A Tired Middle America. SO Tired…

(I recently replied to a comment by Tien Le on Booman’s recent post The Response to Trump vs. The Response to Obama. It grew. Here it is as a standalone.)

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Tien Le wrote:

[The media] are not on our side.

Sadly Tien Le, the salient word in that sentence is “our.” The same goes for the title of your comment.

Who is “us,” exactly?

Looking at this blog over the past several years?

Looking at the media in general?

Damned if I know.

It is quite plain that both the NY Times and Washington Post are against both Trumpist forces and the true progressive wing of the Democratic Party. So…on whose side are they?

And once again, the answer is fairly clear.

They are “on the side” of the corporate-owned establishment duopoly, be it nominally Democratic or Republican. When Republicans cooperate with Trump…for quite understandable reasons of simple political survival if you take away any thoughts whatsoever regarding “morality”…they are the bad guys. When Democrats ally themselves with say Bernie Sanders, they are also the enemy, although since the Democrats did a much better job of isolating their left wing from potential power than did the Republicans of isolating their right wing, the neocentrist media can be much more…subtle…with the Sandernistas, etc.

Oh…they mean well, of course, but it’s obvious that they have no chance whatsoever of coming to power!!! Such nice people though. What a shame. What a waste!!!”

The center holds power by dissing those that are not part of its plans. It is, however, in the midst of a potentially seriously blown inning. Unless there are some real home runs hit in November…and from what I have been seeing they are not very likely…the game may well be over.

Trump 7, Everybody Else, 2.

I hope I’m wrong.

I just spent a couple of weeks immersed in Red Country, U.S.A., mostly the Eastern Pennsylvania area thereof. The last time I did that, I came back predicting a Trump win. Everybody and his brother on the progressive and neocentrist sides of the Democratic fence thought I was crazy. I wasn’t. I read “ANGER!!!”

This time?

I read “exhaustion.”

Read on.
The centrist/right wing news still pours out of the TVs in the Dunkin’ Donuts and such, but the volume has been turned down and nobody seems to be paying much attention. Life goes on. They’ve heard enough. They are more in a sort of party mood. Pro-Trump or anti-Trump, and everyplace in between. I was shocked late this past Saturday night…around midnight…when I drove through a smallish city, a fairly newly-rebounded-from-semi-collapse-on-the-Rust-Belt-model kind of city. It used to be basically closed up after about 10:30PM except for maybe a couple of serious drinker’s bars, but this time the long main street was lit up and cars were parked everywhere!!!

I felt the same thing in a jazz club where i have played for many years. A bigger crowd, more responsive to the music while simultaneously not paying it a great deal of mind.

In a party state of mind, and I do not mean Republican or Democratic “parties.”

Hmmmmm…

Short of a serious emergency in this country before November…Trumped up, CIA-created or real…I don’t think that the right, center or left is going to pour out in unprecedented numbers. The right already thinks that it has won; the left is feeling…well, it’s feeling beaten up by its own party, truth be told…and the massive center is sick of hearing all of the yelling.  

Shut the fuck up, why dont’cha!!! I can’t hear myself not think!!!

Like dat.

My sample size may be too small this time…last time I drove hundreds of miles with short stops through NJ, eastern PA, southwestern NY right on up to Rochester and then back down through central NY to NYC. This time…straight through rural-ish NJ into rural eastern PA and a longer stay. But that’s the smell I’m getting outside of largely Hispanic areas like the Bronx neighborhoods that were the heart of Ocasio-Lopez’s upset win over Crowley. I have long held that bilingual Spanish people with fairly recent generational roots in Central and South America are overall much less likely to be hypnotized by the mainstream trance-media than are single language U.S people whose families have been here for a number of generations.

Maybe they will be our saviours.

I sure as hell hope so, because it’s beginning to look like we’re gonna need some.

Soon!!!

Later…

AG

Author: Arthur Gilroy

Born. Still working on it.

19 thoughts on “A Tired Middle America. SO Tired…”

  1. Maxine Waters on criticism from Schumer: Leadership will do anything to protect their power

    Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said Sunday she was surprised to see Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticize her for advocating publicly confronting Trump Cabinet officials, but noted that political leaders “will do anything that they think is necessary to protect their leadership.”

    “You know, I was surprised that Chuck Schumer, you know, reached into the other house to do that,” Waters said when asked by MSNBC host Joy Reid if she was surprised to see leaders in her own party criticizing her. “I’ve not quite seen that done before. But one of the things I recognize, being an elected official, is in the final analysis, you know, leadership will do anything that they think is necessary to protect their leadership.”

    Waters’s statement on Sunday comes about a week after she called for protestors to confront members of President Trump’s administration over his “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

    —snip—

    Trump responded by falsely claiming Waters called for harming his supporters. Many lawmakers, including Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), condemned her remarks as well.

    But Waters said she’s choosing not to focus on other lawmakers’ comments.

    “I’ve got to keep the focus on the children and the fact that this administration is endangering children in the worst kind of way,” she said.

    —snip—

    Yup…

    AG

    1. You could take a clue from Rep. Waters’ response. She doesn’t rip her Congressional leadership; she makes a cool observation and then gets immediately back to ripping Trump and the Republicans for their exceedingly immoral policies.

      Unlike you.

      Look at your comments and posts. The focus of all of your contributions here is ripping the Democratic Party and attempting to divide the left. You show no interest in attacking in detail the horrible abuses of this Administration and Congress and States under GOP control.

      Your efforts to split the Left, and your carelessness bordering on tacit support in response to a fascist sexist white supremacist movement, will continue to earn my calls for you to FUCK OFF now, and will continue to earn extremely poor support from the rest of the community.

      It was telling that you refused to respond to the question posed to you about whether you oppose Ron Paul’s opposition to Roe v. Wade and desire to prevent the Judiciary from defending legal health and family planning services for women. That’s in line with your sexism which you have frequently displayed here. I have little doubt you would be fine if States were given the right to force rape victims to give birth. That’s how you roll.

      A few days ago you trotted out that useless quote from Ron Paul where he decried racism. It’s no wonder you’ve used that quote 50 times or more here, because it’s the only thing available to you to defend Ron Paul’s lengthy rhetorical and legislative record of extreme racism.

      After you posted that useless quote again, Ron Paul had another exceedingly racist slip of the tongue TODAY.

      Tell us more, you despicable Trump enabler.

      1. Indeed. Ron Paul fucked up. Again. Maybe his inclusion and quick deletion of that cartoon is due to a failing perceptive system…he is getting old…and maybe (as you so unfailingly state) he is a closeted racist. It makes very little difference in this system as it now stands whether he is the second coming of Christ or Simon Legree in the flesh, because he is undoubtedly old news and he will stay that way.

        I will say this about the other politician in the Rand family. Judging from what appears to have been the case when Rand Paul essentially goaded his neighbor into a blind rage by repeatedly putting branch cuttings in a place where the neighbor really didn’t want him to put them, he is a genetically mandated asshole and got precisely what he deserved. I mistrust him on this evidence alone.

        End of that story…

        Your other observation? About how I should “take a clue” from Maxine Waters’s act after Schumer threw a political brick at her?

        Did you read the rest of the article?

        She is never reticent to get down and fight, that’s for sure.

        She said (Emphasis mine):

        I know that there are those who are talking about censuring me, talking about kicking me out of Congress…” Waters told the crowd in Los Angeles. “All I have to say is this: If you shoot me you better shoot straight. There’s nothing like a wounded animal.”

        That was a political declaration of war, aimed straight at Schumer and his little DNC helpers.

        All the way down the line to people like you.

        Bet on it.

        AG

        1. Hey, right wing asshole: Schumer literally can’t censure Waters or kick her out of Congress. He’s not in the House.

          Has anyone in the House Democratic Caucus called on Rep. Waters to be censured or tossed from the House?

          No?

          Then what in the racist sexist fuck are you nattering on about?

          Thank you for essentially confirming that you share Ron Paul’s view that States should be freed to force juvenile victims of incest to carry pregnancies to term. Absent my repeated offer for you to clarify that you do not share your hero Ron Paul’s views, this is your position.

          1. You spew:

            Hey, right wing asshole: Schumer literally can’t censure Waters or kick her out of Congress. He’s not in the House.

            Are you so blind that you think Schumer has no pull among the House Democrats?

            Please!!!

            And:

            Has anyone in the House Democratic Caucus called on Rep. Waters to be censured or tossed from the House?

            I dunno. Waters apparently thinks it’s blowing around in some wind.

            Spew on.

            AG

            P.S. A group…perhaps better, a cadre…of people on this site have tried everything in their power to discourage criticism of the Democratic Party as it stands today. They automatically downrate such posts and have endlessly attacked several posters as liars, pro-Trump trolls and/or spreaders of Russian propaganda. When effectively rebutted, they simply ignore the rebuttal and repeat the same attacks. This tactic is intended to exhaust the patience of the attacked posters and discourage others from reading or posting similar material. It has worked on a few posters, who have simply given up. It has not worked on me. I initially answered their attacks with attempts at reason. After realizing that this was a total waste of time, I pretty much stopped replying to them. My comments and articles on this site are my replies. Read what I have to say; consider what they have to say and how it is said, and then make up your own minds. Thank you-AG

          2. Thanks for reconfirming that you believe States should be empowered to force juvenile incest victims to carry pregnancies to term. Absent a clarification which splits from your Ron Paul evangelism and your frequent and specific calls to stop a broad range of Federal civil rights enforcements, this is your position.

          3. And thank you for once again affirming your utter fealty to the DNC fools and venal hustlers who brought us Donald Trump by their failure to either know right from wrong or act upon that knowledge.

            I have no power whatsoever over the populations of states like the ones that you mention in your latest spew. I live in New York City for precisely that reason. It is the most progressive city in the U.S. Progressive on every level, especially in terms of racial integration and the rights of women. That’s the best I can do. There are parts of New York State that are blood red…on all levels. If there was a practical chance of a movement for New York City and environs to secede from New York State, I would support it. If there was a practical chance of a movement for various blue states to secede from a U.S. that is itself blood red from head to toe both domestically and internationally…and has been so for well over 50 years with no signs of stopping…I would support that as well.

            But there isn’t.

            Not yet, anyway.

            The U.S. is now teetering on the precipice of some kind of civil war and/or constitutional collapse. I hold the mainstream Democratic Party responsible for its continuing lies and failures…lies and failures that have led to this amazingly dangerous and threatening point. You do not, on the evidence of every post you make here.

            I hold you…you and people and people like you…responsible for this state of affairs. Go right ahead and continue to spew your venom. It’s all you’ve got left, and God help us all.

            And of course…have a wonderful day.

            Later…

            AG

            P.S. Had Barack Obama and the Democratic Party frog-marched the various bipartisan war criminals who were responsible for the terrible Iraq “Blood For Oil” War mistake directly to the gallows, we wouldn’t be in this pickle now. But they didn’t. They talked a good game while surreptitiously keeping the same war crimes…again, domestically and internationally…in full gear. Those people are still in power in the Democratic Party, and anyone who supports their actions today is either a blind fool or a co-conspirator.

            Or of course…both.

            Spew on, centristfield.

            Spew on.

            When the spew hits the fan, I hope you get a face full.

          4. So you did more than reconfirm that you believe States should be empowered to force juvenile incest victims to carry pregnancies to term. Now you want to begin splitting States so that the more conservative portions can create their own Handmaid’s Tales as well.

            It’s nice to see you write plainly that you think women in upstate New York and other parts of the country can go to hell.

            And this from you:

            “If there was a practical chance of a movement for various blue states to secede from a U.S. that is itself blood red from head to toe both domestically and internationally…and has been so for well over 50 years with no signs of stopping…I would support that as well.”

            We fought a Civil War over that, you despicable Confederate motherfucker. Your side lost.

          5. You write:

            We fought a Civil War over that, you despicable Confederate motherfucker. Your side lost.

            That was then.

            This is now.

            The Confederates were the bad guys then. On any moral ground you choose to take.

            This time?

            Now?

            The blue states trying to escape from the dominance of the red states?

            We’d be trying to escape the bad guys.

            What part of this do you not understand?

            AG

          6. Holy shit, tell us more.

            You wish to abandon Americans in States and regions which frequently vote for Republicans at this time.

            What does this say about your allegiance to the human being who lives in, to use your example on this thread, Buffalo? Fuck them, apparently. You can’t be bothered. You sign off on forcing juvenile incest victims to carry the child of their rapist to term, on forcing workers to accept sub-minimum wages if employers collude to set their pay standards there, to be denied the right to vote, and the rest of the modern conservative agenda you clearly support.

            Look, you’re a radical right winger. Your record is clear here.

          7. Color me entirely unsurprised that oui joins you in wanting to split up the United States. Saw that one coming.

            It’s a really well thought out plan the two of you are launching here.

          8. link
            link

            *P.S. I am going to add the following statement to many of my replies to your “standalone articles” (LOL!) and comments…for the benefit of new readers here. It applies to the comment that replies to as well:

            *[ref.]

            ‘…every word [you] write[] is a lie, including “and” and “the.”‘

            –Mary McCarthy [tiniest of liberties taken to fit the present context]

            Certainly applies to the comment this replies to, which is remarkable for the absence of a single true thing anywhere in it. Quite an “achievement”! How proud you must be!

            Such a steady stream of lies defies individual refutation of all of them (or at least my time and patience to do so), so I’ll just point out several of the most obvious and egregious (and, of course, hilarious):

            1. Latest in repetitive series of self-serving lies misrepresenting the motivations and reasons of your critics and the factual substance of those critiques (even though they’ve all been spelled out in detail):

            . . . to discourage criticism of the Democratic Party as it stands today. They automatically downrate such posts . . .

            Utterly false, as I’ve demonstrated several times, but you just keep writing this and equivalent lies . . . oh, heck, may as well just quote one of those previous refutations:

            If by “true” you mean “false” (absurdly so), then sure:

            . . . everything that you said about the constant downrating from the nalbar/marduk twins and a few others because of statements regarding a lack of respect for the Democratic Party establishment as it now stands is quite true.

            It is laughable that you can even pretend to yourself (unless it’s instead a conscious lie) that your criticism of Dems is the basis for criticism/downrates of your shit. You frequently make this bullshit claim. I’m not aware of a single instance where there was any evidence for it. (Seeing you run away from bazzz’s utterly reasonable request for specific examples of what you’re whining about, I won’t even bother with a similar challenge on this point. I know too well from past experience what to expect: irrelevant diversionary blather or [crickets].)

            This is just another manifestation of your hideous, grotesque, reprehensible dishonesty (one I’ve pointed out before): lying about the reasons/motivations of your critics, despite the fact that we have explained, repeatedly, with crystal clarity, in exquisite detail, exactly what our reasons/motivations and the exact nature of our actual criticisms actually are . . . as I’ve done repeatedly ad nauseum and bazzz has been doing throughout this thread. You simply ignore all that and just make up some bullshit self-serving reason/motivation/alternative substance to save you bothering your pretty little head with the substantive criticism you were actually confronted with.

            Seems very clear at this point that this is a very perverse and dishonest psychological defense mechanism to inoculate yourself from ever honestly examining what actually goes on here and your inescapable role in bringing about your earned pariah status here.

            As long as you can pretend people’s criticisms of what you do here are about something completely other than what they’re actually about . . .

            2.

            When effectively rebutted . . .

            Wait, excuse me just a sec [snork . . . snicker . . . ] HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA [gasp for breath] HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!1!!11!!!! [recovery breathing]

            OK, where was I? Oh, yeah, right, “effectively rebutted” . . . oh, no . . . not again . . . hold on, gimme a sec . . . [snork . . . snicker . . . ] HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!11!!!!!!!!! [gasping for air]

            Oh, yeah, please do link to a single instance of you ever “effectively rebutt[ing]” even one of my factual refutations of your falsehoods, lies, and related grotesque dishonesty. Even just one, even just once! Obviously, this request will not be granted because it’s impossible. That has never happened.

            3.

            I initially answered their attacks with reason.

            Wait, excuse me just a sec [snork . . . snicker . . . ] HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA [gasp for breath] HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!1!!11!!!! [recovery breathing]

            OK, where was I? Ah, fuck it, just re-read #2 — all applies equally here.

  2. Good observation & analysis!

    Same here in the Northwest Chicago ‘burbs. Talked to several friends from NRA Trump booster to ex-DuBois club Socialist. No excitement. Maybe it’s just that in Illinois there is no enthusiasm for sitting Gov Rauner (R – Wall Street) nor for Dem candidate Pritzger.
    Rauner (sitting Governor remember) just squeaked by his primary 51-49 against a no-name conservative from Downstate with no organization and no name backers. Pritzer got a plurality in a three way race (actually six way but three serious candidates). Main thing I hear about Pritzkger (hows it spelled? just call him JB) is people don’t  believe a billionaire is really going to raise taxes on the rich and relieve the working class plus his association with party boss Mike Madigan. OTOH, Rauner is such a total failure as a Governor (chorus from BOTH sides) that many Republicans would rather see him lose so they can purge their party. Rauner has tried the Dem-Centrist ploy, supporting abortion, supporting Sanctuary state status, but virulently pro-Business anti-Labor anti-welfare.  The woman who got 49% against him was “Christian”, anti-abortion, anti-immigrant (legal or not), and second amendment to the tenth power.

    Even I can’t get up enthusiasm for JB. I thought of volunteering then thought “Why be a sucker like you were for Bill Clinton, and Howard Dean?” He solicits me for money but I think “You donated $100 million to your campaign, what do you need my money for?” There is no one that I talked to who admitted they were going to vote for Rauner. Had lunch with my anti-FDR gun collector old work buddy today. He was interested in what I told him about Conservative Party candidate Sam McCann. Most (R)’s I know say they might not vote in Fall. That doesn’t mean a blue wave. We all already have (D) Congressmen.

    1. “… party like it’s 1929..” With apologies to Prince.

      BTW, the DOW peaked in April 1929 and drifted slowly until diving for the deep in October. Current DOW peaked in January 2018 and has been drifting downward. Most economists and market watchers think the stock market is over-extended but has at least a year to go.
      We’ll see. But I don’t see any future for the economy without a radical shakeout and a new technology revolution like the ones that drove it before like canal builder, the railroad, the automobile, the airplane, radio and television, the personal computer, the internet.

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