August 5, 2020

I just found out the USPS has an Inspector General and here's the contact info

USPS OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) audits the operations and evaluates the specific infrastructure of the Postal Service. The OIG also has the responsibility of protecting and maintaining the integrity of postal processes and personnel. To contact the OIG, please call 1-888-877-7644, email hotline@uspsoig.gov, visit USPS OIG Contact Form, or mail 1735 N Lynn Street, Arlington, VA 22209-2020.

https://www.prc.gov/consumer-assistance

I'll write to him/her tomorrow. I don't know what else to do at this point. It's probably an exercise in futility, but I have to try to do something.

August 5, 2020

I was half-seriously wondering if Swan had studied Steven Hassan's book

The Cult of Trump and Hassan's meticulous breakdown of techniques Trump uses to frame and reframe issues, because he was staggeringly good at grabbing the frame back from Trump and placing it where it belongs.

August 5, 2020

One of the greats.

Under the Volcano is an under-appreciated masterpiece.

Alan Parker passed away a few days ago. One of my favorite John Huston quotes is when he was talking about Parker's movie Angel Heart. He said, to the best of my recollection, "Angel Heart is ninety minutes of the greatest movie ever made, followed by twenty minutes of the worst movie ever made." (I respectfully disagree with the second part of his statement. )

John Huston was also the subject of Clint Eastwood's movie White Hunter, Black Heart. Eastwood portrayed John Huston during the making of African Queen.

It's a really good movie and a fascinating portrait of Huston.

Lastly, John Houston gave a remarkably haunting performance in Roman Polanski's classic, Chinatown.



By the way, if you thought Jacqueline Bisset was just a pretty face who couldn't act, you need to see Under the Volcano because her performance is a revelation.

August 5, 2020

Trump is growing increasingly risk-averse.

He now rarely ventures anywhere that might make him uncomfortable, or put him face to face with adversaries or opponents.

Those two interviews--Chris Wallace and Swan--were outliers and I'm not even sure he knew he would be encountering such difficult questioning.

August 5, 2020

You could make the case that it actually hasn't been for a while now

As Noam Chomsky and Chris Hedges have argued, politicians haven't feared American citizens in years, and a healthy fear by politicians of citizens is what motivates them to legislate accordingly. They legislate based on what powerful corporations and Big Donors want. So it didn't just start with Trump.

But yes, under Trump, we face an actual Constitutional Crisis, with one branch of our government basically powerless and our ability to conduct real oversight ruined. We now face the actual extinction of core pillars of Democracy, and the door is wide open to authoritarian or totalitarian governance.

Maybe that will change as the Republican party shrinks and people become more vocal in demanding change. You could say there is a flash of that happening now.

August 4, 2020

One of my favorites: Sun City (Artists United Against Apartheid)

It's also probably one of the longest protest songs ever written.

The number of well known people involved in this project is quite staggering.

August 4, 2020

In addition to the pandemic, Trump also added insult to injury over the wildfires,

where he withheld assistance and blamed the fires on the failure of Democrats to rake the forest. He also launched a war against California's strict car emissions standards. He hates California for having sanctuary cities too. So even though it's no surprise he's doing terribly, even his few supporters there are peeling off.

Some of the worst wildfires hit rural northern California communities, likely conservative areas.

August 4, 2020

We should try to figure this out with our great resources here.

Pennsylvania - issues
Ohio - issues
Illinois - issues
Michigan - ?


Arizona - no apparent issues yet, or very minimal.
Texas - ?
Florida - ?

Trump just attacked Nevada's vote by mail. Is there mail slowdown in Nevada?

We should be able to figure out if there is a pattern.

August 4, 2020

Someone here on DU made the case that Trump wouldn't even feel anything if

something terrible happened to Ivanka or Don Jr. It's a good theory and worth thinking about. I think about Trump's father and how he would have reacted if something happened to Donald Trump. I think he would have been devastated, but not like a normal father. Fred would have been devastated because he created Donald Trump in his own image and Donald became an extension of himself and an exteriorization of his idea of his own success. "I taught him how to do this. He is successful because of me."

This is a family where the males don't observe or respect normal boundaries, and where children are possessions not entitled to make their own choices in life.

Trump initially rejected Don Jr. but Don Jr has done everything he can now to earn his father's respect (he'll never has his father's love, because his father is incapable). Depending how you look at it, Don Jr. is trying to create himself in Donald's image, or Donald might well take all the credit for whatever 'success' Don Jr. achieves.

I think the reason Melania keeps Barron as far away from Trump as possible is because she doesn't want Barron to be recreated in his father's image.

But I think we need to humiliate the entire family out of the social realm. They will still be welcome on OANN, but civilized society will reject them.

August 4, 2020

What a great point that demonstrates how deeply sick this president is.

A wise sociopath would have allowed the governors who were doing well with COVID to keep going because it made him look good, but he couldn't resist the impulse to take them down.

He actually is predictable, but it's confusing at first because he never does the thing that is in his own self-interest, except for very short bursts of reading off a teleprompter, and then regretting it later.

So, even if you understand sociopathic narcissists, Trump is still unusual in how utterly self-destructive he is. He wants to experience gratification right this second, even if it robs him of greater victory two months from now. He has zero impulse control. You know, even Ted Bundy could control his impulses sometimes, if there was a payoff later.