Where We Are This Week
Dean Phillips is running for President (but not really), Conor McGregor is right? and an unlikely footballing encounter.
The Roaring Twenties
This first segment is a little bit of a return to normalcy over here at the CD. First, did you know that the word normalcy was first popularized by Warren G. Harding (not to be confused with the Warren G of hip hop fame) and his 1920 Presidential campaign?
“A Return to Normalcy” is what Harding promised Americans after the tumultuous decade previous that included exactly one world war and one deadly pandemic. Harding died in office a couple of years later as the excesses of the ‘20s took hold of American culture. The post-war boom wasn’t exactly long-lived as the next decade brought us the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and the Third Reich.
Did Harding make good on his promise of normalcy? Would you know normalcy if it struck you broadside? I understand what my peers mean when they bandy about the phrase ‘the new normal’ but I don’t think it’s the status quo I was promised. Post-pandemic, pre-recession (or are we current recession?) our politics have returned to 21st-century normalcy; feigned democracy and counterfeit consent.
Minnesota Democratic Representative Dean Phillips announced his campaign for President last month to a deafening humdrum. One would think that a Democrat alternative to Joe Biden would be met with much fanfare - if not horror from political elites, but, no, there has been little to no public reaction to the Phillips campaign.
Phillips, whose inchoate campaign has produced considerable results in a short time, is already recognizing the challenge that’s before him. Phillips graciously offered an apology to Bernie Sanders for not believing the Vermont Senator’s claims of DNC chicanery that stole the 2016 nomination out from under him as he’s witnessing firsthand how antidemocratic the electoral process is.
In Florida, the DNC appears to be taking steps to keep Phillips off the primary ballot altogether. Per state law - which is common across most of the Union - it is up to the party’s electoral commission to determine which candidates are on the ballot. The deadline for submitting the primary candidates to the state was Thursday, Nov. 30th, but instead, Florida DNC members sent their notice on Nov. 1st stating that President Biden was the one and only candidate for them - aww - despite Phillips’ candidacy had been announced a week prior and Marianne Williamson’s eternal bid for President.
This isn’t new, however, it’s that normalcy we were talking about earlier. President Biden and the DNC did their best to remove Iowa and New Hampshire - states that he didn’t win in 2020 - from positions as first in the primary process so that the incumbent could get a leg up on the competition. RFK Jr was forced to run as an independent due to the electoral jiggery-pokery the DNC would be playing.
And on the other side of things, it’s not much better. On Thursday night, Fox News is hosting a debate between Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis. No, Newsom isn’t running for president, not officially at least, and no, Ron DeSantis won’t be the Republican nomination. I’m not even sure who the target audience is for the debate other than me and my wife who promised to watch it with me on Friday.
So, why have the debate at all? Because it’s likely to be the closest thing we get to a Presidential debate this election cycle. We all remember how the first debate went in 2020. Biden begrudgingly emerged from his basement and passed the low bar of stringing together a few coherent sentences - a feat I’m not bullish on the prospect of him repeating next year. And Trump, deranged with a fever and covid, shouted over his opponent any time he dared to speak.
But in all seriousness, the stakes of Thursday’s debate couldn’t be any higher. If DeSantis wins, Newsom has to take him to the French Laundry while he locks the entire state of California inside their homes. If Newsom wins, DeSantis has to take him on a swampboat trip through the Everglades and buy him a pair of white boots, baby!
Think I’m joking? I’m just being normal!
Fighting Irish
“Conor McGregor has political opinions worth your time,” is a phrase I didn’t see myself typing anytime soon.
For the uninitiated, Conor McGregor is one of the best mixed martial artists of all time, an Irish national hero, and one of the brashest showmen the modern era has to offer. Admittedly, I’ve long been an admirer of McGregor’s - albeit for a very narrow set of qualities he’s exhibited thus far - but I’ve been especially impressed by his poise, his tact, and his resolve through the last week.
Ireland has had quite the storm brewing in recent years. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems as though The Troubles weren’t buried too deeply below the surface and that the island nation is always primed for conflict - no matter the nature of the dispute.
On November 17th, a Slovak Romani who had lived in Ireland for ten years was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of Ashling Murphy in 2022. At the time, the murder of Murphy, a 23-year-old traditional Irish musician and primary school teacher who was stabbed in broad daylight, sparked outrage and debate over the country’s policy on immigration. The verdict only placed the case back in the national spotlight as old wounds were reopened and advocates for the death penalty sounded off. (Ireland did away with capital punishment in the 60s.)
Only a few months after Murphy’s killing, two men were found slain in their own homes in Sligo. Investigations revealed that the murders - and subsequent mutilation - were perpetrated by an Iraqi immigrant who appeared to have targeted his victims solely based on their homosexuality. He was sentenced to life in prison in October of this year.
Last Thursday, November 23rd, an Algerian national was arrested for the stabbing of three children and one woman. Before local authorities were able to confirm or release any of the pertinent details, mass protests had taken over the streets of Dublin. The protests, described as ‘far-right’ by countless ‘news organizations’ quickly turned into riots. Buses, trams, and police vehicles were attacked, burned, or destroyed in the heart of the city.
Of course, as we are well aware in America, riots do nothing to add credulity to one’s complaints and do much more reputational harm to a movement than nonviolent demonstrations could ever affect. However, this is not to say that the frustrations voiced by the Irish citizens are unwarranted. It would appear that Ireland’s government has adopted a slew of slack immigration and refugee policies that, understandably, many of those in attendance feel as if helped to create the environment that would allow for such despicable acts of violence.
Conor McGregor agrees.
The former UFC Lightweight Champion, who’s set to make a comeback appearance in 2024, took to X to voice his concerns. McGregor, while soundly and unequivocally denouncing the violence of the riots, resolutely condemned the immigration policies of the Irish government:
I do not condone last nights riots. I do not condone any attacks on our first responders in their line of duty. I do not condone looting and the damaging of shops. Last nights scenes achieved nothing toward fixing the issues we face. I do understand frustrations however, and I do understand a move must be made to ensure the change we need is ushered in. And fast! I am in the process of arranging. Believe me I am way more tactical and I have backing. There will be change in Ireland, mark my words. The change needed. In the last month, innocent children stabbed leaving school. Ashling Murphy murdered. Two Sligo men decapitated. This is NOT Ireland’s future! If they do not act soon with their plan of action to ensure Ireland’s safety, I will.
McGregor has been widely outspoken against the Irish Prime Minister’s suggestion that foreign nationals should register to vote in an upcoming referendum. It would seem that opinion could be filed under the common sense category, but apparently not.
What has impressed me most with the former champ’s rhetoric is how careful and precise he’s been with his language; a skill not demonstrated by whole swathes of the journalistic and political class. He has not campaigned against immigration as a policy or immigrants as a class of citizens, in fact, he’s heralded the heroics performed by the Brazilian immigrant who defended the lives of the victims of last week’s attack.
I appreciate it, especially because it’s the violent return of the pendulum that worries me the most. If you haven’t noticed the precipice that we’re playing footsy with, Western society and its values are in danger of going the way of Wile E. Coyote. The threat, of course, isn’t foreigners, but unrestricted, unlimited immigration. To and from any country, I might add. Do you think Iceland would welcome a bunch of undocumented crocodile-crazed Australians at their doorstep? Looking for a new island to populate with tarantulas and kangaroos? I should think not.
And what does he get for his trouble? Under the strange, infantilizing laws of Ireland, Conor McGregor is now being investigated for the criminal offense of disseminating ‘hate speech’ online. I don’t pretend to know whether or not he is in breach of the legal statute in his home nation, but I can tell you that it’s idiotic. Questioning the sentencing of a brutal murderer and criticizing domestic policy that threatens the safety of the citizenry surely aren’t the crimes the Irish police should be tuning their efforts against.
Likely, the investigation won’t go any further than it already has. But, on the off chance that it does become more serious, I hope that the authorities and McGregor can settle the matter like civilized people; in the octagon.
Red Devil May Care
Every week, sometimes multiple times a week, I listen to The Athletic’s Talk of the Devils podcast, a program dedicated to Manchester United. Why? Because I’m a masochist, that’s why; a joke that could only be relevant over the last decade of United viewership.
Despite the rollercoaster of emotions to which United subjects its supporters, the podcast is excellent; it’s a group of a few dedicated football journalists who support and follow the only team worth mentioning from Manchester. This week, after a particularly disappointing 3-3 draw to the Turkish giants Galatasaray, I tuned in; ready to commiserate with my fellow supporters.
There was plenty of talk about matters pertaining to the game - tactics, performance, etc - but there was a little bonus towards the end of the episode. Andy Mitten, one of the journalists who was actually in attendance in Istanbul on Wednesday, began to recount his experience getting to the match.
Upon emerging from the metro, Mitten turned to a Galatasaray supporter next to him to ask for directions to the stadium. Instead of giving the obligatory grunt in the correct direction, the stranger shepherded Mitten through the labyrinthine tunnels of the Istanbul metro towards the new sporting complex.
Mitten admitted that his Turkish was about as good as his new traveling companion’s English and that they communicated largely through Google Translate. Despite that being an obvious plug for the tech giant, it’s what makes the whole encounter special. As you all know, I’m an advocate for sport. Sport has the power to transcend normal social and cultural constraints and to foster meaningful interactions.
Of course, it hasn’t - and isn’t - always that way. England fans were banned from attending a match in Turkey in the early 2000s due to the racist chants that were sung from the stands the last time they had met. Granted that was a long time ago, but given that history - and people’s general willingness to stereotype each other - it was such a lovely anecdote to hear the connection that utter strangers made over a football match.
They had coffee together before the kickoff - his new acquaintance had suggested a stronger libation originally but settled for a caffeinated one - and he told Mitten about the part of Turkey he was from (near the Syrian border) and how many World Heritage Sites were in his neck of the woods demonstrating the excellent education one can get by following the beautiful game.
United may have come away with a draw, but Andy came away with a real victory. One that wouldn’t be so bad if more of us tried to emulate it.
To a better next week,
Cheers,
~FDA