Kevin Kallaugher serves up a good summary of where we're at, which is that it's all become incredibly annoying, but that the squabbling in one car is less self-destructive than the squabbling in the other.
However this comes out, the Democratic Party will emerge intact, while the Republicans ... well, the Republicans had a "we gotta fix this" moment after the Romney debacle, and they not only failed to fix it, but they dove even deeper in.
However, while the Republicans are harvesting their whirlwind, the Democrats ought not to become too smug, because what starts in the backseat spreads, particularly in a hyperconnected, top-heavy world.
Here, even the delusional becomes real if you let it.
I saw my first Bernie Bro on Facebook the other day. It's like spotting the first local Zika case, in that I'd read of them, I knew it was something to be concerned about, but it hadn't become real, and then there he was.
He wasn't anyone I knew; it was a stupid, vulgar post being shared by someone because they had responded to it.
So I did what I do when someone shares obnoxious garbage: I hit that down-carat drop menu in the upper right corner of the message, paused over "Unfollow (Friend Who Shared it)" and, this time, merely selected "Hide All From (Bernie Bro)."
As the old-timers say, *plonk*
Thing is, I still think Bernie Bros are an anomaly. I've been flamed by Clinton supporters who were vulgar and childish, and I don't think they represent her, either. I ignore, hide or block them as needed and life goes on.
Online or in person, every neighborhood has a few fools and jackasses, and if you invite them up on your porch for lemonade, well, that's a choice you've made.
As I've said before, these fringey true-believers used to be hidden away in a back room stuffing envelopes while the more socially presentable advocates were out pressing the flesh and making the case, and today I truly wonder if you can launch a viable third party, with all the chaff in the air.
Bearing in mind that the Internet was hardly a factor when the echo chamber proclaimed that "Al Gore claimed to invent the Internet," and that "John Kerry lied about his medals."
Not every foolish delusion is spread online. Lazinessness and the urge to grab the bright, shiny have been factors for a very long time.
Another point: A viable third party could form by having a few key members of established parties resign their affiliation and announce this new coalition.
But things are awfully entangled, as is being demonstrated in the Hillary/Bernie competition.
Half a century ago, when McCarthy and RFK challenged the incumbent LBJ, and more recently when Ted Kennedy challenged the incumbent Carter, there were party members willing to buck the system with endorsements and support for the insurgents.
Party discipline is a great deal more entrenched now and I wouldn't expect to see breakaways.
Still, Bernie is a true grassroots candidate, who began as Mayor of Burlington and rose over the next 36 years as an Independent. It's possible. But nobody else was doing what Vermonters were doing then, and so he's pretty much alone out there now.
True, more Bernies could emerge, more independent Mayors of Burlington could start with potholes and streetlights and work their way up through the ranks as he did.
But, then, local politics today are like local newspapers: Only of interest to old people.
Irrelevant in the top-heavy, hyper-connected Brave New World.
More from my feed
However much I've purged fools from my feed, I'm still getting the ads for the flashlight so bright that it should probably be banned as a weapon (only had to refresh the page twice to get that screenshot), and, while I've never clicked through, perhaps Jim Meddick has, strictly in the interests of researching today's Monty.
I do have some LED flashlights that are incredibly bright. They came as a pair, and I have one by the front door and one by the back door and I have found very little use for either because I live in town and so it really never gets dark.
I suppose some night the dog will alert to something suspicious just beyond the ambient light. When that happens, I'll grab my trusty LED flashlight and probably find out that the batteries have drained.
I should probably stage simulations, and change the batteries when I change my clocks.
Just to be safe from whatever I bought the flashlights to protect me from, which I forget.
Empowering young girls, one pair at a time
Superhero things being the latest, greatest of things, Marvel has dredged up a minor title from their backfiles, "Cloak and Dagger," and is turning it into a TV series that will air on the What Are We Calling It This Week? cable channel.
In their announcement of the announcement, Vulture notes:
Mainstream audiences are unlikely to have any idea who these titular folks are. Indeed, even Marvel nerds would be hard-pressed to give you much information about them beyond some extremely basic contours: They’re young, they’re a couple, Cloak’s an African-American man who can teleport people, and Dagger’s a white woman who can shoot daggers made of light. That’s about it. Everything else is up for grabs. Therein lies the show's potential strength.
As they go on to say, this means the network won't be faced with nerds arguing over whether they got it right, which will allow them to do whatever they like with the characters.
Except make the more titular of those "titular characters" put on a damn shirt.
I cannot begin to encapsulate the fun Kate Beaton had in applying a substantial dose of well-earned mockery to this.
Here is but a sample:
Go here for more of her excellent rant, including some sketches from someone who doesn't have the mind of a 12-year-old boy.
And who knows how to really shoot daggers.
Now here's your moment of zen:
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