The self proclaimed prophet who calls himself Third Eagle of the Apocalypse clarifies the situation
See also:
As one commentator said: "The Third Eagle of the Apocalypse gives batshit crazy a bad name"
Showing posts with label Bizarre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bizarre. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Friday, August 09, 2024
Eccentric, Cranky, Crackpot, Insane or just Weird?
or twisted & evil?
I have taken the quote below from this website:
So unstable': Morning Joe hosts stunned by 'deranged' Trump's latest conspiracy rant (msn.com)
This website ("Raw Story") contains a quote lifted from Trump's TrumpTruthSocial and it seems unlikely they have concocted it. At first I found it difficult to credit it; it suggests that D J Trump is a person completely detached from reality and is making TrumpTruth up as he goes along in order to have something spicy to tell his besotted following......
According to Trump, "What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the history of the U.S., whose Presidency was Unconstitutionally STOLEN from him by Kamabla, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Shifty Adam Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and others on the Lunatic Left, CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE. He feels that he made a historically tragic mistake by handing over the U.S. Presidency, a COUP, to the people in the World he most hates, and he wants it back, NOW!!!
So, assuming this name calling tirade is what Trump has actually committed to the airwaves then any reasonable person would realize that this is the kind of prediction with the risk of being checked at a later stage. But then Trump seems to be the type who lives for the moment and his following have short memories; also, going on their taste for conspiracy theorism they too have a tenuous connection with reality. Moreover, if they are presented with the fact-checking of Trump's rhetoric their belief in the quasi-messianic anointing of their leader is so strong that they would likely either dismiss it as mischief making or make allowances for him that they don't make for others.
My reading of the quote above is as follows: Trump has constructed a world that contains only two sorts of people; those who love him and are thoroughly loyal to him and those who aren't and who are therefore bad, bad, bad (whether Republican or not). My guess is that he projects this kind of egocentric thinking onto other people and therefore he has concluded that "Crooked Joe Biden" must be thinking along similar narcissistic/sociopathic lines as Trump himself. Thus, Trump finds it entirely plausible that Crooked Joe is looking to make a vengeful come back after an unconstitutional leadership coup by his enemies in the Democratic party has stolen his presidency (Not unlike Trump's belief in a stolen 2020 election). Trump's psychology is such that he just can't believe the change in the leadership of the Democrats has nothing sinister about it and is simply a case of putting old Joe deservedly out to grass with old Joe himself, after a life time in politics and suffering from Covid, at last reading the obvious writing on the wall.
***
Another weird guy is Ken Ham who is very likely to be a Trump voter (and subliminally even a QAnon supporter) and thinks that any one who disagrees with his Biblical literalist organisation (AiG), whether they be Christians or not, must be bad, bad, bad or perhaps even anti-Christ .....
I once got clobbered by Ken myself and that story can be read here..
RELEVANT LINKS
1. TRUMP THE LIAR or TRUMP THE FANTASIZER?
2. WELL, I WOULDN'T PUT IT PAST TRUMPITEISM
3. FASCIST FUENTES THINKS MAGAT CAMPAIGN NOT EXTREME ENOUGH
4. STEPS TOWARD AUTOCRACY
5. KEN DOESN'T TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DONALD TRUMP.
In the following post Ken Ham warns us against Kamala Harris' support for abortion and also of D J Trump's support for abortion up to 15 weeks. (Trump of course is thinking of his votes).
https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2024/08/25/what-christians-must-know-about-kamala-harris/
Fair enough, I also object to abortion. But what Ken will never tell us about are the perversions and lies of "Trump Truth", Trump Conspiracy theorism and Trump's bid to terminate democracy; but then Ken himself is an authoritarian who thrives on spiritual intimidation. I wait in vain for an article from Ken titled What Christians must know about Donald Trump!
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Prophet Micheal Brown continues to dodge the plot
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| Although Micheal brown (left) has come out against Trump's prophets (middle and right) Brown's prophetic constituency is far too Trump oriented for him to dare alienating them. He's another casualty of Trumpite popularist pressure. |
In this post I'll be commenting on Line-Of-Fire prophet Micheal Brown and what he has written here:
More of my comments on this prophet can be found using this link:
Views, News and Pews: Micheal Brown and the Elephant in the Room (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)
***
Democratic politics has emerged over the course of hundreds of years. Implicitly built into its systems is the understanding that human beings face challenges in coming together as a successful cooperative society; there are fundamental barriers to human harmony and agreement. These barriers exist largely because human beings are both morally and epistemically challenged: In a world full of zero-sum games humans are apt to put self-interest first and this tendency is exacerbated by the epistemic difficulties in accessing truth. When democratic constitutional arbitration cannot be found societies are liable to gravitate toward authoritarianism as the power hungry, the most influential and above all those who foolishly believe they are virtuous impose their will by duress, threat & coercion. Democracy seeks to help counter the huge gravitational pull of authoritarianism by a system of arbitration where it is hoped that all will agree to work through these systems of arbitration. Underlying democracy is the subliminal assumption of human moral and epistemic fallibility and therefore it follows that public disagreement, mutual criticism and hopefully self-criticism are to be expected as part of the cut and thrust of government. The resolution of these inevitable contentions is the job of the agreed democratic constitution, procedures & law, on which it is hoped all will agree, but if not will seek reform via consensual channels.
If human beings can't agree on a system of arbitration, then democracy breaks down. This breakdown may start with Marxist or Fascist influencers & agitators, during times of social and political trauma, throwing doubt on whether a democratic system is really in the best interests of the popular will. From the Marxist and Fascist perspective, the system is far too corrupt for reform and therefore the underlying Marxist & Fascist goal is the complete overthrow of the institutions of the Democratic status quo in favour of their proprietary and radical vision of government (which, I submit, is likely to be an effective dictatorship). As I have tendered more than once on this blog it seems that we have a substantial threat to democracy in the US in the form of the Godfather politics of Donald Trump and the far-right in general. Since Trump has appeared on the scene demonisation of the opposition and coercive threats have become the norm. He has made threats toward those in those in the legal system who do not decide in his favour and some of the Trump supporting AR15 armed militias have threatened gun violence if Trump isn't elected. Naturally enough once this kind of wagon gets rolling the Trump opposition are liable to respond in kind, resulting in a vicious circle. The situation has become polarised to the extent that trust in US democracy is at a low ebb, and it is therefore under threat.
When Trump legally became president in 2016 I looked askance at this brash and rude unconventional candidate; I certainly wouldn't have voted for himself myself, but I didn't think US democracy was threatened. But there were some warning signs even then: In the face of evidence to the contrary Trump denied that Hilary Clinton got the popular vote and he also denied that his inauguration ceremony was poorly attended. Was this evidence of his need to feed his ego? It soon became apparent that this man was an out and out liar and a propagator of blame and conspiracy theories as he sought to demonize the classes of people who opposed him; even those in his own party. He was a narcissist, possibly a sociopath who loved power and saw the world as containing only two types of people; namely, those for him and those against him. Whether or not they were Republicans, whether or not they held liberal or conservative values was irrelevant: What simply mattered to him is this: Are they loyal Trumpites?
Although evangelical prophet Micheal Brown wrote articles which provide evidence for the very view of Trump I have sketched out above he has recently written an article where once again he has failed to acknowledge that the big issue is NOT the political tug of war between liberals and conservatives carried out within a democratic system which seeks to reform itself; rather it is the self-interested up-and-coming far-right Trumpite demagogues such as the shrewd Steve Bannon and cranks like Alex Jones, Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Trey Smith all of whom are seeking to overthrow the system regardless of whether the American government is in the hands of reasonable conservatives or reasonable liberals; the latter are liable to be labeled as far too "Woke" or even "radical leftists". Trumpites will of course deny they are trying to overthrow democracy, blaming the other side for the socialist nazification of society; but then that sounds like the sort of line we hear from a certain Vladamir Putin, the modern Czar of Russia.
Below I'll go through Micheal's article which is typical of his prevaricating stance.
***
MICHEAL: This article is not intended to influence how you vote on Tuesday, November 5, nor is it intended to influence how you view former president Donald Trump. Instead, it is to help you keep a godly, faith-filled, and sane perspective in the months leading up to Election Day, since things could get pretty crazy before then.
MY COMMENT: In short Michael is washing his hands of the Trump/fascist question. He affects to see no connection between challenging Trump's Godfather politics and being sane, godly and faith-filled. "Not intended to influence how you vote"? What's voting got to do with it if Trumpites deny the validity of any election in which Trump loses?
***
MICHEAL: During his presidency, Trump was sometimes called the “great disrupter” (or, “disruptor.”) If things got dull, even for a moment, he was sure to stir them up. As stated in an October 2018 article on The Hill by Thomas Hicks Jr. and Curtis Ellis, “President Trump — the Great Disruptor who is challenging the premises and practices that all the Serious People tell us are immutable — is disrupting business-as-usual in Washington, New York, Geneva, Brussels and Beijing.” For his supporters, this was great news. For his detractors, it was a disaster. Either way, the Trump presidency was anything but a time of peace and calm, a maintaining of the status quo. That’s why Trump was also likened to a whirlwind, generating headlines like this one, posted on Yahoo News in May 2017: “To Evangelicals, Trump is The Whirlwind. And they’re fine with that.”
MY COMMENT: Micheal is clearly aware that something has changed fundamentally in American politics and that this change has come about since Trump appeared on the scene; that I would certainly agree with! Without doubt Trump is a disruptor and challenges the premises and practices of the political status quo: In fact, he considers its institutions to be the swamp that he once vowed to drain. But let's not glorify Trump as a radical; he doesn't sound like a reformer but more like someone seeking to overthrow the status quo that he loudly claims to be corrupt. So, what do we conclude? That Trump is right and that the American system is a corrupt conspiracy and Trump is its savoir? But then in that case why should Trump be regarded himself as anything other than an aspect of that corruption and conspiracy?
A democratic system is a system which changes by review, open criticism and incremental reform carried out through recognized channels and not by revolution. So, either the American system is after all an autocracy of hidden conspirators and deserves a Trump revolution or Trump is out to overthrow what is actually a democracy and replace it with authoritarian Godfather politics. I think the latter is most likely. As Trump's son said, the Republican party is now "The Trump Party", so is the USA's next step for it to become "The Trump Country"? Is that what the disruption is all about?
***
MICHEAL: Opinions about Trump became so polarized that I wrote an article in October 2018 titled, “Donald Trump is Not the Christ and Donald Trump is Not the Antichrist.”. I was reminded of this when a colleague sent me a 2023 YouTube video claiming to present, “15 Bible Verses That Identify Donald J. Trump as the Antichrist.” At present, the video has more than 533,000 views.This stands in stark contrast to the 2022 book President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man - The Christ.
And those who are undecided, there is also the 2023 book Donald Trump Servant of Jesus Christ or...of satan?: Have we been deceived? Judge for yourself!
MY COMMENT: Trump "Not the Christ and Not the Antichrist"? You're using a strawman argument Micheal! My theory is that Trump is a potential up-and-coming common-or-garden self-glorifying dictator. In dabbling in hyperbolic theological strawmen, Micheal has become distracted and fails to draw the conclusion that the highly polarized reaction which has attached itself to Trump in particular is evidence of a political system which has taken a dysfunctional turn. This is not American politics as it used to be. Demonisation of the opposition and legal threats and even threats of violent coercion is the new normal. But let's be clear, this started with Donald Trump as a reaction to his conspiracy theories, his unprecedented attacks on electoral procedures, the media and any judges or persons who return decisions he doesn't like. But Micheal isn't going to take sides: He is washing his hands of judgement, as if all sides are bad as one another and therefore he need not comment. He refuses to see the cuckoo which has made its home in the USA's political nest.
***
MICHEAL: Added to this are the threats from some Democratic leaders “that they might not certify the 2024 presidential election results if former President Donald Trump wins,” and it is easy to see how chaos could erupt at any moment. This means that the next 8 months (and perhaps those immediately following too) will be marked by election fever on steroids. “If Trump wins the election,” one side warns us sternly, “there will be a civil war.” “If Trump loses the election,” the other side counters forcefully, “there will be a civil war.” Either way, according to some, here comes a civil war. Then there are the concerns about the health and mental acuity of both likely candidates, President Biden and Donald Trump, along with declared and potential third-party candidates, not to mention other, potential legal battles the two principal candidates will face.
MY COMMENT: Like I've already said, at least some of those opposing Trump are reacting in kind and the polarization is now a self-reinforcing feedback system. But notice how Michael has dwelt on this anti-Trump reaction more than her has the response of Trump supporters.....He wants to keep his Trump supporter base sweet! And again, Micheal is making it sound as if the problem is equally on both sides of the political divide and he is therefore failing to do justice to the fundamental asymmetry here: For on Micheal's own admission Trump is the new radical dimension in the recent turn American politics has taken; Viz: Trump, the great whirlwind who is challenging the premises and practices that all the Serious People tell us are immutable — is disrupting business-as-usual. Too right! If someone comes on the scene saying that those populating the institutions of society, political, media, judiciary, military, administration, and high-tech industry etc. are "woke leftist" operators helping to destroy America it is clear that this is no business-as-usual election but an attempt to bring on a revolution of some kind (Ironically Marxists will also claim our institutions are corrupted, but in their case, they will claim that this corruption is caused by the vested interests of the owning classes). And yet here it suits Micheal's purposes to paint a picture of symmetry between Democrats and the "Trump party". This is his excuse to ignore the elephant in the room.
***
MICHEAL: The media will have a field day with this, as will social media influencers weighing in with the latest click bait video. Here comes wall-to-wall madness. Here comes turmoil by the hour. Here comes non-stop agitation. And I have not mentioned the endless polling, often designed to influence as much as inform – if not simply to inflame. That’s why neither Donald Trump nor the elections are going to be my primary focus in the months ahead.That’s why, by God’s grace, I’m not going to allow anything outside of me to steal my peace or take my eyes off the Lord or get me off my mission......And unless we are called to political action, to getting out the vote or campaigning or fundraising or educating, we do best to focus our attention on things that build us up spiritually, strengthen us emotionally, and fortify us morally. We can pray for justice in the courts and a fair and free election. .....we do best to focus on ways to unite us around Jesus rather than divide us over a candidate.
MY COMMENT: I don't think in this case we can afford to ignore the media as if the "Trump party" controversy is just another over hyped storm in a teacup that will generate plenty of web-clicks. To hint that what Micheal calls wall-to-wall madness may be all just a media jamboree is unfair, and of course plays into the hands of the "Trump Party" who accuse the media of being "woke" and/or "corrupt" when it doesn't come out on their side (The "Trump Party" show signs that they may well be seeking to by-pass and/or control the media). Many in the media express my own concerns about the direction the so called "disrupting whirlwind" is taking us. Many media pundits are far more serious writers than just click baiters and should not all be written off so glibly - although that write-off no doubt pleases Micheal's Trump supporter base. I'm sure the "Trump Party" would thank Micheal for his unbalanced depiction of the media.
Let us recall again that Micheal's supporting constituency will consist of large numbers of Trumpites who he can't afford to alienate. Instead, as we've seen above, he has described Trump in terms that glorify him as a heroic disruptor and whirlwind, questioning the very assumptions of Western democracy. In this sense Michael has effectively help support Trump in his mission to Trumpify the US just as he has Trumpified the Republican party. In this connection I see no radically different departure from a good fashioned authoritarian and would-be dictator making a classic grab for power via blame, conspiracy theories, demonisation and telling supporters what they what want to hear. The Bible warns us against populist movements that seek a dictator to rule them (See 1 Samuel 8: 7-18). The 2024 election will not be a case of voting in a Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan, a Bill Clinton, a George Bush or, and I wish to God it was, a Mike Pence or a Nikki Haley. The US isn't being presented with a straight a choice between Republicanism or The Democrats, a choice between conservatism and liberalism. Rather it's a choice between the freedoms of democracy and the style-over-content of a would-be-King Saul and his Godfather administration. Moreover, Trump is exploiting and corrupting Christianity at the same time. For example, he has clearly dumbed down Dr. Brown's own ministry almost making it another casualty of his campaign to be ruling dictator. One of Trump's worst acts is his attempt to enlist Christianity for his cause; the same sin as that of Russia's modern Czar, Vladimir Putin.
***
In the above quote we hear that Micheal, for good reason, isn't going to make either Trump or the 2024 elections his primary focus. I agree, there is no reason for him to take the focus off his ministry in favour of polarised US politics. But what he has failed to do is condemn the would-be Godfather of America, Donald J. Trump and his sycophantic followers; instead, Michael's words, if anything, have glorified this man perhaps with a cynical eye on his need to keep Trump supporters on board with his ministry. He has abdicated his duty with the excuses of an affected stance of impartiality and of being lost in the pious reverie of his holy Christian work.
INTERESTING LINKS
1. Social Causes of US Trump Popularism?
2. Some more material from Doc Brown
But see here....
We ‘messed up’ with black Nazi blunder, Google co-founder admits (msn.com)
3. Worth looking into:
4. Far-right Christian nationalism is undermining democracy as well as Christianity itself.
‘Demolishing democracy’: how much danger does Christian nationalism pose? (msn.com)
5. I'm on Rees-Mogg's side here and that's saying something!
‘Unacceptable harassment’ of Rees-Mogg criticised after protesters hound the MP (msn.com)
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Good News from Ken
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| An uneasy Ken Ham. Maybe he's wondering if he's got it right after all! He has a lot at stake. |
In a post dated 12th March a somewhat concerned AiG theme park supremo, Ken Ham, writes this:
Over the past four decades of ministry, I’ve been disappointed by the low number of Christian academics, theologians, pastors, and leaders who will take a firm stand on Genesis publicly. Most won’t take a firm stand, allowing for compromise positions involving millions of years or even other evolutionary beliefs, and many of the ones who do believe in the straightforward teaching of Genesis aren’t willing to teach it to their congregations or others because it’s “too controversial.”
I've always regarded this kind of admission by Ken as good news; it's an indication that in spite of the literalist excesses we hear so loudly from North America most Christian academics are loathe to endorse Ken's views. But I suppose Ken's emphatic fundamentalist perspective is understandable: He's given his whole life to building up his religious business empire which depends on selling a ministry marketing a perverse understanding of science and the Bible, so he's not going to change his views in a hurry and will be jealously defensive of them. But in spite of Ken's marketing efforts, it looks as though things aren't going so well for him among thoughtful Christians. See also:
Quantum Non-Linearity: Good News from Ken Ham. (quantumnonlinearity.blogspot.com)
Views, News and Pews: More Good News From Ken Ham. (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)
Ken goes on to explain his big beef:
Why is this so disheartening to me?
Well, because this is an authority issue!
Ultimately, the battle over Genesis isn’t about the age of the earth or God’s
method of creation. The issue is “Who is your ultimate authority?” Is it God
and his Word,or is it man and his (fallible!) word? You see, millions of years
and evolution don’t come from the biblical text—you won’t find even a hint of
long ages or slow and gradual processes in Genesis! The reason so many
Christians have accepted these ideas has nothing to do with Scripture and
everything to do with taking man’s ideas about the past and adding them into
Genesis.
Here Ken is engaged in his usual activity of impugning the conscience of those thoughtful Christians who disagree with him and accusing them of all but blasphemy: He just can't accept that other Christians may have good reason to reject his literalist interpretations and do so with a clear conscience and with no sense they are rejecting Biblical authority. The "ultimate authority" they are rejecting is in fact Ken's assertions based on flawed reasoning, behind which lie deep business interests. He of course genuinely believes that the arguments presented by AiG cannot be faulted: He therefore believes his antagonists don't have good reason to reject the claimed authority of AiG pronouncements and must have bad consciences. In Ken's mind this justifies his use of spiritually intimidating language threatening divine displeasure should AiG be contradicted.
As for those millions of years and evolution not being in the Bible...... Likewise, I'm unaware that the Bible teaches us that the Sun is a star.... but of course, it doesn't teach such a thing: The Bible is written from the perspective of the ancients who naturally enough would be unable to put the Sun in the same category as a star; they'd need to know a lot more about cosmic distances, atomic physics and gravity to do that! It's no surprise then that at least one Biblical literalist should end up arguing that the Sun is not a Star: See here:
Quantum Non-Linearity: The Sun Isn't a Star!!?? Light Relief Time (quantumnonlinearity.blogspot.com)
Further, it is very debatable whether the Bible has any clarity about the Earth being a sphere; so much so in fact that some Christian literalists (not Ken I'm glad to say) have been arguing the case for a flat Earth. See this link:
My conclusion is that as a meaningful cross-cultural account of creation the Genesis story is necessarily highly symbolic rather than literal. Ken is ripping Genesis 1 right out of its original cultural context just as do the "The Sun is not a star" literalists. Let's recall that meaning = text + context. This important "equation" is clearly something Ken is missing and needs to understand.
Ken has invested a lifetime's work in his literalist theme park and has a lot to lose. Therefore, his spiritually bullying tone comes very naturally out of his very committed business interests. It is also not surprising that he implicitly supports what is looking increasingly like an emerging Christian dominionist culture among Christian Trumpites. He also appears to implicitly support fellow fantasist Trey Smith who used the Ark Park to host a QAnon video.
ADDENDUM 27/04/24
Ken's ignorance of science shows itself when he continues to promote the flawed "Two kinds of science" philosophy: That is, "Observational science" vs "Historical science". See here for example:
Creation Basics: Two Kinds of Science | Answers in Genesis
Why this is a very fundamental error is explained here:
This false philosophy is, of course, promoted by AiG with the full force of its presumed authority and backed up by Ken's propensity to apply religious duress to those who disagree with him. Anyone joining this fundamentalist organization, and that includes those with science training, would very likely be expected to take onboard Ken's take on science.
***
Interesting Links
1. Real Geology: As a break from those bizarre literalist views below is a link to an interesting post by Christian Geologist Micheal Roberts:
2000 years of Genesis and Geology | Peddling and Scaling God and Darwin (wordpress.com
I found the following diagram which he published of particular interest (Click on picture to enlarge):
2. Is Trump threatening political violence if he loses the '24 election?
I have this notion that if Trump is elected and America becomes a dictatorship, Trump and Putin will then face off against China.
3. Tell me about it!
4. Putin and Traditional Values
...and that probably includes upholding the traditional values of Godfather government. God warned the Israelites of the consequences of Royal dictatorship (1 Samuel 8: 7-18)
5. Cranky Taylor-Greene: Putin's useful idiot?
Mike Johnson, although very conservative is quite a reasonable person. It goes to show that the real battle isn't with Republicans per se, but with up-and-coming Godfather regimes. See below:
"Buck called Greene’s remarks “irresponsible as so many of the statements that Marjorie has made over the years are completely irresponsible. The idea that somehow the Speaker is corrupt, because he believes that we should be supporting an ally that’s been invaded by a war criminal, Vladimir Putin, and the idea that somehow anybody who is in agreement with Ukraine and our NATO allies, is corrupt. It’s just another distraction that she uses to take away from the core arguments that are so important.”
On Monday Congresswoman Greene did just that, falsely telling far-right host Steve Bannon Russia is “protecting” Christianity while the “Ukrainian government is attacking Christians, the Ukrainian government is executing priests. Russia is not doing that.”
Numerous credible reports detail Russia’s torture and killing of Ukrainian clergy.
Greene has supported Russia over Ukraine for years."
 |
| Taylor-Greene: She clowns around but she's beyond a joke |
The Trump team may understand that Taylor-Green's clowning is too much of a liability:
5. On this side of the Atlantic we have our very own rival to MTG
If you don't agree with Liz you'll likely to be labelled by her as a woke leftist intent on destroying the West!
Wednesday, August 02, 2023
The Rise of an American Godfather
The cuckoo in the evangelical nest
The news:
America in uncharted territory as Donald Trump charged with conspiracy to defraud the US (msn.com)
Died-in-the-wool Trump supporters claim the American democratic system is corrupt and has Trump in its sights*. These supporters are trying to get the conspiracy theory past us that the American system has been an oppressive "deep state" autocracy all along, but we didn't know it and that Trump, saviour of America, has help reveal the truth and will put it all right. That's just too similar to the kind of line we get from dictatorial Godfathers the world over. And, of course, it's the likely story put about by any would-be-dictator as they sought absolute power, turning elections into personality politics, legal battles and violent fights for survival that border on civil war; in fact, the sort of thing we see in some failed third world states.
As the article I've linked to says this is uncharted territory for the American constitution: We've never seen the like of it in my lifetime and this farcical game only started when Trump appeared on the scene. Let's hope that the American democratic system will survive the assault from this pied piper of American evangelicalism.
* ...and so it should have, the man's a felon.
Relevant Links:
1. The threatening words of a wannabe dictator:
On the Truth social network Mr Trump wrote "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" on Friday afternoon, just a day after he pleaded not guilty to four charges in the alleged election fraud case.
See:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66417168
That's not how a constitutional democracy is supposed to work, Donald!
2. Would Trump opt for a coup if he doesn't get his way?
'What's he got to lose?' Fascism expert says Trump's only option is to 'stage a coup' (msn.com)
3. Threats against Jurors
Georgia investigates threats against Trump jury - BBC News
4. Is Trump's mental health suffering?
5. Evangelicals suckered by Trump
'Wake up': Trump-loving Evangelicals warned they been 'taken in by a hoax' (msn.com)
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
More Notes on Conspiracy Theorism
Conspiracy theorism comes in degrees. (Zoom in to read)
I was recently in an email discussion about African culture with a friend who lives in Africa. The rural African mind sees a very different world of causation to our own, and yet in the final analysis it isn't so very different to the Western mind. See below for an edited extract of my correspondence with my friend
***
And now, a comment on
the attraction of conspiracy theorism,
an epistemic method used by the politically far-right, far-left, Christian fundamentalists, numerous websites and, may I add,
many rural Africans.
As gregarious animals humans have to deal with that most complex of all created objects i.e. other humans. In having to cope with social relations we are constantly called to attempt to read between the lines of human behaviour in order to understand one another. But in contexts where suspicions about sinful motives are rife the mind can get up to all sorts of tricks as it tries to read into the minds of others through a fog of distrust. So, this very sophisticated ability which attempts to decode human behaviour comes with an overhead of side effects, especially when human interests conflict. Viz: it all too easily interpolates imaginary scenarios and is sometimes apt to too readily commit to those imagined scenarios.
***
Stage 1 conspiracy
theorism starts with a toxic mix of emotions. emotions which may include fear, distrust, paranoia,
confusion, anger, frustration and envy. This mix is fertile ground for stage 2 where
there is a desire to justify & explain these emotions rather than accept
their causes as due to inexplicably random circumstances. Stage 3 occurs when
the fecund human imagination attempts to join the dots of observation with background
stories which rationalise, simplify, dignify and make sense of one’s otherwise
perplexing experiences; this involves creating a cast of nefarious hidden actors who are
thought to be the cause of one’s problems and who then become the focus of one’s
blame and anger. Personalising the struggle in this way somehow makes it easier to cope
with. For Africans the dots are joined
with witches and spirits. In mid-17th century England the witch
finder general (Matthew Hopkins) blamed crabby women. For American Trumpite “QAnon”
Christians it’s those evil “woke” conspiracists who may even be accused of
being involved in Satanism. And it’s really gone over the top with the
Christian flat earthists (and young earthists) who see the whole secular
educational system being involved in a lying conspiracy to defraud us of our
central place in God’s creation.
***
The actual causes behind the frustrations & aggravations in the little picture of our lives can be breathtakingly banal, commonplace, random and not down to the direct planned action of nefarious antagonists, whether they be spirits, demons, Satan, or human conspirators. We may like to think of ourselves as heroic figures fighting against those who have got it in for us, but the truth may be far more mundane & vapid. But to see the real struggle we have to step back from our everyday commonplace frustrations and look at the big picture. It is only when we step back and look at the big picture can we see the real causes: Seldom are our problems a result of a direct Satanic attack or an outcome of carefully planned human conspiracies to thwart us. Yes, many of our problems ultimately do trace back to human Sin, human epistemic failings and Satanic evil, but I see the main problem being the impersonal backwash of chaos which bad actors (human & Satanic) leave behind. That is, most of our problems are due to the indirect action of bad actors and the tsunami of chaos that their behaviour triggers. The ultimate struggle is against the chaos beast: Kaoskampf!
Quantum Non-Linearity: The Compulsion of Conspiracy Theorism (quantumnonlinearity.blogspot.com)
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Hoist by their own petard
The software of these sheep looks as though it's got a bug in it!
1. Ms. M. Taylor-Greene
I was fascinated to see a BBC report that cranky Christian conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Green has herself been the object of a false conspiracy theory. See the end of this BBC web report where we can read:
Evidence-free accusations against Marjorie Taylor Greene
Baseless theories in the aftermath of the attack weren't confined to the right.
Some liberal influencers seized on a tweet by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, posted a day prior to the attack, which read: "Just wait until tomorrow."
A number of accounts with large liberal followings claimed that Ms Taylor Greene's tweet could be a hint that she was in on the attack on Mr Pelosi. There is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory.
But does evidence mean anything to cranky conspiracy theorists?
2. Mr. D. Trump
Another report that interested me (this time on MSN) concerns Florida's republican governor Ron DeSantis:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is overtly courting Christian nationalist voters, and Donald Trump lashed out at his most likely GOP challenger.
The Florida governor released a new video presenting him as a savior anointed by God to save the country, which the former president perceived as a direct threat to his grip over right-wing evangelical voters -- and historian Sarah Posner told the Washington Post that Trump was right to be concerned.
"Trump knows that his base believes God anointed him to lead America at a critical juncture, and that many of them believe him to be a messianic figure who alone can rescue America from what they call demonic forces (liberalism, civil rights, 'deep state,' and more)," Posner told the Post columnist Greg Sargent. "None of Trump’s potential rivals have so blatantly tried to claim that divine blessing.
"It’s a very dangerous sign that DeSantis is reading the base — which has been bombarded with ever more radical claims of anointings, prophecy and spiritual warfare against the left — as receptive to savior alternatives to Trump," she added.
DeSantis was explicitly sending a message to voters who believe America was founded as a Christian nation, using their language, and signaling that he shares their vision of taking the country back from the forces of evil, Posner said.
According to the above quotes DeSantis is competing with Trump for Trump's fundamentalist religious support base, a base which is looking for a prophesied anointed leader in their fight against Western democratic and liberal values, values which they believe to be demonic. Mr. Putin would concur with their views on liberal democracy.
3. Mr E. Musk
We hear Elon Musk affirming the virtues of free speech on the web, but I wonder if he is really aware of the complexities of this deceptively simple principle. After all what do we do about the "free speech" of Islamic extremists who incite their followers to carry out acts of murder or those Christian fundamentalists of the far right whose slanderous accusations and conspiracy theories also help incite violence? "Free speech" is clearly a balancing act. In regard to Musk, then, I was fascinated to read this article on MSN:
I never found out whether or not Musk censored the "Trump is dead" Twitter post!
***
How many people comprehend the potential inner contradictions of very strong "free speech" principles? Too much free speech and we get free speech from those whose free-speech effectively promotes the end of free-speech with their threats of violence against those who beg to differ with them. Somewhere a balance has to be kept between freedom and regulation.
It all reminds me of Asimov's three laws of robotics which in one of his stories led to a robot going round in circles as it was caught between two contradictory demands on its time. Unless you're doing physics or mathematics avoid using rigidly observed catch-all principles in politics, religion, sociology and economics: In the human sciences where complexity rules those principles are bound to have exceptions, unexpected consequences and internal contradictions. Think "heuristics" rather than "principles" and deal with stuff on a case-by-case basis where possible, using "principles" as guidelines rather than tram lines. Heuristics accept exceptions to the rule which in turn builds in the possibility of interrupting those endless loops and prevents us from going round in circles. (See video above).
Anyway, perhaps Musk himself realizes that checks and balances are needed, and that blanket catch-all principles rigidly and religiously applied so easily come a cropper. So, although he was prepared to give Donald Trump another chance, to his credit Musk is keeping the Twitter ban on the vile and evil Alex Jones. See here:
Twitter boss Elon Musk keeps conspiracy theorist Alex Jones off platform - BBC News
01/12/22: Curiouser and Curiouser:
I wonder where the truth lies in all this:
Inside the far-right troll war between DeSantis, Trump, and Ye supporters (msn.com)
Friday, September 23, 2022
Putin's War
I dedicate this song by the Piranhas to all those poor Russian guys who have been called up to serve in Putin's war on the Ukraine:
I know I'm not the only one who has noted the parallels that Putin's war has with Hitler's mission for national and personal glory but then all dictators will find that similar problems in maintaining their rule are met with similar solutions. For example, one of the common problems tyrants like Putin face is the threat from potential rivals & critics. The dictator's suspicions lead them to imprison or murder these rivals & critics. Putin is undoubtedly a murderer for his cause. The other general rule-of-thumb with dictators is that they surround themselves with sycophants who tell the dictator what he wants to hear and therefore his fantasy world isn't challenged.
As with Hitler Putin's initial successes have lead him to believe in the mythology that has come to surround him. He sees himself on a mystical religious crusade bound up with his eastern orthodoxy. He's known to obstinately pursue goals very single mindedly until he achieves them, which is bad news for Ukraine and perhaps for the whole world. The only thing that will stop him is his complete defeat. Hitler held on to the very last, buoyed by his initial successes he swallowed the mythology of personal destiny that he thought these successes were evidence of. .
Tuesday, December 07, 2021
Left and Right Extremism
The Trump inspired attack on American Democracy 6/1/2021
US Republican Margorie Taylor Greene is currently a member of the house of representatives and an avid Trump supporter. According to Wikipedia Greene promotes a profusion of bizarre notions related to conspiracy theorism and the far right. For example: The Stolen 2021 election theory, White supremacism, QAnon, The white genocide conspiracy, Pizzagate, and Covid vaccination as Biden's Mark of the Beast, among others. She's rich pickings for every crackpot idea peddled by the far-right and fundamentalist Christianity.
Now, I'm sure that Barry Arrington, supremo of the de facto Intelligent Design web site Uncommon Descent, can't be anywhere near as crazy Greene and yet such is the political polarization in America it is likely that he identifies himself with the same far-right political interest group that Greene identifies with. This is made clear in a post on Uncommon Descent with title "Can we Endure?". Like Greene Arrington depicts America as in a pitched battle against those Marxist ogres under the bed, or not so under the bed given that the far right points the finger at movements like Black Lives Matter and even the very mildly liberal conservative and Catholic Joe Biden as uncompromising agents of the far left, perhaps even emissaries of Satan.
Shades of grey appear not to exist in US right-wing perceptions. In casting the current strife very much as a dark vs light battle against those neo-reds-under-bed (nowadays more like reds-on-the-bed) Arrington believes the opposition's values are irreconcilable with what he portrays as the banner holders of true American freedom. He traces cancel culture back to far-left commentators like the Frankfurt school's neo-Marxist Herbert Marcuse.
It is true, however, that the far left has it's own clutch of extremists who would want to overthrow society in favour of their vision of a socialist "dictatorship of the proletariat". But we know where that would end up - a shift to an old fashioned dictatorship; the far left status quo would then stop just there with no further evolution to the idyllic government-less libertarian communism of their fantasy world - that's a pipe dream given what we know about human nature (the constraints of human nature on the social dynamic is a concept which the critical theory of the Frankfurt school is unlikely to accept).
It is ironic that both the far left and the far right have the aim of overthrowing the established order and its government in the name of a similar vision of liberty. Both perceive the status quo as malign & evil and deserving of merciless destruction. They also have a comparable end game goal of a libertarian small-government society (envisaged as "free trade" by the right wing and "communism" by Marxists). It's no surprise that left winger Nikole Hannah Jones (who Arrington mentions) has also been tempted to see the world through conspiracy theorism as a way of besmirching the establishment and enhancing dissent.
Given human nature's blend of good & bad the actual situation is far more complex than either the far right or the far left libertarians imagine in their simplistic fairy-tale fantasy of a goodies vs. baddies battle*. In this connection Arrington needs to look at some of the extremists that he is effectively aligning himself with - for example Margorie Taylor Greene: As with the extreme left the extreme right, after trying to promote disaffection from the establishment of Western democracies, will then seek to install a "libertarian" dictatorship. The current God-father who demands allegiance & sows disaffection toward American democracy, a move which conveniently enhances his chances of absolute power, is Donald Trump and his far right followers. Even Republicans who don't support Trump's bid for power (like Mike Pence) are branded as traitors to the cause. In such a politically polarized environment it's not so far fetched to imagine that if that bid was successful opponents and traitors, who are perceived as uncompromisingly evil, will be jailed, perhaps even executed by Trump's successors.**
There is something about idealists, whether of the left or right. Christian or non-Christian, that makes them potentially dangerous. As Sir Kenneth Clarke commented on the leaders of the French republic, they "...suffered from the most terrible of all delusions; they believed themselves to be virtuous" As one of the leaders of the republic said: "In a republic which can only be based on virtue any pity shown toward crime is flagrant proof of treason". The extremes of left and right will show no mercy to their antagonists.
Footnotes
* This "goodies vs. baddies" vision of reality is even true of "critical theory" which attempts to get away from it with the emphasis being on socio-political structures and conditions. Because, of course, real humans have to populate those structures thus casting some as oppressed and others as oppressors. Even if "the system" is cast as the chief oppressor this still leads to a contingent of human beings who, like the right-wing conspiracy theorists, will by implication claim to be politically enlightened and thus effectively be the children of light. But critical theory misses the elephant in the room: Namely, the first person conscious perspective which inevitably is always tempted to prioritize the order of its own private house of experience over and above that of others.
** This is what the God-father does to you if he thinks you've been disloyal to his protection racketeering:
Donald Trump uses expletive to attack ex-ally Benjamin Netanyahu - BBC News
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Origins of the US Evangelical Right
Well, according to a Christian cowboy he certainly would be shooting me!
There was an article in the January 2021 Premier Christianity magazine by Martyn Whittock, a Church of England lay minister and historian. He has written books on the subject of the association of American evangelicalism with right-wing politics (Witness wide support for Donald Trump among US evangelicals for instance). I was therefore very interested in the article he had written, an article entitled "The Disunited States of America". In the article Whittock explains why he thinks right-wing politics and faith have became so entwined in America. Below I discuss some of Whittock's ideas.
ONE) Whittock tells us that in 1954 the words
"Under God" were added to the pledge of allegiance. He makes a point similar to that which can be found on Wiki:
Even though the movement behind inserting "under God" into the pledge might have been initiated by a private religious fraternity and even though references to God appear in previous versions of the pledge, historian Kevin M. Kruse asserts that this movement was an effort by corporate America to instill in the minds of the people that capitalism and free enterprise were heavenly blessed. Kruse acknowledges the insertion of the phrase was influenced by the push-back against Russian and Chinese atheistic communism during the Cold War, but argues the longer arc of history shows the conflation of Christianity and capitalism as a challenge to the New Deal played the larger role.
Here was an early step linking Christianity with capitalism, low taxation, gun rights and the American way, a way which was set over and against communist atheism. These items then naturally became mandated in the Christian right's agenda. For myself I've always traced low taxation and US diffidence toward government regulation back to the very formation of the US in the American revolution, a revolution triggered by the a rejection of colonial taxation and suspicion of a distant central regulator. This history seemed to become ingrained into America culture; as Ronald Reagan said, "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem. This ethos had the upside of helping economic growth via the market but the downside was an irrational suspicion of central government: Such attitudes do help create a power & influence vacuum which gives an opportunist the chance to step into that vacuum (which may be what Trump has done).
TWO) In the 60s and early 70s there were government moves which were perceived as not favourable to the Christian cultural foundation of America. Viz: The banning of public prayers in schools, regulation of Christian academies, & legalisation of first trimester abortions. Quoting Whittock:
[Evangelicals] felt that Christian values were being overlooked, or caricatured, in the media. Furthermore, they felt that the school system drives a secular agenda. At the same time, the growth in LGBTQ rights challenged the traditional views of marriage and 'acceptable' sexual behaviour..... in short a cultural war began....
With this comment I feel I'm on familiar ground: My understanding of the rise of fundamentalist evangelicalism is that it is a response to the cultural marginalisation of Christianity especially during the 1960s (and into the 1970s) and especially among society's intellectuals who rejected the Christian rationale. In a reactionary move some parts of American evangelicalism became anti-intellectual and anti-science and the symptoms of this are seen in the rise of young earthism (latterly flat earthism) and fideist versions of Christianity that majored in the ecstatic. This was both a protest against the changing social mores and also against intellectual Christianity which was perceived to have failed. It was, I propose, akin to the response of the romantics, as puzzled but naïve Christians tried to regain a sense of sacredness in the creation and reaffirm the ecstatic component of Christian testimony. My understanding here has less to do with historical research than having lived through that time. But according to Whittock, because of conditions peculiar to the US, American evangelicals have also reacted by becoming very politicised and have expressed this via their support of the Republican party, a party which they perceive to be the party of traditional American Christian values.
THREE) Then in 2008, Barack Obama happened, says Whittock: He goes on to say:
The election of a young, intelligent, telegenic and highly articulate social progressive (committed to proactive federal government initiatives) was a sharp reversal of all that the evangelical right had been working on for more than 20 years. The Obama presidency was seen as an existential threat. Then the possibility of a political success for a socially progressive female Washington insider, in the form of Hilary Clinton, caused an upsurge of evangelical activism unparalleled in US history.
FOUR) Then in 2016 "Trump happened": According to Whittock:
It was this that led 81% of white evangelicals voting for Trump....It was a marriage of convenience in which Trump promised everything on the evangelical agenda.....Evangelicals reciprocated with intense support for a man whose personal and political morality - which many feel is at odds with Christianity - was set aside in order to win what they perceived as a battle for the soul of America.
His policy on immigration struck a chord, since polling reveals that 59% of white evangelicals see immigrants as threatening their cultural identity.
For a group traditionally suspicious of government the necessary Covid-19 restrictions were often seen as unwelcome state interference. In the same way, the shutting of churches was easy to present as state restrictions on religious freedom...the wearing if masks we seen as a sign of acceptance of state power. This occurred alongside a fear of economic decline as a result of lockdown, which further resonated with a group whose religious beliefs have long been associated with support for American free enterprise.
....In the aftermath of Trump's defeat, a well known US evangelical confided to me, in an off-the-record assessment, that the majority of evangelicals believe in Trump's narrative of a "stolen " election, a minority are resigned to a Biden presidency, but will keep fighting to change the abortion law; a smaller minority are relieved at Trump's defeat; and huge numbers of young evangelicals are leaving their highly politicised spiritual communities. Clearly for US evangelicals the turbulence is far from over.
***
It was almost as if Trump was stepping into a suit that had been specially tailored for him. The egotistical & cynical Trump exploited this situation to the full. He cynically made friendly overtures toward the crackpot professional conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and the crazy QAnon theorists - he was of course after the votes of their followers. The ultra-far right fascists and white supremacists were emboldened by Trump and crept out of from under their stones and appeared on the streets. Trump wanted their votes too and therefore wasn't vocal in condemning them. Trump talked the language that the right-wing wanted to hear; gun rights, low taxation, private health care, climate change conspiracy, America first etc; These things came onto the evangelical agenda and became almost mandatory adjuncts to their faith. Trump didn't care who or why people voted for him; he just wanted their votes, he wanted power. But underneath it he had complete contempt for the American system. He denigrated that system, its media and its governance with hints of conspiracy theorism and he attempted to bypass it with popularist rallies and social media. The Capitol Hill insurrection was a natural outcome of Trumpism whether he liked it or not.
Trump had a sinister looking affinity & rapport with strong arm dictators like Putin, Kim Jong Un, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mohammed bin Salman. If this was a sign (which think it is) that Trump had the qualities of a crypto-dictator then it is ironic that in some respects he stood for the very opposite of the things those right wing evangelicals elected him for: If allowed to have his way he was the antithesis of individual freedoms and small government. We saw hints of the kind of people Trump attracted when Michael Flynn, one of Trump's side kicks, suggested martial law be imposed to act on Trump's conspiracy theory that the election was rigged and force a re-count in Trump's favour. But the survivor in Trump probably realised that would make America look like a tin-pot military state and blow his cover completely. The revelation of Trump's threatening phone call to a Republican election official telling him to find more votes or else, taken together with the Capitol Hill insurrection looked bad enough as it was!
But the Christian right wing were blind to all this, blinded by their seeing the world through the paranoid spectacles of proto-Conspiracy theorism. For them mild social reforms, liberal attitudes, government initiatives and regulation were seen as the harbingers of a communist plot.
Trump cynically exploited a run down and culturally debased evangelical community just as he had exploited the crackpot conspiracy theorists like Jones and QAnon. In fact there is an overlap between right-wing evangelicals and conspiracy theorism (See here). But many evangelicals, whilst claiming to support freedom of the individual are the very opposite of what they claim to be; their cultural instincts lead them to favour a highly authoritarian fundamentalism with its absolute certainties, demagogic preachers, "anointed" patriarchs and Godfathers who rule almost by divine right. The notion of epistemic humility is utterly alien to them. They have, in fact, strong autocratic instincts; you will sometimes hear that "A church is a theocracy and not a democracy". It is unlikely that they would feel such antipathy toward government if government was in their hands; the tail seeks to wag the dog. Suspicious of government they may be, but I doubt they would be so suspicious if their subliminally dominionist vision came about and they at last held the reigns of power; it would be Rome all over again.
Some right wing evangelicals attempted to excuse their support for a candidate of clearly compromised political and personal morality by likening him to Cyrus or King Jehu, Biblical figures who worked out God's plans in spite of themselves. That right-wing evangelicals drew this parallel is revealing of their autocratic tendencies: Cyrus and Jehu were Middle Eastern despots at the centre of monarchical systems, circumstances hardly paralleled in democratic America. Right wing evangelicalism's subliminally monocratic vision of government was no model for democracy. I felt a certain amount of dubiousness when one citizen supporter of Trump told me that he believed the "Republic was being rebirthed". On the news I heard another Trump supporter saying they wanted Trump to set up a Trump dynasty. So perhaps the "rebirth" was as a monocratic system with a Trump dynasty at its head? In which case it would no longer be a republic!
The much hoped for scenario of the right-wing evangelical imagination found expression in a solid wall of "charismatic prophecies" that wrongly predicted a Trump electoral win**. Well, if there had been a Trump win I can tell them this: According to Tolkien only one hand can wear the ring of absolute power, the one ring to rule them all. That's why we have democracy instead of "Theocracy": Democracy attempts to distribute the power among epistemically and morally flawed humanity and forces them to give public account of themselves to one another. This may lead to untidy, messy and argumentative government, but such a system acknowledges that humanity is flawed, epistemically and morally, so that's to be expected. The fundamentalist kindergarten versions of Christianity abdicate their epistemic responsibilities and look for security & certainty and seek to end argument & debate with what they claim to be channels of unambiguous divine revelation either in the form of so-called "plain readings" of scripture and/or the rule of "anointed" patriarchs.
Relevant Links
The wasting of the evangelical mind
Footnote
** The news from America is that all the influential "charismatic prophets" wrongly predicted a Trump election win. This systematic error is evidence of a systemic problem: One might argue that since we would stop listening to one prophet who got it wrong on many prophecies why should we listen to an ensemble of culturally related prophets all of whom got it wrong on one prophecy? One commentator on the failed Trump prophecies expressed his belief that some of the "prophets" had a good track record and were respected Charismatic patriarchs & therefore still worth listening too. But for me, given the sectarian complexity of evangelical culture, life's far too short to rake through this extensive and varied culture and make such fine tuned distinctions, if indeed they exist as substantive distinctions. I've got better things to do.
ADDENDUM 07/09/21
If the possibility of fundamentalist dominionists being at the head of a Western dictatorship seems farfetched let’s recall that many American Christian fundamentalists are closely linked to Donald Trump the man who:
a) Vowed to “drain the swamp” of America’s well established democratic government,
b) Attempted to by-pass established democratic institutions and set up his alternatives,
c) Hobnobbed with professional conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and gave credence to the QAnon theorists,
d) Seeded the democratic debate with conspiracy theories,
e) Arguably helped provoke the attack on Capitol Hill,
f) Emboldened race supremacists & fascists, (cf. the Charlottesville rally)
g) Had a rapport with dictators like Russia’s Putin (etc)
h) Attempted to intimidate a republican election official into falsifying the vote count
i) Had an adviser who suggested imposing Trump’s view of the election using military force.
ADDENDUM 09/09/2021
In an address that can be seen here Steve Bannon, one of Trump's pardoned side kicks uses language that almost sounds as if he wants the 2024 US election to be the inauguration of a new dictatorship: He talks of 20k shock troops on standby ready to take over a country they effectively already control.....
If you’re going to take over the administrative state and deconstruct it, then you have to have shock troops prepared to take it over immediately .....pre-trained teams ready to jump into federal agencies.... .We’re winning big in 2024 and we need to get ready now.......We control the country. We’ve got to start acting like it. And one way we’re going to act like it, we’re not going to have 4,000 (shock troops) ready to go, we’re going to have 20,000 ready to go and we’re going to pick the 4,000 best and most ready in every single department.
Perhaps it's all just metaphorical election talk. I hope it is, but do people like Bannon talk in metaphors? If the far-right win the 2024 election would they ever again concede an electoral defeat if they think of themselves as controlling the country? Having crawled over the back of Trump could Bannon one day call himself "president"?
News Monitor
On Steve Bannon:
Trump to start social media under his control:
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