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I completely agree. What we get to find out now is if the brush with death changes him for the better, or for the worse, or if he just stays plain old Trump. He now claims that he wants to bring the nation together, no small feat, but will he actually even try? Considering his rigid personality, I expect that he has a limited suite of behaviors he can employ during the rest of the campaign, so it might be a Trump too far to hope that he can attempt to be a more thoughtful president who tries to bring the Red and Blue Teams together rather than driving them further apart. I guess we'll find out.

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I like to think of the quintessential American as one of those guys in their home workshops doing the YT vids showing us how to weld, do woodwork, do engineering or outside showing us tree felling, arborist and forestry, animal husbandry etc.. All so much richer in money, tools, living space and opportunity than most of the world and totally unconscious of the fact. Happy and earnest in their occupations, clever, honest, sincere, dedicated - brave - see the tree climbers for instance - but all sharing that one thing: a total apparent disinterest in the state of the rest of the world or even their own world how it got to be, what it is. Politics. If interested at all only in the most shallow manner: vote for this 'hollywood hero' or the other.

Good people. But detached and unaware. Not on the same page as the rest of us.

That's my quintessential American.

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Yes, I suggested Trump was "a" quintessential American, not "the" quintessential one. There are aspects to Trump that make him typically American, e.g. his boasting, his bombast, his brass.

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Ah... quintessential in his class, whatever that is: 'rich big business' ?

I'd hope that 'boasting, bombast, brass' are qualities that apply to a 'class', too, rather than all Americans.

I see no evidence of it whatever in those 'classes' I pointed at: tradesmen, home diy and many others. I'm happy to say.

I guess all in all we run up against the basic invalidity of generalisations perhaps?

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Jul 16Edited
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Thanks for that, Dennis. :)

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Assuming You mean a "booze up in a brewery, ~ as opposed to a "brewer" ~ how do You suppose the Yanks organized and organize the largest GNP on the Planet? By depending on Immigrants from New Zealand?

And let me guess......: TRUMP is the LEADER that America needs if it is to survive to celebrate its 250th Birthday on July 4, 2026, 718 days from today. Right?

And finally, who's this "they" that hated Jobs and hate Musk?

More unanswered Questions from BV's Resident whatever he is. Heh.

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My guess is that Bill would go along with the Cambridge Business English Dictionary's [© Cambridge University Press] definitioon:

CONMAN [aka CON MAN]: “Someone who uses dishonest or illegal methods to trick people into giving them money.”

EXAMPLES of CONMAN:

1. As always, praising "science" for adopting the CONMAN's tactic of spreading a lie, then, when the lie doesn't wash, changing the lie.

2. The CONMAN rose slightly in the air, then reeled backward into the mob.

3. As he rested, the beady eyes of the CONMAN narrowed to slits.

Sources and more examples are available at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/conman .

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Trump University is a good example. In this case, Trump was held accountable for his con.

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Great insight, Arthur, perfectly stated. I could cite several good friends as examples. I am put in mind of the movie, "Elysium" in which the well-off inhabit a satellite of earth where all is comfortable and under control while below, on Earth, the poor wallow is misery. I think that JD Vance, Trump's VP pick, is an example of a person intimately acquainted with poverty as shown by his outstanding book, "Hillbilly Elegy", but now that he has the power of a senator, he is living the life and not looking back.

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Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" is a good book. I read it when it came out about eight years ago.

Vance is a smart man. He's trimmed his sails to catch the Trumpian wind, and given Trump's age and health, he might very well become POTUS.

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Thanks for that. I've downloaded the book and will be interested to see what it's all about. :)

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Jul 16Edited
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Please don't call Trump "Orange Man." It's highly insulting to a great American.

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Thank you, Bill. Good piece.

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JD Vance once described Trump as "America's Hitler." I guess he must be responsible for creating the conditions that led to the assassination attempt. But wait a minute. Lo and behold, that qualifies him to be the VP pick! So, let's get something straight. Electoral politics for US president is nothing more than a grotesque spectacle, a freak show, that has nothing to do with addressing the existential crises facing this country and the world, which are 1) how to reverse the climate breakdown before it destroys life on this planet; 2) how to reverse plutocratic rule and create an egalitarian society; and 3) how to dismantle the military-industrial complex and peacefully transition to a multi-polar world and eliminate nuclear weapons . Neither Biden nor Trump have any intention, much less a plan, to deal with these three crises. Trump and Biden are symptoms, not causes, of the rotten and corrupted hyper-capitalist system. They are the detritus that has been vomited up by the system. Pick your poison. But just remember---it's ok for some people to call Trump "America's Hitler."

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Respectfully disagree. If you look at American history, pro-worker change occurred when a worker contingent exploited a division in the ruling class.

There is a division now between finance capital - the force that gets rich off of our poverty- and lower-level capital. Lower level capital are the small business owners, hell they could be larger businesses, the point is they can only make money if Americans HAVE money.

After seeing what looks like finance capital's assasination attempt on Trump, it's never been clearer that there IS a division in the ruling class, and in the past workers made huge gains when they recognized and exploited this division. Just saying.

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Exactly. Trump is the very embodiment of the American Dream, every frat-boy's wet dream, to have it all, and relish in it, with no shame. When you see Trump, it is America you are seeing in a mirror.

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Love, love, LOVE this.

xo

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My only exception is NATO.

NATO is a scam, a con artist knows a scam and that is why Trump wants out of it.

Democrats reap the scam through the MIC! Biden has made cringe worthy adoration of NATO patriotism. NATO is the religious crusade, to grab the Eurasian land mass.

I will vote Trump, more now than last week!

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Jul 15
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YES.

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Yes!

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Jul 16
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How many people ~ and specifically, Taxpaying Citizen Voters ~ do all those organizations represent and speak for.

Got any numbers on that?

And how many Trumpatistas and MAGAts have actually endorsed and signed on to that?

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Thanks!

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The man is certainly complex & not perfect-- in that way he surely is like his country America. He showed more courage than I thought he had going...Whether the 1CM near miss changes him in any way remains to be seen, but you have to respect his Political Savvy & Instincts.

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Fireman 1110, I note that it was a fireman who got shot instead of Trump, making two more dead with the gunman (if he was that at the age of 20) and two more critically wounded because of involvement with Trump’s “complexity”. Complexity will arise from distinguishing between what you can see is ethical, based on the golden rule, (do unto others, etc) and what you are taught by Machiavelli to consider politically Useful, such as deflecting questions as to your thought process by telling the Press that they are Fake News. Whenever I hear instinct praised I fear I’m listening to a super-humanist. But no doubt your gut, as Trump claims for his, is better than most people’s brains. The Nazis, curiously, thought their instincts superior, having believed they could train themselves to be supermen. Admirable to some, but in the end, not very useful to them in the face of countervailing power.

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Yes.., especially tragic as this Brother Firefighter was murdered whilst shielding his family and daughters of which I have 2 as well. Its what we do. A true Hero. I am apolitical. Not a Nazi just as all people who support dems. are not communists! My only wish is that he may rest in peace...

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Re the Nazis, in addition to their assumption that they were superior was their contempt for compassion as a weakness. To the strong the future belongs was their credo. Even the old and mentally ill in Germany were subject to termination before the holocaust got underway. As Hiroshima showed how far one weapon can go in destructive power, the Nazis showed how low human beings can go in disregarding fellow human beings. And it was a popular movement that continues to show sprouts here and there.

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You are right on target (oops, shouldn’t use that word) with your assessment of Trump. BTW, your reference to the character of politicians in both parties is absolutely correct and yes, he does represent the quintessential American. This doesn’t mean every American because there tens of millions who will not accept submit to a worldview of “exceptionalism.”

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Whatever else he is or becomes, he is a quintessentially American figure.

this closing sentence I have trouble wrapping my head around cause I would never make this statement. To me he is not and will never be "a quintessentially American figure." Do you think historians will portray him as such? Ask a few and get back to us, your loyal readers. thanks

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I think he embodies the many contradictions of America.

Of course, no single person can represent "America." And note that I didn't say he represents the very best of America. however you define that.

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But if you knew the name of a porn star whose an ex-football cheerleader who sings the national anthem before baseball games, but for less than she needs to pay the interest on her debt, then you would have given us an example of the best of America :)

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Jul 15
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Dennis, you don't object to my criticism of Biden. Why does my criticism of Trump bother you so much?

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Who's "we"?

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Jul 15
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What is there NOT to bash about Trump; either the Man, the Business Man, or the President?

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Jul 15
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Watch the video. The answer to Your question is in the video.

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As a foreigner looking in, I understand the generalisation as metaphor, a culture selling sociopathy as virtue, and Trump being successful at it.

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So true

so sad

So scary

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quintessential- a con man? amoral, opportunistic, insincere (he doesn't 'sincerely' profess to be a conman), unreliable, dishonest..... etc. etc.. The quintessential American.

Ah.. Okay then. Thanks.

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All indications are that America’s Ruling Political Class/Deep State has determined that Donald Trump is to be the next President of the United States.

The one thing the Democrats could do to go against that determination would be for Biden to announce that he will not be the Party’s candidate for Election2024, and that he has released all committed Delegates to choose whoever they want to be the candidate at the Democratic National Convention next month.

And do it on Thursday, the same day Trump gets officially nominated.

It will be interesting to see if the RPC/DS orders Biden and the Democratic National Committee to do that.

It would certainly make for far more exciting, entertaining, and entrapping next episodes of America’s Reality Tv Soap Opera: ELECTION2024.

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I wish it would happen as you describe, jg. It's a contrast to LBJ, who, with an ego as big as any, was a consummate politician who could see what was coming and stepped down. I understand that he said, "If I've lost Walter Cronkite, I've lost the country" Stonewall Biden is determined to stay.

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So it seems at the moment. i think this is going to be a Very Interesting Week.

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i'm "coping" quite well, Dennis [whatever Your experts might mean by that meaningless term]. Thanks for asking.

i just concluded a major resupply of the Sailing Vessel WayFinder up here in Sitka, and am fully stocked with Water, Food, Saki, Weed [legal up here in Alaska, so don't freak out], and everything else i need to sit back and watch the Goat Fuck in Milwaukee unfold.

Like i said: This is going to be a Very Interesting week.

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Jeff, it doesn't appear as if that's going to happen. Supposedly, at least one high-placed Democratic Congress critter has said they're resigned themselves to the next Trump administration. And with the virtual vote to be held by the DNC Biden will be the official nominee within the next two weeks.

Maybe it'll then be time for the betting pool on how big the Trump blowout will be the electoral college count - the popular vote as always will be much closer.

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Like i said, TomR: It will be interesting to see if the RPC/DS orders Biden and the Democratic National Committee to do that.

The RPC/DS will determine what happens, not the DNC.

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Trump. “A quintessentially American figure”, you say. “In the summertime, the Assassination Attempt came to Waltons’ Mountain”, I reply.

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Now the Secret Service is getting criticism for not covering the rooftops. Notwithstanding that they shot the gunman dead. But there seemed to be several squads of people lined up to stand by as protection while Trump talks, be that about sharks or whatever. He is not the President. Why should he get more protection than he has while he simultaneously intimidates or inspires his minions to violence against people far more vulnerable than he? Nancy Pelosi’s husband, for example.

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Some good insights here, Bill. Linking today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/

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THERE'S AN IMPORTANT LESSON IN ALL THESE DEMOCRATS WISHING TRUMP A SPEEDY RECOVERY

by Caitlin Johnstone 15 Jul 24

All the high-profile Democrats who’ve been wishing Trump a speedy recovery from his assassination attempt after years of calling him an existential threat are the same people who now treat George W Bush like a cuddly wuddly snugglepoo after years of calling him an evil dictator. The enmity between these factions is a performance, like cage fighters who hug warmly after weeks of trash talk once their match is over and admit all the drama was really just about promoting the fight and selling Pay-Per-Views.

Their actions show you that their conflicts are fake and they’re no more enemies than actors on the stage are enemies, so why should you treat their performance as real? Why buy into the drama of their pretend elections and feigned opposition when they themselves do not? They’re showing you it’s all fake. Believe them.

THE TWO “SIDES” OF MAINSTREAM POLITICS ARE NOT FIGHTING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, THEY’RE ONLY FIGHTING AGAINST YOU. THEIR ONLY JOB IS TO KEEP YOU CLAPPING ALONG WITH THE TWO-HANDED PUPPET SHOW AS THEY ROB YOU BLIND AND TIGHTEN YOUR CHAINS WHILE YOUR GAZE IS FIXED ON THE PERFORMANCE.

All of Trump’s Democratic Party well-wishers prove that for all the whining in recent years about the death of decorum and how vitriolic US partisan feuding has become, they really are all buddies who only pretend to believe the other side is an existential threat to the world.

In Washington they’re all on the same team and have generally cordial relationships with the people on other side of the aisle. They just encourage normal Americans to feed all their discontent with the status quo into a hyper-emotional political environment where the barely-existing divisions between the two major factions are inflamed by mainstream pundits and politicians so that their anger will go toward the completely ineffectual activity of voting instead of more direct and revolutionary measures. From the perspective of the empire managers it’s hostile partisan rage for thee, amicable cocktail party relations for we.

*

EVERY SINGLE DAY IN GAZA SINCE OCTOBER 7 HAS BEEN MORE OUTRAGEOUS, SIGNIFICANT AND NEWSWORTHY THAN TRUMP GETTING A BOOBOO ON HIS EAR.

*

I’ve been getting a lot of shrill, hysterical comments from Americans insisting that it’s somehow heinous and inappropriate for me to use this political moment to highlight the criminality of the US empire as I do every day using every opportunity I can. I would like to make it clear that I have no respect for this. Less than zero respect.

THE EMOTIONAL HYSTERIA WE ARE SEEING AROUND THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SAW AROUND 9/11 AND OCTOBER 7, WHICH HISTORICALLY MEANS SOME DEEPLY UNWHOLESOME POLICIES ARE ABOUT TO BE ROLLED OUT BY THE MANAGERS OF THE EMPIRE. NOW IS THE TIME TO BE MORE CRITICAL OF THE IMPERIAL POWER STRUCTURE, NOT LESS.

If you find it horrifying and evil that I am using Trump’s ear owwie to talk about exponentially more atrocious acts of violence, I can only say: GET A FUCKING GRIP. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER. YOUR COUNTRY IS BACKING A LITERAL GENOCIDE RIGHT THIS VERY MOMENT. STOP GETTING SWEPT UP IN THE MEDIA-DRIVEN EMOTIONAL FRENZY OF THE MOMENT, GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, STOP THINKING UNCRITICALLY, AND START ACTING LIKE AN ADULT.

Full article at https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/theres-an-important-lesson-in-all ; EMPHASES added.

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Tell You what, Dennis: i'll do that when You stop making Your case ~ on whatever it is ~ by referring people to YouTube.

Howz that sound?

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And here's another "Gotcha Question" You will ignore:

On what basis do You assert that i "support assassination"?

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Yep. Just as suspected: Blowing smoke out Your Ass.

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Do You have any specific examples of that that support Your assertion that i "support assassination"?

Or are You just blowing it out Your ass?

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Who do i "force" to read my forwarded messages?

You never saw the key on Your keyboard that SCROLLS DOWN?

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