The Malign Fantasy of Donald Trump's Convention

 "...a President whose prospects, left unvarnished by lies and fantasy, were so poor that his strategists had to reinvent him as a different person altogether."

A good summation by Susan Glasser of The New Yorker

7 Takeaways From The RNC

So at least that’s over. Trump alone made at least 20 false or misleading statements in a speech at the circus at the White House last night, and let’s face it - it was a circus.  Aside from the serial lying and hypocrisy, Trump and the Republicans who support him would have you believe that they’re not currently in power - that he hasn’t been president for the last 3 1/2 years, or that they haven’t controlled the senate for the last 5 years.  They would have you believe that Joe Biden is a far-left extremist who will destroy the country if elected - that there would be rioting, massive deaths from coronavirus, and much worse  

But we already have rioting, massive (preventable) deaths from coronavirus, and much, much worse, all of which have happened on Trump and the Republicans watch.  They promise of “I alone can fix it” if re-elected is bullshit.  If we had a competent leader and a responsible governing body they would have already strived to “fix it” or better yet prevent “it” or mitigate it in the first place.

Obviously the Trump they’re trying so desperately to sell is not the same Trump that Americans have seen with their own eyes, heard with their own ears, during his term and before.  The real Trump presents himself to us daily, yet he and his supporters (and Fox and OAN and other propaganda outlets) continue to tell us not to believe what we see and hear, but to believe what they tell us to believe.  Now they want us to believe that only Trump can save America - from the Trump’s America that it currently is.

We’ve gone far beyond mere politics.

7 Takeaways from the Republican National Convention, from NPR

RNC Night Two

 Here’s a summary related to coronavirus and a single paragraph sums it up:

In addition, you also had the scheduled speaker Mary Ann Mendoza who was pulled from the lineup at the last moment for posting earlier in the day a QAnon-laced anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews were plotting to take over the world.  Meanwhile, Qanon supporter and GOP congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene proudly posted the invite she received from Trump to attend his acceptance speech on Thursday. 

A Brief Summary of the RNC's First Night

From the NY Times:

The Grand Old Meltdown - Article

In the cult of Trump, what happens when a party gives up on ideas?

Fox, the DNC and the upcoming RNC

 This is worth a watch.  Good summation starting at 2:30; good observation of the upcoming RNC beginning at 4:15.

This Is What The Republican Party Under The Shadow Of Trump Has Come To

The Republican Embrace of QAnon Goes Far Beyond Trump

As the president all but endorses the internet-driven conspiracy theory, it is shifting from the fringes of the internet to become an offline political movement.

"Late last month, as the Texas Republican Party was shifting into campaign mode, it unveiled a new slogan, lifting a rallying cry straight from a once-unthinkable source: the internet-driven conspiracy theory known as QAnon.

The new catchphrase, “We Are the Storm,” is an unsubtle cue to a group that the F.B.I. has labeled a potential domestic terrorist threat. It is instantly recognizable among QAnon adherents, signaling what they claim is a coming conflagration between President Trump and what they allege, falsely, is a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile Democrats who seek to dominate America and the world.

The slogan can be found all over social media posts by QAnon followers, and now, too, in emails from the Texas Republican Party and on the T-shirts, hats and sweatshirts that it sells. It has even worked its way into the party’s text message system — a recent email from the party urged readers to “Text STORM2020” for updates.

The Texas Republicans are an unusually visible example of the Republican Party’s dalliance with QAnon, but they are hardly unique...

...Chief among the party’s QAnon promoters is Mr. Trump himself. Since the theory first emerged three years ago, he has employed a wink-and-nod approach to the conspiracy theory, retweeting its followers but conspicuously ignoring questions about it. Yet with the election drawing ever closer and Mr. Trump’s failure to manage the Covid-19 pandemic harming his re-election prospects, the White House and some Trump allies appear to have taken to openly courting believers."...

 Please read the full article which offers more details by Matthew Rosenberg and Maggie Haberman

QAnon Candidates are Winning Republican Primaries - Instead of Disavowing, Trump Congratulates and Embraces

Just to be clear about this insane conspiracy cult, see below and more from this article.  

After congratulating two primary winners who support QAnon theories, Trump was asked about it this week and said the following:  “I don’t know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate...I have heard that it is gaining in popularity."

He adds "Trump adds that QAnon believers are people who "love our country" and he's heard they don't like what's going on in Portland."

Then, when told that QAnon believes he's saving the world from a secret satanic cult of cannibals and pedophiles. He says, "Well, I haven't heard that. But uh, is that supposed to be a bad thing? Or a good thing? If I can help save the world from problems..."

What is QAnon?

QAnon is the umbrella term for a sprawling set of internet conspiracy theories that allege, falsely, that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who are plotting against Mr. Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring.

QAnon followers believe that this clique includes top Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros, as well as a number of entertainers and Hollywood celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres and religious figures including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama. Many of them also believe that, in addition to molesting children, members of this group kill and eat their victims in order to extract a life-extending chemical from their blood.

According to QAnon lore, Mr. Trump was recruited by top military generals to run for president in 2016 in order to break up this criminal conspiracy, end its control of politics and the media, and bring its members to justice.

Is that all?

Not by a long shot. Since it began, QAnon has incorporated elements of many other conspiracy theory communities, including claims about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the existence of U.F.O.s, and the 9/11 “truther” movement.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together - So Do Pigs and Swine

"It’s extraordinary how many people close to President Trump have become felons. Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone

Now Steve Bannon has been arrested and charged in a fundraising scheme."

- Chris Megerian, White House Reporter for the LA Times

Let's Get Political - It's Too Important Not To

President Trump cast a vote-by-mail ballot this week after months of questioning the security of doing so.

He submitted that ballot to a third party to turn in — a practice Trump himself has criticized (and one many Republicans say should be illegal).

Story from NPR