Hollow man - Empty words - Fucked America

[Cyrano]

Almost unbelievable. Actually, an incredibly bad scene from a grade B movie.

A United States senate and house sat there for over an hour listening to an ignorant, dangerous madman spout a mixture of lies, bullshit and fantasies. Some of them even chanted that horrible, xenophobic "USA, USA" piece of crazyness.

The only comparison is an unstable child with a loaded gun forcing his family and neighbors to sit still and listen to the stream of insane word-salad he was reading off a teleprompter.

As expected, the Republican side of the aisle/divide, applauded every fart that came from his mouth.

Many Democrats ignored the creature, but many of them stood and applauded for things they believe in. But they did it for the cameras, not for the meaningless crap being spewed by the orange creature.

The Republican Party has spent decades poisoning the meaning of words, the meaning of truth and dignity, and the shared values of Americans. They have done it to hold onto power. They don't give a fuck whether you starve, live, die, or just go away. They view themselves as the "owners" of America. You don't count and your name isn't on the deed.

And in Trump, they found their perfect front man/con man. They found the guy that could pick the pockets of the rubes and make them thank him for doing so. The guy that could fuck up their very existence and make them whisper his name in love on their death beds. People who have been screwed by him and his ilk their entire lives are prepared to vote for him again. They can't wait to, once again, cast a vote against their own existence.

Last night, the insane place to which America has gone, was on full display. Everyone was looking for a "victory." Republicans stood and cheered for every lie. Democrats didn't want to seem to be totally against the empty words being vomited out of Trump's mouth. So they took the middle road because many of their constituents were watching. They sat mum when they could. They stood and applauded when it would "look bad" if they didn't.

The GOP and Putin's sock puppet have taken us to a place where thoughtfulness, intelligence and basic human decency barely exist. They've fucked America. And if/when their horror is voted or thrown out of power, can our country be fixed? Who ever thought that question would need to be asked?

Stop and take a moment to reflect. Before the 2016 election, could you have imagined we'd be where we are today? We're all at the Mad Hatter's tea party, yet, it is now the new norm. What happened to sanity? What happened to democracy? What happened to America? And how did we let a minority of mindless fools bring us here?

[keithbvadu2]

1. " reading off a teleprompter. "

" reading off a teleprompter. "

Like the GOP trying to ridicule Obama for using a teleprompter?

[marble falls]

2. Thats good, Billy, real good! ...

[Cyrano]

6. This was Rod Serling's warning about the Trump's of the world.

[marble falls]

11. And right on the money,

[lunatica]

3. I disagree that we have a new norm going on

But you’re right about everything else.

[Cyrano]

5. Okay. Then let's call it a deeper descent into wingnut hell.

[mountain grammy]

9. Yes, that's a much better description..

otherwise your post is dead on. America is over.

[lunatica]

14. Yeah. They jumped the shark long ago

[DinahMoeHum]

4. Seems like Super Bowl LIII was better than this shit. . .

. . .and I didn't watch either of them.

[Aussie105]

7. Fact checkers of the world, Unite!

In that one speech, Trump has given fact checkers everywhere a lot of work to get stuck into.

[Cyrano]

8. C'mon. Facts are for wusses.

Unfortunately, the American fascist party and those who vote for them believe that "facts" don't matter. Or are twisted to favor "that wuss Democrat Party."

[world wide wally]

10. Well said.

Especially the part about Republicans "applauding every fart that came out of his mouth."

[Rocky888]

12. Well said!

[Aussie105]

13. Facts

Some people value facts. They seek out facts, and are prepared to shape their thinking to be in accordance with facts.
Spend a lot of time on introspective thinking, and cross checking facts for consistency.
Let's call them 'Seekers of Truth'.

Others are happy to ignore facts, and value emotionally charged opinions highly. Any fact that doesn't fit in with their view of the world is ignored, or attributed to propaganda from others who don't think like them.
Introspective thinking is low.
Let's call them 'deplorables'.

Explains everything. Even Trump.

/end lesson

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

15. There's a Twilight Zone episode called "It's a Good Life."

Somehow a 6 year old boy named Anthony has gained the power to make something happen just by wishing it. All the adults are afraid of making him angry, because while they don't know exactly how he will react, based on past experience they know it will be horrible. They praise him whenever he does anything, no matter how horrendous it is. He doesn't like singing, so he wishes it to be that people can't sing. He doesn't like the world outside his small hometown, so he wishes away the rest of the universe. He doesn't like modern things like cars or electricity so he wishes them away. People who displease him are sent to the "cornfield," an undefined otherworldly Purgatory from which no one returns. The children won't play with him after he wishes several to the cornfield. His favorite activity is wishing monstrous animals into being and then killing them. Once an adult stands up to him and is turned into a Jack-in-the-Box, which is then sent to the cornfield. Never having experienced any form of discipline, Anthony does not even understand that his actions are wrong. You never know who or what will displease him next, and worse of all -- he can read your mind! He's your worst nightmare -- an undisciplined six year old with God-like powers.

Here's Rod Serling's closing narration: "No comment here, no comment at all. We only wanted to introduce you to one of our very special citizens, little Anthony Fremont, age 6, who lives in a village called Peaksville, in a place that used to be Ohio. And, if by some strange chance, you should run across him, you had best think only good thoughts. Anything less than that is handled at your own risk, because if you do meet Anthony, you can be sure of one thing: you have entered The Twilight Zone."

----

For some reason, watching Donnie's SOTU reminded me of this episode of the Twilight Zone.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

16. How? Fox News and its ilk.

[honest.abe]

17. Its incredibly disturbing.

If this lunatic is reelected we are totally and completely fucked.

[Cyrano]

18. There is no way that the majority of voters will vote for him

They can suppress votes. They can steal votes. They can switch votes on electronic voting machines. They can move voting places to locations that many can't get to. They can "lose" hundreds/thousands of mail-in ballots. They can "clean up" voter lists and deny the vote to hundreds/thousands.

Here's a dose of reality. The Republican Party can only win elections when the deck is stacked. When the game is rigged. When the courts hand them a close election. (Think of Gore vs Bush.) Gore won the 2000 election. But Repulican thugs forced the recount to go to the Supreme Court. As we now know, Bush didn't win. He was appointed by five people on the Supreme Court.

As you said, if the "lunatic is reelected we are totally and completely fucked."

He can't be reelected. But the Republican theft machine can sure as hell put him back in the Oval Office to fuck up America for another four years.

Were this to happen, America is over. This is how democracies die. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.