Trump Agonistes? No, not really. I doubt that this embodiment of classic narcissistic personality disorder has anything remotely like inner struggles. All the room in his small soul is taken up by resentments and racism and rows large and small.
Friends, you know I am no fan of Trump. I have lost no opportunity to point out where he is wrong, and I consider him wrong in everything. But now, seeing him as mentally ill, I feel sorry for him. He is a rattlesnake, an unempathetic and vicious man, but a sick one, a tragic one. However, and forever, ‪#‎neverTrump‬, ‪#‎neverthislostsoul‬

The reason Facebook and Twitter are addictive is that they operate on variable reward schedules. Sometimes you get 10 Likes, sometimes 100, sometimes none. Rats will run mazes much faster when rewarded variably than when consistently rewarded. Gambling, guys that don't call when they say they will, social media all trigger the addictive response. And Trump is an active addict of outsized proportions with the impulse control of a gnat. Imagine him at work? Yes, another reason ‪#‎neverTrump‬.

Thanks, friends, for downloading my recording of my translation of Alexander Pushkin's "I loved you once . . . " Here is the track from my CD The No-Net World for your enjoyment.


I loved you once . . .

Today, or yesterday, Trump targeted the grieving mother of a slain US soldier and asserted that Russia "is not going to go into the Ukraine." I am no longer envisioning Trump as a mastermind of evil. His stripe of evil smacks of banality, as in Hannah Arendt's phrase about Adolf Eichmann. Perhaps this impulsive id-ruled man is average, ignorant and self-seeking and banal.

Are you Trump ready? Answer the following Yes or No questions to see if you are ready for a Trump presidency.1.     Waterboarding is not a war crime. (Y/N)2.     It is okay to kill the families of suspected terrorists. (Y/N)3.     Asking the Russians to hack US databases is funny. (Y/N) 4.     Everything Trump says is funny. (Y/N)5.     The children of immigrants are immigrants even if they were born in the USA.
If you answered Yes to any one of these questions, congratulations! You are absolutely Trump ready. Yes, just one Yes answer qualifies you  -- - you know we wouldn’t give you a hard test!

Support Unlikely Stories on Patreon and get the absolute coolest prizes. Plus cutting edge lit.
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RAGE: the dominant affect of the Trump campaign. What intoxicated followers of Hitler was der Fuehrer's anger, which he empowered them to express by example. Trump has taken a page from that book. Fury and targets to vent it on: it's an exhilarating combination for those whose anger has been stuffed in the subterranean depths of their souls for so long. Not to mention a party for those who wear their hate on their sleeves. ‪#‎rageaholism‬ ‪#‎neverTrump‬ ‪#‎racismandrage‬

Thanks to all of you who are buying my audio poetry with music by Bobby Perfect. It costs a penny or less to buy or stream from iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, etc. So far, "Warsaw Ghetto" with riffs from Tom Robinson Band and my translation of Pushkin's "I loved you once" are the favorites. Bless you for your kind support and learn more about my albums here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shmailo2 

As the recruitment guide for Trump University's prospects specified, economic vulnerability and fear are fertile grounds for victims of fraud. Trump's campaign runs true to this strategy. "Your problem," he tells voters,"is immigrants, Muslims, and Mexicans, and I, The Donald, will solve it."
How well is Trump University doing? People who were not racist before are racist now, and long-time racists are more active than ever. Look at this endorsement from Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, now running for the Senate in Louisiana:
"I thought, wow, here's a man embracing the core issues I've fought for my whole life."
Even if Trump loses in November, and this is no certainty, graduates of Trump University are not going away anytime soon.

Whenever I hear someone say "only I can fix this," "only I care for you," "you can't do this without me," a red flag goes up in my deepest heart. Abusers of all stripes, from wife beaters to quack doctors to dysfunctional parents, use these phrases on their victims, to isolate them and keep them from seeking real help. Trump's manipulation of his followers' fears is a toxic tool of a toxic candidate. But we are not helpless, Mr. Trump, and we can overcome our problems without you; in fact, we must, since you are one of the main problems. ‪#‎neverTrump‬ ‪#‎Trumpspeech‬ ‪#‎Trumpspeak‬

Symbols are more real than what they symbolise; the signifier precedes and determines the signified - Claude Lévi-Strauss
What this has to do with Donald Trump is that the Twitter-addicted media hound is more real as a symbol than as a man to his followers, who cannot see beyond the glare of his image. And Trump, who recently said "no press is good press," knows this well. He has created a mythology greater than any fact of his acts and deeds.
Lacan's formula for metaphor: f (S')S = (+) s
(S is Signifier and s is signified)
Trump is teflon because he is the Signifier, and what and how he has signified is lost in the process for so many, too many

The Republican Convention is contributing to the "normalization" of Donald Trump. See, the festivities with family and friends seem to say, this is not the man Bernie Sanders characterized as a pathological liar, this is no bigot, misogynist, and bully. Why, he even seems . . . presidential. Poll numbers are rising with the hype. Do remember, friends, what Trump is and what he stands for, and educate others between now and November.

Nous vous aimons et nous sommes avec vous, aujourd'hui et toujours!

I watched televised coverage of the last Republican convention. The Obama Hope poster renamed "Rope" and showing the image of the President being lynched. And monkeys, and God help me, all manner of vile stuff. They allow this? I thought. No, I realized today, they sow this. And that was before Trump. The President is right: If you support Donald Trump, it's not about the economics.

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I embrace you, dear shadow, my revelatory friend;
dear suicidal impulse; todayI dream of the parapets above
A la Vielle Russie, andof splattering near the Plaza
where Woody Allen wooed young girls,leaving a bit of me
on the Strand Bookstand,near the park and the seals —
but this is too vibrant and real. Better to find myself alonein a porcelain tub
with chamomile bath oil(as if I needed to be calm;
there is eternity for that),listening to Verdi’s Requiem,
holding a razor, or better still, to poison myself with small
scored pills, avoiding arsenic and the Bovary traps
of indigestion, detection;best with caplets, red carafes
of wine or Guinness brew —(who wouldn’t want to quaff a few?)             What catharsis there is in the dive,             the gesture, the infinite jest,
the slash, the brush (its own fire),the dance with death?
Ah, this:as I flirt, you draw near,chingon to mychingada
bite my ear, stop my breath—who else could do that? Dear friend of ferment,who unearths the worms
that enrich this blissful human soil,promising the end of eternal roil:
Te quiero, my Mescal, my absinthe,my blue cyanosing corps, my Mayakovsky,
my you. . .  Was this a mistake? Is it too late . . . ?You bite my ear, take up my rear, whisper:
            Yes.

Auction: Sin City cabaret. Signs and awnings,
contractor R. Zin Huq. All educated people
know the Bible. Do you know Joe? St. Cat-
herine’s School, St. Elizabeth’s School, St.
Nooses Prep, high. (On chalk-drawn perime-
ters, young girls walk long hexagrams, facing
each other, daring, proud.) Ripple effect. Sto-
rage unlimited, captivate every sense, win the
jackpot, then go. Skate keys. Real estate.
Where open houses become closed. (All hope
like a lottery, forgotten mules, this store, this tic-
ket out, this, this isn’t Independence Day.)

1. If Nixon had an enemies list, what will Trump have?
2. Trump doesn’t believe that humans change climate. During his presidency, polluters will flood the atmosphere with carbon, heating the ocean surface, which will rise and likely flood New York and other coastal cities by 2050.
3. Trump will surround himself with flatterers for advisers. The ego displays you see now will be known as Trump’s insightful and tactful days.
4. If you protest his actions, you will be arrested. No rights, no lawyers, no phone calls, maybe beating and torture. Because he can. And has said he will.
5. Paul Ryan schools Trump about the separation of powers. Like Trump gives a shit about the Constitution,
6. Speaking of the Constitution, Trump will wipe his ass on the Bill of Rights, except for the lunatic and completely incorrect version of the Second Amendment used by Republicans.
7. Trump will give indelible new meaning to the phrase “bully pulpit.”
8. You will get to see the @realdonaldtrump.
9. Trump is a sociopath. He doesn’t give a shit about anything or anyone but himself. But unlike Tony Soprano who you thought was so cool, this guy is coming for you.
10. If you are not against him, you are for him. ‪@HillaryClinton‬