In Episode 4 of ‘NotesBeforeYouVote.com,’ we bring to life some recent commentary by Josh Marshall, editor of TalkingPointsMemo.com, one of the most reliable, go-to independent media sources for coverage of the threat Trumpublicanism poses to everything we hold dear about America. His column concerns the two recent assasination attempts against a man who himself traffics repeatedly in urging violence:
JOSH MARSHALL | ‘Yes. Trump Started The Fire. And Everyone Knows It’
“… On a broader level, Donald Trump is simply himself a source of unrest and conflagration … He is himself a vortex of instability and violence. As his supporters like to put it, he likes to “stir the pot.” And he does. Attention, in his vision, is the only real currency in business or politics or media. So he keeps upping the ante and pushing new limits to get it, like a heroin addict he has to keep upping the dose to get the same fix. The externalities of that behavior have been lapping up, splashing onto countless other people for almost a decade. Now they’re also splashing up onto him. Trump’s supporters ask rhetorically, if it’s not Biden and Harris who are doing it, are you really saying that Trump is inciting people against himself? The answer is actually yes. He’s now twice almost been consumed by the fires he himself is lighting.
All of which raises an immediate question for undecided voters and for those considering voting Third Party or even sitting out the vote. All of these choices are effectively a vote for Donald Trump. That means continuing to enable him as he pours yet more gasoline on the raging bonfire he has stoked in America for far too long.
Vote for an America whose leader has the country’s best and finest interests at heart. Not the candidate whose most violent followers are shock troops for achieving all he that appears to interest him: raw power and retribution. Not to mention the only campaign theme that appears to engage his heart and mind.
Chaos.
A SWIFT RESPONSE
The cartoon references Trump’s recent TruthSocial provocation post ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ which caused Swift’s entourage to up her security.
I’ve only recently begun poring through Taylor Swift’s music, trying to understand her buzz. As a singer-songwriter myself, my initial impression is that she is a really fun singer and a decent, accomplished, often witty and self-knowing songwriter and co-writer (many of her hits are co-written). Whether or not she deserves to be a billionaire or if any of her songs are tunes for the ages, ask that judge called time that question a few decades hence.
More importantly in this American moment, whether or not the many Swifties of America impact the crucial vote Nov. 5 on this country’s future is an open question. More than one observer has noted the mulitplier effect of the singer’s endorsement of the Harris/Walz ticket. There are legions of ‘girl-dads’ and ‘mom-shuttles’ who enable young Swifties to see their pop goddess. They are voters, too.
But let’s stay on point. Chaos and threats of violence and disorder are, essentially, the heart of Trump’s campaign. (I’d say ‘heart and soul,’ but between him and his yipping-yapping sidekick, JD Vance, there appears to be no soul at all there.) And, really, what sort of man and supposed father would issue a hate-alert to his countless followers primed for violence against a woman not too far removed in age from his own daughter?
When Time Magazine crowned Swift their 2023 “Person of the Year,” she appeared on the cover accessorized with her cat, Benjamin Button, the first celebrity pet to appear alongside the winner in the award’s history.
We will let the singer have the last word from this Billboard story about celebrities stepping up to stand for Swift after Trump shared yet more of his endless supply of hatred and ill-will:
Swift expressed her admiration for Harris, calling her a “steady-handed, gifted leader” and a “warrior” for causes including LGBTQ+ rights and women’s reproductive freedoms … Some public figures that came forward in support of the “Cruel Summer” singer include “King Swiftie” Flavor Flav, actor Mark Hamill, author Stephen King, actress Mia Farrow and former Republican House Representative Liz Cheney.
Go big when you vote. Not Donald-small.
~ by Douglas John Imbrogno
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VIEW EPISODE 3 IN THIS SERIES: ‘Op-Ed Limericks’
P.S.
Here is the footage of the Jan. 6 riot with additional footage not seen before, shown at the DNC convention:
'Chaos IS the Campaign'