The Boy Can’t Help It

I’m living in a pop trash movie

We star together in every scene

We’ll all be famous for those fifteen minutes

Part of a celluloid dream

We star in every scene

And it’s never quite what it seems

~~ “Pop Trash Movie” by Duran Duran

My, my, what an interesting week it’s been in politics!

Not only did Hillary set a masterful trap at the debate Monday night (I loved this quote from ABC’s Rich Klein: “She set traps that snapped so hard that they continue to reverberate, right through her opponent’s Tweets.”) Trump continued to take the bait the entire week. Instead of just shutting his pie hole and letting the story of Alicia Machado die down, he went on a late-night Twitter rant that made him look absolutely unhinged. And on a Friday, so that the story would carry over into the weekend!

He finally caught a bit of a break, although a dubious one. Alec Baldwin’s take on Trump on the season premiere of SNL had everyone talking, and then the New York Times put out a story about his tax returns that show that he could very well have not paid any federal taxes for a couple of decades. He still isn’t releasing his returns, so it seems pretty obvious that there is really, really bad stuff in them. But what I found even more interesting about that story was that apparently he claimed losses of over $900 million. This guy is supposed to be some kind of financial genius? That doesn’t seem very genius-like to me!

What I found astounding about his behavior is that he played right into Hillary’s hands—again. He has the impulse control of a toddler. He cannot keep himself from lashing out against anyone who he feels has wronged him. It’s one thing when it’s against a former beauty queen or another political candidate, but imagine how he would react to affronts or snubs from leaders of other nations. It’s a chilling thought. All the more fodder for Hillary, though. One of her main narratives is that he is unfit for the presidency. He proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt this week. I don’t doubt that she’ll bait him again in the next debate. He’ll take it, too.

On a brighter note, on Thursday we headed downtown for the annual Democratic Gala, the dinner formerly known as Jefferson-Jackson (TDFKAJJ). It’s maybe our third time attending and while it’s a fundraiser for the Democratic party, it’s also a great time to get fired up about the local, state, and national races. Our Mayor Pete Buttigieg was there, of course, and we also heard from Susan Bayh, an impressive Christina Hale (running for Lieutenant Governor alongside John Gregg), an equally impressive Lynn Coleman, who is running against our Congresscritter, Jackie Walorski, and a few others.

The keynote speaker was Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland, who also ran in the Democratic primary this election cycle. I was so impressed. We spoke to him before the speeches started and he was kind and approachable and just generally pretty laid back and cool. We talked a little Indiana politics, but we didn’t take up too much of his time as others were waiting to meet him and speak with him. His speech was fantastic and he really got people fired up! At one point, he started laying into Trump, took his suit jacket off, flung it on the stage, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. It was an impressive piece of political display! After the speech, we went up to shake his hand again and tell him what a fun speech it was, and he remembered my name. I was astounded. “That was a great speech, Governor!” “Thank you, Beth!” The guy has mad political skills, no doubt about it.

If he decides to run again in the future, I may very well be on board. Ken asked him if he was hoping for a cabinet post in a Hillary White House and he kind of shrugged it off in an affable way, saying he’s just working to get her elected. He was great and he has a new fan! (If he’d been the Democratic nominee, I would have happily voted for him.)

Another fun part of the evening was the silent auction. We bid on a few things and ended up winning only one, but what a one it was! There was a painting up for auction and I recognized the style immediately. The artist, Erin Warner, is the same one who painted one of my favorites we have, “Wicked.” (I admired it in South Bend Brew Werks and was sad when it was gone. Turns out that Ken bought it for me for Christmas!) This one is called “Anywhere But Inbetween” and I love it! It makes me think of jaws and bones and teeth...very Walking Dead-ish to me. We hung Skelly by it and I think he approves, too.

We were watching the silent auction very closely and kept an eye on people who seemed interested in it. I guess it’s not everyone’s style, although I love it, because we got it for such a low price that we added $15 to our bid even after we won the painting. Support your local businesses, musicians, and artists!

So I guess it was a bad week for Trump and a pretty good one for me. All in all, I’m okay with that balance.

It is to laugh

We got problems right here in Central City,

We have problems on the North, South, East and West,

New York City, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,

Detroit, Chicago,

Everybody has problems,

And personally, I don't care

~~ “Elected” by Alice Cooper

Ohhhh, lawd. Lawdy lawd.

You know, I’m to the point where my only recourse when dealing with the Vulgar Talking Yam is to laugh.

I mean, really. He is just absurd. I am laughing at you, Yam!

His latest weird waffling about the immigration thing is playing right into Hillary’s hands. It’s impossible to know what his policies are. Hell, I don’t think HE knows what his policies are. It seems to me that a couple of months away from the election, you should have figured that out by now. “Unpredictable” is not a desirable trait when choosing the most powerful leader in the world.

I think the majority of people are starting to figure that out now. I’m still taking nothing for granted, but we’re onto you, Yam. The American people have your number, as does Hillary. The upcoming debates are going to be delightful! Hillary’s got your stamina right here, pal. HA!

But it’s time to leave this all behind as we hit the road for our annual vegecation in New Smyrna Beach! I’m looking forward to some beach time and relaxation and some time away from politics.

Oh, I’m totally kidding! I’ll still be reading my usual political feeds but more importantly, the TV market (Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne) where we’ll be is the #1 political ad buy in the country for both campaigns at the moment. NUMBER ONE. We’ve been down there in election season before but this time it’s going to be insane. We don’t plan on having the TV on a lot—we like to just sit outside and read if we’re not out and about or on the beach—but I’m sure we’ll get plenty of exposure to politics gone wild.

We also have a special visit planned on the drive back when we stop in the Atlanta area. More to follow, but if you know me, you might be able to guess what we’ll be doing!

TFS

Hey, T.V. child, look into my eyes.

Here by intervention, I want your attention.

Promotion boy in a suit and tie; he wants you to use it.

You're too shot to loose it.

It's pumpin' down the cable like never so before.

A cola manufacturer is sponsoring the war.

Here comes the news with love from me to you.   

~~ “Too Much Information” by Duran Duran

Illustration by Edel Rodriguez for TIME

The other day I posted about how it must be exhausting for journalists to cover Trump. I dubbed it Trump Fatigue Syndrome and have decided that I seem to be suffering a mild case myself. I would list the symptoms as an almost visceral disgust that is exacerbated with each outrageous remark (no immunity is built up, apparently); vertigo from trying to follow his numerous stances on issues and his attempts to explain why he didn’t mean what actually came out of his mouth; a sense of shock that anyone in this country thinks he is capable of performing the duties required of the President of the United States; and a general malaise that often makes the victim think, “How can I continue to listen to this? How much more of this can I take?”

I reached that point this week. What did it for me? It was his patently absurd comments about President Obama, as well as Hillary Clinton, being the “founder” and “MVP,” respectively, of ISIS. Anyone with a half a brain and an Internet connection can find out in a matter of moments that it was a ridiculous claim. Now, if he had made the argument that President Obama’s policies and actions in the world, as well as Hillary’s as Secretary of State, had contributed to a strengthening of ISIS, that might be a reasonable argument. (I think it’s a wrong one, but at least it’s a coherent argument.) In fact, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt gave him the chance to say exactly that (leading questions much, Hugh?) in an interview. Nope. Nope nope nope. Trump said he meant exactly what he said, that Obama and Hillary were the founders of ISIS. Which is, again, absurd.

After saying multiple times that he meant exactly what he said, the next morning he tweeted out that he was being sarcastic and the media or anyone criticizing him for his remarks is too dumb to understand sarcasm.

No, we understand sarcasm, Yamboy. That is not what you were doing. A charitable term would be hyperbole, and hyperbolic claims happen often in politics. I think a better term would be a LIE. A big, fat, fact-checkable lie.

This was all ridiculous enough, but later that day at a rally, he riffed on this again, essentially saying, “Come on, it was sarcasm! Or WAS it?!” Yep, he walked it back again and said that maybe he wasn’t being sarcastic at all.

This was the point where I said, “Oh, for Pete’s sake. I’m turning it back to the Olympics.” For all his supporters’ talk about how they like him because he “tells it like it is,” he sure goes back and forth a lot, doesn’t he? So what was the deal? Was he making a joke, being sarcastic, or wasn’t he? What’s it gonna be, boy? Yes...or...no?

I grow exceedingly weary of his naughty schoolboy antics. He is an absurd candidate and doesn’t have the temperament or knowledge to lead our country. It’s not enough to surround yourself with “good people...the best people.” You have to have at least a basic understanding of our government and of how to behave diplomatically and realize that words have meanings as well as consequences. You know...WOOOORDS. Those things you put together to make sentences, Donald. Of course, some are better at it than others.

I’ll keep posting stories about him and about the election on Facebook and Twitter. It’s kind of my thing this time of year.  I am also not going to take anything for granted and will do what I can to make sure that Hillary Clinton wins the election. But you know what I’ve decided? Trump is BORING. His shtick is as stale as that of a 70-year-old washed up comedian playing the Catskills. His attitude is that of a bratty four-year-old who doesn’t get his way. “Waaaaah, Hillary’s gonna cheat. Waaaaah, the Khans were mean to me.” Grow the fuck up, Donald. We’ve got shit to do in this country and your ridiculous antics and non-existent and/or unworkable plans aren’t contributing to solutions.

We’ll be subjected to this for the next three months and when you lose—because you’re going to be a big LOSER—I’m sure you’ll whine and cry about how things were rigged against you, but we’ll all know that you lost to a GIRL. Then you can go take your nice long vacation and we’ll go about getting said shit done.

My Tuppence Worth

I’m sure you all know that Trump has chosen my Governor, Mike Pence, as his running mate. A few friends from other states have asked me for my opinion and experience with having Pence as the Governor of Indiana. This was my comment to one of them, and I thought I’d share it here with a little light editing.

~~

I don't hate the guy personally because he does seem to be a somewhat decent man who is no fan of negative campaigning. His campaigns have generally focused on the "issues" (I put that in quotes for a reason, as you'll see) rather than on mud-slinging and attacking his opponent on a personal level.

For that reason, it amazes me that he would align himself with Trump. Not only do they not agree on many things (Pence is pro-trade, called Trump's ban on Muslims unconstitutional, for a couple of examples), I would imagine that Pence finds Trump distasteful, vulgar, and immoral on many levels. The only thing that occurs to me is that he is positioning himself for his own White House bid, something everyone figured he would attempt eventually. He is also in a very tight race for re-election, and there has been some speculation that he was lobbying for the VP slot because he was afraid he wasn't going to be re-elected. I think there is probably some merit in that.

Having said all that, I can tell you that I find his policies abhorrent. I can't begin to tell you the way he's screwed my state over. His tax cuts have hurt our public schools terribly. The Democrats in the Statehouse have been pushing for an infrastructure bill because our roads and bridges are crumbling. Over 10% of our bridges have been deemed structurally deficient. The Repubs in the Statehouse refuse to consider it and Trump refuses to lead on the issue.

Instead, he focuses on social issues. As you know, even when in Congress, he constantly tried to defund Planned Parenthood. His policies have seriously harmed the organization in Indiana. I read just yesterday that several clinics are closing, including the one I used in Muncie while at Ball State. That's right, a clinic in a college town is closing! I couldn't believe it.

There was the recent bill he signed about fetuses having to be buried or incinerated that was halted as unconstitutional by a federal judge. That bill led to the Periods for Pence site, in which women asked him questions about their periods and checked in when their flow was particularly heavy, and so forth. It's been quite amusing to watch.

Then there was the "state-run news website" that he attempted to pay for with state funds. He seemed completely clueless as to why that was a bad thing or why it goes against freedom of the press.

And of course, there was the famous Religious Freedom Restoration Act that he signed into law, making us a laughing stock of the world and costing our state MILLIONS in tourist dollars and new business. Again, he seemed utterly shocked by the pushback from both citizens and businesses, despite intensive lobbying by huge corporations like Eli Lilly who repeatedly said that it would be very bad for business. When he finally got the message and had our Congress add a non-discrimination clause in there, the Christian conservatives who had pushed him on it felt betrayed. So they were mad at him, too. In short, it was a complete clusterfuck, and he seemed completely gobsmacked by the whole thing.

Along with many of my friends, I called the Governor's office (after assuring that my Democrat legislators were going to vote against the RFRA bill...didn't matter, because our Statehouse is in Repub hands) to voice my opposition to the bill. I was unable to get through to the Governor's office. The phone rang and rang and rang, with no option to leave a voice message. I truly believe that they were just not answering the phone.

In his time in office, I can think of one good thing that he has done: he expanded Medicaid under the ACA in Indiana. He had to tweak it his own way, but it was approved by the Federal government and it has helped a lot of Hoosiers. So I'll give him that.

But otherwise, his policies and attitudes and willingness to push his religious beliefs on my entire state, even at the expense of the civil and reproductive rights of certain groups of Hoosiers, makes my skin crawl. I was looking forward to booting him out of office this fall. My wish came a little early! But we need to make sure that he doesn't get anywhere near the White House.

One additional thing (although this is long enough). I don't know if you happened to see the 60 Minutes interview with Trump and Pence last night. It was laughable. Pence was completely deferential to Trump, to the point of where he let him answer questions for him even when he was asked one directly, and often seemed to look to Trump as if asking permission to speak. Trump said, "It's okay, you can answer that." It was UNREAL.

So I will sum him up by saying that he's a right-wing, ultra-conservative toady who wants to push policies that further his Christian right agenda, even when they trample the Constitution that he claims to love so much.

Into the Belly of the Beast

In an unusual turn of events, Indiana’s primary mattered this year. Ours happens so late in the season that the candidates on either side usually have the nomination in the bag by now. This was a lot of fun for me because it meant that candidates actually made a stop in our state and in our city. I went to a Ted Cruz rally and left feeling really uncomfortable and vaguely horrified. I skipped the Sanders rally on Sunday because I just didn’t feel like going anywhere that day or dealing with people. I actually had tickets to attend the Trump rally the following day, but after Ken and I saw how many people were expected, we decided to avoid it. If Hillary had had an open event, I would have made sure to be there, though!

I’m glad I skipped the Trump rally because I can only handle so much idiocy right up in my face. I was able to live stream his speech and it helped to be somewhat removed from it. I told Ken that it was a good thing we didn’t go because there were several times when I laughed out loud at some of Trump’s statements, and I’m guessing that his supporters wouldn’t take kindly to someone laughing at their candidate. Even though he deserves every bit of derisive laughter he gets.

Anyway, Indiana had the dubious honor of going strongly for Trump and knocking Cruz and Kasich out of the fight for the nomination. As much as I loathe the oleaginous Cruz and the deceptively mild-mannered Kasich (bullshit policies delivered in a kind, reasonable voice are still bullshit policies), it is horrifying that the Vulgar Talking Yam (thank you, Charlie Pierce!) is the presumptive nominee of the Republican party.

I have voted Republican in the past. I think Richard Lugar was a fine Senator and I was happy to cast my vote for him more than once. Trump is about as far removed from someone like Richard Lugar as I am from an astronaut.

It looks more than likely that the Republican party is going to nominate a bigoted bully who seems to think that “political correctness” is an egregious concept that prevents him from saying whatever the hell he wants to without any consequences. And what he wants to say is misogynistic, racist, Islamophobic, and generally vile. I’m not sure when PC became a bad thing...I’m a big fan of treating others with respect and understanding that just because someone doesn’t share my views or beliefs or race or preference for peach pie over cherry doesn’t mean that they should be vilified.

Everything that comes out of his mouth is laughably absurd, including his economic plans for paying less on our debt, which virtually every economist is saying would be disastrous to the world economy. He changes his tune on issues in a matter of hours, not days. One of Trump's chosen delegates in California is a white supremacist.

It is beyond my comprehension that a significant portion of our populace is supporting this Cheesy Dorito (thanks, Holly!). He is not just ignorant and ill-informed on policy, he’s a fucking asshole. I am to the point where I honestly question the intelligence and competency of anyone who is supporting this nincompoop. I have friends and family who do, and while I continue to love them, I find that I simply cannot understand why they don’t see this demagogue for what he is: a power-hungry narcissist who won’t hesitate to burn the whole thing down.

Paper Gods

And when the final curtain finally comes down

We'll all be in the party room, no wiser as to how

The total human race became a basket case

It's nothing to lose face about, it's really not our place to doubt it

~~ Duran Duran, “Paper Gods”

Maybe not the total human race, but apparently a sizable portion of the American electorate has become basket cases.

It seems that the Republican party is on track to nominate Donald Trump (AKA the Vulgar Talking Yam, according to Charlie Pierce) for president. I find myself vacillating between laughter and despair.

I find it dismaying that anyone can fall for this scam artist’s lines and believe that he would be, in any way, good for our country. Even more dismaying is that I don’t doubt that I have family members who are supporting him. I honestly question their judgment, their intelligence, and even their basic sense of humanity.

I’m trying to maintain a sense of humor about it and I can laugh when I see Trump answer questions about where he is getting his advice concerning foreign policy by saying, “I’m speaking with myself. I have a very good brain.” But it’s getting harder and harder to find the humor in any American embracing this unqualified, narcissistic, misogynistic, demagogic, bullying TOOL.

It’s easy to think that the Democratic nominee (who looks increasingly likely to be Hillary Clinton) will have an easy time in defeating him. I take nothing for granted and none of my fellow Democrats should, either. It is vital that we ensure that this schoolyard bully gets nowhere near the White House. Not only are his proposals absurd, he would destroy any good will around the world that President Obama has generated.

I don’t know about you, but being a laughingstock does not not sit well with me. The thought of our entire country becoming a laughingstock for electing this buffoon is abhorrent.

The primaries aren’t over yet, but we are edging closer. Let’s make sure that we aren’t edging closer to the abyss.

Reading List:

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

Christian Nation: A Novel by Frederic C. Rich

Still standing

Just when I was starting to get back into a bit of a writing groove, wouldn’t you just know that life happened? Odd how that works, isn’t it? There’s a little more to it than that, though.

Like almost everyone, I got fairly busy around the holidays. Not unpleasantly so, but there was just enough going on that I didn’t feel like writing. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas! Ken got me some cool and unique things, and I’ll write about that in the near future.

It’s also crunch time for my reading goals. I had two. First was the Facebook reading group I belong to, in which our individual goal is to read 50 books during the year. I was starting to sweat whether or not I’d get there, but I buckled down and reached that last week. Yay me! My second goal is my personal one through my Shelfari and Goodreads pages, and that is 52 books for the year. I’m currently reading #52, so I’m going to be able to meet that goal as well. Double yay! I had a brief period where I just didn’t feel like reading, which is unusual for me. But my goals made me resolve to keep at it and not just take the time to read, but to make it. I will work harder on that in the coming year. I have a lot of books to read (that’s the understatement of the decade), including getting back into the Modern Library Top 100 list. (I’m working my way up to #1, and I’m currently due to start #57.)

We’ll be heading down to Kansas City for our New Year’s celebration, so I’ve been thinking about that and getting our plans set. We’ll be hanging out with what I’ve come to call the Kansas City gang, including Bob and Michele, Joe and Maria (actually from Chicago), and Pat and Whitney. We’ll get to see Bob and Jeff play Wednesday night, and then the Rainmakers are playing New Year’s Eve! They are an amazing live band and I’m excited not just to see them play again, but to enjoy our time with them as friends. We have fun!

Finally, although there is much to discuss in the world of politics, I find myself retreating from it to an unprecedented—for me—degree. I’m hoping that if everyone stops giving Trump oxygen, his candidacy will asphyxiate. I can’t quite express how dismaying I find his candidacy and how upsetting it is to me that he has supporters who think he’s capable of leading our country. Especially knowing that I’m sure there are people I know that are supporting him. They walk amongst us.

I’m still paying attention, of course, and watching all the debates and reading plenty of articles, but I’m finding that I’m having a hard time discussing it with anyone who thinks that Trump would make a dandy President. It’s so irrational and illogical that my brain just can’t wrap itself around it and I sometimes feel that a portion of our populace has gone stark raving mad. It is unsettling, to say the least, and I have a hard time writing about it. I’m doing my level best to be fair and to raise the discourse to a reasonable level, but when it comes right down to it, I just want to take these people by the shoulders, shake them, and shout, “Are you fucking nuts?! Stop it! Just stop it!”

I’m learning that for my own health and well-being, it’s best not to discuss it with them. My blood pressure runs a little high, and I’ll be really pissed off if Donald Trump gives me a thrombo. What a horrible way to go.

Anyway, things will settle down soon enough and I’ll work on getting back here a little more often. Lots of fun music stuff happening (Duran Duran 4-evah!), and when I do write about politics, I’ll try to keep it either substantive or funny, and leave the anger to the unwashed masses who hate that the world is changing around them and that they have to be “politically correct” (but thank goodness Trump is there to “tell it like it is!”) and who think that their billionaire spokesmodel will somehow help them feel like less of a loser by reasserting their white privilege and God-given place at the top of the heap. Everything will be okay once we build that big beautiful wall and get all the browns out, right?

[deep breath]

But that’s for another day. Have a Happy New Year, and let’s work together to make 2016 a good one...for all of us!

Stop saying you hate the term PC!

Having said that, I hate the term PC.

But not for the reason that you hear most people saying they hate it. 

You’ve got Ben Carson saying that political correctness is keeping us from performing our God-given duty to torture people.

Jeb! is all pissed off at the PC police for calling him out on his use of the term “anchor babies,” first talking about Mexicans and then clarifying that no-no-no, he meant Asians. Much better! 

There are yahoos who think that people telling them that they shouldn’t fly a Confederate flag is just those goddamn PC elites taking away their right to free speech and disrespecting their “southern heritage.” 

Most recently, we’ve got Curt Schilling equating all Muslims with ISIS and/or Nazis, and when he was rightfully suspended by ESPN, Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods (Charlie Pierce’s term, not mine...I wish I could take credit for it!) took to her Bookface page and chastised ESPN for being politically correct, bad journalists, blah di fucking blah. 

They are using the anti-PC rhetoric to justify their own hateful words.

But the current Anti-PC Grand Poobah is Donald Trump, who says what he wants, consequences be damned! He frequently says that we are too politically correct in this country, and he’s going to keep right on saying what he wants. His supporters seem to be diggin’ it big time, like this woman at a recent Trump rally in South Carolina:

"I love his tone! It doesn't bother me at all. It makes me very happy," Christie Wilbanks of Simpsonville gushed. "I like to see somebody that speaks their mind, that isn't politically correct. I'm sick of political correctness. He should be able to say what he wants to say. The left has just really got us in a fix because of words, and it's ridiculous." (via NPR)

Sure. We’re “in a fix” because of the left’s penchant for objecting to generalizations about gender, race, religion, and orientation. Thanks for clearing that up, Christie.

Without a doubt, there have been times that it is taken too far, but those are exceptions. What I see in this anti-PC backlash is people getting pissed off about being called out on their bigotry and racism. No one is infringing upon your right to free speech, but you have to understand that there are consequences. If I hear you casually drop the N-word or make sexist remarks or say that all Muslims are out to kill us, I’m going to push back. I am also going to think less of you. I am not, nor have I ever been, a card-carrying member of the PC Police, but I understand basic human decency and realize that it’s wrong to condemn people for their nationality or orientation or religion, or whatever. It is not being overly zealous with political correctness, it is pointing out an offensive remark. Free speech is not an excuse to spout whatever nasty bigotry you harbor in your heart and then expect the rest of us to keep quiet about it.

Trump seems to be tapping the root of white anger with his rhetoric, and it is resonating with people to an alarming degree. “He says what he thinks, but he’s still a successful businessman and even a billionaire! Hey, maybe if I say what I think, I’ll be a billionaire, too!” No. No, you won’t. You will just be shunned by those of us who are disgusted by your words, and there are a lot more of us than there are of you.

It is not okay to say whatever you want and then get pissed off at the consequences you face. Have a little empathy and try to comprehend that not everyone looks, thinks, or believes the way you do. We’re all on this planet together and need to find a way to coexist and solve problems, not divide and sow discord and hatred.

It’s the humanly correct thing to do.

Angry and Afraid

Well, I’m going down to Doomsville, baby  

And I’m taking you along with me

~ The Rainmakers, “Doomsville”

Something I’ve really been seeing in a lot of far right conservatives lately is this sense of pending doom. We’re all gonna DIEEEEE!

[Disclaimer: I do not believe that all conservatives feel this way. I’m sure there are some exceptions.]

How many of these things have you heard in this infant election cycle? Or in the past few years?

“Obama is destroying this country.”

“We’re in big trouble in this country.”

“We can’t keep going this way.”

“ISIS isn’t going to stop until it raises its flag over the White House.”

“Immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans.”

“We want our country back!”

I’ve heard them all, and I’ve heard them multiple times. When you ask for specifics as to exactly HOW this is happening, you get ClusterFox talking points and more vague pronouncements. When you counter with actual facts, you are sometimes flat-out told, “I don’t believe that.” I guess I just have to accept that once someone gets these notions stuck in their head, nothing I can say is going to change their mind. As someone who values rational, logical thought, that is very hard for me to accept.

What I find most dismaying is a strange and pervasive sense of paranoia, anger, and doom from these folks. I think there are a few players on the scene who can reasonably be accused of fostering that sense of doom, and I’m talking to pretty much all of you pod people at ClusterFox! But I suppose that fear drives ratings. I find that sad. Good journalism is hard to find these days.

There is also a sense of fear of the browns. Like we’ve never had immigrants in this country before! You get people like Trump saying that he’s going to deport every immigrant here illegally, despite the incredible cost to our country. (Then the asskissers jump on the Trumpwagon and agree that it’s a reasonable solution.) There is even talk of negating birthright citizenship from some of our Republican candidates, despite the fact that both Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio would have their citizenship revoked. (Do they not pay attention to this stuff before they say something like that?) There are stories from Steve King of Iowa about Mexican drug-smuggling immigrants and their cantaloupe calves and Phil Gingrey of Georgia saying that immigrants are bringing Ebola into our country. Then there is Trump (again), saying that immigrants are bringing “tremendous infectious disease” across the border. All completely untrue, but there is a subset of people who are falling for these claims hook, line, and sinker.

This sort of xenophobia seems very mean-spirited to me. So much for “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,” huh? I’m all for immigration reform, but let’s at least be decent human beings about it instead of blaming these people for any and all of our woes and loading them into cattle cars and shipping them out. At the risk of Godwining myself, you all know who else did that, right? We are seeing this irrational fear of The Other that seems to have its basis in the belief of some of these people that this is their country and no one else’s.

You might think that it started when Barack Obama was elected in 2008, but you’d be wrong. It certainly reached a new high upon his election and reelection, but this sort of xenophobia has been going on for a long time. I’m sure I’ve written before about Richard Hofstadter’s 1964 essay, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.” (If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it.) This fear and distrust has been going on for decades, whether it was directed against blacks, Jews, Catholics, the Irish, or Masons. Apparently our stellar American innovation has, for its latest iteration, recycled the same tired trope to target Hispanics in general and Mexicans in particular. Oh, and don’t forget the Muslims!

I don’t buy it. I don’t feel that anyone is “taking over” our country and that we somehow have to “take it back.” It’s nothing more than fear mongering for the sake of ratings and donations, and I have no patience for it. It makes me sad to see so many suckers falling for it, though.

Angry and afraid is no way to go through life.