamp out the Satan of Islam. They don't even think that way.

 

They certainly don't want a Fuhrer. Nor are they blinded to one in front of them.

 

All anyone has to do is look around at his neighbors and this is evident.

 

Yet Glenn doesn't.

 

The strongman principle is all to him and full reality is shit!

 

 

5. Glenn's hatred of Trump is visceral and irrational. Proof? He floated the argument that Trump was a Hillary plant just a month ago.  I mean, come on. He is attacking Trump from any and all angles, whether true or lie, just to see which one will take. He presents himself as reasonable because he employs a few pro-Trump people at TheBlaze, but they come off as token placements, not a sincere attempt to get people to think. Nor an indication of critical thinking on his part. He has them on board to pander to his audience because people left TheBlaze in droves when he started his hate campaign against Trump. 

 

Just recently, after the video above, Glenn told Megyn that he will not vote for Trump nor vote for Hillary. That he would never vote for Trump under any circumstances. That he will stay home. He insinuated that there are lots of people who think like he does.

 

But really? Frankly, I'll give that 50,000 tops. I was there when over half a million went to the Restoring Honor rally in Washington DC. Glenn's last big call, to do an MLK-themed thing in Alabama, drew all of 20k.

 

Most of Glenn's fans will vote for Trump, but keep quiet about it. How do I know this? I've been among them for quite some time. Let's just say my gut tells me so.

 

My point is that there will be nothing on earth to make Trump palatable to Glenn unless Trump falls into Glenn's prejudices and embraces them. Until then, Glenn is quite happy to misidentify Trump, lie about Trump, spin everything Trump says, celebrate and amplify the importance of all Trump's problems, ignore everything good about Trump he can get away with, to make reality fit his principle.

 

Unfortunately, I know where his principles are grounded--even his strongman principle. He says we must cling to the constitution and I fully agree with that. But I just finished reading the Old Testament and started the New. Glenn's principles are grounded in a vision of America as some kind of later tribe of Moses. And he, Glenn, is one of the prophets in the now-decadent Judah clamoring for people to get back to God's law (and the constitution) or face God's divine justice and annihilation.

 

The reality of Trump's very life and demeanor does not fit Glenn's storyline. Let's just start with style. A leader is supposed to be humble, goddamit! Trump's very existence is a slap in the face to Glenn. It shows that reality is different than his story. If the story is your reality, you have to hate Trump.

 

 

I could go on, but the theme of my comments on Glenn is about normative before cognitive reasoning. When a person hates, the reasoning that flows from his hatred is generally flawed by incorrect identification of reality--by blank-outs, deception (including self-deception) and usually culminates in demonizing those who disagree.

 

Glenn, in a moment of frustration, recently stated that those who follow Trump among his own audience are racists. Just today, in another context, I was called a true believer.

 

Why? Because we who were called names refused to hate Trump based on the hatred of those who did the name-calling, but instead saw value with our own eyes. We saw what they claimed as reality had nothing to do with what we were looking at. And that was before we did our own evaluations.

 

Woe be to the man who thinks with his own mind when confronted by a self-righteous prejudice calling itself reason. It is anything but reason.

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

My God!

 

Where can I get this book?

 

 

 

Michael

[Marc]

I

How's this for honor?

Bush has considered backing out of pledge if nominee is Trump: aide

I doubt Bush will back out for real, but even floating this crap is one of the reasons Trump supporters don't trust a word establishment Republicans say.

And, frankly, for those who normally don't vote, this is one more incentive to show up on voting day, even though their jobs are tiresome and there is that darn school basketball game or play their kids are in, or church function, or grocery shopping, or getting something fixed, or, hell, even a TV show or whatever also crying for their attention.

Loyalty flows in one direction only for the establishment Republican elites. It's not in the direction of the voter. And voters are finally sick of it enough to do something about it. They woke up to the problem.

For those who don't believe me, take this:

Go on my fine feathered crows dazedly eyeballíng the approaching headlights.

Keep pretending this doesn't mean anything in relation to voting day.

Michael

do want to add that the articles was a brilliant read , and our DT is brilliance - no doubt .

Are the folks , the non voters pissed ? Yes !

Are they rallying ( for whom we all believe is either the right or wrong man ) for the end to bullshit ? Yes !

Do things look really fucked up for the GOP , Hillary , and dare I say , perhaps a 76 year old Jewish socialist ? Yes !

Is the election today ? No !

Has Trump already lost Iowa ? Yes !

What will happen from here to eternity , or shall I say Super Tuesday ?

A war . No , they have not even loaded their guns yet . This is going to be a war ,

This is President Kennedy in Dallas ( as a metaphor ) . Kennedy was against the CIA , the Unions , Castro , his own VP , the war and stating he would not escalate , and more . That day was not about one shooter or more . That day was the end for Kennedy , regardless of anything . Too many enemies .

Trump is Kennedy in a sense ( and not in a Presidential sense - nothing against DT , just he don't the chair ) , he has too many very well funded organizations and people , lobbyists , Senators and Congress , and career corrupt government players and advisors .

Trump don't even have the money to compete . He could put all 4 billion in , then they put 40 .

If I know this , Trump knows this .

He does not want the chair , he wants to the the wizard behind the curtain .

[Marc]

Marc,

Ha!

Ever heard of David?

He had a little duel with a dude named Goliath.

It didn't work out so well for Goliath...

America was built on that story. They've tried to bury it since Bush the Elder, but when threatened for real, you have no idea how many Davids come out of their homes, look Goliath right in the face as they warm up their slinging arm.

Ayn Rand called this spirit the American sense of life. She worried that a country could not exist on sense of life alone, but she did recognize that this is what has kept America going during collectivist threats. (I believe this was in an essay near the end of her life called "Don't Let It Go.")

It's the oddest damn thing to see a business magnate who relishes wealth like Donald Trump in the role of David, but archetypes aren't picky about externals when they start speaking to a public's unconscious.

Michael

I know the story well my fine feathered friend .

Again thats the Reagan thing again . You quote me one David , and I will quote you 10 million Goliath's .

You quote me one Reagan who went actor-Governor-POTUS , and I show you zero who went this route .

Is there an exception to every rule ? Ok . Is this the exception that this is a non military coup against the establishment ? Not even a chance .

Winning a battle , is not winning a war .

DT is going right into the eye of the beast now , and the beast has yet to blink

[Brant Gaede]

As if it would make any difference if Bush supports Trump or not.

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Let's see what Trump thinks:

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The last thing our country needs is another BUSH! Dumb as a rock!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="

18, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

My God!

Where can I get this book?

Michael

I put the following in the Trump Humor thread, but it's too delicious to not share here:

Michael

[Backlighting]

Jeb always looks constipated.

-J

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here is Kasich's latest attack ad.

 

 

Hell, I thought all that money he was going to spend on attack ads would include advisors on resonance with Americans.

 

Kasich is playing gotcha, not as a tactic, but as a strategy--just like any mainstream news outlet does.

 

Trump supporters are sick of gotcha. They see this stuff everyday all day in all the media. There's no differentiator, fer Godsake...

 

That sound you hear is air fizzling out of an ad campaign.

 

When this election is over, I would not be surprised if a book gets written about it (by whoever) and the chapter that covers Bush's candidacy and Kasich's attack ads will be titled: "How to Blow Millions of Dollars and Get Diddly Squat."

 

 

Michael

[ThomasHägg]

On the Bidinotto Facebook discussion I have been having about Trump, a person showed up and called me a "true believer." (I believe he meant in an Eric Hoffer manner since Bidibob had written previously that he thinks Trump followers reflect Hoffer's profile. btw - That is an excellent book, albeit the elevated vocabulary and writing style are tough going at times.)

I had mentioned that Trump speaks in headlines to get attention, then backs up and shows what he means over time. The guy basically said Trump speaks what he really means in headlines and "true believers" (like me) come along and rationalize it.

I don't care what they think of me, but I like this kind of interaction because it prompts me to go deeper and put more words on something I see clearly. Why is there a need to put more words on it? Because the words that I have been using up to now don't work to communicate correct identification to people like that.

Is this a losing battle? Are they forever going to set up my very existence in their minds in a strawman frame so they can knock it down?

Probably.

So far, as best I can tell, these are people who need reality to reflect their pre-ordained judgments regarding Trump (and regarding many things, for that matter--apparently they think this is what thinking in principles means in practice). Anything in reality that conflicts with their prejudices, they refuse to identify.

Even me they refuse to identify. And I'm there right in front of them--with a long history with Bidibob to boot.

But for OL readers, the following might be interesting. To me, it is a pretty good statement of just how important it is to keep words connected to observable reality and not just floating logical constructs or core storylines that are more myth than reality.

Actually, Trump's "true believers" help him build magnificent projects--in reality--not in some Kantian realm where every gotcha becomes a universal if framed with the right word game.

Try putting up a skyscraper with a gotcha. Try running a top-rated TV show for 14 years with a gotcha. Try writing a string of bestsellers with a gotcha. Try raising magnificent productive children instead of spoiled brats with a gotcha.

(Try making America great again with a gotcha.)

Trump starts his deal-making with a headline to get leverage. He even says so. But the gotcha people who believe more like Kant than like reality think the headline is reality. That the headline is the whole project.

Trump works with achieving goals. His goal right now is to win an election. He studied how to do it and is doing it. He's doing it like nobody else has done it in American history (to my knowledge) and he's doing it decisively. This is called competence.

People who want deeds to be mere reflections of gotchas that they can project to universals will never understand this. They think the mess the world is in is because some people said the wrong things and that led others to do the wrong things.

Bullcrap.

Human intercourse is governed by many things, not just manipulation through words.

There's a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. The fixed mindset person doesn't understand why a seed becomes something else over time. He wants it to stay a seed. He wants to slap a word on it that won't allow it to change. He wants to control it.

Oh, he understands growth in a plant, but not in a productive human enterprise. He needs words, not correct planning and execution, to reign there to understand it. And he needs this reign to be frozen in time--once a word is spoken, it becomes an unchanging fact governing reality (as opposed to representing a fact within reality).

He can combat words. He has no way to combat correct planning and execution because, in the social realm, he doesn't understand it. The sad part is he doesn't want to understand it. He needs Kantian-like words in Kantian-like constructions so that reality can become a series of strawmen he can knock down with other words.

Fortunately, productive Americans who normally don't vote are growth mindset people. That's how they do their jobs, develop their families, conduct their affairs, do everything they love. Words to them are tools for growth, not a replacement for growth.

These people were busy as the American government went down the tubes, but they woke up to the problem. They were busy with their own lives, not with word games. Note to the word-game masters. People like this normally don't vote because they actually are busy--productively busy growing things--not because they are stupid, low-information, true believers, or any of that.

These people recognize growth--in reality--when they see it, as opposed to word games.

(Apropos, they get amused by word games about growth because they always look for the deed that grows. And in word games, the growing deed is never there. Screw-ups generally are. )

When they see Trump, they see a person who knows how to grow a project and make magnificent things. Not just talk about it or make excuses.

Then these people, who just woke up, act. That's my man, they think when they look at a grower like Trump. And they get tickled because he makes the word game masters crazy--with word games at that.

When these people act, they serve no word game masters. Not one. Once that happens, the fixed mindset people are left sputtering and calling them "true believers." Their word games don't work with these people and for the life of them, these poor word game masters can't figure out why.

It must be because these people don't think, they think.

(Hint, when reason gets used as a replacement for reality instead of being used as a tool, it is no longer reason even if you still call it that. It becomes a word game called reason.)

I've started collecting articles out there that try to explain Trump. There are a bunch of them with a bunch of different word game reasons. They are left, right, religious, atheist, libertarian, Objectivist, all of it. Lots and lots and lots of word game reasons--all wrong. They're hilarious because there are tons of different conflicting ones, all presented in the tone of the Gospel truth. Word games.

Michael

I wouldn't vote for Trump (not due to word games and not that I even can, because I'm not an american citizen) but boy do I like your style of writing and I really agree with you about these word games. Thumbs up ^^

[Selene]

.

"That sound you hear is air fizzling out of an ad campaign. []

When this election is over, I would not be surprised if a book gets written about it (by whoever) and the chapter that covers Bush's candidacy and Kasich's attack ads will be titled: "How to Blow Millions of Dollars and Get Diddly Squat."

[]

Michael"

No candidate has ever gotten my vote by whining...

That is one pathetic ad...

A...

[Peter]

Some thoughts as of December, 20th, 2015. I watched most of the Democrat debate last night and Hillary did an excellent job. Of course I am not talking about her policies or philosophy, but her debating skills are fine (as long as she has frequent pee breaks.) I am impressed by the fact that she has a thought out answer available to most questions and situations, which are in line with her stated political philosophy.

Unlike Trump. She COULD make Trump sound like a lightweight bully. I worry about Donald doing battle with her. My perception as of now is, Sure he will have some zingers in a debate, but it will all be off the cuff. I am disappointed that he never seems to get more substantive. Contrast Trump with Ted Cruz who is extremely articulate. It is not that early in the process.

On the Trump plus side, he has miles and miles to go. He is leading everywhere but in Iowa, and he has the highest rate of supporters who will never change their minds. Tracinski called Trump a Putin mini-me, but a lot of voters are classifying Trump’s remarks as being discreet. Imagine that.
Peter

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

People who follow Trump will never be convinced he is red. Obama is the one who is red. So Trump supporters know something else is going on with the Putin thing.

 

I think I know what it is. I think Trump is using Putin's praise as a new Jedi Mind-Hump of the media, putting the nail in Obama's credibility coffin on the world stage, and a few other goodies I haven't thought about. 

 

But let's stick to the Jedi Mind-Hump. 

 

Remember when Trump said there were thousands of Muslims celebrating in New Jersey right after 9/11? Remember the media response? How they all went apeshit? There is no proof! There is no proof! There is no proof! Gotchaaaaaaaa Trump! Gotchaaaaaaaa!!!

 

Well, look at Trump eating George Stephanopoulos on air and spitting out the bones. Poor Stephanopoulos tries, but he doesn't stand a chance. Trump starts laying into him about wanting proof that Putin killed journalists. I mean, the media SAYS Putin killed journalists, so where is the proof? Where is the proof? Where is the proof? 

 

And all Stephanopoulos can do is swallow the frog. He sounds like it, too.

 

 

 

What's worse, Stephanopoulos needs Trump for ratings. I don't think he even wanted to interview Trump this morning. I think he had to.

 

Now for the final polish on the Jedi Mind-Hump.

 

What are all the journalists upset with Putin over? That he allegedly kills journalists.

 

That means them.

 

They are journalists and that means them fer Kerisssakes...

 

And here Trump, who stands a great chance of becoming president, is practically saying that's not so bad.

 

You can almost hear them go, "gulp..."

 

 

Man, it feels good to see them squirm and go nuts...

 

Of course, Trump will not terrorize journalists for real or kill off enemies like the Clintons are rumored to have done. (Nothing in his past suggests that kind of gangster crap is his nature.) But he's a great showman and knows how to milk the moment.

 

And his supporters love it.

 

I know I do.

 

Michael

[ThomasHägg]

Who doesn't love it. It's justice being served.

[Selene]

If that was a prize fight, it would have been stopped in the third round when The Donald just eviscerated the "Chipmunk."

This little marxist has Soviet Communist Posters in their kitchen at home., I think.

He is so far up Evita's ovaries that he should recuse himself from this campaign.

A prior member of the original Clinton, B.J., William Jefferson [oops! wow should Black Lives Matter demand that his middle name be scrubbed from all plaques and statues in the US?] War Room and frankly, one of the most unethical little monsters to ever have a microphone and a government secured license to spew his pap to America.

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Thomas,

Thank you for your kind words above.

Be careful, though.

Hang around me too long and you might get infected with Trumplepsy.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Listen to the threat at the end of this Frank Luntz focus group of Muslims talking about Trump. (It's a short video.)

 

 

One man basically said if Trump gets elected, Muslim terrorism in the USA will skyrocket. The women realized how he just crapped all over himself and started saying no... no... no... but the guy dug in.

 

That part is going to speak louder than the surface victimization message that fueled the focus group and will actually get Trump more supporters.

 

The way I see it, people are going to think it's a damn good thing Trump is bringing this stuff out. There is no way the majority of Americans want to live hostage to a minority culture's threat of terrorism.

 

Michael

[ThomasHägg]

Listen to the threat at the end of this Frank Luntz focus group of Muslims talking about Trump. (It's a short video.)

One man basically said if Trump gets elected, Muslim terrorism in the USA will skyrocket. The women realized how he just crapped all over himself and started saying no... no... no... but the guy dug in.

That part is going to speak louder than the surface victimization message that fueled the focus group and will actually get Trump more supporters.

The way I see it, people are going to think it's a damn good thing Trump is bringing this stuff out. There is no way the majority of Americans want to live hostage to a minority culture's threat of terrorism.

Michael

Right. But I'm sure we can also agree that this guys statement was not an outrigh threat, but rather a conclusion on how things work. Right? I just want to make sure. I've heard much worse things said by even "moderate" muslims though.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

But I'm sure we can also agree that this guys statement was not an outrigh threat, but rather a conclusion on how things work. Right?

Thomas,

Two points.

1. The speaker did not use an overt a tone of threat, instead, he made it sound like a warning, like: "Danger! Be careful with that."

But as he inflated when challenged, it was very clear that a spike in terrorism if Trump got elected would be an outcome that he would approved of. Sort of like, "We told you not to do this, but you did it anyway. Now face the punishment and wail about your fate. Next time, obey!" This was a subtext, granted, but it was there and pretty strong.

2. There are two parties involved in communication: the one who sends the message and the one who receives it. When a message is conveyed, it goes out with a hidden load from the sender (with embedded intentions and meanings that are more than the words say), but it also gets received by a receiver who has a different default hidden load. The speaker might intend one thing and the listener perceive quite another, even though the words seem neutral. This happens all the time.

So I admit there might be some of that in the mix.

But I believe in the speaker's mind above, he thought he was only warning folks and was blind (or maybe partially blind) to any self-righteous threat he also conveyed. And, because of the way he escalated, I believe many listeners will only hear the implied threat and discount the warning as a ruse.

On this score, the ladies who said no... no... no... perceived what he was saying (both warning and threat) and how it would be received by many. They knew. Boy did they know. They live with this crap on both sides day in and day out. They constantly try to keep their men from excesses, but they also worry about the effects of hostility from the outside on their children. In a sense, they are double victims caught in the middle.

In the video above, they were a lot smarter than he was--and, to be blunt, I believe their intentions were a lot more benign and productive than his were.

I sensed mostly good in the women. Sure, they hate Trump, but only because they feel threatened. In other words, if you leave them alone and they will leave you alone.

I sensed good and evil in that final male speaker. I don't think he wants to be a bad person. I think he wants to be a good person as he understands it. But even if you leave him alone, I would never trust that one to leave me alone. I sincerely believe he would try to harm me one day and/or support those who would. At the very least, he would feel sanctimonious schadenfreude at my harm. Maybe even celebrate. Most definitely use my disgrace as a cautionary example of what happens if he--or better, his religious doctrine--is not obeyed.

Watch it again and pay attention to his tone of preachiness, finger-wagging and so on. He didn't start out that way, he started out in a reasonable tone of voice, but as he went along, he escalated and the ugly part emerged at the end. Had conditions allowed him to continue, I think he would have put on quite a show.

According to the current climate in America where people know that terror attacks come from the shadows and they are wary, they think all you need is one evil person among the Muslims to do enormous damage to everyone else.

That's why Trump's approval numbers are growing. He wants to isolate the problem and figure out how to fix it, especially since the good people where the problem comes from either can't or won't deal with it.

I can guarantee that most Americans would be very happy if the women, instead of saying no... no... no... to that guy, said, "I will not have you near me! You're self-satisfaction at the thought of killing innocents is disgusting and you do not speak for me!" And if they said it to his face on camera. I think most Americans would trust those who spoke such things and actually did cut off their moral sanction like that.

Instead, the women are trapped. Women could never get away with that in many of the Muslim subcultures, even in America. They would be beaten, or forced to leave behind everything they know and the people they love.

I see that--I do. I feel sorry for them. But I saw that threat bubbling up from Mr. Self-Righteous.

I know I am not alone.

Michael