My Recipe for Fascist Pie

Posted on July 25, 2018 by admin

This just in: Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/) is a form of radical authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and control of industry and commerce, which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.

That sounds way more familiar than it should. The question of the day is “How did we get here?”

The following is my own recipe for Fascist Pie

Ingredients…

1 Cup of sifted, unlimited, anonymous, campaign contributions
2 Handfuls of a gullible population
1 tablespoon of greed
1/2 Pound of propaganda machine
A dash of racism
1 stick of Russia funded NRA
3 chopped Evangelicals
A dash of anti-fact
1 Orange (comb-over is optional)

Mix all of these together and them plop them into an oven set on “FEAR”. Cook for one decade.

In short…you can’t make a pie with just an orange. There are a lot of reasons we are becoming a Fascist nation and only one of them is named Trump.

Unlimited campaign contributions are probably the main ingredients here. However, all this money would have no impact if we didn’t have a political party that willingly takes the bribes and then does the bidding of those that paid them, instead of those that voted for them. This is a symbiotic relationship. Citizens United would not exist without the Republican Party and they would not exist without unlimited finances from special interests.

Greed tells the Koch brothers that they need more money. Greed of Republicans make them willing to take Koch money to pass a tax law that harms our economy. Greed makes Republicans take Russian money, via the NRA, and then not address gun control

Racism, along with Evangelicals are the special spices of this mix. Both want America to return to some imagined White, Christian nation. They don’t know it but they are acting as if a White, Christian, Fascist nation is what they prefer.

To keep the population at bay, they must be fed a steady diet of “don’t look behind that curtain in the corner.” Fox News and the NRA provide this mis-direction. For example: If there is a mass shooting by a white guy…”send thoughts and prayers”. If there is a mass shooting by a non-white then “Terrorism strikes the homeland.” This sustains the racist and evangelical votes. Trump tariffs are starting to hurt the economy so, let’s do a show about an ugly dog contest at a county fair.

Gullibility is hard to under-estimate. Here are 2 examples. (1)George Bush is president and the gas prices are high. Fox News reports that the president has no control over gas prices. Then, Obama is president and gas prices are high. Now Fox News reports that these high prices are the president’s fault. (2) Obama, the candidate, said he would meet with North Korea without preconditions. Fox News blasted relentlessly for this. Trump then says the same thing and Fox News praises him as a man of action. In both of these instances, the gullible watched Fox News and nodded in agreement.

Note: If you have not read 1984 in the last 10 years, I recommend you have another go at it.

The orange, Trump, is the cherry on top of the pie. That pie would exist without him but it would not be nearly as perfect. Trump is without shame. He has a complete disregard for any facts that don’t suit him. For example, right now, his new plan is to act as if Russia did interfere but what they really want is for Democrats to win. Now, in front of the world, Putin said in Helsinki that he wanted Trump to win. Today, the White House transcripts and video of Putin saying that have be wiped clean of Putin’s statement. We all saw it but Trump is acting like it never happened. Fox News will back him up on this and the gullible will nod in agreement.

The result is a big fat heaping of Fascism Pie. If you don’t like it and would prefer something else…then change the ingredients. Vote in November.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Anatomy of a Republican Voter

Posted on June 6, 2018 by admin

This just in: In California, yesterday, people actually casted votes for Republicans. This means they voted for a person that took away many of their tax deductions and gave that money to the handful of billionaires that run and fund the Republican Party. They voted in favor of more expensive healthcare and against social safety nets.

Why would anyone do this?

I have a few answers…

They are racist. Those that fear America is becoming less white routinely vote Republican. This is especially true in the age of Donald Trump. This is the base of Donald Trump that will not abandon him no matter what he does.

They are Evangelical. These are the folks that “forgive” Trump’s behavior which is, on nearly every measurable standard, the exact opposite of what the Bible preaches. Why? Because they fear that American may becoming a nation that is not what they believe to be manifest destiny… a Christian Nation.

They are uniformed. These people either don’t follow the news or watch Fox News. Studies have actually shown that people that rely on Fox News for all of their news, are less informed than those that watch nothing at all. Fox can pull this off because they know people tune in to hear what they want to believe is true; something that has nothing to do with the facts.

They are single issue voters. These people only care about 1 issue. This could be a Second Amendment issue or an abortion issue of a size-of-government issue. It could even be that the issue is “I have always voted Republican.”

I support none of these issues. With some of these voters, I see room to work. If you want to vote on a single issue, let’s discuss that one issue. If you want to watch Fox News, then let’s have a debate where we both come armed with our own perspective and possibly data.

I have no interest in arguing with a racist or an Evangelical. In my mind, they are the exact same thing.

So there you have it…the world according to Jim.

Up, up and away…

Jim

The Evangelical Effect

Posted on May 4, 2018 by admin

This just in: I recall being about 8 years old and thinking “I can’t believe that my parents believe what they are teaching us in Sunday School.”

The apple snake story is a good one, like many others in the bible, but to take it literally seems akin to thinking we should sacrifice virgins to volcanos.

To me, the best case for there being a God is that I want there to be one.

That’s it. Everything else is speculative.

The idea that anyone, anywhere understands the will of a God capable of creating the Universe is astoundingly absurd.

There was a study done recently that showed the more Evangelicals get involved in politics, the more people turn away from organized religion. I completely fall within this category.

I watch the Evangelicals twist and turn to justify their support for Trump. They say things like, “The Bible teaches forgiveness” or “God is just testing us.”

What they should really be saying, if they were being truthful is, “Trump doesn’t like non-whites and non-Christians so we like Trump.”

I watched a segment on the morning news where a boy was suspended from school for wearing t-shirts with guns on them. One t-shirt had about a dozen different guns on it. Underneath is said, “Respect Diversity.” The other t-shirt had guns arranged to spell out the word “LOVE.”

The parents fit the NRA/Trump mode perfectly. They were both about 300 lbs. The husband had on a shift that said, “I’m a Christian.” and both claimed the shirts were about Love and Diversity, not guns. Plus, their son loved guns and they didn’t want to change him.

Right there is your problem…

These people are Christians willing to inspire gun violence so their son doesn’t have to change his shirt. They are the American Evangelicals and thus, typify why we are unfit to govern ourselves.

Note: Most Trump supporters make me feel this way. There are certain types that I view as “Likely Trump Supporters.” One is that they must live in rural America and be willing to vote for a person that does everything he can to fight against their best interests. They belong to the NRA. They are not-college educated (unless they are very rich and positioned to become richer through Trump’s actions.) They must be anti-abortion plus against any food program that will feed our nation’s poor. They must watch Hannity and believe he is real news. They are closet or openly white supremacists. They are evangelicals who hate Muslims. They are poor and willing to blame that condition on immigrants.

In the end, I’ve decided that I believe in God but want nothing to do with formal Christian organizations. The hypocrisy is just too much to bear.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim