TACTICAL THOUGHTS: An old sparring class lesson in which I recognize Robert Mueller's work now.

[calimary]

Last edited Sat Jul 14, 2018, 02:16 PM - Edit history (1)

Listening to the findings currently being pored over and dissected in the news from that set of indictments announced yesterday (Friday the 13th no less!!!) made me think of the sparring lessons I took - and the lesson I took from them.

I was in my 40s and had the foolish idea of following my two elementary-school-age kids into the world of karate. A karate studio had opened in the neighborhood and they were both hooked, and they both stuck with it from age four all the way to black belt. My daughter, the elder of the two, went all the way to second-degree black belt while her brother stopped at the first-degree level. As did I.

I am NO athlete, mind you. All through school I was a complete lox during gym and sports and such. Couldn't run, jump, hit, catch, or throw. But somehow, in those adult karate classes, I soldiered on, several years' worth, through the entire program, slowly and steadily working my way up from white belt all the way to black belt. I LOVED the forms, almost like warfare as ballet. But sparring came with it, and I did NOT like that. Unlike the forms which were individual performances, sparring involved opponents. Fighting opponents. It was like boxing, and you studied a repertoire of jabs, hooks, uppercuts, kicks of all kinds, footwork, and more, you wore lots of protective padding, and the whole nine yards.

But DAYUM, I learned something REALLY critical in sparring class, which still informs to this very day. Certainly through yesterday's announcement about all those new indictments about the actual meddling the Russians did in our last election, and how far the evidence leads (so far, anyway). I see it in what sparring class taught me about the GOP - er, uh, I mean sparring opponents. The GOP is increasingly desperately trying to come up with ANY distraction to take Mueller and company off their game. The Thursday Congressional double-hearing was typical. OH the TEXT MESSAGE!!! OH HER EMAILS!!! HILLARY! LOOK OVER THERE!!! BIAS!!! This dude complaining to his girlfriend on his cell phone!!! It's all HIS fault, too!!! Clutch the pearls! Fall on the fainting couches! Yowl about the guy cheating on his wife by texting his girlfriend! LOOK! FOUR-ALARM FIRE!!! Call the fire department! Unleash the hounds! Call the Marines!!!!!

Talk about grasping at straws, though, and shades of ghost straws imagined! As I write this, Malcolm Nance is describing a level of desperation in the actions of the republi-CON party, the likes of which he says he's never seen before in his entire life. He called it "absolutely desperate."

So, back to my story. This one week, I wasn't able to make the adult classes in the morning at which I was a regular, and I had to go to an evening class. On Wednesday. Sparring class day/evening. I'd never been to the night class before and didn't know anybody in it. After the usual warm-up drills, we suited up for sparring exercises, and I was paired with a young man - had to be half my age. Slim, athletic, limber, obviously a jock of some sort. And me, a 40-something mom. At the instructor's cue, we got started.

Hunker down, jab jab jab, move around move around, bob, weave, all that. And stay focused. And just try to outlast 'em, if nothing else. I seldom scored a lot of points. Less than a minute in, I remained slumped in my "battle posture" with my guards up, my chin in, and trying to stay focused on the middle of his chest. That allowed me some peripheral vision, which served VERY well. From the corner of my eye, I became aware of my opponent's left arm - WAY outstretched off to the side, his hand and fingers waving WILDLY! It looked like he was trying to get me to look over at it. If I did that, I instinctively knew I'd take my focus off the center of his chest, and BANG! He could come around from behind with his right hook or uppercut that I wouldn't see - because I had just glanced away and was looking in the opposite direction - at the DISTRACTION.

I kept myself hunkered down, eyes forward, still focused on the center of his chest. Peripheral vision is really a marvelous defensive tool. It keeps you informed and aware even when you're not looking around at other happenings over on the side. I've realized that's what Robert Mueller and his remarkably focused and professional (leak-free) team are doing. STAYING FOCUSED. Eyes on the prize.

trump 'n' comp are flailing with BOTH arms, not just the left like this kid did with me. BOTH arms, and both legs, and whtever they can grab and throw and shake around and make noise with. The republi-CONS are dutifully following suit, with all of their might! But it looks as though Robert Mueller and HIS people are keeping their heads hunkered down, and eyes focused on the center of the opponents' collective chest. From all the very specific detail that we've already seen in those indictments, looks like they've done MORE than just their homework. AND they understand strategy and tactics and how NOT to get distracted. And I can also see how observers now are deducing that there is some pretty severe stuff to follow.

-----------------

One more VERY choice note I picked up just this morning, on another aspect of what's now going on. DON'T DISCOUNT THE REPETITION. It pays to watch Joy Reid's shows on weekend mornings. She presents a lot of REALLY good stuff from highly credible people. VERY educational. Particularly on this particular morning.

"He's doing it with repetition, that's how I know it's strategy" - Tara Dowdell, Democratic strategist

If you understand these people and their battle tactics, you can resist and outlast. Like I did with that kid in sparring class. I lasted the entire round, I didn't score any points but neither did he, and while he had several advantages including youth, strength, and superior athletic ability, I fought him to a draw. Surprised even me.

Thoughts?

[fierywoman]

1. Fascinating! Thanks for taking the time to write this.

[calimary]

13. Thanks, fierywoman!

I've posted about that lesson-from-sparring-class (and what it taught me for OUTSIDE of sparring class) before, but awhile ago.

As I was watching the postmortems, this morning, that followed Rosenstein's big indictment announcement yesterday, this old memory jumped out of the back of my brain and wouldn't fade away! It seemed like a really good and relevant metaphor for what's happening now and how to cope. And why you stay focused. It's easier to get a point across when you have an example or illustration to support your premise. Especially a strong and memorable one. I think that old lesson applies here, too. Because the Distraction Machine is running on overdrive now!!! That's part of what the previous day's Strzok hearing - that took all day - was for, whether the committees' GOP membership realizes it or not. And the ONE thing we can't afford to do is allow ourselves to get distracted!!! We CAN'T afford to let ourselves become distracted! We CANNOT afford to get distracted! REPEAT: We CANNOT afford to be distracted! (Repeat at least three times, although four or five or more would be better!)

Hell, the entire press corps allowed themselves to be distracted by the "LOOK! Her EMAILS!" non-scandal a couple of years ago. And look what happened. And frankly, they really haven't completely learned this lesson. I say that as a former practitioner. I was a professional news reporter/anchor for years, when I was younger. They're probably gonna default back to "well, the competition's covering it so everybody's gonna click over THERE and watch and there go the numbers. Over THERE. So we have to do it. Can't be helped.

BE AWARE OF THIS, I'd say. Just BE AWARE of this. Because the questions that should then be asked include: okay, if you have to cover it, then HOW do you do that "have to"? Do you cover it flatly, just at face value? Haven't we seen how damn lazy and potentially damaging that is? Because people watch TV or listen to radio and an automatic unconscious reaction is "they couldn't say that if it wasn't true." It's on the air, or in print/online somewhere - that real live eyeballs can see it. Concrete evidence. ('Cause, keep in mind that what sells most effectively is what's VISUAL. Many studies have already shown that most of America processes information VISUALLY.) So seeing really is believing. Strongly reinforced audibly, on the radio, the soundbites on TV, all that stuff. But that's whipped cream and cherry on top of the visually-based message delivery system. More on that later.

A sense of the lemming is alive and well in our media. Not only do they cover the news as they see it, but they keep one eye on the competition to see what the other guys doing. They keep track of what leads what newscast, what the second story is, etc. What the order of importance is, or is implied. That's why you often see lots of monitors in the background on a TV news set. Every TV executive, news OR programming, whose office I've ever seen the inside of, always had as many TVs as there were competing media of comparable heft. You'd wind up watching four to six different TVs at once. Peripheral vision awareness can help, here, too.

To illustrate that "lemmings" effect: I had an experience at one network in which we radio people - including all our friendly radio competitors - were feeling like the runt of the media litter. The perceived "big guys", the "Today" show, "Good Morning America," "Entertainment Tonight," the three and eventually four major networks - ABC, CBS, NBC, and eventually also Fox - all got access to the leading people in every new movie and TV series. Radio was the poor stepchild that got the lower-grade access, no leads, costars only, and maybe the director or producer. Yeah, big time inside baseball but the general public didn't know who they were, so they were ranked as lower on the pecking order of marquee names. We radio folk got sick of this treatment and we wanted to rebel. I worked at a super large radio network but it was still radio. Hadn't branched out into TV at the time. But mine was a super credible outlet with scores of years of history on its score sheet. And even I didn't get as much access to the big stars! We all met about this, and decided a boycott might shake the studios and publicists awake and kick the doors down so we could get in, too. We talked about it, voted to approve it, and took our complaint back to our various home offices and bureaus. Having your TV arm or your huge cable sister network or your big time marquee-name publication or show gives YOUR position major muscle power. You speak with a MUCH louder voice and you have tons more weight to throw around. And you'll be treated as valuable equals to all those big boys. You'll be less likely to be left out of the big access. If only they'll back you and your boycott.

Turns out my outlet said the same the rest of 'em did. Oh, we CAN'T do a boycott! Oh no! If we pull out, that'd only put us at a disadvantage. Competitor X Y or Z will still cover it and try to get the big interviews and we won't be players. Good luck, but we really can't help you. We can't be part of it.

And that's just one example.

[cp]

2. We all need to keep our eyes on the prize

Ignore the shiny objects (added advantage: someone can't stand being ignored).

[NoMoreRepugs]

3. Mr Mueller and his amazing team are supported by the

FBI, the Justice Department, patriots throughout
government service that want to do the right thing, on and on. Point is, we have ARMY of people fighting to protect ours and their DEMOCRACY, tRumpy and the shitgibbon Repukes are fighting for themselves and their donors.

I LIKE OUR CHANCES.

[cpamomfromtexas]

4. Believe you are correct.

[heaven05]

5. complete and true

as a description of the trump/GOP method of distraction and diversion vs Mueller's total focus on the traitor. I sure hope that the cowards that are staying quiet, implicitly enabling the traitor, like mcconnell and ryan are wrapped up in the russian end of this stolen election, voter suppression and lies and obsfucation..

[oasis]

6. Tara Dowdell seems to know Trump inside and out. She's most impressive.

[Hekate]

7. KnR. Excellent!

[oberliner]

8. What is a lox?

RE: "I was a complete lox during gym"

[Heartstrings]

9. I'm thinking

not athletically inclined...although I couldn't find an exact definition for this word, used in this context.

[calimary]

14. An expression I grew up with, that meant I was terrible at school sports.

Most of it occurred during gym period if you weren't on some school team with sports events and competitions and leagues or whatever.

That said, I LOVE lox and bagels, and lox as an ingredient in meals and spreads and stuff.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Game Theory might be instructive as well

[PatrickforO]

11. You know, I always like your posts.

I made it to blue belt in Kung Fu in my forties. Even less athletic than you said you are.

Yes, these are good lessons. Do you ever wonder, though, if the general public - you know, the people who don't think about the upcoming election until the week of - is being distracted? Did you watch that video of Noam Chomsky talking about what is happening while we watch Trump, who is the current shiny object being waved off to the left by the Koch brothers, Mercers and the rest of the billionaire freaks.

Maybe people will wake up. In spite of the corporate propaganda, when those policies start to hurt them, they will vote.
-Like I do King Soopers gas points, but would have paid well over $3/gallon for premium unleaded yesterday when I filled up.
-And, the tariffs are starting to really hurt farmers.
-Prices are going up for consumers, too - 2.6% annualized while real wages are down 2 tenths of a percent.
-In my city, which has very temperate weather, we've had several days exceeding 100 degrees and are in drought.
-The Fed is going to raise interest, which will put more things out of reach for more people.
-Regulations on banks have been loosened, allowing the same kinds of shenanigans as a decade ago.
-Environmental regulations are gutted, as well as food quality. More food poisoning and environmental poisoning.
-Student debt is in crisis with over 14% of loans in default. Student loans, revolving debt and mortgages all higher than in 2008.
-Wealth inequity has gotten much worse, and is now unsustainable.
-The giant tax cut for billionaires and big corporations hurts all of us who depend on government programs.
-For the first time in history, job openings exceeded the number of people looking for work.
-More ugly, disgusting, overt racist behavior is happening all over the US.
-Russia continues to hack at our infrastructure like some kind of cyber cancer.

-But the worst, the one that stands all by itself, is the notion shared by SO MANY Americans that their vote doesn't count anyway.

All these things, these really, really BAD policies Trump and his billionaire owners have imposed...well...I'm thinking the next recession will be as bad if not worse than the Great Recession. People might begin to wake up. Hopefully, they will wake up enough to know to vote Democratic.

Republican policies kill, starve and maim. Always have.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Well stated: Distraction and Repetition

Ooh! Shiny!

[calimary]

19. I LOVE those cartoons, Bernardo!

You want the unvarnished truth with a dash of wit? Consult a political cartoonist. Their pens are mightier than any swords.

[calimary]

15. Regarding that whole thing about processing information visually - referenced farther upthread:

I have also posted before about this startling story CBS correspondent Leslie Stahl tells, from her many days covering Ronald Reagan. But it was awhile ago and I think bears repeating. It illustrates perfectly the power of the visual in effective messaging and perception management. WELL WORTH keeping in mind.

Leslie Stahl had just had her big report run on the CBS Evening News. It was during his administration. She was covering the impact of some of his budget cuts on the public, and the across-the-board point that his policies hurt people, most directly those more vulnerable that most either physically or financially. I forget what, but it was the kind of thing we Dems hate seeing dissed, dismantled, or underfunded. I think it was either David Gergen or Michael Deaver - one of the White House media manipulation specialists - who called her to offer an enthusiastic thank-you for that report he just saw aired. She recalls being bewildered to hear this. She protested - "this was a VERY critical report. It wasn't something I would expect a thank-you for!" He said "you don't understand. Yeah, your voice track certainly wasn't the most flattering, but the pictures! Those visuals! They were GREAT! We looked great! Thanks so much!"

She realized that the B-roll, the film clips that always run DURING the voice-over. If it's a standup or something, you see the correspondent standing there or sitting and talking. But if it's strictly off-camera narration, in television you still have to SEE something. So cue the B-roll. This one included what you're used to seeing by now. There was Reagan climbing the steps to Air Force One, and turning around at the top for the obligatory wave and big smile, hair blowing a little in the wind. Then there were shots of him in the Oval Office, talking to somebody, behind the Resolute desk, on the phone, studying briefing materials, and so forth. Looking all presidential. Then there were various closeups involved with his making a speech - the crowd, the enthusiasm, all the applause and cheers, him smiling from the podium, with that darling disarming crooked "aw-shucks" smile of his, and on and on. Those, all of them, were positive or at worst, benign in nature. You saw the old dude looking presidential, looking happy and upbeat and approachable, looking like he was busy doing the job (for YOU, America!). What you saw might as well have been scenes from "A Day in the Life of Captain America".

Gergen, or Deaver, loved it! And he gushed that to her. "Nobody's gonna remember what you said. It's those pictures they're gonna remember. And the President looked GREAT!"

Game, set, match.

[pnwmom]

16. Thanks, calimary. That really makes sense. It would be great to look at all the

major announcements during Mueller time, and see what the distractions were in the days or week immediately before. I bet there's a pattern.

[calimary]

17. Thanks back, pnwmom!

That would be interesting to trace back through. We’ve already seen these patterns appear, so why wouldn’t there be more?

Btw - I forgot to add one thing to the OP. My young sparring partner only tried that distraction tactic once. Evidently he was the kind of person who learns quickly. He must have noticed that his favorite trick didn’t work this time, and he didn’t bother trying it again.

Wonder if the GOP will be the same this time? They do often learn from previous mistakes and the results of their later scheming often indicate that. They’re mighty creative, those CONS. Deviously creative. But their biggest consistent failing seems to be their temptation to over-reach.

[pnwmom]

18. That's related to part of what I keep saying.

With regard to normal human empathy, Trump gets a 0.0
Vocabulary/sentence structure/syntax: He's at the 20th percentile.
So some people think he's dumb.

But he's a genius at manipulating certain people, especially people with racist and/or authoritarian tendencies.

I have to give him credit for his evil genius.

[Hortensis]

20. "grasping at straws,... and shades of ghost straws imagined!

Yes, flailing desperately in all directions.

And, "He's doing it with repetition, that's how I know it's strategy."

Enjoyed reading, thanks.