Doug's Darkworld

I stumbled onto this little poll. Over half of Republicans think near 200,000 dead Americans is “acceptable.” These are the same people that spent years obsessing over 4 dead Americans in Benghazi? Would this be acceptable if Obama was still president? Of course not, Republican outrage would be deafening. The above really shows just how partisanship is shaping alternate realities today. And then came across this, research showing that yes indeedy, when it comes to Covid-19:  The partisan pandemic: Do we now live in alternative realities? IE before Covid-19 there was more or less agreement on a lot of basic facts. Covid-19, not so much. And lest I am not being clear here, the Republicans are the ones tending to believe, well, incorrect factual information about Covid-19.

The authors could only speculate as to why. I wonder if four years of believing Trump’s lies has loosened their grip on reality. I guess I’m heartened that at least 43% of Republicans do find that  the Covid-19 death toll is unacceptable. One has to wonder how high the number has to go before they consider the Covid death toll unacceptable? We’ll find out, because barring a miracle, it’s gonna keep chunking upwards.

Speaking of Trump’s lies, he repeated several times a claim that the Democrats had removed the word God from the pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention. The Convention was of course filmed, and it’s 100% clear the “Under God” phrase was used all four nights. Trump is sticking to his guns, and no doubt millions of his followers will believe him. In 2016 I had a friend tell me in outrage that the Democrats had banned the US flag from their convention because it might offend people! She actually fucking believed this! And no, it was completely untrue. Well, Trump’s not going to win reelection on his record, lies and scaremongering are what he does best. Well, after bragging.

He might win though. I notice two unpleasant currents on my Facebook feed. Granted this isn’t a scientific sampling. I still see a lot of Democrats hating on Biden. I’m not really sure what that is supposed to accomplish? It seems to me that discouraging Democrats from voting for Biden might not be prudent at this juncture. I can understand not liking Biden and refusing to vote for him, but encouraging others not to do so seems like it’s campaigning for Trump. And then the vote shamers, a lot of them are still doing their thing. Various versions of “You’re an idiot if you don’t vote for Biden, because then Trump will win!” It’s been my considered experience that insulting people is a very poor method of persuading them to see things your way. It’s your vote, cast it for who you want gentle reader.

Read this curious article on Alternet: Driven by fear: Trump has sealed himself in the Fox News bunker. It covers a lot of ground, and Alternet is definitely left leaning, so one has to ignore that. Still, stuff like this got me:

“If our opponents prevail, no one will be safe in our country and no one will be spared. Including the people who helped fund. They think they’re gonna be best pals. They’re not gonna be best pals. They’ll be terminated just like many others. I’m the only thing standing between the American dream and total anarchy, madness and chaos. And that’s what it is.”

That’s Trump at a recent interview. Oh. My. God. He’s literally claiming that if Biden wins they will start killing people, and total anarchy, madness, and chaos will break out?  And I think Trump believes it. And a lot of his supporters will too. This is crazy talk. Biden has literally marched in lockstep with the Republicans for decades. The Democrat overlords went to great lengths to make sure an utterly corporate safe, law and order,  and unprogressive candidate got nominated. Biden is their man. This isn’t hyperbole on Trump’s part. It’s hysterical fear-mongering.

So yeah, I’m scared. Unregulated Covid-19 is on track to kill a quarter of a million Americans by the election. With millions more suffering long term or permanent health deficits. The economy is continuing to tank. Natural disasters are piling up. And the president’s reelection campaign strategy is the most negative in living American history. Things are safe and good for me now, but that’s what Jews in Latvia thought in 1939. (Not an original observation.) So as a parting gift, this is from 2016, but still has points today: Autocracy: Rules for Survival.

Have a good week everyone, stay safe. Shares, likes, comments appreciated. #StaytheFHome #WearaDamnMask #UtMelioremPeiusAnteTempora

Copyright © 2020 Doug Stych. All rights reserved.

(Image: CBS Poll Results. Credit: CBS News. Used without permission, claimed as Fair Use under US Copyright Law. It’s a greyscale reproduction, properly attributed, the only image available to illustrate the story. )