April 25, 2022

The GOP has a very simple meta-strategy. And it's (unfortunately) working very well indeed.

In a nutshell, all GOP strategies - messaging, candidate selection, fundraising, communications, platform development, legislation, regulation, etc. - everything they do - EVERYTHING - boils down to this:

Make things bad. Blame the bad on Democrats. Run against Democrats.

Rinse, repeat.

One reason this is so effective is that Democrats have no comparable simple meta-strategy. Democrats know that "simple" is deceptive and to make real, positive change, you need to pay attention to the complexities, take time to study the problems, build consensus around shared definitions, articulate solutions and test them in diverse communities, and plan long, careful rollouts of real fixes.

Up against: "OMG, things are AWFUL! And getting WORSE! Because DEMOCRATS! Vote for US instead!" this is a complete loser.

Democrats hope that their logical, meticulous strategies, which promise a high probability of ultimate success, will eventually win out, as voters tire of the same old from the GOP, and notice that Democratic policy and legislative initiatives are actually producing real and positive changes for people.

Except that "real and positive changes resulting from a long, careful, detailed process of study, consensus-building, and development" don't sell newspapers, boosts ratings, generate clicks, or sell advertising.

"OMG, things are AWFUL! And getting WORSE! Because DEMOCRATS!" sells newspapers, boosts ratings, generates clicks and sells advertising.

This frustrates the hell out of Democrats, who worry that developing a comparable meta-strategy to counter the GOP will a) Divert critical resources from important initiatives; and b) Be an ineffective 'tu quoque!' response that lands them in the mud, wrestling the pig.

I don't know any good, magic wand answers.

But I do believe that shining the light on that GOP strategy will eventually have some effect, if we can simply keep doing it with a "stuck record" application. Every time the GOP "goes there" loudly and clearly point out how this particular iteration of going there is just one more case of "OMG, things are AWFUL! And getting WORSE! Because DEMOCRATS!" and has about as much chance of making things better for people as standing around throwing matches into a house fire.

Again, and again, and again.

It would be a good start.

thoughtfully,
Bright

April 13, 2022

The GOP (Group of Pedophiles) is sponsoring "Grooming Facilitation Acts" in many state legislatures.

Let's define a key term: What is "grooming"?

As any abuse survivor can tell you, "grooming" is a set of psychological techniques designed to prepare a victim by making them feel:

a) Helpless on their own (dependent on the abuser);
b) Ignorant of the difference between 'attention' and 'abuse';
c) Ignorant of the availability of, or techniques for accessing, any help;
d) Ashamed of, and responsible for, anything 'bad' that happens to them, and
e) Convinced of the importance of keeping silent about what is happening to them

Clear? You'll notice that each of those things has a key word in it: "helpless", "ignorant" (twice! very important to the abuser, the ignorance of the chosen victim(s)), "shame" and "silent".

Now, let's talk about abusers for a moment. Who are they?

To be as accurate as possible, all we can go by is the EVIDENCE available in verified cases. We don't have enough of those, but what we do have indicates a few overwhelmingly common characteristics:

Abusers tend to be people known to the victims. Often well-known, in that they may be family members by blood, family members by marriage (and I use that term deliberately), people in 'relationships of trust' with adult family members - not just romantic partners but clergy, paid caregivers, providers of regular in-home services, providers of structured/supervised recreation services, neighbors and their family members, etc.

Abusers tend to be people who have access to the victims, in the victim's home or in the abuser's home, or in semi-'public' locations such as churches or neighborhood recreation centers, that appears legitimate.

Abusers are often people who "pass" as "ordinary/normal" in the social milieu of the victim's family - that is, they are 'like' the victim's parents or family members in some way(s) - they may be members of the same religious congregation, have common ethnicity or demographic characteristics, etc.

Abusers are more often than not people who are invested, either temporarily or by institutional structure, with some sense of "authority" to the victim - that is, someone parents or family members tell the victim to listen to, to be nice to, to obey, etc., OR someone who presents as a representative of an institution the victim has been told is authoritative - church, school, law enforcement, etc.

Combining these known common characteristics of abusers, with the key goals of grooming, what do we have?

People who seem familiar and authoritative to the victim, promoting the victim's dependence, ignorance, shame, and silence.

Now, go and read these bills being introduced by GOP legislators. What are the clear intended results of what these bills require?

Ignorant children.
Children dependent on perceived authority.
Children ignorant about, and ashamed of, themselves and their sexuality.
Children afraid to be honest about what is happening to them, what they feel, what they know about themselves, and about their interactions with others.

My fellow Americans, the Group of Pedophiles (GOP) has finally exposed itself (pun intended) clearly and unequivocally for what they are, and what they want: Freedom to abuse children, without interference, under the sanction of the law.

After decades of smokescreens, projection, denial, coverups, etc., we can now see the far-reaching, slimy tentacles of this network of conspirators in the light of day, right there on the floors of our state legislatures, preparing for their triumph in making our most vulnerable citizens - children - even MORE vulnerable, ignorant, dependent, and silent.

They are disgusting.

They are the worst dregs, pedophiles, schemers, conspirators.

They are the GOP.

adamantly,
Bright

April 12, 2022

Oh, dear. Somebody had a cunning plan!

Police under review for blasting Disney songs to keep videos off social media

"How the hell are we supposed to do our jobs if those meddling citizens keep taking videos of us with their damn cell phones and posting them on social media? We can't do our work properly if we're held accountable!"

::Every face around the meeting table scroonches up with furious attempts to think::

"Uh, can we arrest the citizens taking videos?"

::Faces brighten... then the aspiring lawyer-type shakes their head regretfully::

"Nah, it's been tried. Gets everything messed up in litigation and the judge usually allows it while the cases drag on."

::More scroonchy faces. Then the guy who's supposed to be 'smart' suddenly sits up straight::

"Waitaminnit... go with me on this..." Turns to the aspiring lawyer-type: "What's the best way to get a video taken off social media?"

Aspiring lawyer-type shrugs. "Well, copyright infringement, but that can take ages. Most rock stars and their management don't catch stuff like that right away and a lot of them won't care if it's just short clips, and anyway, we're not talking about intellectual property, here."

'Smart' guy: "True. But there's ONE company that has a whole department, fully staffed, to keep its stuff from being used on social media without permission... DISNEY!!"

::Impressed "ooooh!"s from around the table::

"Yeah, but the morons... I mean citizens... making and posting the videos, they ain't gonna put "Under the Sea" on what they post as an audio track, are they, smart guy?"

'Smart' guy, with smug grin: "But WE have loudspeakers on our cruisers. If there's Disney stuff playing, it'll be on the videos, and any citizen stupid enough to post a video of Mike shaking down some (ethnic slur) biker with "A Spoonful of Sugar" playing in the background is gonna get a 'cease and desist' from Da Mouse faster than we can beat in a door, right?"

Aspiring lawyer-type: "It could work! Dude, you're a JEEEN-YUS!"

:: applause all around the table ::

You know this is how it happened.

amusedly,
Bright

April 9, 2022

Russia as a Geopolitical Conundrum

Without nukes, what is Russia?

Without nukes and oil, what is Russia?

Something along the lines of a really, really BIG (spread-out, geographically speaking) Romania or thereabouts.

A somewhat-modernized string of cities in one part of the landmass, and the rest, unconstructed rural towns, small cities and villages dotting a vast territory with little in the way of infrastructure except for military facilities here and there.

A polyglot of cultures with long histories, and long-held resentments.

A history vivid with color and creativity and cruelty.

Lurching from one form of autocracy/oligarchy/authoritarianism to another over the past 200 years, with barely a nod to any notions of being part of a larger community of nation-states, beyond Imperialist conquest.

But they have nukes.

And oil.

And so, they get away with being an 11th-century social structure in the 21st century.

And we let them.

And they pillage, and kidnap and burn and commit atrocities with impunity.

Because they have nukes.

And oil.

disgustedly,
Bright