This is the Halloween broadcast of Kukla, Fran & Ollie I mentioned the other day that aired 75 years ago tonight, on October 31, 1949. It follows up on the episode a few nights earlier, when Beulah Witch was preparing for her fellow alums and teachers from Witch Normal college coming to town for a Halloween convention – but a small crisis comes up that she has to avert. As things develop, the other Kuklapolitans excitedly prepare for trick-or-treating, and sing a bunch of songs along the way – my favorite being Beulah Witch’s rendition of “That Old Black Magic.” The episode also shows off Burr Tillstrom’s artistry well – though it’s subtle because he does it with such ease. The first subtle example is the opening of the show when music director Jack Fascianato plays the KF&O theme “Here We Are Again,” and he’s joined by two Kuklapolitans accompanying him on toy pianos. It’s amusing and generally just plunking on the keys, except if you listen closely Burr Tillstrom actually is getting some of the theme music correct. (And made all the better because one of the two is my fave, the lunatic Cecil Bill.) And the other comes later in the episode when Kukla, Fran and Ollie sing a trio – with Tillstrom going back and forth with the two voices. As I said, it’s comes across with such natural ease, but it’s no small trick singing a duet with yourself. By the way, I noticed a bit of information posted with this video. Over 700 episodes of the show were transferred to digital thanks to funding from the Burr Tillstrom Copyright Trust and fans of the show – as well as, most interestingly, the Jane Henson Foundation. As I’ve written in the past, Jim Henson always said that Burr Tillstrom and Kukla, Fran and Ollie were one of his big inspirations to get into puppetry and ultimately create The Muppets. And his wife’s helping to fund this clearly supports that. Special thanks were given, as well, to the Chicago History Museum for its invaluable help in the process. And now – trick or treat!
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It's Halloween, so we turn these pages over to the day. Those waiting for the next edition of the political mania will just have to wait an extra day. Some things have priority. I told this story six years ago (almost to the day, but definitely to the occasion), but it bears repeating. My favorite Halloween memory came about 25 years ago. And it involved a Staples office supply store. No, really. In the late afternoon, I parked in the lot of my local West L.A. Staples and headed towards the building. And coming outside at that moment was Ray Bradbury. Now, mind you, that alone would have been good enough. I've always loved Ray Bradbury's writing, and the first book of his I'd read was his classic Something Wicked This Way Comes, which centers around Halloween. But then, so did many of his works. He wrote a collection of stories, The October Country. One of his creepy stories is "The October Game". He wrote a short novel, The Halloween Tree. And much more. Side note: years after I read the book, Disney Studios made a movie out of Something Wicked This Way Comes. A friend at the studio got me a copy of the screenplay and poster, both personally signed to me by Ray Bradbury. Which I still have. (The poster is framed on my wall.) So, the author, book, and the connection to Halloween has long been strong with me. And then, a short ways right there in front of me, was Ray Bradbury. On Halloween. I tend not to go up to celebrities. And Ray Bradbury was clearly not in the best of health, helped by a caregiver. But...this was Ray Bradbury. And it was Halloween, for goodness sake. You don't ignore that and expect to have any self-respect. It would almost like avoiding Santa on Christmas. Sure, Ray Bradbury busy because he's the patron saint of the holiday, but he more than almost anyone in the world is celebrating the day to its fullest. And wants the day celebrated to the fullest. So, I walked over, simply said how much I enjoyed his writing and expected to leave it at that. But he was charming, and engaged me in conversation, helped in part by him finding out that I grew up near where he did, in Waukegan, Illinois. (Glencoe, where I'm from, is about 25 miles directly south.) I don't recall a great many specifics about the conversation, though I do remember his saying how Halloween was his favorite holiday. (Gee, no kidding!) Which is why it came as a thrill -- and is my favorite Halloween memory -- when, as we parted, Ray Bradbury wished me, "Happy Halloween." Right before the election, Randy Rainbow is back with a new song parody. While funny, the song is a bit angrier than most of his other work. The production is well-edited, too, with a lot more news footage than usual. Note: after his brief introduction, he has one of his long ads. If you want to jump past the, the video begins again at the 1:55 mark. I know that most people here have read earlier versions of this article, and the updates, but new readers drop by here regularly, so it's important to repeat this again, most especially right before the election.
And as I always mention, and note again below, even if you've already read previous versions of this, and all its updates, just scroll all the way down to the latest addendum, which is marked -- "* * * UPDATE: NEW MATERIAL ADDED * * *" For those new to it, back in March, 2022 I wrote an article about the long, long, incredibly loooooong list of utterly reprehensible things that Trump and Republicans have said since he took office. It was based on two concepts: the first is that so much of this is said, and pours down like an unending tsunami that the public gets SO busy reacting to the latest horror said that the last one gets pushed aside and forgotten, and it's important to keep them remembered. The other is that when confronted with deeply uncomfortable realities, the common GOP strategy these days is to deflect with "What about's...?" -- the false equivalence that suggests one transgression equals 100. And so, I thought it would be a good idea and public service to provide a handy list people could save and link to the next time they get a "What about...?" and say, "Well, answer these first." I noted that I would repeat the list from time to time, so that, indeed, it wouldn't be forgotten. And also to keep upgrading the list, with new Trump/GOP transgressions and old ones that did get forgotten but came to mind (or that I was reminded of). It's not only been much too long since the last update, but also -- given the media's seemingly 24/7 coverage of President Biden's terrible performance and calls for him drop out of the race from magazine covers to front page editorials, while virtually ignoring the same angst, outrage and calls for Trump despite his non-stop lying during the debate, his 34 felony convictions, being found liable for rape, guilty verdict for fraud, and his signs of early dementia -- I thought that this was a good opportunity to bring the article back again and add some updates. Just so people can remember precisely who Trump is and it's not forgot If you haven't read the full list, here 'tis. But if you have, just scroll down to the latest addendum, easily marked -- "* * * UPDATE: NEW MATERIAL ADDED * * *" Don't Let It Be Forgot March 9, 2022 Don’t let it be forgot That once there was a spot For one brief tarnished moment That was known as Scamalot. The Republican Party spins downward so fast these days, it’s difficult to keep track of past transgressions going back to when Trump ran for office and then took over the party. And so each travesty gets buried and then forgotten as the new pile of garbage gets dumped on top the old every day – even though in ordinary times such galling, often ghastly outrages would be the unforgettable headline for months and often actual scandals. So, all this morass just covers up the other garbage, which gets pushed aside to make room for the latest. The other day, I noted the official statement made by the Republican Party that the January 6 insurrection was supposedly nothing more than mere “Legitimate Political Discourse,” something so deeply defining of the GOP as fascist – yet even that has been shunted into the dusty corner as more new indignations take its place at the top of the pile. I thought it would be valuable, therefore, to put together a list of just some of the Trump and Republican Party rubbish that has collected over the past few years – keeping in mind that anything “just Trump” has also been enabled and supported by his party. And these are only what I’m able to recall at the moment, others buried and lost in time. But the list isn’t final – I’m sure I’ll remember more and be reminded of others. And of course, there will be new GOP and Trump transgressions all the time. But there’s another, equally-important reason for having this list – which I plan to re-post from time to time as it grows. Not just to be a reminder, but also as an easy page to bookmark as a defense against far right “But What About-ism.” That’s the GOP standby gambit when you’re in a conversation about the latest Trump/Republican high-end debacles, and the only response your Republican enthusiast can offer in return is to try to change the subject with “But what about…??!” – and then try something like “…when Barack Obama wore a tan suit after Labor Day?!!!” As if that was an equivalent, let alone remotely on topic. (Or worse, when they “But what about…” something that didn’t actually happen, like “…stole the election,” “bugged Trump,” “hacked White House computers,” “want to get rid of the 2nd Amendment,” “eat babies in the basement of a pizza restaurant.”) Or when all else fails, “…Hunter Biden!” Or “Hillary’s emails!!” So, the next time I – or anyone – is in a debate and making factual, substantive arguments, and suddenly a “But what about…??!” gets thrown in to change the subject – now, whether the “But what about…??!” is an empty one, a non-existent one, or even a reasonable, single – but woefully off-topic – one, it will now be possible to say in return, “Ohhh, okay, so you want to play ‘But what about…??!”, do you? Fine. Here’s a list, here’s a link – so, then, what about ALL of this?!!! All of it. Answer that first, and then after we finish discussing this point we’re actually on, finally I will be happy to address your off-topic question.” Until then, though…what about – * * * The Republican National Committee calls the January 6 insurrection attempt to overthrow the government “Legitimate Political Discourse.” Trump calls murderous Russian dictator Vladmir Putin a “genius” as Russia invades democratic Ukraine. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praises Putin, saying “He is a very talented statesman. He has lots of gifts” and “I have enormous respect for him – I’ve been criticized for saying that.” Former Trump Attorney General William Barr writes a book that slams Democrats for “demonizing” brutal Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, while saying he looks forward to a “positive future” with the despot On camera in Helsinki, Trump says he trusts Russian dictator Putin, leader of America’s top adversary, and says doesn’t trust all the U.S. intelligence services. At the director of Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, the Republican Party removed the plank from the party platform to provide military support for Ukraine in 2016. And kept it out of their party platform in 2020. Trump tried to blackmail the president of Ukraine by not releasing money for Ukrainian defense that had been mandated by Congress, which got him impeached. For the first time. Paul Manafort is convicted on eight felonies. Trump pardons him. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene addresses a white supremacist conference. At the State of the Union Address, Rep. Lauren Boebert heckles the U.S. President talking about his dead child who served in Iraq. Fox “News” claiming that DOJ lawyer John Durham exposed Hillary Clinton’s hacking crimes only to have Durham himself explain that he wrote no such thing about her. Both Democratic and Republican state senators in Arizona vote to censure Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers after she made “violent and discriminatory comments” at a white supremacist conference and also attack Ukraine President Zelensky on social media. Trump makes a deal with the Afghanistan Taliban to return the country to them by a specific date – after he’s out of office – with not concessions in return from the Talibon. Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo poses for a celebratory photo with the co-founder of the Taliban. Trump cited for 16,000+ documented lies. Trump calls Mexicans “drug dealers, criminals, rapists” and that “You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people, these are animals.” Trump caught on tape laughing about grabbing women by the "p*ssy.” Trump publicly asks Russia to hack computers in order to find his election opponent’s emails. Trump pulls the United States out of the Paris Accord, the only country in the entire world not to support the environmental protections to help save the planet. Trumped pulls the United States out of the nuclear sanctions against Iran – which soon after was cited for restarting its nuclear program. Trump calls third-world countries “sh*t holes.” Trump calls the press “the enemy of the people. Trump and Chief of Staff John Kelly caught on video joking about using a ceremonial sword to kill journalists. Chef of Staff John Kelly publicly slams black Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson for taking credit for getting federal funds to build the FBI field office in Florida – and when video of the event surfaces and shows Kelly to be completely wrong, he never apologizes. Rep. Paul Gosar puts out a cartoon video that has him portrayed as an anime-hero killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword and attacking President Biden with a sword. Trump slams Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel for being “Mexican” – even though the judge was born in Indiana (not that that should matter). Trump relentlessly promises to not only build a Wall, but also keeps promising that he will get Mexico to pay for it, adding “Trust me.” The Trump administration separates children from their family who enter the country illegally and put the children in cages, a policy supported by Republicans in Congress. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) tells his supporters that they should raise their sons to “grow up to be monsters.” Trump said that the neo-Nazis had some “very fine people.” Trump told white supremacist groups to “stand by.” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) tweets about the United States that “We are not a democracy.” The Trump administration ignored all advice by the Obama Transition Team, who counseled them on pandemics – including given them an extensive playbook manual and left storage of medical supplies, both of which the Trump people said didn’t exist. Trump closed the Pandemic Response Unit in 2018, before the pandemic hit. Trump cut $8.5 BILLION from CDC budget, before the pandemic hit. Trump fired the CDC expert in China in July, 2019, before the pandemic hit. When asked about his responsibility in the spread of the coronavirus, Trump – who was in charge of everything -- said, "I take no responsibility at all." Trump said the coronavirus will just “go away like a miracle.” Trump said the coronavirus was just like the flu. Trump said that children couldn’t get COVID-19. Trump suggests that drinking bleach and hydroxychloroquine and using deadly UV rays could kill the coronavirus. Again, just as a reminder, all of these issues with Trump were met with near-unanimous silence by the Republican Party, with no push back or even just disagreement, thereby enabling him and those positions. The Republican Party gets “outraged” when a publisher makes a business decision to drop six, very old books from its catalog written by Dr. Seuss that haven’t sold much in decades and have some parts in them that they felt are problematic today. The Republican Party gets “outraged” when the maker of the Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head toys decides to package them together to save money. The Republican Party gets “outraged” when they claim Disney has censored The Muppets, though in reality they just moved a few episodes behind a pay wall, and all the episodes are available. Trump said he’d have a beautiful” health care plan in 2016. Over four years, he kept saying he’d have a “beautiful” health care plan, very soon, so beautiful you wouldn’t believe it. He never released any health care plan. Trump says he brutal, murderous despot Kim Jong-un of North Korea “wrote me beautiful letters, and we fell in love.” Trump said he and brutal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping have a “great relationship,” and “We love each other” and shared “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake.” Trump praised Philippine despot Duterte who has compared himself to Hitler, bragged about personally executing criminals, and whose bloody war on drugs has killed 7,000 people – condoning him with an invitation to the White House. Trump invited Egyptian dictator el-Sisi who seized power in a coup that killed over 800 protestors in one day – and invited him to the White House. Trump says the hated and brutal Turkish autocrat Erdogan is “a good man,” “a friend,” and “a hell of a leader,” someone who is “highly respected” around the world. Trump abandoned our Kurdish allies, who were holding 11,000 ISIS prisoners, by removing troops from the Syrian border with Turkey, letting Erdogan’s army invade, ISIS prisoners to escape, hundreds killed, and creating 130,000 Kurdish refugees, dismissing bipartisan criticism as “It’s not our border” and "If Turkey goes into Syria, that’s between Turkey and Syria” – quotes to remember the next time he tries to claim he’d have stood up to Putin invading Ukraine. White House senior advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner supported a Saudi blockade of U.S. ally Qatar while trying to get a personal $1.8 billion loan from Qatar for his family business. Jared Kusher advised his friend Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after reports surfaced that American resident journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been murdered and dismembered on orders from bin Salman. Rep. Lauren Boebert says the United States should liberate Canada. Trump said he said he wasn’t allowed release his taxes (like every single president has done since Richard Nixon first did half a century earlier) because he was under audit – of which there was no evidence, but would have been perfectly legal and allowed even if he was), but kept saying he would release them. He never released his taxes – though did sue in court to keep them from being released, but lost. The Republican Party voted unanimously against emergency relief to Americans that polls showed 75% of the country wanted. Democrats passed the bill. Trump said there were airports in the Revolutionary War. Trump ranted to a rally -- 'What would happen if the boat sank from its weight and you're in the boat and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is now underwater, and there's a shark that's approximately 10 yards over there? By the way, lot of shark attacks lately. Did you notice that?" Never mind, by the way, that batteries are not only well-insulated, but unless you are directly in its path, there is zero risk of electrocution. Trump continued his obsession with electricity and this time confused solar power with everyday, basic electronics, ranting to a rally, “All they know is electric. They want electric army tanks. They want electric planes. What happens if the sun isn’t shining while you’re up in the air?” Never mind that airplanes have actually (and obviously) had electricity since the very beginning -- and solar-powered devices store power so that they can be used when "the sun isn't shining"!! Trump has explained why he thinks whales wash up on shores. "The windmills are driving them crazy. They are driving the whales, I think, a little batty.” (Replied Andrew Read, head of the Marine Mammal Commission, “He displays an astonishing lack of knowledge of whales and whale strandings.”) As it happens, Trump has a long-standing fear of windmills -- though to be accurate, they're not windmills, but wind turbines. "I know windmills very much. I’ve studied it better than anybody I know." To which he's added, "They're noisy. They kill the birds." (A 2015 study showed that 2.4 billion birds were killed annually by cats. Wind turbines were far down seventh on the list, at half-a-million.) Trump has also claimed about "windmills" that "They say the noise causes cancer.” It's not just "windmills," but the wind itself that is an issue for Trump. "There's no wind – the damn wind just isn't blowing like it used to because of global warming, I think." On a Fox Town Hall broadcast, Trump said, “I want to be a dictator. But only one Day One.” Of course, wanting to be a dictator for even just one day is contrary to democracy, but also, it's near-impossible to think of a dictator who, by choice, gave up his autocratic power after one day. Trump echoed the words of Adolf Hitler, saying that immigration is "a very sad thing for our country; it's poisoning the blood of our country." And “"We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country," Trump praised the fictional movie cannibal mass murderer as "The late, great Hannibal Lecter…a wonderful man.” Trump's difficulty with speaking is generally referred to as just "slurring," but it's actually what psychiatrists and psychologists call "paraphasia," which is making up fake, similar-sounding words when the person can't think of the word they want, and then quickly changing the thought, which they say is a sign of early dementia. Among his many examples are -- “Renoversh” (renovations) “Mishuz” (missiles) “Pivobal” (pivotal) “Succential” (successful) “Venerzuale…ohhh” (Venezuela) “Patri-skfjsk” (patriots) “Chrishus” (Christmas) “Space capiscle” (space capsule) “Combat infantroopen” (combat infantry) “President U-licious S. Grant” (Ulysses S. Grant) “Sahlven country” (sovereign country”) Carrydite-byeraye-(sigh)-en” (carried out by radical) “Illegal adlinthin” (I have no idea what this is supposed to be…) Marjorie Taylor Greene periodically complains that people call her stupid. Yet all on her own, without any prompting from others, she posted a tweet about eight signers of the Declaration of Independence -- and six of those eight never signed it. “JD Vance,” currently a contender to be Trump's VP selection, praised Hungary's authoritarian strongman Viktor Orbán, saying, "I think Orbán made smart decisions that we could learn from in the US." For the record, Orbán seized control of universities, rewrote the the country's Constitution and undermined the power of Hungary's courts. At a Las Vegas rally, Trump told the crowd -- “I don't care about you. I just want your vote.” Trump bewildered even many of his own supporters when he wrote on social media, “Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!,” ignoring the reality that at her airport event there were 15,000 witnesses there. A video from 2021 was found of “JD Vance” being weird but also inaccurate, since Kamala Harris had children at the time, and Pete Buttigieg has a child now, when he said, ““We are effectively run in this country … by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too. It's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children." Trump confused Black politicians Nate Holden with Willie Brown when discussing an event about which he also said Kamala Harris brought up and demeaned, except that she was only 24 at the time, not yet a public figure, and was never mentioned, And yet despite both men correcting him, Trump doubled-down and not only insisted he was right and they were both wrong, but he even threatened to sue the New York Times who printed the truth of the story and that Trump was wrong when he said, “I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, [it was Nate Holden in the helicopter] and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little concerned, So I know him. I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her. [Nate Holden would not have known her at the time.] But this is what you’re telling me, anyway, I guess. But he had a big part in what happened with Kamala. [That actually would have been Willie Brown who dated her, but wasn’t on the helicopter and has never met Trump.] But he — he, I don’t know, maybe he’s changed his tune. But he — he was not a fan of hers very much, at that point.” After Trump had a surrogate send a series of blisteringly critical emails to Miriam Adelson, one of his biggest billionaire donors her for having a PAC he didn’t like, she threatened to cut off her donations to him. Two weeks later, he invited her to an event Trump where he defended having given the Presidential Medal of Freedom to her in 2018. And in doing so, he said, “It’s actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, that’s soldiers, they’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead. She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman.” In a 2021 interview, “JD Vance” explained his view on why women who want a career are so unhappy, rather than having babies. “You have women who think that truly, the liberationist path is to spend 90 hours a week working in a cubicle at McKinsey, instead of starting a family and having children. What they don’t realize – and I think some of them do eventually realize that, thank God – is that that is actually a path to misery. And the path to happiness and to fulfillment is something that these institutions are telling people not to do. The corruption is it puts people on a career pipeline that causes them to chase things that will make them miserable and unhappy. And so they get in positions of power and then they project that misery and happiness on the rest of society.” To which he added, “Clearly, this value set has made me a miserable person, who can’t have kids because I already passed the biological period when it was possible.” At a rally in West Palm Beach, Trump desperately begged, "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. You know what? Four more years, it'll be fixed, it'll be fine. You won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I'm not Christian, I love you. You gotta get out and vote. In four years, you won't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote." After Kamala Harris appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, said at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, "But I say that I am much better looking. I'm a better-looking person than Kamala. They said, 'No, her biggest advantage is that she's a beautiful woman.' I'm going, huh? I never thought of that. I'm better looking than she is." Speaking to a rally, Trump explained his personal thoughts about Vice President Kamala Harris, “I'd love to be nice but I'm dealing against real garbage." In his foreword for a book about Project 2025, written by the project’s leader – a book which the publisher has delayed release of until after the election when polling showed the subject to be wildly unpopular, "JD Vance" wrote that “it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets.” At a Bedminster event with select invited press, Trump said that "Virtually 100 percent of the net job creation in the last year have gone to migrants." Putting aside that the statement was not backed up by any evidence (since such a claim would be “virtually” impossible), Trump continued and added that he's heard the real number could be "substantially more than -- actually beyond that number of 100 percent." For which, of course, no “virtually” is needed when describing “impossible.” When running for president in 2016, questions were raised about Melania Trump’s immigration status. Trump addressed that by stating, “They said my wife, Melania, might have come in illegally. Can you believe that one? Let me tell you one thing. She has got it so documented, so she’s going to have a little news conference over the next couple of weeks. That’s good. I love it. I love it.” That two-week mark passed eight years ago. Still waiting… In 2016, Lindsey Graham said "If we nominate Trump, we will be destroyed...And we will deserve it." And said that Trump is a "nut job," "disgrace," "one of the dumbest human beings," "a 'race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot. He does not represent my party." Until Graham later said he decided to change his mind on all that. "* * * UPDATE: NEW MATERIAL ADDED * * * “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT”. Okay, putting aside that if Taylor Swift had endorsed Trump, you know that Trump would have loved her. But more to the point, yes, this is what Trump tweeted when running to be president of the United States, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military, and the most powerful person in the world. "They have a phone app so that people can come into our country. These are smart immigrants, I guess, because most people don't have any idea what the hell a phone app is." In fact, 90% of Americans own a smart phone. “So, you have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north, with the snow caps and Canada, and—all pouring down, and they have a—essentially—a very large faucet, and you turn the faucet, and it takes one day to turn it, it’s massive. It’s as big as the wall of that building right there behind you. And you turn that, and all of that water goes into the—aimlessly into the Pacific. And if they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here, and right into Los Angeles.” This was Trump talking about giant faucets to deal with water shortages in California due to droughts caused by Climate Change. "Oh there’s a fly. Oh. I wonder where the fly came from. See, two years ago, I wouldn’t have had a fly up here. But they’re changing rapidly. We can’t take it any longer." This was Trump losing focus and being distracted by a fly at a rally in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. "They want to do things like no more cows, and no windows in buildings. They have some wonderful plans for this country. Honestly, they're crazy." Far more people would like what is actually crazy is thinking that Democrats want to get rid of cows and windows. Former Gen. Michael Flynn was asked at the Rod of Iron Festival, if he'd “sit at the head of a military tribunal to not only drain the swamp, but imprison the swamp, and on a few occasions, execute the swamp?” Flynn did not say no, or express outrage at the suggestion of a military tribunal or executions. Instead, he answered, 'What your sentiment is about is accountability' and that 'I definitely believe we need accountability.” To which he added, "There's a way to get after this, but we have to win first. These people are already up to no good, so we gotta win first. We win, and then [Katy] bar the door. Believe me, the gates of hell, my hell will be unleashed." Talking in Michigan about Climate Change, Trump said that the real problem is nuclear power, “That’s the global warming you have to worry about. Not that the ocean is gonna rise in 400 years an eighth of an inch. And you'll have more seafront property, right, if that happens. I said is that good or bad? I said isn't that a good thing? If I have a little property on the ocean, I have a little bit more property, I have a little bit more ocean.” Just to be clear, if Michigan has more seafront property, that would mean everything between the Midwest state and the East Coast would be under water. Also, scientist say that because of Climate Change the sea level will rise an eighth of an inch every year, not every “400 years.” They expect the sea level to rise two feet by the year 2100. After being heckled at a rally by a woman, Trump -- who has claimed to be a protector of women -- responds as she is being led out through the jeering crowd, "Back home to mommy. She goes back home to mommy. 'Was that you darling?' And then she gets the hell knocked out of her." Upset that “60 Minutes” edited an interview with Kamala Hararis, just like they’ve done for 56 years, Trump posted on social media. "60 MINUTES SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY TAKEN OFF THE AIR - ELECTION INTERFERENCE, THIS IS THE BIGGEST SCANDAL IN BROADCAST HISTORY." This ignores that that Fox settled a lawsuit for $787 million for defamation – and edited a Trump interview the day before he posted this complaint. Speaking at a rally, and bringing up legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, Trump said, "This is a guy that was all man. This man was strong and tough, and I refuse to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, 'Oh my God, that's unbelievable.'...I had to say it." In fact, no, he didn't have to say it. And clearly, he did not "refuse to say it", speaking for 10 minutes on Mr. Palmer and his genitalia. Trump complains about people who oppose him, saying that "I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen." Two days later, Trump doubled-down on people who disagree with him and singled out political opponents he would use the military against. “These are bad people. We have a lot of bad people. But when you look at shifty Schiff and some of the others, yeah, they are to me the enemy from within. I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy from within.” "We're like a garbage can for the world." Said by Trump about immigrants just days before comedian Tony Hinchliffe opened Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden and was reviled for referring to Puerto Rico as an island of floating garbage, which Trump defenders insisted did not speak for Trump's views, despite essentially quoting him. "Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?” After taking five questions at a Town Hall set up to take question, Trump stops and sways and dances to music for 39 minutes. If you didn't see Jon Stewart's Monday hosting of The Daily Show last night, his Main Segment largely dealt with Trump's problematic last week, culminating at his rally at Madison Square Garden. The whole thing is extremely funny and very pointed, with a deep undercurrent of seriousness. He also had a wonderful announcement at the beginning for those aware that his scheduled return to the show was announced as through the 2025 election... As a bonus, this is the interview that Stewart did with Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. It's very enjoyable, often very interesting and even very funny throughout, going off-topic a few times, with Shapiro holding his own. This is sort of a multi-part article, though all connected. And its provenance from over a decade ago really didn't have any connection to the news today. But as the Trump Final Argument Racist-a-thon took place in Madison Square Garden on Sunday, it brought to might the unrelenting torrential storm of lies that Trump and "JD Vance" have been dumping on the country during the campaign -- most notable for their "immigrants are eating pet dogs and cats," but oh-so-much more, down to Trump's idiotic "You have a 75% chance of being killed in the New York subway" at MSG over the weekend. That led to me remember an article I wrote here in 2020 about all the mass of lies during the Trump time in office, and the maniacal and foolish efforts from those around him to desperately try to explain them away. And that column, in turn, directly stemmed from 2011, when I wrote an article on the Huffington Post about Jon Kyl, then the junior Republican senator from Texas, and the most ridiculous lie he told, topped by his utterly ludicrous attempt to explain it away -- which I used as a way of describing how the GOP seemed to be a party built on lies. And yes, that was written in 2011, thirteen years ago, a full five years before Trump even entered the scene. I embedded that piece in the 2020 article as a way to support how the GOP got to Trump. So, with the election just a week away, I thought this was a good time to revisit it all. Because it's important to see that this dementia-laden MAGOP world of Trump which has degenerated so much into lunacy and a realm where facts almost don't seem to exist isn't something that just occurred, and isn't only a Cult of Trump (though it most definitely is that, in part), but is something which the Republican Party has been doing for a very long time, and priming its members to accept as their normal. To accept lies, to accept idiotic explanations, to distrust facts, Democrats, the news, reality, and lay the groundwork and pathway to accepting a Trump, opening the door wide for him to walk through. Here, then, first is that article from 2020, before the look back into 2011. * * * The Road to Hell September 23, 2020 As I listened to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany twist herself in knots and try to explain to an unrelenting Jim Acosta of CNN why Trump wasn't lying when he said that "nobody" was really affected by the coronavirus, despite 205,471 deaths of Americans, so far -- and 7,097,937 infections, so far. And these were only in the United States. In fact, around the world, there have been almost 32 million human beings infected by the coronavirus and just under one million people have died. So far. So, that whole "nobody" thing, not so much. And yet, on and on, Ms. McEnany went on, trying to explain that Trump was being honest and only talking about young people -- despite that, no, he wasn't, and, of course, despite there also being an actual recording of Trump telling Bob Woodward that he knew young people could get infected by it. And as I listened to someone from the White House once again try to explain what Trump meant when he said something horrible and irresponsible and cruel and racist, I just started to wonder when it was that we formally went past the line where it become officially head-numbing to hear a White House spokesperson again explain "What the president meant when he said..." something. I mean, words matter. But when it comes to the President of the United States, words not only matter, they can be life-and-death critical. A president should ever have to have it explained what he meant, but though in life that does occur on occasion, those occasions should be rare -- not something so common that the White House Communications Office has the words, "What the president meant when he said..." on speed dial and a macro. Of course, most people know what Trump "meant" when he says something. We've heard him for four years. We know he meant something egomaniacal or cruel or untrue or racist. The only time we don't know is when it's totally incomprehensible and a mindless bunch of word less. Or "covfefe." The thing is, this -- like most things -- isn't just about Trump, though he and his spokespeople have turned it into an art form. (Can we ever forget "alternative facts"?) But Republicans making bald-faced lies and then having to explain what they actually meant when the lie is too egregious even for them to double-down on and they're called out on it. The list is too long and massive, but a few leap out. Like when Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson said that President Obama was responsible for the battle that killed Captain Humayan Khan (son of Khizr Khan, who had spoken at the Democratic Convention) -- except the problem is that Capt. Khan did in Iraq in 2004, and Barack Obama didn't take office until 2008. And of course, there was Republican lying claims of birtherism long before Trump made it his campaign issue. And maybe one of the most legendary of all, there was the infamous article by Ron Suskind in 2004 when an unnamed W. Bush White House official (now believed to be Karl Rove) who chided Democrats for living in a "realty-based community" while Republicans "created our own reality." In other words, you tell the truth, we make it up. And that's just been standard operating procedure for Republicans. And as it often happens, I can delve into the archives and explain what I mean. Back in 2011, I wrote an article about then-senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) getting caught in a lie so blatant that he ended up coming out with one of the more stupid, teeth-aching attempts to explain it away. This isn't about Trump. It isn't even specifically about All Republicans. This is just one individual. But especially because of what his mind-numbing explanation for his lie was, it is all too indicative of what Republicans have been doing for decades, and what Trump does when he breathes. Over 20,000 Trump lies that the Washington Post documented in just over two years of his time in office. Yes, all politicians lie. All people lie. But it's how you lie, what you lie about, how you explain your lie, how you correct your lie, if you correct your lie and why you lie that separates people. This is just a look at Jon Kyl.. But when we live with this sort of thing for decades because one party has "created their own reality" and live on "alternative facts," and as a result of all that we now live with the standard, default White House explanation of "What the president meant when he said..." -- this is far more than a look at Jon Kyl. It's about Trump. And it's about much more than Trump, it's about the elected members of the Republican Party who enable him, are complicit and, in fact, long-since laid the foundation for him. So, we head back to April 13, 2011. The Road to Hell is also Paved with Bad Intentions
As a young man, Jon Kyl, the Republican junior senator from Arizona, was convicted of selling heroin, and he spent eight months in federal prison. This remark was not intended to be a factual statement. Rather, it was to illustrate that Jon Kyl, a Republican senator, is from Arizona. Yes, that was unfair. But just because Jon Kyl wasn't actually convicted of drug crimes doesn't mean he hasn't committed any legal abuses. Make no mistake, in his early days in Arizona state politics, he was reprimanded for 12 ethics violations, though avoided expulsion on a technicality, changing the spelling of his name which originally was "John Kyle." This remark was not intended to be a factual statement, either, rather it was to illustrate that Jon Kyl doesn't have the letter "H" in his name. Joking aside, there is something I do admire Sen. Kyl for. It is his deft skill manipulating the English language to avoid responsibility for making a gross smear on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Addressing his senate colleagues, Mr. Kyl had said that abortions accounted for "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does" - though the actual, truthful number is 3 percent. When later confronted over these shamefully inaccurate remarks now in the official Congressional Record, he hid behind his staff, which commented that "His remark was not intended to be a factual statement, but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, an organization that receives millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, does subsidize abortions." Forgetting for a moment that this isn't even an attempt at an apology, there only two options here: either Jon Kyl takes you for an idiot, or himself. To be fair to Jon Kyl and sympathetic, he has unfortunately been painfully distracted lately, due to a bitter divorce he's going through, brought about by the exposure of a 12-year, secret affair with his secretary. Just to clarify, this remark is not intended to be a factual statement, rather it was to illustrate that Jon Kyl has a secretary. A case could be made that Jon Kyl knew his senate statement was a lie when he gave it, or at least that he didn't care whether it was false or not. But even if one chooses to graciously accept that it was just a horrific mistake - we all know what a proper reply should have been. We all know how we ourselves would have apologized. We would have said - "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I relied on information given to me, and I should have checked it myself. I apologize to Planned Parenthood, to my senate colleagues, and to the American public. I will immediately correct the Congressional Record. And will strive to make sure such a horrible error doesn't occur again." We wouldn't have had a lackey say for us - "His remark was not intended to be a factual statement." Jon Kyl's lie and lying response reminds me of an election several years back for the Writers Guild Board of Directors. An unsigned letter was mailed that smeared each candidate on an opposition slate. Later, one of the non-attacked candidates was asked for his reaction to the anonymous smear of his opponents. Not wanting to defend his opponents, he said with a thoughtful, sad expression, "The fact that it got all the names and some of the ages right is what made the letter so hurtful." All I could think was, "No! The fact that it got all the names right is what made the letter - a smear." It was the same attitude weaving through Jon Kyl's own smearing statement and smarmy, staff reply. It's as if the truth doesn't matter. That anything can be said if it helps you. And if you're forced to address the lie, dismiss it as not being intended to be the truth. Of course it's not intended to be the truth. It was intended to smear! This is an attitude that permeates the conservative movement these days. Democrats can lie, too, and when they do, it's just as wrong. But these days, the "say whatever you want," "truth be damned" weight has been falling more heavily on the Republican and conservative side. Perhaps because they're the ones in attack mode. Perhaps because the truth that Social Security, Medicare, universal healthcare, and public education all actually help people causes Republicans political trouble. Whatever the reason, when the truth hurts you, and you choose to say anything to win, the truth doesn't matter. To make a point attacking President Obama, Bill O'Reilly describes U.S. troops massacring Germans at Malmedy during WWII - when the truth is the exact opposite. To prove a rally was popular, Glenn Beck shows a photograph of the crowd - when the truth is that the photo was taken years before. To terrify the GOP base, Sarah Palin and others lie that Democrats want to kill old people. And on and on the spiral downward goes. But of course, truth actually does matter. And we should not only expect it of our children, but also our politicians and social voices. Yes, I know that's a lot to expect. So, let's make it easy and start small - Let's expect it of Jon Kyl. That remark is intended to be a factual statement. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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