Exclusive fake interview with Vladimir Putin

Yesterday, I met in person Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin for an exclusive fake interview with my Agence Fausse Presse. We actually chatted over the phone, since we were each seated at one end of a 75-meter-long marble table.

blogules - 'Thank you for having me for breakfast, and not on the menu'.

Vladimir Putin - 'You're welcome. And don't worry, I don't eat people. Ukrainians do. They're genocidal, war-mongering neo-nazi cannibals, kabbalist pedophiles, and they always distort the truth.'

b - 'If I may, you're the blood-thisrty war-monger pushing massive disinformation campaigns and spreading totally outrageous lies about Ukraine. And as far as neo-nazis go, you're the one helping Assad gas his own people, you're the one playing the Hitler playbook with a fallacious story about 'liberating' Ukraine, just like Adolf invaded Poland under the fake pretext that its German minorities suffered from persecution.'

VP - 'Don't push your luck, I may reconsider my vegetarian habits for breakfast... I'm not Hitler. I'm just a Russian leader defending Russian interests. We're the ones who defeated Hitler, remember?'

b - 'Stalin did play a decisive role in defeating Nazi Germany. He was also a ruthless dictator and Imperialist who spread war across the globe and was responsible for millions of Russian deaths.'

VP - 'I'm not Stalin. I'm not a communist.'

b - 'But you never swallowed the fall of the Soviet Union. Like Hitler with 1919, you're obsessed with reversing 1991.'

VP - 'Russia goes beyond regimes. The Tsars passed, the USSR passed, Russia remains.'

b - 'Putism will pass. Heck, it doesn't even exist. Do you consider yourself like one of the Great Tsars, the way Erdogan pretends to be a Great Sultan or Xi Jinping acts like the new Emperor?'

VP - 'I'm not Ivan The Terrible. My business model is more the mob.'

b - 'Exactly. You don't have a system to sustain or to survive you, you're using smokescreens of ideologies, nationalism, religion, or such obsolete symbols as the Cossacks to cement your power and your image, but basically you're just a mob boss.'

VP - 'I'm simply the G.O.A.T. I don't even have lieutenants or deputies. For the power, I have my KGB-FSB circle at home, and thugs like Ramzan Kadyrov or Alexander Lukashenko nearby. For the money, I have oligarchs: I keep them alive, away from jail, and rich, they give me a fat cut on their wealth. Now I'm much richer than Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg combined. And these losers only have paper when I have gold, properties, real assets. I don't have shareholders to answer to, and my rockets can have a significantly greater impact than their baby boy toys'

b - 'Your nukes definitely can. When you put the World on high nuclear alert, when you threaten even Sweden and Finland, are you deliberately playing the 'mad man', or have you gone full paranoid, on a Nero-tic path? Even if, one day, you win in Ukraine, aren't you already losing it? I mean where's the charming, fit, acute strategic thinker these days? We can only see a vulgar, puffed up egotist with serious anger management issues. Is it steroids? Are you sick, physically and/or mentally?'

VP - 'You, for sure, are utterly crazy. You must know that disrespectful journalists don't live old here.'

b - 'I never pretended to be a journalist.'

VP - 'Well you know how I treat comedians. Ask Volodymyr Zelensky.'

b - 'I never pretended to be a comedian. And Zelensky is not an actor anymore. Unlike you, he's a genuine patriot.'

VP - 'I'm a patriot. You may not know it yet, but Russia has been renamed Putinia. And Saint Petersburg Putingrad. And no, I'm not stopping at Georgia, Ukraine or Sweden. I must reclaim control of the States and put my thug back on the throne.'

b - 'All you're managing to do is to make the EU and NATO relevant and strong again. Trump failed to destroy NATO for you, and Biden will not let that happen.'

VP - 'Joe Biden is already out. My Republican Party is doing a great job at destroying American democracy from the inside, and my local disinformation machine has never been damaged. As for Europe, I still control it.'

b - 'Are you kidding?'

VP - 'Never with business. Germany? Dope pushers hooked to my fossil fuel. And that Olaf Scholz is such a joke... Like Macron, he just came for his national credentials. Macron is not dumb, he doesn't get confrontational. He knows I didn't want him to win in 2017, he knows how easily I got rid of Juppe and Barnier in the primaries (yeah, this year, I had to make dead people and even a dog vote, but still no sweat), he knows how I can destroy him by putting gullible masses on the street. Yellow Jackets, antivaxxers.... piece of cake. But Macron also knows how to flatter egos. Look how he impressed Trump with the Invalides and that military show. Look how he had me tour Versailles and our new Russian Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris - by the way the mayor was so easy to corrupt on that one. Did you see how the golden dome of my church outshines the Eiffel Tower along the Seine river? How could you frogs let that happen?'

b - 'I see. Let's not even talk about the UK...'

VP - 'I sent them back to the Jurassic with Brexit, and Boris Johnson is clearly more a Fred Flintstone than a T-rex. We own London, corrupted it to the core, and they won't have the guts to pull the plug. I'm not worried about sanctions anyway. We've got them all already sorted out with Jinping, Narendra, and Ali (that's Khamenei).'

b - 'If you always have your usual partners overseas, you're losing support at home. Old Russians in rural areas may buy your propaganda, but the urban youth knows that you won't be here forever, and more and more people start questioning your mental state...'

VP - 'Bah. I'll probably have to create yet another hostage crisis. You know, like at the Moscow Theater or at that Breslan school. Nothing like it to boost the ratings. Otherwise, I can still lose a few more millions Russians; our demographics are not so good anyways. Yes, they can't be all put to rest with a gallon of vodka, like I did with Boris Yeltsin, but I already got rid of hundreds of thousands during the pandemic. Only 'good citizens' got good vaccines. Why do you think we push antivaxxers, beyond undermining Western democracies? We need to compensate our lousy vaxxes, so if they're 60-70% efficient only, turning 30-40% of your populations into antivaxxers brings you and your economies down to our level.'

b - 'And as for more surgical strikes, who's the next Alexei Navalny on your hit list beyond Zelensky, Vitali Klitschko, and friends?' 

VP - 'Adam Kinzinger. Couldn't find any kompromat on him. I had kilometers of reels for Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell only required wads of cash, but this guy is a disgrace for my new and improved GOP.'

b - 'So what do you have about Trump?'

VP - 'A lot of kompromat, but I don't even need that to manipulate this pathetic loser. Not even all the money we gave him to keep him afloat, or his ties to the Mafia. You know, this crybaby truly dreams of becoming a mob boss too. How cute.'

b - 'I also have questions about human rights and the environment.'

VP - 'I don't have time to answer. Anyway you know where I stand: I don't care about human rights, and I'm a strong believer in climate change.'

b - '?!?'

VP - 'I'm investing in facilities to harvest the methane liberated by the melting permafrost, and accelerating climate change to anschluss all arctic routes. Since all the icecap has already melted, we had to plant our flags on the ocean floor.

b - 'But then, where will you organize the Winter Olympics in 2036?'

VP - 'In Alaska. Ivanka has already agreed to sell it to us during her fourth mandate. Now you must go.'

b - 'Okay. I guess thank you for being as honest as an expert propagandist dictator can be.'

VP - 'You're welcome. And obviously you liked the breakfast. Did you know my granddad cooked for Lenin and Stalin? I saw you ate all the cookies, but could you taste the Novichok?'

blogules 2022
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Deuce in Senate, Now Who's Ready To Serve For America?

So the Trump Insurrection failed, the disgraced POTUS and his white supremacist followers face trial, Anthony Fauci can at long last speak openly with the blessing of sound leaders (welcome to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris), and poetry has never been that supercool (O Say Can You See Amanda Gorman?).

But. 

Coronavirus destruction has yet to peak, Qanon propagandists have yet to mutate and splinter into new murderous sleeping cells, Obstructionist in Chief Mitch McConnell remains the most noxious politician in town, and the GOP has yet to declare its independence from its worst enemies from within (don't count on Kevin McCarthy, whose new blend of mccarhyism will forever associate the House GOP's legacy to that of the ultimate traitor). 

Can new budget chair Bernie Sanders balance Trump Era's kolossal deficits?

This time, GOP lawmakers won't go away with the outrageous elusive tactics they used for the 2020 impeachment. They'll have to decide how History will remember them by answering simple questions: is it okay for a President to incite an insurrection? can Donald Trump be allowed to run again for office?

I count on justice to at last catch up with Trump, his corrupt family, his enablers (Ted Cruz must go, but bigger fishes must as well), and all blends of hatemongers who preyed upon the desperate and the gullible.

blogules 2021
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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Obstruction

The man in charge of the White House has yet to concede: yesterday, Vladimir Putin said that he would not recognize Joe Biden's victory until the Republican Party does. 

Of course, Republicans are too coward to state the obvious, and to acknowledge the elephant in the room (not a genuine elephant, purists would argue). Why would they do it now? They've let him cross every red line over the past four years, and they even managed not to remove him when the Constitution forced them to, by following the most obscene pseudo legal reasoning ever. Because of their lack of courage, over a quarter of a million US lives were lost. 

Will they move before December 14 and the electoral college vote? Before January 5 and the Georgia runoff elections? Before January 20 and Biden's inauguration? Before 2024 and Emperor Trump's Third Term?

Republicans are scared of a man who set a new record of votes for an incumbent POTUS (almost 74 millions so far). Even if he's been trounced fair and squared by a ticket that claimed 6M more votes, and an electoral college landslide. Even if they themselves fared much better than Donald Trump during these elections.

America has chosen Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to pivot from extremism and chaos to the center and order. Republican lawmakers have chosen to go down in History with a tandem of Obstructors in Chief that don't care one second about decency or their own legacy. Enough obstruction of justice, enough obstruction of democracy, enough obstruction of health, enough obstruction of truth. Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell must go.

blogules 2020
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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Trump: 'my plan to steal the elections' (fake interview, real threats)

blogules: 'Thank you President Trump for accepting this exclusive fake interview with our Agence Fausse Presse'.

Donald J. Trump: 'You're welcome. It's good to see Fake News that don't pretend, and openly define themselves as Weapons of Mass Disinformation'.

B: 'You are aware that I'm very critical of you and your administration...'

DJT: 'I can handle that, like I did so beautifully with Bob Woodward. Have you seen how he changed his mind about me, how he's flattering me in his book?'

B: 'How can you lie so blatantly? Even after being caught on tape? Can't you feel any shame?'

DJT: 'Listen. I'm feeling shame all the time, but I trained my brain to translate it instantly into pride. I simply cannot be wrong, I simply cannot fail. I'm basically the most perfect being the World has ever seen. To start with, I have good genes.'

B: 'At least you don't seem to have been genetically modified: your granddad Drumpf ran a brothel in Yukon, you grab women by the p...y, and you're being sued for raping an underage girl.'

DJT: 'My new fixer will take care of that.'

B: 'William Barr is supposed to be the US Attorney General, not a mobster's personal lawyer, justice is supposed to be independent from the executive, democracy relies on checks and balances...'

DJT: 'Come on. The US are not a democracy. Not under my watch. I can't let that happen. I have to win the elections. Do you know how many lifetimes in prison I'd have to serve? First thing I do when I'm reelected is to ensure I can serve at least 6 terms like my friend Alexander Lukashenko. After that, Ivanka and Barron will continue the dynasty. Arabella Rose comes next. That one, what a looker. If she weren't my granddaughter...'.

B: 'You're a monster.'

DJT: 'I like to win no matter what, okay? And I've got all bases covered for the 2020 elections and for the next ones. We corrupted the census to facilitate further gerrymandering, but also to justify why so many ballots will disappear in the weeks to come. That's why I'm asking my base to vote twice: once by email, once in person.'

B: 'But that's totally illegal.'

DJT: 'I'm trying to explain to you that I can't win legally, and that I have to do do like I've always done: the ugly, mobster way. But in parallel, I'm also working on changing the law, justice, people who could prevent that. If I put a thug in charge of USPS, if I stuffed courts with moronic ayatollahs, that's part of my plan to steal the elections.'

B: 'So you confess that you plan to steal the elections'.

DJT: 'You're not paying attention: I've already said that several times. When I say 'get rid of the ballots', it means that we will block and remove all ballots that come from suspicious zip codes, the ones with Democratic demographics, or minorities. And if our countless voter suppression measures fail, I can count on the virus and on my militias.'

B: 'Is that why you are not fighting the virus, and encouraging extreme right supporters to patrol cities with their assault weapons?'

DJT: 'Of course! We want the virus and riots to bloom in Democratic states and cities, we know that the virus kills more among minorities, and that my base is not afraid to go out because they think that's a hoax. Besides, there's no way moderates and minorities will show up on election day if they see Nazis roam the streets. And these thugs showed they know how to shoot, but we're doing our best to steal the elections without having to resort to that kind of voter suppression. If you want my opinion, that brilliant young lad in Kenosha was a bit too quick to do well - only 17 years old, but already perfectly brainwashed with 'Birth of a Nation', 'The Camp of the Saints', and other great white supremacist books. These Trump Youth are the future of our nation, but until the elections at least, they must not communicate too openly about our Great Plan.'

B: 'You are so openly racist, and still you're trying to convince minorities to vote for you, even after all you've done to them...'

DJT: 'Yes. But I must confess that this time it's harder with black communities. In 2016, I told them 'what do you have to lose? try it', and four years later, how many died of covid or police brutality? Now I can't tell Latinos 'what do you have to lose?', because they fear #LatinoLivesMatter will trend in 2024. So I asked Vladimir to beef up the propaganda and disinformation campaigns among Latino communities, like 10 times what we did for Hillary. And it worked, we've already turned the tables in places like Florida and Arizona.'

B: 'Interesting to see QAnon conspiracy theories accuse Biden of precisely what you're accused of: threatening democracy, preparing a coup, being evil, protecting pedophiles.'

DJT: 'QAnon is a beautiful invention from our propagandists. Before, when I said 'many people think', or 'many people say', I couldn't provide any proof when asked for more details, so in order to support our fabricated stories and most outrageous claims, we created someone who doesn't exist, and use him as our mouthpiece. Bonus: I can use code words in public, and my base knows exactly what I'm talking about, but the general public doesn't get the full antisemitic, racist and fascist references. Works like a charm, including in Europe now. People are so gullible.'

B: 'Yeah. Some even believe that drinking bleach can cure coronavirus infections.'

DJT: 'Now THAT is science. I drink bleach all the time. They tell me that's milk, but I know better. I always know best.'

B: 'But conspiracy theories don't seem to move the black communities.'

DJT: 'Not this time. So what I did was ask my friend Kanye to be my running mate*. Even if he has become a total mental wreck and doesn't campaign, even if a fraction of his millions of followers cast a vote for him just by seeing his name on the ballots, that can be enough to flip battleground states.'

B: 'No black life matters for you. Not even your supporter Herman Cain, who died of covid because he attended your infamous Tulsa rally.'

DJT: 'I don't care, do you? I don't care if some of my supporters die because I criticized masks and social distancing measures, or because I told my staff to pack them more even when I knew the virus was lethal and airborne. I need to hold as many rallies as possible with as many people as possible, otherwise I feel insecure. I need to project artificial power, I need people to cheer at me, it's like a drug, and I'm great at it. There is no dictator who has done more in history, with the possible exception of Adolf.'

B: 'But these people believe you when you say that you're like them, that you defend their interests'.

DJT: 'I have special interest groups to defend. And first and foremost, I must defend my own interests. When I say 'Make America Great Again', I always mean 'Make Trump Great Again'. By the way, did you notice that whenever I use the words 'America' or 'Americans', I actually mean me? Because I am America. America is mine.'

B: 'You're a dangerous, delusional autocrat and psychopath.'

DJT: 'It is what it is. I always dreamed of being a mafia boss, and now I can become a lifetime dictator. No one is stopping me, and certainly not Republican lawmakers.'

B: 'They didn't even dare to show up or pretend to propose a platform for your Convention. The only program was Vote Trump.'

DJT: 'That was simply beautiful. Stephen Miller learned a lot from his model, Joseph Goebbels, and what he did in Nuremberg. But we added the Trump touch, the Trump logo. The White House is now The Trump White Supremacy House, the GOP Trump's party, and step by step, America is becoming Trump's Amerika. That's how it works: I corrupt and bankrupt everything I touch. Dad handed me his company? I went bankrupt, like all my ventures. Putin handed me America? I destroyed it. Mitch McConnell handed me the Republican Party? I raped it.'

B: 'Mitch McConnell will go down in History as your Paul von Hindenburg: he knew you were a danger for democracy, but he gave you the keys because he thought he could control you.'

DJT: 'Lindsey Graham is a master hypocrite, but Mitch is the most corrupt of them all. I wouldn't be there without him. And we're on a roll - so lucky! I had to call Vladimir to ask him if it was Novichok for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but he said no, and this time I genuinely believe him.'

B: 'You mentioned Stephen Miller earlier, and it's interesting to see that's he's the only one who survived your toxic White House sphere.'

DJT: 'Ah, this time you're paying attention! Four years ago, I said I would only take the best...'

B: '... and all of them either quit, were fired, or turned against you.'

DJT: 'These guys don't count. When I say the best, of course I mean the Trump family.'

B: 'So Stephen Miller is part of the family.'

DJT: 'Steve is different. He is what I believe in, deep down. People think I have no values whatsoever, but I do have convictions, particularly regarding race, and genes. But even Miller is only a part of what I believe in. I'm not religious, but I'm The Chosen One. God has picked me, and I know that for sure because I am God. A God like the World has never seen before. And as a God, I give myself a A+. Can't you see the beautiful year of 2020 we're all having? And the best is yet to come!'

blogules 2020

Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* see "Kanye West: a fake #BlackLivesMatter candidate to rescue a real White Supremacist"

see also "Parler vous Trump? Can you spell chaos?", "A Democratic. National. Convention. With Mender In Chief Joe Biden."

A Democratic. National. Convention. With Mender In Chief Joe Biden.

Forget the confetti, forget the spin room, Zoom-in on issues and character. The 'Unconventional Convention' delivered the goods that matter.

'We The People' DNC 2020 will soon give way to 'Me Donald' RNC 2020, an alternative reality show where America will be pitched as stronger than ever, admired and respected overseas, her POTUS a winner, a strong, courageous patriot that will protect the people from a chaos like the World has never seen before. As if America weren't on her knees, despised overseas, her POTUS a pathetic failure, a coward narcissist that corrupts and bankrupts everything he touches, and the very person who keeps bringing and nurturing 'unpresidented' chaos. A sick joke that gets every day sicker and deadlier.

But let's get back to a Democratic National Convention that was all about Democracy, all about the Nation, all about Convening. 

 

Joe, Kamala, Michelle, Barack - one message: vote to save democracy, the constitution, the soul of a nation, and its future.

We saw all kinds of faces and faiths, we heard all kinds of voices (even from more significant Republicans than ever before), we felt all sources of positive and sustainable energy to tap into. We witnessed the cultural and political diversity that makes America truly great. 

Four pillars emerged*: Michelle and Barack Obama reaffirmed the moral and constitutional foundations, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris provided the platform for changes which they may not embody best themselves, but will do everything to enable as the next presidents of the United States**. They proved that they care, and that they know how to get things done. 

These four faces do not say 'we won' to Bernie or A.O.C., but 'we will win all together' to keep democracy and the debate alive. That's why Joe is the perfect president for this time. Because he knows he's not perfect, because everybody knows he's the ideal, non-ideological Mender in Chief, and because he already demonstrated that he could listen to and work with people like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, or John McCain.

More urgent debates will arrive soon, even more thrilling; Meltdown Trump will need even more boxes of uppers as usual to confront the man he likes to depict as 'sleepy', and I can't wait to see Kamala face to face (no chaperones) with 'Cheerleader's Cheerleader' Mike Pence...

Beyond conventions and debates, democracy will only win if everybody votes on time. Massively. In every State. In every county and parish. In every town and township. And for that to happen, everybody must get ready now, make a plan to defeat the voter suppression campaigns led by Trump and his enablers.

blogules 2020
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)
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* I'm not forgetting the formidable Jill Biden, both a pillar and the keystone.

** full disclosure: Kamala Harris was my favorite candidate during the primaries.

Kanye West: a fake #BlackLivesMatter candidate to rescue a real White Supremacist

On July 4th, Kanye West declared his candidacy for President. On the same day Donald Trump delivered a divisive speech defending the Confederate heritage.

The strategy is obvious: without waiting for Putin to spin a third candidate for the November elections (now his only path to victory, combined with voter suppression), DJT launches his friend Kanye as the ultimate Uncle Tom.

In other words, Joe Biden will be sandwiched between a fake #BlackLivesMatter candidate and a true White Supremacist candidate.

I need a barf bag.

ADDENDUM 20200705-07 TWITTER TIMELINE

 

 

. "Very smart: with #Kanye West, #Trump doesn't just split the #Biden vote: he triggers a divisive war within #African American voters. Don't get fooled: voting @kanyewest is voting #Donal dTrump." (2:37 PM · Jul 5, 2020twitter.com/stephanemot/status/1279650491257913346)
. "The Donald-Kanye Sandwich: 82M followers for #Trump, 29.4M for #Kanye West, only 6.5M for #Joe Biden. #VoteKanyeMeansVoteTrump #KanyeRunsForTrump" (2:40 PM · Jul 5, 2020, twitter.com/stephanemot/status/1279651420677914624)
. "... Not counting #Elon Musk (36.6M followers and like #Trump & #Kanye West, a few billions to spare - #Kim  Kardashian just reached her first bn)" (11:00 AM · Jul 6, 2020 - twitter.com/stephanemot/status/1279958385513791488)
. "Pretty sure #Kanye West will pick a left-leaning, #Putin-friendly, white female running mate. #Tulsi Gabbard a bit too obvious. Any other guess?" (2:54 PM · Jul 5, 2020 - twitter.com/stephanemot/status/1279654824938627073)



blogules 2020
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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Ending the Trump-McConnell Era

Donald Trump is focusing on 4 priorities to secure his reelection:

• delaying the upcoming downturn to after November 2020, even if it means destroying US competitiveness to achieve it 
• building the new sections of the wall he promised, even if US taxpayers pay for it, and double if you consider the fact that he's taking on other budgets to do it (triple if you consider the fact that he's slashing security and military budgets). 
• positioning Democrats as socialist extremists, even if some oblige by doing it by themselves (exhibit A: Bernie Sanders) 
• preventing key demographics from voting, through classic voter suppression techniques (e.g. gerrymandering) as well as through his own trademark methods (e.g. turning politics into a disgusting circus, scaring minorities away with threats of ICE raids)

For the moment, DJT seems on a much better track than in 2016. The question is: this time, how much will he be allowed to compensate a likely loss in popular vote with help from the outside through hacking or election meddling?

Until the elections, he will get the opportunity to score some wins (the wall? USMCA? China?), but risks keep piling up (collateral loan obligations? China? House commissions? post-Mueller lawsuits? Jim Mattis?)...


On a more direct electoral front, Trump is facing a different Democratic field:
- the business-as-usual candidate isn't a clear leader anymore: Joe Biden's lagging too much behind Hillary Clinton in too many ways, except maybe in his miserable skills as a presidential candidate.
- the natural liberal candidate of 2016 seems to be at long last claiming the spot she abandoned to Sanders because Hillary decided to run again: Elizabeth Warren is an energizing candidate, and embodies change much more convincingly than Bernie, who in contrast looks like an old don Quixote great at barking at windmills, but unable to get them produce anything. Sanders still has the power to crash the party if he chooses to linger once more.
- Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg seem to settle for Veep positions, but a lot can happen until IA-NH. Warren-Buttigieg? Biden-Harris? Warren-Harris could kick some serious ass.

One good news for the Democrats: if defeating Trump remains the common goal, his impeachment is now on a dedicated track, and key issues look much better separated and visible. The POTUS doesn't need anyone to draw spotlights on immigration or climate change (great idea, to invite fellow G7 members to watch Hurricane Doral from the front seat next Summer), but Mitch McConnell has at last become a prime target on issues as critical as gun control or SCOTUS nominations (mass shooting or Ruth Bader Ginsburg health scares unfortunately coming as recurring reminders). 

It is essential to target the Trump-McConnell duo, because winning doesn't stop at the White House. You need to reclaim the Senate, and to restore some dignity there as well.


blogules 2019
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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Dirt? "I'd take it"

Asked by George Stephanopoulos what he would do if Russia or China told him they had dirt on a political opponent, Donald Trump replied: 'I think I'd take it'. And when reminded that Christopher Wray told the Congress that in this situation, candidates should contact the FBI, he simply said 'the FBI director is wrong'.

When DJT says something is 'wrong', he's not talking moral compasses, but what doesn't follow his mobster principles.

'Russia! If you have dirt on Biden, tell me. I won't tell the FBI, as usual'

Donald Trump is 'right', because the GOP keeps following his mobster principles, putting him on the 'right' track to get reelected. GOP voters keep supporting him because GOP lawmakers keep enabling him, starting with the most corrupt of them all, Mitch McConnell, who not only confirmed his grand stand to block Obama's legitimate Supreme Court pick would not be applied should Trump face the same situation, but also had his state shamelessly benefit from his wife's work for the administration. Corrupt Elaine Chao. Corrupt Susan Collins, who pretends to defend women's rights, but gives the nod to Brett Kavanaugh, and countless anti-abortion judges.

DJT will be reelected if Democrats let Putin and Trump run the show, like they did in 2016. Feeding the narrrative that DNC primaries will oppose an ultra-radical, revolutionary, and an old conservative, and that only Trump represents change.

Which is true. Only not the change you want, if you care for democracy, human rights, the environment, healthcare...

Either you take a stand for decency, for democracy, for the values that make America great, or you let the worst enemies of America Make Amerika Great Again.

You want dirt? You'll get it.


blogules 2019
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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The Non-March of the Emperor (How Naruhito exposed Trump's ego trip, and Abe's agenda)

Donald Trump will probably remember his State Visit to Japan as a triumphant ego trip: we saw him play golf with his favorite losing partner Abe Shinzo, lift the first ever President Cup (designed for him: YUGE, sumo-sized), become the first Foreign head of state to meet the new Emperor... but what I will remember forever is The Naruhito Statement.

Not a word, but a silent, immobile stand, that should resonate much louder than it has so far.

For six long minutes, a significant section of his first encounter with Trump, Naruhito left his guest alone. Everything was carefully timed and planned, as the intricate red carpet patterns, and an official's intervention confirm.

So what happened? Donald, Melania, Naruhito and Masako arrive together on a wide podium, where they pause to listen to the national anthems. Then Trump moves ahead, and the other three stop where the official instructs them to, only a few meters after leaving the podium, just to symbolically lead him out. The POTUS joins another, smaller podium, where he listens to a military march, then moves to salute troops, then walks along another red line at the end of which he reconnects with the Emperor to meet civilians.

During these six surreal minutes, Trump is either alone, or accompanied by military staff. The only music playing is military. As if a military parade had been especially prepared for him alone. 

DJT is a Commander in Chief, and the Emperor of Japan should remain apolitical, but the whole process turns the moment into a ridicule, onanic one for the former, and a strong political statement for the latter: what better way to express Naruhito's strong support of Japan's peaceful constitution, against Abe and Nippon Kaigi, who want to destroy it?

In the same immobile move, Naruhito managed to make his guest look like an egotistic dictator, and Abe like a dangerous fool. Simply brilliant.

'Barf bag, anyone? Alt-Right meet Nippon Kaigi - Donald Trump Abe Shinzo / Shinzo Abe' (20190526 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132660710452867078)

'Trump to Abe Shinzo: US-Japan alliance is 'ironclad'. At the personal level, make that 'gold-plated, 7-iron-clad' (20190528 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1133175410756210688)

As if to nail it even deeper, DJT made the most of Memorial Day by praising a dictator: KIM Jong-un is right to criticize Joe Biden, I'm not bothered by his cute missile launches, and what a fantastic real estate potential you have, Dear Chairman!

'Say, Donald Trump, are North Korea's Concentration Camps the kind of 'prime real estate' you're looking for to lock up migrant kids at the US borders? Your dictator friend could sure help you find Stephen Miller-friendly solutions to Make Amerika Great Again.' (20190528 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1133208200797253633)

John BOLTON and his fellow hawks have not conceded yet. And America's recent moves around Sasebo, theoretically meant to control the North Korea - Iran connection, could also facilitate a preemptive strike. The bloody nose scenario remains a tweet away.

One thing is sure: MOON Jae-in is out of the loop, and neither KIM nor TRUMP seem to trust him anymore.


blogules 2019
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)


PS - from our twitterline (@theseoulvillage):

On the non-march of the Emperor:

'I wish Naruhito could brief Trump about actual East Asia History, not the one he learned from Shinzo Abe / Abe Shinzo & Xi Jinping' (20190526 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132804997761064960)

'Surreal military march played for Trump alone on a podium. Ego trip (20190527 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132806859591565312)

'Pacifist, apolitical Emperor Naruhito stays away from military while Trump salutes them' (20190527 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132807172847333376)

'Kudos to Naruhito for keeping his distances from militarism, turning the parade Abe Shinzo / Shinzo Abe prepared for Trump into  ridiculous ode to a dictator' (20190527 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132811289032441856)

'Even weirder on this video, the almost 6 mns Trump was left alone with military march & review (starting around 2:30). Naruhito only rejoined him to meet civilians. A clear message for Japan's Article 9, against ABEIGNomicS / Nippon Kaigi militarism? https://youtu.be/TQaiRq6jnws ' (20190527 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132924066317254656)

On the return of bloody nose:

'Bloody nose returns? US getting ready for preemptive strike against North Korea, including bunker buster capacity (Kim Ki-ho: http://news.donga.com/home/3/all/20190525/95691723/1  Sasebo)' (20190526 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132409982039646208)

'FYI this bunker buster is meant to bust Kim Jong-un, not to rescue Abe Shinzo / Shinzo Abe when he plays golf with Trump:' (20190526 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1132439023559950336)

We Reject As False

Barack Obama's farewell speech echoed his inaugural address, and that powerful 'we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals'*. If 44 didn't always honor this beautiful principle (tough call in those cyberwar - drone times), it rightfully frames a presidency bordered by George W. Bush and Donald Trump, who deliberately put America's safety at risk to undermine its ideals and democracy.

Unlike W or Mike Pence, Trump doesn't seem to be a fundamentalist aiming for theocracy - but his vision also leads to the destruction of all balances of powers (executive, legislative, justice, media, citizen rights...), and all alarm buttons seem to confirm that he is working for Vladimir Putin.

Only Republicans have the power to safeguard democracy or at least transparency, yet their indecent silence during the pivotal transition bodes ill for the nation. And the few significant exceptions (e.g. John McCain, or less convincingly Marco Rubio) shall not suffice.

At least, the relationship between the Trump Campaign and Russia will be investigated by a bipartisan commission, and that's the best news so far. Particularly when you consider that Trump has already announced that, three months from now, a report debunking the intel unanimously pointing the fingers at his Kremlin pal will be completed by his team... most likely under the watch of Michael Flynn, the very agent Putin put in charge of overlooking the NSA and co...

If you feel like crying, please do. Let it go for awhile.

You're allowed to dream about the transition that should have happened. With Hillary Clinton, or if Beau had been around a bit longer, with Joe Biden, who would have taken Donald Trump not only behind the gym, but it the spotlights he so much craves for.

Obama: 'here's your medal, Joe'
Biden: 'thanks, but I didn't even run...'
(twitter.com/stephanemot/status/819707728062840833)

But we can't afford to seek refuge in alternate history, and let the alt-right set the agenda.

"So let's be vigilant, but not afraid".


blogules 2017
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)

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* see "True v. False vs Good v. Evil" - speaking of echo, Chicago almost ruined this farewell address with a disastrous sound system.