Seth Meyers on Donald Trump and the Civil War and his discovery that being president involves work.
Stephen Colbert also chimed in and had a surprise guest on to answer the question of why the war occurred.
Since his release four days after being re-arrested by the Bureau of Prison (BOP) for not getting permission to speak to the press, journalist Barrett Brown has written his side of the account to clear up any confusion about what happened.
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[Note: You can stream the film for free until May 15.]
The documentary National Bird directed by Sonia Kennebeck and released by Independent Lens looks at the US drone warfare program from the point of view of three former US Air Force (Heather, Daniel, and Lisa) whose jobs were to identify targets seen in the drone videos, and from the survivors of the infamous attack on February 21, 2010 on a convoy carrying a group of families that resulted in the deaths of 23 people, all civilians, and caused serious injuries to many others. All three of them have since left the Air Force. They all suffer from guilt at what they were part of, with Heather being suicidal and diagnosed with PTSD. Daniel is under threat of charges under the draconian Espionage Act and all three fear that the government will take severe action against them as it has with other whistleblowers.
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The chattering classes are all of a doo-dah and reaching for their smelling salts. The reason? Donald Trump’s friendliness with leaders like Egypt’s el Sisi, Turkey’s Erdogan, and the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, inviting them to the US for state visits despite their appalling human rights records. But, as usual, this is being portrayed as exceptional behavior, rather than a continuation of long-standing US policy to support and coddle the worst leaders as long as they serve US interests.
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One of the episodes of the radio show This American Life presented the sense of mortification one feels when one says something in the presence of others that reveals that you are suffering under a huge misconception that no one else shares. The broadcast featured such things as thinking that the ‘Nielsen family’ ratings for TV viewership were obtained by only asking families that were named Nielsen or that unicorns really existed.
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[UPDATE: Barrett Brown released again after four days in federal prison.]
I have written previously about outspoken journalist Barrett Brown, who was arrested by the government and sent to prison and even spent time in solitary confinement as a result of his insouciant attitude towards the prison authorities. While there, he wrote some excellent insider accounts of what prison life was like and its arbitrary and cruel nature, for which he won awards. As Alex Emmons writes:
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As predicted, when things are not going well for him, Donald Trump returns to the campaign-style rallies that he loves, because they have crowds cheering for him and his fragile ego needs these kinds of periodic affirmations, however artificial and staged, when he is feeling like a failure. But as I said some time ago, at some point the audience will not be that enthusiastic because the campaign is over and one cannot maintain that kind of energy over a long time. The crowd will increasingly consist of people like Trump who also need these events to affirm to themselves that they made the right choice.
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Jenn Budd used to work for the US Border Patrol and has written about her experiences and why she left. She says that, “USBP is unfortunately still the most immoral and corrupt agency in the federal system”. Her descriptions of what she observed and endured are horrifying and the rot starts right from the beginning of the training program and goes all the way to the top.
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One of the recurring issues that come up in discussions about politics and religion and other areas in life where people hold strongly entrenched views that we think are harmful and wrong is how to persuade them to change. So it is always interesting to hear the story of someone who switched their views and describe what led them to do so.
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US politicians love to boast about how this country is exceptional and unique in its goodness. This is, of course, utter nonsense but there is one area where the claim of uniqueness might be valid in that it seems to be the only country, as far as I am aware, in which prominent politicians and media personalities openly advocate for the invasion of other countries or the murder of their leaders. The latest example of this comes from Ohio governor John Kasich, one of the failed contenders for the Republican nomination in 2016.
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