That Was Dystopian

Reflections on a Stupid and Scary Shit Show

“Holy fucking shit!”

I watched the presidential “debate.”  It was scary, dystopian, absurd, and idiotic. 

A system that produces something as horrific as that is long past its overthrow date.

The back and forth about golf handicaps and who the worst president in US history is (Biden is of course right to point out that a giant panel of US “presidential historians” have affixed that label to Trump) was infantile.  It amounted to “you’re the worst”… “No you are”… “Nu uh!”... “Uh huh!”... “Nu uh!!” …”Uh huh!”

Highlights included Biden telling Trump he has “the morals of an alley cat” (true) and Trump reminding Biden that Biden’s son too is now a convicted felon (also true).

“We Had H2O”

I’m not going to bother all that much with Trump’s comments.  It was one idiotic and outrageous lie after another from the malignant orange fascist, like his denial of sex with Stormy, his insane claim that Biden is putting masses of “illegal immigrants” on Medicare and Social Security and putting them “in luxury hotels.” And this one: “We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We have never done so well. Every – everybody was amazed by it. Other countries were copying us.”  Or wait, this one: “he wants to rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month and kill the baby.”

Okay, hold on, my favorite insane, darkly comedic Trump riff was this gem, in response to a question about his eco-cidal plans to repeal environmental regulations:  

“So, I want absolutely immaculate clean water and I want absolutely clean air, and we had it. We had H2O. We had the best numbers ever. And we did – we were using all forms of energy, all forms, everything. And yet, during my four years, I had the best environmental numbers ever. And my top environmental people gave me that statistic just before I walked on the stage, actually.”

We had H2O! We did indeed!

Oh wait, this was completely insane too: “For three-and-a-half years, we’re living in hell. We have the Palestinians and we have everybody else rioting all over the place.”

Trump actually said that: America is experiencing “riots all over the place” under Biden, led by “Palestinians” and “everybody else.”

Jesus Fascist Christ.

That’s Donald “Take Down the Metal Detectors” Trump. That’s the kind of off-the- wall shit he says. He’s a demented fascist maniac who should have been locked up long ago.

The problem for the Dems was that instead of taking advantage of Trump’s repeated falsehoods and loony statements, Biden looked and sounded like a decrepit and bumbling buffoon who belongs nowhere near the nuclear button.

As Michael Lynn wrote to me: “It was so painful to watch. Biden’s bumbling performance took the focus off the idiotic lies Trump was spewing.”

“So Corporate Greed Can’t Take Over”

Let’s look at some of Genocide Joe’s oratory…

Biden: “We created 15,000 new jobs. We brought out in a position where we have 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.”

Sorry but the US does not have a command economy where the White House pushes a button to create new jobs, but okay…so wouldn’t you want to claim 815,000 new jobs? What’s so great about jobs? What do these jobs pay? What's their safety record, etc. ?

Biden:  “We’re going to make sure we build 2 million new [housing] units. We’re going to make sure we cap rents, so corporate greed can’t take over.”

The White House is going to institute a rent ceiling? For real? (not)

“So corporate greed can’t take over.”  That’s a joke, right Joe? Corporate greed/capitalism took over the USA in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and serving corporate greed/capitalism-imperialism from the leading incorporation state of Delaware was the key to Joe’s long career as “the senator from MBNA.”

“They Were Still Killing People in Afghanistan”

Biden: “And the military, you know, when he was president, they were still killing people in Afghanistan. And he didn’t do anything about that. When he was president, we were still finding ourselves in a position where you had a notion that we were this safe country. The truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have any this – this decade, that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world, like he did.”

What now? That was an incredibly incoherent and bizarre statement.  Apparently “people” (in “killing people”) refers for Joe to US military troops.  Biden is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in Ukraine and Gaza but is proud that America “doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world.”

“Look…if We Finally Beat Medicare”

Biden: “We’d be able to right wipe out his debt. We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do – childcare, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our healthcare system, making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the – with – with – with the COVID. Excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with – look, if – we finally beat Medicare.

CNN moderator Jack Tapper: “Thank you, President Biden.”

Holy shit.

“Until We Get the Total Ban “

Biden, on the attack on abortion: “Look, there’s so many young women who have been – including a young woman who just was murdered and he – he went to the funeral. The idea that she was murdered by a – by –by an immigrant coming in, and they talk about that. But here’s the deal, there’s a lot of young women who are being raped by their – by their in-laws, by their – by their spouses, brothers and sisters, by – just – it’s just – it’s just ridiculous. And they can do nothing about it. And they tried to arrest them when they cross state lines….I supported Roe v. Wade, which had three trimesters. First time is between a woman and a doctor. Second time is between the doctor and an extreme situation. And a third time is between the doctor – I mean, it’d be between the woman and the state. A doctor should be making those decisions. That’s how it should be run. That’s what you’re going to do. And if I’m elected, I’m going to restore Roe v. Wade.”

I think I kind of knew what Joe was saying there but wow was that hard and weird to follow.  How exactly will he “restore Roe”? He could have responded to the Dobbs decision with an executive order mandating the provision of safe legal abortions on federal properties in all fifty states. He refused to do that.  The Senate will not pass a law making Roe the law of the land and the Supreme Court is in the hands of Christian Fascists who will rule against any such imagined law.  

Biden on the “immigration crisis”: “I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the – the total initiative relative to what we’re going to do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers.” Totally incoherent.

“The Only Thing I’ve Denied Israel”

Biden on his support for the genocide in Gaza: “the only thing I’ve denied Israel was 2,000-pound bombs. They don’t work very well in populated areas. They kill a lot of innocent people. We are providing Israel with all the weapons they need and when they need them.. We saved Israel.”

Wow. Here he boasts of his support for a one-sided war of ethnic cleansing that has killed certainly well more than 40,000 Gazan civilians. The bombs he's still sending Israel “work very well” when it comes to killing women and children and decimating hospitals.

“There is a Lot Going On”

Biden: “There were no jobs [when Trump was president]. We find ourselves in a position where the idea that we’re not doing any – I put more – we put more police on the street than any administration has. He wants to cut the cops. We’re providing for equity, equity, and making sure people have a shot to make it. There is a lot going on. But, on inflation, he caused it by his tremendous amount of seasons in the way he handled the pandemic.”

Good grief! Here we have Biden claiming that the US unemployment rate was 100% under Trump and boasting about turning Amerika into even more of a repressive police state than it already was. 

Trump wants to “cut cops”? Not likely!

While it’s certainly true that Trump’s botched pandemic response contributed to inflation, the last three sentences of this passage are bizarre and largely incoherent…. “his tremendous amount of seasons in the way he handled the pandemic”? Say what?

“We Were the Only Ones of Consequence or Not”

Biden on the climate crisis: “I’ve passed the most extensive, it was the extensive climate change legislation in history, in history. We find ourselves – and by the way, black colleges, I came up with $50 billion for HBCUs, historic black universities and colleges, because they don’t have the kind of contributors that they have to build these laboratories and the like. Any black student is capable in college in doing any white student can do. They just have the money. But now, they’ll be able to get those jobs in high tech.”

Yikes. Quite a leap from his very weak and inadequate climate efforts to HCBUs!

Biden, more on climate: “The idea is that we, in fact – we were the only ones of consequence or not. We’re not members of the Paris Accord. How can we do anything we’re not able to, the United States can’t get this under control? One of the largest polluters in the world. Number one, we’re making significant progress. By 2035, we will have cut pollution in half.”

Try to disentangle that word mess!

“What He’s Talking About”

Biden, asked about how to “keep Social Security solvent”:

“The idea that we don’t need to protect our seniors is ridiculous. We put – and, by the way, the American public has greater health care coverage today than ever before…way, the other thing is we’re in a situation where I talk about education for black communities. I’ve raised the number, the amount of money for Pell grants by other $8,000 for anybody making under $70,000 a year, are going to be able to get $15,000 towards their tuition. It’s just – he – [Trump] just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Well, a lot of us had a hard time figuring out what Biden was talking about last night and this passage is another example.  Trump kinda does know what he’s talking about: he’s just throwing up shit and lies to confuse and paralyze people. Sorry old Joe Biden is one of his victims!

“Everybody Trusts Us”

Biden on the issue of childcare affordability: “We are the most admired country in the world. We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing beyond our capacity. We have the finest military in the history of the world. The finest in the history of the world. No one thinks we’re weak. No one wants to screw around with us. Nobody.”

Spoken like a terrorist Mafia Don.  Nothing like the threat to decimate other nations when it comes to providing affordable childcare!

Biden on how great America is:

“We – we’re the envy of the world. Name me a single major country president who wouldn’t trade places with the United States of America…we’re the most progressive country in the world and getting things done. We’re the strongest country in the world. We’re country in the world who keeps our word and everybody trusts us, all of our allies.”

This is total falsehood on a Trumpian scale. Because of its criminal empire, responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths the world over since 1945, and thanks to its sick capitalist society and culture, the USA is feared and loathed around the world.  It is not trusted. It is considered to be a lethal threat to humanity and is loathed for its base hypocrisy, clearly seen in the contradiction between its official outrage over Russia’s US-instigated invasion of Ukraine and its abject support for Israel’s crucifixion of Gaza.  

“Very Scary,” Worst Thing I’ve Ever Witnessed,” “Why Hasn’t Dr. Jill Pulled the Plug Before Now?”

What a revolting shit show.

Here are some of my real-time responses on so-called social media during and right after the “debate”:

‘What a joke. This is insane. Truly insane. I'm in my car listening to these assholes and it is just mind boggling how p a t h e t i c this is.’

‘This is dystopian. The system that has produced Trump, Biden, Bash, and Tapper and this atrocity of a "debate" is rotten to the core and must be overthrown.’

‘The epic liar Trump is as deranged as ever; Biden is bumbling toast. That was disgraceful. That was almost beyond belief horrific. That was shocking. I can't believe numerous top Dems aren't getting serious about replacing Biden. They just can't run this guy again. The talking heads on CNN and MSNBC are being clear that while Trump lied his ass off this was a total disaster for Biden.’

‘That was stupid and scary.’

Comments from friends:

LH: “I understand the obduracy, stupidity and cupidity of the Democratic party mandarins in refusing to replace Biden up to this point, although I think tonight’s performance may force their hand at last. (Maybe that was even the plan, although that could be giving them too much credit.) What I actually don’t understand is why Dr. Jill, who presumably cares for her husband, hasn’t pulled the plug before now.”

RM: “worst  thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

DK:  “It is very scary when you think who will really run this country next January 20th. World War 3 Biden or dystopian nightmare Trump.”

DG sent this photo:

The Revcoms slogan is dead on: “No Fascist Trump, No Genocide Joe, the Whole Damn System’s Got to Go!”