This piece originally appeared in the Irish Sunday Independent on the 8th November 2020.
In Hilary Mantel’s epic work, The Mirror and the Light, she begins by describing Henry VIII’s reaction at the beheading of his wife Ann Boleyn. “Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away. A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner.” This passage instantly made me think of the well known American sociopath Donal Trump, although Trump would probably have a second Big Mac.
My late father, when asked once why he chose not to debate with a perpetually angry DUP politican (Is there any other sort?), said he could see “no point in evening your wit to a Jack Russell.” This intellectual detachment does not work in America. Rick Wilson, the republican strategist and author of Everything Trump Touches Dies, explained recently why he co-founded the Lincoln project, an anti-trump attack squadron. Wilson said that what the Democrats didn’t realise was that “Trump would burn this country to the ground to win re-election. This is a chain fight in a biker bar in Frogsass, Alabama.” It is I believe, an accurate depiction of modern America, where its citizens are being successfully encouraged to hate each other and its respected institutions are under sustained attack.
It has been said that Democrats try to win arguments, Republicans try to win elections. The worrying thing is that Trump did not lose this election because he is corrupt, a pathological liar or an autocrat. He lost because he is lazy, needlessly cruel, suffers from self defeating psychological problems, and has no political skill. Trust me when I say that in the shitshow that is modern America, a talented dictator is coming and coming soon. An American Putin would have easily negotiated a second term landslide. As Don Corleone remarked at the meeting of the heads of the five families, “How did things ever get so bad?”
In 2018, Steve Bannon, Trump’s Chief Strategist (now under indictment for fraud, aren’t they all?) , described how. The formula for destroying democracy, he explained, was to flood the zone with shit. “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.” The idea is to destroy the truth by making it impossible to find it. This requires a co-ordinated and ceaseless attack on institutions that have always been regarded as trustworthy. So, investigative journalists and fact based news reporting must be power hosed with a slurry of propoganda. The people must be stirred up against them, so that when they hear the words New York Times or Washington Post, they will automatically think FAKE NEWS. Better still, they will chant it. SACK FAUCI. LOCK HER UP. LOCK HIM UP.
The intellectual reaction to this is to assume it will not work. Facts, after all, are facts. If those facts are shown to the people and a reasonable analysis of them is provided, this in the end will decide the matter. This is wrong. One does not come to a gun fight with a knife. With Rupert Murdoch’s unholy trinity of Fox News, The New York Post & (providing a veneer of respectability) The Wall Street Journal, Breitbart and others holding the slurry hose, honest journalism is now fake. Court proceedings against Trump allies are left wing conspiracies. The FBI is the Democrat’s attack dog. Curbing big pharma is “socialising medicine”. Talk of inequality is “communism”.
The M5R2 is a 5 speed manual transmission made with an overdrive gear capable of handling anything your light to heavy duty truck can throw at it. We rebuilt the M5R2 transmission using all of Mazdas OEM specifications, then researching all of the failing points, upgraded them so that this transmission. M5R2 Fiber Lined Synchro Set - Includes 1-5 and Reverse The Tbird/XR7 M5R2 5-speed manual transmission is known for wearing out synchronizers due to the cars weight and the engines high torque. FoMoCo used to offer fiber lined replacements, which were. Ford M5R2 Manual Transmission Rebuild Kit We offer quality M5R2 5 speed manual transmission rebuild kits and parts. Ourl kits are designed to be top of the line overhaul kits. We have include information on how to identify individual transmissions, application information, model year, detailed kit and part availablity by transmission type. The M5R2 transmissions were used by both Ford and Mazda in Broncos and F series pickup trucks starting in 1988 The M5R@ is a top loaded all aluminum 5 speed transmission with an integrated bell housing and shift tower. This transmission is a. M5r2 4x4 transmission for sale. Ford M5R2 Transmission; Ford Mazda RKE; Ford Mustang Drivetrain; Ford S6-650 6 speed; Ford T45 Overhaul Kit; Ford: 10.5 Rear Axle; Ford: 7.5' Rear Axle; Ford: 8.8' Rear Axle; Ford: 9.75 Rear Axle; G Series Driveshaft; GM 3 Sp Automatic; GM 8.2 Ring & PinionDrivetrain; GM 8.25 Differential Ring and Pinion IFS Sets; GM 8.6; GM Gas Clutch; GM.
Articles by Joe Brolly on Muck Rack. Find Joe Brolly's email address, contact information, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media and more. The latest tweets from @JoeBrolly. The latest tweets from @JoeBrolly1993.
Joseph Goebbels would be impressed. The ultimate aim of all of this is to persuade people that the truth cannot be discovered and the only thing to do is to follow a strong leader. We see this in Russia (Putin), Brazil (Bolsonaro), and Hungary (Orbán). As outgoing republican congressman Denver Riggleman put it last week on CBS, “a lot of these people (supporting Trump) think that The Lord of the Rings is a documentary.”
Once the process of finding the truth becomes too exhausting (studies have shown the majority of people lose concentration after reading 200 words in an article), people will give up. They will then simply follow a strong message that appeals to their prejudices. The aim is to appeal to people’s passions, not intellects. When this is achieved those in power can behave how they like. Trump for example has turned the presidency into a family business. Like any narcissist, he destroys anyone who gets close to him. They either get sacked or go to prison. All criticisms, in spite of the evidence, are fake news, hoaxes etc etc. Investigations into Tax fraud, holding back state aid to a foreign country until they “announce” a criminal investigation into Joe Biden’s son are a fraud on the American people. This way, there is no need to deal with them. Taking the fifth has been replaced by calling it a hoax.
Trump is of course a devout evangelical Christian, evangelical christianity being a crucial component in both the war against reality and in controlling the people. His close friend Jesse Duplantis announced to his flock in May 2018 that “God visited me last night and told me I need a Dassault Falzon7X jet. He told me if Jesus was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey. I said OK Lord, but how am I going to pay for it. He said Jesse, I didn’t ask you to pay for it. I asked you to believe in it.” Needless to say, his hard working congregation stumped up the $54 million. In March this year, Trump’s faith adviser Kenneth Copeland held a live TV event where he drove Covid out of America which didn’t work out that well to be fair. Watch it on youtube from behind your sofa. Document connection for mac download. They may be jokers and frauds, but they have almost 100 million captive followers, who believe – as you can see – anything they say.
I got to know Joe Biden when he came here as a private citizen, at his own expense, to turn the sod on the Mayo hospice. He is a decent and gentle man and will be a good, steady, logical president. During a private meeting between us in the Shelbourne Hotel, he said “I have something for you Joe. Something from me to thank you for your work in organ donation.” He gave me his gold vice presidential cuff links. I could give some fascinating insights into his view of Brexit, of Boris, and of the Northern Irish situation, but since he is about to become the US president and could call in a drone strike on me at any moment, I will stand back and standy by.
Trump is an appalling human being who would burn your family alive for a round of applause, but that is not why he didn’t get re-elected. He lost because he threw his allies under the bus, could barely string a sentence together, and was a terrible politician. The man who once boasted he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not be prosecuted” is about to become a schmuck like everybody else. Lost without the self therapy of his rallies (Love me, please love me), with law enforcement set to come knocking on his door, the wilderness beckons.
There is no comfort to be taken in Joe Biden’s victory, which merely buys a little time. The message is not that Trump lost. It is that he has paved the way for anAmerican dictatorship. One that will finish the job of beheading American democracy, before a second breakfast. Or perhaps another Big Mac.
JOE Brolly was potentially left speechless for a second time on Monday night after a light-hearted barb from an old adversary.
No sooner had Claire Byrne silenced the outspoken Derry lawyer than Down All-Ireland winner Paul Higgins weighed in, taking to social media to comment on the controversy.
'Even I treated Joe Brolly better than that RTÉ,' he said in reference to the short shrift the one-time Derry right corner forward had been given by the debate's host.
It wasn't the first time the two Gaelic football stars had clashed.
Joe Brolly Twitter Claire Byrne
In the classic 1994 Ulster Championship Final, widely regarded as one of greatest games in GAA history, the future TV pundit was playing a blinder for Derry, who were defending All-Ireland Champions at the time. That is until Paul Higgins came off the bench, marked the Derry star aggressively and turned the contest in Down's favour. How to download movies on vuze for mac. The Mournemen went on to lift Sam Maguire that year for the fifth time.
Joe Brolly responded to the Ballymartin man's tweet with typical brashness: 'Considering you touched the ball once. As I recall you retrieved a ball that had gone over the line', accompanied by a winking face.
'Your memory is as short as your airtime on RTÉ Joe,' the former Down star quipped.
Joe Brolly Affair
Subscribe now to get full access