Man Of Jackistan: Reason and Truth's Time and Place

The Fate of "Trumpism" Rant #18  ( Opinion ) March 23, 2020 The future of what reluctantly gets the label of 'Trumpism' has increasingly represented a topic of much speculation among those who spend their time thinking about politics. I have a few tentative thoughts on that, based mostly on sheer guesswork. Many have argued that after leaving office, the Republican Party will 'snap out' of its Trump-induced spell; politicians will write off their former support for him in one way or another to avoid association with that trainwreck. While that sounds like an appetizing outcome to me, that is very unlikely, in my opinion. The man has amassed too much popularity for him to just step off the stage and fade into the background. The vicious and aggressive tweeting he does will in and of itself continue to effect the public discourse and news cycles long after leaving office. If Trump loses in November, after a lengthy dispute about the integrity of the...

Black People and Conspiracy Theories, Plus Speculation About Biden's VP Pick and the Future of Trumpism Rant #17 ( Opinion ) Originally March 22, 2020; Posted March 23, 2020 Lately, I've thought a lot about something that confuses me. It seems that a lot of Black people  believe in conspiracy theories like New World Order, Illuminati, population control--a whole bunch of them.  Maybe that's a coincidence, and only overwhelmingly endemic among the Black people that I know. But it makes sense. As a White man, I can only speculate. On the one hand, I can totally see the roots of skepticism and distrust in the system: slavery, "separate but equal" segregation, Blacks being denied mortgages and credit through red-lining, the Tuskegee experiment, police profiling; there is a long history of this government and its elites quite literally conspiring to make life difficult for Blacks. What boggles my mind more than just a proclivity for belief in conspiracy theori...

On China; Also, Venting About Misconceptions From The Right Rant #16 ( Opinion ) Originally March 20,2020; Posted March 23, 2020 A Trump supporter recently criticized me for what he perceived to be my stance on relations with China. Initially, the man mentioned how if Biden wins the upcoming presidential election, despite the coronavirus revealing the weakness of over-relying on China for goods, the US will not move its supply chains away from there. Whereas under Trump, our country will apparently relocate its source of manufacturing. The man boasted about how Trump has already accomplished so much with that country, and then proceeded to attack my rejection of that assessment by saying that my view (or what he believed to be my view) was some "hippy Green Party crap, opposed to the 'evil corporations,' and naive like the last 50 years of presidents."  First off, I never said anything about business owners being evil or Green Party bullshit. I am saying...

If You Like AOC, Don't Donate To Her Campaign Rant #12 ( Opinion ) Originally March 15, 2020; posted March 16, 2020 I like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I think that she represents an important voice for both progressives and Millennials. DC definitely could use the new blood. And Fox News' fears of a first-term Congresswoman (who usually get no attention or clout at all) has actually amplified her popularity nationwide.  Every time I scroll through Facebook, I see these ads about donating to AOC's campaign. This has led me to conclude that if you truly support her and what she stands for, then don't give to her campaign this year! Instead, donate to Democratic campaigns in swing districts. Help Chrissy Houlahan (Chester County's Democratic Congresswoman since 2019); the Democrats cannot hold the House without holding onto seats like hers. She may run on a more moderate platform, but she's there when the Dems need the votes on important legislation. This H...

"Psychoactive Substances' Presence In Narcissistic Nationalist Politicians" Rant #11 ( Opinion ) Originally March 13, 2020  Today, the president declared a national emergency in response to the spreading coronavirus, COVID-19. During the announcement , Trump gave his usual brash presentation. And yet, the way he spoke sounded a lot lower and slower than the way he usually speaks. Perhaps my observation here is a bit slanted: I only heard the address on the radio, so I don't know what he actually looked like during this. Also, I may be uniquely keen on noticing the effects of drugs on someone. So, was Trump on drugs?  The slurring, that weird draggy low voice: I don't know if you could go so far to say that there exists an 'opioid accent,' but the way he sounded reminded me of how many men tend to talk while on dope. Stringing together words has never been a challenge for this president. Those words might not make any sense at all, bu...

Trump's Faithful Evangelical Flock Rant #8 ( Opinion ) Originally March 1, 2020; Posted March 10, 2020 It will shock no one to hear that White evangelical Christians in the United States overwhelmingly back Donald Trump's presidency; victory without them would have simply not occurred. Somewhere between 25%  and 41%  of Americans identify as evangelical or "born again" Christians, meaning that they consider Jesus Christ their lord and personal savior. They constitute a bloc of voters worth roughly 1/4 of the American electorate; in 2016, a full 26% of voters in an exit poll identified as evangelical. This article tries to downplay this group's intense attachment with Trump--if I considered myself evangelical, I would too! The author makes the argument that not every single White evangelical showed up to vote,  that statistic doesn't differentiate between White and minority evangelicals, not all of those who consider themselves evangelical go to ch...

"Good People On Both Sides?" Rant #7 ( Opinion ) Originally March 8, 2020 To whom it may concern, I get where you're coming from with this chart. It makes me cringe to say it like this, but "there are good people on both sides" who want the same endgame, that being a surviving and thriving America--their road maps just differ. At one point in time, I was a staunchly conservative person--a position which has since largely flipped. I was never a racist in my heart and soul when I felt that way, back in the Bush era. The vast majority of those who disagree with you have good intentions, just misaligned ideas on how things do and should work. Give those people the benefit of the doubt, until they say something that reveals any purely hateful sentiment (e.g. genuine racism). There do exist a large number of simply awful others, yet they make up the minority. Ignorance abounds in the rest. Remembering that is vital to maintaining the see...