US Politics, June 2020 — You have to dominate.

Trump employs a not very subtle strategy of hook-and-bait with communication.

He'll say something attention getting and sharable even if it's something that makes him look bad (desecrating the memory of George Floyd) that contains a hook (good jobs numbers) he wants spread.

— Michael Tae Sweeney (@mtsw) June 5, 2020

People accuse me of giving Trump too much credit for cleverness, but you absolutely do not have to be smart to execute this maneuver. Trump is not proving he's smart but if you're continuously falling into this trap, he's proving he's smarter than you are, at least.

— Michael Tae Sweeney (@mtsw) June 5, 2020

And it could be soeone smart who's telling him to do it

The Trump trap is actually him spewing bullshit so extreme or beyond the pale that everyone is compelled to respond, which sucks up all the air and dilutes outrage, all while he has moved on to the next bullshit, because like a goldfish floating up to the top of the tank for food but forgetting why he went there, all he knows is the fleeting moment.

yeah it doesn't matter if he's actually smart, or if someone is telling him to do it, or even if he does shit like this deliberately. the observable fact is that it works.

it's all about him

you have to dominate

the observable fact is that it works.

to be clear, "works" here is "people know jobs are up", not necessarily he's going to win in november, which i suppose is the main thing. but still.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/d-c-mayor-bowser-has-black-lives-matter-painted-street-n1225746

troll level: proficient

Renaming Pennsylvania Avenue "George Floyd Way"? expert.

performative

I'm not really a religious person but I am starting to think this man might be the antichrist

The Piss Christ in human form.

we were warned

remember that nyt tom cotton op-ed?

From New York Times town hall: op-ed team pitched the piece TO Tom Cotton. Not the other way around.

— quarantine toddler task force (@PatrickCoffee) June 5, 2020

wow, they were REALLY desperate to present a wide spectrum of thoughts and opinions on the op-ed page, such dedication

wow

please, please, will someone fill up this page with the most hateful and fascist thinking possible? preferably a US senator? pleeeeeeease

I'm not really a religious person but I am starting to think this man might be the antichrist

honestly, peak times for straight up unchristian words and deeds

https://www.cjr.org/public_editor/new-york-times-public-editor-sen-cottons-op-ed-was-dishonest-not-only-reprehensible.php

remember when nyt actually had a public editor?

They fired her iirc

Well, the last NYT public editor, Liz Spayd, wasn't great. But her predecessor, Margaret Sullivan, was excellent. (And she continues to be insightful as WaPo's media critic.)

My son just looked at the television and said "Daddy, do you think these rioters will register to vote?" He's a 46 year old Vox journalist and I hate him so fucking much.

— Socialist Alternative Rock & Pop Punk (@MildCuthbert) June 4, 2020

fantastic

General Mattis Condemns Trump As Threat To Constitution https://t.co/Y5NLuFN9nC #WhatDoYouThink? pic.twitter.com/5crIX7m2fJ

— The Onion (@TheOnion) June 5, 2020

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/janeese-lewis-george-districi-of-columbia-police-reform-city-councils_n_5edaab12c5b6dc3de7b95082

Normally, a local council race would have little resonance outside the city or district where it took place. But the mailers and the protests in Washington and nationwide transformed the election into the “first major referendum on policing” in the country since the demonstrations began, said Tahir Duckett, a civil rights attorney in Washington.

The result was clear: On Tuesday, just 24 hours after federal and D.C. police violently cracked down on protests across Washington, Lewis George appeared to have easily defeated incumbent Councilman Brandon Todd ― although the election hadn’t yet been officially called by Friday, she held a seemingly insurmountable 12-percentage-point lead in the Democratic primary race, which in D.C. serves as a de facto general election.

The resounding victory will give Lewis George a powerful voice over a police force that ranks among the nation’s largest, relative to the local population. But it’s also a reminder, criminal justice reform advocates say, that although city councils are often overlooked, perhaps no level of government has more direct power to affect the immediate and sweeping changes to American police departments that protesters and activist groups, including Black Lives Matter, have demanded.

damn straight. that's great news.

She came to my house! I’m so happy she won

This thread -- I just -- just read it, read the whole thing, you'll thank me

It’s Martin Luther King day, so here’s a THREAD on NONVIOLENT PROTEST:

1/x

1) War is a kind of negotiation, not an alternative to it.

The goal in war is not to kill all enemy soldiers, but to *convince enemy leadership to surrender.*

Victory is thus a matter of persuasion. pic.twitter.com/o2f4FofbKx

— Mike Elias 💡📈 (@harmonylion1) January 20, 2020

buy my ripple xrp

1/x

the hard turn into harry potter and bitcoin was... upsetting

none more trump

Trump’s photo op at a Maine factory making badly needed Covid testing swabs actually slowed production: After his tour without a mask, the factory had to trash the day’s output. https://t.co/OnaU7xTXN7

— Peter Elkind (@peterelkind) June 6, 2020

wtf at that twitter thread about bitcoin

that mike elias guy is a bloviating investor type, ignore

Today in Emails from the Sweaty and Desperate...

Subject line: NO KNEELING!

Bob,

The American Flag is to be revered, cherished, and flown high. We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart.

There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!

Our beautiful American Flag should be respected and anyone who thinks otherwise is simply UN-AMERICAN! President Trump wants to send the left a message that protesting the American Flag is absolutely unacceptable, but he can’t do it without you.

He’s calling on YOU to step up, Bob. He wants to know who had his back during this time, so we’re sending him a list of supporters who publicly sign their name to stand with him and our flag.

Please stand with President Trump in the NEXT 3 HOURS and DEMAND respect for the American Flag.

INSTANT PETITION SIGNATURE

Please confirm your information below:

Bob Dobalina
b***************@g***l.com

ADD YOUR NAME NOW >>

Please add your name in the NEXT 3 HOURS to stand with President Trump!

President Trump needs to know he can count on you right now, Bob.

If you add your name in the NEXT 3 HOURS, we’ll make sure it’s at the VERY TOP of the petition we give the President.

INSTANT PETITION SIGNATURE

Please confirm your information below:

Bob Dobalina
b***************@g***l.com

ADD YOUR NAME NOW >>

Please add your name in the NEXT 3 HOURS to stand with President Trump!

Thank you,

Team Trump 2020

NOT GREAT BOB

ya gotta pay a fee dobalina

to take a knee dobalina

NOT GREAT BOB

I'm hoping to see this subject line the morning of November 4...

freedom ain't free dobalina
don't call us bob
we'll call u

Ya really make me sick with ya fraudulent behavior

INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK!

Trump uses emergency powers to sign executive order voiding the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, which requires rigorous environmental review before building new infrastructure like highways or pipelines.

“From the beginning of my Administration, I have focused on reforming and streamlining an outdated regulatory system that has held back our economy with needless paperwork and costly delays. The need for continued progress in this streamlining effort is all the more acute now, due to the ongoing economic crisis.”

WTF

which requires rigorous environmental review before building new infrastructure like highways or pipelines.

and, importantly for trump, large real estate developments

i see we're racing toward the "well if he gets booted, what's the most outrageous shit we can push for domestically" territory

Looks like they really are moving the convention to Florida https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/us/politics/republican-convention-charlotte-2020.html

Maaan fuuuuuuck you Repubs

Trump uses emergency powers to sign executive order voiding the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, which requires rigorous environmental review before building new infrastructure like highways or pipelines.

I'm not seeing this news reported elsewhere.

NPR and MSN and The Hill

ugh, just found that NPR story you linked, thanks.

but tHeY're alL tHe sAmE