Achilles and the tortoise

Parabola of Western Civilization

If you've studied Zeno's paradoxes then you've probably spent some time pondering the hypothetical illusion of time and space as described in the race between fleet-footed Achilles and the dour, sullen, and unsmiling tortoise who, having been allowed a head start in the contest, is mathematically (logically) assured of victory. It's a real head scratcher for Deplorable Americans but educated Globalists understand the reasoning and accept the outcome without getting all hung up on the Truth vs. Appearance of its conclusions. Unfortunately (or not) any parable has the same limitations that are built into the structure of all narrative lessons because the start and end, like the race itself in this example, are set arbitrarily by the philosopher with the goal of making his point. In real life there is always something that came before and the story never really ends but, alas, humans only understand (if you can call it that) their world through stories so we tell them and believe them. The heroic tale of the Styx dipped, centaur taught, warrior named Achilles is one of the greatest legends in human history so why the pesky Zeno decided to tarnish his image by placing him in this frustrating meditation on the contradiction between mathematical proofs and common physiological observation can only be explained by acknowledging the subversive and, at the end of the day, aggravating temperament of deep thinking educators. 

This race is not yet finished

Regardless of Zeno’s intended lesson the hard truth is that Achilles will always win the race against the turtle and, more than likely, will also kill the plodding beast and use its shell to fashion a lyre for the strumming of sweet melodies at the victory celebration. Zeno knew that when he concocted his paradox but he went ahead and daydreamed the mathematical formula and dishonest parable anyway and then dared everyone to "prove" him wrong. You don't think the turtle is predestined to win the race against the greatest fighter our culture has ever produced then YOU are a fantasist who refuses to accept defeat and, if you don't get your mind right, YOU just might be a traitor or insurrectionist.  So sayeth The Turtle:

"The people*1 who stormed*2 this building believed they were acting on the wishes*3 and instructions*4 of their president*5, and having that belief was a foreseeable consequence*6 of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole*7 which the defeated*8 president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth*9."

The Senate GOP leader had read the rulebook and noted, "the Constitution gives us a particular role. This body is not invited to act as the nation's overarching moral tribunal." No shit you slimy, vile, swamp thing slithering around the tunnels of the Senate office building making declarations about the Constitution (as if it matters to you).  I'm guessing there are more than a few Senators who fancy themselves moral arbiters of the USA, invited or not, so let me rebut a few of these dishonest and immoral claims.

*1 The People that "occupied" the nations capital on January 6th were, in no small measure, professional agitators from the Left and Right that had been organized to infiltrate the building during the Senate deliberations over voting irregularities in 6 swing States which enabled Mitch McConnell and the GOP cowards to forfeit 24 hours of floor debate and the first public airing of the evidence of voter/election fraud.
*2 No one "stormed" the US Capitol and, as subsequent video evidence clearly shows, the "insurrectionists" were ushered into the building with the help of security guards who looked to be LARPing along with the rabble. 
*3 The only thing DJT was wishing that day was for Mike Pence to do his Constitutional duty and abstain from certifying suspicious electoral college results until the six legislatures of the disputed States could formally meet and hear the mountains of evidence proving the election results to be fraudulent.
*4 The instructions were to peacefully assemble and cheerfully support the Vice President and all those Senators and Representatives making the case to revisit the election results and the process by which the votes were tabulated.
*5 Not to be a Constitutional stick in the mud but the fact of the matter is that any POTUS is "our" president - "their president" is not a thing for any patriotic citizen of the USA and especially not for the Republican leader of the US Senate. 
*6 The "foreseeable consequence" argument raises some very uncomfortable questions and puts it squarely on House and Senate leadership to explain why they were not prepared for the attack. 
*7 The false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole were detailed in reports by Peter Navarro and delivered in public statements by President Trump. 
*8 Donald J. Trump won the 2020 election in a landslide. The Republicans also won the Senate but Mitch sacrificed - McSally(AZ), John James(MI) and Purdue(GA) - to make the POTUS election theft less contestable. The GOP also won The House (yes they did) but because the FakeNews is focused on the swing States and the Presidency there is no bandwidth to dig into Congressional districts that experienced the mysterious after midnight ballot dumps that pushed a herd of (D)onkey's into the winners circle.
*9 The largest megaphone on planet earth belongs to Rush Limbaugh.

Rush is dead, long live Rush!

I remember when I first heard El Rushbo on my radio and that would be in the Autumn of 1989 in the hallway of a house I had purchased and was refurbishing. Spinning through the radio dial I heard the voice and it was his voice alone that made me stop scanning stations and listen. Rush Limbaugh had a beautiful radio voice and it was fun to listen to him talk - he could have read the phone book and I'd listen to him do it. But as I listened, and this is hard for anyone below the age of 40 years to understand, I was simply astonished at what I was hearing - I could not believe the powers that be, meaning those owners of the radio station, were allowing this kind of content to be broadcast for mass consumption by the American public. I'm not over exaggerating or embellishing my memories to improve the story because, and if you're old enough you know this is true, there was nothing like Rush Limbaugh on any communications platform in the world of 1989. People on TV and radio did not say the kinds of things Rush Limbaugh said and they did not mock and ridicule the people Maha Rushy made fun of on a daily basis.

Conservatives

It won't surprise KOTCB blog readers to know that I loved listening to Rush Limbaugh and consider myself a 100% certified dittohead. Rush is Right! Even on drugs Rush is right and, though I was far from a daily listener or committed fan, I can say that in 30+ years of admittedly irregular listening I never disagreed with anything he ever said and that, dear reader, is something I can say about no other person on earth. Rush steered clear of religious disputes and he never crossed touchy right-wing shibboleths but he did relentlessly attack the FakeNews mediasphere which has done so much to damage the country and the world. He was a one man antidote to the Media Bias Chart and every other hand-wringing scold who accepts and promotes the political establishment’s selective 1st Amendment land of Nod. He Red Pilled millions of normies by painting a vivid mental picture of a corrupt and writhing DC/media/institutional hellscape that grew out of the 1960's counter-culture and it's unfortunate success in transforming big chunks of America into a shithole country. He did this 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for three decades and created an army of imitators who, more or less, bitched about the Gov/Corp. Leviathan as it wrapped its tentacles around every person, place and thing in the country.

When Rush Limbaugh started his nationally syndicated radio program in 1988 this was still a free country but when the Mayor or Realville ascended to his throne behind the EIB microphone his proxy "conservative" leadership made room for the real political leaders to usher in a New World Order of technocratic globalism. Rush was allowed to broadcast nationwide over 600 affiliates and become filthy rich by biting the hand that fed him because he said the things, promoted the policies and suffered the 1,000 cuts that politicians like, say, Mitch McConnell were supposed to take, promote and suffer, but didn't. Rush was right but all the politicians he championed and flew air cover for were wrong, except for two - 1. Newt Gingrich and 2. Donald Trump.

1. With Rush's help Newt took America's news media by surprise and captured the House of Representatives in a hostile takeover. I still remember the grimace on Peter Jennings face when he announced the election results from the 1994 midterms. Rush Limbaugh played a significant role influencing voters and discussing Newt's Contract with America which was getting buried by newspaper editors and TV news producers.  The GOP Representatives made Rush an honorary member of the new majority caucus to thank him for getting it done for the first time in 50+ years. After 4 tumultuous years with Newt running congress the GOP Swamp dwellers tossed him from leadership and installed a corrupt, fat, gay chickenhawk as the new GOP Speaker of the House.

2. The truth is that Rush, like everyone else in the GOP, was all on board to Fight for JEB! in 2016 so he was brushing off Trump throughout the Fall of 2015 and patiently explaining to his audience that Trump really doesn't have an ideology or "conservative" foundation. Limbaugh was uncomfortable about the Trump candidacy but his dittoheads were all in on MAGA and Rush found a way to keep his audience engaged and happy by simply warning the "conservative movement" what was happening in Rio Linda with regards to Trump. The Elvis from Queens took the scepter of America First No-Nothing pride out of Rush's formally nicotine stained hands and started beating the FakeNews, Democrats, RINO's, Globalists and every other dirtbag over the head like a happy warrior who understands what it means to lead a movement and a nation.

The GOP takeover of the House in '94 and Trump's 2016 defeat of Hitlery were the two most shocking election results in the past 50 years and Rush Limbaugh played an oversized role in making those events happen. But for all his effort and education Rush couldn't (was never supposed to) take over the Republican Party and make it a force for good in this America with an aim of setting the terms of our debates instead of just reacting to whatever the Left serves up. He talked like a politician but he never had to give anyone bad news or find compromise with the opposition or say no which is what real politicians do all day long. While Rush was "going off" on the political/media straw man of the day there was no politician ascending the ladder of leadership where it actually mattered - in government. That is how The Tortoise wins the race. That is how a travesty like November 3rd happens. That is why Jo(((k)))e Biden is shuffling around the oval office.