The Kids Are All Right

So, anyone who has been paying attention the last few years knows that the young people of America, God bless 'em, are increasingly leftist.

for example, there was this Harris poll done last Spring:

Generation Z has a more positive view of the word "socialism" than previous generations, and — along with millennials — are more likely to embrace socialistic policies and principles than past generations, according to a new Harris Poll 

Data: The Harris Poll; Poll conducted Feb. 21–25 among 2,035 adults; Chart: Axios Visuals

Yes, that's Seventy-Three percent of young people who believe the government should provide universal health care, and Sixty-Seven percent wanting the government to provide tuition-free college.

Then there's this survey from January:

61% of Americans aged between 18 and 24 have a positive reaction to the word "socialism" — beating out "capitalism" at 58%

So, naturally you'd expect to see lots of articles about the political leanings of today's youth. Like, for instance, this one:

They'll be first-time voters in 2020 and they're all in for Trump

Sébastien DUVAL

,

AFP•October 31, 2019

Seriously? What dempgraphic group are we talking about then? 18-year-pld trust-fund kids? 18-year-old inbred hillbillies?

Clay Danec and Olivia Myers, both 18 years old, are ready to vote for Donald Trump in next year's presidential election

No. They can't possibly be just referring to these two kids, right? Surely these two are representative of some larger group, right?

Columbus (AFP) - They like his straightforward speaking style, his policies on immigration and the economic boom achieved during his administration.

They are still teenagers, or just past 20.
In a year from now, they will vote in their first presidential election in key swing state Ohio -- and they're giving Donald Trump their support.

Clay Danec and Olivia Myers, both 18, have more or less known for a while whose name they would check off in the voting booth.

First of all, you're just going to assume the premise that there has been an economic "boom" that was "achieved" by Trump?

And I can't thionk of any prominent political figure with a less straightforward speaking style!

This is a guy who says things like:

“Europe is — you know, look, I come from Europe [Trump is actually from Queens, New York]. We come — you come from Europe, okay, you’re of the European nations. European nations were set up in order to take advantage of the United States.”

and

It’s disgraceful. I’m gonna maybe – and I’m looking at it very seriously, we’re doing some other things as you probably noticed like some of the very important things that we’re doing now. But we’re looking at it very seriously because you can’t do that. You can’t have what’s happening – where police officers are getting sick just by walking the beat. I mean they’re getting actually very sick, where people are getting sick, where the people living there are living in hell too – although some of them have mental problems where they don’t even know they’re living that way. In fact, perhaps they like living that way. They can’t do that. 

You might want to point out that when they say that they like his "straightforward speaking style" thet are being completely fucking delusional.

Also, we're talking about two kids in Ohio. Let's not pretend this is some kind of a movement.

After attending an event in the state capital of Columbus organized by the conservative group Turning Point USA, the students, who attend a Christian high school, are even more convinced about their choice.

Myers -- sporting a Make America Great Again hat and hoodie -- says she was raised in a "conservative" family, but didn't want her upbringing to be the deciding factor.

"I've been kind of searching both on the left and right side and I've made the decision for myself that I'll be voting conservative in 2020," she told AFP.

That didn't happen. No one sets out with an open mind to examine the ideas of the left right and center, peruse the policy prescriptions of various candidates and then comes to the conclusion that "my parents are right. The syphilitic racist orangutan with fascist leanings who grabs women by the p***y and openly lusts after his own daughter really is the best choice to lead our nation." The only way you land on MAGA is you believe the bullshit that's been fed to you by your right-wing parents, your right-wing Christian high school, and Turning Point USA. Or, you're just a huge enough racist to support any senile misogynistic clod who is willing to call immigrants "animals."

For Danec, who is wearing a Trump reelection campaign tee-shirt, the main issue is one of "values and moral beliefs."

See, now at this point, you might want to point out that Sanec clearly does not know the meaning of the word "values," nor of the word "moral" or he probably wouldn't be supporting a thrice-married serial adulterer who boasts of barging into the dressing rooms at Miss Teen USA, has been credibly accused of sexual assault by dozens of women and makes no secret of his desire to fuck his own daughter. And who has made oa career of lying, cheating, and stiffing everyone with whom he does business.

"I come from a family that worked really hard to get up the ladder," explains the baby-faced teen as the crowd exits an auditorium at Ohio State University.
"The fact that Trump supports families that can keep making good money, and not having to tax us and penalize us for being able to work hard and sustain our family, I think it is really important."

Now, as a journalist, you might want to research the Danec family to see how hard they really worked to get up the ladder, because there's a better than even chanvce that no one in this family has broken a sweat outside the gym foir a couplke of generations. Also, you could point out that no one has proposed penalizing anyone for "being able to work hard" or for "sustaini[ing] their family."

While it is, at least on paper, not formally linked to the Trump campaign, Turning Point -- which says it is active at more than 1,500 universities across the country -- is behind the president.
It has organized a barnstorming "Culture War Tour" this autumn in swing states from Florida to Nevada, to drum up support for the Republican incumbent among young voters.

You might also want to point out that this "movement" of conservative youth, far from being an organic response to real-world events and conditions, is being spearheaded by a Koch-brothers-funded astroturf group with an unlimited supply of money to travel to college campuses to propogandize the youth.

You also could maybe profile some young people who are involved in the re-election efforts of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Lucy McBath, Rashida Tlaib, or Ayanna Presley.
Maybe some of the young people trying to get Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren into the White House. Because there a re a lot - A LOT - of young people involved in these campaigns. Here in Georgia, we met a bunch of young kids volunteering for Stacey Abrams. And a bunch more working for Sanders' campaign,. Why not intervies some young, fresh-faced DSA members? They're not hard to find, just check Twitter. The youth, the future of the country, are overwhelmingly left of center, with a large percentage being actual leftists. And no matter how many articles you guys choose to trot out there about "conservative kids" or "Trumpler Youth," the future is coming. I just hope I live long enbough to see these kids take over.

Headlines that are NOT from the Onion, I swear.

Trump voters feel betrayed and want a leader to take USA back from the rich and powerful

Whaaaaat? The guy with the gold-plated toilet isn't the one to take the country back from the rich and powerful?
Whaaaaat????

I just got back from walking the picket lines in Michigan and Ohio. Several striking workers, all of them former Democrats, told me how they voted for Donald Trump in 2016 out of desperation. They believed Trump would deliver on his promise to keep jobs in America and negotiate good trade deals. Now, they feel betrayed.

Whaaaaat? The guy who has made a career out of stiffing everyone he does business with? That guy didn't keep his promises? Whaaaaaat????
And the guy who has run every business he's touched into bankruptcy didn't negotiate good trade deals?

Midwestern working-class voters are not alone. In fact, a Reuters/Ipsos national Election Day poll in 2016 found that 75% of voters were looking for a “strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful.” 

And the television star with the alleged billion-dollar business empire who hob-nobs with the Clintons and Bushes turned out to not be that guy? He didn't help regular folks take the country back from the rich and powerful?

This guy?

 


Really? This guy wasn't the champion of the common man you expected him to be? Whaaaaaat???



Entertainment

‘Shut Up About Politics’ Singer John Rich Shows Up on Fox News to Talk About Politics

So apparently, there's some "country" singer named John Rich. And I puit the word "country" in quotes because I swear to God, Mother Maybelle would turn over in her grave if she heard the shit that gets called "country" music these days. But anyway, apparently this little douchebag in a costume shop cowboy hat  wrote a song called "Shut Up About Politics" which has brilliantly crafted lyrics like


You punch left, I punch right
We're caught up in the middle of a deep swamp fight
Some people lie, some people steal
And everybody's talking 'bout the great new deal


So, you know, ball's in your court, Willie Nelson!

I don't know what the "great New Deal" is that he thinks everyone's talkin 'bout. Is he referring to the GREEN New Deal? Or is he stuck in the 1930's?

And the current state of "country music" being what it is, it actually charted.

John Rich & Fox News' The Five Hit Hot 100 With "Shut Up About Politics"

4:04 PM PDT 6/10/2019 by Jim Asker, Billboard , Gary Trust, Billboard

The track also tops Country Digital Song Sales.

But anyway, if you're sick of hearing people talk about politics, obviously the place to go is FOX "news!"

Sitting down Friday with The Daily Briefing host Dana Perino—a Five host featured on the song—Rich was immediately asked to weigh in on former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s recent appearance on The Daily Show.

The singer, however, focused instead on how scary he found Clinton’s physical appearance.
“That actually freaked me out a little bit,” he declared. “I’m kind of envious of her because if you think about all the money she saves every Halloween, she doesn’t have to get a costume.”

You know, Hillary Clinton is a public figure. She's absolutely fair game to criticize. You want to make fun of her policy positions? Have at it. You want to criticize her foreign policy record? Be my guest. You want to mock her for her stance on any issue? Feel free. But you're going after her looks like you're a fucking twelve-year-old? Here's an idea. Maybe you oughta shut up about politics if that's what you're bringing to the table.

Business

How Trump came up with that '303,000' October jobs figure that baffled analysts

 Javier E. David Fri, Nov 1 1:05 PM EDT

Ooh, I know! I know!

He made it up?
He just made it up out of thin air? Like he does all the time?
Like every time he comes up with some number that is supposed to make him look good, he's just making it up? And it's based on nothing and it's a fool's errand to try and figure out the "origin" of the number because there isn't one? Is that it?

Than you, Ms Winfrey. Thank you.

California is not on fire because of being "woke."

So, I've had to explain to a few geniuses on the Twitter that the California wildfires are actually not a result of California's "progressive" governence.

Surprisingly, it has not gone well.

Remember this whenever you hear the word, "Progressive".

— Andrew A. Hennessy (@AndrewAQLD) October 27, 2019

PG&E is a private, for-profit compny. Nothing "progressive" about them.

— Professor Chaos (@akaProfessorCha) October 27, 2019

Hahahaha!!

Which state body sets the regulations they must abide by? Which state sets the environmental regulations for that region?

— Andrew A. Hennessy (@AndrewAQLD) October 27, 2019

No one set any regulation that made them neglect maintenance.

— Professor Chaos (@akaProfessorCha) October 27, 2019

You didn't answer my question.

— Andrew A. Hennessy (@AndrewAQLD) October 27, 2019

Because it's a stupid and irrelevant question.

— Professor Chaos (@akaProfessorCha) October 27, 2019

It's not, and that's why I ask.

— Andrew A. Hennessy (@AndrewAQLD) October 27, 2019

It is. I'm sorry that you can't understand why.

— Professor Chaos (@akaProfessorCha) October 27, 2019

But holy shit, even the cement-head randos on Twitter couldn't come up with as idiotic a take as Dave Rubin and Tucker Carlson.






So, they can't possibly blame PG&E. PG&E is a private, for-profit corporation and therefore does everything in the best and most efficient way or the invisible hand of the free market wouldn't tolerate them! But clearly the fires are due to PG&E's neglect of maintenance. So somehow - somehow - it must be the evil liberal government who forced PG&E to abandon the perfect principles of the free market and thus caused these fires!
So presumably, Rubin spent a lot of time pondering, wondering and doing every type of mental gymnastics and logical contortionism trying to find a way that California's Governor Newsom could be made to shoulder the blame. Then it hit him. Of course! It's so simple! It must be because of "wokeness!"

So, somehow, and this is a little tricky to follow, but somehow, California requiring public utilities to keep track of minority hiring (which I can't say for sure if they do or don't) somehow that caused PG&E to lose tracvk of the state of their infrastructure because a large multi-billion-dollar corporation is only capable of keeping track of one thing. Obviously. Then somehow, this affects the various fire departments who are battling these blazes. And somehow, because the fire departments care about hiring some black and/or LGBT firefighters, their ability to spray water at a fire is compromised.

Somehow, this also has to do with taxes going up but homelessness continuing to exist. It's all very complex,

And the crowning achievement, the cherry on the top of the jerk-off sundae, is the two dullards laughing about the "absurdity" of not wanting to "put too much pressure on the grid."

Also worth noticing is the way that Tucker nods soberly and quietly murmurs "yes, true" whenever Rubin says something particularly idiotic as if he were honored to be in the presence of such an insightful sage.

And bonus points for the utter preposterousness of white supremacist Tucker Carlson shouting "Who WOULD care?" if the firefighters sent to his home were black. "Who would care about something like that?" Well, you would, Tuck. None of the "woke" "liberal" Californian strawmen you like to pretend to beat up on would care, but you would.

Anywayyyy. . .

I haven't lived in California for a while. But I was there for the last round of "rolling blackouts," during the Enron Arthur Anderson debacle. And every county in the state of California had these blackouts except for one. Care to guess which one?

It was Los Angeles County.
Know why?
Because they have a municipal power company.
The county of Los Angleles - that is, the people of L.A. County - own the utility. And they were the only county to keep the lights on.
Maybe because municipal power companies don't do things like neglect maintenance in order to increase short-term profits. Because there are no profits to consider. PG&E did that, but a socialist/communist/pinko-liberal municipal power company doesn't. And maybe municipal power companies don't have to skimp on infrastructure repairs in order to pay out a few billion dollars to their shareholders. PG&E did that..

You know, it's almost as if the California fires are more the result of capitalist excesses than the desire to hire a few gay firefighters or something.


Speaking of which, here's a little thank you to some of my readers for putting up with my long boring rant.

Third Annual Halloween Dance Party

I came up with some new spooooooky tunes this year.
Ready? Let's dance!

A ridiculous article about impeachment from a ridiculous website

Oh, this should be good!

Democrats Are Embarrassed By Schiff’s Impeachment Tactics, And They Should Be

By Adam Mill

OCTOBER 24, 2019

All right, I'm all ears. Who are these Democrats who are supposedly "embarrassed" by Adam Schiif?

Criticisms of Rep. Adam Schiff’s impeachment tactics have begun to bite. Fair-minded people have begun to ask why is it necessary to have secret witnesses, secret hearings, and leaks of distorted, out-of-context excerpts from transcripts,

No. No, that's incorrect. No "fair-minded people" have begun asking that. Because it's bullshit. The witnesses aren't secret, we know who they are. And the hearings aren't secret. Testimony is being taken in a closed-door hearing because that is the way the process works. That's how the Benghazi hearings worked. It's how every grand jury proceeding works. Have you never seen Law & Order?

Why is it necessary to block the president from sending representatives to attend these hearings so he can have equal access to any evidence?  Why was it necessary for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Schiff to “parody” the transcript of the president’s call to the Ukrainian president? Aren’t parodies supposed to be funny? Shouldn’t the chairman be proceeding with sober deliberation and fairness instead of romping about with gleeful shtick?

Yes. should he not give this proceeding the sober deliberation it deserves? Have some goddamm respect for the gravitas of the situation. . .










. . . sorry, you were saying? something about sober deliberation?

If Schiff cannot take the proceedings seriously, what of the 218 representatives who voted against the resolution condemning Schiff?

Well, I'm pretty sure that Schiff is taking the proceedings seriously. despite one moment of levity and that the 218 reps who voted not to condemn him were exercising something known as "common sense."

And why are Democrats shutting out Republicans from the process?

Because they fucking aren't, you lying, mendacious little rodent dropping!
There are three comittees involved in the impeachment inquiry. All Three Of These Committees Have Republican Members. You know this. I mean, I assume you know this. You can't be stupid enough to not know this. You're just lying. You're just repeating the official Republican party lie. Everyone knows that there are Republicans who are in the hearing room. About a dozen of these Republican shitweasels decided that, instead of attending the hearing, they would rather join the circle jerk outside, claiming that they have been denied entry. It's bullshit. They know it's bullshit, and so do you.

Listening to the Democratic presidential primary debate last week, I heard something that made my ears prick up. The criticisms of the fairness of the impeachment inquiry have begun to resonate.

Oh, this should be good!

The evidence: Some of the candidates and their fawning CNN enablers felt compelled at least to pay lip service to the importance of a fair process. I had to review the transcript to confirm that my ears were not playing tricks on me.

Yeah,  you heard right. That's Democrats in a nutshell. Always insisting on respecting rules and norms no matter how shamelessly the opposition party flouts them.

CNN moderator Anderson Cooper asked candidate Cory Booker, “Sen. Booker, you have said that President Trump’s, quote, ‘moral vandalism’ disqualifies him from being president. Can you be fair in an impeachment trial?”

Booker responded, “So, first of all, we must be fair. We are talking about ongoing proceedings to remove a sitting president for office. This has got to be about patriotism and not partisanship. Look, I share the same sense of urgency of everybody on this stage. I understand the outrage that we all feel. But we have to conduct this process in a way that is honorable, that brings our country together, doesn’t rip us apart.”

And you'll notice that at no time did he intimate that that was not what was being done. He was just stressing the importance of proceeding fairly even though it's blatantly obvious to anyone with two good eyes that Trump in guilty. Of the Ukraine business and so many other things.

Also, that is such a centrist Dem response. Still holding out hope that, if they act honorably enough, they can get the drooling knuckle-draggers to see that they are virtuous and the country can all come together as one as if that were still possible.

Another 2020 presidential contender, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, said, “If impeachment is driven by these hyperpartisan interests, it will only further divide an already terribly divided country. Unfortunately, this is what we’re already seen play out as calls for impeachment really began shortly after Trump won his election.”

Okay I'll give you Tulsi. But Tulsi's kind of a nut. You want to know how nutty?

 This ad   


is right there next to this article.
Yeah, she's advertising on the goddamm Federalist. Quite possibly the most laughably ridiculous of the far-right websites. Why? Who the hell knows? I guess she has that Democratic Party idea that if a candidate stresses their military service enough, they will win the respect of Republicans who loooove the troops so much! Remember how well that worked for John Kerry?

  

Sen. Bernie Sanders added, “Mitch McConnell has got to do the right thing and allow a free and fair trial in the Senate.”

Aaaaand, you're somehow casting this as a criticism of Adam Schiff and the House? Sanders said something about Mitch McConnel and the Senate, and you think this is indicative of a feeling of embarrassment about a completely different person and a different chamber of Congress?

See, this is the sort of thing that makes the Federalist so goddamm funny. I mean, if there really are people out there taking this site seriously, then that would be a bit scary, but I have to assume that no one is reading the Federalist for any reason other than its comedic value and you're just being propped up with wads of Koch money.

Like a Nicolas Cage movie!

Cooper challenged Sen. Kamala Harris’ apparent pre-judgment of any potential trial of Trump, saying, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that members of Congress have to be, in her words, fair to the president and give him a chance to exonerate himself. You’ve already said that based on everything you’ve seen, you would vote to remove him from office. Is that being fair to the president?” Harris must not have received the memo, because her answer dismissed any possibility of voting to acquit the yet-uncharged president.

Which clearly shows how embarrassed she is by Schiff's impeachment hearings?
Have you already forgotten the thesis of your article?

Also, you have Anderson Cooper challenging Kamala Harris which kind of undercuts your whole "the candidates and their fawning CNN enablers " premise.

Schiff’s Tactics Have No Defenders

Yeah, that's not true. That's not even close to true.That has no basis in fact. It's like saying the sky is green or giraffes are short.

Indeed, my survey of articles from left-leaning writers revealed no defense of the Schiff process. Nobody, and I mean nobody, seems willing to argue in favor of Schiff’s nakedly political process. The best the authors can muster is a half-hearted mumbling about fairness not being required.

Oh, your survey? Your survey? Well, why didn't you say so? Oh, I'm sure you did an exhaustive reading of "left-leaning" writers and their articles about the impeachment. You wouldn't just make up some bullshit like that, would you?

Writing for Reuters, Jan Wolfe recently tackled the question, “Does the impeachment probe violate Trump’s civil rights?” Her short answer is “no,” but the way Schiff is running roughshod over the opposition is undermining the process. She notes, “Legal experts say because impeachment is a political, and not legal, process, the House has broad authority to set the ground rules for an inquiry. Allowing Trump’s lawyers to participate anyway could build public support and make it appear more fair, however, they said.”

Well, I think that the painstaking nature of your survey of left-leaning writers can be best illustrated by the fact that you refer to Jan Wolfe as "she" and Her," when in fact, THIS 



is Jan Wolfe, the writer for Reuters.


Now, I wasn't familiar with Wolfe either, but it took me about 10 seconds on Google to find out that he is a man and that he doesn't really seem all that lefty-loosey.

MULVANEY: "Let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election. The president never told me to withhold any money until the Ukrainians did anything related to the server." https://t.co/hjpQQt4cb7

— Jan Wolfe (@JanNWolfe) October 17, 2019

I'm old enough to remember when @IlhanMN and @SRuhle suggested Lindsey Graham was being blackmailed into supporting Trump https://t.co/qbUGYaXgZP

— Jan Wolfe (@JanNWolfe) October 16, 2019

Anyway, the quote that you cited definitely does not indicate that he thinks that there is any unfairness in the procedures, just that "some legal experts" feel that allowing one of Trump's chimpanzee clownn lawyers to be involved would make it appear more fair.

The normally left-leaning Keith E. Whittington posted to the lawfareblog.com a prescient article in 2017 warning that “An Impeachment Should not be a Partisan Affair.” 

Oh my God. Well, if someone wrote an article two years ago, that surely proves that he is uncomfortable with something that is going on now in the present day!



Honest to God, you couldn't make this shit up. The Federalist would give the Oniuon a run for their money if they weren't trying to be taken seriously.