Three-Point Shots, Vol. 2, No. 11: September 15, 2024

This last week has been a stress test for our country, as Trump et al. double down on their racist slanders and Springfield is subjected to bomb threats and stochastic violence.

         Welcome to another edition of Three-Point Shots, a part of my Life Its Ownself Substack page. If you enjoy reading it, please 1) hit the Like button, 2) subscribe to the Life Its Ownself, and 3) share it with others in the link below. Comments are welcome and encouraged.

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Sunday, September 15, 2024

1.   The Vile Racism of the “Haitians Eating Dogs and Cats” Myth

         The most memorable line of Tuesday night’s debate, and certainly the most meme-generative, is Donald Trump’s bizarre assertion that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are cannibalizing pets:

"In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there."

For what it’s worth, here is my favorite meme that’s sprung forth from this:

         Even by the standards of the most flagrantly mendacious and truth-free person in American public life, this was a doozy. You will not be surprised to know there is not a lick of truth to this.

         But that’s not the point, is it? The story started in the darkest recesses of the MAGA dark web, conflating a news story about a Canton woman (white, a citizen) killing and eating her cat with a tragedy last year when a Haitian immigrant caused a school bus accident that killed a young boy in Springfield.

         Prior to Trump’s outburst on Tuesday night, the lie’s greatest champion had been JD Vance, who acknowledged “[i]t’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false” before saying, “don’t let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing.”

         (The boy’s family have criticized Trump and J.D. Vance for spreading the lies.)

         In other words, the validity of the Haitians-eating-cats story is not whether it’s true, but whether it illustrates the story behind the story. Which is even worse. Because that story, as events in Springfield this week have proven, is that Haitians are sub-human animals to be ostracized from society and even subjected to racist-inspired violence.

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2.   Laura Loomer and the Outer Edge of MAGA

         Laura Loomer is a perfect avatar of what the MAGA movement has become and how it both supports and imprisons the Dear Leader. Check out Jay Kuo’s excellent report on her and her new influence on the Trump campaign in his Status Kuo Substack. Here’s the money shot:

Loomer has been in the news recently because she’s been palling around with Donald Trump. She was on his private plane to Philadelphia before the debate. She attended 9/11 memorial services with him despite being a 9/11 conspiracy pusher. …

We’ve reached what I think of as late stage Trumpism, where none of the adults remain in the room and the worst of the MAGA villains have now attached themselves to Dear Leader and have a fast hold upon his feeble mind. Just think about who was on that plane with a coveted seat near Trump: Rep. Matt Gaetz (F-FL), Tulsi Gabbard, and Laura Loomer.

         She’s played a significant role in Trump’s messaging of late. She amplified the Haitian-cats-and-dogs story to Trump in the crucial hours before Tuesday’s debate. She was an early promoter of the “Kamala Harris is not black” slander, and said last week that if Harris wins, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.”

         The problem is not her deranged musings. It’s that big swatches of the MAGA faithful take those musings as Gospel and repeat and amplify them. At some point, that monster gets big enough that even Trump dare not repudiate it.

         This proved to be too much for such guardians of GOP probity as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lindsey Graham, who warned that her presence on the campaign could diminish Trump’s chances in November. But they risk excommunication from the Dear Leader’s temple for their efforts.

         However, it looks like Trump is pretty comfortable with her in his company.

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3.     On timeliness as an element of a contract

        In law school, I took a contracts course – it was mandatory for all students. I learned about the “meeting of the minds,” which is simply the idea that, when making a contract, the parties understanding of what they intend is critical – and should be identical. This seems self-evident, I know, but most of the interesting cases in contract law have to do with how minds are not met, often in spite of the best efforts of the parties. 

        One element that should be in every contract is time of performance, which, if you think about it, is often critical to at least one of the parties. Joe’s Party Shack, for instance, orders 100 witches’ costumes for the Halloween costume rush. It does Joe’s no good for the costumes to be delivered on November 1. When placing its order, Joe’s typically insists on a delivery date well before Halloween and can refuse to pay for the costumes if they are not delivered timely.

        I’ve noticed that, in our day-to-day transactions, we unsophisticated buyers and sellers allow each other to have different expectations about timing of completion. “I’ll pay you $100 to mow my lawn.” I mean, “by Friday,” but he might mean “when I get around to it.” Sometimes, that element of the deal is not discussed. Frustration ensues.

        This can be catastrophic. A burst pipe is leaking. The refrigerator’s compressor is out. Time is of the essence in making repairs. “I’ll get around to it” does not suffice as a timetable.

        I now have two situations in which I’ve agreed on a service to be performed and a price to be paid, but the work has still not been completed. As a practical matter, I do not have any recourse except canceling the deal outright. But that may not make any sense in an environment where there are fewer tradespersons than needed services.

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Some reading …

… for those who haven’t watched the whole debate from last Tuesday, McSweeney’s Maura Quint summarizes it.

 … Dedicated Readers know that I am a part-time resident of lovely Marathon in the Trans Pecos. Texas Monthly’s Sasha von Oldershausen reports on the revitalization of the town’s fabled French Co. Grocer, and the growing pains it engendered.