Prickly City by Scott Stantis for October 19, 2020

  1. Missing large
    theotherther1  about 4 years ago

    They’re all in the Thesaurus.

     •  Reply
  2. German typewriter detail small
    Cheapskate0  about 4 years ago

    And in Colorado, the thesaurus was on the ballot.

    Twenty-two candidates for president. One had the title of princess, and her VP had the title of prince (though I’m thinking it was her father).

    As many have complained, those third parties were only shooting for the top; get away from president, and the third parties went away, too.

    Indeed, a handful of candidates ran unopposed.

    But the bottom line is: If a third party wants to replace, say, the Republican Party, they had better get their act together and start running in local elections.

    A third party president with no members in Congress (or local statehouses) is about as useless as…

    I’ll let you fill in the blank.

     •  Reply
  3. 2006 afl collingwood
    nosirrom  about 4 years ago

    Well that describes half the ballot.

     •  Reply
  4. 1djojn
    RobinHood  about 4 years ago

    “The major problem — one of the major problems, for there are several — one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

    To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem."

    Douglas Adams

     •  Reply
  5. Cheshirecat chandra complg 1024
    Silly Season   about 4 years ago

    The president has made it clear that no election result other than a landslide for him can be legitimate.

    Millions are falling prey to a mass delusion about a secretive, cannibalistic global cabal, facilitated by the most powerful media company in the land.

    The White House is lying about a calamity that has killed at least 210,000 people and reached the highest office in the land.

    The institution that Americans looked to as the last-resort check on runaway power is about to be turned into a partisan rubber stamp. And that’s just…the last two weeks.

    But let’s pause there for a moment.Authoritarianism has not yet prevailed.Alternative facts still aren’t facts.And more and more Americans are seeing through disinformation and division and are ready to fight for “our democracy [to] live another day.”

    Trump is at war against the press and he is at war against anyone who dares challenge his alternative facts because all measures, he is at war against democracy.

    Truth #1: The chaos is the point.

    The first and perhaps only term of America’s 45th president started with a ludicrous claim of “alternative facts.”

    It ends with a bonfire of deception that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

    Millions are out of jobs, out of school, at risk of losing their homes.

    The broadest racial justice movement in a generation has been discounted and demonized.

    All because of this, the most consistent feature of Donald Trump’s presidency: He lives in a world of alternative facts so complete, it seals him off even from the danger to the only thing he cares about—himself.

    It seemed so absurd when they first rolled out the term, back in January 2017. Kellyanne Conway stood there, in front of the White House, doubling down on the outlandish claim that Trump had drawn the largest inauguration crowd ever.

    The photos plainly showing otherwise. (✁ 4 space)

    ~

    https://www.motherjones.com/media/2020/10/the-chaos-is-the-point/

     •  Reply
  6. Cheshirecat chandra complg 1024
    Silly Season   about 4 years ago

    Confusion

    ~

    The State Department says Russia is using a well-developed online operation that includes a loose collection of proxy websites to stir up confusion around the coronavirus by amplifying conspiracy theories and misinformation.

    The disclosure on Wednesday was rare for the Trump administration, which has been cautious about blaming the Kremlin for disinformation campaigns, especially around the U.S. election.

    Despite evidence that Russia launched a divisive disinformation operation on social media during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the State Department’s report did not examine how — if at all — Russia is waging another online influence campaign in this year’s election.

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did, however, announce Wednesday that the U.S. would offer a reward of up to $10 million for information that identifies people working with foreign governments to interfere in the U.S. election through illegal cyber activity.

    The department detailed a Russian-backed misinformation cycle that spreads false information online through state officials and state-funded media reports, by infiltrating U.S. social media conversation, and leveraging a deceptive internet framework of websites.

    The Kremlin’s efforts have most recently focused on conspiracy theories around the pandemic, the report found.

    “Russia is playing a significant role in creating and spreading misinformation and propaganda around many topics,” said Lea Gabrielle, head of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center.

    The department named more than a half-dozen websites that, serving as “proxies” for Russia, have peddled a series of conspiracy theories about the pandemic that have been widely spreading and hotly debated across social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

    ~

    https://www.fox19.com/2020/08/05/state-dept-russia-pushes-disinformation-online-network/

     •  Reply
  7. Cheshirecat chandra complg 1024
    Silly Season   about 4 years ago

    Uncertainty

    ~ With President Trump calling for a new economic stimulus package to be put off until after the election, millions of unemployed Americans and hard-hit businesses may have to wait until after Election Day, or possibly next year, to find out if their rapidly dwindling benefits will be extended.

    Although the president backtracked via Twitter on Tuesday night, seeming to support another round of stimulus checks and aid for small businesses and airlines, his message wasn’t reassuring.

    And the uncertainty around a new economic stimulus bill comes at the worst of times: COVID-19 cases in Boston are increasing, raising fears of another shutdown, and the state’s ban on evictions is set to end late next week.

    That’s on top of the fact that layoffs continue to pummel the job market, forgivable loans for small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program have run out, and more than 20 million Americans are no longer receiving enhanced unemployment benefits.

    It’s a perfect storm hitting everyday workers who are trying to keep their lives afloat.

    Truck driver Derrick Beauvais used to deliver paper products to 40 Boston-area restaurants every day, but since the pandemic hit, he’s lucky if he has half that. His paychecks are down by half, as well.

    An extra $200 a week in unemployment benefits has helped, and he is counting on another stimulus package to get by.

    I didn’t exactly save like I probably should have,” he said. “I fell for what Trump was saying . . . ‘When the weather gets nicer the virus is going to go away’. . . and here we are, almost in November.”

    ~

    https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/07/business/i-fell-what-trump-was-saying-workers-sound-off-virus-uncertainty-about-economic-aid/

     •  Reply
  8. Missing large
    William Robbins Premium Member about 4 years ago

    8 Tips To Stay Sane In The Final 15 Days Of The Campaign https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/8-tips-to-stay-sane-in-the-final-15-days-of-the-campaign/

     •  Reply
  9. Lifi
    rossevrymn  about 4 years ago

    Only if you’re Stantisferseekingconfusionovertheselfevident

     •  Reply
  10. Coexist
    Bookworm  about 4 years ago

    Well, isn’t four more years of chaos, confusion, and uncertainty exactly what the Republican Party wants you to vote for?

     •  Reply
  11. Missing large
    gigi20  about 4 years ago

    Of course they are in the White House first.

     •  Reply
  12. Missing large
    kentmarx36  about 4 years ago

    You left out one of the planks in The Repulsicas’ platform, CRIME. The Repulsican Crime Cult counts on committing unlawful acts and getting away with them. VOTE BLUE!

     •  Reply
  13. Tumblr mbbz3vrusj1qdlmheo1 250
    Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo]  about 4 years ago

    On Trump’s list of things he does.

     •  Reply
  14. Zoot and saxophone
    Boise Ed Premium Member about 4 years ago

    And, Carmen, that’s just one one SIDE of the ballot.

     •  Reply
Sign in to comment

More From Prickly City