"ACCUSE YOUR ENEMY OF WHAT YOU ARE GUILTY"

One of Josef Goebbels's propaganda principles was "Accuse your enemy of what you are guilty." As Congress investigates Jared Kushner's substandard Baltimore "Kushnerville" rentals, Trump lashes out in racist attack upon Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings, representative of Baltimore. Now Trump is attacking whole ciites. You would think people would rise up and vote against him in the next election, but the tactic worked as voter suppression in Detroit in 2016: See, the subtext of his message ran, the Democrats have left you in poverty, have left you in the lurch, why vote for them? I hope the consciousness raising by the Baltimore Sun and the black Obama officials helps, but Trump is a master at propaganda and must never be taken lightly.

An Attack on Justice?

As of today, Mitch McConnell will not permit legislation protecting the Mueller investigation to go forward. House Republicans are demanding former FBI Director James Comey's unredacted memos from Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein (evidence in a live investigation); Rosenstein's refusal may be cause for Trump firing him and installing someone who will fire or limit Mueller. In New York, the temporary Attorney General is recused from the Michael Cohen case and his term is up May 3; Trump may install someone who will impede the Cohen trial. The groundwork is being laid for a multilateral attack on justice; contact your legislators before the fix comes in.

THE CULT OF TRUMP

The attachment of Trump supporters to a venal, self-serving, obnoxious man is not unprecedented. Trump supporters display the same psychodynamics as the cult followers of Jim Jones or David Koresh. They systematically reject any information that conflicts with their delusion of a powerful father figure who loves and protects them, even at the expense of their health and welfare. These people will support Trump even if, as he has said, he shoots someone in broad daylight, or even shoots them.

Dear Steve Bannon

Dear Steve Bannon:
Thank you so much for your letter. It is a comfort to know that President Trump is saving the white Christian orphans from Hillary Clinton's cannibalism. And thank you for Mr. Hitler's book. My daughter says it is poorly written, but she has become a real liberal elite since she came back from college. We look forward to reading Mr. Hitler's ideas about health care. And don't worry about the Jews: we understand that you have to deal with the Muslims first, so we will be patient. Oh, it is so good to finally have a president who is "one of us." MAGA and God bless parts of America!

Schadenfreude

Special Prosecutor Mueller has hired a specialist to review Trump orbit financials and an expert in obstruction of justice prosecution; Jared Kushner will appear before the Senate Intelligence committee June 23rd; committees in the House and Senate are calling for tapes and for Jeff Sessions to testify. Mike Flynn has handed over 600 pages of documents, and if he gets the immunity he wants, well, there will be a story to tell. Forgive my schadenfreude, friends, but I am really going to enjoy watching Trumpworld unravel.

The true face of America?

The true face of America - that is what Iran called Trump. There is no love lost between our two nations (I am blessed with Iranian friends who translate my work, so I mean the ruling politicals of Iran). But so: Trump symbolizes the ugly American---a marauding, selfish jingoist who rolls over anyone and anything that does not serve him. I read my share of Noam Chomsky (politics, not linguistics), and despite the dirty tricks and black ops, I still believed we were a great nation, flawed but still honorable, still great. Is Trump an outgrowth of who we really are, or a fluke of tweeting and too much TV? Have we been developing into an authoritarian state all along, or is Trump anomalous (and soon gone, I hope)?

The Mythology of Donald Trump

In his book Mythologies, Roland Barthes examined the ways in which modern society creates myths about its experience. Using semiotics, he wrote of the atmosphere of disorder a stray lock of Calpurnia's hair creates in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Julius Caesar and how writers on holiday are thought never to stop writing.
The mythology of Donald Trump is that his presidential campaign is a reality show that will be promptly canceled in November. Statements that threaten violence, like his suborning assassination this week, are part of an entertainment, like The Trumpanos or The Walking Trump or Game of Trump. Scary, yes, but contained. He'll just retire after the election, we --- kinda -- think. And give up the media attention, the crowds? Think of Trump's red face as he mocks and smears and threatens. No, in this show, the best, or worst, is yet to come

The Trump Abuser-Victim Paradigm

Whenever I hear someone say "only I can fix this," "only I care for you," "you can't do this without me," a red flag goes up in my deepest heart. Abusers of all stripes, from wife beaters to quack doctors to dysfunctional parents, use these phrases on their victims, to isolate them and keep them from seeking real help. Trump's manipulation of his followers' fears is a toxic tool of a toxic candidate. But we are not helpless, Mr. Trump, and we can overcome our problems without you; in fact, we must, since you are one of the main problems. ‪#‎neverTrump‬ ‪#‎Trumpspeech‬ ‪#‎Trumpspeak‬

Trump as Signifier

Symbols are more real than what they symbolise; the signifier precedes and determines the signified - Claude Lévi-Strauss
What this has to do with Donald Trump is that the Twitter-addicted media hound is more real as a symbol than as a man to his followers, who cannot see beyond the glare of his image. And Trump, who recently said "any press is good press," knows this well. He has created a mythology greater than any fact of his acts and deeds.
Lacan's formula for metaphor: f (S')S = (+) s
(S is Signifier and s is signified)
Trump is teflon because he is the Signifier, and what and how he has signified is lost in the process for so many, too many

The Normalization of Donald Trump

The Republican Convention is contributing to the "normalization" of Donald Trump. See, the festivities with family and friends seem to say, this is not the man Bernie Sanders characterized as a pathological liar, this is no bigot, misogynist, and bully. Why, he even seems . . . presidential. Poll numbers are rising with the hype. Do remember, friends, what Trump is and what he stands for, and educate others between now and November.

Not about Economics

I watched televised coverage of the last Republican convention. The Obama Hope poster renamed "Rope" and showing the image of the President being lynched. And monkeys, and God help me, all manner of vile stuff. They allow this? I thought. No, I realized today, they sow this. And that was before Trump. The President is right: If you support Donald Trump, it's not about the economics.

Ten Reasons to Get Behind Hillary Now

1. If Nixon had an enemies list, what will Trump have?
2. Trump doesn’t believe that humans change climate. During his presidency, polluters will flood the atmosphere with carbon, heating the ocean surface, which will rise and likely flood New York and other coastal cities by 2050.
3. Trump will surround himself with flatterers for advisers. The ego displays you see now will be known as Trump’s insightful and tactful days.
4. If you protest his actions, you will be arrested. No rights, no lawyers, no phone calls, maybe beating and torture. Because he can. And has said he will.
5. Paul Ryan schools Trump about the separation of powers. Like Trump gives a shit about the Constitution,
6. Speaking of the Constitution, Trump will wipe his ass on the Bill of Rights, except for the lunatic and completely incorrect version of the Second Amendment used by Republicans.
7. Trump will give indelible new meaning to the phrase “bully pulpit.”
8. You will get to see the @realdonaldtrump.
9. Trump is a sociopath. He doesn’t give a shit about anything or anyone but himself. But unlike Tony Soprano who you thought was so cool, this guy is coming for you.
10. If you are not against him, you are for him. ‪@HillaryClinton‬

Necrophilic Narcissism and Donald Trump

Eric Fromm coined the term "necrophilic narcissism" in his book, Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, as he probed the extremes of human evil. In this syndrome, the ordinary narcissist's selfishness and lack of empathy and insight is infused with sadistic joy in the sufferings, more, actual destruction, of others, whose humanity the necrophilic narcissist can not feel. Often, these people seem ordinary and do not understand that what they are doing is wrong, as Hannah Arendt observed of Adolf Eichmann in his war crimes trial, citing "the banality of evil."
My parents were Holocaust-involved and, early in Donald Trump's campaign, I recognized something. A bully. A man who enjoys humiliating others. A pathological need for attention. An inability to understand honesty or integrity. The love of scapegoating. Bigotry. A person who doesn't care, in every sense of the phrase, about anyone except himself. People told me I was foolish to be alarmed, that he could never win the Republican nomination. Now they tell me he can't win the presidency. Are you sure? Really sure? It's important not to miss on this one.
I want to fight him now. While I still can. Please, tell me how.