Hooray for the EU and the USA. enforcing peace between states. For example, Georgia will never go to war with South Carolina. Boo to the UK.
Italy‘s declining population will one day compel them to welcome immigrants. and we will welcome immigrants to America when our population declines. (Wealthy women do not need many children to support them in their old age.)
About education, I would have said much the same thing if not for my advanced-degreed pro-MAGA friend. Clearly, education is a major factor, but there seems more to it. What, I'm not sure but suspect that MAGA supporters might score higher than average on Dr. Robert Hare's psychopathy scale. The common element, I believe, could be not having developed a necessary level of conscience and/or empathy. Or maybe it is about discernment, but there's no dictator (yet) forcing MAGA people to choose Trump, and it's not my friend's lack of education, so some other is in play -- native self-focus, poor judgement about whom to trust -- no, not ubiquitous poor judgment, but rabid attraction to some specific subset of harmful people, rebellion against common-sense/common-good rules, quick temper/insecurity, belief in snake-oil supplements and charismatic religious personalities/ targeted gullibility, etc. I don't know, but a vaccine is desperately needed -- except they'd angrily refuse to take it because it'd be another "deep state" attempt to control them and take away (insert whatever they value) -- and "You'll see. Everyone says so. You better watch out. You'll be sorry. It's everywhere. It's coming." Sanity, please help us.
Cults snag the ignorant and the educated. I have/had a bff with her PhD, smartest woman I have met. Hubby demands family follow his lead. She thinks it’s her choice. Many reasons why some brains acquiesce
With cults, it's easier to just turn off your brain and go with the flow. Mentally, I mean...less stress, less strain. That part I have no trouble understanding.
I think there is a certain type of person who likes to be contrarian and act smarter than the professors. The MAGA ones are like that, especially the law students. But, yes, psychopathy too, for sure...
"sly—not smart, sly" That is a really accurate description of trump. You have to have SOMETHING to be a successful conman. My "favorite" trick of his is what I call the "sly PS" The loud, loud dog whistle with the little savings clause at the end that nobody hears: "and some, I suppose, are very nice people." I also call this implausible deniability
I suspect it trump were the prime minister of Italy, however, he would just ignore any restraints the EU would try to put on him.
I agree...it's the perfect word. Meloni clearly has more fear of loss of power defying the Eu would cause. My guess is, it's more she doesn't think she'd get away with it than she doesn't want it.
I have two books to recommend that might provide insight as to how psychopaths like Trump are able to con their marks:
“The Wisdom of Psychopaths” by Dr Kevin Dutton, an expert in psychopathology. You will find a very chilling passage on page 10. The other book is “The Confidence Game” by Dr. Maria Konnikova.
Love her take on things. Sensible, logical and right on the nose. We saw what happened in Europe, so many paid the price in loss of life or personal costs, but we have forgotten the extent of the sacrifices. We are “today.” Whine whine whine. The costs to the future matter not. She said it best. There is so much ignorance. People who don’t know. People who don’t want to know. People who don’t know that they don’t know.
Had a bff whose family had Fox on TV 24 hrs a day, no exaggeration although they did have one tv on any football game that was on. This from Fox's first day on the air til the day I moved from Houston. From other sources, it still is. No surprise they tolerate chump, I say tolerate because they are smart, educated people. Brain worms, nah, just looking for confirmation that Dems are evil. They sure looked askance at me for awhile.
Interesting take on Meloni. I am in Florence and dined last night with a friend, he was an advisor to Draghi and is a governmental law professor. We discussed Meloni. His take, Italy like America is 50/50, conservative and liberal. This hems her in. She is surrounded by some serious right wingers who if they had their way would drag Italy back into fascism. The 50/50 divide and as noted the EU force Meloni to a right of center stance, this more due to circumstance than what she might otherwise wish to take.
He like many here fear a 45 victory. The fear is less for we Americans, as my friend says you have no one to blame but yourselves, perhaps with a push from Putin. The real fear is that the far right in Italy and other EU countries will take a 45 win as a call to arms, embolden e.g. those around Meloni, driving Italy further to the right, eschewing the EU brakes.
Really scary times, everywhere thanks to 45 and his Republican enablers.
Thanks for this, Old Man. Your friend makes a very good point. The fascists are already getting bolder: Meloni, Wilders, Fico, Orban, Erdogan, etc. It's too much. I hope a new liberal government in Britain will help.
We lived in London some 25 years, our daughter still lives there. We have watched UK elections and the antics parties use to gain office. Sadly at the moment Keith Stammer and Labour are bending to the center in an effort to secure victory. They are moving away from the much needed changes required to make Britain a more livable country for all, much of the change should undo the harm of Brexit. However, as in most countries sentiment, especially over Brexit runs 50/50, making radical, needed change difficult if not impossible. We shall be in London next week and see for ourselves in which direction Labour is moving, much needed change or not.
My dinner companion said as much. Even those on the conservative right recognize Mussolini was too extreme. We Americans have enjoyed democracy since Day one and take it for granted. We bemoan its inevitable flaws but without living under an oppressive system, some, perhaps many normalize Fascism and Nazi-ism.
Rachael Maddow's outstanding book Prequel documents how the US survived historical flirtations with oppressive forms of government. Sadly much success comes down to the good luck of horrors, e.g. the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Our country has the checks and balances that others did not have when world wars occurred. That has been our one saving grace in spite of the opposition wanting to tear them down. I truly want to believe in the American public being smarter after J6 and listening to big mouth’s toxic rhetoric. We have never been dealt this hand in our history where a former president is being prosecuted for the myriad of crimes he has committed. If we succumb to believing that we can do nothing to thwart the R’s efforts to dismantle our nation, then we defeat everything we hold dear. I won’t back down and I will guarantee you that most women won’t either.
Thanks, Marlene. I do believe that Joe will win in a rout...I think the middle aged white guys who make up the pundit class are sick of the topic, but women are not, and they do NOT the rapist Roe-destroyer in office again.
TGIF🎉🎉🎉
Hooray for the EU and the USA. enforcing peace between states. For example, Georgia will never go to war with South Carolina. Boo to the UK.
Italy‘s declining population will one day compel them to welcome immigrants. and we will welcome immigrants to America when our population declines. (Wealthy women do not need many children to support them in their old age.)
We welcome them now! Only the GOP does not. : )
Benign One World would be interesting. Billserle.com.
Government
About education, I would have said much the same thing if not for my advanced-degreed pro-MAGA friend. Clearly, education is a major factor, but there seems more to it. What, I'm not sure but suspect that MAGA supporters might score higher than average on Dr. Robert Hare's psychopathy scale. The common element, I believe, could be not having developed a necessary level of conscience and/or empathy. Or maybe it is about discernment, but there's no dictator (yet) forcing MAGA people to choose Trump, and it's not my friend's lack of education, so some other is in play -- native self-focus, poor judgement about whom to trust -- no, not ubiquitous poor judgment, but rabid attraction to some specific subset of harmful people, rebellion against common-sense/common-good rules, quick temper/insecurity, belief in snake-oil supplements and charismatic religious personalities/ targeted gullibility, etc. I don't know, but a vaccine is desperately needed -- except they'd angrily refuse to take it because it'd be another "deep state" attempt to control them and take away (insert whatever they value) -- and "You'll see. Everyone says so. You better watch out. You'll be sorry. It's everywhere. It's coming." Sanity, please help us.
Good point, Rick.
Cults snag the ignorant and the educated. I have/had a bff with her PhD, smartest woman I have met. Hubby demands family follow his lead. She thinks it’s her choice. Many reasons why some brains acquiesce
With cults, it's easier to just turn off your brain and go with the flow. Mentally, I mean...less stress, less strain. That part I have no trouble understanding.
My brain is strained, drained, and constrained. Still no flow for me. I feel like an alien in Texas, maybe on planet Earth.
I think there is a certain type of person who likes to be contrarian and act smarter than the professors. The MAGA ones are like that, especially the law students. But, yes, psychopathy too, for sure...
Thanks for sharing this explanation.
"You know the personality: the person who is weak, ugly, really ignorant and sly—not smart, sly—and who knows how they can play people."
This quote should be flown on a HUGE banner off the back of a plane over every Trump Nuremberg Nazi rally.
Yes please!
Ignorance:
Support Whistle Blowers.
"sly—not smart, sly" That is a really accurate description of trump. You have to have SOMETHING to be a successful conman. My "favorite" trick of his is what I call the "sly PS" The loud, loud dog whistle with the little savings clause at the end that nobody hears: "and some, I suppose, are very nice people." I also call this implausible deniability
I suspect it trump were the prime minister of Italy, however, he would just ignore any restraints the EU would try to put on him.
Yep, that’s his trick, good as Goebbels
I agree...it's the perfect word. Meloni clearly has more fear of loss of power defying the Eu would cause. My guess is, it's more she doesn't think she'd get away with it than she doesn't want it.
I have two books to recommend that might provide insight as to how psychopaths like Trump are able to con their marks:
“The Wisdom of Psychopaths” by Dr Kevin Dutton, an expert in psychopathology. You will find a very chilling passage on page 10. The other book is “The Confidence Game” by Dr. Maria Konnikova.
Thanks for the recs, John!
Love her take on things. Sensible, logical and right on the nose. We saw what happened in Europe, so many paid the price in loss of life or personal costs, but we have forgotten the extent of the sacrifices. We are “today.” Whine whine whine. The costs to the future matter not. She said it best. There is so much ignorance. People who don’t know. People who don’t want to know. People who don’t know that they don’t know.
Well put, Jeri. People who "do their own research," and that research is listening to Joe Rogan or Ben Shapiro. SMH.
Had a bff whose family had Fox on TV 24 hrs a day, no exaggeration although they did have one tv on any football game that was on. This from Fox's first day on the air til the day I moved from Houston. From other sources, it still is. No surprise they tolerate chump, I say tolerate because they are smart, educated people. Brain worms, nah, just looking for confirmation that Dems are evil. They sure looked askance at me for awhile.
Interesting take on Meloni. I am in Florence and dined last night with a friend, he was an advisor to Draghi and is a governmental law professor. We discussed Meloni. His take, Italy like America is 50/50, conservative and liberal. This hems her in. She is surrounded by some serious right wingers who if they had their way would drag Italy back into fascism. The 50/50 divide and as noted the EU force Meloni to a right of center stance, this more due to circumstance than what she might otherwise wish to take.
He like many here fear a 45 victory. The fear is less for we Americans, as my friend says you have no one to blame but yourselves, perhaps with a push from Putin. The real fear is that the far right in Italy and other EU countries will take a 45 win as a call to arms, embolden e.g. those around Meloni, driving Italy further to the right, eschewing the EU brakes.
Really scary times, everywhere thanks to 45 and his Republican enablers.
Thanks for this, Old Man. Your friend makes a very good point. The fascists are already getting bolder: Meloni, Wilders, Fico, Orban, Erdogan, etc. It's too much. I hope a new liberal government in Britain will help.
We lived in London some 25 years, our daughter still lives there. We have watched UK elections and the antics parties use to gain office. Sadly at the moment Keith Stammer and Labour are bending to the center in an effort to secure victory. They are moving away from the much needed changes required to make Britain a more livable country for all, much of the change should undo the harm of Brexit. However, as in most countries sentiment, especially over Brexit runs 50/50, making radical, needed change difficult if not impossible. We shall be in London next week and see for ourselves in which direction Labour is moving, much needed change or not.
Apparently Italy is still reacting negatively to the memory of Mussolini, at least for now, much like Germany is with Hitler.
My dinner companion said as much. Even those on the conservative right recognize Mussolini was too extreme. We Americans have enjoyed democracy since Day one and take it for granted. We bemoan its inevitable flaws but without living under an oppressive system, some, perhaps many normalize Fascism and Nazi-ism.
Rachael Maddow's outstanding book Prequel documents how the US survived historical flirtations with oppressive forms of government. Sadly much success comes down to the good luck of horrors, e.g. the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
There are people here, right now, who WANT that form of government...a not insignificant percentage, alas. It's crazy to me.
Our country has the checks and balances that others did not have when world wars occurred. That has been our one saving grace in spite of the opposition wanting to tear them down. I truly want to believe in the American public being smarter after J6 and listening to big mouth’s toxic rhetoric. We have never been dealt this hand in our history where a former president is being prosecuted for the myriad of crimes he has committed. If we succumb to believing that we can do nothing to thwart the R’s efforts to dismantle our nation, then we defeat everything we hold dear. I won’t back down and I will guarantee you that most women won’t either.
Thanks, Marlene. I do believe that Joe will win in a rout...I think the middle aged white guys who make up the pundit class are sick of the topic, but women are not, and they do NOT the rapist Roe-destroyer in office again.