Hard Lessons to be Learned Before the Next Election

[Doktor Howl]

it looks like they lost a lot of votes because Leftists stayed home to me.

The term for this behavior is "being the architect of your own reward."

Well sure, and you can be angry at folks who didn't vote all you want,

Gonna.  Buncha ivory tower nerds.

but that doesn't inspire them to vote.

Nothing will.  That's been proven.

Meanwhile a candidate that actually speaks to their desires probably would.

Nope.  They'd find some reason to get the fucking vapors again.  Nothing is good enough for the Tumblr crowd.

Offering to put Republicans in the cabinet, pledging to be the toughest on immigration, and otherwise courting conservatives didn't get any of them to vote for her.

Well, since she knew the left was never going to vote for her, she went for a coalition.  It didn't work.  Shit happens.

Nobody is going to kiss your ass for your vote.  You know this, and I know this.  But you got to show how pure you are, at the expense of the bottom 50% here, the Ukrainians, and the Palestinians.

Well done, that man.

[Abbot Mythos]

-Creating and funding alternative media spaces online. You can't prop up the next Joe Rogan overnight, but you can start to cultivate and develop the next Ben Shapiro, Candance Owens, Tim Pool, ect. The problem right now is that the biggest left-of-center voices online are people like Hasan and Vaush who openly trash Democrats and Democratic candidates; Republican online streamers, podcasters, and posters are basically in a cult that bring in followers that will blindly support, vote for, and donate to your candidates. They need this structure of their own to prevent right wingers from completely dominating the medium.

12. The right wing's domination of the media must be countered by a powerful liberal media presence.

I believe this amplifies what Sophia the Altered has advocated:

"Opinion | Until there's a liberal media apparatus, the Democrats will live in Trump's America"

As per this article:

"It takes time for things to stick properly, so please bear with me while I say again that Kamala Harris did not lose the election because of things she said. She lost because of things Donald Trump said she said.

So Democratic Party critics are basing their criticism not on what Harris said but on what Trump said she said, as they are accepting as true the allegations of the president-elect against the vice president.

By focusing on things that Trump said she said, rather than on things she said, these critics are missing the real lesson from the 2024 election – that her policies were not the determining factor in her defeat. It was the ear-splitting volume of the accusations against her and the absence of equal and opposite accusations against him."

And, further along in this article:

"The volume of the rightwing media apparatus, especially when it's in sync with the Washington press corps, is so loud that it can feel like the ultimate arbiter of our political reality. As one CNN anchor put it this morning, this is Donald Trump's America. We're just living in it. Until there's a liberal media apparatus, one that can meet bad info with good info, the Democrats will continue living in Trump's America, too."

Here's the link to this article:        The Need For a a Liberal Media Apparatus

It's not going to be easy, but this is something that must be encouraged and supported.

[Doktor Howl]

Problem is, liberals don't tend to watch or listen to that sort of structured program.


If they would, they'd be right wing.

Every single attempt at left wing programming has failed due to low ratings, and either went under or went "centrist".

[Abbot Mythos]

-Creating and funding alternative media spaces online. You can't prop up the next Joe Rogan overnight, but you can start to cultivate and develop the next Ben Shapiro, Candance Owens, Tim Pool, ect. The problem right now is that the biggest left-of-center voices online are people like Hasan and Vaush who openly trash Democrats and Democratic candidates; Republican online streamers, podcasters, and posters are basically in a cult that bring in followers that will blindly support, vote for, and donate to your candidates. They need this structure of their own to prevent right wingers from completely dominating the medium.

12. The right wing's domination of the media must be countered by a powerful liberal media presence.

This may not be what Sophia the Altered had in mind when she wrote about "Creating and funding alternative media spaces online." But, the following article is from a liberal website that often gives me a good laugh:

"I, Shub-Niggurath, Have Chosen The Lesser Beings That Will Serve In My Presidential Cabinet"

"WHO WILL SERVE DURING MY REIGN OF DARKNESS???"

As per this article:

"Greetings, cowering hordes of human offal! Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, hears your lamentations over my ascent to the Oval Office. They please and will sustain me through the eons of blackness on which you are about to embark as I, Shub-Nggurath, begat by the Darkness, who in turn was begat by Azathoth, ruler of the Outer Gods and keeper of the primordial chaos, reign over you!

Greetings members of the press! Greetings, mortal swine! But I repeat myself! Ha ha ha!
Laugh, mortals! Laugh or be cast into the empty universe, into the cold darkness beyond darkness from which no light can escape and where you will wander for a thousand eternities seeking a respite from the horrors driving you mad with terror!

Or, alternately, I'll make you work for Punchbowl."

I think you get the idea. Here's the link to this article:    Shub-Niggurath Has Spoken Written

So, if this sort of political humor appeals to you, I recommend checking out www.wonkette.com.

[Pergamos]

So, I have two (2) questions for you, as follows:

1. How many votes did TSF lose over his own unconditional support for Israel?

2. In the end, what difference did the lose of those votes actually make?

1. looks like about 2 Million

2. It didn't make any difference, because Harris didn't have a better policy.

[Doktor Howl]

So, I have two (2) questions for you, as follows:

1. How many votes did TSF lose over his own unconditional support for Israel?

2. In the end, what difference did the lose of those votes actually make?

1. looks like about 2 Million

2. It didn't make any difference, because Harris didn't have a better policy.

That's absolute bullshit.  Her policy was restraint.  Rubio, under the Trump administration is "Kill everyone in Hamas, collateral damage notwithstanding."

But progs gonna be progs and the slightest impurity is as bad as the worst offender.

[Doktor Howl]

Hey, about that "not having a better policy" thing. 

Trump just nominated Sebastian Gorka for a senior national security post.   
Gorka said about the Gazan conflict:

"Kill every single one of them. God bless Israel. God bless Judeo-Christian civilization."

So there you go Permagos.  You really showed us, didn't you? 

[Doktor Howl]

Anyone reading the news tonight?

Thanks, progs!   

[Doktor Howl]

Whoops.  So much for medicare.

THANKS, PROGS!   

[Abbot Mythos]

2. Macho 'Merican men want their womenfolk barefoot, pregnant, 'n' in the kitchen. They don't want no uppity, pantsuit wearin' women tryin' ta run no gubernment.

Don't believe me? Well ... according to the following article:

"Men Sweep Congress Chairmanships as Republican Women Lose Ground"

• GOP House steering panel on track to elect no women as chairs
• No women with gavels for first time since 114th Congress

As per this article:

"The leadership of House committees is shaping up to be an all-male club for the first time in almost a decade, as Republicans this week finalize their list of chairmen for the 119th Congress.

The GOP steering committee is still choosing leaders for panels that shape legislation on a gamut of issues. But after the sole woman running for a competitive gavel, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), lost the Foreign Affairs chairmanship to Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), there's virtually no avenue for a Republican female committee leader selected by the steering committee to make it to the top of these panels.

"It's unfortunate," said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), an assistant whip and member of the Ways and Means Committee. "We've never been the party that was about checking boxes or identity politics, but the difference is we have women that are qualified to be chairs, and I don't know why there wasn't one who was able to become a chairperson of a committee.""

Here's the link:    Republican Women Lose Ground

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) claims to not "know why there wasn't one who was able to become a chairperson of a committee." And, she may have been telling the truth. But, I think I know why.

[Abbot Mythos]

9. The Main Stream Media (MSM) is not our friend. But, it's not our enemy either. The MSM is simply a powerful group of amoral corporations out to make a buck.

Always remember, "The MSM is only in it for the money." So, learn to deal with it accordingly. In the long run, it can only be influenced by what it believes effects its revenue.

Here's a good example of how one MSM outlet believes it is looking after its own best interests by paying for access to TSF:

"ABC agrees to give $15 million to Donald Trump's presidential library to settle defamation lawsuit"

I didn't bother to post any quotations from this particular article, as the title alone, pretty much, says it all. Time will tell whether or not paying for access, and positive reporting about TSF will benefit ABC.

[Abbot Mythos]

This morning, it occurred to me that I should reread, and restudy this famous, ancient quotation:

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
 
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

And so, after rereading, and restudying this famous, ancient quotation, and thinking about it for a while, I realized I should start asking members of the Democratic Party, liberals, progressives, etc. the following question over and over again between now and the next midterm elections:

If you're so intelligent, well educated, resourceful, and well meaning, why couldn't you convince the majority of the stupidest, most uneducated people currently living in our country to vote for your candidates in the 2024 election?

I will, no doubt, refine my question many times over the next two years, but that's not important right now. What, I believe, is important is to get some honest, meaningful answers to the basic, simple question. And, assuming I do receive some honest, meaningful answers to that question, I will have some followup questions.

[Abbot Mythos]

I admit it, I love making fun of Steve Bannon. Still, there are times when I unexpectedly find myself in agreement with a political enemy on a particular issue, even though we're both seeking totally different "big picture" end results. And, what Bannon had to say in the following article is one of those times:

"'We have to increase taxes on the wealthy': Steve Bannon"

I gave up trying to find a couple of succinct quotations that clearly summarize the contents of this article. Nevertheless, Bannon does clearly explain why he advocates taxing the rich. Further, Bannon's calculated appeal to populism is something the Democratic Party, leftists, etc. need to study and emulate.

[Pergamos]

I admit it, I love making fun of Steve Bannon. Still, there are times when I unexpectedly find myself in agreement with a political enemy on a particular issue, even though we're both seeking totally different "big picture" end results. And, what Bannon had to say in the following article is one of those times:

"'We have to increase taxes on the wealthy': Steve Bannon"

I gave up trying to find a couple of succinct quotations that clearly summarize the contents of this article. Nevertheless, Bannon does clearly explain why he advocates taxing the rich. Further, Bannon's calculated appeal to populism is something the Democratic Party, leftists, etc. need to study and emulate.

I think if Trump followed this playbook, increased corporate taxes and taxes on the wealthy, along with actual middle class tax cuts, whether that's the over time and tip ones Bannon is talking about, or simply reducing income tax on the lower tax tiers, that he'd be setting up the kind of long term thing Bannon also talks about.  Even if the middle class ended up paying more in taxes, because of tariffs.

However I can't imagine that's what's actually going to happen. The tax plan that I am hearing about includes more cuts for the wealthy and from what I hear the overtime tax cut consists of removing mandatory overtime pay.  Those actions will alienate the folks who supported him and probably lead to Democrats taking Congress in the midterms.

[Doktor Howl]

I admit it, I love making fun of Steve Bannon. Still, there are times when I unexpectedly find myself in agreement with a political enemy on a particular issue, even though we're both seeking totally different "big picture" end results. And, what Bannon had to say in the following article is one of those times:

"'We have to increase taxes on the wealthy': Steve Bannon"

I gave up trying to find a couple of succinct quotations that clearly summarize the contents of this article. Nevertheless, Bannon does clearly explain why he advocates taxing the rich. Further, Bannon's calculated appeal to populism is something the Democratic Party, leftists, etc. need to study and emulate.

I think if Trump followed this playbook, increased corporate taxes and taxes on the wealthy, along with actual middle class tax cuts, whether that's the over time and tip ones Bannon is talking about, or simply reducing income tax on the lower tax tiers, that he'd be setting up the kind of long term thing Bannon also talks about.  Even if the middle class ended up paying more in taxes, because of tariffs.

However I can't imagine that's what's actually going to happen. The tax plan that I am hearing about includes more cuts for the wealthy and from what I hear the overtime tax cut consists of removing mandatory overtime pay.  Those actions will alienate the folks who supported him and probably lead to Democrats taking Congress in the midterms.

Trump will act only to benefit the 14 billionaires he's nominated to various positions, along with some billionaires that just hand him money.

He has to put $2 trillion together to enact his billionaire tax cut, and I'll give you precisely 3 guesses as to where he will find that money.

Hint:  It's not coming out of the pockets that it is intended to line.