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Koch Network Slams $2 Trillion Infrastructure Cost Agreement Between Trump And Top Democrats

May 1, 2019, 6:05 am
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Donald Trump And St. Paul: "The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Evil"

May 1, 2019, 6:12 am
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Conservative Pundit P.J. O'Rourke Explains His Endorsement Of Presidential Candidate Hillary

May 1, 2019, 6:21 am
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The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Stupid People Don't Know They're Stupid 
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-dunning-kruger-effect-stupid-dont.html

American Conservatives And Aggressive Ignorance
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/08/american-conservatives-and-aggressive.html

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P.J. O'Rourke
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke

P.J. O'Rourke
Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke


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"The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Evil" - An Open Invitation To Christian Conservatives

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-love-of-money-is-root-of-all-evil.html



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Trump Foundation Will Dissolve, Accused Of "Shocking Pattern of Illegality"

May 1, 2019, 7:14 am
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Trump Foundation Will Dissolve, Accused Of "Shocking Pattern of Illegality"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/nyregion/ny-ag-underwood-trump-foundation.html

"The Trump Foundation engaged in a “shocking pattern of illegality,” with the president using his charitable organization “as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.”

Trump Foundation Agrees To Dissolve Amid Lawsuit
The lawsuit will continue, with the D.A. seeking $2.8 million in restitution and a 10-year ban on Trump and his three eldest children running any charities.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-foundation-agrees-to-dissolve-amid-lawsuit




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Canned Heat: "On The Road Again" Live

May 1, 2019, 6:09 pm
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Why Haters Hate: Kierkegaard Explains the Psychology of Bullying and Online Trolling in 1847

May 1, 2019, 6:43 pm
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Why Haters Hate: Kierkegaard Explains the Psychology of Bullying and Online Trolling in 1847

diaryofsorenkierkegaard.jpg?w=680Celebrated as the first true existentialist philosopher, Danish writer and thinker Søren Kierkegaard (May 5, 1813–November 11, 1855) may have only lived a short life, but it was a deep one and its impact radiated widely outward, far across the centuries and disciplines and schools of thought. He was also among the multitude of famous writers who benefited from keeping a diary and nowhere does his paradoxical blend of melancholy and idealism, of despair about the human condition and optimism about the purpose of life, shine more brilliantly than in The Diary of Søren Kierkegaard (public library) — a compendium of Kierkegaard’s frequently intense, always astoundingly thoughtful reflections on everything from happiness and melancholy to writing and literature to self-doubt and public opinion.
In an immeasurably insightful entry from 1847, 34-year-old Kierkegaard observes a pervasive pathology of our fallible humanity, explaining the same basic psychology that lurks behind contemporary phenomena like bullying, trolling, and the general assaults of the web’s self-appointed critics, colloquially and rather appropriately known as haters.

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Kierkegaard writes:
2e292385-dc1c-4cfe-b95e-845f6f98c2ec.pngThere is a form of envy of which I frequently have seen examples, in which an individual tries to obtain something by bullying. If, for instance, I enter a place where many are gathered, it often happens that one or another right away takes up arms against me by beginning to laugh; presumably he feels that he is being a tool of public opinion. But lo and behold, if I then make a casual remark to him, that same person becomes infinitely pliable and obliging. Essentially it shows that he regards me as something great, maybe even greater than I am: but if he can’t be admitted as a participant in my greatness, at least he will laugh at me. But as soon as he becomes a participant, as it were, he brags about my greatness.
That is what comes of living in a petty community.
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It is unlikely that Kierkegaard was aware of what would become known as the Benjamin Franklin Effect — the Founding Father formulated his famous reverse-psychology trick for handling haters — and yet he goes on to relay an anecdote that embodies it perfectly. He recounts coming upon three young men outside his gate who, upon seeing him, “began to grin and altogether initiated the whole gamut of insolence.” As he approached them, Kierkegaard noticed that they were smoking cigars and turned to one of them, asking for a light. Suddenly, the men’s attitude took a dramatic U-turn — the seemingly simple exchange had provided precisely that invitation for participation in greatness:
2e292385-dc1c-4cfe-b95e-845f6f98c2ec.pngInstantly, all three doffed their hats and it would seem I had done them a service by asking for a light. Ergo: the same people would be happy to cry bravo for me if I merely addressed a friendly, let alone, flattering word to them; as it is, they cry pereat [he shall perish!] and are defiant… All it amounts to is play-acting. But how invaluably interesting to have one’s knowledge of human psychology enriched in this way.
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
Wikiquote

Seven years later, shortly before his untimely death, he revisits the subject in a sentiment that explains with enduring insight the psychology of haters:
2e292385-dc1c-4cfe-b95e-845f6f98c2ec.pngShowing that they don’t care about me, or caring that I should know they don’t care about me, still denotes dependence… They show me respect precisely by showing me that they don’t respect me.
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The Diary of Søren Kierkegaard may be short in both pages and lifetime covered, but it is a treasure trove of equally penetrating insights into the human experience. Complement it with Kierkegaard on our greatest source of unhappiness, then revisit Anne Lamott’s brilliant modern manifesto for handling haters.

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Chris Hedges: "The American Empire Will Collapse Within a Decade, Two at Most"

May 1, 2019, 7:34 pm
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"Kamala Harris's Capable Questioning of William Barr,"The Atlantic

May 1, 2019, 8:28 pm
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KAMALA HARRIS GUTS BARR LIKE A FISH, LEAVES HIM FLOPPING ON THE DECK It took just eight minutes for Harris to destroy the attorney general’s “no obstruction” story.

May 1, 2019, 10:27 pm
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This Asteroid -- The Size Of The Eiffel Tower -- Had A 2.7% Chance Of Hitting The Earth

May 2, 2019, 6:35 am
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"My Childhood In A Cult," The New Yorker

May 2, 2019, 6:40 am
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"The Power Of Joe Biden's Personal Appeal In The Rust Belt," The New Yorker

May 2, 2019, 6:43 am
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"Conservative Catholics Accuse Pope Francis Of Heresy"

May 2, 2019, 6:48 am
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"Conservative Catholics Accuse Pope Francis Of Heresy"

"Pope Francis Links"

Pope Francis: Quotations On Finance, Economics, Capitalism And Inequality

Pope Francis: One Of The Most Powerful Critiques Of Capitalism You Will Ever Read

Pope Francis: "This Economy Kills"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/01/pope-francis-this-economy-kills.html


Catholic Social Teaching

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/01/catholic-social-teaching.html


Pope Francis: Moving The Moral Compass From "The Individual" Toward "The Collective"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/01/pope-francis-moving-moral-judgment-from.html


Amusing Ourselves To Death: Donald Trump's Assault On Reason

Pope Francis Takes On The Catholic Bureaucracy

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/12/pope-francis-takes-on-catholic.html






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Camille Paglia Is Slightly-to-Moderately Crazed But (Often) Worth Listening To

May 2, 2019, 8:59 am
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Dear Fred,

As I recall you like Paglia. (Early today I was thinking about the qualities that attach to the word "bourgeoise" - a cerebral detour I haven't taken in years -- and then I get home to hear Paglia probing "bourgeoise" culture at the 4:35 mark.)

Camille Paglia - #MeToo is Naive and Clueless


Today, at Costco I reached out (without thinking) to touch my Congolese "friend" Yangala (a Costco employee).

And although it was too late not to touch her, I babbled: "Is this alright with you?" (I've been doing lots of last minute "shout outs" lately, and it feels all wrong.) 

It feels like I'm colluding in the normalization of prissyness, smarm and finger-wag. Conspiring to co-create sterile fields.

Anyhow, Yangala looked at me like I was crazy. 

Of course it was alright.

How could it not be alright?

And not just alright but good.

Her wincing brow came bloody close to saying: "If you don't touch me, what kind of nut case are you?"

The following photo is not Yangala but the spirit "rhymes."

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Paz contigo


Alan

PS I feel very reluctant to copy this to my longstanding cluster of women friends because I don't want to "hear about it."

Yes, of course they're "right." 

But "what if?""We can be right. Or we can be human."

And what are we to make of "right" when "it's all wrong?"

I just tried to copy my "woman cluster" and I couldn't bring myself to copy any of them. 

Am I sheltering a perversion?

Or am I sheltering normalcy?

PPS Maybe the smarm-priss-finger-wags should wear buttons that say "Don't touch me unless you ask." 
That would work well for me. Those are the very people I don't want to touch. They are also the people who might benefit most from stewing in their own juice.

My only criterion for includion of the following memes is that they're thought-provoking.

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Fox News' Chris Wallace Warns Of Own Network's Bias: "Opinion People" On Fox "May Be Pushing A Political Agenda" On Mueller Letter

May 2, 2019, 9:03 am
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"J.R.R. Tolkien Adored Oxford. Why Didn't Oxford Love Him Back?"

May 2, 2019, 9:11 am
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"With Testimony On Trump And Mueller, Barr Sinks Deeper Into Moral Quicksand," USA Today

May 2, 2019, 10:04 am
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Don't Forget: Trump Is A "Great Christian"

May 2, 2019, 9:08 pm
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"My Gripe With Christianity"

The Christian Doctrine Of Damnation... And The Destruction Of Christ-Spirit

Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Organized Religion And The Everyday Validation Of Violence

"Has America Lost Its Mind?" 1A's Brilliant Interview With "Fantasyland's" Kurt Andersen
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/09/has-america-lost-its-mind-1as-brilliant.html

Televangelist Jim Bakker Resurrected: If This Doesn't Scare The Bejesus Out Of You, Repent For Your End Is Near!
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/09/televangelist-jim-bakker-resurrected-if.html

Many Christians Live In An Unbreakable Bubble Of Biblical And Theological Dunderheadedness

Reprise: "Trump Raped His Wife" | In A 1990 Divorce Proceeding Trump's First Wife, Ivana, Said Trump Made Her "Feel Violated" During Sex And Described The Attack To A Friend | image tagged in deplorable donald,despicable donald,devious donald,dishonorable donald,delusional donald,dishonest donald | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

Why White Evangelicals Are Okay With Voting For Sexual Predators Like Moore And Trump

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/12/how-white-evangelicals-are-okay-with.html

"There is no fear in love. 
But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. 
The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
1 John 4:18

It Is Important To Know These Things So Religion Doesn't Do You More Harm Than Good

What Too Many Christians Get Wrong

Jesus: Festive Tippler And Friend Of Whores, Publicans, Tax Collectors And Sundry Sinners

How "the plank" got there.
(An inside job!)




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"Democrats Against Voter Turn-Out"

May 3, 2019, 6:08 am
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"You Have NO Choice," A New Frame For George Carlin's Classic Shtick "The American Dream"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/06/you-have-no-choice-new-frame-for-george.html

Dear F and Jimbo,

The fact that half of any population has double digit intelligence is NOTHING compared to the utter -- and utterly-unacknowledged STUPIDITY - of Democrats not going to the polls.

Assholes!
.
The New York Times

"Democrats Against Voter Turn-Out"
David Leonhardt
Op-Ed Columnist

Op-Ed Columnist

Many Texas cities are holding local elections tomorrow. Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio will all vote for mayors, while other cities will elect school boards or city councils.
“People often pay close attention to national politics but fail to realize that local elections can have the largest impact on our lives,” Emily Farris and Hannah Vu of Texas Christian University recently wrote in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We need well-funded school programs, stable and reliable infrastructure, affordable housing, a sense of safety and belonging, and all the things that make a strong community. Local elected officials are responsible for many of the things Fort Worth residents care about in the community that they love.”
And yet turnout in this weekend’s elections is likely to be dreadful.
When Fort Worth last voted for a mayor, two years ago, turnout was 8 percent. The people who did vote could have fit into T.C.U.’s football stadium, with room to spare, Farris and Vu pointed out. In San Antonio, which is holding both mayoral and city-council races this year, turnout may not exceed 10 percent, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Bernstein, who’s based there, predicted in his daily political newsletter.
“It’s a disgrace — especially since we know exactly how to fix this problem,” Bernstein wrote.

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James Comey: "How Trump Co-Opts Leaders Like Bill Barr"

May 3, 2019, 6:22 am
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr objecting to how Barr had summarized the conclusions of The Mueller Report.
James Comey: How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr
Accomplished people lacking inner strength can’t resist the compromises necessary to survive this president.

Excerpt:"How could Mr. Barr, a bright and accomplished lawyer, 
start channeling the president in using words like “no collusion” 
and F.B.I. “spying”? And downplaying acts of obstruction of justice 
as products of the president’s being “frustrated and angry,” 
something he would never say to justify the thousands of crimes 
prosecuted every day that are the product of frustration and 
anger?"

Full Text:
People have been asking me hard questions. What happened to the leaders in the Trump administration, especially the attorney general, Bill Barr, who I have said was due the benefit of the doubt?
How could Mr. Barr, a bright and accomplished lawyer, start channeling the president in using words like “no collusion” and F.B.I. “spying”? And downplaying acts of obstruction of justice as products of the president’s being “frustrated and angry,” something he would never say to justify the thousands of crimes prosecuted every day that are the product of frustration and anger?
How could he write and say things about the report by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, that were apparently so misleading that they prompted written protest from the special counsel himself?
How could Mr. Barr go before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and downplay President Trump’s attempt to fire Mr. Mueller before he completed his work?

And how could Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, after the release of Mr. Mueller’s report that detailed Mr. Trump’s determined efforts to obstruct justice, give a speech quoting the president on the importance of the rule of law? Or on resigning, thank a president who relentlessly attacked both him and the Department of Justice he led for “the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations”?
What happened to these people?

I don’t know for sure. People are complicated, so the answer is most likely complicated. But I have some idea from four months of working close to Mr. Trump and many more months of watching him shape others.
Amoral leaders have a way of revealing the character of those around them. Sometimes what they reveal is inspiring. For example, James Mattis, the former secretary of defense, resigned over principle, a concept so alien to Mr. Trump that it took days for the president to realize what had happened, before he could start lying about the man.
But more often, proximity to an amoral leader reveals something depressing. I think that’s at least part of what we’ve seen with Bill Barr and Rod Rosenstein. Accomplished people lacking inner strength can’t resist the compromises necessary to survive Mr. Trump and that adds up to something they will never recover from. It takes character like Mr. Mattis’s to avoid the damage, because Mr. Trump eats your soul in small bites.
It starts with your sitting silent while he lies, both in public and private, making you complicit by your silence. In meetings with him, his assertions about what “everyone thinks” and what is “obviously true” wash over you, unchallenged, as they did at our private dinner on Jan. 27, 2017, because he’s the president and he rarely stops talking. As a result, Mr. Trump pulls all of those present into a silent circle of assent.
Speaking rapid-fire with no spot for others to jump into the conversation, Mr. Trump makes everyone a co-conspirator to his preferred set of facts, or delusions. I have felt it — this president building with his words a web of alternative reality and busily wrapping it around all of us in the room.
I must have agreed that he had the largest inauguration crowd in history because I didn’t challenge that. Everyone must agree that he has been treated very unfairly. The web building never stops.
From the private circle of assent, it moves to public displays of personal fealty at places like cabinet meetings. While the entire world is watching, you do what everyone else around the table does — you talk about how amazing the leader is and what an honor it is to be associated with him.
Sure, you notice that Mr. Mattis never actually praises the president, always speaking instead of the honor of representing the men and women of our military. But he’s a special case, right? Former Marine general and all. No way the rest of us could get away with that. So you praise, while the world watches, and the web gets tighter.
Next comes Mr. Trump attacking institutions and values you hold dear — things you have always said must be protected and which you criticized past leaders for not supporting strongly enough. Yet you are silent. Because, after all, what are you supposed to say? He’s the president of the United States.
You feel this happening. It bothers you, at least to some extent. But his outrageous conduct convinces you that you simply must stay, to preserve and protect the people and institutions and values you hold dear. Along with Republican members of Congress, you tell yourself you are too important for this nation to lose, especially now.
You can’t say this out loud — maybe not even to your family — but in a time of emergency, with the nation led by a deeply unethical person, this will be your contribution, your personal sacrifice for America. You are smarter than Donald Trump, and you are playing a long game for your country, so you can pull it off where lesser leaders have failed and gotten fired by tweet.
Of course, to stay, you must be seen as on his team, so you make further compromises. You use his language, praise his leadership, tout his commitment to values.
And then you are lost. He has eaten your soul.
James Comey is the former F.B.I. director and author of “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.”

Alan: Here is the letter of gratitude sent to sister Janet who encouraged me to read "How Trump Co-Opts Leaders Like Bill Barr." 
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The Entire 18-Page Summary That Robert Mueller Wanted You To See But Barr Concealed

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-entire-18-page-summary-that-robert.html
Dear Janet,
Thanks for persuading me to read Comey's article.
I had heard about it but am so ambivalent about Comey
"throwing the election" to Trump with the 11th hour cloud he dropped on Hillary that I could not bring myself to do it.
Anyhow, it's a GREAT article, explaining not only Barr's lickspittle subservience but the craven poltroonery of millions who don't speak out against Trump and Barr but actually sing his praises.
Here is an exceptionally devout Christian Trumpista friend's take: "He (Barr) is about to GUT the entire Obama administration and leave them flopping around like bottom feeders .. the swamp is being drained. The bottom feeders won't survive."
Another friend -- an extraordinarily bright fellow who agrees with my politics "95% of the time" -- says that my use of the word "Trumpista" is an alienating insult to Trump supporters who are often good people but just need more sensitive understanding.
You know... "There are good people on both sides" - which is normally true.
But we are not living in normality. We are now sorted along the trench separating sanity from The Lizard People.
And finally my post of Comey's article: https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/05/james-comey-how-trump-co-opts-leaders.html
Love
Alan Archibald
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Mayor Pete Assault Accuser: This Was All a ‘Despicable’ Set-Up

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Dirty Trickster Lee Atwater: The GOP SOB At The Heart Of Republican Barbarism (Hidden Mic)

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The Daily Show Interviews Republican Official Who Spills Beans On Deliberate Voter Suppression 
Masquerading As Prevention Of Voter Fraud
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/10/jon-stewart-asif-mandvi-investigates.html

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Republican Party Is "Full Of Racists," Colin Powell's Chief Of Staff
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/10/republican-party-is-full-of-racists.html


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"Dog Whistle Politics": Coded Language And The Rise Of Racially Scornful Political Rhetoric

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Couldn't Happen Here?
It Has Happened Here.

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Republican Presidential Candidate Pat Buchanan "Summarizes The Republican Philosophy"


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Best Trump Memes From "Pax On Both Houses"

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