The Horrors, The Horrors

Francis Ford Coppola's late wife documented her husband while his was making the blockbuster movie "Apocalypse Now." The resulting film, "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," opened with Francis giving a speech at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival:

"My film is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam. It's what it was really like. It was crazy. And the way we made it was very much like the way the Americans were in Vietnam. We were in the jungle. There were too many of us. We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little, we went insane."

How many parallels can we draw between that and our campaign season that leads to the presidential election? We're all being sent upriver, through a hostile jungle, to terminate with extreme prejudice one candidate or another. And complicating it all, there is too much money, too much stuff, and we're all going insane.

Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice mission, and when it was over, I never wanted another. - Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen,) Apocalypse Now

Let's get going upriver, see what there is to see, shall we?

Snoop Dog, Drag Suppers, the Wacky French, and Olympic Gold

We've all entered and by now have left the call that was made over the terrible persecution of Christians during the Olympics' Opening Ceremonies. You know that act of horrific oppression that I'm talking about. It was in one of several (scenes? skits? acts?) that were televised in between the parade of international contestants floating down the Seine in open boats. My fellow Outlaw, Roger Gray, last week detailed the torment visited upon the conservative Christian community.

I break from Roger (and quite a few liberals) who go with the artist's explanation that the tableau "wasn’t parodying the world-famous artwork featuring Jesus and the 12 apostles — but actually paying homage to Greek mythology and the Feast of Dionysus." -from the NY Post.

Early on, a spokesperson for the Olympics freely admitted that the opening drag show was based on the classic work of art... before walking that back hours later.

If you're an artist, or have studied art history, or, you know, have ever been to a museum, you can see a flashing correlation. And it wasn't just American Christians that clutched their rosaries. Worldwide, archbishops and bishops voiced displeasure. The Holy See said something in Latin, I'm sure it was not complimentary. Former Olympian and gold medalist (1976) Caitlyn Jenner said that “as an Olympian and a Christian,” she was outraged and called the scene “a disgusting display of mockery of one of the most Holy and Sacred images of our Christian faith, by the least tolerant demographic in the world, the Radical Rainbow Mafia! SHAMEFUL!”

You may recall that Caitlyn was an Olympian known as Bruce Jenner before she transitioned in 2015. She is also a big-time Republican, calling out the "Rainbow Mafia."

I'll let you mull that over for a while.

The ongoing hypocrisy of Christian nationalists is not surprising... after years of lambasting the left for their bleeding heart, "woke" ideology and wearing T-shirts with slogans like "F#@k Your Feelings, it's a bit absurd for them to throw a tantrum over some French performance art. Again, I'm not interested in rehashing the "is it Leonardo da Vinci inspired (!) or not?" It's just another opportunity for the right-wing-rage-machine to power up and let her rip.

Beyond the latest hysteria over the Last Supper-inspired drag tableau, the entire Olympic experience must have MAGA nation seething, and it might explain why they were unglued early on. Think about it:

• The USA host and a recurrent TV presence during the games is Snoop Dogg, the rap star, actor, and entrepreneur. He has been extremely popular and has become somewhat of a mascot, appearing at various venues, cheering on athletes, and joining in with the commentators.

• Rap star and reality TV favorite Flavor Flav has been getting equal attention. He's sponsored the women's water polo team and has become a great PR source for them and women's athletics in general. His charitable giving has been highlighted.
• Simone Biles and the women's gymnastics team have been receiving headliner attention that has persisted for months. And they are racking up medals and Olympic records, with Ms. Biles winning "all-around champion." Trolls have for the last 4 years derided her for dropping out of the last games when she complained of "the twisties." Through counseling, reflection, and empathetic coaching, she has obviously made a full recovery, annoying the haters even more.
• In contrast, the men's gymnastics team has finally won a team bronze medal, their first in 16 years. I am not trying to belittle the team, they did a fine job and had some excellent routines and athletes, but for the hyper-masculine MAGA nation, another blow to their egos as the boys play second fiddle to the ladies.
• Ditto to the swim teams. The crowds are cheering on Katie Ledecky who has been a sensation, breaking all kinds of records and as of this writing, is tied for earning the most women's gold medals in Olympic history. The men's team is winning medals, too, but fewer than the women. They are overshadowed by Ms. Ledecky.
• You'd think the USA with our dominant gun culture would bring home all the gold in shooting. Only one gold medal was won in the men's skeet (and one silver medal). A silver was awarded in the women's 50m 3-position and a bronze in women's skeet. Meanwhile, some Turkish dude looked like he just got out of bed to fire a few rounds to take a silver in a 10m air pistol mixed team event. Where's Shooting Team MAGA? And who gave girls all those guns?

See a pattern here? One that might chap a MAGA ass? Women dominating sports. Confident black (especially black FEMALE) athletes receiving medals and international attention. Black rappers and film stars playing starring roles in the presentations. And for the Second Amendment's sake, it appears we can barely shoot anymore!

But the fundamentalist Christians called out for boycotts. Boycott the Olympics, the sponsors, the broadcasters. (Should we go back to eating Freedom Fries?) No effect: Olympic ratings are up, almost 80% from the pandemic-troubled Tokyo Summer Games. Ad rates are up, Peacock Subscriptions are up, and the NBC Olympic apps are doing a good business.

The MAGA Christians claim "persecuted minority." Because while Olympics ratings are up, church attendance is down. If only they could figure out that their behavior is what is driving the real believers away.

As for Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., aka Snoop Dogg? Everyone loves Snoop Dogg. "He's an ambassador of happiness," cooed Molly Solomon, the executive producer of NBC’s Olympics coverage.

Who knew?

The Worm has Turned

"Chris, you are quite out of bounds by making the baseless attacks on conservatives by suggesting race or gender is an issue."

Um, go pound sand.

Last week found the Mango Monster taking the stage at the convention of The National Association of Black Journalists and insulting the host (who was interviewing him, live on stage.) She asked him why black voters should trust him when he insults them so much.

“Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, the first question. You don’t even say, ‘Hello. How are you?’” Trump said. “Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network.”

When discussing the presumptive Democrat candidate Kamala Harris:

“I did not know she was Black until a couple of years ago when she happened to turn Black,” he said. “And now she wants to be known as Black. Is she Indian, or is she Black?”

He also stepped in it when he attempted to blacksplain some things about employment to the black community:

"I will tell you that coming from the border, are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs." Asked to define a Black job, he added: "A Black job is anybody that has a job. That's what it is." The crowd laughed at him.

And Republican Hillbilly JD Vance has been promoting the all-new and improved Republican policy goal of "Keep 'em barefoot and pregnant."

“We are effectively run in this country … by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too,” Vance said. "It's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children."

Just a one-time slip of the tongue you say? A misunderstood comment taken out of context?

Vance is vehemently opposed to abortion, he'd like there to be no exceptions for rape or incest. He wants a federal ban. He also was one of only 28 members of Congress who opposed a new HIPAA rule that would limit law enforcement’s access to women’s medical records. (So law enforcement can track women who have had or are seeking abortions.) He wants to make divorce more difficult, to keep families together (even dysfunctional, abusive ones?)

He's probably received more grief for how he referenced his wife, answering a question about how he only cares about white families:

I love <my wife> because she's who she is. Obviously, she's not a white person, and we've been accused, attacked by some white supremacists over that. But I just, I love Usha. She's such a good mom. She's such a brilliant lawyer and I am so proud of her. But yes, her experiences have given me perspective in the way it's really hard for working families in this country.

If his wife ever gets fed up with his level of bullshit, she may have trouble divorcing him. JD and other prominent conservatives (like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson) are openly talking about their displeasure with No-Fault divorce laws. Their boss doesn't seem to have ever had a problem with them.

I was wrong about Biden stepping down. In a recent post, I suggested that even though Biden had a terrible debate performance and recurrent stumbles, it appeared (to me) that the Dems had no real succession plan. And I feared that in the usual Dem style, things could turn into a confused, infighting mess.

But the call for Joe to let go grew to a roar. Not just from the Drump and the right-wing noise machine, but Democrats too. The public was becoming disenchanted with Biden, the press gave unlimited airtime to his every gaffe, and finally, the party and big donors had had enough. Pelosi, it seems, made the final push, lining up all her loyal allies to pressure him to step aside. It was her head, after all, that many of the Capitol rioters were after on Jan 6. She knew the stakes of a loss, and she knew that the money would follow her lead.

Biden finally accepted the call to step down, and almost immediately anointed his VP, Kamala Harris as his successor. Whether planned or not, it took several days for the big endorsements to roll in. But roll in they did, like a snowball picking up speed. Whether or not there may have been a better candidate became a moot point. Harris was the heir. And the momentum seems not to have let up. The money is roaring in. When she's not traveling and holding rallies, she's making almost nightly Zoom and Web calls to various coalitions - "Win with Black Women," "White Women Answer the Call," even "White Dudes for Harris." Each call has raised millions. Where Obama was the first to effectively utilize social media, Harris appears to have harnessed the power of Zoom.

There is even a growing group, "Republicans For Harris." It is no surprise to find Trump haters such as  Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney on the list, but there are plenty of traditional conservatives signing up.

No less than Peggy Noonan, Reagan's speechwriter, Wall St. Journal columnist and NY Times bestselling author weighed in on the power of Vice President Harris's early campaign.

"This is the year of the sudden, historically disastrous debate, the near-assassination of one of the nominees, the sudden removal of the president from his ticket, the sudden elevation of a vice president her own party had judged a liability, and her suddenly pulling even in a suddenly truncated campaign. We have never had this year. And it continues to astound."
<Harris> has the wind at her back; <Trump's> scattered and stuck on the back of his heels. This week she had a good rally in Atlanta; he went before a hostile National Association of Black Journalists, was taken aback by his first questioner’s accusatory tone, matched her energy, and revealed, if you didn’t know, how cutting and personal the coming months will be."

She, like many others, pointed out:

"What is remarkable is how surprised the Trump campaign seems to have been by Ms. Harris. Why? Smart people understood Joe Biden would eventually have to step aside, and she was his most likely replacement. Why have they responded as if shocked?"  

Trump hilariously promised to change his tone after the assassination attempt. He would be a "uniter." Those who didn't laugh out loud at that just shook their heads. He has not disappointed. At his rallies you will hear the same tired insults, asinine policy promises, and his shockingly terrible VP pick... it's the same song, 100th verse, terrible tune, out of touch and out of time.

The most surprising and delightful revelation through all of this is the breadth and depth of the Democratic Party's bench. Biden rose to the presidency under the slogan, "What, You Got Anybody Any Better?" That's a little harsh, but it was certainly a huge talking point as it became clear that he might not be a good two-term president. And surprise! In addition to VP Harris as a solid candidate, she has a spreadsheet full of excellent choices for a running mate. Part of the excitement of the new campaign is the guessing game over who she might choose. Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania is a current favorite. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Andy Beshear of Kentucky are also under consideration. US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, are frequently mentioned, too. There's not a bad apple in the bunch (or is that banana in the bunch?) All of them have different strengths, all are strong communicators, all seem likable and don't have any baggage (that we know of!)

If Harris and the Dems can keep up her current pace, there's a good chance she could win. Everyone is energized after having almost lost hope. And Trump is angry, desperate, and has no new playbook. He does not care to build, he can only motivate his core supporters to go to the polls through his rage and lies. And if that doesn't work, he has something else in mind...

Dr. Evil's Plan

The threat is already being made - if Harris were to win, Trump would again refuse to concede the election. He has told his supporters that if elected (or if he were to somehow steal the office,) they would "never have to vote again.' It is assumed that he plans to set himself up (like his buddies Putin and Orban in Russia and Hungary) as some sort of dictator for life. If this sounds like just another conspiracy theory, he is talking openly about it! You don't need elections if you don't want a Democracy.

You recall that in 2020, part of the Capitol insurrection plan was an attempt to prevent Vice President Mike Pence from certifying the election, thus throwing the election to the Republican-dominated House. Several states also had slates of Trump-loyal "electors" ready to cast their ballots for Trump. Pence held fast, did his Constitutional duty, and certified the election. The courts called out and disqualified the fake electors. Though adjustments are being made, Trump plans to run the same play in November. Already, loyalists are being implanted at the county level in several red states. From the Rolling Stone:

With an army of Republican lawyers and state lawmakers crafting voter suppression rules and laws across the country, pro-Trump Republicans can also count as allies some of the thousands of men and women currently serving as local election officials. Most of these officials carry out their duties with little to no fanfare. It’s only since 2020 that the routine, often boring, work of administering local elections has become the target of robust right-wing electioneering, with efforts to place pro-Trump zealots on election boards who are increasingly refusing to certify results in pursuit of bogus fraud allegations.

This is going to be a huge deal. In 2020, the guardrails held. There were still enough Republicans loyal to Democracy over Trump - and many paid a price. Though Trump vacated the White House, the disruption had other intended effects. It sowed doubt, confusion, and distrust in elections, government, and the Democratic Party. Trump loyalists are angrier than ever, and even more willing to "take it back."

“From the influence of calling for hand counts of ballots, to the pressure to not certify an election … it’s all connected to this broader effort to change the rules, so that, if needed, election deniers can change the results of an election. It makes sense that certification has become one of the tactics used by the election-denier movement to throw sand into the gears of running a free, fair, and smooth election.” -Lizzie Ulmer, a senior vice president at the States United Democracy Center

Sleep well, my pretties.

A Musical Respite

I stumbled on this guy on Instagram the other day. It was a day, maybe two after some celebrity came out to sing the national anthem at an MLB game. It went badly, she was drunk, the video went viral. (The celebrity claims she checked in to rehab the next day.) You know how it goes. I saw a social media post from this young man, standing in a field of... corn? weed? weeds? Strumming his guitar, singing (cleverly) about how hard it is to sing the national anthem.

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A post shared by Jesse Welles (@wellesmusic)

A couple of days later, I saw another post. And another showed up... I'm not saying he's the next Dylan or Prine. But he's one clever kid, and not just with silly stuff. He's got a bit of depth to him. Try this one... "The Poor."

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A post shared by Jesse Welles (@wellesmusic)

Looks like he's getting a little attention. His tour calendar is here, and his music is available here. There, you needed that.

Apocalypse November

"Never get out of the boat.' Absolutely goddamn right! Unless you were goin' all the way..."

Let's climb into the boat with Capt. Willard and head upriver, see what the next 100 days have in store for us.

But first, one final note Ms. Noonan included in her Wall St. Journal piece.

"Biden supporters were deep down unsure, and it made them milder. Ms. Harris’s energy revives the party’s hunger; its angers will be more awake. Mr. Trump and his forces can’t not be mean, it is their essence when threatened. Everything is about to get meaner, more vicious and primal."

The Horror, the horror...