GOP BRANDING, AGAIN - BOGGGLING THE MIND (AS THEY DELIGHT IN DOING)

 The Perched Eye blog is 12+ years old, from 2009 with President Obama's first term. The focus has been eclectic ...  the ways and directions of American politics and culture, and occasionally summarizing the potential impacts of new technologies. Pericles21's observations sometimes attract a critical eye, but the 'pen' remains unblunted.                         -----------

Republicans call their boneheadedness 'just Branding'. In a perverse way, they are correct except for the real damage banding can bring upon the gullible. 'Branding' is waving a flag empty of real meaning yet ringing with sonically resonant (but often designed-with-malice, illogical-upon-close-inspection) slogans that identify one's group and, by default, one's enemies who are not gullible enough to repeat them. But close-up inspection causes the sonics of branding to fall apart like wet cardboard instead of solid bricks ... and such was, and still is, the case with the Trump-era's 'Covid Denial' self-identity branding. 

 'Denial of Covid' was, and remains a political genius idea to 'brand' actual pandemic disease as a belief system by painting over a deadly illness with a coat of brightly emotional, quasi-religious noise that defined who not to trust regardless of their medical expertise (shades of Nixonian-Goldwater faux anti-elitist 'egghead-ism'). Christian evangelism and end-times ecstasy's support of Trump were unexpected 'wins' that were woven into the fabric of Covid Denial. Those were Strange Times ...which are still going strong with Trump's rants getting ongoing media coverage as if he isn't the fraudulent conman he is.

PUTIN’S MAY 9TH STARBURST — BE WARNED AND PRAY TO WAKE UP MAY 10 TO A PLANET STILL INTACT

The Perched Eye blog is 12+ years old, from 2009 with President Obama's first term. The focus has been eclectic ...  the ways and directions of American politics and culture, and occasionally summarizing the potential impacts of new technologies. Pericles21's observations sometimes attract a critical eye, but the 'pen' remains unblunted.

Putin will do something to salvage his and Russia’s loos of face in Ukraine. He can’t yet claim victory…but there are still 18 hours before May 9. Ground war victory is not in the picture but Putin doesn't have to rely on just boots-on-the-ground - he can use one of the two or three operational super jets (SU-57s) to deliver TACNukes on the nearly 100% devastated Mariupol to to finish off the Azovstal steel plant. 

If Putin was smarter (not just KGB-trained sneaky-evil) he might spin being forced to back out of Ukraine to morph that embarrassment into an older brother gesture and offer to rebuild, and pull Ukraine closer to Mother Russia’s generous breast. 

But the intelligent-person option is a very outside option for Putin because he seems to act in a compensating, small-being-in-command manner and he must literally protect his back from sharky generals and pissed-off oligarchs.

 We must pray for Ukraine and hope the world wakes up safe on May 10. (Nevertheless, we also have reason to believe the American Defense-Intel team has long 'gamed' May 9 and have effective, and maybe clever, ‘stops’ to whatever Putin might have in mind.