Whether Hoping for a Laugh, or |
For almost a decade (though it feels even longer), we’ve watched him trip through minefields, totter on the edge of sinkholes and step on trapdoors, each time thinking: This is it. Now he’s going down. It has become a mantra of dashed hopes: The walls are (once again) closing in on Donald Trump. He’s on the brink, desperate. This time, surely this time. And yet, somehow, he escapes. |
Sykes’ column set off an avalanche of angry reader comments, some debating whether “lucky” was an appropriate term, others blaming the courts, or indicting rich mega-donors, insincere media outlets and an indifferent electorate for the current situation.
When I last looked, there were 3,446 comments, with a smattering – but far from a majority – wishing the ex-president the very worst.
One reader wrote:
If only he would cease breathing.
That was one of the gentler responses, perhaps suggesting that not breathing is isn’t murder, only something that happens.
Some appealed to nature:
Mother Nature has a ticking time bomb for him. I’m rooting for Mother Nature.
A couple of writers hoped an even more powerful Mother would intervene:
Obviously we're incapable of saving ourselves from the devil incarnate, so Lord, it's up to you.
* * *
There is only one way we are going to get rid of this plague on our country; the Grim Reaper. No one can cheat death; no matter how lucky.
Some singled out poor lifestyle choices, resulting in predictably dismal health outcomes:
Come on greasy hamburgers, do your thing!!
* * *
Luck for the rest of us would come in the form of a massive stroke or heart attack.
But another writer seemed let down by the medical option:
So it's all going to come down to Trump's clogged arteries?
A few readers were in such despair that they wondered - since it was Trump - whether death itself would be enough.
Even if trump dies, which I truly hope he does (today would be acceptable), he will still get millions of write-in votes. His base might truly believe that, if elected after his death, he will be resurrected to "save" America.
Another was both philosophical and wishful:
All lucky streaks end. May I wake up tomorrow and read his obituary.
AS I SCROLLED through hundreds of comments, then thousands more, I was sad about the damage that Donald Trump already has done to our national psyche.
The challenge Trump has posed for the past decade is that, whatever else, the majority of Americans must avoid the temptation to try to out-trump Trump.
Political process, the justice system, protest and debate are the corrective tools prescribed by the Constitution and democracy to cure our collective ills.
To wish for Trump’s unscheduled passing hands him an undeserved victory, and speaking only for myself, I repent.
A militia of death-dreamers assembled in America’s living rooms and kitchens – whether hoping for a good laugh or expressing sincere frustration – only advances Donald Trump’s campaign of cynicism, conspiracy and contempt.
* * *
NOTE: The original ending was unfunny and stupid, and counter to the point of the posting. So, I knocked off the last two lines, to be unambiguous about always rejecting Trump's way of doing business. Apologies. - Brian C. Jones
When I last looked, there were 3,446 comments, with a smattering – but far from a majority – wishing the ex-president the very worst.
One reader wrote:
If only he would cease breathing.
That was one of the gentler responses, perhaps suggesting that not breathing is isn’t murder, only something that happens.
Some appealed to nature:
Mother Nature has a ticking time bomb for him. I’m rooting for Mother Nature.
A couple of writers hoped an even more powerful Mother would intervene:
Obviously we're incapable of saving ourselves from the devil incarnate, so Lord, it's up to you.
* * *
There is only one way we are going to get rid of this plague on our country; the Grim Reaper. No one can cheat death; no matter how lucky.
Some singled out poor lifestyle choices, resulting in predictably dismal health outcomes:
Come on greasy hamburgers, do your thing!!
* * *
Luck for the rest of us would come in the form of a massive stroke or heart attack.
But another writer seemed let down by the medical option:
So it's all going to come down to Trump's clogged arteries?
A few readers were in such despair that they wondered - since it was Trump - whether death itself would be enough.
Even if trump dies, which I truly hope he does (today would be acceptable), he will still get millions of write-in votes. His base might truly believe that, if elected after his death, he will be resurrected to "save" America.
Another was both philosophical and wishful:
All lucky streaks end. May I wake up tomorrow and read his obituary.
AS I SCROLLED through hundreds of comments, then thousands more, I was sad about the damage that Donald Trump already has done to our national psyche.
The challenge Trump has posed for the past decade is that, whatever else, the majority of Americans must avoid the temptation to try to out-trump Trump.
Political process, the justice system, protest and debate are the corrective tools prescribed by the Constitution and democracy to cure our collective ills.
To wish for Trump’s unscheduled passing hands him an undeserved victory, and speaking only for myself, I repent.
A militia of death-dreamers assembled in America’s living rooms and kitchens – whether hoping for a good laugh or expressing sincere frustration – only advances Donald Trump’s campaign of cynicism, conspiracy and contempt.
* * *
NOTE: The original ending was unfunny and stupid, and counter to the point of the posting. So, I knocked off the last two lines, to be unambiguous about always rejecting Trump's way of doing business. Apologies. - Brian C. Jones
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Election countdown: 8 months to go
THE POLLS, PAPERS AND POLS ARE BEATING ON BIDEN. WE CAN WORK HARDER TO BEAT TRUMP
IF YOU WANT MY GUESS about the outcome of the election – which as of today is only eight months away – I can’t tell you how Joe Biden is going to defeat Donald Trump.
Day after day, it feels like nothing is going President Biden’s way, while the momentum for The Defendant’s attempted return to the White House seems to be accelerating.
The polls are awful, and some are getting worse. More people are saying Biden should drop out as a candidate. Bibi Netanyahu, Trump’s Israeli clone, is making a fool of Biden’s pleas to stop killing Gaza civilians. A handful of Republican crazies in the House are undermining Biden’s vow to defend Ukraine.
Voters think immigration is the most important concern in their lives, and that it's Biden’s fault. Rents are exorbitant, and that’s Biden’s fault, too. Buying a house is out of reach for ordinary families, and it’s Biden’s fault.
Gas prices at the moment are lower than they have been. Unemployment is low; there’s no recession; crime is going down; and in general for lots of Americans, life is good. None of this is to Biden's credit.
The big one is that Biden is old. Too old. He looks old, talks old, walks old. Even worse, Joe gets older every day. It’s relentless, and it's Biden's fault.
I’m sure that I’m not alone. Millions of people care deeply about America, but at the moment see little that’s reassuring about Biden’s – and democracy’s – prospects on Nov. 5.
The question is: What to do about it?
The answer is that The Defendant - as Donald Trump is known in Jack Smith's election conspiracy indictment of last August - is too dangerous, too vile to be president of the United States. So he can't.
Like most people, I haven't the slightest idea of how to turn the current dynamics around, only that is what must happen. The Defendant is unacceptable. America – and perhaps the world – will be destroyed if he is put in charge.
So, while my brain is telling me in that The Defendant could very well be on his way back to the White House, my heart is saying that cannot happen.
I never liked my brain, so I’m listening these days to my heart.
IN ACKNOWLEDGING MY DESPAIR, I will not tolerate anyone lecturing me and my fellow Despair-Pals that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Trump is real; so is the peril he represents; fear is justified.
Don’t instruct us about the pitfalls of bad attitudes, that, just by admitting despair, we set off a self-fulfilling prophecy producing its predictable terrible outcome. That’s malarkey, to use a Biden word.
So, don't blame the worried, the sleepless, the frightened, the discouraged for what could be a terrible election outcome.
If you are not scared of The Defendant, then you are not paying attention, nor are you taking seriously Liz Cheney’s warning that the nation is sleepwalking into dictatorship.
My heart is telling me that we should not mistake despair for helplessness. Just because it seems that today, March 5, we feel doomed, that doesn’t mean that we are doomed.
Instead, we should use our despair as a source of energy and inspiration to work harder – much harder - to elect Joe Biden.
As individuals, all of us have to work as diligently and smartly as possible – and all the harder and smarter than we would if we were comforted by the belief that Biden was sure to win.
Mainly, we have to do what voters do best: vote.
We also need to persuade others to vote. We must beg our families to vote (or at least select family members). We can search out groups that organize letter-writing and postcard-sending and annoying telephone calling and which give us the addresses of doors to pound on. We must give money to the candidates and groups that can use it best, as much money as possible.
What we cannot do is quit , disappear, fade, hide or stop.
SOME OF OUR DESPAIR is news-generated.
We should recognize that the media does not exist to cheer us up. Pep talks are not how journalism works. More often than not, credible media lets us know what’s happening, and leaves the rest to us.
I know that many of my fellow Despair-Pals are furious at the New York Times, because the world’s greatest remaining newspaper seems determined to publish stories that make Biden look weak, while ignoring or downplaying The Defendant's alarming and dangerous flaws.
Makes me wonder whether the Times has established a "Democrats In Despair Desk," whose mission is to come up with at least one story a day to break Biden supporters' hearts.
Over the last weekend, the Times couldn’t seem to get enough of its recent poll showing Trump beating Biden, and Biden’s own supporters dissing him for being “old.”
Day after day, it feels like nothing is going President Biden’s way, while the momentum for The Defendant’s attempted return to the White House seems to be accelerating.
The polls are awful, and some are getting worse. More people are saying Biden should drop out as a candidate. Bibi Netanyahu, Trump’s Israeli clone, is making a fool of Biden’s pleas to stop killing Gaza civilians. A handful of Republican crazies in the House are undermining Biden’s vow to defend Ukraine.
Voters think immigration is the most important concern in their lives, and that it's Biden’s fault. Rents are exorbitant, and that’s Biden’s fault, too. Buying a house is out of reach for ordinary families, and it’s Biden’s fault.
Gas prices at the moment are lower than they have been. Unemployment is low; there’s no recession; crime is going down; and in general for lots of Americans, life is good. None of this is to Biden's credit.
The big one is that Biden is old. Too old. He looks old, talks old, walks old. Even worse, Joe gets older every day. It’s relentless, and it's Biden's fault.
I’m sure that I’m not alone. Millions of people care deeply about America, but at the moment see little that’s reassuring about Biden’s – and democracy’s – prospects on Nov. 5.
The question is: What to do about it?
The answer is that The Defendant - as Donald Trump is known in Jack Smith's election conspiracy indictment of last August - is too dangerous, too vile to be president of the United States. So he can't.
Like most people, I haven't the slightest idea of how to turn the current dynamics around, only that is what must happen. The Defendant is unacceptable. America – and perhaps the world – will be destroyed if he is put in charge.
So, while my brain is telling me in that The Defendant could very well be on his way back to the White House, my heart is saying that cannot happen.
I never liked my brain, so I’m listening these days to my heart.
IN ACKNOWLEDGING MY DESPAIR, I will not tolerate anyone lecturing me and my fellow Despair-Pals that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Trump is real; so is the peril he represents; fear is justified.
Don’t instruct us about the pitfalls of bad attitudes, that, just by admitting despair, we set off a self-fulfilling prophecy producing its predictable terrible outcome. That’s malarkey, to use a Biden word.
So, don't blame the worried, the sleepless, the frightened, the discouraged for what could be a terrible election outcome.
If you are not scared of The Defendant, then you are not paying attention, nor are you taking seriously Liz Cheney’s warning that the nation is sleepwalking into dictatorship.
My heart is telling me that we should not mistake despair for helplessness. Just because it seems that today, March 5, we feel doomed, that doesn’t mean that we are doomed.
Instead, we should use our despair as a source of energy and inspiration to work harder – much harder - to elect Joe Biden.
As individuals, all of us have to work as diligently and smartly as possible – and all the harder and smarter than we would if we were comforted by the belief that Biden was sure to win.
Mainly, we have to do what voters do best: vote.
We also need to persuade others to vote. We must beg our families to vote (or at least select family members). We can search out groups that organize letter-writing and postcard-sending and annoying telephone calling and which give us the addresses of doors to pound on. We must give money to the candidates and groups that can use it best, as much money as possible.
What we cannot do is quit , disappear, fade, hide or stop.
SOME OF OUR DESPAIR is news-generated.
We should recognize that the media does not exist to cheer us up. Pep talks are not how journalism works. More often than not, credible media lets us know what’s happening, and leaves the rest to us.
I know that many of my fellow Despair-Pals are furious at the New York Times, because the world’s greatest remaining newspaper seems determined to publish stories that make Biden look weak, while ignoring or downplaying The Defendant's alarming and dangerous flaws.
Makes me wonder whether the Times has established a "Democrats In Despair Desk," whose mission is to come up with at least one story a day to break Biden supporters' hearts.
Over the last weekend, the Times couldn’t seem to get enough of its recent poll showing Trump beating Biden, and Biden’s own supporters dissing him for being “old.”
The Times can argue that it’s just following the news, not making it, which is sort of correct.
But for our purposes, turning our anger on the Times and other media is a waste of time and energy, because the news folks are the wrong targets.
Defendant Trump is the villain of our shared nightmare. Defendant Donald is planning to turn America into a hellscape of hatred, injustice and vengeance.
We need to stay focused.
WHAT WOULD A COACH tell his team when it is behind at halftime?
Stay in the game.
Yes, things look bleak right now, because they are.
We can play better, harder, smarter, longer.
Circumstances change. We can help make them change.
And we can be ready when things go wrong for the other team - which they will.
Maybe Trump will do something that will shock even his most devoted cultists. Maybe he’ll start walking backwards. Or take to wearing women’s panties – on his head.
Maybe he’ll ridicule ardent supporters in ways that they’ll finally recognize how little he cares about them.
Maybe he’ll walk into a Washington courtroom and plead guilty to trying to overturn an election and throw his repulsive body on the mercy of the court.
As I mentioned, I’ve quit listening to my brain.
When I need cheering up, I’ll check in with Democratic optimists, whose track records give them credibility.
One upbeat expert is Simon Rosenberg, who puts out a website called the “Hopium Chronicles,” in which he calls for Democrats to stay hopeful, but more importantly, to work hard, really hard, to make their hopes come true.
Simon’s meditations have headings like this:
Humor helps.
Like this piece in The Atlantic magazine, by Jonathan Last, editor of The Bulwark, an anti-Trump online site. Last was responding to people wanting Biden replaced by a younger Democrat:
Like this piece in The Atlantic magazine, by Jonathan Last, editor of The Bulwark, an anti-Trump online site. Last was responding to people wanting Biden replaced by a younger Democrat:
As the political strategist Mike Murphy said many moons ago, Biden’s age is like a gigantic pair of antlers he wears on his head, all day every day. Even when he does something exceptional—like visit a war zone in Ukraine, or whip inflation—the people applauding him are thinking, Can’t. Stop. Staring. At. The antlers. Biden can’t shed these antlers. He’s going to wear them from now until November 5. If anything, they’ll probably grow. |
IT'S OKAY to feel despair, fear, worry and anxiety and the other common sense emotions that bubble up when faced by a psychopath like The Defendant. We’d be crazy to do otherwise.
We should pledge to do the very best we can to keep him away from the Oval Office.
We should get as much sleep as possible. Eat sensibly. Exercise responsibly.
Occasionally, we should laugh at ourselves and, more often, at our critics
And maybe, in solidarity with Joe Biden, we should get our own set of antlers.
We should pledge to do the very best we can to keep him away from the Oval Office.
We should get as much sleep as possible. Eat sensibly. Exercise responsibly.
Occasionally, we should laugh at ourselves and, more often, at our critics
And maybe, in solidarity with Joe Biden, we should get our own set of antlers.
BRIAN C. JONES
I'VE BEEN a reporter and writer for 60 years, long enough to have learned that journalists don't know very much, although I've met some smart ones.
Mainly, what reporters know comes from asking other people questions and fretting about their answers.
This blog is a successor to one inspired by our dog, Phoebe, who was smart, sweet and the antithesis of Donald Trump. She died Feb. 3, 2022, and I don't see getting over that very soon.
Occasionally, I think about trying to reach her via cell phone.
Mainly, what reporters know comes from asking other people questions and fretting about their answers.
This blog is a successor to one inspired by our dog, Phoebe, who was smart, sweet and the antithesis of Donald Trump. She died Feb. 3, 2022, and I don't see getting over that very soon.
Occasionally, I think about trying to reach her via cell phone.
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