All through this dreadful time the world – and, of course, the US in particular – has been living through the (ugh !) Trump years, I have been dragged further and further down in my outlook on things by the various publications I read online. (This is because I don’t actually READ any more: I cannot. Too much time spent on the Web has removed my capability to concentrate or focus. Of this I am not proud, not a bit: but it is a fact.)
For instance, I check Politico, Vox and Slate; and occasionally I read what The Hill is saying. I very often watch what MSNBC anchors are saying, and also CNN. I have favourites among them, and tend to check those first. As to why I occupy so much time on all this, it’s because I long to see the end of the Trump era.
The media’s influence on me has been that they’ve never let me understand what the people, the ordinary people up there just like me – meaning not the right-wing maniacs – think about this frightful man. Throughout these 1,211 days (Brian Williams of MSNBC never lets us forget and names every telecast) of ghastliness I’ve been influenced only by what the media can say about Americans’ reactions to Trump.
Today I read a totally wonderful article about a young woman on TikTok who’s taken it by storm, and the scales fell from my eyes !!! It’s been re-posted on Twitter to an apparently endless set of joyful congratulatory comments, and FINALLY I know what the ordinary, normal Americans think !!
Oh do read about Sarah Cooper: she will not only have you falling off your chair laughing, but it will be laughing incredulously at the madman who carries a title he has never for a second deserved. Apparently she’s on Twitter .. although maybe that’s just her TikTok posts being reposted .. I’m not up at all on social networking.
This has made me a happy old fart, realizing at last that there are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots (etc.) of Americans who hate Trump, possibly even more than I do ! I am now praying that every single one of them will get out and VOTE in November ..
DOWNUNDER WITH BOODZ 
Yes, there are lots who don’t like him. As I think I’ve said before, I have friends who are in that category. I feel so sorry for the risk they are being put into because of his poor leadership. I hate the generalisation of Americans based on him – I hate generalisations in general (ha!) I always have.
You just have to watch Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Rachel Madow, and others whose names escape me to know that there are many who are horrified by him, because these satirists and commentators have followers!
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I do have to, and I do ! Two ‘d’s in Maddow. I don’t watch Noah or Oliver unless someone puts up an illegal YouTube post. :) Fortunately, it happens quite often.
It is totally beyond me that any intelligent person could support Trump; but my younger sister does, and she’s cleverer than I. Words fail ..
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You’re right about Maddow. And yes, I only catch the occasional Noah and Oliver. Bee is a bit over the top but at least we can watch her, and we can also watch Colbert. Seth Myers I think you can see legally on You tube. His “A closer look” segments are great.
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He’s having fun at home, too. :)
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Well, I’m not sure your younger sister is cleverer than you! I remember, though, just before the 2016 election hearing college educated women say they were going to vote for him. I was gobsmacked.
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But she told me this after he’d been there for about 18 months !!! I think the situation might be quite simple, in fact, Sue: that conservative voters who believe in small government and self-regulation and all that shit think Trump is their man and that therefore he’s the goods. And they entirely (and conveniently) overlook that his beliefs are only based on what he can get out of .. anything.
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I think you’re absolutely right. They see policy only, which in a way is what I do, particularly when the choice of leaders is iffy. But I have my standards, and IF I were conservative, and IF I were American I’d like to think I d have the intelligence to see how actually dangerous he is. My American friend said in her last letter, “this is ridiculous”. She also said “you must be getting clear messaging”, for example, about what you can do, how many people. I feel so sorry for them.
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Let us not think about the bogan stratum out-voting the less bogan .. Much too close to home ! :\
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Crazy-making! Loved the lip-syncing girl. Thanks M-R, for the laugh. I tend to ignore USA politics, and get pissed that so much attention is paid to it by our news media.
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I was a mad Obama fan, which is where my interest started.
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The hard core conservatives hate the Democrats with a vengeance. They would rather see an “Emperor with new clothes,” in charge than have any Democrat. This is the mindset you have to overcome. See some of Alt-right vids on youtube.
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This savage partisanship began when John Boehner was Speaker; but his efforts at dividing Americans have paled in comparison with those of the vile Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader – a truly bad man.
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Evil….
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Oh, it is hard to try to understand what is happening in the US, and it’s all around me. Trump’s behavior is so reprehensible it is beyond all norms; every day he further demeans the office and damages the nation further. I am stunned at the number of people around me who completely support his behavior. It reminds me of middle school students who rail against the authority of adults and social norms; now we have citizens who are thrilled to see a leader refuse to conform with norms as he dismantles the government and bullies all the adults. They just dont notice that he is acquiring power, using his office to punish his enemies, and is making a huge amount of money while doing it. In fact, he’s stealing their money!! The lawlessness and corruption is just breathtaking, and they are thrilled. Now he is whipping them up to die like lemmings to keep the economy going so he will be reelected. Me, I don’t think he’s thought this through. Most people do not support him, and as the death toll rises it is going to get ugly.
In their defense, they only get news from sources that legitimize their views.
I watch a lot of MSNBC there days. :-)
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And I. Whilst I will always have time for Rachel (and all the rest, other than the Morning Joe people), my favourite is actually Ari Melber. I think that his being an attorney is what enables him to present both sides, while letting you in on which one he supports. :) I would far rather listen to him giving a rundown than to him with a panel ..
I think the media cannot say “you know, we’re not the only people who feel this way !” when reporting on the lardass cretin; but I ended up feeling as if it was them fighting a lonely battle against him, while the rest of you were either totally disinterested or among the rusted-ons. But then, that’s me, alas ! – your original dickead. Sighh ..
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Rachel and Chris Hayes are my favorites. Here’s the thing… we write letters, give money, and march with our little signs, but until we get the Senate back we can’t stop him. I am so heartbroken by what is happening. I keep hoping that people will take to the streets, but the other side, with their guns, is hoping for that too… poor America.
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I forgot Chris, for a moment – yes, I always check him. The stratum of the discontented has always existed, as it does everywhere. But now, of course, the gun-toters have a voice – the loudest in the land. And they are proud that they put him there – well, they and that dreadul electoral college of yours. :( The Republican Senate keeps working away to keep itself in the catbird seat and McConnell is its voice. He is at the heart of everything bad going on .. what am I saying ? – he IS the bad, bad black heart.
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Yep. The people with the most anti-social and racist leanings are being set an example that emboldens them. It’s not good, not good at all. The unthinkable is slowly being normalized.
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One can only reflect on the fact that the November election is going to bring things to a head: either Trump wins and calls out the National Guard to jail his enemies, or Biden wins and Trump refuses to accept it and tries to call out the National Guard to protect him in his place. One way or another, he’s going to go completely crazy; and then we’ll see how ready those shitty Republicans are to continue supporting him.
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Stop trying to cheer me up…
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You’re right: enough with the misery.
Onward and upward !!
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Exactly! Today I pulled weeds and knitted a back leg onto the new Maya cat. I need to feel like I’m accomplishing things as the world spins out of control around me. :-)
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I have bought a new THING for weeding, as I can no longer do it by hand. It is on a long pole, and looks really fierce. I shall use it and think of all its savage edges pulling up MM and DT. [grin]
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