House of Eratosthenes

So, February 3, 4, and 5, 2020 were pretty much the most miserable three days in the history of the Democratic Party. I’m not laughing, really I’m not! You know how sometimes you have a bad day when nothing goes right? Well, these super-achievers managed to triple that streak…

He’s referring to Monday, when the Iowa caucuses crashed and burned; Tuesday, when President Trump gave a great State of the Union address; and yesterday, when the Senate formally voted to acquit him of both articles, and end the impeachment silliness once and for all. It’s definitely one for the time capsule. We’re exposed to a lot of “news,” just nonsense on a daily basis that’s supposed to change our course in some meaningful way, really upset the apple cart. And so often this turns out to be lots of build-up with no pay-off, the “news” doesn’t stay news — a week later nobody remembers it. These three events over the named three days, pass the test that’s failed by so many other things on our radar, they really will leave a mark on history and they’re examples of a much longer and broader arc of significant events that are part of our evolving history.

The democrat party is in a decline. The decline may end someday. Each one of the two major political parties have had epitaphs written about it over the years, which over the long term mean exactly nothing. So in another four years, maybe two, much of what’s broken about them now may have been fixed. Much, but not all. The democrats have lost something they’re never getting back again. They lost it awhile ago. They’ve been missing it since that November night in 2016, and that flesh wound has yet to heal.

Then February 5th came along and their impeachment collapsed into rubble. We all knew it was coming, but then … poof. Gone. You tried to take out the king, and you failed. How lame.

Yeah, history will record that you managed to impeach Donald Trump. History will also record that Donald Trump beat you donkeys like rented mules.

Advantage, Trump.

I don’t know if this decline is terminal. I doubt strongly that it is. But if the democrat party as we know it is to go away for good, I’ll not shed a tear. The reason why is ably captured by this video screed from New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

“First of all, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is an extraordinarily sacred award. We’re talking about putting someone on the same level as Rosa Parks, for example, in terms of their contributions to American progress,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Rush Limbaugh is a virulent racist.”

Limbaugh stunned his 20-million member audience Monday with the announcement he’s been diagnosed with “advanced lung cancer.” He told listeners that the disease will keep him off the air on certain days when he’ll receive treatment.

Trump responded by inviting the conservative icon to the State of the Union address, where first lady Melania Trump then presented the medal and placed the award on Limbaugh – who was visibly emotional.

Ocasio-Cortez was not moved.

“To do it in the middle of a State of the Union, and not even dignify it with its own ceremony, as it has, there is all sorts of norms that are being violated,” she said. “Not just for people’s humanity but also, it truly just cheapens the value of it.”

I don’t object to disagreeing with me about the value brought to our nation’s discourse by Rush Limbaugh. I can tolerate people disagreeing with me about that. And I’m not referring so much to the out-and-out fibbing about Limbaugh being a racist, when he isn’t one. That’s pretty nasty, but we have a lot of people running around fibbing about things, and we can put up with that. It’s the price we pay for having free speech in our society.

The thing we really can’t have, the thing that does more damage than even the deliberate lying, is this sunup-to-sundown, all-year-every-year, “Omigaw this cannot stand” state of being aggrieved…about…whatever. This it’s-always-something thing. We have all these people taking to social media or to the weekday or Sunday morning talk shows, with their various trifling complaints, demanding attention for the trifling complaints over & above what’s appropriate for trifling complaints. Ocasio-Cortez objects to the President of the United States awarding a medal that, in his place, she would not have awarded…well…that’s why we have an executive in this country, who goes around doing things that wouldn’t get done if we had to wait for everyone in our shores with a heartbeat to go along & not object. Sometimes that guy is going to do things that some people don’t like, and that’s okay. I survived Obama, you’ll survive Trump.

And the democrat party has declined to the point where they’ve become just that and little else. Just ankle-biters, emergency-cord-pullers missing the emergency. “Hold up there, I have a complaint.” Don’t buy that gas, don’t build that business, don’t hire that guy, don’t don’t don’t. I’m aggrieved. You have to stop everything and hear my complaint. Carbon emissions, objectifying women, not enough blacks on Seinfeld…whatevs…

This has caused enormous damage to us over the years because our country is made up of decent people. I think most Americans, when they hear someone has a beef about something, are initially inclined to freeze in our tracks and see what we can do to accommodate. That’s one of the things that has made us an exceptionally great country. But it’s also been our weakness, because over the years it’s given rise to these waves of ninnies who just take advantage of our good nature. They start bitching, not when they see a problem that could be solved, but when they want some attention — which is always. They’ve been using this good trait of ours to start up their never-finished never-done revolution. They’ve put us in a never-ending state of revolt.

The obvious solution is for us to sharply curtail this spirit of accommodation. To short-circuit our own benign attributes of consideration and sensitivity. To transform into a culture of jerks. I hope that doesn’t happen. I hope the coming transformation stops at a simple reversal-of-polarity in initial premises: “Let’s give your beef a fair opportunity to express and see what it is, but until you can convince me a change is necessary I shall presume there is not to be one.” As opposed to: “Let’s hear about your feelings and see what we can change to make you feel better.”

A cheerful, benevolent, sensitive, sensible, results-oriented, rational and reasonable GFY–AOC attitude. Grant all these trifling complaints the fair hearing they’re due, but nothing more than that, and never, ever, ever the benefit of any doubt. They’re so often wrong, and injurious to their own goals. They’ve cost us so much. And they’ve given us a mighty pull off in the direction of becoming a nation of back-biting, complaining, won’t-shut-up “but mah feelings” never-happys. It is a bearing unfit for the dignity of our mighty ship of state. The time’s come to right the course, and if that means the demise of a major political party then so be it. Political parties are temporary. So are problems with achieving maturity, which is what this is. Immature people shouldn’t affect the decisions of mature people, it ought to be the other way around.

“…out-and-out fibbing …” You misspelled “lying.”

It is a violation of federal law deliberately to destroy or mutilate a document formally received by the officer with authority to receive such documents. Punishment includes fines, imprisonment and disbarment from holding public office. Speaking of impeachable offences.
- Richard A | 02/06/2020 @ 08:48
Well hold up there, what exactly is it that we expect democrat members of Congress to do? Follow the law, or represent their lawless constituents? Can’t do both.

According to my way of thinking, our system of government works so “well” *cough* *cough* because it is a sort of “Batman” government — it gives us the system of representation we deserve, not necessarily the one we really need. Now this State of the Union address, whether it’s outgrown its original purpose or not, we have yet to do away with it and it still does have that original purpose: The executive is to inform the legislature of key objectives and concerns. There is wisdom in this, a vision that the executive will be in a position to know, whereas the committee representing the stakeholders and periodically meeting to hash out conflicts and arrive at consensus…not so much. The architects of our republic well understood that committees are not in a position to know. None of us is as stupid as all of us.

According to that, then, there is a terrible harm in the Speaker of the House, in her State of the Union role as representative of the committee being told what’s really goin’-down, while the cameras are still on her, ripping up the speech. That’s the committee, the legislative branch, clasping its hands over its ears and yelling “I can’t hear you la la la.” Divisive? Toxic? Yes and yes. Inaccurate? WE-ELL…just have a conversation with a liberal sometime, try to explain how Adam Schiff fabricated his own version of the infamous Ukraine phone call. Or give them some reasons why Saddam Hussein had to be eliminated. Or that a higher minimum wage is a threat to the food service industry. I think Pelosi represented her constituency extremely well.

Was it illegal? I’ve heard the arguments for and against. Both are persuasive. I hope we find out for sure one way or the other.
- mkfreeberg | 02/07/2020 @ 06:00
AOC? Really?
I cant’ decide if you’re picking the low hanging fruit, or shooting fish in barrel.
There’s PLENTY of other festering “annecdotals” that are more sportsmanlike to simply cite.

IMHO, Best stick with “Somewhere AOC said something..” and call it done.
- CaptDMO | 02/08/2020 @ 05:48
She fails the Salt Test. And she’s a very important person because she represents millions of our fellow citizens who have the same problem. They’ll always complain about something and they’ll never be happy.
- mkfreeberg | 02/08/2020 @ 09:24

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Three Glorious Days of Democrat AgonyThursday, February 6th, 2020

Three Glorious Days of Democrat Agony
Thursday, February 6th, 2020