Andy Borowitz: Betsy DeVos Taught Him Everything He Knows about Frederick Douglass

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1. Shana Owen says:

   February 4, 2017 at 3:28 pm

   😂

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2. pbarret says:

   February 4, 2017 at 5:05 pm

   Here at the Language Log http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=30791#more-30791
   is a linguistic analysis of the statement. TMI for most people, but for those who truly want to see what it was grammatically about Trump’s statement that made it sound like he thinks Douglas is a living person, here it is.

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   • Alice in PA says:

     February 5, 2017 at 7:55 am

     That was a really interesting article. Here is my favorite part which occurs at the end and I think sums up the basic dangers of a trump presidency.

     “the oddness of his utterance would be due to his assumption that those listening to or reading his words share, or can easily figure out, what he takes the topical question to be. In other words, the problem with Trump’s statement would be in the pragmatics, in its failure to establish the mutual understanding needed for successful communication.”

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3. Susan Lee Schwartz says:

   February 4, 2017 at 5:05 pm

   Ok, Here is what Susan Lee Schwartz has to add: from the article which I feature here at length: all CAPITAL LETTERS are mine, as boldface does not work here!

   All this “psychoanalysis of our new president only makes us sound hung up on unimportant brainiac things.
   Details, issues, policy analysis?
   Those are great for longer pieces, sure, but they’re too subtle to spread virally on social media, and too complicated to inject into conversations and protests and action calls. MAKE SOUNDS THAT ANY HUMAN CAN UNDERSTAND!
   Throw in some core values if you want, but MAKE THAT SIMPLE , too. I give you 2 NOT TO MISS LINKS… make them go VIRAL!!!

   SOOOO
   1st – HOW CAN WE and the MEDIA DEAL WITH WHAT HE SAYS?
   The best answer to that is this NOT TO MISS –> POWERFUL argument, spoken with great passion by Keith Oberman: “How the Media Needs to Respond to Trump Now” – GQ Videos – ‘The Scene’
   https://thescene.com/watch/gq/the-closer-with-keith-olbermann-how-the-media-needs-to-respond-to-trump-now?save_video=true

   2nd- The there is another GREAT article about dealing with TumpSpeak!
   https://theawl.com/in-his-own-words-917f670ccf59#.u44zwmuax I copied parts of it here, because it is so ON THE NOSE about how to deal with him

   “It’s Time To Use Trumpspeak Against Him”
   I
   t begins:
   “In just two short weeks, President Donald Trump has destabilized the globe and quickly eroded even our most trusted alliances. This is exactly what his likely sponsor Putin wants, of course.
   This is exactly what his white supremacist advisor Bannon wants — he’s SAID SO ON THE RECORD :(“Lenin wanted TO DESTROY THE STATE, and THAT’S MY GOAL, too.”).
   if we’re going to take a clear, resounding stand against this unthinkable menace, we have to use his own tricks against him.

   THINK about how you might discuss the head-spinningly BAD JUDGEMENT that led to his first and FAILED military operation in Yemen. Instead of talking about —
   How All Special Ops are Sticky but President Obama, in spite of his flaws, was incredibly careful about not putting American forces in harm’s way,

   SAY THIS—> ” It was a disaster, a huge disaster, and totally preventable. Trump messed up. Completely incompetent.

   Or maybe you’d say–>”Those SEALs went in there, and got torn apart. Nightmare, never should’ve happened. Trump messed up, big league. Completely unstable.”

   And you’d also definitely say–> ” Impeach the guy. He’s an unstable person. Yemen? Disaster. Everyone knows it’s true. Even he knows it. Awful. Everyone agrees.”

   Sure, it sounds like an SNL skit.
   Nonetheless, this is how THE RESISTANCE (and the Democrats in office and those running for office) must communicate now. (Which is what Keith Oberman directed us to do to resit this slimy weasel.

   With simple, repetitive talking points.
   Forget clever.
   Use Trump’s rhetoric.
   Reckless, scary words are the most useful words to describe him, because almost everything he does is reckless and scary. For example:

   As to his phone calls, to Mexico, Australia? —> “Unbelievable. He wants to start wars. Impeach the guy. Totally unstable. Everyone agrees.”

   Another important rule of Trumpspeak?
   DON’T LET ANYTHING GO!
   During the election, we kept hearing “crooked” and “emails” and “Benghazi” about Hillary. So keep every single travesty on the tip of your tongue.
   Repeat, repeat, repeat to the point where you’re boring yourself. When some new horror comes along, add it to the mix, very few words, oversimplified:

   –> “Bowling Green Massacre? Total lie. An embarrassment. Kellyanne Conway is an unstable person. Let the mentally ill buy guns? Are you crazy? Terrible! Let Putin bomb Ukraine? Bad idea, very bad. Incredibly dangerous.”

   Then return to the big ones –>” Look at Yemen. Disaster. Totally preventable. More nuclear arms? Is he joking? He’s dangerous. Unsafe. Has to go. It’s horrifying, an embarrassment. Everyone knows it.”

   If you’re not boring yourself, you’re not doing it right. Seriously.
   It’s time to stop trying to sound like the smartest person in the room.

   –> “He’s dead wrong on immigration. Everyone knows it. Doctors, academics, American citizens, treated like criminals? Terrible. An embarrassment. He’s unfit. He‘s gotta go.”
   .
   Remember that simple messages will make you sound more trustworthy to a lot of people
   Thanks, TV culture!
   Your detailed analysis of high capitalist corruption is not going to help that much. Instead, say this: –> ” HE’S TRYING TO START A WAR.”

   Of course, Democrats and progressives are incredibly afraid of using rhetoric of fear, like Trump and Bannon do. BUT INSN’T FEAR OUT NEW REALITY?

   Aren’t we scared out of our minds over Trump, a man who has quickly demonstrated that he’s self-obsessed, unthinkably reckless, and utterly incapable of making even the faintest diplomatic sounds come out of his mouth?

   We can’t sit back and wait, because his mistakes are going to build on each other until they snowball into a global disaster.

   AND HOW WOULD TRUMP SAY THAT???

   –> “We’re in big trouble, huge trouble. This guy wants to start World War III. We have to stop him. He’ll get us all killed.”

   Remember that standing up to Trump is not about creating chaos.
   Standing up to Trump means restoring safety to our world.

   This is a rhetorical strategy — linking Trump to danger, linking Trump’s removal to safety — but it’s also plainly true: We don’t have to set stuff on fire to make our point. That would only strengthen Trump, giving him an excuse to send in the militarized police while undermining human rights.

   Remember what we’re fighting for: Safety. Peace. Human rights. Preventing the US from becoming the laughing stock of the world, or worse, starting global conflicts with nuclear weapons in play.

   So repeat the same simple messages. Then call your reps and say the same things. “We’re worried for our lives. We’re worried about our children. Trump is unstable. He’s dangerous.” Ask them: ‘Why aren’t you standing up to him? Why aren’t you protecting us?”

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4. Laura H. Chapman says:

   February 4, 2017 at 7:51 pm

   Many have seen the Netherlands parody of Trump. If America is first, they want to be second. That video is here and it has spawned others. This is a sample.
   http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/donald-trump-parody-videos

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