Before I talk about Elizabeth Warren’s DNA I want to point out the real story is the long racist, anti-woman screed disgraceful president Trump has been off on since the announcement. He’s said a bunch of really despicable things and essentially has been the truly awful bully we’ve become accustomed to.
Elizabeth Warren’s Native American Ancestry Claims
She’s probably telling the truth. It’s not a huge number. Certainly seems too small to lie about. The number out there is 1 part in 168.
My quick math would put it anywhere from 6 to 8 generations back. So we’re talking maybe 1700s for the last full-blooded native american ancestor. if it’s entering her line 6 generations back the person would be 1/3 native american in about the year 1750?
Lets split the difference and say it’s 7 generations back. That’s a generation when there’s 128 direct ancestors. They’re may not be a moment when they’re all alive at the same time either. It’s complicated! Notably even that far back the ancestor would not be fully native based on the size of the match Warren’s claiming.
So to put it in the terms of Lifetime of the Last full-blooded ancestors; picture a room with 168 people in it. They cover parts of the 7th and 8th generation back. For fun imagine them in their 18th century garb and remember its likely they’re not all that okay with each other on a bunch of levels. Many never set foot in America and live out their lives in Europe.
One of these people would be Native American.
Over 300 years they reproduce into a steadily smaller siphon of direct ancestors as we approach the present. Fast forward 2-300 years and you have Elizabeth Warren. It’s not quite that simple, but that’s not the craziest or least scientific way I’ve heard this put.
Whether her family story of anti Native American oppression is true is hard to say. Best case she’s just over 7 generations removed and the native american ancestor is an unwilling subject of the British Crown. Someone would have to have been keeping serious score of all of their neighbors to know this, but hey, theres people that petty. Just look at Trump. So who knows?
It’s also probably no longer important how native she is, she IS. I do not think she will lead with this and shouldn’t. To me this is mostly because there’s a high likelihood we have already had a president with some Native DNA and simply don’t know it.
Either Roosevelt is a decent candidate due to the long period of time the family had been in America. They were like 9th generation New Yorkers of the New Amsterdam Vintage! Thats a lot of generations. None of the 692 direct ancestors that make up the 9th generation back, or anyone they married on the way, was part native? How many Roosevelt’s lost a first wife to child-birth and remarried to mix it up more? I’ve sometimes wondered if James Earle Carter may have something other than pure european DNA as well. How many generations in America for the Carter’s?
Of note; Warren has yet to release any kind of truly reliable or scientific percentage or number. The best number I’ve heard out there, specifically from CNN, is 1/ 168th Native American. This, I believe would make me 900 times more Native American, but don’t quote me.
Nothing Elizabeth Warren has ever done or said has been anywhere near as disrespectful as the repeated racists attacks Trump has launched against her. The president is simply a completely dysfunctional racist with no sense of appropriateness. It’s hard to say where this truly pointless national conversation will get us.
As far as a potential future president, while I tend to like Warren’s ideas I find stunts like this off putting. Its like 21 days til an election that she’s not running in. Bad team spirit by Warren sucking the oxygen out of the room for Democrats! Does NOT reflect well on her as a potential leader.
Back to Trump, who still doubts climate change, that the Russians hacked the election or that Gold Star Families deserve respect and basically is just a despicable guy. He’s disgraced himself a bunch of times making racist comments over this situation. Here’s one horrific example of Trump’s inappropriateness as he diminishes two American War Heros with a racist rant –
Well, Warren didn’t use a commercial test, so we can ask out loud if she ordered up the results ahead of time. So there’s going to be that asterisk. Trump will seize on it just like he seized on Obama’s Birth Certificate only to simply dismiss as fake all proof.
The president, of course, is an inveterate liar. Much more of a liar than if Elizabeth Warren were to have faked distant Native roots.
More to the point, if she were lying maybe a full percentage point would have been better? Seems like this is plain old true and, with a number so small, likely accurate. Who would bother to lie on a scale so minute when a simple verbal correction would not have upset anyone?
I do not think Elizabeth Warren is lying. I am confidant that odds of her actually having native DNA were pretty high just waking in the morning. The story was essentially true and we have some proof now. That the amount of DNA she actually has could be described as minimal is something we will hear about endlessly forever. I doubt she wins this, true or not. Trump’s just too effective a bully.
Of note- Trump is a liar to the core and is not going to make good on the ‘Million Dollar Bet’ against Warren having Native American ancestry no matter what. This is a guy who set up a phony charity that was so shady and such a money grab that Thievin’ Trump and his family are SPECIFICALLY FORBIDDEN to form or be part of any charity in their home state of New York for fraud and ‘Self-Dealing”.
Trump also has claimed to not believe he was the person who was on the Access Hollywood Bus tape when all other people on the tape claim he was there and Trump himself admitted it was him. This won’t change. The guy is completely dishonest. He’s also a sociopath and a pathological liar who lies even to himself. You don’t need to be a geneticist to know the Trump Crime Family are the ones whose DNA you just don’t want!
Everything we’ve heard about the case of Elizabeth Warren suggests that she was right when she heard tales of distant native ancestry from her family. What seems shitty is the perception she used it to advance herself and that she’s maybe just another rich white lady looking for a “Minority Card.”
This is probably not a good characterization of Warren or anyone else because it seems that it was true and merely exaggerated or misunderstood by the people relaying the information. As far as I know there were no geneticists in Warrens family tree so we can’t really kill her for just simply being like as much as 1/3 of all North Americans.
Are White Americans REALLY European?
Another absolutely impossible to ignore part of the conclusions is that white Americans are not really Europeans if they’ve been here any amount of time. And if we stop all immigration today we’re all still going to slowly become some kind of American Race of mixed DNA.
So bottom line? It’s really unlikely a 4th generation American could not be part native american. Probably a very small part, but part. Spare everyone the dream catchers, acknowledge it’s the evidence of a Genocide that was only skin deep.
Now we’re finding out that the popular view of Native Americans in pretty much every single Western Movie before The Outlaw Josey Wales in the mid 1970’s is actually personally offensive to us and we were somewhat racist against ourselves. I blame society on this one.
And that’s a lot to think about. And that’s why there’s this whole separate post from a ways back about when I tested my own DNA and discovered I had Native American DNA.
NOTE – this HAD to be hived off from the original post (the previous one). It got out of hand and developed a life of its own.
Star Trek’s disappointing Discovery is revving up for a second Star Trek Hating season of unworthy rubbish. While the special effects are impressive and the title sequence is fine, there’s nothing else to like about the show.
Don’t blame the cast! It’s the stories! Specifically – the uncreative and lazy over use of a single plot device to drive most episodes. Basically what’s on the line in almost every episode is nothing less then – THE END OF ALL THINGS!!
The Stakes Are Too Damn High!
While the acting isn’t a problem and the production values at most points are high the story just isn’t there. The show’s Trope-y and unrealistically high staked at all times. Worst of all it’s unnecessarily disrespectful to the original characters they needlessly entangle in the hot mess of contradictions that is every episode of Discovery, but I digress…
Star Trek Discovery has simply left behind the concept of saving a few cast members, or an entire ship, or a planet in any given episode or story arc.
By episode 8 we’re talking about saving the universe and by the end of the season we were looking at “saving all life everywhere across the entire multi-verse of universes.” It was preposterous and unrelatible.
They also just will not go to a planet and just explore or make contact. The one time they consent to do this we get the only watchable episode. In that episode only a couple of characters were at risk and there was a limited “Away Mission” that was familiar and fun.
Rather than learn from this the show’s next episode takes a turn for the too serious again and we find ourselves saving several universes in every show.
It’s a little like Babylon 5 that way. While there were some good things about the show it also suffered the stakes always being far too high.
As far as Discovery goes, well its just too much. You can only stretch a rubber band almost to the breaking point so many times before it stops snapping back into shape again. It’s tedious and fatiguing to always be at the edge of the universe ending. Throw in that if the way to avoid the universe ending is sort of bland or a little too convenient it just makes the whole thing that much less entertaining. Like some magic spore technology co-opted from the Dune books
Lets see just the ship and crew in danger around a strange planet a little more often as a starting point for fixing this very flawed show. The good old days of a possible warp core breach or a good old hide n seek with some bad guys wouldn’t be some kind of step backwards, but it seems the current writers feel that way. They’re making the classic mistake- fixing the parts of Star Trek that weren’t broken.
Dare I suggest some exploring in the Final Frontier? Maybe meet an analogous species that relates to some current societal problem? You know, Star Trek stuff.
It’s like this – Trump’s just said the election WILL BE HACKED IN FAVOR OF THE DEMOCRATS. It’s NOT true, the Hackers are the Russians who want him to win. While I think he and Putin discussed a second coordinated election hack to again help him and the unpopular Right Wing Agenda in Helsinki, the Russians haven’t revealed that yet and of course Trump’s Administration is not telling the American People a damn thing 8 days later. We have Putin’s own words from just days ago to show us he loves Trump as US President and has NO buyers remorse about his puppet-boy POTUS.
As Reuters points out Trump offers no proof the Russians will hack the election. Its also a real stretch to believe Putin’s changed his mind about Trump in the 8 days since they connived in Finland.
One thing you can be sure of is that in the over 2 hour one on one with no American’s present to tell us what really went down the two dictators discussed the strategy of misinformation and lies they would use to Nullify the Midterm Elections should either Trump or Putin not like the results.
Sit back and wait, and STILL VOTE, but be ready for Benedict Donald to try to Nullify the 2018 midterm election results. I think that would probably count as a coup and certainly it would be time to take to the streets with pitchforks and torches
Well, I guess a guy who looks remarkably like the boss character from the Dilbert cartoons doesn’t think too hard about just HOW he landed a girlfriend half his age. Fortunately, we don’t need to read Paul Allen Erickson or Maria Butina’s minds. We have their words and deeds to go on.
As far as words; well who the Hell writes a hypothetical note to themselves (in their own hand) “How to Respond to FSB offer of Employment” ? Well that would be Erickson, who everyone is pretty sure is the only person to fit the description of the Butina Spy Ring member legally identified only as “US Person 1”
Just to catch you up Butina’s in jail, Erickson’s missing (and presumed alive) but sadly, they aren’t together anymore. Turns out loathing him was just too big a hurdle for Butina. Im guessing this is recent as Erickson was part of her story about moving to live with him again. The Fed’s have this crazy idea it wasn’t love and she was more likely going to split to Russia and there’s lots of reasons to believe they are right.
In Update news the July 25 Rachel Maddow show featured bombshell facts like that Butina had been approached in March about cooperating in an investigation into US Person 1 himself, our pal Erickson.
Erickson, 56 years young, would have us believe he’s a simple kind of guy who sincerely hopes that bankruptcy court lets him keep his 1992 Ford Mustang in the face of a looming $37,000 judgment on his Platinum Delta Skymiles Card. That’s a lot of fraud right there on just one credit card.
How does a South Dakotan whose hoopty has a “RTWING” vanity plate and is maybe being repossessed get into the position to even have 37,000 dollars in credit to begin with? Well turns out if court papers and things like legal judgments are any indication he simply lied.
Spinning yarns of an Incredible Medical Invention, specifically a Super Wheelchair; which was bringing back returns of 75%, (or roughly 300% what Bernie Maddoff claimed to be able to deliver) was just what his Right Wing friends loved to hear. He was a salt of the earth middle america guy who was outperforming the East Coast Elites at their own game! So of course they threw their money to him! At least that’s what he claimed when he took 30,000 smackeroo’s off a father-son business team which the court very much thinks he needs to return. I’m assuming he parked in back so they wouldn’t have the quandary of ‘why would a millionaire drive an 800 dollar quarter century old car?’ to shock them into reality. Or maybe Butina helped them see it his way? She does trade in sex.
The 30k he just took of course turd-blossomed into a court case. So when this happened of course Erickson got a lawyer. And when that lawyer never got paid and quit Erickson got himself another (who also quit due to non-payment). It’s unclear if he’s currently represented. So it’s likely all he has for a lawyer going in is a Public Defender…..against the Mueller Team. So in other words we will have an In Court recreation of the On the Court performance of the 1993 USA Olympic Basketball Dream Team vs China. In other words, a horrible legal slaughter featuring dizzying running up of the score to the point Erickson may never walk free again.
So, being hard up against the prospect of living in public park somewhere in Sioux Falls once that mustang gets seized by Marshals is one of the charming aspects of this handsome fellow who has a 28-year-old Live-In girlfriend (that apparently he wasn’t allowed to call ‘girlfriend’ in public). Her leading traits? She loved Putin and guns in that order. She also magically had just enough difference making cash whenever it needed to appear. I wonder why those cynics at the FBI don’t think this is love?
In some ways Erickson is sort of for real. He was almost a part of the Transition. We know now that means he was totally a part of the Transition and talked informally to Trump all the time. His assessment of the picks as bad and the rejects as worse seems to verify he had knowledge. Just ask the neighbor he boasted to for 5 years in the building Erickson’s been in since he was only a few years older than Butina is now. The neighbor told CNN all sorts of stuff. Like that Butina was always pining to go back to Russia.
When he did work it was as a Right Wing dirty tricks guy (per the same CNN article and other sources). His specialty? Well that just happens to be Negative Information on Democrats. Wonder who was feeding him that?
He also had a stellar rep with and emerging ties to, of course, the NRA. That helped his Right Wing Hater Rep and enabled him to steal even more.
The preposterous nature of this guys crazy grifting somehow made him an influential guy and pals with Trump and his buddies. In a way it makes sense. Erickson used the Trump University model to get his money. He lied to people about having a Golden Goose and a way to clone it for yourself.
Aside from a talent to spend money he didn’t have and lie this guy doesn’t seen to have anything going for him. He’s just one of those people who get a few years of fun out of conning people and then spends forever paying for it.
For Erickson being a chump and a loser whose spy girlfriend just wanted away from him is the first dose of ComeUppance. Theres sure to be many more before this guy ultimately goes to a Supermax forever.
Update – On the December 5 Rachel Maddow Show it was reported that Erickson has received a “Target Letter” from the FBI that maybe they’re looking to charge him with what amounts to spying. This as the NRA is looking to be under suspicion of being a tool of the Kremlin and as Butina seems to be trying to make some sort of deal.
A Facebook message to Erickson has not been returned (kidding)
UPDATED- No one thought the Trump- Putin Summit in Helsinki was a good idea. People were even a little more sure Trump should NOT meet alone with Putin. No one got what they wanted. Trump defiantly went to the Summit in spite of a series of actions by Special Counsel Mueller that showed deep Russian interference with the 2016 US Election and continuing “meddling” (apparently Meddle is the new word for “Attack”) in this nations elections.
Walking out to meet the world press it was obvious the threats and promises of destruction should Trump get out of line from Putin had deeply effected Trump.
Whether Putin pulled out his cellphone and showed Trump some humiliating video, mentioned that the Election results had been tampered with (which is more and more likely) or any number of other possible compromising acts that deflated the usually puffed up and animated Trump, is anyones guess. One things for sure Trump looked like guy who was just shook down Mafia style.
The only things that were the same as always were his insincere tone, frequent lies and distracted delivery. A fidgeting, fumbling mess who we know now was admittedly tongue-tied by Putin’s “brilliance” he stood before the world, a fat man in a billowing suit covered with orange body paint just babbling. Lurching awkwardly from attacking Hillary and Obama to agreeing out of hand with Putin’s denials, it was a Trump Shit Show like no other. No disparaging words for Putin at all as Trump blamed ‘both countries” in a Charlotesville-style “Have it both ways” Bullshit line.
At the podium Trump sounded deflated and outright beaten while Putin was in his glory, feeding lines to the American president he had created and compromised. Like a sign language chimp who lacked subtlety or nuance, Trump trashed America to please his master. Right up to the moment he literally played ball with Putin (with world cup soccer ball) Trump showed he would totally PLAY BALL in every way with his Master. To make it a little worse-as far as the soccer ball; who gives a gift from a poisoner to their son? But i digress.
Perhaps in the moment of deepest insanity trump suggested Mueller go to Russia and listen in on the FSB ‘questioning’ the people indicted the day before and, more fantastically, praised a suggestion by Putin that his investigators come here and look over Mueller’s files. The man sounded like a naive idiot and a Traitor. So much for Trumps repeated boasting he doesn’t need to prepare for meetings.
In stark contrast; Putin stood before the world as its most ruthless super criminal and the greatest blackmailer in all of History. If it was a boxing match it was Mike Tyson versus Peter Hurricane McNeeley. Trump should have sold advertising on the soles of his shoes the way he went down and sucked carpet in his glass-jawed confrontation with Putin. The one time boxing promoter all but threw in the towel. This was no WWE fake fight, even if the ending was pre-ordained. Trump got his ass kicked.
‘HIS MASTER’S VOICE’
The numbers were already bad for Trump, who in most polls has over 50% of Americans disapproving of his actions. In most polls he has about 35-40% approval on his best day. Thats WITH an irresponsibly high tax cut bribing people every pay day. In other words- people really hate president Trump.
Today, in one of his show “Cabinet Meetings, the “president” tried reading a script of poorly crafted lies in disinterested fashion. He mentioned that he has simply misspoke and was actually tearing in to Putin and we all just missed it. It wasn’t the least bit believable and left dozens of other terrible statements from Helsinki unaddressed. It may have made things even worse.
In a bizarre dissertation to the media, which included a brief blackout in the room whih provided some strange images for a moment; no questions from press and ended with an extra harsh “Its over! GET OUT!” from the White House Communications staff the moment it concluded. They have learned that the president will blow up his own cause on his own with the ‘throw away added on lines” that have so marked his presidency. It was already too late. Trump went off script in his ‘correction’ and repeated the disproven notion that ‘it could have been anyone” who hacked the election in an ad lib tacked to the end of the very same sentence in which he said he accepted it was in fact just the Russians.
during the bizarre blackout
Trump has still not ever addressed the American People in any kind of fireside chat or Oval Office address. He has not held a Q & A with the media since February 2017 when he defended General Flynn (who has since admitted to treason) as ‘a nice guy’ and a ‘victim’.
This was a big deal. The last 24 hours have seen the Trump presidency’s unsustainable trajectory finally starting to erode.
Weeks later, at the end of June one thing the two “leaders” seemed to have spoken of was an awful idea to have Putin come to DC in time to be around to gloat when I guess they figure on hacking the Midterms. Watch this angle
Since coming home he sounds like he has been talking to Putin every day and the Kremlin and White House have identical messages. Trump hasn’t seen fit to tell anyone what the two discussed. It’s creepy and UnAmerican.
Whispers of some terrible concessions by Trump have leaked out, from the Russians of course, who always Punk Trump. He hasnt gotten at all upset about that, like say when he blew up at Justin Trudeau (on twitter of course, no way Trump has any backbone in person) for no real reason over some kind of betrayal of trust about their meetings thats likely all in Trumps head.
Is this the End of the Beginning or the Beginning of the End?
Since the inception of this blog I have referred to the NRA as a Russian Front. I have called Putin the ‘actual leader’ of the NRA and I have pointed out that their rhetoric is Anti-American. Yesterday I got a whole lot of backup on that in the form of Maria Butina, a Russian spy and weirdo who you may have noticed on the peripheral of right wing activism.
The National Rifle Association has been on a Treasonous Path at least since the Ruby Ridge Incident in 1992. Thats when then NRA Wayne LaPierre called the government agents acting on a duly sworn search warrant “Jack Booted Thugs”. This was so out of line then president George HW Bush purportedly said “Who the Hell is Wayne LaPierre anyway?” and quit the organization out of disgust.
And its been easy to connect the dots since then. If they weren’t already getting money to undermine the government at that point they had started broadcasting a desire for it.
How to Train Your Traitor
Essentially the world is full of horrible people who will do anything for money. The more money you throw in the mix the more horrible people are willing to act. Its McTeag’s Law.
Wayne LaPierre got over 15 MILLION DOLLARS for 3 years helming the NRA before treasonous loser Ollie North replaced him in May of 2018. Where’s that kind of money come from? Looks to me like it’s coming from Putin and his oligarch’s.
Loathsome Dana Loesch, enigmatic Colion Noir and North are part of a three headed treasonous monster fed by the Kremlin and controlled by Putin directly. They eat Bitcoin and Putin feeds them well. Why else would they hatefully attack schoolchildren for having the temerity to survive an Active Shooter? The shady secret all the NRA ‘faces’ have in common is that they care nothing for their nation or their fellow citizens, not even the children. Just listen to a few seconds of anything Ted Nugent says and its clear these people are NOT about America at all.
All for money. RT aka Russia TV and NRA-TV have the same message all the time. Its a pro Kremlin Message that is hateful and UnAmerican. The uniformity of the messages is undeniable.
There’s other Gun Rights Groups out there if you just cant live without being part of a gun agitation group. The National Rifle Association doesnt need your money and doesnt care what you think. They’re pawns of Putin and an extension of the Kremlin
Russian Spy and Right Wing darling Maria Butina has been down with them for 4 years and has rated them ripe for mobilization as a Treasonous Organization for the Kremlin. They were already completely against America and Civility. They just needed an injection of cash, which the Kremlin was happy to provide. They also threw in a few style tips that culminate in the guise of NRA TV’s crazy messages and propaganda. The real question is if the NRA was in with the Russians before all this. My guess is- Probably. The Anti-Government and Anti-Law Enforcement Statements have been their true north for more than a decade (at least).
Trump and the NRA were a natural match. It was like setting up two people with the same strain of herpes. They were already toxic and a breeding ground for new diseases. The NRA ploughed MILLIONS of dollars into pro-Trump, Anti-Hillary Ads. In an election as fluke-ish as 2016 it was enough to be one of several reasons Trump overcame the odds and somehow won.
Resist the NRA. They are in fact nothing more than a Treasonous Terrorist Anti-Police Organization.
Corrupt and inept EPA Commissioner Scott Pruitt is finally a former Cabinet Member. It only took 14 probes Federal Probes steadily bearing fruit to end him. Here’s the original post as written just hours before penultimate Trump Survivor Pruitt went down! (Or in this case, had his resignation accepted)
We’ve heard a new tale about Scott Pruitt’s outright bizarre behavior at the EPA every week, or occasionally, a couple of times a day. The hits have literally kept coming. There’s no less than 14 Federal Corruption probes right now per CNN.
Today he was FINALLY canned with no real reason given aside from the media being blamed for reporting all his antics. He was called an excellent guy and with no apology the adventures of Baron Pruitt von Munchausen in DC came to an end.
But we can STILL wonder if he’s crazy, especially since, in Trump’s world, stocked with exactly NO friends, people keep returning. Watch for Pruitt to join Shadow Secretary of State Hannity soon in Trump’s Shadow Cabinet of Un-Approvable Security Clearance-proof deplorables. Probably as Shadow Attorney General.
Pruitt’s Craziness
A Cone of Silence, Pruitt’s weird assertions about him and god, a bullet proof desk and a bunch of high living scandals. Throw in some naked old fashioned corruption, like trying to get his wife a franchise from Chik-fil-a. Today it was crazy half baked idea to give him Jeff Sessions job as the nations Attorney General. It all adds up to non stop crazy!
Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves- are these the actions of a sane person? With a crazily bloated security staff and some petty love of driving around with the sirens on blowing lights in a too big motorcade like a Stalin Era Commissar? Going out to the best places every night to dine then retiring to sleep on a used Trump Hotel mattress in a plush but near free crash pad in DC he gets right from a lobbyist?
You dont have to be a rocket scientist to point at the moon and you dont need a psych degree to say Pruitt does a bunch of really crazy things!
I’m wondering if Pruitt maybe is just mentally ill. How is it now being discussed on CNN? It’s time for one of the people on the panels discussing him to include some kind of clinical psychiatrist. OCD maybe explains some. Schizophrenia maybe some more. I dont know.
Of course I’m not a doctor; but you dont have to be a rocket scientist to point at the moon and you dont need a psych degree to say Pruitt does a bunch of really crazy things! The proof is all over the place.
Think about the things we know are true alone. Even then, its too crazy! As far as speculation? I think he’s using that Cone of Silence to ‘talk to god’ because he thinks god’s talking back! And he possibly hears other voices too.
This is not the way a sane person, even a corrupt sane person, acts. It’s too off the wall (to use a clinical term).
Trump’s Rudolf Hess.
Wonder who will distinguish themselves now that Pruitt’s out of there? Ryan Zeinke is a walking human meltdown, maybe he rides that horse of his into some trouble next. Outside Betsy DeVos and Pence-y no one is more hated (well, maybe Elaine Chow for giving comfort to turtle boy mcconnell)
It was last winter I first encountered people looking to get me to vote for Social Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I’m pretty sure I signed the petition to allow her run in the first place last fall. While I ended up supporting her until the numbers were shown on CNN i never thought she’d unseat Joe Crowley. As it turned out she easily defeated the re-districted 10 term incumbent.
How’d she do it? Simple, she was in the district every day campaigning. Her people were at the Woodside Train Station daily talking to anyone who would listen about Ocasio-Cortez and her even further than Crowley Left Views. Adding to the confusion, Woodside was about the only neighborhood left in Crowley’s re-drawn District. He was a bit of a stranger looking for his secnd term with the new boundaries. He failed to adjust.
For me, when the Ocasio-Cortez door-knocker came by he told me the impeachment of Trump was something his candidate was all for and looking to even perhaps initiate. That was it for me. Crowley hates Trump but he wasn’t looking to Impeach. I just detest Trump and think Impeachment is the way to go, especially if it starts with the Rep’s from Queens, where the bigot is from.
Throw in she’s got more or less the same views a Bernie Sanders and that’s how she won. Free public college or vocational school, Housing as a Right, Medicare for All. She has all the right ideas that resonate in THIS neighborhood. The abolition of ICE should not be underestimated as a plank in her platform. I liked the sound of it, even if it may not happen its a worthy goal.
Im pretty sure we were all okay with Joe Crowley, but where was he? Did he sleep on this challenge? While he was in the local neighborhood papers for a guitar playing gig at a local pub and burger joint and was in a couple of civic parades I never saw him out shaking hands. It wouldnt have killed him to be outside CitiField begging for votes, Cortez did it.
Photo Mural at Woodside 7 Train & Long Island Railroad staion
In the end it was possibly simple laziness and lack of connection to the district that ended Crowley. He’s still well liked. No one says anything bad about him but Ocasio-Cortez just outflanked him on the left and leaves me living in a town everyone is America is talking about.
Im thinking this is a sign more strong very left women will be winning their races. Woodside and the Mighty 14th District is where the End of Trump begins.
my actual Ocasio-Cortez handbill that changed my mind
Recently Republican Senator Bob Corker finally said what we all know- The Modern GOP is a Cult, specifically a Cargo Cult. It’s latest incarnation sees Trump starting to eclipse Reagan as the demi-god and the introduction of some elements of the “Prosperity Minister” cultism.
Roughly 6 years after I first blogged about this in one of my earliest posts its time to look at the GOP Cargo Cult Now
The Cargo Cult-
The classic historical Cargo Cult refers to a phenomenon that arose on the isolated pacific islands various military’s built bases on during the Second World War. Looking back it seems likely the earliest Cargo Cults probably revolved around people like Captain Cook and other colonial sea captains and political figures. I guess it’s probably worth noting that the Imperial Japanese, who were fascists, simply tried to ‘genocide’ anyone on islands they occupied and inspired guerrilla resistance rather than obsessive imitation. There are no known Imperial Japanese Cargo Cults, likely due to cruelty.
It’s only in the wake of World War II that sociology and modern psychological thinking have advanced enough for the Cargo Cults to be studied or understood.
The native islanders in places like Papua, New Guinea had not had much contact with the outside world. They were isolated from the modernized humans who just had little need to go to their little part of the world until the cataclysm of the Second World War.
After the war began in the Pacific the native islanders were subject to massive culture shock. 21st Century humans are probably more mentally prepared for an Alien Invasion than these Un-contacted Tribes were for the 1940’s just erupting onto their neolithic islands. Literally overnight and literally out of the sky in the form of shiny silver airplanes (as well as great iron beasts from the sea) came the mid-20th century. They had NO context for this.
None of the previous limited contacts with outsiders provided a frame of reference for what transpired on their islands, which was the entirety of their very world, over the weeks following arrival of troops. Thousands of years of norms were simply obliterated.
I can’t stress the shock these people felt enough. To these isolated natives the idea that an internal combustion engine would spin gears and operate pistons to spin a propeller to power a vehicle capable of carrying goods or people was inconceivable. To the natives the planes were not machines at all. They were great beasts akin to hollow metal dragons. The dragons insides were full of ‘Eggs”; or as we would call it, cargo containers. When cracked open there was magical treasure, like coca cola, or candy or whatever inside. They traded with the soldiers on the bases too.
These were near stone age societies. They barely had boats, so they just couldn’t wrap their minds around mechanized flight. It had to be magic! They were convinced that they were seeing people whose gods were simply stronger. It’s the same reaction the Romans would have had if a nuclear aircraft carrier with a squadron of jets showed up in the Mediterranean! So don’t tell yourselves primitive European’s would have handled it better. This was like a Star Trek episode happening to these poor people!
To explain what they saw they looked to the natural world and their own supernatural tales. For instance they saw what we would call “Air Traffic Control” as a magical ritual rather than technical exercise. It’s kind of easy to see how. And they extrapolated conclusions from what they actually “knew”.
The way they saw it the dragons were summoned from the sky by rituals at a holy temple, or as we would call it, a Military Airfield. The “rituals” were the day to day operations of the base. Mundane military stuff like waving in incoming planes with flags and lighting runways seemed ritualistic to them. For obvious reasons, it all really impressed them. Seemed to them the rituals were directly related to the cargo. Sure seemed like a magical or religious ceremony to them. Viewed as a magic ritual it’s isn’t too far from some ways many peoples had tried to appease their gods. Lots of religions have ritual motions, including Catholicism and most other christian religions.
The difference was their rituals werent as reliable as this at all! This, it seemed, never failed! After all, a plane always showed up, so it was just a matter of doing it right. It’s not that hard to see how they developed the misconception. They LOVED the Cargo.
Just as quickly the war ends and the bases were mostly abandoned and life, for the natives, returned to ‘normal’. But things were forever changed.
They had become accustomed to the gleaming aluminum dragons. They missed the Cargo. No longer were the great beasts from the air and sea disgorging the amazing things they now desired. Gone was the supply of canned goods, cigarette lighters, flashlights and coca cola along with all other pieces of 20th century luxury and technology.
They felt that being thrown back 2000 years was punishment from the Cargo gods and the wanted to reverse that.
In a turn of events still being studied by sociologists and historians, the Cargo Cults emerged.
The Biggest one is called “John Frum”, sometimes spelled “John Frumm” It means “John from America” and theres a lot of images of him. He’s an African American US Navy Seabee.
Some of the natives eventually found their way to the abandoned bases and imitated the base personnel. Coconuts were fashioned into radio headsets, bamboo control towers were created. ‘Uniformly’ dressed men ‘marched’ in an attempt to summon the cargo Dragons back.
A Bamboo Airplane constructed by John Frum members
While this didn’t work the behavior has persisted. John Frum is alive and well as a belief system today. In fact, every once in a while a really charismatic John Frum Cult Leader emerges and the whole cycle starts again. To most though, these days hes more like Santa Claus and its just about fun. John Frum is undeniably a part of the fabric of New Guinea society though.
Its should be noted that the cult mindset survives attempts by outside sociologists to dispel it as nonsense. The remaining true adherents are inoculated against the truth by the Cult leaders.
Inoculation Against the Truth ( while also telling people to only believe you), is a trait of most cults. It’s one of the strongest parallels between the MAGA Cult and the Cargo Cults.
In the Trump Cult it’s blatantly about blaming people (like immigrants) for ones own life not magically being better and eating up Trump’s bullshit. Just picture the Bull Headed MAGA hat guy who believes whatever Trump says despite evidence it’s a lie. Now you know why, he somehow has become convinced he’s going to get something out of it. Or, think of Roseanne. She was so wrapped up in it, she felt so strongly about expressing fealty to the Cult she lost her show.
Trump and the GOP Cargo Cult
How does this apply to early 21st century American Conservatism? The Republican Party is now packed with under qualified ideologues, who espouse an unrealistic image of a worry free past, in this case, the Go Go 80’s, which were sort of a result of idealizing the 50’s.
The Original Cargo Cult Republicans were those whose behavior and beliefs had devolved into a quasi-religious mindset towards Modern American Conservatism revolving around the 1980’s and Ronald Reagan in an idealized, ritualized and unrealistic way.
It seems that the whole idea is sort of tied to a feeling that in the past things were better. Movies were better, music was better. Its purely reactionary. It’s probably something to do with the fact people live longer now and there’s just more people pining for the past in general.
Then there’s a more sinister aspect where a lot of (white) people take it a little further and get into real trouble by extending the analogy too far. It ends up being: “In the past things were better because women and blacks knew their place.” This is sort of insane thing to think but somehow sort of popular. Just ask Tomi Lahren or other people in the White Grievance Political field. Tomi’s making money talking about pure paranoia all day.
Now the GOP is selling white people on some idea that they’re an oppressed minority. Then they imply (or overtly say) that everyone would be rich if we crack down on Immigration and build a useless Wall in the desert. There’s more spokes of intolerance but that’s the essence of Trumpism. Its very close to classic fascism.
We’ve all heard the term ‘Cult 45″ for the president and his Political Jonestown of Deplorables. The Right seems to be sort of prone to Cult thinking. At this point we’re at least 2 generations deep in a desire to return to the past. This generation specifically wanting to go to the 80’s like their parents wanted to go back to the 50’s. So this would be the third time around we have looked to the 1950s for an ideal and conveninetly forgotten that it was an unjust time with rampant racism and a bad interventionist foreign policy for Uncle Sam.
The members of a Cult do not heed signs they are wrong. Instead they strive to out-do eachother.
The leader tends to jerk the leash regularly to let the followers know who’s boss. Demonizing anyone not part of the Cult is also textbook cult behavior.
Denouncing people is big. Inside the cult theres a purity test and people like Mark Sanford just can’t pass anymore. The doctrine of Trumps Dangerous Ad Hocracy rules the day.
Trump, who was most successful in the 80s, when a rising tide lifted all ships, played right to this idea and still does. The Cults alive and well. Just ask Bob Corker.
The images of John Frum are replaced with some dirt cheap overpriced red MAGA hats. Trump compared himself to Reagan in a series of falsehoods about his election.
Like the Cargo Cults of the Pacific in the Trump-Reagan Cult values form above results. They could care less that theres a rational explanation or a practical way to do things, they have their coconut phony radios and their MAGA hats.
The “Ritual” these days includes stuff like Xenophobia, Open Carry, Pro Assault Weapon policy, Intolerance and UnAmerican rhetoric. Delivered already are the Tax Cuts, which were done in the face of real statistics and facts that indicated it was reckless and bound to boomerang on us. Trickle Down Economic is a scam. It’s failed under 3 presidents. This is a big part of why it’s a cult.
Outright Cruelty is also now part of the Cargo. Hating Snowflakes and Libtards is the GOP gospel. So every Travel Ban, every child we kidnap from its parents and every sick person denied care is a reward to the Republican. So they’re getting some of the cargo, the part that’s free, right now. They’re probably pretty sure that they will al be very rich any minute. When that doesn’t happen they will blame who Trump tells them to. Right now its democrats and immigrant children, but we’ve seen everyone including the pope and the our allies leaders has been hatefully bashed to whip up the greed and hate that motivate a political cargo cult.
Misc-
Found this on youtube. It’s not my opinion but theres a lot of visuals. The pundit is pretty scathing and I do not endorse all of his assertions, especially his condescending attitude; but at least you can see some of these things for yourself.
This is the third dive into Cargo Cults here, I’ve covered the Reagan Cargo Cult Mitt Romney tried floating (the time wasnt right) and my post on the Star Trek episode “A Piece of the Action” which involves an alien race that is highly impressionable and prone to “follower” behavior.
Outspoken Trump and Putin critic Anthony Bourdain has died under mysterious circumstances in Europe.
While Bourdain had a troubled past and could have lost a battle with addiction or depression, there’s been no mention of a note.
Bourdain had called out Putin, among other things, as a murderer.
The former Chef turned free-range CNN world correspondent also seemed to fine recently on camera and none of his coworkers seem to have seen this coming. He leaves behind an 11 year old daughter. It would seem he had everything to live for.
Putin is exactly the kind of person who would kill someone he disliked and try to make it look like a suicide. He was in France, well within the established Putin Killing Zone for anyone he feels like off-ing.
I for one am glad its in the hands of French rather than American authorities.
Meanwhile the world has lost an ambassador for tolerance and a voice of resistance to the Trump – Putin Criminality that.s currently holding the us all hostage.
Its not impossible or maybe even unlikely Anthony Bourdain simply took his own life, but the idea Putin would just kill him needs to be analyzed by law enforcement. Again, I’m glad its not in the hands of American authorities because for this I trust the French a lot more.
Here he is allowing an anti Putin dissident to use his show as a platform. Putin is just as vain as Trump but far more ruthless and effective. We know he loves killing off his critics. This is the sort the thing he would hold a deadly grudge about for sure. The man in the interview, Boris Nemtsov, died in a hail of gunfire weeks later. Now, mysteriously, Bourdain is dead as well.
We’ve all seen enough by now to know that President Trump has an unhealthy fixation on the movie “Patton”. There’s plenty of articles by right wing people comparing Trump to Patton favorably and some of the more religious among them are buying in to Patton’s own belief in re-incarnation and, of course, imagining that it’s Trump. Trump himself seems to embrace Patton. He certainly mentions him regularly.
All I can say about the re-incarnation thing is- Patton saw himself only re-incarnated as a soldier and would have stayed in Vietnam every moment he could. He didn’t have to serve in the military, he was dyslexic, but he overcame it just so he could fight. So lets just forget about Trump being Patton reincarnated. Its preposterous.
The thing is Trump has a dangerous infatuation that will shape our futures. He is , in fact, president.
In Trump’s personal style dealing with the media and at his rallies we’ve seen him channel the angry, eccentric World War II generals profane and detailed threats, put downs and boasting as some of the main aspects of his public persona.
The big problems with this are that Donald Trump is not like George Patton at all and that the movie glosses over certain flaws while making others appear as virtues.
Even worse, certain coincidences I believe Trump regards as similarities between himself and Patton as portrayed in the movie are now re-enforcing his delusional belief that he is very much like George Patton. Both are meltdown prone and scream at staff and abuse subordinates, both talk their way into huge avoidable problems. But thats as far as the real similarities really go. These men, and the staff’s they yelled at, couldn’t be more different.
Trump’s surrounded by Yes Men and traitors who can’t event get a security clearance. Patton’s guys were crack combat officers. So Trump’s never getting back competent answers or a person with enough integrity to stand up against a bad idea. Patton was rooted in reality far more than Trump and if his fuel guy told him there was no fuel he’d scream a little, but he didn’t crucify the guy. Or scapegoat them. He understood there was simply no fuel. That’s a major difference.
This is a hard break with Trump’s uncontested bile and anger when he is actually told things he doesnt want to hear. Trump lives in his own reality, Patton was merely a romantic. There’s also the fact Trump would simply try to steal or blackmail someone into giving him what he wants. This wasn’t an option for Patton, who was more honorable than that anyway.
Of necessity, Patton’s guys were colonels and West Point grads who could absorb a military tantrum. Patton wasn’t spared bad news. SO there’s another major difference.
Another thing we all know about the president is he is a grandiose liar. He’s racked up several thousand outright falsehoods in just over a year in office and the tally keeps growing. In fact if you look at the numbers he’s lying more often than ever now. As far as Patton goes, Trump’s lying to himself. We already know Trump fancies himself smarter than a general, he told us so himself. It needs to be noted that Patton was not known to be a liar.
Here’s how a man mistakes a dramatic movie for reality; Trump is very simply ignorant of History and has very little actual knowledge about the actual Patton. In fact the only piece of information I’m absolutely sure Trump is aware of would be the Conspiracy Theories regarding Patton’s death (not in the movie). So to him this movie is 100% accurate and real. We know he never bothered reading up on it, come on!
Fantastic scenes where the salty general jumps out a window and cuts loose with his personal pistols against a couple of german bombers wrecking up his base are pure Hollywood but I’m sure this hasn’t occurred to Trump. He probably thinks Patton was an action hero AND a commanding officer.
The biggest thing my hypothesis has going for it is if you momentarily embrace it, it explains pretty much everything and holds up to scrutiny from numerous angles. Of course its not perfect, but indulge me and then draw your own conclusion— BECAUSE COMMENTS ARE ENABLED!! Please weigh in if you feel so inclined!
Patton- The Embellished Bio-Pic
Patton was pure Oscar Gold seldom paralleled. Winner of Academy Awards for Best Actor (George C Scott) Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Francis Ford Coppola) and Best Original Score (Jerry Goldsmith of Star Trek fame!).
The movie ‘Patton’ is a masterpiece of film making that starts with a very strong Francis Ford Coppola screenplay advised by none other than Patton contemporary and equal- General Omar Bradley himself. An inspired George C Scott gave a brilliant, authentic and career defining performance then blew off accepting his Best Actor Oscar to go to a hockey game, how cool is that? Throw in one of the best movie scores outside Star Wars to move it along from the great Jerry Goldsmith of Star Trek fame. The director was Franklin J Shaffner , fresh off “Planet of the Apes” success.
Why This Movie Is A Dangerous Influence on Trump
Trump’s fascination with Patton is a problem for a bunch of reasons. For one thing George Patton, despite his success, is a TERRIBLE role model for a politician or president. Brash and outspoken, his role in the war was minimized because of his personal antics.
While the movie makes much of this, the scenes where Patton goes on tirades around his staff and peers over the consequences of so many ill considered actions (sound familiar?) are captivating. George C Scott plays him as a figure who NEEDS to create obstacles for himself by self sabotaging because fate always turns the tables and suddenly the sabotage ends up benefiting him. Were Patton to have never stirred the pot he wouldn’t have had such great luck. Trump, as we have seen, loves to self sabotage. This could be part of why.
The obvious problem is Francis Ford Coppola is NOT writing reality and we may all be let down when fate DOESN’T turn the tables and everyone ends up screwed because of one of Trump’s crazy actions or tweets,etc. The poorly considered Korea Summit would be an example of self sabotage and then waiting for miracle. In reality the South Koreans really want some kind of peace talks so the idea keeps lurching forward while Trump vacillates.
The real Patton was apparently had no political ambitions, which makes sense since despite a rough charm he had no diplomatic skill or real personal charisma. He needed the shock and awe of non stop profanity to drive home a point to fighting men in time of war though. The moment he spoke to anyone else he was always and only ever inappropriate. While this was (barely) forgivable for a mid 20th century war time general, it’s just awful for a 21st century president! Yet we have only seen Trump speak for longer and longer making one dangerous uninformed statement after the next while salting in hardcore racism with the boasting, threats and pure bullshit.
Patton was so awful a human being technical adviser General Omar Bradley quit the movie when he saw the script portrayed him and Patton as close friends. Bradley, its should be noted, was famously a nice guy. This means Patton was probably despicable, so he has that in common with Trump. Bradley seems to have regarded him as exactly the re-incarnated Dark Ages Warlord Patton fancied himself to be in his poetry. Being a horrible dick may be the only thing Trump and Patton truly have in common, but Patton of course had certain redeeming traits.
In his own time Patton was seen as an eccentric throwback. Basically he was little too crazy and liked war a little too much. He was the kind of soldier who needed to be sealed in case marked “Only Open in Case of War”. He chaffed at his bosses and generally was a pain in their asses.
Despite fighting the nazis like a boss, he seemed to go soft on them after the war. Unlike Trump he hated the Russians, but he probably would have conspired with them just to get World War 3, which he gets sacked for advocating for (along with the soft on ex-nazi’s thing). When Patton dies he was in a heap of trouble and had no command again.
The root of Trump’s many misconceptions is due to viewing the movie in a very simple manner. Its unlikely Trump ever took a single film class. The fact is Film Appreciation 101 might save the planet were Trump forced to take the course. If he had he would have realized the Ironic Duality of the plot.
Simply put the movie is all about introducing the open question of “Is Patton all that is Great and Gallant in the Military? Or is he all that is Wrong and Perverse about War and War Making?” The movie seems to suggest he is both at the same time.
The characters from the movie line up in Trump World roughly like this- Trump of course is Patton. Egotistical British General Montgomery , equally delusional and insane to only a slightly lesser degree, is ‘Crooked Hillary’. Patton’s very first aide in the movie who dies is BOTH original campaign managers AND Chris Christie (aside from the actual sorrow Patton felt,Trump we know is a stranger to empathy). Cod, his final aide is Kellyanne Conway and racist Steve Bannon. Omar Bradley and the US military are Paul Ryan and the Republicans. The German Military is Mueller and the FBI.
The movie opens with a ‘Patton Rally’. With a huge flag behind him he lays down tough, gruff and profanity laced violent rhetoric in clear terms. Everything is black and white, which is just fine because they’re preparing for war. It’s really freaky when you see the scene superimposed on a 21st century political rally.
The movie provides a composite of Patton’s actual speeches delivered brilliantly, using George Scott’s incredible speaking voice to draw us in as he gives it to his troops in a loud and dirty fashion. It’s very much a political looking arena and the first of many Academy Award Moments defying the viewer to look away.
When Patton begins to speak he’s commanding and profane. He tells his men their better than anyone their opponents, who are subhuman creeps. He boasts about their training and weapons and says they’re destined to win. He speaks of violence and glory. Again, perfect for a wartime general, TERRIBLE for a president, but of course its not very different from what Trump says at his rallys.
Trump holds out immigrants and muslims as an enemy and dehumanizes them almost s much as Patton dehumanized the Nazis extolling his troops to kill. Unlike Patton, there’s no hope. Patton is sure their going to win and win big. Maybe it wont be easy or fun, but it’s going to happen. Trump follows one false gloomy statement with another.
There are some traits both the Man in the Movie and Trump share. Then there’s a lot of fluke-ish coincidences where they seem to resemble each other but dont hold up.
One similarity between Trump and Movie Patton would be the portrayal of Patton as very much Bipolar, which is one of the dominant parts of Trump’s Borderline Personality Disorder. So what I’m saying is both were crazy. Patton, and Trump, also had certain traits of sociopaths and worse.
Patton was probably ‘Manic Depressive’ in terms of that time. Both were spotty students at prestigious schools (though Patton was afflicted with dyslexia, an actual learning disability he overcame, showing some discipline and personal character). Both are only functional when attacking. Both are insulated from their mistakes by great personal wealth. The bottom line is; “Both were crazy and self destructive”
Anti-Patton Cartoon from “Patton” (1970)
Both loved media coverage of and yet bristled at the scrutiny that invites. Both earned the distinction of “Suspected Huge Fan of the Nazis” from the media in their time.
Neither one feels that it’s fair to have their own words used against them, no matter how hypocritical.
Near the end of the movie Patton’s being questioned by the press as to why he won’t remove former Nazi’s from key positions. He answers with his own “Very Fine People” gaff- analogizing the nazis to the Republican and Democratic Parties in the United States. It was such a stupid thing to say you don’t actually feel that bad he let himself get set up. In fact it seemed like he knew they were setting him up and went with a defiant response out of pure bile. It destroys his post War career.
Neither guy can simply shut up for any length of time. While Trump uses tweets Patton would simply act in an outrageous manner (sound familiar?) til the press couldn’t look away.
Both seem to flirt with the idea of War for War’s sake (the Patton character admits this repeatedly). The recent whimsical attitude in meeting with North Korea in different capacities without any preparation fits well with the Patton in the movie, but it sure isn’t reflective of the real life guy.
“Fire and fury,” is a total Patton line. It’s not from the movie, but it would fit. Threatening people is one of Trump’s favorite things. Patton boasted all the time too. The difference of course is it’s APPROPRIATE for general to be boastful and threatening.
And Appropriateness is an area where Trump is really in need of improvement. Whacked out tweets, not putting his hand on his heart during the National Anthem, disparaging numerous Gold Star Families and worse are all in a days work for the offender in chief. Bolstered by his delusion he’s Patton or Patton-like at least, Trump is likely to continue and increase the boasts and threats.
A particularly dangerous sequence in the movie revolves around the German Siege of Bastogne. Loaded up with fuel and ammo and ready to kick the Nazi’s asses the weather intercedes and slows sops his relief attempt.
Angry and scream-y, Patton decides its time for some help from God and a little theater to motivate the troops. He summons the Division Chaplain and makes and demands a prayer good enough for god to intercede and stop the storm. The chaplain points out hes asking him to pray for a battle and therefore death on massive scale and it’s sort of messed up. Patton has no problem with the hypocrisy. Then he goes on a rant worthy of a Spartan king or a particularly extreme Roman general about how they’re going to be sustaining the attack no matter what. Patton admits to his aide he’s sort of acting. Its another Academy Award moment in the film.
A truly inspirational prayer, for those who care about such things, was written. The weather cleared fairly quickly thereafter and the Patton’s army set off on a historic campaign.
Of course what we all know today about Patton’s Weather Prayer is that a warm front moved in and the snow simply stopped. That doesn’t blunt the forceful nature of the scene where Patton excoriates a regimental chaplain, telling him to write a prayer “good enough” for God to bother listening. Its very much like Trump’s contempt for the Pope and religion in general. The “Two Corinthians” Fiasco shows Trump has no religious knowledge or convictions but has no problem with rank hypocrisy and is therefore a bit less moral than Patton.
This sequence of the movie is meant to show Patton’s Hubris and psychopathy in pursuit of battle and it’s a very dangerous thing to take it literally as surely Trump does. We can blame the Evangelical communities blind loyalty and excuse make-ing for Trump for this delusion gaining strength.
Another thing Trump and ‘Movie Patton’ have in common would be a total lack of understanding of whats called “Psychological Warfare”. In the film Patton is apparently baffled as to the importance of his mission leading up to D-Day- to be a weapon of mass distraction . Patton’s use as a decoy convinced Hitler to disregard an Actual Invasion and hold off forces that may well have turned the tide of the War itself , to await a Fictional Invasion that was never going to happen. It was key to pulling of the Allied Invasion of France.
Now consider Trump calling the Generals and the former president stupid repeatedly for broadcasting some details of their plan to destroy ISIS. He simply doesn’t understand the idea that you can cloud your opponents judgement to the point you can predict or even control his actions.
It’s too subtle for the movie character or Trump to grasp.
Both Trump and Patton have a deep disdain of giving out any government healthcare. Patton orders his hospital units not to admit Combat Fatigue (PTSD), which he considers cowardice.
This was so insane even to 1940’s medical personnel they simply ignore him. That of course boomerangs on Patton in his version of a “Hot Mic on the Bus” moment. Of course I am talking of the scene where Patton slaps a ‘cowardly’ soldier in a Field Hospital, disgusting everyone and showing his troops how little he cares about them despite the bravado.
In the heat of battle Patton visits a field hospital. At first he’s compassionate and deeply moved. Then he tirns hateful and insane. The General loses control of himself publicly and betrays his own bi-polar nature and complete lack of empathy during a brutal, sort of violent, screaming meltdown culminating with him repeatedly slapping a ‘cowardly’ soldier.
Lack of sleep and stress are surely in the mix when the real Patton freaked out like a true bi-polar. The sequence shows the dark side of Patton’s insanity. I dont think Trump will see it that way. His cruel approach to medicare and the Obamacare reforms shows he has no compassion, something the cinematic Patton develops. Trump surely wont (because Francis Ford Coppola is not writing reality).
Real life Patton slapped more than one soldier more than one time til they actually had to discipline him and remove him from command. It was just like the self inflicted wound we see Trump give himself all the time. Unlike Patton, he just never gets a humbling comeuppance where he returns slightly improved from time to time. Trump just keep making the same mistakes over and over.
Patton is benched and used as a decoy until after the D-Day Invasion, the battle he had waited all his life to fight in. He faces it like a pitcher caught doctoring a baseball and forced to miss a playoff start. In other words, with only a minimal thought of anyone else. Again Patton shows his view of war and command to be from the Dark Ages or perhaps early Renaissance at its most compassionate.
In his finest moments of triumph after receiving a new army to command, when prosecuting the war Patton is shown as petty and dismissive of his soldiers well-being and simply thinks of his Army as a whole. To Patton, when people get killed it’s like the Army itself is just trimming it’s fingernails. In other words; it’s a natural ongoing function of war. With Trump we can see the chaos in his personal staff and cabinet, burning people like Michael Cohen as needed.
Just as important as winning were the laurels and press adulation that came with it. When holding the spotlight Patton is grandiose in his actions while his words are always petty. Demonizing and denigrating his personal rivals, boasting of his the strength of his army. Its much like Trump with the exception of the part it’s actually appropriate for a general to have that attitude in time of war. Trump appropriating the George C Scott version of Patton in a political mode ISN’T appropriate at all, it worked well enough to get him ‘elected’ (we think). A crass and abusive screed of insults and violent rhetoric are the hallmark of every Trump Rally ever
Patton and Trump have contempt for the abilities (and probably even the racial abstraction) of the Russians, despite Trump’s open admiration for Putin. Patton moves himself firmly onto the hot seat in the early postwar moments by repeatedly insulting people, specifically members of the Russian military, the US President and that which would become NATO. Sound familiar ?
The movie closes with the disgraced Patton reflecting in how the Romans would celebrate a victory with a triumphant parade through Rome itself and a warning that all Glory is Fleeting. Cadet Bone Spurs insistence on a Bigly Military Parade is right in line with this.
Disturbing Conclusions and Thoughts-
We already have had our national policy shaped by this movie. As the documentary “All The President’s Movies” tells us, Nixon ordered major bombing offenses against Vietnam twice after watching the movie. And we all know that Trump loves Nixon so if he finds out that watch out!
It’s my theory that Trump see’s the story of Patton as that of an American who couldn’t lose cause he was an American and that he was an exceptional person who prospered BECAUSE he broke all rules and civility rather than IN SPITE OF THIS. I believe he sees his kooky Cabinet of Billionaire Ass kissers as equivalent to Patton’s highly trained and battle proven staff officers. This dangerous delusion was how Trump found a way to cast crazy ex-General Flynn in the role of Omar Bradley. Comparing Flynn to Bradley is so far from the truth it would be laughable of it weren’t absolute reality.
Based on his overtly displayed misunderstanding of the movie Trump shows he is dangerously militarily primitive and most comfortable with methods and ideas more commonly associated with the Nazi Germans than 20th century Americans.
Military deaths are way up under Trump I truly think he’s relaxed rules of engagement and demanded more missions in general. If you doubt it just consider the Green Berets lost in Niger. We still can’t get a reason that makes sense about why they were even on that doomed mission.
Patton is a terrible role model for even most soldiers as he was always succeeding at he expense of higher all around casualties. He declined peaceful solutions whenever possible. He was always one mistake from disaster but circumstance connived him a series of unlikely wins. As a role model for a president Patton is a disaster.
Like Trump, Patton’s glory should never eclipse the incompetence of his enemies. It requires some historical perspective to understand. Patton was set loose in western Europe with a veteran army and ample supplies. Even more decisive the Germans are mandated by Hitler ONLY to plan against Patton in an area where they expect the Invasion that never comes in Calais. Rather than ever accepting that they must fight Patton they become intimidated and willfully ignorant of the reality due to Hitler’s rapid mental decline from seriously insane to non functional maniac between about 1942 and early 1944. Patton directly benefits. Nothing analogous this is in play for Trump, His current foe, Mueller, is self-created but much more competent than Trump and no amount of freaking out is going to save Trump from that
Looking back at the 2016 campaign think of this as being roughly the same as Hillary not going to states she considered ‘safe’, like the vaunted Democratic “Blue Wall” of reliably Democratic states , each of which she then lost by less than an under-attended baseball game worth of people. We know Trump appreciates this misstep because its one of his favorite riffs to go on from the now “Trump 2020” rallies that are a veritable torchlight parade for the guy. “Kill Them All! Build That Wall!” however, is a lot less civilized than the behavior we see from people about to go to an actual war. Its belicose shit talking that serves just to help these cultists pay homage top their hero and are probably damaging the fabric of America.
Unlike Trump, Patton didn’t have a staff of soothsayers and guru’s off Fox News, Patton’s guys were highly competent top notch merit promoted staff officers with great expertise. Trumps rag tag group of advisers is anything BUT top notch or Highly Competent. They also have more turnover than Patton, which is amazing.
Another unavoidable conclusion from the movie is that current 21st century Americans are actually LESS civilized than Americans of the mid 20th century, 75 years ago, or at the very least the Americans of 1970 when the film is made. Being at war since 9-11 surely is somewhat to blame for this. This suggests that assertions about a cult of ignorance and a desire to literally turn back the clock to early post world war 2, before the integration of the military, by the Trumpists are very much real and accurate.
The movie ends before the freakish and controversial death of Patton in a car accident. The truth is the driver probably just messed up and plain old crashed. Patton lingered for a few days and was buried with his troops. Its long been imagined and even said that the General was killed by the CIA’s predecessor the OSS. This is sonething I’m sure Trump believes Patton was assassinated. I mean, there’s the whole issue where he’s afraid someone is going to poison him to back it up.
Ever since Force Awakens hit theaters it’s slowly become obvious that the production values in The Galaxy Far, Far Away have fallen even as the budget has gone up. Sure, things usually look good in the center of the screen, but as anyone who’s racked up repeated views of Force Awakens, Last Jedi and SOLO will notice- Only the hero’s weapons are any good.
Part of it is technology may have simply enabled the developers to the point where they became the opposite of Creative, they are now “Risk Averse”. So while we got a decent effect for Star Killer Base’s main weapon its sort of alone amidst dreadful new props and bad Foley Art (sound effects).
More Elegant Weapons from a More Civilized Time
Bigger, blander has been the trend and of course nothing is worse than Kylo Ren’s three bladed lightsaber. It’s at once stupid, poorly imagined, and thought provokingly impractical. The weapon was just a terrible vision of a lightsaber variant. It might have been forgivable alone, but it had plenty of (bad) company!
This is all on Disney. It’s cheapness, laziness and a lot of re-use of things from the Avenger’s Universe. It’s not like they can’t get it right, when they shelled out for lots of Lucas property in Rogue 1 and embraced the feel of the original movies things worked out. Everyone had a pretty cool weapon right down to the US Omaha Beach gear some of the Rebels sport in the final assault. They took the time to really study the original gear and art from the first movie. They also correctly realized that George Lucas was homage-ing World War II movies and added some real WWII movie looking features to the whole production. It’s not rocket science!
WW2 style Rebels in Rogue 1
two awesome, real looking weapons in a cut scene from Rogue 1 Theatrical release
Even in the heavily criticized pre-quel series George Lucas designed better looking and sounding weapons than Disney has ever bothered with. For example, when Lucas decides to give the lightsaber an upgrade for Darth Maul it results in a cool, dangerous and logical looking weapon. Same thing for blaster pistols. Jango Fett has a great set of silver blasters that sound awesome when fired. It seems like the Solo movie’s Lando has one just like them judging from the look and sound of it.
Continuing on the topic of Blasters we have lots of stand out bad props. It seems perhaps no one wants to use their best ideas on a weapon that will end up being property of Disney anyway. A lot of highly boring weapons are showing up for whatever reason.
The Force Awakens shows us our lamest weapons to that point. Consider it a watershed moment where lack of creativity would always be accepted so long as a huge special effects scene was enabled. The Star Killer Base itself is just not that creative a weapon. It’s a mega Death Star. It’s acceptable but it also seems like the galaxy’s most expensive fire and forget weapon cause they suck that star dry! Some enabling dialogue could fixed that in a second, but the movies sloppy. “After we fire prepare to tow the base to the secondary star in the next system!” There- see how easy that was?
Finn’s Blaster
The standard Stormtrooper weapon for the First Order is only okay. Its got white plastic on it probably incorporated for the sale of the toy (keeping it from looking too real). If we’re going to start designing movies around creating more effective Cosplay outfit we should just quit making Star Wars movies right now.
Rey’s blaster is a good example of a terrible weapon. It looks awful and lacks any menacing quality. It also sounds pretty crappy when she fires it. I won’t even waste a
paragraph on the LEGO style rifle Finn gets from Han Solo. I will indulge one more sentence and say its so bad it makes Rey’s modded vape rig of a pistol look a lot better.
In general they’ve given up on putting that worn, hard-used look into people’s personal weapons. In the past generally when Lucas was calling the shots the coolest weapons (and ships) had a convincing beat up look. In the Disney Star Wars movies most of the gear looks new and fresh. It’s just not very Star Wars. Most Non Imperial Star Wars gear looks like it’s in serious need of maintenance.
Rey’s blaster
Just among major characters in the Solo movie; Beckett’s personal weapon was a forgettable collection of tubes! Bad Guy Vision/ Dryden Vos terrorizes people with a pair of ginsu brass knuckle lightsabers that are a snooze! I wont insult you by posting a picture.
Conversely, very watchable Rogue 1 features mostly Lucas and Lucas-like ships, enemies and weapons and made for a Star Wars movie we could feel the ‘danger’ in.
There’s also a new level of Gun Awareness in our society that shouldn’t make it into the movies creative process (at least so far as marketability of toys). In most states relaistic looking reproductions of weapons are simply illegal. The result is that ‘realistic’ (aka Menacing looking) weapons have to be orange when they’re made into toys/collectibles. Seems the art prop department played to that.
Rey’s blaster prototype?
Think of it this way- when the original movie opens in 1977 every single weapon was awesome and had a great sound to it. Han’s blaster, storm trooper rifles, the Death Star’s main weapon. All wins. This starts to go away slowly in the prequels, but the guns still reflect the characters. Not so much anymore.
Han Solo’s weapon alone is a triumph of Hero Weaponry. Inspired by a real gun, heavy and dangerous looking, had a great sound for ‘cocking’ it as well as a super cool ‘report’ when it fired. It did damage that seemed appropriate. It’s a win. The storm trooper rifles are no less brilliant.
And George Lucas was a MASTER of Foley art who could always squeeze just a little more juice out of the right sounds and weapon combo. In return of the Jedi we finally hear a second type of weapon fired from the Falcon. You never get a great look but it seems that there’s forward firing cannons as well as the Quad laser Turrets. It has a unique bass-y sound.
Han Solo’s Lucas Conceived weapon
Lucas vs Disney = No Contest
There’s a visible creative drop off between Lucas conceived and, for lack of a better term, Abrams conceived weapons, where Lucas wins hand over fist. It’s not even close.
Cube-ish, rectangular and uninteresting weapons that unimportant characters sport are a new and growing problem. The Creature/ Weapon asssembly line at Dinsey evokes under-thought 1970’s Marvel Star Wars comics weapons or even something like the mid 80’s GI Joe animated cartoon. Everything looks like it’s made of LEGOS. The Force Awakens was a call away from arms, for lack of a better term, as it signaled a huge slip concept designs. Except for Rogue 1 all the weapons we’ve seen from Disney are just awful.
Refocusing on the SOLO Movie; every weapon but the main characters, which were leftover from Lucas, is bland and boring. Only ships like the Falcon and TIE fighters are actually good or have decently menacing weapons. Even so, the Non Lucas guns on the Falcon, which we understand were before a lot of “special modification”, were still just lame. Its not like the visibly less cool gun couldnt have sounded a little less wimpy. The earlier tie fighters were ‘copyright payment reducing-ly different,’ with toned down weapons as well and are not quite as familiar or menacing . They seem like they will be easy to deal with and they are.
Characters weapons were once much more important in The Galaxy Far, Far Away. The spoke to a character and added to it.
The desire to have the weapons reflect the character and also where they fit in to society was a meme in the original movie. For instance, well toCharacters weapons were once much more important in The Galaxy Far, Far Away. The spoke to a character and added to it. do princess Leia has an appropriately elegant blaster, as does her mother Amidala in the prequels.
As for Leia’s weapon, it’s also well thought out and she stays with in later movies. It seems more precise and have a smaller impact mark on the stormtroopers she hits. Luke’s original musket was another example of the weapon fitting the character. It’s slim and elegant. It looks like a rich person would own it more than say what Han is running around with. It’s one of the character’s signature possessions.
When Luke gets his own pistol he ends up with what Han uses rather than the usual Rebel blaster, showing he was not your typical Rebel. It could be viewed as showing the characters self image, even if its just that he noticed it was pretty effective.
Rogue 1- Always the Exception
On the opposite end of the scale, the fluke good movie, Rogue 1, features mostly Lucas conceived ships and weapons. Let’s face it, it helped. The reveal of Princess Leia at the end is a rare moment of respectful treatment of an original character, but thats a whole post of its own.
The Rogue 1 characters weapons and what original gear, weapons and ships they had were close to the weapons we see in the original series. Its clear that this production team looked at the same sources Lucas looked at- the weapons and equipment of World War II, for inspiration when designing anything new.
It’s got a far more authentic “Star Wars” feel. We don’t have the Falcon, but he have the basic Imperial Shuttle, which has always been cool ( but was re-interpreted somewhat poorly as the First Order shuttle). Also in Rogue 1 we have a big battle featuring almost purely Lucas conceived ships at the end of the movie. Plenty of X-Wings, TIE fighters and other familiar and signature vessel’s were part of the fight. It felt very ‘Star Wars’.
A bunch of Darth Vader scenes where he does everything we love climaxes with his vicious attack on a group of rebel soldiers. It’s one of everyone’s favorite scenes from the movie and has been cosplayed at subsequent Comic-Cons. All the weapons in this sequence are Lucas conceived and it’s the best part of the best Disney movie by Light Years. Think about that.
Intellectual Property
This will be it’s own post soon. Just a thought for now-
Im thinking theres probably a connection to the language in the Disney – Lucas Intellectual Property Agreement that is part of pushing weapons and ships into a Non-Lucas area.
