Peterkin

Maybe. So, it's hopeless, because too Americans are stupid?

So? What's that to do with civilization? All ancient civilizations were some form of despotism. No, I'm telling you the reasons for t5hings that happened. Of course not. He was a mad fool to do that. Got a whole lot of people killed. But, of course, there were plenty of other mad fools to go along with the gag. Are you changing the subject?

She needs a running mate with a high profile, preferably white, male and with some experience in government - to lay to rest any notions of a feminist or minority agenda. Then the Dems have to pull together like they've never done before, and keep hammering on the message: This is what we have done - this is what they have done. No frills, no personalities, no history; just the facts.

Sez who? How do you measure degree of civilization? It was the Macedonian princeling who went on a murderous rampage across the middle east. The military threat of Germany had nothing to do with feudalism; in 1914, they just didn't have enough arable land or natural resources for the ascendancy to which their leaders aspired. In 1939, they were struggling with the harsh peace terms of WWI. There are interest groups the world over who would like nothing better than to be liege lords of a feudal kingdom. That's why they've been corrupting and suborning democracies and setting gullible people against one another. Democracy itself can't be discredited, but democratic system can be and are being demolished. Which warlord wins which border dispute matters only to the peoples involved.

I don't know if that specter is more or less frightening than the missiles Putin keeps rattling. I know Hitler's cult continues long past his ignominious passing, but he'd almost wiped out his own and several other nations by then. Trump has accomplished exactly goose-egg, beyond wasting a lot of courts' time and selling a lot of junk.

I know of no examples. In fact, they seem to degenerate with too much power. They're not killed by random discontents in the crowd; they're killed by family, trusted advisors or bodyguards. The plans are already in place to wipe out at least half of the amendments. Chairman for life is a given. (How long he lives depends on how eager Satan is to collect on the deal.) Not Trump. Without rallies, he would simply fade away and disappear.

Well, if that doesn't work, I don't know what will.

The problem word in that statement is "we". There isn't one.

Canada has generally handled it better federally, though some provinces, like some states, did better than others. Ontario wasn't the best, but Grey and Bruce counties are mostly rural, were mostly compliant with prevention protocols and the local health services carried out the vaccination program efficiently. Nevertheless, I have to take back my previous remark: I've since learned of three active cases, in towns quite far from me. If there are any more, I'll resume wearing masks. The next booster is expected in early fall. PS The GB health service is monitoring outbreaks of any contagious disease and reporting locations on their web site. They also post regular announcements of new vaccines available. We usually get them at the pharmacy, which is conveniently on our route. The first two mass inoculations were held in a sports arena and so well organized, there was hardly any waiting time. Not that this has anything to do with President Biden.....

I asked my doctor, and they stopped masking at the clinic, except people who have symptoms of some kind. Not because they're pretending, but because the vaccination program has been pretty successful and our county had no new cases for months. Some places and situations are more likely to expose one to infection. I Imagine that campaign trail has to be one of those situations. Large crowds in enclosed spaces - all it takes is one unwitting carrier. Poor old Biden didn't need the illness, and I hope he gets off lightly. But it does make a plausible cover for withdrawing from the race.

In Poland, they're religious and not exactly clumped, but swayed by the same kind of rhetoric. It's likely to be different groups, each with its own weaknesses, and maybe even hostile one to another. A clever demagogue - or, rather, his expediters - still knows what butons to push to collect them under his flag. Point them at a common enemy, or promise each a different reward. "I will protect you! My robocops will sweep up all those druggies and hookers, thieves and beggars and give you back the clean, safe city streets you deserve. I'll cut your taxes, keep foreigners out, and make the Family sacred again, with you as undisputed patriarch." The capacity for understanding resides not in the world, but in the individual. Methods of communication may have changed in the last 10,000 years, but the human brain has not.

They probably aren't clumped like in the US, but the Neo-nazis tend to stay organized, what with priding themselves on militarism, and they're never far below the surface in Europe. Religious organizations are well established and have a common dread of secularism. Then, too, even unorganized interest blocs are recognizable and targetable: threaten shopkeepers with vandalism, burghers with burglary, white men with dark men, anti-Semites (not so scarce in Europe, either) with the Elders of Zion - any suggestion that somebody wants to take something from them; followed by the accusation that they already have and it must be avenged. Fear is the easiest emotion to exploit; it can all too readily be converted to rage. There is a pitchfork leaning behind every door, just in case. And a general insecurity and anxiety is easier still, because there is no counter-argument to the vague threats. If it's a specific fear of a particular group of immigrants, measures can be taken by the established authority. When it's vague unverifiable threats and accusations, there is no practical response.

But the crazy fringes can be identified and collected by a ruthless organizer. I just heard that the Republican party keeps a data base of gun nuts, profiling them as likely candidates for recruitment. I imagine religious nuts can just as easily be tagged and tracked, just like extreme racist groups. If you know which whistles to use, you can muster a whole lot of motely in one place at one time - say the Capitol, Wednesday noon...

Not yet. We're still in populist mode, where the loudest screamer is followed by adoring mobs. Trump, if he attained the office, would tear up the constitution and declare himself president for life, then, if he lived long enough, would certainly attempt to make himself god-emperor. He would appoint several successors, firing each when they complained of getting stiffed on their paycheck, so he would be replaced by whichever henchman spiked his diet coke or stood on his oxygen tube. It's unlikely to be one of the older sons. To establish a succession by blood takes several generations of firm grasp on the throne. That's unlikely to be the Trump dynasty.

Ignore, deny and try to discredit. Because they don't have a facile solution for those problems - and, indeed, benefit from causing those problems. They're the easy target. People are more afraid of them, because the progandists can point at a tangible boogeyman and direct their otherwise nebulous fear. No, because that's practical. That means something has to be done, something has to change; it will cost you something - giving up some convenience, paying more tax, altering your lifestyle. Getting mad at another tribe costs nothing and is cathartic.

It's fear. People are anxious. There are threats everywhere, from the weather, pollution, contagious disease, crop failure, too much water, not enough water, fires all over the place, saber rattling among the giant powers, impossible numbers of people migrating, displaced by war and famine. The future looks terrifying. People feel helpless. Some loudmouth comes along, gets up on big podium with every appearance of confidence and tells them "I can fix it. I can protect you. It's all their fault, and I'll get rid of them. I'll give you back all the privileges and pride..." (...you never had, but were told stories about and identified with). It's easy to dupe frightened people. No, that doesn't even come into question. People don't think about abstract concepts: tell them their livelihood, their stuff and their daughter's virtue are at stake. People in Hungary were okay with the idea of equality, but it was never real: the Russian occupation replaced the old class system with a new class system (except the new aristocracy had no class) and when that fell apart, the carpetbaggers moved in and set up an even more crass capitalistic one. People coped as best they could with each change, but the economics were always precarious. With two and half jobs to keep up payments, there's not much time for ideology. I didn't expect it to unravel this fast, but I'd given up on social progress by the 1980's .

No. The boys are not taken seriously by anybody. DeSantis, maybe (ugh!) or Pence... should he like a second chance to be lynched.

Depends how long ago someone who may have had cooties on their fingers last turned the pages. Pathogens generally cannot survive long without a host. After about five days, the book should be quite safe. If you're not sure, set it on a shelf, covers as wide open as they'll stand up and fan out the pages. Leave it that way for a week, riffling the pages and up-ending the book every now and then. That will usually get rid of musty smell. (Not paperbacks, sorry!)

i very much doubt - what with all the nonsense involving bibles - that God is interested. If you want action, approach the other guy.

There is an awful lot more blood when the shot is successful. I'd say the second image inspires more pity than the extremely lucrative teeshirt picture.

Okay. Image of white line circled in red. Bullet? Maybe. Intended to head? Maybe. Missed by a couple of inches? Maybe. Bottom line: the kid was a bad shot; we don't know why he did it; the felon lives.

Link's broken. No images. And there will be no religious comparison to the numerous failed assassination attempts - just Lincoln and Kennedy (but not Garfield and McKinley), whom God apparently considered less worth saving than Trump, though he may have stepped in for Reagan. It's a culture in which problems have always been solved with guns, but this is not the time to discuss kids and guns; this is a time for thoughts and prayers.

Good. He looks all right, and got in a couple of digs at the violence Trump has incited without making a meal of them. Nicely balanced.

Sorry, can't. It was just a question anyway. I don't really care if the disaffected fan wanted him dead, wanted somebody else dead or wanted himself dramatically dead - the poor demented kid played into Trump's hands, and for that, I will not easily forgive him.

I wasn't assuming; just wondering. I may not be the only one whose mind it crossed. Anyway I'll go with the opportunist theory. He riles up all his disgruntled, not overly bright, gun-totin' supporters and then one of them gets disillusioned (maybe he punched out a Democrat and Trump didn't pay his legal costs like he promised) or pissed-off at one of his recent crimes or lies. Anything can happen, and everything that happens can be misrepresented.