Philosophy Now Forum

In the noble tradition of 'protest'.

Lacewing wrote:

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:The 'tolerant progressives' are having a big hissy-fit because they didn't get their own way, and Trump voters are being the reasonable ones

So it's a "hissy-fit" to actively oppose a psychotic clown being chosen (through an archaic system... or any system at all) to lead and control a country -- but it's "reasonable" to calmly subscribe to and accept such madness?

Reagan was asked to say something during a sound check. He said this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv13ZnkpWos

If Trump loosens up enough to make such a Reagan-type joke, heads will explode among young socialists who can’t reach the safe zone in time.

Hitler reacts to Donald Trump Getting the Republican Nomination for President
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEKUIOURVRw

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

Walker wrote: Election analysis is showing that Trump did well with the female vote.

Beyonce is one of the favorite “artists” of the POTUS.
He and the first lady have hosted her many times in the White House.
He's down with the folks.

WHITE women.
Not Black

You may be right.

Mother throws son out of the house after he voted for Trump at school
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mTuhUq3MmA

This fellows specialty is ethics. He has written this. An interesting perspective.

Lacewing wrote:

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:The 'tolerant progressives' are having a big hissy-fit because they didn't get their own way, and Trump voters are being the reasonable ones

So it's a "hissy-fit" to actively oppose a psychotic clown being chosen (through an archaic system... or any system at all) to lead and control a country -- but it's "reasonable" to calmly subscribe to and accept such madness?

I can't remember a time when you didn't have a psychopath for a President. People call the English 'moaners' and 'whingers'. The English have nothing on the Americans. I can't stand Obama because I can't stand warmongers and child-killers. That's definitely not the reason many Americans HATE him. Why do they hate him anyway? As far as I can tell he created jobs. Reduced debt. Brought in affordable health care. What's there for Americans to hate with such venom? He even provided them with another war to enjoy and feel righteous over.
Trump won because people voted for him. American people. You can't really blame him for that. Frankly I saw him as less dangerous than Clinton, the slightly lesser evil of two evils. Plus, there was more chance of an end to the awful TPP. Time will tell.
If people don't like the voting system then why weren't these protesters doing something about it before the election? You know what they say about spilt milk.
Look at the bright side. With all those pea-brained religious nuts Trump's surrounding himself with, there are bound to be tons of sordid sex scandals.

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:Trump won because people voted for him. American people.

And then there's the OTHER HALF who didn't... which actually represented more than half. Are they to shut the fuck up now?... as they watch everything that matters to them being dismantled?

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:If people don't like the voting system then why weren't these protesters doing something about it before the election?

Again... you seem to be saying that everyone should shut the fuck up. People are caught up (and overwhelmed) in their daily lives, and typically don't devote energy beyond that until they realize that their world is suddenly threatened. You can understand that, can't you?

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:Look at the bright side. With all those pea-brained religious nuts Trump's surrounding himself with, there are bound to be tons of sordid sex scandals.

Well, yes, that IS something to look forward to. I imagine there is going to be all kinds of ugliness and absurdity. My concern is that we're going to de-evolve dangerously and that there will be irreparable damage in the process.

I don't expect everyone to agree and see things the same way... but finding a reasonable balance, and having respect, are crucial for any hope of sanity. Yet, there are a huge number of people who are ready to destroy anyone who isn't like themselves since Trump (because of his own dark ignorance) has given them a greater voice and power. Are we to thank him for that? Are we to do nothing now because that mentality "won"?

Lacewing wrote: Well, yes, that IS something to look forward to. I imagine there is going to be all kinds of ugliness and absurdity. My concern is that we're going to de-evolve dangerously and that there will be irreparable damage in the process.

I don't expect everyone to agree and see things the same way... but finding a reasonable balance, and having respect, are crucial for any hope of sanity. Yet, there are a huge number of people who are ready to destroy anyone who isn't like themselves since Trump (because of his own dark ignorance) has given them a greater voice and power. Are we to thank him for that? Are we to do nothing now because that mentality "won"?

That's a dark vision.

Trump-Tweets are today’s fireside radio chats. Like Roosevelt.
The fireside chats made Roosevelt a personal friend to many.
That’s simple psychology.

Entertaining. One-to-one. Intimate. Right from the horse’s mouth.
Phrase it for today’s modern sensibilities.

No dark publicity about Roosevelt's limitations by that contemporary media.
No dark publicity about Kennedy's limitations, ethics, morality.

Trump knows this psychology.
Useful knowledge in his old line of work.
Face-to-face is where it gets done in business. Where the deal is made. So, he approximates that with his own sound bytes, unfiltered by a status-quo media that hates his guts.

As soon as he is sworn in, he will be the status-quo. Tune up the revolutionary tunes.

Maybe he was schooled in this knowledge when he was coming up.
If so, he was schooled in a principle, because tweets didn’t exist then.
He is simply applying the principle, like Franklin D.

Trump deniers note:
Tweets may do for Trump what radio did for Roosevelt.
Updated for the times.

Savage times, though. Also the best times and the worst of times, for what that’s worth.
Principles are only as useful as one’s knowledge of conditions, and action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbCPD8SOTqM

Trump is power pretending to be against it was written on a wall outside my house. That he will be used like a bull in a China shop.

Pluto wrote:Trump is power pretending to be against it was written on a wall outside my house. That he will be used like a bull in a China shop.

I suspect Trump will be more pragmatic and moderate than many fear.
It is bothersome the degree to which he lied, ignored facts, bullied and bragged in order to get elected. I suspect he knows that he misled the public and he knows the steel mills are not coming back and the coal mines are not reopening, that international trade on the whole is beneficial and protectionism is self dealing. With Trump it is all about winning, and he won, and so whatever he had to do to win is justified in his mind, integrity and truth being at best secondary considerations.
Already we see retreats on the wall, on rounding up and deporting immigrants, on total repeal of healthcare, etc. etc.
Now in order to win again, in the history books, he has to try to be a good "great" president. He is not stupid. He has plenty of smart people to call on. It won't be bad if the federal government is scaled back, the regulatory burden is decreased, taxes are decreased,power is devolved to the state level and large investments are made in infrastructure (as opposed to foreign wars).
Perhaps what is most troubling is that the media and the public never held him accountable for his distortion of truth and facts. I would not expect any great literary writings or speeches (no Lincoln or Kennedy here).

prothero wrote:Perhaps what is most troubling is that the media and the public never held him accountable for his distortion of truth and facts. I would not expect any great literary writings or speeches (no Lincoln or Kennedy here).

The press never held Obama accountable.

Folks wised up and started playing by the same rules.

Obama isn’t shutting up about Trump now.
That’s how he manages to stay in the news.
He is saying what Trump should and should not do as president.

By publicly coaching Trump, if Trump does not do what Obama says he should do, then there exists in the public record a justification of authority for folks who place their faith in Obama. It becomes a nucleus for the next election cycle, which has already begun with furious opinion spinning. Instead of fading into the sunset, Obama’s reaction to the election indicates that he will likely be spouting off about everything that Trump says and does. He will be a quotable source for a lazy, compliant, and in-agreement media.

Quite likely, Obama will never shut up about Trump.
He will be the Critic-In-Chief, vanguard of media Leftest opinion, wise old statesman.
Calm, temperate, deliberate, uhhhh reasoned, and most importantly, quotable.

As creator of bizarro-world, a nuclear-armed Iran, the always humorous $12,000 deductable for health insurance, the loss of clunkers, and the current invasion of Europe, his favorability ratings are curiously high.

Such is the power of media conditioning.
Clinton’s favorability ratings were also curiously high going into the election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHG0ezLiVGc

Walker wrote:

prothero wrote:Perhaps what is most troubling is that the media and the public never held him accountable for his distortion of truth and facts. I would not expect any great literary writings or speeches (no Lincoln or Kennedy here).

The press never held Obama accountable.

Folks wised up and started playing by the same rules.

Obama isn’t shutting up about Trump now.
That’s how he manages to stay in the news.
He is saying what Trump should and should not do as president.

By publicly coaching Trump, if Trump does not do what Obama says he should do, then there exists in the public record a justification of authority for folks who place their faith in Obama. It becomes a nucleus for the next election cycle, which has already begun with furious opinion spinning. Instead of fading into the sunset, Obama’s reaction to the election indicates that he will likely be spouting off about everything that Trump says and does. He will be a quotable source for a lazy, compliant, and in-agreement media.

Quite likely, Obama will never shut up about Trump.
He will be the Critic-In-Chief, vanguard of media Leftest opinion, wise old statesman.
Calm, temperate, deliberate, uhhhh reasoned, and most importantly, quotable.

As creator of bizarro-world, a nuclear-armed Iran, the always humorous $12,000 deductable for health insurance, the loss of clunkers, and the current invasion of Europe, his favorability ratings are curiously high.

Such is the power of media conditioning.
Clinton’s favorability ratings were also curiously high going into the election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHG0ezLiVGc

Obama had tough decisions to make. Trump will have tough decisions to make. The only difference is, Obama was and is a kind hearted individual who thinks about others. Trump has never made one decision in his life that benefited anyone other than himself. You have a very rude awakening coming, I fear.

artisticsolution wrote:Obama had tough decisions to make. Trump will have tough decisions to make. The only difference is, Obama was and is a kind hearted individual who thinks about others. Trump has never made one decision in his life that benefited anyone other than himself. You have a very rude awakening coming, I fear.

Even a cursory look at the facts doesn’t support the contrast.
Perhaps the basis for your opinion is style of delivery.
Confidence men are aware of this tendency.


“Trump’s kindness knows no bounds and his generosity has and continues to touch the lives of people from every sex, race and religion. When Trump sees someone in need, he wants to help.”
http://townhall.com/columnists/lizcroki ... e-n2190160

Trump acts of kindness
https://www.google.com/search?client=op ... f+kindness

Obama acts of kindness
(google turns up reference to some old speeches, not much else)
This would be the spot to insert horrific photos taken in the last 8 years.

Perhaps the Trump reality-TV show is the source of opinions. Recently saw a clip from his show. He told a guy: -You say you’re like me but you’re nothing like me. I work hard and you’re lazy.

After the election, Trump went right to work for the American people.

*

Hey, guess what!

Listening to National Public Radio recently and heard the first of what should be many stories about homeless people.

It was a feel-good story, which makes sense considering the current POTUS.

After January the stories will turn darker, and folks not living in the big urban areas will be rudely-awakened to that reality that suddenly has appeared. And it will be Trump's fault.

Walker wrote:

artisticsolution wrote:Obama had tough decisions to make. Trump will have tough decisions to make. The only difference is, Obama was and is a kind hearted individual who thinks about others. Trump has never made one decision in his life that benefited anyone other than himself. You have a very rude awakening coming, I fear.

Even a cursory look at the facts doesn’t support the contrast.
Perhaps the basis for your opinion is style of delivery.
Confidence men are aware of this tendency.


“Trump’s kindness knows no bounds and his generosity has and continues to touch the lives of people from every sex, race and religion. When Trump sees someone in need, he wants to help.”
http://townhall.com/columnists/lizcroki ... e-n2190160

Trump acts of kindness
https://www.google.com/search?client=op ... f+kindness

Obama acts of kindness
(google turns up reference to some old speeches, not much else)
This would be the spot to insert horrific photos taken in the last 8 years.

Perhaps the Trump reality-TV show is the source of opinions. Recently saw a clip from his show. He told a guy: -You say you’re like me but you’re nothing like me. I work hard and you’re lazy.

After the election, Trump went right to work for the American people.

*

Hey, guess what!

Listening to National Public Radio recently and heard the first of what should be many stories about homeless people.

It was a feel-good story, which makes sense considering the current POTUS.

After January the stories will turn darker, and folks not living in the big urban areas will be rudely-awakened to that reality that suddenly has appeared. And it will be Trump's fault.

Trump wasn't too 'kind' to Atlantic City though. And why do people think billionaires are so marvellous when they give some loose change away? FFS! He probably claimed it back on his tax return--oh, hang on, he doesn't pay taxes.
Obama's shallow and disingenuous character showed through when he promised to make a donation to the parents of an American aid worker who had been kidnapped by ISIS and then blown up by an AMERICAN bomb. Little effort had been made to rescue her (so much for the dramatic 'leave no man behind' rubbish) and the effort that was made was so incompetent and full of blunders that it made things worse for the girl. Several years later Obama had still not bothered to make the promised donation to the foundation. That was a rotten thing to do. I mean, why say it in the first place? Of course, there were cameras present when he made said promise.

vegetariantaxidermy wrote:Trump wasn't too 'kind' to Atlantic City though. And why do people think billionaires are so marvellous when they give some loose change away? FFS! He probably claimed it back on his tax return--oh, hang on, he doesn't pay taxes.

Trump's always been a boss, so he knows what employee is all about.
Now he's working for the people.

He has the sensibility to be well aware that his purpose is to serve.
He will take no paycheck from the people. That is not his purpose.

His purpose is to give his life-force to the people. Not to take vacations on the peoples' dime.

Homeless folks once had access to cheap flophouses. Working men and women once had access to boarding houses.

High roller urban development replaced many flophouses and boarding houses. Government assisted housing and charity shelters addressed the need, but you have to register and qualify, maybe listen to a sermon. Often turns into warehousing.

Trump didn't start the trend, but he didn't try to stop it.

From the socialist pov, Trump did his part via high roller development for the sole purpose of greed and which resulted in turning the unqualified into the cold streets; and he also played by the capitalistic government’s rules to minimally invest in the new, the impersonal, Secular Shepherd of the Poor (SSOTP), aka govt.

Obama’s purpose has always been to get some “serious Tubmans.”

Since there is a paltry salary cap on the POTUS, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous augmented the compensation package commensurate with Awesomeness.

A portrait in facilitated self-cherishing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYB-NuW_SRo

Skipping over the ostensible purpose of “service” is okay if you’re Progressive, and state your skip-over ironically then proceed to do the equivalent.
“If this material works well, I’m going to use it at Goldman Sachs next year. Earn me some serious Tubmans. That’s right. That’s right.”