This opening is about the fabled chickens of yore and the story is not clear to me! Did the acorn fall on Chicken Little and he told Henny Penny that the sky was falling? Or was it the other way around? Some have it that Chicken Little and Henny Penny and even an alter-ego called Chicken Licken are all the same bird. It really is hard to figure out who misinterpreted gravity and acorns as the apocalypse and who just panicked when told of such a threat. It’s much the same way amongst the Republicans, don’t you think?
Stupid liars or lying stupids? Hard to tell.
Clearly Trump and Cruz are the main stupid chickens currently clucking down south. One and the same almost. One is bigger and even stupider but, at this point in reason, logic and just plain truth-telling, it is just a race to the bottom for them both. I will wager that Trump will own that place some day. He likes owning things.
I mention this because slowly but surely, incrementally and inch by inch, the threat of Muslim fanatics killing us all by beheading seems to be gaining traction with people in the US of A. And I attribute that to the stupid liars or the lying stupids. Aided and abetted by the infotainment media.
The point of raising that whole absurdity is that it seemingly proves that lying works. Bald-faced, totally fabricated, completely false lies and un-truths are proliferating in all arenas these days and making headway in the hearts and minds of some of the people. And the audacity of the liars is unprecedented. How did this happen?
Tabloid journalism! Fox News! Not really, they just took it one step further. Lying was an entrenched working hypothesis before them. Plausible deniability comes to mind. Black Flag operations is another.
But how did such blatant AND commonplace lying in public by politicians and clowns alike gain such purchase? Is it because they are good liars? Is it because the audience was finally discovering so many lies everywhere that outrageous ones somehow gained credibility with us?
Actual quote: “Well, you see, it seems that everyone is lying all the time but at least the Donald is speaking his mind, eh? I mean, I like that. Speaking out. Telling it like it is. Ya gotta admire the guy for not being politically correct, eh?”
“I agree that he is not politically correct. But shouldn’t he at least be correct? I mean, the dickhead is just plain wrong, politically and in all ways. We can’t admire open stupidity just because he isn’t embarrassed by it!”
I am ranting, of course. Who really cares about the latest celebrity-idiot. We had Paris Hilton, Rob Ford, the Kardashians, Caitlin Jenner and now Trump. In a world where celebrity is the goal at any cost, the list will be endless. And it is.
The problem is that lying and distorting reality is NOT just entertainment. Especially NOT in politics. We can afford a Paris and a Caitlyn but we cannot afford a Trump. GWB almost put the world in the toilet. Idiots in power can do a lot of damage.
Which brings me finally to Christy Clark and Bill Bennet of our provincial government. They don’t tell the truth. They are outrageous. Bill Bennet’s statements on doing the required due diligence on site C, Peace River dam proposal were blatantly not true. He knew it. He bluffed and blustered and the media presented what they also knew was not true. It was a lie made more damaging by the acceptance of it by the media. They enabled him. Mind you, he had a good practice run at that style of propagandizing with the Mount Polley mine disaster. They did not challenge him on that, either. This guy is getting the hang of it.
And Clark flits from photo op to photo op without any commitment to what she is saying. That is an effective form of lying, too. Last election was all about her commitment to family. This latest photo op is all about her commitment to affordable housing. Before all that it was jobs. And, don’t forget, we were gonna be petro-rich with LNG. The list of empty promises she spews would be humiliating for most people but it is not for pathological liars. They don’t care. And neither does she.
Lying has always been a mainstay amongst BC politicians. Now it is mainstream. There is something so wrong with that, it feels like the sky is falling.
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JDC you are seeing the world of Christy clearly. Do you think this is the “transparency” she promised? If so she has kept her word. Only the blind and Tom Fletcher can’t see right thru her web of lies, delusions and dishonesty. Don’t dis the Donald too much. He is making American politics interesting…..even more so if he makes the inimitable Sarah Pallin his running mate. Trump could push the average voter to the point of actually having to think and consider what the world could be like if the GOP wins with this guy. Perhaps he has a super clever plan to save America by being so entirely obnoxious that Americans stop and say, “I get it . The Donald is showing how ugly and stupid Republicans are.”
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Transparency was triple deleted. So was ‘integrity’ by all the Liberal MLAs. Very sad to see.
Having said that, Trump and Sarah Palin together would be perfect absurd theater. Jon Stewart would un-retire.
Nice to see ya.
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I’m reminded of the lyrics of a song that goes…”nobody does it better.” As any politician will tell you that they are the best and only they are fit to govern. Clearly hubris is part of all politicians characters as is narcissism. Politicians present themselves as experts on the economy and where necessary an economist is trotted out to say exactly what the politicians want. Case in point is a government who during their mandate ran up 155 billion in deficits, all the while claiming balanced budgets. Moreover this same government claimed to hate deficits. The cupboard is bare in Alberta but the voters of Alberta were content with no provincal sales taxes in Alberta year after year Politicians want it both ways and speak out of both side of their mouths but the voters do not want to pay for the services that governments provide. Voters want the same level of service but want to pay as lttle as possible in taxes. According to the catacism of the politicians TAXES ARE BAD. Voters are convinced that they ought to have the benefits of a civilized country tax free! Ironic ain’t it.
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I agree about 97.5%. The 2.5% that disagrees is that government is dated, wasteful, rigid, unthinking and almost always incompetent. Taxpayers resent that. Sadly, they are more sensitive to their wallets than they are to doing the right thing. It is why loudly-braying but lying tax-cutters get in even when they have a long, long RAP sheet.
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I think that the 2.5 % are entitle to their opinions on the competance of the government but they need to stop using their views as a justification for a free ride. I’m reminded of the guy in the USA who would not pay his city taxes. When his house caught on fire the fire department refused to put it out. As we have seen since the days of Thatcher defunding government services has not produced the desired out comes.
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I don’t mind paying taxes for doing the legitimate work of the people. I don’t like paying for the Federal Action Plan that did nothing but put up signs. I resent all government propaganda and I am outraged at even a hint of corruption. I particularly resist BIG projects, I admit, simply because they are almost always corrupt. And I accept that I will not always agree philosophically but if the intention is good, I’ll give it a chance. That stance makes me a willing but, so far, unhappy taxpayer. And I don’t see that changing but I’d like it to.
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I agree with you. I would like to see our brightest and best running for political office. In this world of meritocracy business pays better and the scrutiny is much less.
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Here’s something weird. Most people (if they are honest) think they would do a good job. They may need a bit of learning time but they like themselves for the job. I am no different. I think I would be great. GREAT! But I finally stopped that dream because I am now 68. But Hilary Clinton is 68. Trump is 69 and Bernie Sanders is 74! Should he win, he’ll quite possibly die in office. Regan did. Three years before he left, they embalmed him. Mechanized the wave and the smile. My point…I am a relatively healthy 68 and I do not feel as if I could GIVE a full day every day in the role of people’s rep. I would let them down simply because I would get too tired. In Trumps case, he would simply get too stupid….already is. Regardless, at a certain point in the aging process, I don’t think you can honestly fulfill the duties of the office.
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Honesty is of of your disqualifiers dead certain. I’m sure Raygun did a face plant every afternoon on his desk. What is missing in politics is leadership. As you well know leadership is not about being inflexible. A leader must respond to emerging situations rather than giving responses that are ideological because sometimes creative thinking is required. You have the leadership gene but politics has a cremasteric reflex whenever a sacred cow is questioned.
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Oooooohhhhh….’cremasteric’….thanks for that.
I think leadership is about telling the truth AND then acting on it. Whether others follow or not is irrelevant. Do the right thing and they may or may not support you but, either way, you have to do the right thing. I care…like anyone…about figuring out what the right thing is but I don’t care if others follow. I would care if they obstruct (’cause maybe I was wrong) but, if you do the right thing, the worst that can happen is you stand alone. So what? It’s not like I have groupies now.
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‘Cremasteric reflex’ always nice to learn something new,
Yo davidicus, fwiw I heard ‘the nature of things’ is featuring mike pond Thursday nite, he apparently has relapsed, reference his debut book ‘the couch of willingness’
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Yeah. Too bad. Doc falls off the wagon again. Especially after trumpeting success. But that is the nature of the beast. I am not 100% convinced it is a disease but I am convinced that it is at least a genetic inclination. So, almost a disease anyway. Mind you, with few exceptions, I found most doctores weak or weird in some kind of way. As an old psych teacher told me, “I kept taking courses to fix myself but the end result was that I was given a doctorate to help others. I am still sick but I at least have a job.”
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I can’t believe Trump is a year older than you! When is he going to start acting his age? Next thing you’ll be telling me his wife is a year older than Sal!
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I am not so sure the Donald is married and, if he is, it is definitely one encumbered by an ironclad pre-nup. And one that allows for young ‘uns to drop in now and then to make a few bucks, I am sure. In fact, I would bet my house, he paid Palin. Seriously. Until recently she was an outspoken Cruz fan. Then, all of a sudden, she loves Trump. What did that cost?
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