Monday, September 26, 2016

Let's all try to survive the first presidential debate together!


By Patrick

While some of you will try to survive the debate, I will be sound asleep in good old Europe. But I am very confident that everything will go well.

Especially for the debate, I resurrected some words from the even older good old Europe:

If only all liars would get 
Such a padlock in front of their mouth!
Instead of hatred, slander, black temper, 
Love and Brotherhood would endure. 

Quote from: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "The Magic Flute"

 Thankfully, Bloomberg will fact-check the debate live, which is great! (h/t Linda1961)

WATCH BLOOMBERG HERE (STARTS 8.30 ET).

Also, Andrew Sullivan said on facebook that he will be live-blogging the debate, but the exact link has not been provided yet. It will happen on nymag.com.

Have fun, everybody, if that's possible! ;-)






Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Lessons from history - A clown can become the world's worst nightmare, if voters are not careful


By Patrick

Well, this won't be a happy, uplifting post. Because things are starting to become pretty depressing. Hillary Clinton's massive lead begins to shrink dramatically, and we can only pray that things will start to change again after the debates. My fear is that American Democracy is not as strong as people would like it to be.

If he was victorious, Donald Trump would impose a brutal authoritarian rule, with terrible consequences for the USA and the rest of the world. This is not even a secret. Virtually everybody knows that Donald Trump wants to rule as a dictator. The US system would make it far too easy. No "Reichstagsbrand" will be needed. The magic word: "Executive orders".

Newt Gingrich came up with great ideas already several months ago - and there is no doubt that Trump will embrace them:


Despite the threat of an authoritarian rule, many US voters have absolutely no hesitation to vote for Donald Trump. You all know some "Trump-fans." They might be your friends and family members. Not all of them are totally stupid. They are, however, thoroughly manipulated and misguided. Their votes might plunge the world into chaos, with unforeseen consequences. We can just hope that this nightmare vision won't become reality.

Many people see Donald Trump as a clown, However, we should not forget that this hasn't happen before.

See for example this article in the Atlantic from March 2012:


Quote:


This quote in particular just sounds far too familiar:

After the Great Depression hit, suddenly the Nazi Party became a major contender for power. Yet you had Americans meeting Hitler and saying, "This guy is a clown. He's like a caricature of himself." And a lot of them went through this whole litany about how even if Hitler got into a position of power, other German politicians would somehow be able to control him. A lot of German politicians believed this themselves.

Yes, they would be able to control "him." There is no doubt that the GOP has the same thoughts about Donald Trump. However, ruthless maniacs cannot be controlled. The German conservatives who brought Hitler to power did not know what hit them.

Also, while I love a good caricature very much, the sad reality is that caricatures won't necessarily save the world,

Here is how some US and UK caricaturists viewed Adolf Hitler in 1933 (taken from this  German article):

The Nation, New York/USA, early 1933 

The Evening Standard, London/England, June 26, 1933 

The New York Times, New York/USA, April 2, 1933

Finally, this article from March 2016 gives a lot food for thought:




Excerpt from the interview that is included in this article:

So, how much does Donald Trump truly resemble Adolf Hitler?
There are slight similarities between the two. But there is a difference. Germany was in much worse shape economically in the ’20s and ’30s. It was still recovering from WWI, having to pay reparations to the Allies. Hitler was able to tap into the Germans’ frustration by zeroing in on an enemy, the Jews. He claimed the Jews were taking over the country, stealing high-paying jobs. He was able to galvanize the uneducated by saying that Jews had stabbed Germany in the back.

Can you give me more examples?
Sure. Now that America’s minority population is becoming a majority, Trump is able to tap into that same fear among its disenfranchised. Asking his supporters to raise their hand during his rallies while proclaiming their allegiance to him is eerily reminiscent of Hitler’s Nazi salute, which was meant to inspire loyalty and sympathy towards the regime.

There is only way how potential dictators can be defeated: If the population forcefully speaks out against them. Let's hope that US voters will make the right choice.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Mika vs. Don the Con


By Patrick

Just a short post today:

It is truly fascinating to see that a huge "feud" developed between Mika Brzezinski and Donald Trump. Well, Joe is somehow involved in it as well, but it is mainly about Mika and Donald. He hates to be criticized by women, as he obviously regards them as deeply inferior human beings.

This is an insane and dangerous person, and Mika is calling him out. He does not like it one bit. Yes, Mika and Joe promoted Trump in the beginning, but now things are getting really interesting.

Where is this going to end? It seems to get more serious every day - see also Trumpolini's tweet above. It is only the beginning of September, after all...

The "free press" - this is not Donald Trump's world.

In any case, Donald Trump's world looks more like this, LOL (click to enlarge):


Alternatively, like this:


OK, last one:



Take a look at the following clips from "Morning Joe" - they are well worth watching.

CLIP 1:



CLIP 2:



CLIP 3: