Boo Radley's Porch

I'm not the typist I was, so I wish I could talk-to-text on here and then edit it. I could probably do that on my phone, but the editing part would suck. Here goes.

In the 24-36 hours since Rob Reiner was murdered and Trump posted his unnecessary comments, I've had all the reactions, read and heard a few, too. Scott Adams in his livestream from the hospital today expressed something unique to him, as usual, and it turned me, which happens often enough that I realize I'm not as deep a thinker as I sometimes think I am. 

My spin, however, my thing to add to the conversation is this: empathy. You see, all everyone is doing is wanting Trump to be like them, to react like they did (or would, or rather think they would). It's always ALWAYS projection of a kind. They never, ever have that end-of-To-Kill-A-Mockingbird moment when Scout is on the porch, looking up the street, seeing everything, physically, from Boo Radley's view, which leads to maybe, just maybe, grasping a part of his perspective. Everyone thinks they are Boo in this story, finally being "seen" like they all say these days, but almost never does anyone think or say "what's their perspective?" Especially when it's someone you dislike as much as they hate Donald Trump, when they hate Trump....just as much as Rob Reiner did. People want others to behave like they imagine they would have behaved, and that's ridiculous. Most empathy is fake, I guess, it's neediness disguised as connection.

Today, we see a memo from the FBI that advised the Justice Department that there was NOT cause to raid Mar-A-Largo, but they ignored it and did it. That's a part of it, people. They literally went through the First Lady's underwear drawer. Through his son's belongings. They made it personal.

Why? Well, let's trace it back to the Russia collusion hoax (and we know without a doubt that it was always a bogus investigation to undermine Trump initiated by Hilary Rodham Clinton). Do you know who helped create and fund the Committee to Investigate Russia with 3 (eventually 7!) former CIA heads to push that and quash contradictory (which means true, in this case) information? Do you know who relentlessly went after Trump and his entire family publicly as well? Rob Reiner. Trump's comment was, as Scott Adams says, honest. Hell, it could have been worse, he could have said "Sad news from Hollywood about Rob and Michelle Reiner. He hated me more than anyone, he spent the last 10 or more years saying horrible things about me, he tried to get me jailed for the fake Russia collusion that was an op against me which may have led to people trying to kill me. So while I feel bad for the family, I won't mourn him any more than he would have mourned me." How does that fall upon your ears? 

So forgive me if I think that while it was politically clumsy and ugly to couch his statement of sympathy with "it was TDS that ruined this guy's life and now, look, he's dead and that's regrettable" I can stand on Trump's porch and say "From here, I can kinda see why. Maybe."

Do I wish he hadn't said what he said? Yup. But that's my problem, not his.

It's Enough To Make You Curious....

I know that this is merely coincidence, that because of the conversations I had with my college freshman about going to see this last night that I was primed to spot this, and that's all (see cognitive biases stories, natch), but it's still weird.  **maybe it’s real: Your Phone Is Listening **

So, yesterday, my son calls and asks about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as there is a showing/performance happening this weekend (including last night) that he was invited to. Funny conversation ensues, and I encourage him to go and drag his roommate (who needs to loosen up a bit, in my opinion) as well. His roommate has a photo of Reagan hanging in the room, which is fine, but he's a little tightly wound, even for me, Mr. Conservative.

He went, enjoyed it enough as one might, and that's that.

I didn't search for showtimes, or my usual internet sleuthing about what the cast is up to these days, and yet, it's like our devices were listening to us... of all the random crap Yahoo suggests as "stories" (that are more like ads to get you to go to dumb sites like this one), what are the chances that today one of the suggestions is:

Yup, that's just weird.

Speaking of cognitive biases, this Jim Acosta thing...

There was an almost-good article on Yahoo (they do occasionally accidentally perform acts of journalism, but usually it's just PuffHost crap) about how people are seeing what they want to see in the Acosta-brushing-the-intern's-arm-away video, and it comes very near, among all the loaded words and clear bashing of the infowars guy, to making a salient point: if you are on Trump's Team, it's clear that he pushed her arm down so he could keep the mic: if you are on Team Acosta, he "brushed her arm." Those are the literal words in the article, stated as fact, not as opinion, which is why I say that it is "almost-good" and that it "comes very near."

Update, when I just searched my history to find the link, I see that it's actually from Time, and I now stand by all the accusations about an accidental act or journalism.

Scott Adams went live on Twitter as he does (Periscope, I think, actually) and explained very well how Acosta is playing the same game Trump is, from a communication/persuasion perspective, and they both got what they wanted out of the exchange. He also pointed out, and I agree, that during a presser, in the White House, Trump gets to run the event, and that Acosta doesn't.

Here's my actual take: Acosta gets to do what he did (ask whatever he was trying to ask) AND Trump gets to tell him, that's enough, it's someone else's turn. It's his presser. Watch the whole video, Trump answered him. He did keep the young lady from taking the mic. Or am I just seeing things through biased eyes?

Trump Is In Their Brains

So, this gets retweeted or liked into my twitter stream:

He gave a very reasonable answer, that he was a little busy to be bothered with Twitter in light of the bombing.

My response was this:

That's the thing, isn't it? The media is obsessed with Trump and has been for some time. As they say, he's living in their head, rent-free. It's why he won the primaries against better conservatives and Republicans.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know they had no choice but to cover him and his, uhm, antics during the campaign, because they had to as he was running for President. See how smart he was? Free coverage because the media had no choice but to cover him. They couldn't ignore him, as critics wished they would (which would work with, say, Westboro Baptist, to make them go away), because that would be negligent as he already was news worthy. Brilliant manipulation on his part.

BTW, if you aren't aware of Scott Adams' ongoing dissection of the rhetorical and persuasion tools that the Trump Team has been using, you're missing an education on what's been going on. I don't even agree with him on all his points, but he isn't a Trump fan or defender (as the folks who hate Trump are painting him), and he is seeing the manipulation for what it is. (of course, this could be me in a moment of confirmation bias because I also thing Trump is playing the media like a fiddle).

Back to the point (and there is one).

I have long held the belief that when we've experienced something, we tend to adopt that (or those, if it's plural) experience into our lens, our perspective through which we interact with the world. A simple example of this bias I think about is the old red car metaphor. It's not just red cars, per se, it's the familiarity bias and observational selection bias working in tandem to make you think that "now that I have a red car, I see them every where. There must be more red cars being made then before." Nope, you're just paying attention to them. Indeed, what we attend to creates our reality.

Another version is the sudden appearance of pregnant women everywhere when your wife becomes pregnant. (hint: they were already there). A more serious example I think about is racism. If you are black in America, you have experienced it, and that makes you see it everywhere, even in situations where it isn't present.

All of this is to say that Trump as so successfully implanted himself into the minds of his detractors that they can't refrain from checking his Twitter feed, because, well, they have to because he's already newsworthy because he's the US President. Note: I don't follow him on twitter. I don't have to (or want to), mostly because he gets retweeted into my timeline so much. Argh.

So, we have "Trump-Glasses" wearing idiots like the reporter that thought that (because the lens/perspective through which he or she sees everything is smeared with Trump) asking the London Mayor his thoughts on a Trump tweet was a reasonable, worthy, or necessary question.

I have written and talked about my Trump thoughts, feelings, and impressions. I don't like the guy, but I have enjoyed how he has played the press, driven the leftists insane (literally, in some cases), and shone a light on our electoral processes like the primary system and electoral college. I think he's a progressive and crony capitalist at heart and that scares me. But what really scares me is the way his detractors and enemies (which includes the majority of our media types) have become so consumed by their hatred/fear/disgust that they are literally blind to their own obsession with him and things like his tweets that it's literally all they appear to think about.

I think he should keep tweeting, seriously. It's how he talks to his base without the media filter, and I guess that's why they can't help report on it, to try to control it, to shape his message like they would if they were the quote-conduit. If would serve them better to ignore the tweets and not make them into news stories, frankly, but I'm not giving them that good piece of advice. It's too much fun watching them lose their minds.

New Year, New Job, New Post

Sorry that it's been so long since I've posted on here, what with the election and all, and another new job (that seems to be an issue in my life, a lack of job satisfaction (not a lack of security, I tend to leave of my own volition mostly)), but it's time to talk about a few things that are on my mind.

Firstly, let's talk about an avocation of mine, acting. I don't perform very frequently, although I have representation, but I have gotten the odd job here and there, including some barely-noticeable-paid-extra work on actual movies shot here locally (but not as many as I would like). I've seen a couple of "Urgent casting for volunteer extras" posts on Facebook from a local casting agent and shared them, but I personally won't do those. Why? I value what I do. I gladly volunteer at church and school, but if they are going to make money on the movie (it is a capital project, no?), why should it expect my labor to be free? I understand it's not a big deal, and there are many that will happily volunteer to be a part of a film, but if I'm doing this work for pay (thanks, agency), it devalues me to do it for free.

Trump derangement continues unabated all over. I've been clear about my feelings about the guy, but, boy am I enjoying the derangement. Seriously, to see him poke the hive successfully over and over again is pretty amusing. Maybe, just maybe, some of his opponents will see the merit of advocating for a smaller government. Ok, just kidding, they won't.

There have been openings in the freakouts, however. A Jewish H.S. classmate of mine actually posted a blog from a guy saying "my Dad was obsessed with Hitler and the Nazis, and he was a killer and maniac from day one. Trump isn't and isn't going to suddenly become one," which was perfectly timed for me to read, as I had been pondering that very line of logic. Did Hitler "grow" into Hitler-ness, or was he like that all along? Because, to say that Trump is a modern Hitler leading us down the same path ("I have studied Nazi Germany and this is how it started" say so many idiots), means that he actually wants to KILL A BUNCH OF PEOPLE RIGHT NOW, right? 

Scott Adams of Dilbert fame (among his many accomplishments) has been on fire explaining the persuasiveness and success of the Trump campaign, if you haven't read him, do it. He's all over Twitter, too.

I still say the best line about the new Prez is that progs and libs take him literally rather than seriously, when it should be the other way around. He also continues to play the press like a fiddle, which is hilarious. One NBC person has it right (I can't find the tweets), that covering his rantings (specifically, it was the "under reported terror attacks story) only brings attention to the issue (and she was totally correct), but the media can't not cover him, just like it couldn't during the campaign. It's worse for them now that he's POTUS! That's how he won, right? Well, that, and his opponent was the worst Dem prez candidate since Mondale.

I am amazed at the cognitive dissonance on both (all) sides of the aisle. Most recently, this Nordstrom Dropping Ivanka's Clothing Line Flap has me chuckling at the lefties that actually believe that it was a business decision. Seriously. It was political, as is TJMaxx's, and my wife is pissed off about it because she actually like the quality of some of the clothes in her line! 

Everyone thinks they are thoughtful, everyone thinks they have formed their opinions based on reflection and education, but, as has been described well by others, that's just not true. I give people the benefit of the doubt, but there's just so much stupid out there, and the Internet makes it inescapable. Alas.

Photography continues to amuse me, so if you aren't already, follow me on instagram. I get the honor of an episode of the Hashtagged Daily Podcast here in a week or so, look for episode 77. If you like instagram and photography, it's an interesting podcast! 

Current Events! Yay!

Snarky comment #1

Wasn't Donald a Democrat in 2005? (and when all these incidents reportedly occurred?)

Here's the thing,people, and remember please, I don't like Trump: politicians have groupies just like other entertainers (see what I did there?). See my post on Anthony Weiner from back in the day.

So, it seems clear to me, at least, that words were given to all the players here by Weiner or his people. What this tells me is that we have yet another set of Democrat parents willing to sacrifice the truth, theirs and their daughters' credibility for a skeezy congressman that they "admire" and think "has done nothing wrong." Does anyone else remember all the support the parents of Chandra Levy gave Gary Condit, even though, while not a murderer, he had been engaged in an inappropriate relationship with her? Monica Lewinsky's parents?
While it is much more rampant among liberals, this cult of personality isn't just for Democrats, either, as Lisa Baron says about sleeping with Republicans in her new book "The Life of the Party,"

"'To be able to say, 'I'm with the such-and-such campaign,' or 'I work for Senator So-and-So' is to us political junkies what "I’m with the band" is to Pamela Des Barres."

I can't speak for you, but this all disgusts me.

There were some pictures of women in t-shirts at the Trump rally last night here in Cincinnati, one was very homemade and said "Trump can grab my" with a big arrow pointing below her belt...the other read "Hey, Trump, talk dirty to me!!!"   These are groupies, and they think any attention from Trump would be just dandy. Therefore, they have given consent, after a fashion.

Consent is the big buzzword over all this, I see on Twitter. It seems to me that that was what he and Billy Bush were talking about, groupies letting you do whatever because you are famous. Consent,eh?

He's a creep, but so are soooooo many people that are in any kind of public role. He's not Hilary.

It really bugs me that the kind of political, crony corruption being exposed by the wikileaks emails is going under the radar because of this perfectly timed release of Donald smearing. Typical, expected, but still frustrating. This was all known, you know it was, and the media and all made sure that he got the nomination so they could bring this out in time to get Hilary elected. At least, we have the emails to prove that, even though it won't matter.

Lastly, I am laughing at the professional sportsters that are all offended with the phrase "locker room talk" like that never happens where they are. Seriously? How many kids by how many baby mamas do our athletes have? Ever heard of Wilt Chamberlain? Here's an old baseball joke that I pull out from time to time to show my disdain for our professional entertainer class, sportsters included:

What's the hardest part about going on a road trip? Not smiling as you kiss your wife goodbye.

Just Wanted To Be On The Record

I have to tell you, every time a lib/prog on FB posts about the evil Trump, I want to scream "you are so stupid you don't even know he's a lifelong Democrat, do you?" I mean really, his donations, his policies, his statements, his votes are D, not R. You have got to be kidding me.

I just want it on the record, when he doesn't get the nomination because he's a Democrat and they finally realize it a the party level.

What? Media Writes Crappy Headlines, Film At Eleven!

It's been particularly frustrating lately, especially here at home with the race-baiting headlines and the stark manipulations from the press.

I'll start with the national news, one that I think is pretty demonstrative of the typical way these things happen, and one that #1 has elucidated very effectively today (8/10/15).

Donald Trump said yet another stupid thing after the Republican Presidential Candidate's debate last Thursday, expressing his feelings about the moderator, Megyn Kelly pretty inarticulately (shocking!) and I have to tell you, that based on the tweets, FB posts, and headlines, for three days, until this morning, I thought he said this:

"She had blood coming out of her whatever"

Because of quotes like this from this CNN article: "Donald Trump's feud with Megyn Kelly escalated Friday night when he said the Fox News host had "blood coming out of her wherever" at this week's Republican debate, resulting in swift condemnation from conservatives and a major political event pulling its invitation to him." 


When, in fact, he said ""You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes," Trump told CNN's Don Lemon on Friday night. "Blood coming out of her wherever." (same article as above)

Watch the link and you'll see he was just struggling to get some words out and move on to the next topic. Trump is a personality, a loud, brash, self-aggrandizing creature of the American culture. I have no regard for him, never have, he's the type of Cait-kardashian-Kanye-honey boo boo-reality ilk that is a scourge upon our species, much less our culture, but he's getting totally hosed on this.

Sorta.

His poll numbers are up, so who gets the last word on this?

He has defended his remarks specifically that it's the hearers that implied something he didn't infer. Good for him.

Other stuff.

Ok, our local Fox affiliate has used this headline about a "19 year old college football player that was black and was shot by a police trainee": 

Trainee officer shoots unarmed college football player

The AP article begins: "An unarmed college football player was shot dead at a suburban Dallas car dealership by a trainee police officer during a middle-of-the-night burglary call. The death of 19-year-old Christian Taylor has raised some of the same questions as other recent police shootings involving unarmed suspects."

The article is so bad that I can't stand to read it, but it never explicitly states that the "victim" was committing a crime at the time (allegedly) but is sure to get some speculation from his father. This CNN article is better, using the AP story as its basis (or did the Fox affiliate edit it down to garbage? good question) getting around to the things he did that attracted police attention, but needlessly linking the Ferguson shooting of a year ago in attempt to paint it as racial (even though the Justice Dept came to the opposite conclusion).

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!


Lastly, a University of Cincinnati cop killed a guy the other week, and he's being dragged through the mud. I'm not going to defend him, because he had no reason to shoot the guy. I have a couple of observations, of course.

If you watch the video, he wasn't being confrontational, or jerky in any way to the guy he stopped. The guy was being a little low-grade difficult, but it escalated in a flash when he told the guy he wanted him to get out of the car. We had just seen both of the officer's hands, so the speed at which he ended up pulling his gun and shooting it is shocking.

Why? I have an answer for that, I think with all the anti-police media attention over the last year especially (thanks to the drive-by media's Ferguson fiasco) coupled with the targeting and killing of cops including one here in Cincinnati, cops are on edge. It's causing the rate of cops killing people to spike rather than decrease because they are rightly SCARED.

Now, to the specifics of the case, I think that he's going to get off on the murder charge because the tape doesn't show what he may or may not have suspected, smelled, or seen in the car as he talked to the victim who was, as it turns out, in addition to the legitimate reasons for the stop and questioning (no front plate, no driver's license on him), had a bottle of "air freshener" to cover the scent of the drugs and cash that was in the car.... Which is why the guy was a little evasive, didn't want to get out of the car, and did, in fact start to attempt to flee before he was needlessly shot. 

Let me repeat that: needlessly shot. He was a guy doing bad things, but the officer should not have shot him. 

His family placed flowers as a memorial on the campus of my alma mater, which is interesting as I don't think he was ever a student there, so why memorialize him there? Because the officer that killed him was a UC cop? I just think the location is weird, that's all, clearly the family should so something to memorialize him regardless of the the circumstances of his death. Allowing it on the campus, though, I think is an error as he was in possession of pot and cash; driving without a license in his possession; driving without a front plate at the time of his shooting. If that makes me some kind of monster, I can live with that.