…unless, of course [DOT 2/4/20]

…maybe it’s me…but I see shit like this

For Autocrats, and Others, Coronavirus Is a Chance to Grab Even More Power

…& for a moment there, like an accidental racist, I assume that sort of thing is somehow still the preserve of bits of the world that aren’t called the USA

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/coronavirus-is-a-chance-for-authoritarian-leaders-to-tighten-their-grip

…because that’s not how it goes in the land of the free & the home of the brave…unless you happen to be a brave, of course

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/trump-administration-revokes-mashpee-wampanoag-tribe-reservation-status

…because at a time like this it’s important to keep things in perspective

…no, I’m afraid you did in fact read that right the first time

…because otherwise all kinds of shit could get out of hand

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/01/stocks-markets-today-economy-coronavirus/

…so you’d want to get to grips with that before…well…

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1170616

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/what-we-know-about-coronavirus-model-white-house-unveiled-n1173601

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-protective-gear-stockpile-depleted/2020/04/01/story.html

…so, you’d imagine there’d be some pretty obvious priorities at work…& you’d be right…but also wrong

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/corporate-executives-play-an-outsize-role-at-trumps-coronavirus-briefings/2020/03/30/story.html

…& maybe that’s not even all that surprising to some of us…even now…but

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/30/donald-trump-coronavirus-briefing-ceos-my-pillow

…for real?

https://earther.gizmodo.com/trump-admin-set-to-announce-plan-to-build-dirtier-cars-1842575969

…there is no depth to which this man is not prepared to sink…this we know…or at any rate can not deny if we look at the facts…which of course are seldom found in the orbit of the mass speciously referred to as the president

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/31/kellyanne-conways-ugly-deceptions-preview-big-lie-come/

…& given the size of the ones they’re already going all out to cover for the big one has to be a fucking doozy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/fbi-surveillance-trump-russia-inspector-general/2020/03/31/story.html

…writ large or small

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/questionable-stock-sales-georgia-senator-loeffler-insider-trading-coronavirus.html

…the rot is all

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/30/trump-republican-party-voting-reform-coronavirus

…it just makes sense, right?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-admin-will-not-reopen-obamacare-exchanges-during-coronavirus-pandemic-n1173871

…it’s not like we might be looking at the bigger man, here

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/01/bailout-checks-social-security/

…but seriously folks…much as I loathe the malingering sack of self-serving venality that unaccountably got elected to the White House…that saggy-necked chucklefuck beside him in the pic up top might actually be a figure of purer loathing still…the fact that the dumbest fuck to ever fuck up shit at a national (& let’s face it, international) level doesn’t have the wit to fucking understand it notwithstanding…the weight of shame that motherfucking mitch’s bitch ass should by now long since have been crushed under is dizzying in its proportions

The Senate leader also accused Democrats of wanting to “turn the President’s handling of all this into a political liability for him.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-impeachment-diverted-attention-coronavirus-concerns-n1173106
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5 Comments

  1. McConnell is not someone who was corrupted by power. He is in power because he’s corrupt. A quick google search of his political history, starting with his sketchy military service, should not be undertaken near meals or bedtime.
    When it became clear that trump was going to be the GOP nominee Reince Priebus, as head of the RNC, was considering awarding the nomination to someone else. Mitch McConnell went to Priebus and Paul Ryan and encouraged them to let trump have it. He is the reason we have a Slitheen stinking up the Oval Office. And no Doctor in sight to save us.

  2. I think the outlook for authoritarian leaders is muddier than the Guardian article suggests. Orban was ahead of the curve and tackling the virus like it was a threat while most were denying it like Trump. Xi seems to have gotten containment after ignoring the virus, and he will probably be better off in relative terms for having already gotten through the first round.

    But I don’t know if leaders like Modi or Erdogan are very secure. They depend a lot on informal masses of hardcore backers rather than organized state police. That is the kind of thing that can melt away at a time like this as the infection spreads.

    That isn’t necessarily good — sometimes a new strongman steps up, other times the situation dissolves into chaos. But there is a window of opportunity for democracy, especially in places like India and Brazil which have a history of free elections.

    Unfortunately, fragile democracies benefit from US support. In the 90s, both Bush and Clinton pushed hard to back democracy in the former Soviet states, and the GOP still had a decent number of non-kooks and non-cowards in Congress. It’s hard to see that today. Which means I think we are more likely to see something like the Arab Spring, with a few successes, a bunch of musical chairs, and some chaos.

  3. I have a Brazilian family member that posted this today but it looks like it originated in Italy by Fabio Collere
    ·
    “THE THINGS THAT COVID19 MAKES US SEE”

    1. The United States is no longer the world leader.
    2. China won the Third World War without firing a missile and no one noticed.
    3. The person turns to God only in the moment of his need.
    4. Prevention saves more lives than acting at the last moment.
    5. Health professionals are worth more than one soccer player.
    6. Children occupy a privileged place in nature.
    7. Oil is worth nothing in a society without consumption.
    8. Death does not distinguish race, color or social status.
    9. The human being can be opportunistic and despicable.
    10. Social media brings us together, but it is also the way to create panic.
    11. Now we know how the animals feel in the zoo.
    12. Today’s kids don’t know how to play without internet or TV.
    13. Some make millions and don’t serve humanity.
    14. Health professionals are alone, abandoned and forgotten. Yet they never quit.
    15. Children are now being educated by their own parents.
    16. We begin to appreciate the great gesture of confidence that means shaking hands.
    17. Human beings are the true virus of the planet.
    18. The planet is quickly regenerated without humans.
    19. We are not ready for a pandemic.
    20. Politicians always take advantage of any opportunity to pull the rival rug.
    21. We need to invest more in healthcare, instead of investing in bankrupt banks.

    • > 17. Human beings are the true virus of the planet.
      > 18. The planet is quickly regenerated without humans.

      Yes. Earth won’t miss us at all.

      The dinosaurs lasted 180-something million years. We won’t last even 1…

  4. We are better than this, we as a country are not perfect but we are definitely one of the good ones.
    I have faith that this country will heal itself from Trump when he is gone. I expect the people in this country to rise up and come back and fill the roles that this administration hollowed out. There is a lot of departments that need to fixed and rebuilt.
    OK, I will admit that Trump technically won the presidency because the “right” 70,000 voters voted against Clinton even though 3,000,000 more voted for her. This guy has has proven that business person doesn’t understand how government bureaucracy works. He has also proved to anyone that isn’t a sycophant that he is “damaged”.
    His failed handling of so many things and his constant lying amplified by Faux News, Republicans and right wing internet sites has divided this country into two camps, one small camp of true believers because if they can’t admit they made a mistake. The other, a larger camp that because of its diversity of race and ideas may tear itself into many pieces smaller than the true believers thus guaranteeing a reelection for the Idiot In Chief.
    Democrats and others need to decide do they unite and vote for whoever the democratic candidate is (however flawed) is better than the narcissistic, ignorant, self dealing con man. My faith and money is on America excising the tumor that is Trump and getting better and reestablishing itself as the world leader once again.

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