EPISODE 8: When Politics ‘Trumps’ Love | CLICK TO VIEW
by douglas john imbrogno | thestoryisthething.com | oct. 22, 2024
We’re getting down to it, you know? As in, whether the Great American Experiment, the one sketched out and advocated by folks like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Sojourner Truth, Abe Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and so many others gets torched to ashes in an election bonfire by sorry and mean-spirited sorts like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Margaret Taylor Greene, and that billionaire sock puppet JD Vance.
The very idea of America could unravel starting Nov. 6, 2024, if things go south the day before. We all must do our part to sway the outcome, get out the vote, and try to divert even a handful of hearts and minds from the politics of hatefulness and division. My small effort is a short election video series with matching commentary, memes. and cartoons (to which you can free subscribe at: NotesBeforeYouVote.com). Above and below, are two recent episodes. After viewing, please click to the episodes’ longer-form webpages, featuring extra stuff worth noting and stealing. Do pass the videos, memes, and quotes onward as this oh-so-important election looms.
An excerpt by Mark Swiger from the video ‘When Politics ‘Trumps’ Love’ (above).
I was so struck by the words featured in the video above, which longtime West Virginia educator Mark Swiger posted recently to Facebook, I asked him if he might read them for ‘NotesBeforeYouVote.com‘. He deferred to me reading them. So, that’s the genesis of EPISODE 8 in the series, which is aimed at voters who may still be on the fence or thinking of sitting out what is likely the most consequential election in American history. Or, folks who may be locked into Trump-addicted families and communities, but who can vote their conscience and common sense in the voting booth. Pass the NotesBeforeYouVote weblink (or this page link) onward to friends, family, acquaintances and to other social media forums where its heartfelt, yet straight-talking message may resonate. Mark has long shepherded young folk out of adolescent, immature ways of interacting with other people. As he notes in the piece above:
“Growing up is about becoming more human, more empathetic, learning to respect others and their differences. I shared this message with student-athletes and young adults, teaching them that bullying based on looks, status, gender, or identity is a behavior we should leave behind in adolescence … Unfortunately, today, one person has normalized these very behaviors on a national scale. What was once considered immature — name-calling, bullying, even promoting violence — has become disturbingly common. Many adults now model this behavior, thinking it’s acceptable because it comes from the top.” ~ MARK SWIGER
LINK TO FULL POST: ‘When Politics ‘Trumps’ Love’
EPISODE 7: ‘The Conspiracy’ | CLICK TO VIEW
Given the complete capitulation of the Republican Party to Donald Trump, with scores of spine-free party operatives bending their knee and kissing the ring (along with other parts of him), it would be far more accurate to re-christen the GOP the ‘Trumpublican Party.’ It grows increasingly difficult to recall the sanity and insights of any accomplished Republican political figures, most notably someone like Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose words are featured in EPISODE 7 of NotesBeforeYouVote.com.
Meanwhile, if you follow the campaign coverage on X/Twitter by progressive media critics, the New York Times has been pilloried for ‘sane-washing’ Trump’s increasingly unhinged appearances. Their stories make him appear far more cogent than what human beings at his events report him to be. The Times also has never deeply delved into pressing questions about Trump’s mental deterioration, especially given the paper-of-record’s wall-to-wall — often inaccurate — coverage of Joe Biden’s supposed mental degradation. Yet this recent story below was among the first to focus on Donald Trump’s ongoing deterioration and his increasingly volatile, ever darkening musings, which have earned him the social media ding of ‘Donold’:
LINK TO FULL POST: ‘The Conspiracy’
Three Memes to Go | CLICK TO ENLARGE
To the point of the above videos, here are some useful memes, courtesy of Mark Swiger:
And Three Cartoons for the Road | CLICK TO ENLARGE
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