Trump catalyzed the January 6th ‘insurrection’ that was not, really, a bona fide insurrection. Even if the mob had taken over the Capitol Building and killed everyone there, a national, cross-country revolution would not have begun. The J6 event was more like a symbolic, ‘fake’ insurrection, a dramatic ‘scene’ for the media, a stage on which Trump pranced and posed. It was ridiculous and absurd but, still, verging on ‘something’. But, what kind of something? What was that farcical ‘sacrifice’ of exceptionally gullible foot soldiers all about if not just for satisfying Trump’s insatiable ego?
Bear in mind that Trump has no real political substance or philosophy. He is all poseur, all con, all-fake, all-showmanship all the time. This is a narcissistic man who lives for ‘likes’ and craves attention; any kind of attention. For Trump, there is no such thing as bad publicity and he has kind of specialized in creating the much-easier-to-achieve BAD publicity.
But could J6 really just have been about publicity? Was it all about just furthering the great Trump confidence game? Or a run for office again? Is Trump really all about ramming the ‘brand’ down so many throats that it creates a following that he can grift, cheat and steal from? Is that all it is?
I confess: I thought that it was just that – a giant, American style circus. PT Barnum with orange hair.
Some ‘serious’ people think that Trump and Trumpism is a legitimate threat to the government, democracy and even the rule of law. Trump, they claim, is a threat to the USA as a nation.
I was not convinced. But lately something is niggling at me…
January 6th was supposed to be (and was eventually) just a formal confirmation of the final vote (electoral college vote, I believe). Do you launch a revolution on a formality? A ceremony? Does a true revolutionary just throw a bloody but metaphorical pie in the public’s face?
Maybe you do if you have to fight your revolution symbolically? Let’s face it, Trump can’t raise an army, a navy, an air force. At best he had less than half the population….and no forces…..
And, well, here’s where the ‘niggle’ comes in….Trump will be indicted. Soon. Maybe first in Georgia, then New York. I do not know because I have grown ‘bored of it’ and Trump has lost even the attraction of a train wreck. But imagine that his war-model, his strategy, his modus operandi is actually BASED on dramatic stages being set….on dramatic scenes being set…on de facto ‘flash mobs’ symbolically fighting a revolutionary war? If you do NOT have the troops or the ships or the planes, can you ‘puppeteer’ a war? Are staging rallies across the country and inciting the crowd a practice at that, a dress rehearsal for a Broadway show?
Don’t forget: the only time Trump succeeded at anything legitimate was the TV show, “The Apprentice.” That was NOT real life. That was a TV SHOW! That was NOT real, it was, in effect ‘virtual’….a ‘fake’ business….it was pure showmanship….like his whole life!
So, he gets indicted. Atlanta, Georgia. Fani Willis (AG) indicts TRump. Of course It’s on TV. Trump of course announces (on TV) that he will go to Atlanta (being careful NOT to say that he will face trial). He will then invite his Maggots to attend the Atlanta ‘rally’ with him. He will invite them by saying, “Be there. Will be wild!”
And, once again, he has dog-whistled his minions. Once again, they will come armed and in camo. Once again, a mock revolution will be staged. Some people will die. The National Guard will be there in force and without hesitation. A bigger riot may ensue.
Another ‘battle’ has again been fought. The USA will be further polarized.
And a revolution takes a closer step towards reality…….
…….or am I just crazy?
Our Off the Grid Home 
I would put nothing past Trump.
He has no moral compass.
An alley cat in heat would have better judgement than Trump on his best day.
A self promoting huckster that bullsh!tted his way to the top job in America.
Proving that JT Barnum was 100% correct about fools.
He will say and do anything to step over the next guy or to stay out of jail.
I just don’t understand why anyone wants to be close to his “flame”.
They all eventually get burned…every last one of them.
His indictments will be a sideshow to the 2024 Presidential run.
Biden is embarrassingly old. Scary old. He shouldnt be running again.
Trump will rely on the same bullsh!t harassing venom and bravado .
I dont think as many Republicans are infatuated this time.
Trump lost a lot of support on Jan 6th and the nutbar contingent wont be enough to carry him.
For him to spew the same old vitriol will seem dated 4 years later.
A sad commentary for democracy that Trump and Biden may be the front runners again.
There’s is way way too much money involved in the political behemoths that vie for victory.
Billions to get elected….an obscene waste of money..
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Agreed. But waddya think of this ‘war by media’, this ‘proxy’ war, this symbolic revolution based on short, edited ‘scenes'(like the movies) …..could the guy be THAT mental (or could I) to think he could gain a kingdom by virtual, TV-based acts and scenes?
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yep.
The youtube attention span of my friends is frightening.
I read The Economist. I check Reuters News every day.
My friends will spew absolute drivel they have seen on Youtube as “gospel”.
I will try and explain the historical reasons for a current event….their eyes glaze over.
These youtube “experts” are in their 50’s and 60’s…..one can only imagine how the younger generations are being swayed by mindless, unverifiable drivel.
Dreadful “leadership” at all levels of our govt. that resort in populist click bait to get re-elected…..
Toss in Russian BOTs and Chinese AI propaganda ….and we have a very, very angry population.
Churches burned last year.
I hear a Courthouse burned in Golden, BC last night.
The “justice” system under attack?
Not good.
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I have had a ‘hunch’ that things are going off the rails for some time as you know but You Tube pundits and maniacal cult leaders was NOT the way I imagined it would start. Still, when the SHTF happens, it rarely comes as or when you expect. Welcome to the Dystopia Channel.
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I was watching the SVB Banking debacle unfold over the last 3 days.
I mentioned the possible “bank collapse’ and Biden’s Presidential announcement this morning at work coffee.
One of my 60 something workers said, “Its NOT SVB its FTX! The Banks can handle a $14 billion dollar wipeout.
I replied, “Its another bank called SVB and its $209 Billion AND Americans are starting to line up at other banks to withdraw their savings….”
I immediately googled SVB, Biden, etc and showed him….
“I never heard of any of that.”
As if it didnt exist or matter.
Idiocracy is here now and the scammers and grifters like Trump …are taking full advantage of the lazy and the stupid.
I’m not lazy or stupid….
🙂
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Absolutely not! Neither lazy nor stupid. Very intelligent, in my opinion. But….well….you are still THERE…..jus’ sayin’…..
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Watch out davidicus, you must be nearing “ embarrassing old” yourself one of these days.
I do get that lots of 60 year olds get sucked into the YouTube vortex, but noncon I really believe you should rethink about this pedestal that you think “ the economist”is. IE the be all and end all on coverage etc of world events.
I have been around the block and subscribed to that title for years, now I consider it superficial and vacuous .
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Yeah, I have noticed it has become somewhat politically correct since Sally Minton Bellows took over as editor.
I just like the European outlook on world events as opposed to having the North American viewpoint pounded into my skull nonstop.
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ahahahaha.
Touche!
Totally different subject.
6pm local news tonight.
8 skunks that died in the Lower main land last month….
Avian flu.
Govt scientists think the skunks ate dead birds that died from avian flu…..
This flu is rapidly crossing species…
Not good.
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As I sit here procrastinating about going into the engine room(still) I get my first news from Twitter, then Google News, Euronews, Reuters, AP, Guardian. In the afternoon its CBC, CTV,BBC, TVP world, and then balance it all with some Sputnik .
As I have stated before its basically all over for us as a species but keeps me curious as to how..
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Hello Scott
Hard to argue against your “our species” comment
On the news part, I wonder how you get your news from twitter as your first
digital tap.
Sadly in my small world I have no mentor or even any friend for twitter guidance
Is your notification feed relevant to your news sussing on twitter, or is certain people like journalists that you can count on to be somewhat apprised of current affairs? TIA
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Then I started Twitter i continually delete/ remove the feeds that get dumped in that have no news value, it slowly morfs into mostly news. I use it first as just about everything shows up on Twitter first. I then use the others to scrape the false narratives to finally reach the truth by the end of day.
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I believe we should use as many sources of “news” that we can get. I use a mix of Financial Times and some news agencies and anything “decent” I can get my hands on.
The rest is mainly trying to find some “logic” in the chaos, but also we have to be aware that the situation is so complex, that we simply do not have all the intel to make an educated guess. So I am very happy that each one of you shares his insights. It helps me to better understand what is happening.
Because of my geographical location, I tend to look at things with a European look, so I might be a bit different in my views then you guys (I don’t have that first hand US intel)
Trump or Biden is like choosing between plague and cholera
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I agree. I go to news feeds first, searching down secondary sources next, re-searching by following down new leads third…..I have a few ‘sources’ that I trust.
But, forgive me. I must have written poorly. My bad. The blog above posits a question: Am I nuts? Or is DJT endeavouring to create a revolution by virtual, symbolic, insidious, psychological means? I pointed out that everything he has ever done is vapid, symbolic, dramatic and based on imagery and lies. I am asking, “In this weird META world where nothing is real, everything is ‘on a phone’ or on ‘Twitter’, is this guy just a new kind of revolutionary?
All revolutionaries start with rhetoric, speeches and invoking emotions, images and symbols. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Che…even the mainstream up-from-the-party types try rousing speeches and imagery, Obama, Kennedy, Churchill, MLK. But all of those mentioned eventually bite or punch or kick or shoot or invade…..Trump seems be trying to invoke with just buzz-words, gibberish and poses, misdirection and lies, insults and arrogance…….is he a leader with just NOT the right stuff?
Put more succinctly: is Trump’s madness just a modern version of other historic insurrectionists or is it just madness?
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Sorry for the misdirection, to answer, he is way nuts, his antics while manipulative and copied by other fools is really only a temporary deviation, call it a civic holiday. It can be fun but not sustainable and sooner or later everyone will put their big boy pants back on. Figure another 3 years and then change should start to be noticed.
Just my opinion
Scott
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When you say David “ I go to news feed first” are these feeds like CBC, globe and mail ,,,
NYT.
Sorry, the trump /revolutionary thingy is far beyond my comprehension
I think what Scott is saying is that he twitter follows people of credible quality,ergo those people who come thru with the breaking stories, on his twitter feed
I follow some pretty serious reporters etc and I dunno I just don’t get meaningful stuff on my twitter feed. I have to drop in on those I follow one at a time, which I hardly have time for
Hope you don’t think I am hijacking your blog, but Scott did sound to be categorical with putting twitter at # 1
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My home screen is set up with Gooble News, the Guardian, the Economist,BBC, AP, Reuters. But it matters little because Google feed tracks from all those sources and more (NYT, Bloomberg, Al jezeerah, etc.). They in turn use articles from Salon, Vanity Fair, Politico, etc. And that’s not to mention Tribune, Post, Etc al newspapers. THEN I go to South China, Mexico Daily, sometimes India or Aus. I have maybe six or so talking heads as well. Melber, Beau, Hayes. And, by then I am off on tangents checking leads and stories.
Aldo…the hypothesis of conducting a virtual revolution is weird but maybe what is happening….jus ‘ sayin’..
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So are you saying you pay subscribe thru “the economist” and others paywalls
These feeds all cost something your list adds up.
Doesn’t seem like your style
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You mean frugal? I only pay for the NY Times. The Ecomist and occasionally a donation to the Tyee and the Guardian. Wife buys Vanity Fair. I paid for al Jezeera once.
Every other article is free. I hate the Globe and Mail because they have some great headlines but then there’s the damn paywall….I usually can do a workaround to get a story if I hit a pay wall…
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I love and have used Google News since it formed, my fret over this and similar services is the algorithms they use. Say 1,000,000 people read a feed, it automatically adds more like feeds so my exposure to dissimilar opinions is slowly blocked out. Just because I don’t like the opinions or direction of a feed does not make it unworthy of consideration. Twitter is so random that I
think it impedes the algorithms ability to “smooth out” my experience. Sputnik is also such a site, one must remember that its a Qatar funded misinformation feed that just bends the facts instead of outright lying to influence their narrative, leaving the truth exposed when compared to more traditional feeds. I know its a lot of words, but im retired so have the time.
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Consider yourself lucky to not get the US feed(its mostly drivel or splashy) euronews is much more rounded giving a more robust perspective, and I very much agree with your realization that we are mostly blind(a position that the powers that be much encourage)
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Sorry for not answering your question JD, but I think Trump is just mad and stupid. But he might (wiil) have people in his staff that DO know how to use the Metaverse to get hi message amplified. One of the challenges we face (apart from economics, climate change) is the quick rise of AI. So I am pretty sure that the people surrounding Trump will use this to its fullest t amplify his message(s).
Even the biggest lies exposed leave traces of doubt, and in my opinion, he is a champion in this field.
So even if we think he is just stupid, a lot of people might listen to him and like a flock of sheep they will blindly follow him
People like Hitler spread their message in big meetings and rallies, delivering their message to thousands of people.
Trump just says something to the right reporter,and the AI of the Googlesand Meta’s of this world will do the rest at warp speed
So yes, there is a new way of revolution coming
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Thank you……I think so, too. Now, I do. Trumpism, rather than just a spontaneous, commonality of seeing the world a certain way, it is, instead, an employed tactic, part of a strategy to ‘lead’ people his way. A man schooled in the artifice of television and the con game might seem to naturally employ such dog-whistles because that is the language of his thinking. It is more than that, it is the entirety of his thinking. It is what he has done all his life. Innocents just see it as Trumpism, a style, a manner of being, just his personality. But it is so ingrained in him that it just seems that way to us …..but, but, but the style can be employed in any endeavour he chooses…it WILL be employed in any endeavour he chooses. And this time he is choosing to be the leader of a ’empty’ revolution that has no real purpose other than his own aggrandizement. I do not think him smart enough to conceive a great plan like that but I now see him smart enough to ‘use what has worked all his life’ (the con) and then to apply it at the right time in history that it might actually work (the era of social media, media, TV). The con-man on the media is very powerful – the televangelists broke trail for that phenomena.
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True.
Trump is almost genetically predisposed at reading the mindset of the angry and the gullible and then knowing how to pour verbal populist gas on the internet fire.
Quite amazing really.
Gone are the thoughtful politicians of the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s that would spend 5 minutes explaining their position on a myriad of subjects .
Now?
10 second soundbites on Twitter to get the mob screaming for blood.
And the media don’t hold them accountable.
They whip the mob up even further.
Democracy eating itself.
And now we have AI that can successfully imitate anyone INCLUDING their face and voice…..
The next level of “fake news” that ramps up Trump to say even more outrageous things and then ….deny he said it.
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Yeah. Ten second sound bites….classic TV. Short attention-span cocaine for the brain. Little psycho McNuggets instead of thoughtful speechifying. No wonder Twitter was his go-to medium. This pig is a pig-of-his-times employing all the tradecraft of the media from soundbites to edited scenes and all done in a blur. Naturally his style or ‘part of a plan’ it is reaching his audience like an action thriller from Hollywood reaches theirs. Amazing.
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