It could be worse... we could be Great Britain!

Thank you, Banksy, for this marvelous artistic summation of the day. As the United Kingdom prepares to self-destruct, let's look in for a deft analysis of how the Brit government is preparing for Brexit:

https://twitter.com/juliamacfarlane/status/1111432009983811585

Oh dear! Did he really say, "Fuck knows. I'm past caring. It's like the living dead in here"?? Why yes, that is what the cabinet minister was quoted as saying. And that's why the BBC is the BBC!

It really is hard to believe that Theresa May is still Prime Minister. But then, who else would take her place that would be any better? Folks have been waiting for her to resign since the day she became PM. There was this fantastic moment from a couple of years ago:

Pranks hardly get better than this. May is up at the podium, delivering a painful "mea culpa" to her party for having led a simply disastrous election campaign. Suddenly someone appears next to her, handing important looking papers to her. She stops and accepts them. They are government standard resignation papers. Then the scamp turns and loudly proclaims that he was sent on the mission by Boris Johnson, May's cabinet ally/worst enemy.  Oh, that is so good. But it gets better. Ya gotta watch the video...

Somehow, May has persevered, probably because no one else wants the job. Yesterday, with Brexit about to happen, she challenged Parliament to vote ONE MORE TIME for the same deal it had voted down in thunderous fashion twice before. Except this time, May said she'd "fall on her sword" and resign if they voted for the deal. Wags quickly pointed out that if she tried to fall on her sword, she'd miss it. Some say she'd resign when everyone's at the pub and no one would even know it.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/herculean-selfless-inglorious-what-the-british-papers-say-on-mays-vow-to-step-down-913833.html

They didn't, again, once more. What happens now with Brexit is anyone's guess. What is indisputable is that nothing good will come of it. Estimates for the economic impact of a "no-deal Brexit" indicate a near 10% decline in the economy is to be expected:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/26/economy-could-shrink-by-9-percent-under-no-deal-brexit-government-says

Yes, a 10% dip is called a "severe recession" or economic depression. So tough luck, Brits. You brought it on yourselves. Or did you? There's a strong sense of deja vu all over again.

Speaking of Russians, Attorney General Barr's Summary of the Mueller Investigation made big waves last weekend. It shocked many people because it asserted that everything was coming to an immediate STOP. Including the many threads of investigation and people already charged and others who are pending and, well you get the picture. The Trump World went ecstatic, triumphantly proclaiming "Total Exoneration!" Except, well, it isn't. In fact, things are just getting warmed up. Today, Barr delivered a summary of his summary and it seemed like a walk-back, as well as an expansion of what will be allowed to be reported. This is going to be a long and drawn out stonewalling process. Maybe all summer! Maybe longer!

The truly odd Barr summaries have given rise to a fun hashtag movement: #billbarrletters. People submit severely truncated summaries of popular works. These are funny, you will laugh:

#billbarrletters

And there is this: Were Bill Barr and Steve Bannon separated at birth? You decide:

Also creating fun is Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah). The other day he decided to tackle the topic of Climate Change on the Senate floor. Using a variety of pop culture images to mock the Green New Deal proposal, he impressed colleagues by concluding that Climate Change can be solved by "falling in love, getting married and having lots of babies." It should be said that Mike Lee is considered one of the brightest lights in the GOP.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senator-mike-lee-speech-green-new-deal-reaction_n_5c9b2048e4b07c88662d5d07

This follows the same line of enlightened thought expressed by the new head of the Presidential Committee on Climate Security, William Happer. He asserts that Earth is experiencing a carbon dioxide famine:

Because plants use carbon dioxide to live, Happer has said "more CO2 is actually a benefit to the Earth," asserted that Earth is experiencing a "CO2 famine," and concluded that "If plants could vote, they would vote for coal."

Good thing plants can't vote, though I know of a few voters who are real potato-heads. You know who else can't? The Creature From The Black Lagoon. But it can still show up at a Congressional confirmation hearing for Trump Secretary of Interior nominee David Bernhardt. He's replacing disgraced ex-Secretary Ryan Zinke, one of several Trump cabinet members who have spiraled out of control and is facing possible prosecution. 

Actually, the Creature would make a much better Secretary of the Interior than Bernhardt, whose background is that of a lobbyist for Oil and Gas companies.

Finally, we can't pass up another Russian reference. When Trump and Company brayed "No Collusion! Total Exoneration!" over and over, it caused some real puzzlement over in Moscow. "Who the hell was I working with then?" asks Russian President:

https://politics.theonion.com/shocked-vladimir-putin-slowly-realizing-he-didn-t-consp-1833575011

"What the hell? I worked so hard on this... if I wasn't colluding with the Trump campaign, who the hell was I colluding with?" Once again, The Onion wins.

Which leaves us with our final image, that of the new gigantic awful terrible human caravan poised to lay waste to our nation, as Fox News warns us. Here it is:

Let's Lighten Things Up!

Yes, yes, yes. Here at the Daily Kibitz, we felt the need to lighten up a little. So let's take a break from the glum and accentuate the positive! To help us get happy, we'll look at what's happening with Devin Nunes, some otterly amazing news, nifty archeological finds, Jared Kushner getting locked out of a building, and more fun! Let's go!

Devin Nunes, of course, is a ridiculous congress critter from California. He owns a dairy farm there. And a winery backed with Russian financing. He was the House Intelligence Committee Chair (irony alert). He is an awful person.  He is also the long-time object of widespread ridicule, and has been compared unfavorably to Inspector Clouseau. This week, Nunes entered a $250 million dollar  defamation lawsuit against Twitter and the parody accounts of Devin Nunes' Cow and Devin Nunes' Mom. For your pleasure:

https://twitter.com/DevinCow

https://twitter.com/mom_nunes?lang=en

#BeButter

The Devin Nunes' Cow twitter account had 1200 followers when the lawsuit broke. Four days later, it has exceeded 600,000 followers, much more than Nunes' own account. It's the Streisand effect! His frivolous lawsuit turned a welcoming spotlight on these fun accounts. And the lawsuit will no doubt be dismissed at first contact with a court. (Another Irony Alert: in 2018, Nunes co-sponsored a bill called "Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act.")

But in the meantime, we can laugh! People are sending cowbells to his office! Dozens of new Twitter accounts are sprouting up with names like:

Devin Nunes' Bull. Devin Nunes' Cow's Lawyer. Devin Nunes' Bull. Devin Nunes' Shoe. Devin Nunes' Baby Tears. Devin Nunes' 3rd Cousin. Devin Nunes' Diaper Rash. Devin Nunes' Cow's Mom. Devin Nunes' Safe Space. Devin Nunes Wears Velcro Shoes. Devin Nunes' Sister's Parakeets. Devin Nunes' Inner Child. Devin Nunes' Alt-Mom. Devin Nunes' Fungal Infection. Devin Nunes Is A Whiny Baby. Devin Nunes' Booger Under His Desk. Devin Nunes' Pimp Slapper. Devin Nunes' Mom's Hairdresser. Devin Nunes' Dirty Cow. I'm Devin Nunes' Cow Too. How Now Nunes' Cow. Devins' Retired Cow. Devin "I'm Having A Cow" Nunes.  Devin Nunes' Cock. Devin Nunes' Taint. Devin Nunes' Sister By Another Mother. Devin Nunes' Streisand Effect. Devin Nunes' Ulterior Motive. And many, many more.

Devin's thin skin is showing, and everyone is having a good time with it. Oh, in other Twitter news, don't forget our friend, Turnip, who is running for president in 2020. Although a vegetable, Turnip is already looking at Beto O'Rourke as a running mate for a Turnip/Beeto ticket:

https://twitter.com/Turnip2020

In a completely different direction, we have the latest from In Otter News:

https://twitter.com/Otter_News

"We're otter paper" is also a favorite, as is "Dad has a hangover" both posted from March 18. Really, this whole twitter account is wonderful.

Remember "Goodnight, Moon"? Someone re-wrote the text and it's pretty funny:

Goodnight, Trump

"And a KellyAnne Conway who was whispering 'Hush'." Well, that would keep the kid up all night! In other amusing Trump-related creations, a few commenters over at Wonkette came upon an idea to establish a Trump Greeting Cards line: "When you care enough to send the very worst." Some samples:

"Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby girl... Here's my number, she'll want it later."

"Dear Son, on this, your birthday... What the fuck are you doing reading? You useless piece of shit."

"In your time of mourning... I'd just like to say... Fuck you, I win."

World Happiness Day happened this week: On the recently released list of Happiest Nations In The Whole World, Finland came in at #1 and the US fell to #19 - our worst showing ever (see our Daily Kibitz story from December for our take on Scandanavia vs. USA!). Jeez, we as a nation need to look at the bright side of life. As the Partridge Family once sang, "C'mon get happy!"

One way we can rise above our gloom is to obsess over this udderly fantastic crazy dance video thread. It's taken from an early 1960's TV show. Someone came up with the idea of lining up favorite modern songs and having the dancers "perform" to them. It's wildly addictive:

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1105988105683849216

Oh, man!! That should bring our national Happiness ranking up at least a couple of notches. My favorite is Rob Zombie, with many others vying for the top spot. Be sure to follow through all of Parker Molloy's choices and then go all the way deep with the comments/other song contributions that follow. They absolutely rule!!

Speaking of wildly addictive, check out the chuckle-worthy and kinda terrifying #floridamanchallenge. It compiles the most recent news stories that feature Florida men behaving badly:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/floridamanchallenge?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ehashtag

Yes, these people are Americans. Part of the affliction that has infected our under-mirthed nation is Lack Of Education. Our friends at The Onion feature an article that connects Book Learnin' with Back Talk. Let's all keep this in mind:

https://www.theonion.com/scientists-discover-dangerous-link-between-book-learnin-1833405845

Oh, Onion... In fact, they have an exclusive report about some Lost Socrates Dialogues being discovered in an archeological dig. Its contents may surprise you:

https://www.theonion.com/historians-uncover-lost-socrates-dialogues-where-he-jus-1833416965

I suppose Socrates could have succeeded today as a cable news host.

Laugh or else: Real-life news indicating that private emails continue to be used for government business by senior Trump officials! Ex-Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarlane was using her AOL account to conduct highly sensitive interactions with Saudi Arabia regarding the building of nuclear facilities there. Steve Bannon used a personal private email server. Ivanka Trump uses a private, personal server. And the boy wonder, Jared Kushner, he who is responsible for managing most administrative initiatives, conducts his business on What's App!! This is really Top Secret Highest Level Security Practices that will remind no Trump supporter of Hillary Clinton.

Yes, Kushner and the rest of the Trump Administration are much worse than the severely dysfunctional characters from the TV series, "VEEP". Here's boy-wonder Jared as he walks to the office door of the U.S. Trade Representative. It's right down the street from the White House. Someone locked the door, much to the glee of reporters there. Someone had the genius to portray the moment as a VEEP closing credits scene:

Kushner locked out of U.S. Trade Representative Office

Also, to make you feel especially good: Rock's Godmother, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, belting out "Didn't It Rain, Children" outside a wet Manchester, England railway station in 1964. She performed on the same bill as Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Rev. Gary Davis,  and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. Wow.

Did any of this help?

What's Under The Hood?

It's been said that Trump is a car hood ornament. A big, flashy, garish hood ornament that now represents the GOP. He is its symbol. And when he speaks, the engine below him roars. He directs and the vehicle moves. So... what's under the hood? How is this engine constructed? Why has there been no change in the design of this vehicle since the 2016 version?

A simple answer is the engine is powered by "the 35%." These are the implacable and immovable supporters of the President. His base. No matter what he does or says, his support doesn't dip below this approval percentage level. And while this doesn't translate into good governance, it is an impressive phenomenon. And it is enough for him to be re-nominated and keep GOP politicians in line, no matter what happens.

So despite the car always pulling towards the shoulder, the shocks and suspension failing, and the wheels going all wobbly, there are no plans for a design overhaul. We know this because of the annual GOP Auto Show, also known as the CPAC.

The CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) is very much like a Car Show. It's where GOP politicians, operatives and activists gather every year to kick the tires of this year's model. It used to be the centerpiece showcase for mainstream Conservative thought. But over time, it has steered to the far right, pulling the GOP along with it. And over the last decade it has become a real freak show.

This is where Trump, Pence, the Cabinet, and other high-profile politicians appear for keynote speeches. Right wing media celebrities rile up the crowd. It's also where a world-class prank happened in 2017 (handheld Russian flags with "Trump" printed on them were distributed to the audience before his speech). This year there were no pranks. But weird stuff still happened. For example, when suggested by Pence that Trump's election had been divinely appointed, audience members stood and cheered, and some fell to their knees in praise of the Almighty.

For a deeply humorous look at the absurd shenanigans at this year's CPAC, here are a couple of quick pieces by Molly Jong-Fast. These were written for the conservative magazine, The Bulwark. They are both 2-minute reads. She is not conservative and she is great:

https://thebulwark.com/cpac-this-is-definitely-the-bad-place/

and

https://thebulwark.com/cpac-blexit-is-real/

Jeez, she is fun. By the way, her take on Oliver North is SPOT-ON. Now, if her observations make you wonder what the mainstream media thought of it all, here's the Washington Post's chief political reporter, Robert Costa:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/were-not-going-to-turn-on-our-own-republicans-rally-around-trump-as-threats-mount/2019/03/02/6b9786ac-3bb2-11e9-aaae-69364b2ed137_story.html?utm_term=.89fb646ee625

Yep, attendees like the 2016 - 2019 GOP model just fine. They especially appreciate the slight modification made that enhances the "Democrats are Radical Socialists who Kill Babies and Capitalism and Hate the USA and Jesus and Want MS-13 and AOC to Usurp Dear Leader" featured line of stable reasoning.

Let's get a little closer to the engine and have a look-see. The 35%, the Always Trumpers, are primarily GOP voters. As Henry Olson points out in his recent Washington Post article, over 80% of the GOP approve of Trump. This bumps to 93% of those who voted for him in 2016.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/26/gop-is-party-trump-not-reasons-anti-trump-conservatives-think/?utm_term=.6c146378c33a

Olson makes some good points. The Four Pillars of the pre-Trump Republican party had been fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, business conservatives and moderates. Trump added a fifth column - the nationalist conservatives. It made the difference in the 2016 election.

But in 2018 midterms, he lost the moderate pillar. They are gone, prolly for good. And many fiscal conservatives sat it out, for the foolish Tax Cut and spending resolutions. This sounds kinda fatal, but they weren't much of a faction in today's GOP. But it was enough to lose the House in the largest turnover of Republican seats since Watergate.

So... why the determined allegiance to Crazy? Agreeing with debatable but legitimate policy goals are one thing (more conservative judges, an end to abortion, deregulation of environmental rules, etc.) but what about the toxic shit that imbues this administration? What about the constant lies? What about the bigotry and misogyny? What about the slide towards authoritarianism? Why accept his incurious mind and ditto-ism of Fox News opinion? What about this Kakistocracy? What about the ongoing grift? What about the gawdawful seditious relationship with Russia? Why the abandonment of bedrock Republican principles like Small Government, Personal Responsibility and Fiscal Conservatism? Why are so many willing to exalt this slimy guy as The Chosen One of God?

To believe Olson, Republicans are happy enough with new judges, millionaire tax cuts and deregulation of environmental rules to overlook the Big Mess. But at times, it seems like much of our country and fellow citizens have been seized by some kind of wild psychospiritual disease, "a parasite of the mind". It's like a contagion of the mind-soul, leading to a type of low-level and long-lasting mass hysteria. Like the fall of the Roman Empire, when its citizens too long drank from lead-laced water sources and gradually went off the rails.

Well, as Ronald Reagan once said, there are no easy answers but there are simple answers.

One major source of polluted political well waters is Fox News/Hate Radio. It's no accident that the rise of  the far right can be traced to 1987. That's when the Fairness Doctrine was repealed, negating the news and opinion broadcast requirement to present "both sides". Radio host Rush Limbaugh saw this opportunity to give 100% voice to his jaundiced and stilted opinions. AM radio stations across the nation picked up his show. It was cheap for them and filled time. And rural stations strapped for money and content loved it. So did their listeners. AM radio remains the preferred (sometimes only) mode in rural America.

Likewise, Fox News rose under these conditions. When Cable/Satellite providers were making their plays in the late 1990s, the role of providing access to rural areas was problematic. It was not especially profitable for news channels like CNN and MSNBC to get onto these rural packages. Sometimes they chose not to participate at all. The emerging Fox News broke through by offering rural cable/satellite providers a nice "per subscriber" payout that the others had not. Suddenly, Fox News was being carried everywhere!! They won the Market Share war and haven't looked back.

For more on how Fox News has affected political mindsets, check out this fine piece by Dylan Matthews at Vox:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/8/16263710/fox-news-presidential-vote-study

For a wider and more chilling look at how Fox News became the Propaganda Wing of the GOP, dive deeply into Jane Mayer's new article from the New Yorker that's been causing much excitement:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house

TL;DR The result is a political party whose supporters resemble a Comments section from a Breitbart article about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"Crossing The Swamp" George Washington would plotz!

It all leads to a wacky and warped lens on reality. Watch as a Trump rally attendee matter-of-factly suggests that the October pipe bombs that were sent to various Democrats were sent by these same Democrats:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1055988302749163520

OK, that is a special kind of indoctrinated dumb. Now let's get onto the next Simple Answer: Education!

One party is becoming more educated, while the other is actively working to disengage from higher education. One seeks to have College For All. The other is deeply suspicious of book-learnin'. This chart says it all:

This is an embarrassment. It should be read as a rout for Republicans. But it won't. To help explain why, here is a very fine piece from The Atlantic that delves into the big differences between parties regarding their appreciation of higher education:

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/education-gap-explains-american-politics/575113/

Yep. The highly-educated Republicans are leaving the party. They are the moderate "Never Trumpers". They may not become Democrats, but they aren't going back to the fold. Higher Education is becoming perceived by Republicans as Elitist and Liberal and Anti-American. It is accused of preventing conservative thought from being expressed. Meanwhile, public university budgets continue to be chopped while private for-profit and religious schools are being promoted.

This confluence of Education and Propaganda factors reminds me of "The Wave", a fictionalized account of a true story. Recently, the writer Larissa Alexandrovna tweeted about the ease of getting people to follow a person or movement that turns out to be Fascist in nature. Here is her thread:

https://twitter.com/larisa_a/status/1095350968961679361

And here is a trailer for the documentary of that real-life experiment, "Lesson Plan":

Yes, it is a chilling thing to consider. Another similar work from the 1930's, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis, seemed like a fantasy restricted to the Huey Long era of U.S. history. It couldn't happen now, right? Right?

Strip away the bigoted resentment of many GOPers for the economic gains made by immigrants and POC, and you're left with something John Lennon would recognize. Millions of citizens struggle to just to get by on pennies and promises while they watch "the Elite" carry on without them. It ticked him off mightily, too. Here's the most powerful song ever written, "Working Man's Hero" as performed, lovingly, by Green Day. That last line, man... every damn time I hear it I get all verklempt when he's brought in. Yes, I'm a big softie. And I believe JL would have approved of this version with enthusiasm. A classic.