Hypocrisy in America - Page Four

••• today's entry continues here below •••

» The Premeditated and Cold-Blooded Murder of an Innocent Man

I bet that Karen Attiah knows exactly what I am talking about.

It almost seems like the Saudis wanted to get caught .. perhaps as a warning to other journalists who might be thinking about criticizing the government.

Stranger shit has happened.

Or perhaps they simply run a sloppy operation .. where their clandestine murders are carried out in such a way as to be broadcast for the whole world to hear.

» When Justice Comes Out Perverted for Jamal Khashoggi

I wonder if U.N. Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard thinks that justice will ever be delivered for the brutal murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi.

She doesnt sound very encouraged that justice will ever be delivered for Jamal Khashoggi.

She seems to insist that his murder was both premeditated and state sponsored, and not some kind of rouge operation as the Saudi's contend.

» Trump's Hostility Toward the Media is Well-Documented

Everybody knows what Trump thinks about reporters and journalists and the "Fake News" media .. because he has told us so many times.

Every day he tells us. He has even paid compliments to a guy who was arrested for body-slamming a reporter .. for asking a question that he didnt like.

» The WWF Ethos and Values

The WWF ethos has taken over the Republican party. The reporter is probably lucky that he didnt catch a flying-atomic elbow to the cranium .. from the top rung.

What kinds of values is the Republican party trying to instill in our children? Somebody ask Ben Sasse that question for me.

Except for Trump's friends at Fox-n-Friends, that is .. who agree with him wholeheartedly about everything that he says and does.

This is why President Donald J Trump likes the folks at Fox-n-Friends. And his Friends there at Fox seem to appreciate all the attention.

Bob Chain knows what I am talking about. ( "Ye shall know them by their fruit." Because actions speak louder. )

This is but one more area where Trump continues to erode the standards and norms of decency and civility.

We also know what he thinks about the Washington Post in general and its owner Jeff Bezos in particular .. owner of the Amazon Washington Post that doesnt pay enough shipping costs.

Trump probably considers this whole thing with Khashoggi as » a win-win-win .. a win all the way around. A political hat-trick. You know how he thinks .. like an adolescent.

» In Terms of Our Subjective Experience

Blow's passage that gives voice to actions reminds me of this thing I saw on how Phenomenology is described by Husserl (1859-1938) ..

.. who founded a philosophical movement in the early years of the twentieth century. Called Phenomenology.

Phenomenology is considered the precursor to Existentialism.

[ Even tho Kierkegaard, who is considered the father of existentialism, lived 1813-1855.

So he was dead for 4 years .. before Husserl was even born. ]

So I see Blow's passage as giving existential voice to these actions. How they feel on the receiving end.

You need to be feeling a thing in a big way in order to do that. You need to be experiencing it for yourself.

I was most impressed perhaps by the way that his passage contains a certain obviousness to it .. that I was unaware of. (I was telling Taylor Swift about this.)

"That's exactly right," I caught myself thinking when I read Blow's column.

» Would You Call This a Trippy Coincidence?

While I have you here, Blow .. I want to ask about your perspective on something. I want to ask if you think this thing is a trippy coincidence.

Because it has to do with Kavanaugh and the hearings. And you spoke to this thing ever so nicely. (Even tho you are not a woman.)

My brother went to Yale. The head football coach there helped get him in. They had him over for dinner a number of times.

Plus bro is a local boy. We grew up in New Haven county. He took Yale over a full-boat ride to Boston College. Something in Boston. I am proud of him.

» Hypothetically Speaking

Now, I am not saying that this is indeed the case .. but hypothetically speaking, and for the sake of argument .. would you say that it would be a trippy coincidence if ..

.. if my brother went to Yale the exact same four years as Brett Kavanaugh .. and that his son's name was Brett?

Would you call this a trippy coincidence? (I was just asking Ariana the very same question.)

What if bro lived on 2018 Kavanaugh St.? How about then? Trippy?

See .. this is the kind of coincidence that I like .. because I have no effect on either pattern. I am not the one who chose Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme court.

Nor am I in any way responsible for my brother going to Yale during those particular years .. or for the name of his son. (He never asked my opinion.)

If you would indeed happen to consider such a coincidence as a trippy thing .. would you say that it must mean something? And if so, then what?

What could such a coincidence mean? Any clue?

Here is another curious coincidence. This one happens to be about a shyster named Trump who tries to con citizens into building a wall in Texas that he claims only he can build.

Trippy coincidence.

» Incapable of Ethical Functioning

We must be in the "later times" .. because Paul says that this is when some believers will:

» turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, misled by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron, leaving them incapable of ethical functioning.

Notice in particular the phrase » incapable of ethical functioning.

Does that not accurately describe the Trump administration? They lie, cheat, and steal .. and are proud of it.

And I won't even get into all the greed.

My point here is to simply say that » If you want something so badly that you are willing to lie, cheat and steal in order to get it .. then, you probably want it too much.

This means that it is time for the revealing of the children of God.

» Tickle My Ears with Pretty Fictions that Support the Errors I Hold

Paul also wrote that:

"The time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction that challenges them with God's truth; but wanting to have their ears tickled with something pleasing, they will accumulate for themselves teachers chosen to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold. They will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions, and they will accept the unacceptable."

If that aint exactly what we're seeing now ...

» One of the Mysteries of the Age

I bet that Jon Meacham knows what I am talking about .. when he says (at t=4:45):

"Like all great enemies, like all great foes,  they [the Russian Disinformation Machine] have found a way to make our greatest strength our greatest weakness .. which is our essential openness in a technological and digital sense. They are taking advantage of the American ethos of free expression to conduct a concentrated propaganda campaign on behalf of a particular person [Trump] and that particular person's political agenda."

"And, I dont know how many times we have sat and said this .. but we'll say it one more time, and keep doing it » the failure of those who reflexively support the President .. to credit this kind of information, and this kind of investigation, and to allow it to then shape their view of that President and that program .. is one of the mysteries of the age .. how 38% of the country can refuse to see what is so obvious to everyone else."

Well said .. which is why I mention his commentary here.

» Too Much Invested to Turn Back Now

Personally I feel that they can indeed see the obvious .. but that they simply have too much invested now in Trump and his (racist) ideology.

They have been supporting Trump against all kinds of horrible things. Now they have so much of their heart-n-soul invested into Trumpianism that they would rather go down with the ship ..

.. than have to admit that they made a mistake .. that they were wrong. That they made a bad decision. That they were duped by a huckster.

Trump has been a huckster his whole life. This is what he does. He is an expert at it.Because he has been practicing his whole life.

Did they really think that he was going to change overnight? .. now that he is in his 70's.

That old dog aint about to learn any new tricks.

In the end, it doesnt really matter why. Do you think that anybody on the Titanic was wondering about why they hit that iceberg?

I doubt it.

» Ignorance is Bliss

Whereas my theory with Trump supporters is that they dont want to look foolish .. by admitting that they were so easily duped by a professional con man ..

.. Pakman says that they are simply not intelligent, and too lazy to do the work necessary to educate themselves.

And that this is why they fail to recognize the obvious things so plainly on display right before their very eyes.

They would rather sit quietly and have someone tell them what to think and how to feel.

You would think, at some point, their would check their moral compass .. and notice how far from true north they have strayed.

Ignorance is bliss, says Thomas Gray (in 1742).

» Some Members of Congress are Parroting Russian Disinformation

Jon's commentary comes right before Coffee Joe says (at t=6:30):

"What these Russians were saying about Robert Mueller .. you had a lot of members in the House of Representatives saying the exact same thing."

Is that not another remarkable statement? .. that members of congress are parroting the Russians attack on Robert Mueller?

I find that to be a remarkable statement. The look on his face suggests that he is aware of the of its import. The gravity and import that speak some of the most unsavory things. Historically unsavory.

I could certainly run quite some distance with this theme .. but you feel me.

These are the types of unsavory things that future generations always look back on with much shame and disappointment.

Can you blame them?

» More Cool Titles

Today's title is a play on the book » Democracy in America (1835) by the visiting French nobleman » Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859).

» Took a While for the Title to Come

I was wanting to write this page where I call attention to the hypocrisy at work in our government today. But I could not get clear on a title.

I can continue to write on a particular topic in a different page. In a preceding page.

Most of my entries are continuations from other pages .. probably 90% .. especially since I started flirting with danger.

But when I actually create the new page, then I need the title. Because the title becomes part of the URL, the page's web address.

Titles normally come easily for me. In a way, creating a title is like the reward you get for doing all your hard work. It is the ice-cream cone from Dad's on Balboa Island on a hot day.

It had been going on for a number of days .. before I could create the new page. Because the title wouldnt come. I was starting to feel frustrated.

» Like It Flew into My Head

When I had the thought for » this title .. Hypocrisy in America .. I thought, "That's definitely my title. That's a great title."

It felt like it flew into my brain from somewhere behind me .. when I wasnt even thinking of a title .. when I was doing something totally unrelated.

Many creative types have said this exact thing .. that you need to step away from your creative focus and direct your attention elsewhere .. in order for these types of things to come to you (.. seemingly on their own).

I have heard some people say that this particular book, de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, is not only the best book on democracy, but also the best book on America.

I wonder what they mean by 'best'? What criteria are the using as metrics?

» Moores Cancer Center Today

I was down at the Moores Cancer Center earlier today .. in La Jolla. I spent a good chunk of the day down there.

I came early to get some coffee at the hospital cafeteria, which is 5-min walk from here. If that.

When I saw that the coffee there was labeled "Ethiopia Sidamo," I knew that today was going to be a good day. I had two cups and a coffee cake. Very yummy.

I brought a cup with me into the exam room. I have never done that before. I was feeling very laid-back and chill.

[ When they were looking around inside my throat with the scope up one of my sinuses ..

.. I heard my oncologist say to the intern, who was working the scope, I heard him say, "That's looks like some residual food material there."

And I thought, "That coffee cake is sticky stuff. I shouldve drank more coffee to wash it down better." ]

This was my best visit yet. I always take a stroll down into the chemo area, which they call the 'infusion center' .. and I remember those days.

And I feel a sense of gratitude that I am well beyond those days. I will sometimes glance at the patients sitting there. It's a big area .. more like four areas.

And I will glance at some of these people and think, "I know that feeling."

It has now been long enough .. that the Chemo chapter now feels comfortably behind me. And I like this feeling. I like it a lot.

After today, we are transitioning to annual check-ups. So this feels like a major milestone in my cancer treatment career.

I will actually see him in 8 months (June) because I see my ENT surgeon every December. So I will see one doctor every six months.

» God, That's Horrible

They spray the cocaine up my left nostril and give it 10 minutes to numb nicely .. before sticking a scope up there and turning it down into my voice box where they look around for a while .. recording everything.

The stuff tastes nasty. Very bitter. They spray enough so that it drips down into the back of your throat. You can taste it on the back of your tongue.

The intern sprayed me generously. When they plan to look around for a while, they spray more. When she was done spraying, he asked, "Did you get a good shot?"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "I got plenty," before adding, "God, that's horrible."

They also spray some antihistamine .. which makes me feel wired. And talky.

He had an intern helping him today. The intern comes in before the doctor and talks to me for a while, asking questions.

I always ask them where they are from and where they went to college and medical school. All his interns are smart and highly-motivated. I have seen many different interns with him.

If memory serves me correctly, this Asian girl went to U of Chicago. But dont quote me.

She started with the scope. She was a rookie. He coached her a lot. I learn a lot of stuff from listening to him talk to these interns. Sometimes he has two interns.

There are both staring at a monitor that I can't see. Sometimes I hear him tell the intern things about the condition of my voice box, and I think, "I dont even want to know what he's talking about. If it's as bad as it sounds, then he will translate for me."

Ignorance is bliss.

Most of the time they are talking in medical lingo .. that I cannot understand. They are diagnosing my voice box, "Notice how he has some ABC there on his XYZ."

When this guy rubs his fingers around your neck, looking for abnormalities or lumps, you can tell that he knows what he is doing.

One time he told the intern, "Notice how his carotid is prominent here. Sometimes that gets misdiagnosed. You have to make sure that ..."

» How Come Your Nose is So Crooked on This Side?

Today he actually looked around in my right nostril, which did not get any cocaine.

"Sorry about that," he said after he pulled the scope out of my right nostril.

I wouldnt say that it hurt, but it was definitely uncomfortable. I couldnt wait for him to be done.

When he was looking around on the right side, he said, "How come your nose is so crooked on this side?"

With the scope still in my nostril, I said, "Probably from getting punched in the face all those times."

This is why they never use my right side .. because the route is "torturous."

» MD Anderson Coming to Scripps

Looks like Scripps is teaming up with MD Anderson and moving into this cancer treatment space in San Diego.

Sometimes, on the way home, my driver would swing by Scripps and pick up a patient there.

MD Anderson is a big name in the world of cancer treatment.

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