Why you should vote for Trump

[Loren Pechtel]

I think Trump appeals to many people because he makes them feel relieved from their fears and insecurities. It isn't a real relief but on an emotional level it is there for some reason

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the trans and woke stuff is actually being funded by conservatives behind the scenes to put the Democrats in a bind. They want to be the empathetic all inclusive party but so much of the general public including Democratic votes think a lot of trans and woke stuff is crazy.

I don't think in general that this is much of a factor. They're giving wildly false impressions about what the left is about, not actually creating the craziness.

However, I have long suspected that Antifa is somehow funded by the right.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The Russians have, for a century or more, been masters at creating destabilising and corrosive propaganda.

Their problem, during the Soviet era, was the lack of a good delivery system.

People read local newspapers, and listened to local radio stations, and watched local TV stations, and where Russia tried to mimic these media channels, it was unavoidably obvious. You could put your propaganda into your own media channels, and you could maybe get some friendly local channels to parrot it; But ulimately even the most unsophisticated Westerners knew which ideas were coming straight from Moscow, and would treat it with the skepitcism it deserved.

Not always. Even pre-internet there were a lot on the "left" that seemed to always take whatever side would favor Moscow even when that went against what they supposedly wanted.

The Internet, and particularly social media, changed all that. It became easy for a person anywhere in the world to pose, successfully, as a local "concerned citizen"; To introduce ideas by "Just Asking Questions"; And to give the impression of vast popular and local support, through astroturfing and the use of sock puppets.

Yup, the internet gave them far more access.

The poorly educated rubes, trained to a lack of (local) skepticism by centuries of religious "teachings", were absolute suckers for any and all of the Internet's new ways to get their attention, and fell for Nigerian 419 scams, phishing attacks, and foreign propaganda, hook, line, and sinker.

Yup. You can't really have a population that's easy to manipulate without also having one that's easy to scam.

Russia isn't behind every single destabilising rumour, every viral trend, every dubious politician or political idea, or every concept that white ants the structures of our society. But it's a better than 50-50 chance that any given example of these things originated (at least in part) with Putin's propaganda team.

Here I disagree. I think China is doing the same thing, thus I disagree with 50-50 on Putin. I'll agree on 50-50 that it's some foreign power, though.

I have seen a lot of protest marches in my time, and even participated in a fair few. Never have I seen one so unfocussed, or unclear about its demands.

Yeah, that's bonkers.

And there seems to be very little that the reality based fraction of the population can do about it.

Yeah, this is the really distressing part of it. Could social media be the Fermi Paradox suicide technology?

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Something Swiz WON'T be watching:

Prices for food at home fell 0.2 percent in April, according to the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI), the closely watched inflation gauge.

I just got an 18 pack of grade A large eggs from Kroger for $2.89. Doesn't seem too bad to me.

I had overtime at work while Trump was in office, it inconvenienced me, should I therefore blame it on Trump? I think I should.