Biden and Sanders are still in the lead. It probably doesn’t matter 18 months out. Only in America do we even care who our candidates are this far in advance.
Nevertheless, I’m starting to develop a preference. And the reason why this person is edging out the others for me is because of consistency in thought, word and deed. This person has probably always been an existential threat to the powers that be – on both sides. That’s why it was so important to start smearing early with something tiny and insignificant from the past. You know, do a Clintonesque makeover and blow a molehill into a mountain. It’s very important that the struggling working class dismiss this candidate’s words because paying too much attention and looking at the record of accomplishment just might start persuading the voters.
Here’s a clue:
As Michael Lewis pointed out in a recent podcast, Elizabeth Warren is the prime mover who got the Consumer Financial Products Bureau started. It is potentially one of the most important new governmental referees in decades. Its purpose is to stand on the side of consumers against the licensing agreements and fine print. It means that financial advisors have to disclose who they’re working for and that your student loans are held to the same rigorous standards as the safety of the toaster in your kitchen. In other words, it’s supposed to act as a brake on the incentives for financial institutions to take advantage of the unwary.
It’s been completely undermined since Trump took office and probably never fully supported by the Obama administration either. But she almost singlehandedly created it, got it funded and THEN ran for the Senate. And that was after her decade of presentations on the two income trap.
She has dangerous ideas and is bold and works her ass off. So of course, Dickhead in chief had to find probably the only think Elizabeth Warren has done wrong. A tiny toss away checkbox on a form years ago that she thought was merely a formality for some university diversity initiative.
She hasn’t even grabbed a pussy, declared bankruptcy, or collaborated with a foreign government to meddle with an election. It just goes to show you the power of the public bully pulpit that someone who has her finger on the pulse of how the rich and well connected are screwing the working class can be derailed by a checkbox.
Or can she?
Elizabeth Warren is the one to watch. She’s not letting stupid nicknames get in her way and she’s not blaming the victims of the last election. She’s in it for everyone.
Too bad she’s not from California.
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Dickhead tweeted nervously yesterday. He seems worried about something.
Good.
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Game of Thrones, season 8, episode 5- The Bells.
Overall, a pretty good episode. I would give it an 8. This is where Dany was headed. Anyone who had loved her and followed her through the years could have seen this from a mile away. With great power comes great responsibility. She has spent much of her years developing her powers but has been notably absent with the responsibility. I mean that literally. She rode off on her dragon when Meereen needed her most and was in no hurry to rush back. She likes being a hero, a savior, a messiah, but when it comes to taking care of the people and things that depend on her? She does and takes whatever she wants. Yes, she’s occasionally been benevolent but “dictator” has always been the undertone.
So when she torched King’s Landing last night because she was finally going to take what she felt entitled to, and no one was going to get in her way with their own wars and pleas for mercy or logistical considerations, she did what she wanted. Because she could. And because even one dragon was the equivalent to a nuclear arsenal. Why have all that firepower if you’re never going to use it?
I’ve loved Dany since the beginning. But she’s always flaunted her power. She’s always been single minded. It was always a matter of time before it all went to her head and she let her inner dragon out.
That being said, there were a couple things I didn’t care for in this episode. The fight between Euron and Jaime was completely unnecessary, boring AF and took away time from other characters. In fact, I would have liked to have seen more scenes of with Jaime’s final moments with Cersei. These two main characters should have had a little more time together to wrap things up. Putting smirking, smarmy Euron between them was unforgivable. I can only imagine that the actor who played Euron had a “minimum sword fight scenes” clause in his contract.
What a waste.
The other wasteful, but somewhat more understandable thing was how Jon was completely useless during the battle of King’s Landing. No one paid attention to him and he had trouble keeping his men from committing atrocities.
This makes sense in some ways. The fog of war and bloodlust can create its own kind of nuclear chain reaction. When you’re in it, when some of the army are not your guys, when they have their own motives, one rash decision leads to another and it quickly spirals out of control. The noise makes it difficult to give commands, too many people are acting at a primal level. It makes even the best of men powerless.
It was hard to watch that and to feel Jon’s frustration and horror. I kept waiting for him to turn it around. But it’s always been like this for Jon. He hasn’t had any magical weapons of mass destruction. His weapon has always been his heart, skill and honor. He’s just an ordinary man, not a demi-god and his resurrection now seems like a fluke. It certainly hasn’t helped him in any way.
I think the writers would like for us to see the contrast between Dany and Jon in this way. What can you accomplish when you don’t have access to a dragon? What are your limitations? And what other kinds of skills do you need to develop to compensate? Now that Jon has seen what a single dragon is capable of and how a whole city and its inhabitants can be reduced to a cinder, how can he let it exist? How can heart, skill and honor reason with a superpower?
But, unfortunately, most of this subtlety will be lost on part of the fan base the writers are dealing with. Commence the adolescent whining.
I’d like to see the director’s cut. What was left out, why did that fight between Jaime and Euron make it in when no one wanted it? Questions, questions…
Valor Morghulis.
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The Confluence 