TRUMP IS A TRICKSTER CLOWN WHO FOOLS THE PRESS

By Keith Shirey

In David Brook’s column in today’s New York Times he portrays Donald Trump as part of “carnival.”  To quickly explain what he means, “carnival” has roots going back centuries when, before Lent, the church allowed people to indulge in wild behavior, particularly drunkenness, extreme sexuality and attacks on the political structure of the day.

 The world was turned upside down:  The figure of the fool or clown was respected, and the nobility was openly satirized.  The world became topsy-turvy as the hierarchical structure of society was attacked.  It’s a time when fools come out to play.

As Brooks says, “Carnival culture was raw, lascivious and disgraceful, and it elevated a certain social type, the fool.”  This is Donald Trump, a class clown who disrupts the order of things.  He’s happy as long as he’s the center of attention.  “[Historically] Fools were rude and frequently unabashed liars. They were willing to make idiots of themselves,” writes Brooks.

Let’s turn to Jungian psychology as another way of understanding Donald Trump.  Thomas Patrick Lavin, PhD, and a Jungian psychologist in his essay “The Trump Phenomena” is quite helpful.  One kind of “trickster” is the fool.  But, above all Trump is a Trickster.   Lavin reminds us that the Trickster sells the impossible, the great illusion.  The Trickster is always a one-person show. He’s deceptive, a con man and an expert in assigning blame. Things are never his fault. He rarely says he is sorry, feels little guilt, and is not ashamed.”

So, Trump says, or has said, Obama is not a legitimate American, he will Make America Great Again, gives us Trump University which is not a university at all, but just a con, says “I’m the greatest job creator that God ever made, and says that Mexicans and Muslims are greatly to blame for America’s problems.    He never apologizes for anything, including grabbing women’s genitals.  He rarely tells the truth. 

He is the trickster/clown who upsets the order of things with his bromance with Putin, threat to destroy the NATO alliance, wondering if we have nuclear weapons why we don’t use them, appoints people to his staff and cabinet or are neo-fascists, white supremacists, without any experience in positions of the highest levels of government and often who would destroy the very agencies they would head.

 It’s impossible to know if his tweets are used to make public policy, mislead, confuse, are impulsive statements of the moment, or proclamations that he will denounce the same day.

It is carnival.  The world was turned upside down:  The figure of the fool or clown is respected, and our “nobility,” the intellectuals, men and women of honor and courage like John McCain, the Kahns, Congressman John Lewis, scholars, newspaper opinion writers, and people dedicated to public service are openly mocked and satirized.  The world has become topsy-turvy as the hierarchical structure of our society is attacked.  Donald Trump cannot name one passage from the Bible yet he professes to be a Christian.

 In a recent newspaper interview he could not name one person from history he views as a hero.   It’s a time when fools come out to play.  All has become topsy-turvy in a fact and reality free world where the jokester is king.

Who should be saying that the emperor has no clothes?  The White House Press Corps.  But look at their behavior at Trump’s most recent press conference.  Trump, the trickster clown came out to play and the press joined him in the dance.

They groveled before him, breathlessly waiting for scraps of news from the emperor sitting on his golden throne.  Of course when dozens of these “reporters” are jockeying for attention on the same few stories, there is little news.   And the press corps' eagerness to have off-the-record briefings with Trump or attend parties at his Mar-a-Lago shows them to be the sycophants they are.  They should have been wearing clown costumes at the rare press conference as Trump played them like a drum.  David Brooks wasn’t there.  Neither were real investigative journalists nor thoughtful opinion writers like Brook.

All is carnival unless we the people refuse to participate.  It’s time for a revolution against the clown show.  It’s time to say the trickster has no clothes.

WHY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SATIRIZE TRUMP

It's Impossible To Satirize Trump- Keith Shirey

FROM THE WEBSITE, THE SPOOF.

 

   

Topics: Donald Trump, satire, Robots, irony, P.T. Barnum, morons

Tuesday, 17 January 2017

BUZZFEED SAYS HOW HE GOT THIS COLOR!

NEW YORK TIMES

By Charles Evan Hughes

Betsy Roll, the medium that claims to channel historical figures, claimed today that she had channeled the famous 1920's satirist H.L. Menken. Here is what H.L. allegedly said:

"As I said in the past, quoting myself, "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." This has been achieved by the election of Donald J. Trump.

"Herr Trump presents an interesting case, particularly to the satirists. In the sense that he is the most ignorant man in the history of our dimwitted republic inhabited in the Oval Office by many a fool, he is a moron. But he is also a cipher and a chameleon. This empty vessel is a born parodist and ironist. He is laughing up his sleeve at both himself and the American people like P.T. Barnum.

"He takes pleasure in turning campaign promises on their heads. He says he's going to drain the swamp in Washington then appoints billionaires and people sworn to destroy the government agencies they are appointed to. He hires Goldman Sachs bankers even as he rails against economic elites. He says he is the workingman's pal and appoints a Secretary of Labor who advocates replacing workers with robots!

"He allies himself with Putin even as he proclaims that America will once again be the dominant power in the world. He substitutes crassness and vulgarity for political correctness. He has mocked trigger warnings, microaggressions, and safe spaces on college campuses yet demanded a safe space for Mike Pence when he was booed at the musical "Hamilton." When the very nature of the man is contradictory and self-undermining, it is difficult to undermine him with satire.

"He is entirely unpredictable. Much of the unpredictability comes from the fact that he lies most of the time and has no core values. How does a satirist poke fun at Trump's bromance with Putin, and his seeming allegiance to the ruthless Russian leader?

"Is there something hilarious about Trump's attack on the U.S. intelligence agency while he verbally consorts with Putin, a KGB agent? All of this is a burlesque of patriotism. Yet his followers chant USA! USA! At his rallies How do you do a burlesque of a burlesque? I'm glad I'm dead and don't have to try it."

HOW COMEY STAGED A COUP D'ETAT

HOW JAMES COMEY STAGED A COUP D'ETAT

The FBI Director is the most powerful man in America.  This is so because he changed the course of the U.S. Presidential election and got Donald J. Trump Elected by his misuse of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.   The evidence presented below is incontrovertible.  Comey and the FBI have turned the U.S. into a kind of third world banana republic. 

The FBI is a domestic police force.  It is a surveillance agency that is the equivalent of the interior ministry domestic police and surviellance force of a developing third world country.  If a 3^rd world police force put its heavy thumb on an election to change its outcome we in the U.S. would call it a coup d’état.  We in America, feeling superior about our free and open election process, would laugh at them for being so backward.   The U.S. sees itself as the shining city on the hill, the beacon of hope around the world! 

Not so.  The FBI staged a coup giving Trump the election. No?  Again, read the evidence presented below. Out national domestic police operation gave us an impulsive, ignorant, incurious, narcissistic reality show buffoon with his hands on the nuclear button.  We now live in a fact-free, reality free America with a compulsive liar at the helm.  Comey has damaged the fabric of American society even more than Putin’s meddling in the elections.  His mishandling of Clinton’s private e-mail documents and thereby making Trump president, has made Americans the laughingstock of the world.

Satirists usually have fun mocking  Americans for various reasons:  The USA, the richest country in the world, is ranked as one of the most ignorant countries, below many less developed countries. The USA is often the butt of jokes because of congressional attitudes toward climate change, its open carry gun laws, third world crumbling infrastructure and failing educational system, failure to win a real shooting war since 1945, second rate TV news, and the like.   

But now, because of the Trump coup, Andy Borowitz, The Onion and other satirists will have open season on the politics of the US’ former democratic republic turned into a joke.

Here is the evidence that Comey staged a U.S. coup d’état: 

While Comey make public comments about the FBI investigation into  Hillary Clinton’s e-mails, he said nothing about the fact that the FBI was investigating Trump:  “The Guardian has learned that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court over the summer of 2016 in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials.”   It is thought in the intelligence community that the warrant covers any ‘US person’ connected to this investigation, and thus covers Donald Trump himself.

“The Fisa court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow the FBI was finally granted a warrant in October,” states The Guardian.

In order for the court to issue the warrant it means there was probable cause to believe they were “agents of influence” who were unwittingly being influenced by a foreign power.  It is unclear when the initial request (which was denied) was made, but it shows the FBI had an ongoing investigation into Trump staffers highly suspect dealings with Russian Officials probably long before the Presidential election.

On Jan 10^th Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon asked FBI director Comey, before a Senate Intelligence Investigating committee if the FBI was investigating Trump’s connections to Russia.  Comey responded that he could not comment on ongoing investigations.  Wyden responded, to the effect, that it was somehow strange that Comey would say that.   Indeed, it was, in that Comey could have commented on another FBI investigation, that into Donald J. Trump’s connections to Russia!

Now, Comey, himself, faces a new internal investigation into whether he and the Justice Department followed established protocol in the Hillary Clinton email server case.  Four months ago Comey violated Justice Department’s rules against public comments on investigations when he exonerated her from any wrongdoing but said she was “extremely careless.”   

He also said that he made public statements because of  “intense public interest” in the case.  This obviously was because of the 2016 election.   Thus he violated a public statue called the “Hatch Act” which “(a) ... an employee may not—
(1) use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election;”

“(a) ... an employee may not—
(1) use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election;”

 Having violated both the Justice Department’s rule against public comment once and the Hatch act, Comey doubled down 11 days before the election and said publically that new emails had been discovered which “. . .may or may not be relevant to the agency’s closed investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of State.  He thus commented on an ongoing investigation. So, when he told Senator Ron Wyden that he couldn’t do so in connection with the FBI investigating Trump operatives, he lied.   

3 days before the election he made another public comment that the investigation revealed nothing new, again violating both DOJ guidelines and the Hatch Act.  Of course, again, it is damning to Comey that he could have made pubic comments into the ongoing FBI investigations of Trump, but didn’t.  Obviously, he wanted Trump elected. 

Attorney General Loretta Lynch told Comey not to break DOJ policy—laid out in federal prosecutor guidelines—of not commenting on open investigations or making any statement potentially influencing election outcomes.  Comey violated the direct orders of his boss.

Did Comey’s public pronouncements get Trump elected President Of The United States?  Yes.

According to the 538 website, on October 29th Hillary Clinton had an 80 percent chance of winning the election; on November 6th she had a 66 percent chance. (During the same period her margin in the polls diminished by roughly two percentage points.) Comey’s announcement not only impacted the Clinton-Trump race but also down-ballot races for control of the Senate and House.

The Princeton Election Consortium reveals, “However, the big change in public opinion does coincide well with the release of the Comey letter.  Opinion swung toward Trump by 4 percentage points, and about half of this was a lasting change. This was larger than the victory margin in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin.

 Statistician Nate Silver noted that the Comey letter coincided with “a swing of about 3 points against her” — a massive swing in a tight election. These public polls are supported by internal polling from both campaigns suggesting that Comey was a massive blow to Clinton at a pivotal moment in the election.

The Shorenstein Center found that negative coverage of Clinton’s campaign was fueled by allegations of “scandal.”  It was the “Comey Effect” scandal coverage toward Clinton that peaked in the final week of the campaign, consuming more than a third of her coverage. The timing was perilous.

Welcome to a new United States of America in the post coup era.  If you see a nuclear explosion, you will have James Comey to thank. Trump’s nervous, twitchy fingers won’t just be tweeting.

TRUMP FALLS FOR FAKE NEWS STORY WITH 

HORRIBLE RESULT

Written by Keith Shirey

 

Saturday, 3 December 2016

CERTAINLY COULD COME TO PASS!

NEW YORK TIMES

by Ray Charles

As background to this story, Donald Trump spoke with President Dutere two days ago and reportedly praised him on his extrajudicial killings of thousands. Too, within that time period Mr. Trump Mr. appeared to accept an invitation from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to visit Pakistan, a country that Mr. Obama has steered clear of, largely over tensions between Washington and Islamabad over counterterrorism policy and nuclear proliferation.

Within the same 48-hour period, in an affront to China, President-elect Donald J. Trump spoke by telephone with Taiwan's president on Friday, a striking break with nearly four decades of diplomatic practice that could precipitate a major rift with China even before Mr. Trump takes office.

These 'phone calls were made unbeknownst to anyone in his transition team who had knowledge of the proper conduct of foreign policy or diplomacy. Inside sources say that Trump staffers were astonished by the recklessness and stupidity of the 3 telephone conversations.

Now to the story: Donald Trump has a financial empire with holdings in 20 foreign countries including a $150 million tower in Manila's financial district - a 57-story symbol of affluence. The building was built in partnership with a member of the Philippine government headed by Rodrigo Dutere, an unstable, mercurial leader. Mr. Duterte and has called for American troops to exit the country in two years' time. His antidrug crusade has resulted in the summary killings of thousands of suspected criminals without trial.

Meanwhile, in Uzbekistan, Gregor Zylogek who is one of the greatest purveyors of "fake news," stories that are false and often repeated on Facebook and other social media sites, created a story that Mr Dutere, for an unspecified reason, was very angry with Donald Trump and had ordered the Philippine army to occupy the Trump Manila building has well as sites of a dozen other Trump holdings in the country.

The fake news story was reported on Facebook and was read by President-Elect Trump, who trolls the Internet for news, and who took the phony story for being true. In response to the fake news story, Mr. Trump got Mr. Duterte on the 'phone and told him if he didn't remove the troops he would invade the island as soon as he was elected President of The United States.

According to the Manila press, in response, Mr Duterte told Mr. Trump that he had never told his troops to occupy Trump properties but since he was such an obvious ass he now would occupy them, and furthermore, he would form an alliance with China and allow that great power to extend its sphere of influence far beyond what it currently enjoyed. "If all the U.S. troops aren't gone by the time you're sworn in to be President I'll personally order their deaths," Manila press reported Duterete telling Trump.

This reporter was able to contact Gregor Zylogek in Uzbekistan and ask him what his response was to being responsible for an international crisis that could lead to war between U.S. and China.

Mr. Azlogek told me in response that, "Uzbekistan is so far away from the part of the world that the nuclear fallout won't come here."

Taking that into account, this reporter is leaving the U.S. to live in Uzbekistan and this will be my last story for the New York Times.

TRUMP'S CHIEF AND NAZI SALUTE

Trump's Chief Says Hard Not To Throw Nazi Salure

Written by Keith Shirey

 

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Topics: Donald Trump, Nazi, racists, anti-semite, steve bannon, Misogyny

Thursday, 1 December 2016

BANNON QUESTIONS WHY HILLARY LET OFF HOOK FOR NAZI SALUTE

ST. LOUIS POST EXPRESS

FROM THE SPOOF!

BY Richard Armour

In an effort to explain the meaning of the term alt.right, Steve Bannon, the Trump White House Chief of Staff, explained the term. When Bannon headed Brietbart.com, who championed the alt.right, it was a kind of cesspool for neo-Nazis, anti-Semites, misogynists, white supremacists, homophobes and the like. But Bannon said that the alt.right on Breitbart often "was just a bunch of guys letting off steam and having fun."

Recently, after a meeting of white nationalists inside the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, members threw Nazi salutes and shouted, "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!" In response, Bannon said that, while he would never throw the salute, "I do have to sometimes restrain my right arm from rising." He said the difference between die-hard alt.right fanatics and those who are softer, is whether they actually engage in the Nazi salute.

Bannon criticized the mass media for focusing on Trump's alt.right white racist supporters. "Sure, Donald spoke about Mexican rapists, Black President Barak Obama being illegitimate, and Muslims, who are darker skinned, being banned from America, but that is just the truth. "When you speak the truth you are not a racist," said Bannon.

"It's just like when you call women pigs, slobs, having faces ugly enough to stop trains, and fat losers. If it's the truth you're not a misogynist," stated Bannon.

My Breitbart site has been called a "front for white nationalists," Bannon said. "So what if it is. In America there's plenty of room for opposing views. If people don't believe in white racial superiority let them prove their case."

Trump Has Big Effect On Christmas Shopping

Written by Keith Shirey

 

 

   

Topics: Donald Trump, Christmas, Pollution, EPA, Food Poisoning

Thursday, 1 December 2016

TRUMP TO HAVE EFFECT ON CHRISTMAS GIVING

BOSTON HEARLD NEWS DISPATCH

by New Correspondent Hillary Clinton

Christmas shopping is of course underway and many shoppers are taking into account future Trump Administration policies as they choose gifts.

Since Title X family planning programs and repeal of Obamacare, which provides the GOP will probably effectuate free birth control, the sale of condoms and gift certificates for IUD's has soared in 2016.

Anticipating the deregulation of the fossil fuel industry and the dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency, buying of water purifiers, cloth face as well as gas masks has soared. Reportedly, millions of cases of bottled water are also being given as gifts.

To family and friends who were influenced by Fox News to vote for Trump, free gift subscriptions to Free Speech TV and The Nation magazine are soaring. Too, yearlong gift bonuses are given to those who have proof that they view Thom Hartmann and Amy Goodman online.

Because of Trump's thin-skinned retribution against opponents and his access to the nuclear codes, the rich are buying gifts of reinforced concrete underground shelters for friends and relatives.

Since Trump will stop federal funding of projects to protect coastlines against rising tides do to global warming, compassionate families are giving gift certificates promising relatives the opportunity to move in with them lest their houses be flooded and they suffer a suffocating, horrible death by drowning.

In the future the Food and Drug Administration will face severe cutbacks and impure food and drugs will be on the market. People aware of this are giving mason jars and other equipment for friends and relatives who wish to be engaged in canning food. Some are giving copies of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" to show those who receive them why it will be necessary to buy meat from other countries due to the danger of dying when consuming U.S. meat products in the future during a Trump Administration.

Gift certificates for pharmaceuticals to be purchased in Canada or other civilized countries are increasingly popular.

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The story above is a satire or parody. It is entirely fictitious.