Tag: Garrison Keillor

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

Undo That Work

“He’ll listen to the scientists,” Trump added in a mocking tone, before saying, “If I listened to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression. Instead we’re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.”

This is not a parody. It’s a paragraph from a news report on Donald Trump’s rally in Nevada on Sunday. He was mocking Joe Biden because Biden has said he will listen to scientists and medical experts about how to handle the pandemic that’s destroyed our economy and killed 220,000 Americans and counting.

But for Trump, “listening to the scientists” is for suckers, and he’s telling his faithful that Biden is a fool for doing so. “Lock him up” is the crowd’s ever-reliable response. “Listen to me” is now the president’s only policy position. Listen to me, instead of the scientists or the doctors or the generals or the environmentalists or the hurricane forecasters or anyone else daring to cross him.

This isn’t politics. It’s a one-ring circus. A traveling salvation show. Trump’s become the Garrison Keillor of the deplorables, bouncing around the country weaving tales and fables and jokes tailored to his faithful brood’s predispositions toward racism, xenophobia, angry patriotism, and sucker-bait religions. Scary Home Companion.

Garrison Keillor

And, in truth, Trump’s campaign is a perfect distillation of the great divide in American politics. Call it what you will — science versus faith; logic versus emotion; opinion versus fact — but the reason you can’t have a reasonable discussion about politics with your Trump-supporting friends on Facebook, the reason you’re now blocking and unfriending and unfollowing family members and friends, is because there are no agreed-upon “facts” to argue about any longer. There are two different realities, shaped by two different informational ecosystems. We speak different languages. We are warring tribes. If you argue with a Trumper, they’ll tell you your sources — New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, NPR, Wall Street Journal, or any mainstream media — are biased, as are your fact-checking sites, such as Snopes.com. I don’t argue anymore. It’s not worth the rise in blood pressure.

But there’s no denying that one-third of the country appears to believe Trump is some sort of “tell it like it is” man of the people who can do no wrong, while the rest of us think he’s a lying, amoral con man with the ethos of a mob boss. That’s a serious divide.

Members of my tribe read Trump’s statements like the one above and think, “What kind of idiot would believe such obviously disprovable lies? We are in a massive economic depression. Businesses are failing, millions of us are out of work. What numbers is he talking about? Taking off like a rocket ship? Seriously? And since when is not listening to scientists about science a good thing?”

But Trump’s tribe believes that if their leader says scientists are wrong, then they’re wrong. End of story. And they can find plenty of supporting ammo for whatever bilge comes out of Trump’s mouth from their own information sources. Fox News, NewsMax, Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and others are all only too happy to prop up their Lyin’ King. Finding someone to say masks are worthless? Easy as pie. Need a story about how well herd immunity works? No problem.

One might have hoped that Trump’s recent COVID infection might have sobered him up, might have given him some empathy for Americans who’ve lost loved ones to the disease. But no, just the opposite. Trump flaunts his recklessness at rallies, day after day, spouting his anecdotal riffs and bald-faced lies at the unmasked faces of his red-clad sycophants, packed together like lemmings near the cliff’s edge.

There is no strategy here. If Trump had an ounce of political sense, he’d be trying to attract new voters, maybe even moderating his brutish attacks on Democratic governors and members of his own party who dare to raise the slightest objection to his antics. But he’s doubling down, searing his own base down to the diamond core of true believers, preferring to bask in their cheers of adoration rather than reaching out for new voters. It’s a bizarre cult of personality, filled with rabid evangelicals, proud know-nothings, white supremacists, militia members, QAnon cultists, and other assorted fruits and nuts. And I’m sure some are fine people, but they’re not sending their best.

Mark Twain once said (he really did, I swear): “How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!”

It’s true. We need to undo that work now. Vote.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Scary Home Companion

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference between incompetence (or, to be generous, mistakes) and intentionally deceptive behavior.

Take the recent brouhahas regarding the Shelby County ballot, for example. It’s possible to believe that no one at the Election Commission bothered to test the “enlarge type” function on the voting machines, so they were as surprised as the rest of us when some voters discovered that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean’s name was bounced to the second page of the ballot. That would be a mistake, at best.

If the commission did test the “enlarge type” function, saw that Dean’s name got bumped, and thought, “Meh, no big deal,” despite the fact that state law mandates that the minority party’s candidate be listed second on the ballot, well, that would be incompetence, at best. At worst, it would reflect a conscious decision to tilt the scales to Republican candidate Bill Lee, whose name remained atop the ballot no matter the type size.

Rodney Dangerfield

Hard to tell. Though it’s pretty difficult to imagine any sentient election officials thinking such a glitch would go unnoticed and/or uncontested.

Similarly, if you were generous, you could make the case that the three referenda on the ballot for Memphis voters are just worded clumsily. Clumsy verbiage is a mistake. Intentionally confusing language is not, and after trying without success to wrap my brain around the syntax of these fool things, I think it’s pretty clear that the ordinances were intentionally written by the city council and its attorney to confuse voters. They are attempting to extend term limits from two terms to three terms, but they don’t have the courage to ask for it honestly. They are attempting to repeal Instant Runoff Voting before it’s even been implemented. Needless to say, all three proposed ordinances should be handily rejected. This is done by voting “Against,” despite the fact that the Election Commission’s sample ballot instructed voters that their options would be to vote “No” or “Yes.” Just another simple mistake, one can assume. Or not.

Of course, sometimes it’s really easy to tell when someone’s being deceptive, as in the case of President Trump, who makes blatant lying a central element of his persona. It’s not even news anymore. Here’s a recent example: The president said initially that the Saudi arms deal would provide 40,000 jobs. This week, in citing the number of jobs that would be lost if the Saudi deal got cancelled (because of the inconvenient assassination of a journalist), the president claimed it would be 500,000 jobs. The next day, it became 600,000 jobs. The following day, at a rally, Trump claimed a million jobs would be lost.

In 2017, the entire defense-contracting industry in the U.S. employed 375,000 people. The million-jobs claim is utter and complete horse puckey. But here’s the thing: Trump doesn’t care. And that’s because no one in his base or his party holds him accountable. For Trump, lying and exaggeration are features, not a bug.

As I watched clips from Trump’s traveling roadshows this week, I had a revelation: He’s the Garrison Keillor of the deplorables, weaving tales and fables and jokes tailored to their predispositions and fears. Scary Home Companion.

If he says there are Middle Eastern terrorists in the Honduran caravan, his people cheer. He doesn’t have to prove it; he just has to say it. If he says Brett Kavanaugh graduated at the top of his class at Yale, no one will fact-check him, at least no one he cares about. The Diane Feinstein imitations, the one-liners, the nicknames, the comic shrugs, and facial contortions — it’s all part of President Dangerfield’s schtick. It’s meta bloviation — beyond truth — and without parallel in our presidential history.

After seeing all the political vitriol pouring forth on social media, I’ve decided America’s great divide has come down to this: You either buy into Trump’s act, or you think he’s totally full of crap. That’s it. That’s the only issue. We’re a binary country now. Trump has finally succeeded in making everything about him; it’s a narcissist’s wet dream.

So, when considering the candidates for varous offices, ask yourself this question: “Who would Trump vote for?” That ought to clarify things, one way or the other.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Show and Tell: 59 Men and Counting

CREDIT: Denis Makarenko | Dreamstime

It’s a given that men are dogs and pigs, but, my God, the description of Harvey Weinstein’s conduct was shocking to me — then I talked to my wife. In my naivete, I never realized this ugly conduct happens all the time. Melody was and is an attractive woman, which means that since she was 16, practically every man she’s ever known has hit on her, including a cop and a former teacher. She’s seen it all — flashers, gropers, masturbaters, heavy breathers, and aggressive advances from acquaintances and co-workers both young and old.

And her female friends said these encounters are common with them, as well. Everyone had a tale to tell. Some of Melody’s stories were too harrowing to repeat. Fortunately, she escaped these incidences unharmed. The 30 women who accused Weinstein of sexual abuse over 20 years weren’t so lucky. Weinstein’s victims include a Who’s Who of Hollywood actresses — Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie — and Rose McGowan, who refused a $1 million hush-money offer and called out Hollywood talent agencies as being “guilty of human trafficking.” It only took one brave woman telling her story to The New York Times to open Pandora’s Box, so to speak.

Weinstein initially denied engaging in nonconsensual sex, but his unspeakable behavior was common knowledge at Miramax, the company he founded. Weinstein has reached seven settlements with other victims.

Weinstein’s predatory conduct was appalling because it was so disgusting. He invited women to his quarters and reappeared in a bathrobe, exposing himself. Ashley Judd was asked to watch him shower. Other unassuming targets were told that watching him masturbate would help their careers. Weinstein has been accused of giving alcohol to a minor, rape, and assault.

The bloated, bearded swine blamed his behavior on coming of age in the 1960s, when the rules were different. No they weren’t. Only in Hollywood could a dirtbag feel so entitled and powerful that women would surrender to his nascent charm. He had the power to make or break an actress’ career, and if rebuffed, he would go out of his way to punish them. After the Weinstein allegations, 59 more men in politics and entertainment have been accused of abhorrent sexual behavior, and the list is growing every day.

Denis Makarenko | Dreamstime

Harvey Weinstein

For 20 years, viewers spent their mornings with Matt Lauer. After learning that he had a button under his desk to lock women in his office and pull the old Harvey Weinstein bathrobe routine, I feel duped. It’s like if Dick Van Dyke were arrested in a child pornography sting. Same goes for Charlie Rose, fired by CBS, PBS, and Bloomberg for making lewd phone calls and incidences of groping. Thoughtful and soft-spoken political analyst Mark Halperin, co-author of Game Change, masturbated behind his desk while meeting with a female colleague. The hot comic Louis C.K., writer and director of the classic movie Pootie Tang, did bits about masturbation in his stand-up act. Now we know he wasn’t kidding. Accused of exposing himself and asking women to watch him masturbate, his upcoming comedy special and a new movie release have been cancelled.

The list goes on: Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor, Dustin Hoffman, Garrison Keillor (!) for God’s sake. Bill O’Reilly paid out $13 million to five women. Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson successfully sued Fox Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes for $20 million for “unwanted sexual advances.” Ailes took the easy way out and died earlier this year. Of course, there’s accused child predator and our probable new Senator from Alabama, Roy Moore, cruising teen hangouts to make new friends. He claims all of his accusers are lying.

We have obviously reached a tipping point in male-female relationships. The old dinosaurs are going down, and the push is finally on for women to be believed. But must we blindly believe all women? Case in point is Senator Al Franken and his accuser, radio personality Leeann Tweeden. On a 2006 USO tour in Afghanistan, when Franken was still a comedian, Tweeden said Franken forcibly kissed and groped her. She later wrote Franken, “grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later and be ashamed.” Franken immediately apologized and called for an ethics investigation on himself, which was smart, because it could force Tweeden to testify under oath. The photo mentioned was childish and sophomoric but contradicts Tweeden’s account. She is asleep in a cargo plane wearing a flack jacket while Franken’s hands are hovering over her chest while he smiles for the camera — obviously a joke — a stupid one, but a joke just the same. Tweeden was a regular on Sean Hannity’s nightly propaganda broadcast, and a Trump supporter. Sounds like a hit job to me, yet some are demanding his resignation. Which brings us to the most blatantly hypocritical pot-and-kettle dilemma. Over the past two decades, taxpayers have paid $17 million for hush money and to settle Congressional sexual harassment charges for 264 Congressional staffers and other legislative employees. One other question remains: When is Donald Trump going to sue those 20 women who accused him of predatory sexual behavior, like he promised?

Randy Haspel writes the “Recycled Hippies” blog.