Yes. There is this impulse to set the record straight, when it is put upside down.
Take the case of the repeal of the affordable care act. There were 70 attempts in trump’s first congress to repeal it, after which for some reason they let go of that effort (I guess there was pressure on them from a not-yet-fully-degenerated country to do something else, or maybe they just lost the majority at that point): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efforts_to_repeal_the_Affordable_Care_Act#:~:text=On%20May%204%2C%202017%2C%20the,to%20the%20Senate%20for%20deliberation. Anyway, the world where trump operates is one where in some rally or interview or wherever, he declares that “I was actually the one to protect the affordable care act” or something close to that. That is also the world where the people who support him operate. I have a story, from a family member, of dealing with a “seemingly-nice” police-woman (drawn from about the sector in the society where ordinary police-people in the U.S. are drawn), who went on to parrot this in some conversation. Needless to say, my family member was somewhat at a loss for what to do next. Wanted to flee, but had to do so in a way that wouldn’t make downstream life more difficult. Now, one can of course string together words and say “Well, trying to destroy something and failing is sort of the same as protecting it, so trump really is telling the truth”. But that string of words exists only in a language so degenerated that it is not being asked to carry meaning any more. (Yes, I express a value judgment here; one can nullify the language by asserting that there are no actual value judgments, and any expression of such is a mere “bias” equal to all other biases.) Consider next federal judges. There was, and unfortunately still is, a woman named Aileen Cannon, who is a particular version of unqualified, dodgy (meaning, looks like timid but inserts itself in ways that are ultimately destructive through distraction, delay, and inaction), and from those assembles to being corrupt. There is another one, named Matthew Kacsmaryk, who is a-qualified (stands in relation to qualified as bullshit stands in relation to truth, qualification is unconnected to activity), theocratic, very activist, and through the assembly of those, corrupt. (fun fact: you can find Kacsmaryk by googling North Texas federal judge theocrat, if you didn’t remember his name, as I didn't) There are a variety of ways of assembling aspects of character and capability-set (I don’t want to call it “skill-set”) to arrive at a steerable corruption. So consider a large fraction — lets say 40% or maybe more — of the ~1800 federal judgeships in which we replace competent and honest people with these kinds of corrupt ones. We don’t have to theorize something like this; Venezuela did essentially that in quite recent memory in an essentially similar state of the world. We can then ask how the operation of the nominal laws and procedures of federal jurisprudence will affect the operation of the country. Again, there is certainly nothing to stop anyone from saying “it will be merely a matter of opinion whether the resulting trajectory will be better or worse than one in which the other judges (meaning the ones I have called honest and competent, but here they are just called “other”) had been in place, and all opinions are equivalent”. The world where the trumpers operate is one where this kind of language is the routine order of every day, and where a sector of the population, through practice, gets fluent in producing, consuming, and repeating it. It is what Bannon termed “flooding the zone with shit”. (btw., that’s not my opinion; just a typewriting of a recorded statement; no need to consider my description of it a value judgment) There is an impulse, every time something is put upside down, to try to put it back right-side up. I have that impulse, and I like it. Have to think about how to keep that functioning in a context that is meant to exhaust it. Don’t want to be a pancreatic beta-cell in a world full of sugar. It’s an interesting management question, and I don’t know how I will end up trying to place myself w.r.t. it. Eric > On Nov 9, 2024, at 6:10 PM, Jochen Fromm <j...@cas-group.net> wrote: > > What good things did Mr. Trump actually achieve for the US? I don't see any. > He mismanaged a pandemic and encouraged people to use bleach against it. He > withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, ignoring the most important crisis > we face globally. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not become better by > Trump's decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. It intensified the > conflict. What success in the Middle East are you talking about? > > He certainly achieved good things for himself and his core family. He became > richer, directly and indirectly. He spent a lot of time at his own ressorts > and golf clubs and made money from the federal government by this, because > his company billed the US government millions for it - including overpriced > bills for Secret Service agents who stayed at his properties while protecting > him. > > The irony is that the people who try to make a country great again always > destroy it. For a land of the free what could be worse than a demagogue who > takes away that freedom and destroys freedom of speech? We know an > authoritarian system means the oppression of opponents. His vision of a > Trumpistan is such a system without "enemies within" and without freedom of > speech. > > -J. > > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Pieter Steenekamp <piet...@randcontrols.co.za> > Date: 11/9/24 5:07 PM (GMT+01:00) > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] How democracies die > > I think many of you dislike Trump so much that it’s hard to see he might > actually do some good for the US and the world. Let me share my thinking. > > I see Trump a bit like King Leopold II of Belgium. King Leopold did horrible > things in the Congo, but he did a lot of good for his own country. Back then, > people in Belgium didn’t know the terrible stuff happening in Africa because > news travelled differently. > > Now, don’t get me wrong—Trump’s a flawed person, and I think we can agree on > that. But, in his first term, he actually achieved some good things for the > US and globally. For example, his administration was successful in the Middle > East. If you’re interested in a deeper look, Lex Fridman’s interview with > Jared Kushner offers some insights > (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_MeKSnyAo). It's fair to say that Biden’s > administration didn’t build on Trump’s progress there - in fact they messed > up seriously. > > If we keep an open mind, it’s possible to see that Biden’s approach in > Ukraine will stretch out the war and cost US taxpayers more over many years > and the citizens of Ukraine will be the big losers. Given Trump’s previous > success in the Middle East, it’s not crazy to think he could find a faster > way to help end the war in Ukraine without a mess, like what happened with > Biden’s exit from Afghanistan. > > Sure, Trump’s not a saint. But he’s not looking to go down as a failure > either—he wants to be remembered as a winner. > > On Sat, 9 Nov 2024 at 16:43, Marcus Daniels <mar...@snoutfarm.com> wrote: > Trump’s reads the room. If he feels his people would tolerate Russia using > chemical weapons at a massive scale in Ukraine, then he’d be fine with that. > Remember he was fine separating immigrant children from their parents. > This property may well cause some deals to be made because they are afraid of > the consequences. That’s not a skill in negotiation, that’s just the kind > of terror that an organized crime boss might elicit. > > > > The U.S. doesn’t have a boundless number of Tomahawk missiles to give > Ukraine, even if we authorized firing into Russia. They run a couple > million U.S. dollars each. We aren’t even keeping up with Russia’s > artillery manufacturing. Putin knows all this. For better or worse, Biden > doesn’t want a war. > > > > From: Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> on behalf of Pieter Steenekamp > <piet...@randcontrols.co.za> > Date: Friday, November 8, 2024 at 11:49 PM > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] How democracies die > > Trump's the kind of guy you should take seriously, not literally. When he > says something big like, “I’ll end the war in Ukraine on day one,” he means > he's dead set on making peace happen there. Anyone with half a brain knows he > can’t actually snap his fingers and stop the war on his first day. That’s up > to Russia and Ukraine to figure out, after all. But does Trump have a unique > knack for pushing people toward a deal? Oh, you bet he does. > > In fact, William Spaniel, a professor over at the University of Pittsburgh, > mentioned in a podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKH-QeRJBU8 that Putin > seems to believe Trump will lay down a deal that both sides can live with. > (And yeah, Spaniel seems to know his stuff.) > > So, here’s my hunch on what Trump might say to Ukraine and Russia, in my own > words: “Alright, fellas, here’s the deal. Ukraine, let’s be real—Russia needs > to keep a little slice of land to save face. It might sting, but if you don’t > settle, Russia’s going to drag this war out and make it miserable for > everyone. And Russia, let’s stop the drama now. You can keep a few bits, but > if you keep pushing, we’re going to load up Ukraine with so many weapons > it’ll make your head spin. Then, you’re gonna lose big time, and Ukraine will > take back everything. But hey, it’s up to you, sweethearts!” > > > > On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 at 07:04, steve smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote: > > > > Marcuswrote: > > Seems like a lot of people will try to leave Africa because of climate > change. I suppose they’ll end up in Europe, creating yet more folks like > Trump to rile people up about it. > > Until the AMOC turns over and plunges Northern Europe into the kind of winter > cold Maine-Nova Scotia currently "enjoy"? > > there was some B post-apocalypse movie starring a polar vortex which ended > with all of Canada/US lined up at the MX border asking to be let in to avoid > turning into popsicles... of course, the style of the movie had the sweet > long-suffering people in the land of Manana politely inviting all the Karen's > and Matt Gaetz's into their (now overwhelmed? country)... > > > > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / ... > --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ > > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / ... > --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ > .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / ... > --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2fvirtualfriam&c=E,1,O2ALL_AeLvZAKCkAvVG_o3I00Hjjp9TrMZy06e4EvK6lU_53844kqlZC2KLLfoTHZSE0-jJFXbNd_bw6zDvVqKEyPRIOt0IseObI47DnmggJEryI6VgLqMMU&typo=1 > to (un)subscribe > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fredfish.com%2fmailman%2flistinfo%2ffriam_redfish.com&c=E,1,kRLKymU2uc6iBNwGXsE4by1IvAX9DuwDwey63ELEwTU2ZOE8GJGWeRCA5P33xBtKViRnuPcAfn1ASozvb1cRcohQXnnPqSveP2B9vuCyuDqeiURXpAqkfqXMW0Yl&typo=1 > FRIAM-COMIC > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2ffriam-comic.blogspot.com%2f&c=E,1,WV8FQrDcB5odC3VKUwmHuoiYZbw5pjHY8i5I5YPYdVkiNBwJDg-zQvKTSqiaEB45y8T5YSb7YG1meMwAnj6sklqqn5IGAIW-MDDIYLTB&typo=1 > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fredfish.com%2fpipermail%2ffriam_redfish.com%2f&c=E,1,jxnQKipKTLyq5AM2deaehVm02c8rB4iTfdV6GP5ULZj2vROS677DrVhR1JAqi6Ku2V6E4_yNhsP4Qihi2dfwIbPBtgAItcqAtWxkOhlRd5E,&typo=1 > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. 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