Walter Kirn and I test the limits of masochism as we recap the Democratic National Convention, live-hurling through the "President of Joy's" final sendoff
You deserve some kind of a medal. I cannot even bear to watch the snippets you share without my head exploding. How much do you have to drink to get ready?
The whole DNC is just a giant high school prom that only the kids who think they are “cool” get to attend. Kamala and Walz are elected prom queen and king, and everyone is full of joy and good vibes.
A target for assassins, it seems. At least Trump is. People on the left spend a hot second on the assassination attempt. Imagine if this was anyone else.
The speech was a significant (vapid) improvement on her stump speech and from HRC's 2016: "Let them eat confetti" pitch. HRC evidently referenced herself with the cracked glass ceiling, Harris is occupying the same lane as Obama 2008. If Harris was a blank slate, she'd win in a walk.
Unfortunately for Harris and her supporters, she's a very familiar, deeply unpopular political actor.
French political observers described Harris - post Biden debate meltdown - as the worst choice - "an immense mediocrity" and that was from folks who hate Trump.
The moment Trump asks Kamala to explain exactly why Putin waited to attack Ukraine until Biden-Harris took office - (or some similar fact-based question) - Trump wins, especially if RFK jr. drops out/joins Trump.
They both radically suck on foreign policy, Trump is much better on domestic policy, all is moot if either gets us into WWIII with Iran + BRICS. Not only would millions of our people die, and either one would use it as an excuse to up the tyranny, but it is a war we would lose badly after the oligarchs stupidly offshored our industrial base.
Not to be contrary - or naive - but I just had this thought today: Would ANY country want to start a nuclear war? Won't that just boomerang onto the initiating country? I mean, have you SEEN the 'Twilight Zone' episodes??? 😳
This assumes people are rational. Many of these people are messianic with apocalyptic end of the world fantasies, especially among hard liners in Israel and Christian Zionists in the U.S.
The actual cool kids are outside, holding signs behind the barriers. Can’t get in, the media ignores them, while the chosen ones congratulate each other on their sophistry.
Are they really that cool if they want to get into the uncoolest place to be? Stop trying to sway the Democratic Party, it's never gonna happen. Meanwhile RFK Jr is infiltrating the Republican Party. Let's take that over instead.
Largely agree but there were a few things. Sonic Youth and the Minutemen. End of Apartheid in South Africa and the beginning of the end of the Cold War and USSR. Probably a few others.
There was lots of cool music in the 80s actually, almost all of it underground. I like to say it existed in spite of the 80s. SST Records, post-punk, thrash metal from CA and NY, Soundgarden, Green River/Mudhoney, the Melvins up northwest, Public Enemy. There were occasional flashes of brilliance that broke through to the mainstream, The Police, Prince, DLR-era Van Halen, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, De La Soul... some great films too. Repo Man, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Brazil. You're just wrong as usual, Feldspar.
Really? We broke out of a 17-year bear market, and it was off to the races!! It was a euphoric time, especially in NYC---the Mets were rebuilding, The Talking Heads were on fire, and everyone worked at white shoe Wall St. firms, like First Jersey Securities.
There was a time when, as my presumptive civic duty, I would watch the key speeches from both conventions, even when I already knew for whom I'd vote. Just can't even think of doing that anymore. Can't watch snippets. Can't read quotes. That's how bad they've gotten. We might as well have AI do it - at least it might be interesting.
That's exactly why following politics has become such a, even more, miserable experience. It's all part of the grand strategic plan. Our (would be?) global overlords want us to come to prefer AI produced simulations over reality.
Our betters are preparing us for the coming of The Simulation, to be governed in accordance with democratic principles, in which all avatars will have an equal vote. With the understanding, of course, that certain avatars will remain, as always, more equal than others.
Oh no no no. This year they were the most interesting. Trump's was like a meandering psychedelic trip and Kamala's was like something terrifying out of "The Wall".
Joy Joy Joy! Soma Soma Soma! They just didn’t drink deep enough to join the cult and enjoy the ‘letting go’ into the entertainment provided … that wasn’t politics they put on the screens for us to view.
I thought for sure they would eschew Kamala, Hillary and Gov. Newsome and nominate Oprah.
I thought the Republicans could counter this bold 3-D chess move by nominating, say, Petyon Manning ... but then I saw where Comcast/NBC hired Manning to provide commentary for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics and figured his conservative bona fides might not be iron-clad.
I'm not good with my presidential predictions - except I know the presidential election will be rigged. (The polls telling me Kamala has surged into the lead tell me I'm right on that one.)
As a presidential candidate, Oprah Winfrey would manifest "Joy" much more convincingly than Harris. And Oprah, with her with her personality and eloquence, would provide a more stark contrast to Trump's salesman schtick. But the pullers of strings in the Democratic Party would never be able to control her the way they can Kamala Apparatchik.
Did you see the Trump campaign sent out on social media a photograph of a supposedly handwritten Oprah note she sent to him, basically saying she liked him? Hilarious! That may have been a predicate fact for the Mar-A-Lago search warrant. Oprah: "I want my note back."
Oprah would have won in a landslide. Petyon could win easily. He'd definitely easily win Lousiana (his home state), Tennessee (where he was a beloved college hero), Indiana (for The Colts fans) and Colorado (for the Broncos' Super Bowl victory). All the SEC states like the Mannings. His great work on TV commercials would get him a few more swing states.
(I should have been a political consultant like James Carville. I'm giving away my great advice for free.)
I agree she would have won a few years ago. But isn't anyone else being off-putted by the Dems messaging? Money bad. Oops. Exhibits A, B, C: Pritzker, Oprah, Obamas. Clintons, Obamas, and so on --- we made our millions through "public service." They have Secret Service protection and drivers for the rest of their lives; and yet, --- "the audacity of no hope for the rest of us.
Watching the few edited convention speeches I have, admittedly on Fox. These people are not bright. But they are committed.
Based only on the bits and pieces I've read about her over the years, as willing as Michelle Obama may have been to play the various parts required of her, she has always drawn the line at serving as a candidate herself. Which probably speaks well of her sense of personal integrity.
Yes. The other night was a big middle finger to her not America. The Babylon Bee has a headline and shopped photo of her being borne offstage by bearers, like in a sword and sandals movie. So right on.
I don’t have much against Michelle. Obama disappointed me soon after election. That was the last candidate I worked as a volunteer. I’m marooned now politically. I just found it strange so many pegged her for a candidate. Scratched my head at that.
Her "personal integrity" like when she talked about her parents being "suspicious of anyone who had more than they needed" while she herself is likely worth hundreds of millions at this point?
their line-up really says it all: a collection of tired political hacks well past their sell-by dates, aging celebrities or those whose songs celebrate not America but Black or Violence or Hate and assorted freaks. This is the Dem party of the 21st c. It's a caricature of a party, looking so like Hunger Games it isn't funny anymore.
Ugh, what a soul-sucking event! That this team is even relevant, with their unknown policies and provable lies is ridiculous and doesn't bode well for our nation.
Granted but that doesn't seem like enough even multiplied many times over.
Thing is, politicians used to be more interesting when I covered them.
Now they're just robots that say whatever their string pullers tell them to say.
Who knows, maybe Harris will stumble out on stage with a bottle of Smirnoff in hand and shout, Hell yes I'm a drunk! How do you think I deal with all this shit! Willie, what the hell you get me into?"
Well said. They just are not interesting. It's like Lawrence Welk...who in retrospect was better than this show. They really do think we'll do what movie stars tell us to do.
There are a few people whose opinions I respect, but gotta say. Not some billionaire flopping around on the world stage. Scantily clothed. And the music? Sure.
I missed that too. Jill was Biden's babysitter. Although she was over 21 by the time they were a public couple. All the more reason to explain Hunter and Ashley's "issues". I'm being snide now, but they've pushed me to it.
That would be a beautiful moment of reality breaking through the facade. And what would make it even better is that people could have genuine reason to hesitate as they ponder the question of just which "Willie" she might be referring to.
While I love reading Matt's posts/articles/newsletters (will someone, for the love of God, tell me what to call them???) & love 'America This Week' - one of my favorite parts of this Substack column is the Comments. They're refreshing, educating, humorous, thought-provoking, sometimes crude 😖 - but all in all something I look forward to with each publication of Matt's.
Actually Matt T. is making bank here, and he deserves it, he works his ass off, and makes us both think and laugh. I am not sure about Walter though, I hope Matt is cutting him some nice checks, he is doing great as well.
For sure, like I said, I am glad Matt T. is making some money, I have little myself so he is my only paid subscription here. He and Walter are among our best journalists along with Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Matte, Judge Napolitano, and very few others..
I prefer to think of them as martyrs for a higher cause. That of providing the necessary mediation and perspective for those of us who lack the constitution and temperament required to take in this unfolding disaster in its raw form. without being reduced to the functional equivalent of either puppies quivering under the couch or banshees screaming in incoherent bewilderment throughout the night. You could consider it a form of public mental health intervention.
I was surprised Matt expected anything different. The speech was a crafted set of market-tested buzz words and snippets, stripped of any content that might offend/annoy any block of voters. That was Walter's point about an Attack Surface/Angle. Pure nothing, Gutfield was right she's the hole in the dough-nut surrounded by starch, fats, and icing sugar. Yum!!!!
A good way of getting "paid" of a sort is to book a flight with a connection through the convention's airport a day before or a day after these conventions - this happened to me accidentally in 2016 and I racked up more than 2500 in vouchers from delta that day - and was voluntarily "bumped" I think for three? flights I think.
Summary: Women have successfully redefined men into something new; it's wrong for one gender to ever make claims on another gender; the DNC is filled with incredibly strong women; gender is a construct and men and women don't exist; it's a good idea to cut off the breasts of adolescents when they ask, so they can become boys (which don't exist). Big pharma is bad; big pharma is good. Freedom is good; totalitarian policies are good. The next four years will be so much better than the problems of the last four years; we're responsible for the last four years, where everything got better. The less advantaged should be lifted up, no one held back; everyone must end up at the exact same place, where diversity is our strength and we should celebrate difference. It's good to be wealthier and more successful than someone else; making money in any form is inherently evil. DEI is necessary and worth celebrating; you are racist and sexist to ever suggest someone benefited from it. Kamala earned the nomination; meritocracy is racist. Not one American voted for Kamala; she celebrates democracy and accepts your nomination, as a lifelong and proud employee of "the people". Etc. There's another 1000 of these, but making this list makes my brain and heart hurt.
Analysis: Walter was right, these people cannot be understood with normal analyses. I'd add their goal isn't sense-making - the alignment with physical, psychological, or metaphysical reality. As a psychotherapist, my typical approach to neuroses is to try to identify what secondary/unconscious needs are being met. A "normally" functioning psyche has certain dynamics and rules that guide it. If this were a "normal" individual, they would be under tremendous distress as they are wrenched between incompatible goals and values, the pressures of immense inner conflict across every domain of life. But here, there is apparently no conflict. Instead it is buoyant, wispy, like a light fog rolling in over San Francisco. This reminds me of the most extreme "schizoid" client I once had. She lived entirely in a fantasy world and it was impossible to make any real contact with her. For months we met and literally nothing happened, but she continued to have a beaming smile and profusely praise me for all the fantasy success we were having. But one day there was a moment where I started to make some real contact with her, where I started to challenge her to confront a real aspect of her life - she abruptly ended therapy, telling me I had been tremendously beneficial to her and that she was "cured". As a therapist when I am in the presence of such people or groups there is a strange kind of brooding, rumbling in my belly, an intuition that there is a whirl of outer energy with no core to tether it to. An empty person/group. I'm feeling this now.
Your first paragraph is so reminiscent of this '1984' - 'the party said we were always at war with Eurasia & had never been in alliance with Oceania'.
"Orwell was sure that the decline of a language had political and economic causes. Although he had no solid proof, he presumed that the languages of countries under dictatorships, such as the Soviet Union or Germany, had deteriorated under their respective regimes.
"When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer," Orwell writes in his essay, "Politics and the English Language."
"If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought," he continues.
"Here is the very concept behind the invention of Newspeak. To illustrate this idea that language can corrupt thought and that totalitarian systems use language to restrict, rather than broaden, ideas, Orwell created Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. Without a word for freedom, for example, the concept of freedom cannot exist."
(This is not my work - sadly, I didn't keep the source info)
Late last night, we flipped and skipped through the six hour livestream re-run in about 15 minutes. From the looks of it, it must have been pure torture to sit through the whole thing in real time.
I clicked on a link the other night and got 3 seconds of Hillary speaking.
I immediately screamed, recoiled and hit exit as fast as my fingers would move. Just thinking about those traumatic seconds gives me the heebie jeebies.
Ought we then to worry about the possible fate of any in the convention hall whose micro-muscular facial expressions and body language, caught on drone camera footage, proved upon careful examination to be less than satisfactorily rapturous?
I wonder, since Michelle is so suspicious of rich people who got more than they should (excluding her and Barack of course) is she suspicious of Oprah?
You deserve some kind of a medal. I cannot even bear to watch the snippets you share without my head exploding. How much do you have to drink to get ready?
The whole DNC is just a giant high school prom that only the kids who think they are “cool” get to attend. Kamala and Walz are elected prom queen and king, and everyone is full of joy and good vibes.
That's a pretty accurate description from what I saw.
and what is the Trump ( Sopranos) Family?
What ever else Trump is, it appears his net worth dropped considerably while he was president, as opposed to all the rest.
Do you think that might be indicative of something?
People like Obama who have never done any thing of actual value have seen their wealth accumulate in multiples?
Biden?
Do such questions ever penetrate your bubble?
.....Bannon, Giuliani, Stone, Navarro---all persecuted by corrupt, hateful, bullying Dems and their lawfare.
A target for assassins, it seems. At least Trump is. People on the left spend a hot second on the assassination attempt. Imagine if this was anyone else.
The Laptop Knows All, fedcucks
Pretty much (the Sopranos)!
Who believes this bs except Jonestown candidates. Sad and scrarey at the same time.
The speech was a significant (vapid) improvement on her stump speech and from HRC's 2016: "Let them eat confetti" pitch. HRC evidently referenced herself with the cracked glass ceiling, Harris is occupying the same lane as Obama 2008. If Harris was a blank slate, she'd win in a walk.
Unfortunately for Harris and her supporters, she's a very familiar, deeply unpopular political actor.
French political observers described Harris - post Biden debate meltdown - as the worst choice - "an immense mediocrity" and that was from folks who hate Trump.
The moment Trump asks Kamala to explain exactly why Putin waited to attack Ukraine until Biden-Harris took office - (or some similar fact-based question) - Trump wins, especially if RFK jr. drops out/joins Trump.
Trouble always awaits when you start believing your own propaganda, Paul.
She's a dud, that doesn't mean she can't win.
Indeed. That's the scariest outcome of all. 😳
They both radically suck on foreign policy, Trump is much better on domestic policy, all is moot if either gets us into WWIII with Iran + BRICS. Not only would millions of our people die, and either one would use it as an excuse to up the tyranny, but it is a war we would lose badly after the oligarchs stupidly offshored our industrial base.
Not to be contrary - or naive - but I just had this thought today: Would ANY country want to start a nuclear war? Won't that just boomerang onto the initiating country? I mean, have you SEEN the 'Twilight Zone' episodes??? 😳
This assumes people are rational. Many of these people are messianic with apocalyptic end of the world fantasies, especially among hard liners in Israel and Christian Zionists in the U.S.
Pot kettle black
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Somehow that doesn't provide an ounce of comfort either.
Meanwhile the actual cool kids are off getting drunk and listening to thrash metal.
At least that's what we did back in the late 80s on prom night.
The actual cool kids are outside, holding signs behind the barriers. Can’t get in, the media ignores them, while the chosen ones congratulate each other on their sophistry.
I believe 'cool' is in the mind of the beholder.
Are they really that cool if they want to get into the uncoolest place to be? Stop trying to sway the Democratic Party, it's never gonna happen. Meanwhile RFK Jr is infiltrating the Republican Party. Let's take that over instead.
Nothing cool happened in the 80's. Nothing.
Hey, what about women's shoulder pads and big hair??
And the Pat Benetar look? ROWR
Largely agree but there were a few things. Sonic Youth and the Minutemen. End of Apartheid in South Africa and the beginning of the end of the Cold War and USSR. Probably a few others.
Great taste in music.
There was lots of cool music in the 80s actually, almost all of it underground. I like to say it existed in spite of the 80s. SST Records, post-punk, thrash metal from CA and NY, Soundgarden, Green River/Mudhoney, the Melvins up northwest, Public Enemy. There were occasional flashes of brilliance that broke through to the mainstream, The Police, Prince, DLR-era Van Halen, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, De La Soul... some great films too. Repo Man, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Brazil. You're just wrong as usual, Feldspar.
Repo Man is my all time favorite movie, I have seen it 2 dozen times.
The depth of music was mind blowing The Wipers, The Clash, The Talking Heads, The Meat Puppets, The Replacements, etc, etc, etc.
I am sure that's true if you are a glowie with an extremely tight sphincter.
Really? We broke out of a 17-year bear market, and it was off to the races!! It was a euphoric time, especially in NYC---the Mets were rebuilding, The Talking Heads were on fire, and everyone worked at white shoe Wall St. firms, like First Jersey Securities.
Haha - I had the SAME thought re high schoolers!
...and you're obviously not one of the cool kids...
True, but they used to let me hang out with them for some reason.
Yes I am sure a dorky awkward future glowie like you made all the girls wet their panties. (Eye roll)
There was a time when, as my presumptive civic duty, I would watch the key speeches from both conventions, even when I already knew for whom I'd vote. Just can't even think of doing that anymore. Can't watch snippets. Can't read quotes. That's how bad they've gotten. We might as well have AI do it - at least it might be interesting.
That's exactly why following politics has become such a, even more, miserable experience. It's all part of the grand strategic plan. Our (would be?) global overlords want us to come to prefer AI produced simulations over reality.
Is it a con? Is it a coup? It certainly isn’t democracy.
Our betters are preparing us for the coming of The Simulation, to be governed in accordance with democratic principles, in which all avatars will have an equal vote. With the understanding, of course, that certain avatars will remain, as always, more equal than others.
Or perhaps the Singularity. 🧐
Great point.
Isn’t AI already doing it? I guess it’s impossible to tell.
Good one.
Great comment.
Oh no no no. This year they were the most interesting. Trump's was like a meandering psychedelic trip and Kamala's was like something terrifying out of "The Wall".
I was kind of relieved you skipped last night. And glad to know it wasn't just me.
“test the limits of masochism”
You got that right!!
Joy Joy Joy! Soma Soma Soma! They just didn’t drink deep enough to join the cult and enjoy the ‘letting go’ into the entertainment provided … that wasn’t politics they put on the screens for us to view.
Looked a lot like the Oscar Ceremonies, where celebrities get to give each other awards.
And the Oscar for most cringe propaganda goes to...
I thought for sure they would eschew Kamala, Hillary and Gov. Newsome and nominate Oprah.
I thought the Republicans could counter this bold 3-D chess move by nominating, say, Petyon Manning ... but then I saw where Comcast/NBC hired Manning to provide commentary for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics and figured his conservative bona fides might not be iron-clad.
I'm not good with my presidential predictions - except I know the presidential election will be rigged. (The polls telling me Kamala has surged into the lead tell me I'm right on that one.)
As a presidential candidate, Oprah Winfrey would manifest "Joy" much more convincingly than Harris. And Oprah, with her with her personality and eloquence, would provide a more stark contrast to Trump's salesman schtick. But the pullers of strings in the Democratic Party would never be able to control her the way they can Kamala Apparatchik.
Did you see the Trump campaign sent out on social media a photograph of a supposedly handwritten Oprah note she sent to him, basically saying she liked him? Hilarious! That may have been a predicate fact for the Mar-A-Lago search warrant. Oprah: "I want my note back."
Oprah would have won in a landslide. Petyon could win easily. He'd definitely easily win Lousiana (his home state), Tennessee (where he was a beloved college hero), Indiana (for The Colts fans) and Colorado (for the Broncos' Super Bowl victory). All the SEC states like the Mannings. His great work on TV commercials would get him a few more swing states.
(I should have been a political consultant like James Carville. I'm giving away my great advice for free.)
I agree she would have won a few years ago. But isn't anyone else being off-putted by the Dems messaging? Money bad. Oops. Exhibits A, B, C: Pritzker, Oprah, Obamas. Clintons, Obamas, and so on --- we made our millions through "public service." They have Secret Service protection and drivers for the rest of their lives; and yet, --- "the audacity of no hope for the rest of us.
Watching the few edited convention speeches I have, admittedly on Fox. These people are not bright. But they are committed.
🎯🎯🎯
Maybe she'd buy each voter a car. Then the entire audience could nod in unison at her every fart & burp. Great fun.
We could follow that up with a monthly Super Soul Shock & Awe.
Awesomeness.
Ooh...ooh...John of God could be her VP.
Then Billy Bob Clinton would have someone to commiserate with over all of that young poontang they both find so delectable.
I say damn the torpedoes full Oprah ahead.
Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Guess Michelle is off the card too. So that nonsense can stop. That was total fantasy.
Based only on the bits and pieces I've read about her over the years, as willing as Michelle Obama may have been to play the various parts required of her, she has always drawn the line at serving as a candidate herself. Which probably speaks well of her sense of personal integrity.
Personal integrity, seriously?
Yes. The other night was a big middle finger to her not America. The Babylon Bee has a headline and shopped photo of her being borne offstage by bearers, like in a sword and sandals movie. So right on.
You mean him.
https://babylonbee.com/news/michelle-obama-exits-dnc-on-eat-the-rich-palanquin
Thanks! The Bee is the best.
Giving her four mansions might have had something to do with it.
I don’t have much against Michelle. Obama disappointed me soon after election. That was the last candidate I worked as a volunteer. I’m marooned now politically. I just found it strange so many pegged her for a candidate. Scratched my head at that.
Her "personal integrity" like when she talked about her parents being "suspicious of anyone who had more than they needed" while she herself is likely worth hundreds of millions at this point?
As did Oprah, years ago.
their line-up really says it all: a collection of tired political hacks well past their sell-by dates, aging celebrities or those whose songs celebrate not America but Black or Violence or Hate and assorted freaks. This is the Dem party of the 21st c. It's a caricature of a party, looking so like Hunger Games it isn't funny anymore.
Agree. It was like a karaoke bar when everyone had to sing 'their' song before closing time. 🙄
Yes. They. Can.
Ugh, what a soul-sucking event! That this team is even relevant, with their unknown policies and provable lies is ridiculous and doesn't bode well for our nation.
No, it doesn’t! I cannot believe they are going through with it.
We’ll be here for convention coverage, but you two are the only reason why!
I didn't even know there was a 4th night until I saw this post.
How can you stand it, Walter and Matt?
At least I got paid to do this back in the day.
Are you masochists?
Hey, they're getting paid. I'm paying them $6/month - money well spent.
You're assuming Kirn gets his $0.30 and isn't just doing it for the glory.
Granted but that doesn't seem like enough even multiplied many times over.
Thing is, politicians used to be more interesting when I covered them.
Now they're just robots that say whatever their string pullers tell them to say.
Who knows, maybe Harris will stumble out on stage with a bottle of Smirnoff in hand and shout, Hell yes I'm a drunk! How do you think I deal with all this shit! Willie, what the hell you get me into?"
Well said. They just are not interesting. It's like Lawrence Welk...who in retrospect was better than this show. They really do think we'll do what movie stars tell us to do.
Much better - no fan of the Welk music, but the pacing was much better. And yes, lots of people will do what celebrities request.
OMG. LW. "Thanka you boys . . ."
There are a few people whose opinions I respect, but gotta say. Not some billionaire flopping around on the world stage. Scantily clothed. And the music? Sure.
Ha! She doesn't even suffer from dementia and they still have to keep her away from the press, press conferences and any extemporaneous speaking gigs.
I still note how the "scandal" of the Second Gentleman knocking up the family nanny lasted only about 8 to 10 hours.
If Steve Bannon wasn't in jail, he would have the nanny in the audience for the Trump / Kamala debate.
A la Lee Atwater.
Noice!
I am happy to say that I have become so careful about filtering my "news" intake that, until I read this, I had no idea such a scandal even existed.
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!"
I was one of the surprisingly few Substackers who thought this was a juicy story. I did try to focus on one element nobody else picked up on.
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/now-we-have-nannygate
Great post!
I missed that too. Jill was Biden's babysitter. Although she was over 21 by the time they were a public couple. All the more reason to explain Hunter and Ashley's "issues". I'm being snide now, but they've pushed me to it.
Yikes!! I guess I missed the 5-second news release!
I would respect her more.
That would be a beautiful moment of reality breaking through the facade. And what would make it even better is that people could have genuine reason to hesitate as they ponder the question of just which "Willie" she might be referring to.
If Kamala Harris isn't a drunk she sure acts like one.
Never crossed my mind, but come to think of it, he is kind of a "Pri..", isn't he?
lol What we get to hear about Matt's and Walter's suffering through this is Priceless!!! I feel kinda guilty.
While I love reading Matt's posts/articles/newsletters (will someone, for the love of God, tell me what to call them???) & love 'America This Week' - one of my favorite parts of this Substack column is the Comments. They're refreshing, educating, humorous, thought-provoking, sometimes crude 😖 - but all in all something I look forward to with each publication of Matt's.
Actually Matt T. is making bank here, and he deserves it, he works his ass off, and makes us both think and laugh. I am not sure about Walter though, I hope Matt is cutting him some nice checks, he is doing great as well.
I love both of them - regardless of price.
For sure, like I said, I am glad Matt T. is making some money, I have little myself so he is my only paid subscription here. He and Walter are among our best journalists along with Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Matte, Judge Napolitano, and very few others..
I prefer to think of them as martyrs for a higher cause. That of providing the necessary mediation and perspective for those of us who lack the constitution and temperament required to take in this unfolding disaster in its raw form. without being reduced to the functional equivalent of either puppies quivering under the couch or banshees screaming in incoherent bewilderment throughout the night. You could consider it a form of public mental health intervention.
exactly right.
I was surprised Matt expected anything different. The speech was a crafted set of market-tested buzz words and snippets, stripped of any content that might offend/annoy any block of voters. That was Walter's point about an Attack Surface/Angle. Pure nothing, Gutfield was right she's the hole in the dough-nut surrounded by starch, fats, and icing sugar. Yum!!!!
A good way of getting "paid" of a sort is to book a flight with a connection through the convention's airport a day before or a day after these conventions - this happened to me accidentally in 2016 and I racked up more than 2500 in vouchers from delta that day - and was voluntarily "bumped" I think for three? flights I think.
What a wierd day that was.
Hey you aren't being a total douchebag, good job!
I appreciate the sacrifice you both are making. Looking forward to it. 🤣
‘Westworld repair room escapee Oprah “Common Sense Over Nonsense” Winfrey. ‘
Just switch places with “sense “ and “nonsense” and the true situation appears.
Yes. The image of The Oprah Bot is mind blowing.
Summary: Women have successfully redefined men into something new; it's wrong for one gender to ever make claims on another gender; the DNC is filled with incredibly strong women; gender is a construct and men and women don't exist; it's a good idea to cut off the breasts of adolescents when they ask, so they can become boys (which don't exist). Big pharma is bad; big pharma is good. Freedom is good; totalitarian policies are good. The next four years will be so much better than the problems of the last four years; we're responsible for the last four years, where everything got better. The less advantaged should be lifted up, no one held back; everyone must end up at the exact same place, where diversity is our strength and we should celebrate difference. It's good to be wealthier and more successful than someone else; making money in any form is inherently evil. DEI is necessary and worth celebrating; you are racist and sexist to ever suggest someone benefited from it. Kamala earned the nomination; meritocracy is racist. Not one American voted for Kamala; she celebrates democracy and accepts your nomination, as a lifelong and proud employee of "the people". Etc. There's another 1000 of these, but making this list makes my brain and heart hurt.
Analysis: Walter was right, these people cannot be understood with normal analyses. I'd add their goal isn't sense-making - the alignment with physical, psychological, or metaphysical reality. As a psychotherapist, my typical approach to neuroses is to try to identify what secondary/unconscious needs are being met. A "normally" functioning psyche has certain dynamics and rules that guide it. If this were a "normal" individual, they would be under tremendous distress as they are wrenched between incompatible goals and values, the pressures of immense inner conflict across every domain of life. But here, there is apparently no conflict. Instead it is buoyant, wispy, like a light fog rolling in over San Francisco. This reminds me of the most extreme "schizoid" client I once had. She lived entirely in a fantasy world and it was impossible to make any real contact with her. For months we met and literally nothing happened, but she continued to have a beaming smile and profusely praise me for all the fantasy success we were having. But one day there was a moment where I started to make some real contact with her, where I started to challenge her to confront a real aspect of her life - she abruptly ended therapy, telling me I had been tremendously beneficial to her and that she was "cured". As a therapist when I am in the presence of such people or groups there is a strange kind of brooding, rumbling in my belly, an intuition that there is a whirl of outer energy with no core to tether it to. An empty person/group. I'm feeling this now.
Loved your story! We have a mass psychosis that was created by design, in other words. I believe it.
Your first paragraph is so reminiscent of this '1984' - 'the party said we were always at war with Eurasia & had never been in alliance with Oceania'.
"Orwell was sure that the decline of a language had political and economic causes. Although he had no solid proof, he presumed that the languages of countries under dictatorships, such as the Soviet Union or Germany, had deteriorated under their respective regimes.
"When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer," Orwell writes in his essay, "Politics and the English Language."
"If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought," he continues.
"Here is the very concept behind the invention of Newspeak. To illustrate this idea that language can corrupt thought and that totalitarian systems use language to restrict, rather than broaden, ideas, Orwell created Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. Without a word for freedom, for example, the concept of freedom cannot exist."
(This is not my work - sadly, I didn't keep the source info)
The Matt and Walter convention coverage would be perfect if we didn't have to see clips of the actual convention.
I get it. That’s why I like you to watch it for me!
Late last night, we flipped and skipped through the six hour livestream re-run in about 15 minutes. From the looks of it, it must have been pure torture to sit through the whole thing in real time.
I clicked on a link the other night and got 3 seconds of Hillary speaking.
I immediately screamed, recoiled and hit exit as fast as my fingers would move. Just thinking about those traumatic seconds gives me the heebie jeebies.
Is "speaking" the right word? Is that like calling the sound of nails on a chalkboard music?
Exhuming Hillary for that appearance must have been a test of the audience - to confirm or refute complete indoctrination based on their reaction.
Ought we then to worry about the possible fate of any in the convention hall whose micro-muscular facial expressions and body language, caught on drone camera footage, proved upon careful examination to be less than satisfactorily rapturous?
I wonder, since Michelle is so suspicious of rich people who got more than they should (excluding her and Barack of course) is she suspicious of Oprah?
My fear for a while has been that the Democrats are acting like they don't have to worry about elections anymore.
This convention, especially this vacuous speech Harris just gave, reinforces my concern.
I remember Howard Baker saying eons ago that he could hear something moving around in the woods but he couldn't see it.
I have the same sense of a very powerful but hand moving things around now in a way that's impossible to see clearly until it's too late.
The Art of the Coup. There’s no going back from this, even if she loses. The power brokers have a new playbook.