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The tragedy and blessing that is Trump [aljazeera]
aljazeera ^ | 4 Jan 2018 | Larry Beinhart

Posted on 01/14/2018 2:40:42 AM PST by MarvinStinson

Trump is a particularly ugly wart erupting from the underlying disease, the corporatisation of America and the world writes Beinhart [Reuters]

In his first year in office, the only serious bill he passed was the tax cuts.

Yes, Trump has also done other damage during his first year in the White House, primarily with his judicial appointments. But credit, or demerits, for that really go to Mitch McConnell, who blocked the Obama administration's appointments so that there were seats open if a Republican was elected. They look to be terrible judges, but who's to say if rabid right-wing judges with very poor legal qualifications are significantly worse than rabid right-wing judges who have some knowledge of the law.

Trump has also appointed people to head government agencies who hate the missions of those agencies. That's what Republican presidents do. They are totally, madly in love with fossil fuels and find environmental concerns as irritating as an 18th-century chaperone who's getting between them and consummation.

Then there's the issue of incompetence. Of course, he's appointed incompetent people to run things. Don't forget George W Bush, saying "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" to the man he had running the rescue of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Don't forget that Bush also appointed Dick Cheney as head of anti-terrorism before 9/11, then had Donald Rumsfeld run his wars. It's hard to get more incompetent than that. It's what Republican presidents do.

Trump has brought the lunacy and meanness of Republicans, and the right, out of the closet with so much vulgarity and ugliness that it has awakened much of the sane world.

Trump's outrageousness has helped the real media awaken. This is most visible in the New York Times and the Washington Post. They have become great papers again. Deeper, more honest, more original.

All that is terrible about Trump is that he's a particularly ugly wart erupting from the underlying disease, the corporatisation of America and the world. Alternative facts are what advertising always does. The takeover of the legal system has been a corporate goal since the 1970s. Demonisation of minorities has been a way for Republicans to get elected since Nixon, but also a sideshow of manipulation about social issues that they don't mind losing on, so long as the real goals - money, power, and immunity - are gained.

The big question is whether the Democrats will remain the party of Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, the party of the big fundraisers. Or will they become the party of policies, ideas, of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Franklin Roosevelt, the party of democracy?


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: aljazeera; trump
Larry Beinhart--pro muslim lefty who writes for aljazeera :

"Trump's outrageousness has helped the real media awaken. This is most visible in the New York Times and the Washington Post. They have become great papers again. Deeper, more honest, more original."

1 posted on 01/14/2018 2:40:42 AM PST by MarvinStinson
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To: MarvinStinson

Great satire.


2 posted on 01/14/2018 2:47:38 AM PST by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
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To: MarvinStinson

“They are totally, madly in love with fossil fuels......”

As if Qatar’s Al Jazeera hates oil money.


3 posted on 01/14/2018 3:07:08 AM PST by granada
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Here’s his explanation of Academia:

by Larry Beinhart

It is now a conventional complaint on the Right that university faculties are dominated by liberals.

It’s true.

A Washington Post story reported on a study that said: “72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative ... The disparity is even more pronounced at the most elite schools, where, according to the study, 87 percent of faculty are liberal and 13 percent are conservative.”

Naturally, Right-wingers claim this is a vast left-wing conspiracy.

There’s a more logical conclusion. A university faculty is home to people whose profession is thinking. To survey such a population is a valid way to select for people who think, as opposed to a random sample of the general population.

From that point of view, we see that among people who think, 72% are liberal and 15% conservative. Among elite thinkers, the portion of liberals goes up 87%.

Thinking leads to liberalism. Think about it.

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/larry-beinhart-dispatches-from-the-war-on-stupidity


4 posted on 01/14/2018 3:18:12 AM PST by MarvinStinson
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To: MarvinStinson

This guy sounds like an utter kook.

“Thinking leads to liberalism”, seriously? Liberalism is a product of lack of critical thinking ability and no wisdom. That little saying about being a liberal at twenty and conservative at forty came about for a reason.


5 posted on 01/14/2018 3:41:04 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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To: MarvinStinson

If the Muslims are this upset with Trump, then he must be doing a fantastic job.


6 posted on 01/14/2018 3:46:38 AM PST by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: MarvinStinson
<>"Thinking Dreaming and Scheming leads to liberalism. Think about it."<>
7 posted on 01/14/2018 4:31:34 AM PST by Aevery_Freeman (High taxes + Government = Disorganized Crime)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Nice to know we are making people happy out there


8 posted on 01/14/2018 4:45:56 AM PST by ronnie raygun (Trump plays chess the rest are still playing checkers)
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To: MarvinStinson

This is what winning sounds like! The louder they whine the more you know you are winning!


9 posted on 01/14/2018 5:00:51 AM PST by 48th SPS Crusader (I am an American. Not a Republican or a Democrat)
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To: MarvinStinson

Thanks, I attended a public high school and graduated from a state school in the mid-west. Now I understand why I am so stupid and dumb. I am grateful for these wonderfully enlightened people to let me know how totally inadequate I am.

Seriously, I have realized as I get older, how little I actually know. Most progressive/communists would have difficulty admitting that.


10 posted on 01/14/2018 5:24:31 AM PST by phormer phrog phlyer
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To: Aevery_Freeman
A university faculty is home to people whose profession is thinking sophistry .

11 posted on 01/14/2018 1:24:21 PM PST by conservatism_IS_compassion (Presses can be 'associated,' or presses can be independent. Demand independent presses.)
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To: MarvinStinson; Impy; LS; BillyBoy; NFHale; GOPsterinMA

That’s even better satire.

Most leftists I’ve known are some of the stupidest people I’ve ever met. Usually utterly lacking in ethics, morality and basic character, and often exhibiting chronic to severe mental illness and cognitive dissonance. They’re the last people that should be in the education field.


12 posted on 01/14/2018 4:10:34 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
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