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The Middle Way

~ A journey between extremes

The Middle Way

Monthly Archives: September 2016

The World’s Longest Con; or, Bernie or Bust will do just that

27 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Change, Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Emotional Intelligence, Middle Way, Open mind, Patriotism, Politics, Terrorism

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Tags

#afterlastnightsdebates, #bernie, #bernieorbust, #berniesanders, #debates2016, #donaldtrump, #hitler, #jillstein, #nationalism, #nevertrump, #presidentialdebate, #presidentialelection, #racism, #ripoff, #scam, #thelongcon, #trump, #worldwar3, @realDonaldTrump, @SenSanders, Patriotism

trump-boston-globe-april-2017

Donald Trump. The man who turned tacky into gold, has been pushing himself on the American people for years. Armchair shrinks have been picking apart his motives for decades, labeling him as everything from a megalomaniac to a psychopath. While those diagnoses might motivate him some, there is some genius in there too.

He started The World’s Longest Con by pretending to be a PR agent man making phone calls to press outlets to say fantastical things about the amazing Donald Trump. He spent all of his energy over the next couple of decades making sure that his name was on everybody’s lips. His need to be on tabloid and magazine covers is legendary, and he collects them to show off whenever possible still.

It’s called The Long Con and it plays on two of humanities biggest weaknesses, desperation and greed. At the moment we’re still in the buildup stage, and America is his mark. The long con that Trump has been playing out for three decades now will make Bernie Madoff look like a 18th century pickpocket if it succeeds. Bernie only took his marks for about $17 billion. Donald Trump is going to the big haul, the United States Presidency.

Donald Trump is an absolute artist, a con artist. It helps to remember that the con in con artist stands for confidence. A con artist first has to earn your trust, show you that they are trustworthy, and then that they’re willing to help you out too. Watch Donald in front of any crowd and listen to what he says. He hones in on that group’s trigger and hits it almost every single time, truth be damned.

Of course by now most people know that his family name isn’t even Trump, it’s Drumpf. During his formative years Donald watched his father spent his time and efforts building a slumlord empire. Donald then took up the reins, and very soon had his very own racial bias lawsuit that he brags about to this day, since he considers the settlement a win if he never expressed guilt and only paid a fine.

All was well in Trumptopia as he began to build in Manhattan, portraying himself as tycoon and a shrewd dealer, when in fact he climbed that ladder on the backs of the workers he stiffed, literally not paying them for work they had done.

And then there were the women. Only the most beautiful and glamorous would do. Objectification, adultery and divorce, normally issues in any campaign, have barely even come up in this election, why we can only speculate. One reason is that the Democrats can’t afford to go there considering the last name of their candidate, and then there’s the Republicans who are still reeling from having to swallow a very, very bitter pill. Suffice it to say that Donald has always wanted to look the part of the uptown playboy, and has never hid the fact that he knows he would never get woman of the caliber he does if it wasn’t for his money. He is the epitome of everything possible with capitalism.

As the twentieth century picked up steam and the country became less prudent and conservative and more liberal and lavish it was only a matter of time before someone like Donald Trump emerged. A man who sees the possibilities of what money can unlock beyond the normal person. Of course this only works if you can also see how fluid morals and ethics actually are in American society. As much as the religious right has been trying to wish America into being a Christian society with all of the accompanying moralistic restrictions, the fact that no one, least of all the candidates they’ve backed, has been able to adhere to such puritanical limitations matters little, it’s the ability to display your righteous indignation at your political opponent’s indiscretions is what really matters. Now that they’ve lost this card, best not bring it up for a while.

So why call his presidential bid a long con? Believe it or not it was almost 30 years ago that he first mentioned running for president, and continued to do so a handful of times until this election season. But, true to form, he has systematically tested the country for weaknesses since the first mention, biding his time until the perfect amount of desperation and anger existed that he could ride like a wave with little or no effort. Once that kind of climate existed he jumped in and harnessed it, riding the free press his statements stirred up. He’s done so in such a way that he’s been able to spend a fraction of the amount of money the Democrats have, and in some cases with almost no need for a ground game. All because of his bombastic style and passing acquaintance with the truth.

But let’s not forget The Long Con, because it’s been going on this whole time. As soon as he became the nominee Trump stopped pretending to fund his own campaign because the donors and the RNC are footing the bill now. So what does he do? He actually hikes the rent on his own campaign office in Trump Towers almost 500%, from a monthly $35,458 in March to $169,758 in July. Then there’s the fact that he actually makes a profit off of his Secret Service detail because he owns the plane, as well as some other funky ways to turn a buck by running for prez. I’d love to include the whole charity scam in with The Long Con but it’s actually in its own category. At least we can still see what he tried to do to the veterans charities.

Trump knows that politicians lie, so like everything else he does he does the same thing only on a grander scale, and it’s one of the things his supporters love about him. They see it as him using the system against itself. He makes a bold-faced lie and then reverses it the next day, and if it’s pointed out to his supporters they say he’s just using the politician’s game against them. And they have a point. When Trump said he “could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and [he] wouldn’t lose any voters” he was making an extremely valid point! While there’s not much you could say to sway most voters once they’ve made up their minds, during this election season and with this candidate, there is nothing anyone can say or do to dissuade his supporters. Literally the only way to defeat him is to get enough people willing to vote against him. And since that means that they would have to vote for Hillary Clinton… well it’s quite possible that this was all part of The Long Con.

In fact, Donald’s favorite tool is other people’s frustration and anger. How else could he repeatedly plant the idea that the entire system is rigged, the primaries are rigged, the parties are rigged, and the debates are rigged? So rigged in fact, that an average run of the mill white guy, born into affluence like himself, can’t catch a break in this country anymore! Think about that. Trump is one of the few people who could plant the idea that white men who no longer get special treatment, are really the big victims in this country.

Do you really think Trump likes Bernie Sanders? Do you really think his indignation at the way Bernie’s supporters were treated was real?  No way! Trump knew all along that the fix was in at the DNC, and it was in his own best interest to sow more seeds of hate for the Clintons. He certainly did everything he could to encourage the Bernie or Bust movement. And it worked, in fact it’s still working.

A little self-disclosure, I was on the Bernie or Bust wagon too. For the first time in my life I actually volunteered for a campaign, because Bernie inspired a lot of us to finally get involved. But what does it say about the seeds of hatred that have developed around the Bernie or Busters? They are still holding in to their anger even though Bernie himself is begging them to look at the big picture? And since Bernie’s candidacy was supposed to be about issues, issues that the DNC adopted to gain his support, then those holding out seem to care more about what was done wrong to hurt them instead of the issues that originally attracted them! Sure you can vote for another candidate who’ll support those issues, but you really only have one opportunity of seeing them happen.

Hate is a horrible emotion and Trump’s ability to spread strife is as powerful as anything he has ever done, and the Bernie or Bust movement is playing right into his hand. While Sanders supporters look back in the primary and stew over their injuries, Trump uses their anger like fuel, making it easier for Donald Trump to win by draining votes via anger and protest, let alone all of those who will sit out the vote in apathy.

For those voters who see defeating Donald Trump as a second chance to defeat Hitler, they’ve got the right idea. I’ll grant you that the possibility that Trump will resort to ethnic cleansing is remote, but the idea that he will create a climate for it to grow in is guaranteed! As it is we are already poised for blindly following Nationalistic tendencies and labelling them patriotism.

As it is we are enough generations away from the last World War that we’ve already lost the reverence for life, and willingness to sacrifice it, that our grandparents had. A smoldering fire has been lit in the Arab world as a result of decades of failed U.S. policies, and every step we take from this point on could mean the lives of thousands, maybe millions. I implore every Sanders supporter, every independent, and every rational person who reads this, please take a moment to think about everything you hate about Donald Trump and then imagine how much worse it will be if he gets the power he wants.

And for once I’m going to do a very unusual thing for me, and ask that everyone who reads this to share it. Post it on Facebook, Retweet it, and email it around. There are too many people talking about how crazy and dangerous the man is for us to not do anything at this point. There’s not much time left. 

Pants on fire

25 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Middle Way, Politics, Terrorism

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Trump’s candidacy was premised on upending a dishonest establishment that has rigged American political and economic life, so many of his loyalists are willing to overlook his lies, as long as he rankles the powerful, said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman.

“It gives him not only license, but incentive to spin fantasy, because no one expects him to tell the truth,” said Stutzman, who worked against Trump during the primaries. “They believe they’re getting lied to constantly, so if their hero tells lies in order to strike back, they don’t care.”

Read the whole article

Imagine

23 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Compassion, Conspiracies, Guns, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Race, Terrorism

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Imagine when you leave your house you always try to make sure your phone is charged and there’s enough space on it to record videos. 

And imagine that every time you see a law enforcement officer you get a cold, sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. So you sit up a little straighter and check the speed if you’re driving. It’s always good to stay a few miles an hour below the speed limit. 

You worry about the little things, a faulty brake light, driving through strange towns… you get the idea. You feel like every traffic stop is akin to navigating a nazi border crossing. 

You’re a part of a growing population that records every interaction they have with the police, just in case. While this only adds to the tension in any given situation, the alternative is so much worse. Just imagine. 

And, of course, you wish it was your imagination, but instead you know people who’ve had to use recordings like that to posthumously defend their loved one’s death, thereby quite literally adding insult to injury. 

And imagine you hope you can vote to change this climate, but the polling place in your neighborhood (and those like it) has been closed down, so now you’re not even sure you’ll be able to because you don’t have enough time to get all the way across town to vote without ending up late to your second job.

Can you imagine?! Well, if you’re white in America, that’s probably the only way you’ll likely experience these things anyway.

What’s at stake…

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Change, Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Terrorism

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Let me get this straight…

We should build a wall to keep undesirables out.

We should deal with crime using draconian force.

It is unpatriotic, and should be punishable, to not stand for the national anthem.

We should never let our enemies know what our plans are at any time so that we always have the element of surprise.

We have no need to see personal information on our leaders, and should trust them implicitly. 

All of this works especially well if the leader in question has a really bizarre hairstyle.

Does all of that sound about right?

Scylla and Charybdis

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Change, Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Islam, Middle Way, Open mind, Patriotism, Quantum, Tech, Terrorism

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I’ve come to the conclusion that the stakes are so high in this election season, and the choices so polarizing, that the outcome will not be good no matter who is elected president.

The possibility that some form of internal strife breaking out in this country is all too real regardless of the election’s outcome. The rhetoric is ramping up on all sides, and the discourse is so jaded and threatening that the citizenry no longer sees it as a difference in policy and more as an assault on their very security. 

Friend’s have begun to turn their backs on one another. Brothers and sisters are becoming estranged. Political banter is being taken as fact, and violence is now punctuating conviction.

The fact that in my life I would live to see American citizens physically assaulted because of their political beliefs tells me that, as a country, we are regressing. We have not learned the lessons of our own Civil War, or the struggles for Civil Rights. We have learned nothing from the Great Depression or the Great Recession. The era of the Robber Baron has returned with a vengeance and the redistribution of wealth through corporate welfare has created a pressure cooker between the classes as the buffer that used to be the middle class disintegrates. Nationalistic and fascist sentiments are beginning to take hold in a way that makes McCarthyism seem tame. Big government has always been partisan free under the surface, as the illusion of choices hides the solid core of corruption. Freedom of the press is undercut by their own partisanship and is being given the last rights by a candidate who threatens lawsuits if people report negatively on him. The threat of totalitarianism is so intense, yet the average voter is less likely to vote now than they were during the primaries because the major candidates have roughly the same approval ratings as W. did when leaving office during the Great Recession. One candidate likes to tell everyone that his opponent wants to abolish the Second Amendment so that don’t notice that he is systematically demonizing and ostracizing the press, and getting the citizens to buy into his narrative. Pressure cooker bombs are slowly knocking the election off of its axis in a slow play toward annihilation by fear and self-protection. And weekly communication hacks are making everyone more guarded, except those who never had a filter to begin with. 

If I sound nihilistic, it’s only because I checked my hope at the door of a primary voting station, I sat back and watched the swill rise to the top through buffoonery, corruption and cronyism. We’re perched headlong over a bed of nails, each of which we drove in ourselves with every nitpick and special circumstances we felt we needed at the expense of those we disagreed with  

This one’s for you. 

Other times I can barely see

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Terrorism

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Hillary’s medical event

11 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Compassion, Conspiracies, Middle Way, Open mind, Politics

≈ 2 Comments

It appears that Hillary Clinton experience a medical event while attending a memorial service for the victims of 9/11. While this does lend an element of legitimacy to the rumors about her health, it’s by no means a smoking gun. Either way the reason I’m saying anything at all about it is that some of the people talking about it are doing so in giddy tones, as if they are excited about what this could mean for Donald Trump.

Seriously?!

In what world is it okay to get excited about anyone having health problems anywhere, at any time, for any reason? How barbaric can you get?!

Compassion doesn’t have a circumference, only a center.

15 years gone

11 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Change, Memorial, Middle Way, Patriotism, Terrorism

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I want to write a poignant post about where I was on September 11, 2001 and what I was doing. But instead I’d like to take a minute to tell you about a woman I grew up with. 

Her name was Madeline Amy Sweeney and she was a flight attendant on Flight 11, the first flight to hit the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. 

When the hijackers took over the flight, she was able to get on the phone and relate valuable information about the hijackers to her supervisor before the impact. The moment of her death literally marks the beginning of this horrible nightmare that has been echoing ever since.

I grew up with her and her brother in a neighborhood that was ironically right next to air traffic control for the Boston area, and a sweeter person you could never meet.

The weirdest things stay on your mind in these situations. It was actually on September 11 that I found out that her real first name was Madeline and not Amy, which everyone called her. Why that has always stuck with me, I have no idea, but it has.

In the last moments of her life Amy took actions that were incredibly selfless and courageous even without considering the threat she was facing. And if you consider what she was facing it is almost inconceivable. So many of us will never have to make that kind of choice to know if we could take the same kind of actions.

I could work to help other the rest of my life and not make a fraction of the sacrifice that Amy and her family gave that day. I wanted to make sure that she is not forgotten today, 15 years later. But maybe we can each take a piece of that and help a stranger each day for as long as we can. Maybe then we can slowly begin to move this world back toward peace one small act at a time.

A Stand On The Pledge

10 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Middle Way, Open mind, Patriotism, Politics, Sameness, Terrorism

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I have officially had it with this bullshit!

A football player protests the government of the United States by not standing for the pledge of allegiance before games. That’s it. Nothing malicious. Nothing illegal. It’s peaceful and non-violent. So what’s the big deal?

Well, it seems the big deal is that he’s done so on national TV, and that’s the inexcusable part. Why? Because how are you supposed to raise little closed-minded bigots without maintaining the vacuum around them? I mean it’s dangerous to let a black man do something this un-American in front of the children! They may get the idea that they can think for themselves!

Seriously, the people who fought and died for this country did so with a belief in our freedom. The freedom to walk down the street without having to show your papers to the authorities. The freedom to worship God as you wish, or the freedom to express that there is none. The freedom to rise above your station in life, and the freedom to fail at entirely new levels. The freedom to burn the flag, and the freedom to die for it too!

But admit it, the people who are pissed off about this protestor are never going to tell their kids that what this athlete is doing is not only legal, it’s constitutional. It’s patriotic! They’re not going to tell them that what this man is doing is in the spirit of this country far more than the idea that we all must be required to pledge our allegiance no matter what, like the starving countrymen of North Korea lined up to impress Kim Jong Un on the anniversary of their dear leader’s birth. That instead what we should do is question our leaders and public servants when we feel they are abusing their power. You can’t tell them that! Well, not all the time…

It’s okay to sick dogs on Native Americans who are protecting their ancestral lands, you won’t hear them complain about that. It’s fine if a bunch of gun-toting nut jobs take over a wildlife refuge and threaten the hurt to people all over some stupid land! See, those are okay because they show power, force, and good Christian values taken straight from the Sermon on the Mount. You know, gems like: “Blessed are the gun owners, for they shall rule the lands.” That’s the kind of patriotism that these people can get behind! Not some namby pamby thoughtful black man expressing his concerns over the treatment of defenseless American citizens.

Let’s face it, this thing has blown up because it’s meme-able. And it can be easily demeaned on social media because no one stops to think about the flip-side of blind patriotism versus good old patriotic ideas. It has spread because for the last 15 years the idea of patriotism through strength has been more appealing than reliving the horrific events of that day.

Patriotism is like very fine sand. The tighter you grasp it the more it slips through your fingers, but if you hold it in an open hand you can preserve it a little while longer. At least until another strong wind comes along.
(Edit: In my mind I actually wrote the National Anthem, instead of The Pledge. I was pretty upset. The sentiment is the same though)

No, really! Politics aren’t rigged!!!

10 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Middle Way, Politics, Terrorism

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A picture in need of a caption…

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