Will the man Trump says is a “Pussy” ultimately have the last laugh?
On the same day Pence ruled out invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump after last week’s violence on Capitol Hill, Lincoln Project released this new ad. After the drama that transpired when Trump supposedly said that if Pence refused to singlehandedly overturn a bona fide election win for Biden, that he would be a “Pussy”, in spite of the fact that it was literally impossible for him to do since the VP had no such powers. Pence certified the election results in favor of Biden, apparently therefore, according to Trump, becoming a “pussy”.
Next up: his qualifications to run for office in 2024, presumablly on that platform.
This comes also alongside the historic news of the house of representatives officially impeached Trump for the second time for “incitement of insurrection”.
As Vice President, Mike Pence has proven that even in the face of a constitutional crisis which he alone was uniquely empowered to deal with, he could remain steadfast in his commitment to doing nothing at all. This makes him the obvious and most qualified leader to take over the role as the leader of the MAGA movement. And the only choice in 2024 to lead our nation into the next era of disappointment.
Coup of Deplorables falls flat, led by Trump, Giuliani, McConnell
Stephen Colbert had a one-two punch lined up to kick off the Late Show on Friday night. First, was the hilarious and almost eight minute long animated clip: “Twas The Coup Before Christmas” A Late Show Animated Holiday Classic.
Starring is the whole gang of perpetrators; Rudy Giuliani, Moscow Mitch McConnell, looking like the ultimate villain, echoing the “melting face trench-coat guy” from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and, naturally, Trump. Spoiler alert; the coup is finally thwarted by a team-up between Santa & Biden.
Next up, George Clooney appear and put in some great promo banter while seeking attention for his new sci-fi film “The Midnight Sky”, which has been lauded already by critics. There’s even been Oscar talk on this one.
Former President Barack Obama continues his annual tradition, one that he has observed since he was first in office, where he shares his list of favorite TV shows and movies for the year. Throughout the years Obama has limited his selection to 3, yet he expanded his list to 10 for 2020, apparently because, like the majority of us, he had a lot of extra time on his hands to stream and watch videos.
In his tweet, Obama said:
“Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format,”
Among the top TV shows chosen include: “The Queen’s Gambit”, “Mrs. America”, “Better Call Saul”, “The Good Lord Bird”, “The Last Dance”, and “I May Destroy You”.
On the film side, Obama’s choices, which not surprisingly also include some of AP’s list of best movies: “Mank”, “Boys State”, Lovers Rock”, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, and a documentary produced by Barack’s production company, “Crip Camp”.
Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format. pic.twitter.com/a8BS8jDkSs
We’ve included some TV and movie trailers that held the top spots for Obama’s movie list. All the videos below are currently available to stream through the various platforms: Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime Video:
If you like winning, this is your chance to do it, over and over and over…
Never before has a presidential candidate won his election so many times. Never before has a loser found so many ridiculous ways to avoid conceding to the winner. Of course, it is the very fact that a loser has brazenly lied and fabricated nonsense reasons and accusations to contest at every opportunity that has created the possibility for Biden to win, again and again.
First, Joe Biden won what appeared to be a relatively narrow victory on election day with enough confirmed electoral votes, along with a lead in enough other states to create an impossibility for Trump to get to 270, the margin of votes needed to prevail.
Next Biden was declared winner in states which had held back in declaring a projected winner. Then the re-counts, court challenges and and final tallies commenced.
Pennsylvania gave him a win. That was a big win and he became President-elect. Then the Georgia re-count was another time to celebrate his victory. And Arizona, a state he flipped for the first time since 1996, and before that a Republican won there since 1948.
So, get ready everyone, on December 14th there will be another win for Joe Biden. Tired of winning yet?
In the end Biden will have, barring any absolutely and totally unlikely changes, 306 electoral votes. “A landslide” according to Trump when it was his exact winning number. Of course he did not get more than 80 million popular votes, or vanquish his opponent by more than 6 million. That’s only another unique and first in all history – big big win for Biden.
Trump lost the popular vote by 2.9 million votes in 2016.
A comet, a meteor shower and a total eclipse of the sun (visible in some parts of the Earth) will all occur on December 14th. It also will be the final deadline for the Electoral College to officially confirm Joe Biden as President-elect. Are the stars, planets and even meteors in our solar system feeling like celebrating?
Florida is the only one of the four most populous states that has, as of yet, already been certified. Early in December was the deadline for the other large ones: California, Texas and New York. None of them were ever in doubt, of course.
Talk of “faithless electors” being put into action by Trump is becoming les and less likely by the day. Not 100% off the table but around 99.9999% not gonna happen.
I wonder if Trump is tired of losing yet? Gas-up the private jet. Moscow’s waiting.
Electoral College meets on Dec. 14, and all states must be certified before that, while any challenges to the results must have been resolved by Dec. 8.
For months we have seen ex-Mayor Giuliani exposing himself repeatedly, no, not to Borat’s daughter in that movie, but to the coronavirus. He’s been on video and in photos in direct, maskless contact with contact with infected people, including Trump while the two of them were preparing for his first debate against President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in September – even during the recent voter fraud hearings, fiascos and spectacles, he has often been seen maskless.
Indeed, there is even a video of him blowing his nose into a handkerchief and then using it, wrong-side-out to wipe his face and hands. Honestly, it’s a miracle that this has not happened sooner. Hopefully, like Trump, he will get medical attention and recover quickly (and remain in quarantine to protect others)
“@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus. Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!”
__Trump in a tweet
.@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus. Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!
Why Mr. Trump took to twitter to announce this is anybody’s guess. It is unknown at this point, whether Mr. Giuliani, 76, is symptomatic, although he is clearly in a high risk group for covid-19.
As follows, a list of various other Republican establishment figures that have tested positive as well;
Melania Trump (First Lady)
Ronna McDaniel (Republican National Committee chairwoman)
Hope Hicks (White House communications aide)
Kellyanne Conway (Former White House counselor)
Bill Stepien (Trump campaign manager)
John Jenkins (University of Notre Dame president)
Chris Christie (Former New Jersey Gov.)
Nick Luna (Director of Oval Office operations)
Karoline Leavitt (White house assistant press secretary)
Rudy Giuliani’s “star” witness brings about all the LOLs
Late night hosts: Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel all weighed in on the very absurd testimony given in Michigan. No one knew the name Melissa Carone before Dec. 1, but the now viral videos will undoubtedly be turned into memes and SNL sketches very soon.
Still not convinced this isn’t a SNL character. (A judge previously declared this Trump supporter /freelance contract IT worker’s testimony “simply not credible.”) pic.twitter.com/ptsN665A0T
Carone’s Testimony on the alleged Voter Fraud is like as kit from out of ‘SNL’
Even if Rudy Giuliani will retire from all the recent comedy he has provided, the baton has been passed Ms. Carone. With her “talent” and flair for the dramatics, we can all look forward to many more years of comedic rants from this oversight committee hearing.
It’s hard not to immediately compare the insanity that was called a testimony and not compare it to performances on “Saturday Night Live”. Specifically like the above video that hilariously showcases Cecily Strong’s drunk girl character.
Nixon once asserted: “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal”. The implication was not lost on Trump who has seemingly flaunted the law throughout his life and then appeared to shift into overdrive once in the White House.
Naturally, as has been evident as well, also even boasted “I don’t pay taxes because I’m smart”, and when money, especially free money gained at the expense of the less fortunate, it seems Trump and his “Jr. partner Jared Kushner might indeed pull out all the stops.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that, once details on who received pandemic relief loans were revealed by the Small Business Administration, including the PPP or Paycheck Protection Program, multiple businesses linked to both were allegedly present.
NBC news: Over 25 PPP loans worth more than $3.65 million were given to businesses with addresses at Trump and Kushner real estate properties, paying rent to those owners. Fifteen of the properties self-reported that they only kept one job, zero jobs, or did not report a number at all.
While there have been many reports of fraud and abuse related to this and other pandemic relief programs, most stories on these were slanted towards shaming various individuals who had engaged in fraud to obtain the loans.
There were also numerous accounts of, in some cases, public companies with access to billions in capital applying for and receiving $100s of millions of dollars in forgivable loans. Names like Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris, Potbelly Corp. and others were embroiled in controversy when some information leaked, and in some cases the companies, fearing public boycott or backlash, returned funds. While these examples show no specific wrongdoing on any particular company, the appearance of impropriety is nevertheless in question.
Now with more data the headlines are expanding to include potential impropriety , if not possible criminal action of Trump and Kushner seen as bilking the program at will, as well as massive and tragically-comical mismanagement of the “relief” funds with 100s of examples such as loans payed to companies that did not supply a name and many larger companies using multiple subsidiaries to gang together groups of smaller loans into sums totally tens of millions or more.
According to NBC, All these tricks and potentially more were employed (surprise!) by Trump and Kushner affiliated firms.
NBC: Sweeping [analysis of] data released by the Small Business Administration…found that properties owned by the Trump Organization as well as the Kushner Companies, owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, profited from the program.
The potential abuses, beyond the obvious one that this money was meant to relieve business not connected to government officials, and those who’s business were damaged by the pandemic in general, followed a pattern where the money flowed to those that needed it least (due to massive wealth, such as stories that have circulated about Kanye West) or due to already having existing access to nearly unlimited capital (such as the public companies that lined up to access relief funds rather than use billions they had in reserve).
Other examples of Trump allegedly using and exploiting the presidency are so common as to make it almost redundant to cite these massive, and if true, unethical and potentially criminal abuses. So many have already been noted and cited in the press – from the profits flowing into his properties directly from taxpayer dollars or by diverting foreign officials to them, tax cheating, dirtying money to his daughter and son-in-law, on and on it goes.
The only question that remains is why there appears to be “no-one home” when it comes to holding Trump and his family of abusers accountable. Much has been made of his soon-to-be gone immunity from federal prosecution, but what about the family? Pardons and tra-la-la?
That can’t be the way this ends. Otherwise the rest of us are just as corrupt by letting it happen without a response of appropriate magnitude.
Rudy Giuliani’s “star” witness brings about all the LOLs
Late night hosts: Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel all weighed in on the very absurd testimony given in Michigan. No one knew the name Melissa Carone before Dec. 1, but the now viral videos will undoubtedly be turned into memes and SNL sketches very soon.
Still not convinced this isn’t a SNL character. (A judge previously declared this Trump supporter /freelance contract IT worker’s testimony “simply not credible.”) pic.twitter.com/ptsN665A0T
Carone’s Testimony on the alleged Voter Fraud is like as kit from out of ‘SNL’
Even if Rudy Giuliani will retire from all the recent comedy he has provided, the baton has been passed Ms. Carone. With her “talent” and flair for the dramatics, we can all look forward to many more years of comedic rants from this oversight committee hearing.
It’s hard not to immediately compare the insanity that was called a testimony and not compare it to performances on “Saturday Night Live”. Specifically like the above video that hilariously showcases Cecily Strong’s drunk girl character.
2020 has been a hard one, almost everyone can easily say, they were affected negatively one way or another by the raging pandemic, whether reasons be economic, physical or even our personal relationships.
Actor and director Ryan Reynolds and his production company, Maximum Effort, hilariously delivered to viewers just how crazy this year has been in an extremely entertaining video ad for the online dating service Match.com.
Reynolds, who is known for his quirky sense of humor described the commercial as a “A Love Story for the ages. Or at least this age”.
The devil himself, Satan is seen swiping on the doing app and matches with a woman with the user name “2020”. We see Satan and 2020 go on a series of date, including working out at a socially distanced gym, starting a dumpster fire, stealing armfuls of toilet paper, and eating scorching hot chili peppers at an empty sporting stadium. The two break all the rules and jokingly references in some form or another exaggerations on some of the struggles, limitations and restrictions set for covid-19.
The ad ends with the couple, in love, watching what looks like the end of the world, an apocalyptic backdrop with asteroids destroying buildings and the city around them. With the truly devilish end comment “ I just don’t want this year to end”. Although, unquestionably we all can’t wait for 2021 and better times to come. This ad brings much levity to the seriousness brought on this year.
The cherry on top is, we get to hear Taylor Swift’s romantic ballad and 2008 smash hit “Love Story” play in the background. Swift who is in the process of re-recording her songs due to battling with Scooter Braun, gave Reynolds a sneak peak for the advert.
Okay so while my new re-records are NOT done, my friend @VancityReynolds asked me if he could use a snippet of one for a LOLsome commercial he wrote so…here’s a sneak peak of Love Story! Working hard to get the music to you soon!! https://t.co/0vBFXxaRXR
Don’t you know who I think I am? I’m the President of the United States?!
It has been well over three weeks since Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, yet like a broken record, he continuously tries to peddle the still unsubstantiated claim that the election was somehow “rigged”.
Trump has been adamant that he will continue the fight to overturn election results, however, at the same time saying that he would leave on his own accord.
That being, only after Biden has officially been deemed the victor by the Electoral College, which will take place come Dec. 14.
Biden can only enter the White House as President if he can prove that his ridiculous “80,000,000 votes” were not fraudulently or illegally obtained. When you see what happened in Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia & Milwaukee, massive voter fraud, he’s got a big unsolvable problem!
On Thanksgiving, Trump held a press conference to answer questions from reporters, a first since Biden was called as the projected winner of the presidential election.
One could easily find humor with just the small desk that Trump sat behind in the Diplomatic Room of the White House.
But wait, there was more, Trump decided to flip out on a reporter, lashing out saying, “Don’t talk to me that way,” ….“You’re just a lightweight…I’m the president of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the president that way.”
Coming just about as close to a concession as we realistically are ever going to get from 45, he says, “It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede because we know there was massive fraud,” while again spouting lies without backing anything up with evidence.
He continued to ramble on, “As to whether or not we can get this apparatus moving quickly — because time isn’t on our side, everything else is on our side, facts are on our side, this was a massive fraud.”
The combination of the tiny desk, which many compared it to a child’s desk and Trump lashing out at a reporter, made for the perfect storm in social media content creativity. Almost immediately #DiaperDon started trending on Twitter and Donald Trump tried to call upon Section 230 for purposes he deemed at levels of National Security. Check out the hilarious video
Twitter is sending out totally false “Trends” that have absolutely nothing to do with what is really trending in the world. They make it up, and only negative “stuff”. Same thing will happen to Twitter as is happening to @FoxNews daytime. Also, big Conservative discrimination!
Wisconsin & Arizona Certified results while Georgia Republican Governor says he won’t break the law for his “hero”. The cards are stacking up against the criminal grifter in the WH and not in any way that was “rigged” by anyone but him.
We are all still waiting for him to recede from the public discourse (haha not discourse in his case) but in the end it is ok to want to congratulate Biden and all of those that helped him win so we can all be rid of the terrorist clown club.
Though there are many who do not look fondly on “never-Trumpers” like The Lincoln Project and plain that they had a self-serving agenda, nonetheless, they were a powerful force in countering the Russian-bot army that would possibly otherwise have made 2020 more like 2016.
And the MeidasTouch, RVAT and others all contributed to the fight with great ads that kept people informed of the dangers of a second term for the maniac, and at the same time used his own words, actions and inactions to prove that he had to go, one way or another.
We’ve compiled some of the greatest hits here and think we should all give ourselves permission, one last time, to revel in the absurdity that this man was ever “leader of the free world” and how glad we are that ads like these will soon be in the history books (internet archives).
A TikTok video by Truth Lies Shenanigans (@tlsliveshow) has shown the uncanny similarities of a speech in the comedy film “Legally Blonde” and a speech from Donald Trump. The TikTok went viral, and hilariously, Trump is now being accused of plagiarism.
The words are not verbatim, yet the messages between the fictional character, Elle Woods played by Reese Witherspoon and Trump are hilariously nearly identical in nature.
Elle Woods: “We take our next steps into the world…It is with passion…Courage of conviction…And most importantly…Have faith in yourself…We did it!”
Trump: “You must go forth into the world…Passion…Courage and your conviction…Most importantly…Be true to yourself…I did it!”
During “The Tonight Show” Jimmy Fallon also pointed out that Trump’s commencement speech at Liberty University in Virginia, back in 2017, eerily matches Elle Wood’s speech she gives to her fellow graduates at Harvard Law school.
Coincidentally or not, Legally Blonde is also making a come back. “Legally Blonde” originally premiered back in 2001, with the sequel in 2003. MGM announced back in October that the 3rd installment of the film will be coming sometime around May 2022.
Witnesses of Evil and survivors deserve a decompression phase
For nearly all of 2017 the word “lie” rarely if ever appeared in an article written about the president. The reasons for this are more complex than it would first appear, and relate to the history of political journalism reaching back at least 50 years. The reason why, beginning in 2018 and early 2019, “lie” became a daily and oft used word in connection with this lying-president is a more subtle and interesting story.
As of this writing it is 100% clear that Trump has lost the election (odd to even have to say that, considering how obvious it is to any sane, rational observer) and that, ultimately, we will all benefit from forgetting about this attention-addicted-sociopath. However, with regard to something we all experienced, witnessed and endured over a period of four plus years; before forgetting there must first be a remembering.
And, for the benefit of those of us who have various forms of PTSD as a result of what he perpetrated and what we had to witness, that remembering is a healthy, necessary step.
For nearly all of 2017 the word “lie” rarely if ever appeared in an article written about the president. The reasons for this are more complex than it would first appear, and relate to the history of political journalism reaching back at least 50 years. The reason why, beginning in 2018 and early 2019, “lie” became a daily and oft used word in connection with this lying-president is a more subtle and interesting story.
As of this writing it is 100% clear that Trump has lost the election (odd to even have to say that, considering how obvious it is to any sane, rational observer) and that, ultimately, we will all benefit from forgetting about this attention-addicted-sociopath. However, with regard to something we all experienced, witnessed and endured over a period of four plus years; before forgetting there must first be a remembering.
And, for the benefit of those of us who have various forms of PTSD as a result of what he perpetrated and what we had to witness, that remembering is a healthy, necessary step.
Perhaps rushing forward to “fix” everything he broke, destroyed or tried to destroy must be combined with looking back.
Seeing some of the events that shaped the last four years through the eyes of the media and the press
The public perceptions and reactions to history during significant and extreme events are shaped over time, and meaning are not always clear until we look back. If this article was a typical “2020 Looking Back” year-end recap, and did not run 5000 words or more it’d be about the coronavirus, the election, and a skim through the various events on the periphery. Instead, we must begin on June 16th, 2015 when Donald J. Trump began his assault on America.
And, as we all remember, it started with “Mexicans”:
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best, they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us [sic]. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Donald J. Trump, as he descended on his golden escalator
This technique of viciously attacking a particular ethic group, generally, and pandering to negative stereotypes was just getting started.
Also couching broad statements, that often included boldfaced lies, within statements that could have a tiny sliver of truth would also be a propaganda technique he would use, sometimes dozens of times in a day, over the next nearly 4.5 years.
Then came the nicknames. Again, maybe “little Marco” was not the tallest guy and “Low-energy Jeb” was not the most exciting. But Trump’s character traits that would later expand and multiply were not pretty, and were on full display even during the initial phases of the election.
Belittling opponents in an ugly personal way, pushing all dialog away from substance and toward personal attacks of the lowest form was standard operating procedure. All the signs were there of a mental sickness, one that we would all later experience more intimately, but at the time it was all an amusing diversion, since most believed he had “zero chance” of winning the 2016 presidential election.
Phase 2, 3, 4 and beyond: testing the limits of outrage
Just making a laundry list of outrageous and disgusting behavior by this man is easy, but of little value, beyond our mutual sharing of “I was there” recollections publicly. More interesting, it seems, would be an exploration of how “we”, the media, and the public, reacted and adjusted to having such a malignant presence in the White House.
It’s easy to forget that, around the time of the 2016 inauguration, many in the media went on and on about how the outrageous tactics were just a ploy, and a successful one at that, for him to get elected, and now that the election was over, Trump would magically become “Presidential”.
Then the lies began to multiply. All during 2017, however, it was very difficult to find the word “lie” in any article from a mainstream outlet that was about Trump, well, lying. The lengths that journalists went to avoid that word was, in a word, incredible. To look further into the history of not saying the word “lie” when a president lies, this Politco article from 2017 is a great deeper dive.
In the final paragraph summation the overall view at the time was encapsulated:
“Using the word “lie” promiscuously may, in the short term, score a point against a president who has shown a contempt for the facts. But over the long-term, the authority and credibility of aspirationally objective mainstream news organizations like the New York Times are best served by scrupulously trying to report the news in ways that can be trusted by readers of any political viewpoint. And it’s by upholding and reinforcing that authority and credibility that the Fourth Estate will best guide readers to the truth amid the misinformation, propaganda and lies produced by the administration of Donald J. Trump.”
David Greenberg, a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers in Politico Magazine
This viewpoint, ultimately, disintegrated and was abandoned, generally, by the middle of 2018 into the beginning of 2019. Trump literally bashed down that wall of civility with thousands and thousands of lies.
Terms and phrases like “decorum”, “deference”, “non-partisan” and “civilized discourse” became meaningless in the endless assault of lies, hate speech and outrageous acts. At Lynxotic, we made a decision fairly early that this was not a “normal” president and these were not normal times. We seriously had to ask ourselves, if this was an emerging danger to this country and to democracy itself, who would we be serving by mincing words?
And further, the news has always been, to a certain degree, opinion infused facts with a, sometimes, thin veneer of artificial authoritative eminence. And wasn’t the media often guilty of using “impartiality”, similarly to an arms dealer, selling ammunitions to both sides in a civil war?
As time went on, the incredible border “cages” scandals, then the impeachmentdrama came and went and on and on, until Trump’s massive coronavirus failures, and finally the election madness.
In the end all pretense of, and use for civility, any belief that a non-corrupt outcome was possible, revealed a truth that the choices for the nation were, and are, to jail the man famous for chants of “Lock her up” or let him continue until he destroys the democracy and possibly, ultimately the country itself.
The good thing that was bestowed upon all of us by a bad man
Of course, in all of this, he did do one good thing for the media and journalism. Not “ratings” or prosperity through scandal. No, what he did was to help us to remove the hypocrisy of the long standing “deference” to any and all sitting in the White House, just because they are there.
“When he “won” in 2016 it was on the shoulders of Russian hackers and social media “bots” that influenced the thinking of real, living, breathing humans. In 2020 those real humans showed up, 80 million strong, and took back the country.”
D.L.
The blurred lines between observation, opinion, facts and fiction are ones that have, in reality, always been blurred. To face that fact, and to grapple every day with the issues of how to communicate the hard truth, is also a legacy of this evil man.
When he “won” in 2016 it was on the shoulders of Russian hackers and social media “bots” that influenced the thinking of real, living, breathing humans. In 2020 those real humans showed up, 80 million strong, and took back the country.
That is also a lesson we owe to “The Donald”. That, if a pretender rises up, the rest of us have to rise up as well, to put him down.
The favor he did us all was to force us to examine the real facts, and make the real news and not the fake news matter, even if that news is that he is a liar, a grifter, a cheat and a criminal. And if any of his ilk come to power again, or continue to remain in power, they should be treated the same way, as needed.
Above:Content Discovery App – River video Clip Introduction
An Unlikely Holy Grail: User Sophistication and the Will to Exist Online
In late 2018 a small firm was looking into opportunities in organizing an online co-op for small businesses (CSSinc), similar to the co-ops created by farmers during the great depression. Where else to start than a trade show of more than 1000 small businesses in Las Vegas. In an informal test, they checked all the web sites listed in the show directory as an indicator of the state of web sophistication among the participants.
Naturally the 10% that were functioning, a few of which at a high level, were all the largest companies attending the show. With costs to set up, and even designing a company web site, at an all time low, why would so many pass up the opportunity to make use of this powerful tool?
‘This is Water’ and the internet dilemma that has swallowed the world
In 2005, David Foster Wallace addressed the graduating class at Kenyon College with a speech that is now one of his most read pieces.
In it, he argues, gorgeously, against “unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.” He begins with a parable:
There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”
This oft quoted passage is about how the world around us can be easily misunderstood by lack of awareness. And, maybe, by the lack of any perceived need to notice what’s really going on.
The two most shocking things about the anecdote above, regarding 90% of small businesses lack of internet presence (or sophistication), are how this could be the case after more than 20 years of the internet being at the center of commerce and, well, life, and what it says about the “water” we are all swimming in.
2020 is the year that the internet became even more important for all our lives. Less obvious is that it is also the year that the problems and obstacles are more important than ever to overcome, and that starts with seeing the water we are all swimming in.
In this acclaimed documentary (available on Netflix) a lot of both problems and solutions focus on the dangers of the current giant-tech dominated internet environment on the “end-user” and the general public.
While that sphere of influence is a serious and growing problem, it is the control and domination by a few massive companies, to the virtual exclusion of smaller businesses, that, to a large degree caused the sick, twisted inequitable and unfair system in the first place.
The relative size imbalance is literally so massive that it is rendered incomprehensible, and, like water to the fish mentioned above, invisible.
A happy shiny logo of, say, coca-cola, looks just as harmless (or menacing, depending on the perspective) as that of Amazon or Facebook, who may be hundreds of times larger in market-cap than the soft-drink giant with long history as a “big” American company. Size of this magnitude is impossible to conceive of by most of us.
But the perception of the giants that control the internet as harmless, or even beneficial and to be admired, is rapidly changing. Therein also lies the potential for probably the only hope of positive change for small business and for society in the US and across the globe.
A Revolution of Perception is Required and already Underway
Part of the problem, one that is growing, admittedly, every day, is the sheer scale of the inequity and corruption. Why even try, as a small business, to go up against the giants that “own” the water we swim in?
Ultimately what is necessary is a sea-change (forgive the continued metaphor) within overall population, both consumers and small businesses. And that starts with the perception that it is the “people” that decide how and what the internet will be who will be “permitted” to interact. An Algorithm own as proprietary secret software by an internet behemoth? Or a decentralized more kaleidoscopic solution that was an inherent promise from the initial days of the internet’s creation?
The signs of change are all around. The “direct to consumer” trend that has produced massive success stories also paved the way for the emerging system of smaller companies being able to reach out directly and actually do business with customers with, sometimes, minimal involvement of the giants.
The signs that this can work are gradually being seen – shopify’s success in offering software and services to businesses wanting to establish a direct connection to buyers is a growing trend. There are many other companies that have recognized the trend and are trying to ride this wave toward a different method of communication between businesses and so-called consumers.
Here are some examples of companies that are taking a new approach to the way we communicate and interact online:
However, the ultimate driver of positive change in the internet will be the increased sophistication of users, both professional and at the individual level.
User Sophistication and Trust: an unlikely but all-important Grail
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok and more have all embraced direct in-app-shopping as a way to expand beyond content. Even Google has started a program to allow buyers to purchase from search results without leaving the platform. While these initiatives are all coming from the giant tech firms themselves, they are, ultimately, sowing the seeds of their own demise.
They are, in essence, teaching buyers to forego the now standard system of choosing between Amazon and “the rest” in online shopping. This choice, helped along by billions in losses to subsidize “impossibly low” prices plus free shipping paid for by Amazon’s loss-leader strategies, was never a fair or realistic one and created the massive, unsustainable imbalances in online commerce we see today.
The massive and very real paranoia of the giant companies is based on the clear and deep understanding that the competition is always “1-click-away”, which is the unfulfilled promise of the internet in the first place.
D.L.
The greatest obstacle has never been the massive price-dumping schemes or even the sell-at-a-loss free shipping concept that kept buyers from having a second choice in e-commerce. It has been the lack of user sophistication of the sellers and the buyers in the online forum which prevented easier movement from one online option to another.
The massive and very real paranoia of the giant companies is based on the clear and deep understanding that the competition is always “1 click away”, which is the unfulfilled promise of the internet in the first place.
So called “moats” and systems to block users from initiating and exercising choice are built-up and keep getting deeper and more complex. But sophisticated users can, and eventually will, easily just opt-out at any time, when alternatives that they prefer begin to proliferate.
And there is a growing and invisible ocean that already exists all around us. As far-fetched as it may seem “the ocean we swim in” will one day be in no way similar to the deeply problematic one we swim in today and a thorough a change from the bottom up as well as the top down will, finally, bring about a new era in online communication and commerce.
Above: Photo from “Happiest Season / Courtesy of Hulu
Praise for Stewart in first “Out and Proud” Christmas movie
Around this time of year, there are usually a handful of beloved holiday movies like “Home Alone, “Family Stone” and many more. Today, a new Christmas romantic comedy has dropped, “Happiness Season” just in time for the long 4 day Thanksgiving holiday. This film is a little unique in that the focus centers around two lesbian women.
The now streaming movie was originally meant for a theatrical release, yet due to the current climate, found its way to the Hulu streaming platform.
Kristen Stewart (in real life openly gay) plays Abby and Mackenzie Davis plays Harper, a happy couple, whose relationship is put to the test. Harper invites Abby back to her parents for the holidays. Only during the drive is it revealed that her family doesn’t know she is gay and hasn’t yet come out to anyone in the family. Abby has to pose as a straight friend. Bonus, the hilarious Dan Levy, plays John, Abby’s best friend.
“it’s really nice to watch a movie that you get to completely rid yourself of that [feeling] knowing that you can laugh at that experience and that catharsis knowing that what you’re getting is an earned happiness. You get to laugh at these weird fears of saying the wrong thing around someone’s family or not being able to lie very well so maybe they’ll know I’m gay.”
-Kristen Stewart
Director Clea DuVall, who is openly out herself, commented on the film, “I love Christmas movies but I had never really seen myself represented in one before”. Her take away goal was “wanting to feel like I was seeing me in a movie like this, which I had never seen before. And my experience is not unique. I’m not the only one going through it. So there has to be a lot of other people who are also feeling underrepresented.”
'Twas the night before #HappiestSeason, when all through the house, We're gathering our chosen family, or even a spouse, We wrapped the opening credits up nicely just for you, To tell you our movie is now streaming, only on @hulu! pic.twitter.com/4ck1oHKYo6
Snowden may indeed receive a pardon and shortly after a bunk-mate in the form of the same soon-to-be ex-President
Trump says so many crazy things on any given day, it is easy to let any one particular thing just float on by and get ready for whatever the next outrageous or just wacko thing that comes out of his mouth.
Ascribing some kind of motivation is often a fools errand of second convolution logic that leads to a parlor game of either elevating this mental-midget to a “very stable genius” or trying to follow clues as to his source for the “idea” (like what was aired on Fox News in the 12 hours prior to his tweet or crazy proclamation).
The idea he came up with of leaving the country, after he loses to “the worst candidate in the history of politics”, is not one of those run-of-the-mill , dime-a-dozen utterances. No. It is a very real concern that appears to be weighing heavily on his mind, and that he feels the need to discuss with thousands of his closest friends (the audiences at his super-spreader rallies).
If there is a genius to Trump, it is his ability to go so far beyond the pale that even those that know his predilection for bizarre suggestions and actions have not followed his twisted logic quite as far as he is about to take it.
Floating the idea of a Pardon for Snowden was Clue #1
The backward inverted idea of a pardon initiated by Trump for someone he once called a “traitor” is pure, simple Trump-ian thought at it’s most absurd. All Snowden needed to do to become Trump’s new friend was to hang out for a while with Trump’s other friend; Putin. So, as is so often the case with the most obtuse and simultaneously transparent maniac, one only has to connect the dots to reach a simple rock-solid conclusion: Trump is shopping for a post-election-loss safe-haven and joining Snowden in Moscow is his very first choice.
Now, never mind that Snowden is not a Trump supporter or sycophant, his proximity alone, to Putin, in Trump’s bent mind, makes him an ally of sorts. And if pushed, I am certain Trump would somehow use this thought process to link Wikileaks, which he “loves” when they leak Democratic dirt, and Assange, though strange bedfellows don’t begin to cover that trio of compatriots.
The phrase: “Banana republic” comes to mind
This prediction, written on this very parchment at 21:21 on October 21, 2020, is herby put forth – however, in fairness, it is actually at least 3 predictions.
First, that Trump will lose Bigly on or around November 3rd. Second, that he will opt for plan c, after his wannabe civil warriors fail to show up for any dubious would-be battles, and leave the USA forthwith. Third that he is already entertaining offers but has Moscow very high on his list, since the shit-hole countries, that he bad-mouthed on the way up the ladder of infamy, do not have an interest in harboring him.
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Robust Laughter will arise from these Verses for the Despotic Age of Trump
Last year, Tony Award winning actor John Lithgow released a playful book of satirical poems titled “Dumpty: The Age Of Trump In Verse.” The collection poked scathing fun at President Donald Trump as well as many of his supporters in Washington, all alongside illustrations from the author.
Like Lithgow’s first book, “Trumpty Dumpty” explores the chaos that is the current presidency through poetry. Only now, there are even more characters and topics to delve into, and Lithgow does so with humorous and timely poignancy.
Lithgow’s images take on the same style as those in the first book as well. The author noted in an interview that he grew up wanting to be a visual artist before falling into acting. Clearly, he’s never lost touch with his original passion. For this book, the pictures appropriately look like something out of an old-time newspaper; the author cites political cartoonist Thomas Nast as a primary inspiration.
More than a book of illustrations – prose and rhymes delight as well
As for the writing itself, Lithgow has always held a longstanding passion for stories and verse. The Harvard grad mentions that his father— actor/director Arthur Washington Lithgow—held immense skill in creating rhymes on the fly. Evidently, it must be hereditary, as John never misses an opportunity for cleverness in this cheeky collection.
Gearing up for tonight’s #TrumptyDumpty launch event! While you wait, here’s another limerick:
“Colonel Vindman, the POTUS’s nemesis, Bears a fearlessness right out of Genesis. Since he showed deeper fealty Than our titan of realty, Dumpty had him removed from the premises.” pic.twitter.com/3GcpTcmclc
The author finished writing the book in May, and he read some of the original pieces on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert several months back. However, the accompanying drawings took a bit longer to finish, and the publication process went right up to the bell.
Click here to see “Dumpty” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Now that the book is out, though, many others are getting in on the fun. In an amusing promotional endeavor, Lithgow organized some dramatic readings from his celebrity friends. Fellow actors Meryl Streep, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Glenn Close all showed up, as well as a few figures on the political scene.
With the help of producers B. Swibel, Adam Westbrook, Adam Bankhead, and Tim Van Patten, the team created a series of videos with these notable faces reciting Lithgow’s zany words, the backgrounds all cartoonish facades in the spirit of Lithgow’s art.
Lithgow says that he had the time to write the book during quarantine, as Broadway theaters shut their doors and film/television productions took a pause due to the pandemic. Poetry kept him busy as the acting business went on hiatus. Only now are productions starting to pick up again. While Lithgow makes a stellar poet and a great humorist, he now looks forward to returning to the thespian world.
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Rules that favor the sane are clearly unpopular with the chief of interruptions and accusations
The final Presidential debate, currently scheduled for Thursday October 22 will have 90 minutes divided into six fifteen-minute segments. Each segment will have 2 minutes of time for each candidate to speak, guaranteed without interruption, before the topic is “discussed” in open debate format.
Trump, whining to reporters last night disagreed with virtually everything about the debate: “I will participate but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it’s very unfair that again we have an anchor who’s totally biased.”
During an hour long interview with “Fox & Friends” he went further:
‘This was supposed to be a foreign policy debate, and new all of a sudden we’re talking about things that are not foreign policy. And, frankly, it was a change that they made that was far bigger than the mute button, I mean, frankly. But they made a change, and it shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened”
During Barack Obama’s two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else — and he photographed them all. Souza captured nearly two million photographs of President Obama, in moments highly classified and disarmingly candid. Obama: An Intimate Portrait reproduces more than 300 of Souza’s most iconic photographs with fine-art print quality in an oversize collectible format.
Some are already speculating that Trump will scream and yell and wave his arms during the time that his mic is muted. Alternatively, he could choose to cancel, which appears to be unlikely at this late juncture. Apparently, while the last debate was all about talking over, interrupting and generally trying to disrupt the proceedings, this time it will be about complaining outside the actual performance itself. I guess we’ll all have to tune in to see.
“We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today. We are comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held.”
– The Commission on Presidential Debates
In addition to the 2 minutes of time each is given to speak without interruption there will be an attempt made to calculate the time one candidate loses due to an interruption by the other candidate will be credited back to the candidate that was interrupted.
Since Trump interrupted three times as often as Biden in the first debate; 71 times vs. 22 by the former Vice President, it was always unlikely that these rules would be welcomed by the Trump campaign. The bizarre strategy of “winning by interruption” will have far less potential in the new format.
The groundwork has been laid to choose to blame and mock the commission and the moderator or simply refuse to attend
On Monday a complaint in advance was already sent to the commission by Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager:
“It is completely unacceptable for anyone to wield such power, and a decision to proceed with that change amounts to turning further editorial control of the debate over to the Commission which has already demonstrated its partiality to Biden,” said Stepien.
Additionally, the Trump campaign appears to be unhappy with the topics that were announced by the debate commission and in the same letter quoted above attempted to steer the debate topics away from the Covid-19 pandemic and into “foreign policy” and other issues.
All the grousing could be a set-up for a last minute cancelation by the Trump camp, as has been speculated.
That would likely only benefit Biden, and speed-up the need for Trump to find a country that would host him in exile.
However, as of last night this quote from Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien still stands: Trump “is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favored candidate.”
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On September 5, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that the majority of Halloween activities will be restricted because of COVID-19. Many children, young and old, look forward to traditional celebrations of the holiday by going door to door to “trick or treat” for candy, however this year the pandemic has effectively canceled the holiday. The ban comes as preventative measures as maintaining social distance, minimizing contact with non-household members and avoiding confined spaces like doorways would be difficult to follow.
Throughout Los Angeles County, other annual Halloween events and attractions have already announced cancellation like that of Universal Studios and its very popular Halloween Horror Nights.
Update from Universal Studios Hollywood on HHN 2020.
According to the Post “L.A. County is still among the California counties with high rates of community transmission,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “Before we get into cooler weather and flu season, we need to significantly lower the number of new cases. This is the only path forward that allows us to get more students back to school and reopen more business sectors.”
What LA Country Residents Can and Cannot Do
According to the Health Guidance Release, the following Halloween related activities are “not permitted” due to risk of spreading coronavirus:
Door to door trick or treating is not allowed because it can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors especially in neighborhoods that are popular with trick or treaters.
“Trunk or treating” events where children go from car to car instead of door to door to receive treats are also not allowed.
Gatherings or Parties with non-household members are not permitted even if they are conducted outdoors.
Carnivals, festivals, live entertainment, and haunted house attractions are not allowed.
The Department provided some safer (non-traditional) alternatives of what is “permitted” for the Halloween season – and it appears fairly grim:
Online parties/contests (e.g. costume or pumpkin carving)
Car parades that comply with public health guidance
Halloween movie nights at drive in theaters
Halloween themed meals at outdoor restaurants
Halloween themed art installations at an outdoor museum
Dressing up homes and yards with Halloween themed decorations.
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