Stop the Idiocracy: September 2023

Saturday, September 30, 2023

The Munich Agreement in our time

German Federal Archives

#OTD 1938: The vile and genocidal Munich Agreement was inked, as Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler did conspire and scheme to barter away Sudetenland's soil devoid of the Czechs' consent. This treachery paved the way for the Nazi invasion of Poland and World War II’s direful morass. In our time, voices too numerous clamor, both near and far, urging Ukraine to yield to Putin and Russia vast amounts of territory. Many doth point their fingers at Ukraine’s gate, laying blame at their door of fate, and whilst they extol Putin, the murderous dictator in his might. Assuming, in their feeble and faithless way, the American folk return Donald Trump to the White House in 2024, a perilous chance looms that America will align with Russia in their ongoing grievous design upon Ukraine. Let us, then, extend gratitude to President Biden and his steadfast stance in valiant defence of Zelensky and Ukraine; instead of ceaseless grumbles and cries about the financial cost, for history warns that appeasing dictators is a path always lost and far more costly. As the Great Man stated in his blunt refutation of Chamberlain, ‘you chose dishonour and you will have war,’ and that is the foolish path America hath found itself on now. I am simply astounded by these times we must endure, and what people's tragic folly and malevolence does obscure. It is likely this wretched state will worsen ere the dawn that will dispel this endless night and bring forth hope reborn.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

America grows numb to Donald Trump and his antics

Carolyn Kaster/AP

In my own view - at least were this a logical time and place - it is past due for President Biden to admonish and remind the American populace regarding the grievous mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic by Trump. Mayhap, reminding the populace incessantly of what a tumultuous period it was may prove the most effective means to restore some semblance of rationality. Regrettably, none wish to converse any longer regarding the COVID pandemic. However, Trump's inadequacy in handling the matter ought to constitute a central theme of the President’s campaign: Trump's incompetence in addressing the COVID crisis alone - pretending he did not collude with the Russians to influence Hillary Clinton's defeat, ignoring the detrimental impact of his trade policies on the economy, forgetting his with meeting Kim Jong Un and professing to have 'fallen in love,' and even disregarding the events of January 6 - should render him unsuitable to ever again hold office.

But do Americans still place importance on competence? Furthermore, do they retain concern for preserving the constitutional and traditional norms of our republic? Do Americans of today truly care for the truth at all? Do they hold their own rights in regard, or are they content as long as someone else faces retribution? At this moment, America finds itself in a collective state of darkness, and with time, our society will crumble entirely as individuals descend into a state of despotic insanity. Every society throughout history that has experienced such a progression - as exemplified by Germany between the World Wars - has met with defeat and annihilation, without exception. Excerpt from this fine and timely article -

‘I don’t know that Trump won’t determinedly try to shatter major constitutional precedents once back in office. But I suspect a lot of voters who haven’t thought this through, or who feel obliged to prioritize differently, are willing to take a calculated risk that he won’t in order to rationalize voting for him for kitchen-table reasons.

‘No wonder, then, that so many of us have grown uncomfortably numb about his illiberal nonsense. What else can we do? The right-wing electorate that craves his brand of politics will abide after Trump passes from the scene, and the swing voters who decide elections seem open to accepting a paradigm shift toward post-liberalism in exchange for a slightly better economy. There’s nothing to be done. What choice do we have but to get used to it?’

{Read ‘Uncomfortably Numb: Trump’s getting worse. Not enough people care,’ by Nick Catoggio via The Dispatch 9/26}

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Anti-vaxxer movement continues to rise, vexing the White house and anyone with common sense, decency, and sanity

Had we not a complete faction of backward, tin-foil hat-wearing rascals in our midst, mayhap we could begin to enact laws of true substance to coerce the obstinate to abide. (Or, for that matter, to commence a firm repression of these conspiracy theorists - offenders of the First Amendment - who do disseminate such refuse.) Purposeful and rebellious foolishness reigns supreme. Without any hyperbole, I verily believe the stubbornly and hatefully foolish do intend and fervently desire to eventually bring about the deaths of the rest of us. {Politico 9/20 - The anti-vaccine movement is on the rise. The White House is at a loss over what to do about it.}

Sunday, September 17, 2023

The response of America to two distinct media scandals involving modeling work with lesbian themes, and the implications it holds regarding our society

#OTD 1983: Vanessa Williams is crowned the first black Miss America. She would be stripped of the crown following the publication of lesbian-themed softcore photos from her modeling portfolio. In 2016, many of the same people who called for Vanessa Williams’ head took no issue with the wife of a swindler - a white Eastern European lady who likewise had done lesbian-themed modeling work - becoming First Lady of the United States. In all fairness, Vanessa Williams did recover from the scandal and forge a prosperous singing career. Nevertheless, this narrative does not present a particularly flattering portrayal of the values and inclinations of this nation.

Friday, September 15, 2023

Has anything changed? Thoughts on the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing

#OTD 1963: KKK terrorists perpetrate a bombing upon the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, which resulted in the death of four children and inflicted injuries upon others. Sadly but tellingly, particularly since a certain Donald J. Trump entered the political arena with his venomous rhetoric, it hath been irrefutably demonstrated that the kind of mindset that impelled these Klansmen to commit such a heinous deed still persists; and is far more widespread than most of us have been willing to acknowledge or confess.

We all do recall the terror of June 17, 2015, when a white supremacist did slay nine congregants at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. America has scarcely progressed any further in terms of enlightenment regarding matters of race, and is just as prone to violence and deliberate ignorance as it was in 1963. If anything, in the era of Trump, we appear to be regressing, which is a genuine affront to the memory of all those innocent souls who suffered torment and perished solely due to the color of their skin. {CNN 9/15 - 60 years after 4 little girls were killed in a KKK attack on the 16th Street Baptist Church, memories of the lives that were taken live on}

Thursday, September 7, 2023

What fresh hell is this? Latest CNN poll has President Biden and Donald Trump essentially tied in a likely 2024 match-up, with considerable majorities of Democrats declaring their desire for an alternative candidate

Julio Cortez/AP

CNN - Biden faces negative job ratings and concerns about his age as he gears up for 2024

What a collection of malcontented and deluded fools the inhabitants of these United States are becoming. Disloyal Democratic voters fret over President Biden - thoroughly misled by a treasonous media, and also by the president's grandstanding political adversaries - whilst the right-wing half of this land pleads for Fascism. In the meantime, President Biden's actual track record hath been one of accomplishments. The mere preservation of stability in this decaying realm is an achievement in itself. Left or right, the American populace craves and demands amusement in their politics, and that is the genuine reason why President Biden doth not enjoy greater popularity than he currently possesses. Is this who we truly desire to be? A congregation of monkeys within a zoo flinging excrement at one another, insisting that we be spared from boredom even for a fleeting moment?

Even after enduring the myriad trials of the past few years - a pandemic, a violent coup attempt, economic turmoil, riots, and so forth - it is evident that America finds itself in a state of sheer hostility and a heedless disregard for truth and morality. We have come to esteem our frivolous diversions and causing harm to others above all else; even above the very existence of our republic; even above the state of our very souls. As the writer of this piece in The Bulwark doth declare, our political landscape hath devolved into 'a twisted reality show that elevates outrage, insults, and cruelty in a spirit of sadistic fun,’ and we take pleasure in it as such. Should Joe Biden not be re-elected in the year 2024, and Donald Trump re-ascend to power, it shall signify the end. History shall chronicle the people of these United States in this era as being equally self-destructive and bereft of virtue as those who dwelt in Sodom and Gomorrah. I do not mince words when I declare that I am filled with shame to be an American in our present age. But not of our president.

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

What the bloody hell is happening here?

Believe it or not, in these suburban outskirts of Boston, a family of Trump supporters and rustic folk hath taken up residence. Moreover, they have chosen the high school's driveway situated behind my dwelling as the ideal locale for their two young lads to heedlessly navigate their motor bikes. On this very day, I found myself outdoors indulging in a cigarette, and these two youths descended the gentle incline behind my home, mere feet away from where I was standing, seemingly intent on demonstrating their skills before me. Without a second thought, I raised my voice to them: "Gentlemen, be careful! Be careful!” They gazed upon me with vacant countenances, as if never before having received admonishment in their young lives (which may very well be the case). Following this, I loudly urged them to depart, saying and with an almost demonic gleam in my eyes, "go, go!" And indeed, they did depart without a word. Never did I explicitly forbid them from riding their scooters - though such a notion was implied - but only sought to instill in them the importance of circumspection and an end to their ostentatious displays. I derive some satisfaction from the notion that perchance, I succeeded in instilling a modicum of fear in these young scamps, and their rustic father can disregard my sentiments. Yes, good people, even here in Massachusetts, we find ourselves in the company of the unsophisticated. To them, I say, may they be cast aside, for they are the scourge of society.

Visit Stop the Idiocracy, @Sunking278 on FACEBOOK and TWITTER; @arthurnewhook on POST and THREADS. And @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world.

Hath the United States of America deliberately forgotten COVID?

CDC

Is there a notable 'forgetting' taking place amongst the public concerning the pandemic? I find myself here in contemplation, casting my thoughts back to our state three years past: Most every enterprise shuttered, masks adorning the faces of all in public, and a large portion of the nation turned the act of complaining and whining into a cottage industry. The NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs contested in the month of August within empty arenas, the artificial hum of crowd noise accompanying baseball and football games played before sparse or nonexistent spectators. The utter lack of leadership from the incumbent president, a leader bereft of any discernible plan, viewing the pandemic merely as a diversion from his populist and slanderous escapades. Concurrently, the extensive protests for racial justice unfurled against the backdrop of the COVID scourge and the aftermath of George Floyd's untimely demise. It was an exceedingly distressing period, one that I ardently believe should not slip into oblivion. Indeed, the transient surge in emphasis on the act of hand washing remains a practice applicable at any time and in any circumstance, yet I hear scarce mention of it nowadays. In fact, due to widespread defiance regarding mitigation measures, we now find ourselves a less hygienic and more squalid nation. Nurses and physicians face disdain, basic cleanliness is met with scorn, and in the advent of the next pandemic or epidemic, it is probable that a sufficient portion of the general populace will disregard public health mandates. Irrespective of the trauma endured, a nation that willfully forgets and obstinately marches forward, pretending naught occurred, is destined to replicate its errors. Thus, it is doomed to failure.

[Visit Stop the Idiocracy, @Sunking278 on FACEBOOK and TWITTER; @arthurnewhook on POST and THREADS. And @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world.]