We’re up against something serious. I’m working on something to move the conversation beyond mere fear of a movement that tramples on our kids’ futures (climate ignorance, deficit spending in a time of economic tranquility, dissolution of global ties that have sustained Western civilization since WWII) and sends us careening into a postmodern morass in which truth doesn’t exist.
But I also have to post everything here, and I’m optimistic that it’ll make people think. I’m not the only one. I have a college friend who refuses to give up, and she specializes in discussing — not really arguing — important topics with people who refuse to deal with the underlying facts. I’ve also listened to the popular episodes on the great Philosophize This! podcast on the topic “How to Win An Argument.”
I’ve learned to accept that, in the words of the old warden in Cool Hand Luke, there are some people you can’t reach. You can’t argue with fervent believers and convert them in short order. They have to come to question the movement, whether it’s Scientology or Fox, on their own terms and their own time.
I have two reasonable goals:
- To humanize “liberals” so that these people will at least govern with basic kindness and decency as long as they’re in power. (A lot of them actually already have better relationships with “progressives,” the new wave going left of “liberal” on the conventional spectrum, than they do with “liberals.” All the more reason the labels are ridiculous.) That’s another post, though perhaps this page will help people understand why “liberals” are spending so much money on therapy today. (Hint: It’s not because they’re snowflakes.)
- To get everyone else to vote.
It’s especially important for Millennials, who’ll be on this planet longer than those of us pushing 50 and have not traditionally turned up at the polls — though maybe that’s changing.
And I want to get across a point here: Good people are terrified. You may have your stereotypes of know-it-all Northeast/California/urban people, and some of them are true. But their motives are good. They’re often voting against their own self-interest.
Look, I’m a white cis hetero male with a lot of stock holdings. The GOP makes me rich. I don’t f—ing care. They make me rich while allowing massive inequities that leave a lot of unfortunate people trapped in poverty. (Yes, so do many Democrats, which is why the “progressive” wing is speaking up so loudly — again, sometimes with ridiculous impracticalities like dissing Obama, of all people, but with the best of intents.) They rack up massive deficits and climate destruction that will cost our kids money and health. They spread hatred toward “others” — other races, people in academia and the media — who are completely undeserving of such hate.
I’m not going to my grave knowing that I made money off the misery of others. Neither should you.
I use Diigo to keep up what you could basically call a catalog of infamy. Those links are automatically fed to this page. Here are the most recent links, categorized:
(Note: Some of these links aren’t directly related to Trump and the GOP. I may tag something “hatred,” for example, no matter who’s stirring up that hatred.)
IMPEACHMENT
Democrats aren’t just going wild. And you may notice that Republicans are attacking the process rather than mounting a defense. The facts clearly show Trump withheld aid to Ukraine for personal gain. Retroactively changing the story to make it about a far-fetched election-interference story won’t change the facts.
If you think impeachment wasn’t warranted, ask yourself these questions:
- If you think he had a legitimate policy reason to withhold the aid, may we ask why he hasn’t done it with nations that have documented human rights and corruption issues? Saudi Arabia springs to mind.
- Why is the GOP fighting back so hard on the process and not the facts?
- Related: Why is the GOP fighting to keep so many people, especially John Bolton, from testifying?
- Why is this supposed interest in forcing Ukraine to fight corruption so heavily focused on the Bidens? (Also note the Feb. 11, 2016 entry here if you’re buying into the notion that Joe Biden was trying to keep Ukraine investigators from doing their jobs. Also note Burisma was indeed investigated.)
- Was it coincidence that the Ukraine aid was finally released right after the House started investigating?
- Why are we seeing so many talking points that have been easily refuted?
If anything, the Democrats are being cautious. They could’ve thrown the sink and the Mueller Report at the White House. (See next section.)
- Trump’s lawyers say he was immediately ‘horrified’ by the Capitol attack. Here’s what his allies and aides said really happened that day. - The Washington PostTags: trump impeachment export
- Majority of Senate says Trump is guilty but acquits him anywayThis has to be hammered home in campaign ads Tags: trump impeachment
- Opinion | In Private, Republicans Admit They Acquitted Trump Out of Fear - The New York TimesTags: trump impeachment gop cowardice
- Full text: Mitt Romney's remarks on impeachment vote - POLITICO"The President asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. The President withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The President delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The President’s purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the President is guilty of an appalling abuse of the public trust." Tags: trump impeachment export
- Opinion | Don’t Be Confused by Trump’s Defense. What He Is Accused of Are Crimes. - The New York TimesDerpowitz cites law review piece. That piece's writer: "Huh?" Tags: trump impeachment
- Trump Tied Ukraine Aid to Inquiries He Sought, Bolton Book Says - The New York Times"In recent days, some White House officials have described Mr. Bolton as a disgruntled former employee, and have said he took notes that he should have left behind when he departed the administration." Tags: trump impeachment export
- Tom Toles for January 26, 2020 - GoComicsTags: trump impeachment
- Impeachment trial: John Barrasso downplays new evidence of Trump’s misconduct - Vox"You can't present new evidence." Followed by "See, there's no new evidence!" or "New evidence doesn't matter." Tags: gop gop cowardice bullshit impeachment trump export
- Trump Impeachment: Senate Acquittal Will Mean No Appetite for Truth | National Review"Desperate Republicans have offered strained arguments. They say, with straight faces, that this shakedown was part of Trump’s overall anti-corruption campaign. Really? Like his efforts with Turkey, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Russia? And if Trump were truly concerned about corruption in Ukraine, why did he show no interest in the matter before 2019? Why did his own ambassador to the European Union say, “Trump doesn’t give a s*** about Ukraine. He cares only about the big stuff like the Biden investigation.”?" Tags: trump bullshit impeachment export
- Crime required for impeachment? Not so, say legal expertsTags: trump impeachment
- The GOP said Trump committed no crime. The GAO now rules he broke the law. - The Washington PostTags: trump impeachment
- What Rudy Giuliani’s version of reality looks like from Ukraine - The Washington PostTags: bullshit impeachment trump
- Trump Administration officials worried Ukraine aid halt violated spending law – Center for Public IntegrityFOIA got some emails Tags: trump impeachment
- Fact-checking all things Ukraine, Trump and the Bidens - CNNPoliticsTags: trump impeachment biden
- Trump impeachment: Democrats push for Bolton to testify in Senate trial | US news | The GuardianWhat does it say about GOP that they don't want to let him testify? Tags: trump impeachment
- Behind the Ukraine Aid Freeze: 84 Days of Conflict and Confusion - The New York TimesMake Pompeo and Bolton testify Tags: trump impeachment corruption
- This is bizarre even for Donald Trump - Palmer ReportTags: trump impeachment blasphemy evangelicals
- 'Mockery of justice’ after Saudis convict eight over Khashoggi killing | World news | The GuardianSo will we withhold aid here? Tags: trump hypocrisy impeachment
- Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign - The Washington PostAnd Russian propagandists online Tags: trump corruption impeachment russia ukraine
- Impeachment Is Incredibly Popular - The AtlanticTags: trump impeachment
CORRUPTION
First of all, the Mueller Report most definitely did not exonerate Trump.
the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as “difficult issues” of law and fact concerning whether the President’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
And Mueller’s investigation has sent many Trump associates to prison. It also netted a considerable amount of money for the government.
Meanwhile, Trump may still face legal issues with the Southern District of New York, he has been forced to settle and admit fault in misusing money designated for charity (late 2019), and he paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit over “Trump University.”
- Federal investigators examined Trump Media for possible money laundering, sources say | Donald Trump | The GuardianTags: trump corruption export
- How a Hunter Biden conspiracy theory grew, from lone tweet to a big megaphone - The Washington PostTags: biden corruption media conservative
- Opinion | Special counsel decision goes from bad to worse - The Washington PostThe master of false equivalence is ... Merrick Garland? Tags: export trump biden gop corruption democrats
- Steve Bannon’s indictment reveals the truth about Trumpism | Andrew Gawthorpe | The GuardianTags: trump corruption economics export
- Ousted Republican reflects on Trump, democracy and America: ‘The place has lost its mind’ | US politics | The GuardianStalwart conservative Republican faces down people threatening him outside the house where his daughter was dying. Then he loses the election to someone who thinks satanists stole the election. Yeah, nothing to see here. Tags: gop trump corruption gop cowardice authoritarianism export
- Trump Should Be Removed from Office | Christianity TodayTags: trump corruption christianity
- Q&A: What does the Mueller report mean for Trump? | Robert Mueller | The Guardian** How long did it take? How much did it cost? ** Mueller turned in his report 674 days after his appointment. By the end of last December, the investigation had cost about $27m, Politifact estimated – a fraction of the cost of special prosecutor investigations in decades past. Accounting for the estimated $48m that Mueller’s team has clawed back from tax cheats, the net cost of the Mueller investigation could be negative. ** Are any other Trump-related investigations still ongoing? ** Yes, lots. While the special counsel’s office has concluded its work, investigations taken up by federal prosecutors in the southern and eastern districts of New York continue, and prosecutors have also been active in the eastern district of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Unlike Mueller, those prosecutors are not bound by narrow authorizations dictating what activity they can investigate, and there is no pressure to hasten the investigations. Tags: trump corruption
- Georgia Is on a Path to Potentially Prosecuting Trump - The AtlanticTags: trump corruption
- Jim Marchant, who has said he would not have certified Biden's victory in Nevada, advances to November general election - The Washington PostOne anecdote but also a lot of data Tags: gop corruption elections
- The Secret Service spent nearly $2 million at Trump properties - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in WashingtonTags: trump corruption
- Trump held in contempt for failing to comply with New York AG's subpoena - POLITICOTags: trump corruption export
- Why hasn’t Trump been indicted yet? We have five theories.Tags: trump corruption politics export
- Donald Trump spent his whole presidency ripping up documents that aides had to tape back together - The Washington PostTags: trump corruption export
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/24/nightmare-scenario-book-excerpt/Tags: covid corruption trump
- Nearly 900 Secret Service members were infected with the coronavirus. A watchdog blames Trump.Tags: corruption trump covid export
- Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump - The New York TimesTo be clear -- Clinton's pardons were bad. This spells out why what Trump is doing is worse. Tags: trump corruption export
- Trump's Culture of Impunity Produced This - The AtlanticTags: corruption treason trump export
- Don’t Let Anyone Pretend This Didn’t Happen - The AtlanticTags: trump corruption authoritarianism extremism
- Opinion | Russell Vought is the Trump saboteur in charge of undermining Biden — and America - The Washington PostWe can't forget about people like this. Tags: trump gop corruption export
- Opinion | Trump, in his final days, goes full King Lear - The Washington PostRefers to the King Lear reference in the NY Post editorial. And here I am, stuck on George III Tags: trump corruption ignorance bullshit export
HATRED
Now we’re getting to the harm beyond mere courtroom stuff (which, as the Kurds innocent people in Ukraine will tell you, is bad enough) …
- What’s Driving the Texas Right’s Campaign Against Transgender Youth and Their Parents – Texas MonthlyThey're lying so they'll scare you. Shocker. Tags: gop export hatred lgbtq bullshit
- Putin’s Useful Idiots: Right Wingers Lose It Over Zelensky Visit - The Bulwark"The question of why the Trumpian populist right is so consumed with hatred for Ukraine—a hatred that clearly goes beyond concerns about U.S. spending, a very small portion of our military budget, or about the nonexistent involvement of American troops—doesn’t have a simple answer. Partly, it’s simply partisanship: If the libs are for it, we’re against it, and the more offensively the better. (And if the pre-Trump Republican establishment is also for it, then we’re even more against it.)" Tags: gop partisanship hatred export ignorance
- More Republicans Died Than Democrats after COVID-19 Vaccines Came Out - Nextgov"The fates of Republicans and Democrats began to diverge markedly after the introduction of vaccines in April of 2021. Between March 2020 and March 2021, excess death rates for Republicans were 1.6 percentage points higher than for Democrats. After April 2021, the gap widened to 10.6 percentage points" Tags: gop partisanship hatred export vaccines ignorance
- The Oddly Intense Anger Against Volodymyr Zelensky"Simply put, it’s not about Ukraine. It’s about you. A key reason why the new right hates Zelensky is that the new right hates you. You are the real enemy, and anything or anyone you like, they will hate." Tags: partisanship gop hatred export
- The Distorted Gospel of the Charlottesville Rally Keeps Spreading | SojournersTags: trump racism hatred christianity gop
- Ken Paxton Among AGs Suing USDA Over LGBTQ School Meal Directive – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort WorthTags: hatred export gop lgbtq
- Doug Mastriano Faces Criticism Over His Backing From Antisemitic Ally - The New York TimesTags: hatred export gop
- Meeting about Virginia mosque exposes deep divide - The Washington PostTags: hatred gop
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. | Emily L. Hauser - In My HeadElected officials joining group shouting obscenities at Muslims. Tags: hatred
- Trans youth medication ban passed by Alabama lawmakers | AP NewsTags: gop hatred lgbtq sexuality
- Fauci warns time running short to prevent ‘dangerous’ Covid surge in US | US news | The Guardian"Disney, one of Florida’s biggest employers, announced on Saturday it would no longer insist cast members be vaccinated, after the governor, Ron DeSantis, signed sweeping legislation on Thursday countermanding Biden’s order. In a move that many saw as infantile, DeSantis chose the unincorporated Florida community of Brandon for the signing – “Let’s Go Brandon” has become an offensive anti-Biden rallying call of the right in recent weeks." Tags: hatred gop covid bullshit
- ‘A place to fund hope’: How Proud Boys and other fringe groups found refuge on a Christian fundraising website - The Washington Post"Ochs was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of unlawful entry stemming from his presence inside the Capitol on Jan 6, according to court documents. The Los Angeles Times reported that he filmed videos of the insurrection for a California right-wing news outlet called “Murder the Media.” With Ochs’s criminal case pending as he sat behind bars in Hawaii, a new GiveSendGo page popped up: the “Legal fees for Nick Ochs” fund. As of Sunday, it had raised nearly $20,000, but the ability to donate had been disabled. Asked by email to comment, Ochs responded, “Shut up nerd.”" Tags: export hatred extremism
- What Was Trumpism?Perhaps positing “populism” as resentment of those “cutting in line” to reach the American dream. So why do they blame immigrants rather than CEOs? Tags: populism trump hatred export ignorance
- 'Toxic Individualism': Pandemic Politics Driving Health Care Workers From Small TownsTags: hatred ignorance export covid extremism
- How the Trump campaign came to court QAnon, the online conspiracy movement identified by the FBI as a violent threat - The Washington PostTags: trump qanon hatred
- Opinion | Trump to New York: Drop Dead - The New York Times"The rest of the country may regard New York as a black hole of need. But in fact the opposite has always been true; we’re forever sweeping more into the federal till than we receive in services. In 2018, according to the state comptroller’s office, we gave $26.6 billion more to Washington than we got back, ranking us dead last for federal benefits." Tags: trump red states hatred export
- A Very Stable Genius review: dysfunction and disaster at the court of King Donald | US news | The GuardianTags: trump bullshit hatred incompetent
- About that viral video of Donald Trump talking about ‘the good old days’ - The Washington PostTags: trump racism hatred
- Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall.. - YouTubeEven the old mythologized gunslingers know hate is stupid. Tags: hatred
- Qassem Suleimani's death threatens to open grisly new chapter in Middle EastBasically, we got here because Trump hates Obama. And reason. Tags: Obama trump Iran hatred foreign policy
This is a historical trend, and as someone who grew up in Georgia, it pains me to say it. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” simply paved the way for all this, and he won over voters who maintained loyalty to the old Democratic machine based on corruption rooted in Reconstruction opposition to Lincoln’s Republicans. By the mid-90s, those voters and politicians decided they could finally move to the GOP.
Today, Trump has normalized racism. He mocked a disabled reporter, part of an anti-media crusade that goes beyond “liberal media” gripes to condoning (maybe even praising) a lawmaker’s assault of a reporter.
DICTATOR-ISH BEHAVIOR
It’s no longer about convincing people to join the GOP. It’s about bullying everyone else.
- Ga. secretary of state says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude legal ballots - The Washington PostTags: fascism gop
- Armed Militias Are Taking Trump’s Civil War Tweets Seriously - LawfareTags: gop trump authoritarianism fascism cruelty rule of law
- Opinion | I Headed the F.B.I. and C.I.A. There’s a Dire Threat to the Country I Love. - The New York TimesTags: trump gop corruption fascism authoritarianism
- Trump Out in the Open - The AtlanticTags: authoritarianism fascism
- Trump ousts Vindman and Sondland, punishing key impeachment witnesses in post-acquittal campaign of retribution - The Washington PostTags: trump fascism
- National Archives exhibit blurs images critical of President Trump - The Washington PostTags: trump fascism
- Fear and Loyalty: How Donald Trump Took Over the Republican Party - The New York TimesTags: trump fascism
- Andrew Sullivan: The American System Is Already FailingTags: trump gop fascism cults
- I'm a scientist. Under Trump I lost my job for refusing to hide climate crisis facts | Maria Caffrey | Opinion | The GuardianTags: climate change fascism trump facts
- There is no 'right' v 'left': it is Trump and the oligarchs against the rest | Robert Reich | Opinion | The Guardian"From the start, Trump’s deal with the oligarchy has been simple: he’ll stoke tribalism so most Americans won’t see CEOs getting exorbitant pay while they’re slicing the pay of average workers, so most Americans won’t pay attention to Wall Street demanding short-term results over long-term jobs, won’t notice a boardroom culture that tolerates financial conflicts of interest, insider trading and the outright bribery of public officials through unlimited campaign “donations”." Tags: trump fascism
- Donald Trump wants to be a dictator. It’s not enough just to laugh at him | Jonathan Freedland | Opinion | The GuardianTags: trump authoritarianism fascism cruelty
- Opinion | Trump’s Acts Show the Urgent Need to Curb the Imperial Presidency - The New York TimesTags: trump authoritarianism fascism
- Donald Trump is using Stalinist techniques against climate science | Michael Mann and Bob Ward | Opinion | The GuardianTags: climate change trump fascism
- Alarm over leaked US database targeting journalists and immigration activists | US news | The GuardianTags: trump immigration fascism
- Trump Tweets Attack on John McCain - The AtlanticTags: trump fascism hatred
- Why did Trump’s lies fail so badly? Important new data provides a clue. - The Washington PostAdding to the "corporations may be bulwark against authoritarianism" idea is the notion that people with greater income and education understand the importance of multinationalism: "CNBC’s John Harwood crunched this and other data supplied by Brookings and summarized it this way: All of the districts across the country that will now be controlled by Democrats “account for 61 percent of America’s gross domestic product,” while all the districts that will now be controlled by Republicans account for 38 percent." Tags: trump authoritarianism fascism economics enlightenment
- The Other North Korea - YouTubeIt's us Tags: fascism communism trump
- Trump borrows from the old tricks of fascism | Timothy Snyder | Opinion | The GuardianTags: trump fascism
- 'He's my guy': Trump praises Gianforte for assault on Guardian reporter | US news | The GuardianTags: trump authoritarianism fascism
- Why comparing Trump’s America to Nazi Germany misses the point."America’s had a bad war in Iraq, it’s had a financial crash, but nothing equivalent to what Germany experienced after the First World War, or what Italy experienced." Right. Germany was dangerously unstable and had economic chaos. We don't. That's good. But where we're going is still pretty bad. Tags: trump fascism
THE COMPLIANT GOP
The Republican Party, which once resisted Trump, also has abandoned the 55-65 percent of American people who don’t support Trump or his antics (barring some massive propaganda boost like a war). It’s all about that “base” … and gerrymandering designed to give it majorities in legislative bodies without winning a majority of votes. And voter suppression. Anything to cement their power, particularly in the courts, before the Millennials and Generation Z sweep them out.
- Jon Stewart: GOP resorts to culture wars because they are out of ideas - YouTubeTags: gop gop cowardice export racism culture
- The GOP's debt ceiling blame game (Heather Cox Richardson)"Weirdly, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) at a Senate Budget Committee hearing today blamed Democrats for not raising the debt ceiling themselves last year without help from the Republicans. Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo broke down this argument. If the Democrats had raised the debt ceiling through reconciliation, without Republican votes, Republicans would have insisted that it was the Democrats, not them, who had burdened the country with debt when, in fact, the Republicans added almost $8 trillion to the debt under Trump. Romney’s complaint amounts to berating the responsible Democrats for not protecting the country against the Republicans, who are willing to burn down the country." Tags: gop gop cowardice export
- The Coming Biden Blowout - The AtlanticI'm not as confident, but Frum raises an interesting five-point plan that the Republicans SHOULD have followed. But they didn't. Because they're cowards. And, perhaps, because they've realized they've lost every intellectual argument since Clinton was elected, so they need the Trump pizzazz to win. Tags: trump gop gop cowardice export
- Republicans Underperformed Because They Don't Have a Policy Agenda1 out of every 100 stories at Reason is ... well, reasonable, and not just libertarian harrumphing or whining. This is one of those. Tags: gop gop cowardice export
- The Democrats have done better than expected | The Economist"For a long time elected Republicans have behaved as if Mr Trump had some magic electoral power. His record shows a narrow win in 2016 after two terms of Barack Obama—an election, therefore, that a generic Republican candidate would have been expected to win. In 2018 Republicans did poorly in the midterms, losing 41 seats in the House. Then in 2020 Mr Trump lost to a rather elderly and verbose candidate never noted for his skill at campaigning. Mr Trump’s special power is over the berserker faction of the Republican Party, which has sway in primaries. But to the rest of the electorate he is becoming the thing he most derides: a loser." Tags: trump export gop gop cowardice
- Mike Pence Owes the Country an Explanation - The AtlanticDid Pence actually invoke the 25th Amendment on Jan. 6? Tags: gop trump gop cowardice jan6 export
- Ousted Republican reflects on Trump, democracy and America: ‘The place has lost its mind’ | US politics | The GuardianStalwart conservative Republican faces down people threatening him outside the house where his daughter was dying. Then he loses the election to someone who thinks satanists stole the election. Yeah, nothing to see here. Tags: gop trump corruption gop cowardice authoritarianism export
- The Case for Trump Is Getting More Radical Every YearTags: trump extremism export gop gop cowardice authoritarianism
- Being “triggered” is an act of courage, not cowardice | Mostly Modern MediaTags: gop trump cruelty gop cowardice
- The biggest GOP flip-flops on Trump post-Jan. 6, ranked - The Washington PostTags: gop gop cowardice trump export
- "The walls are closing in on Trump" and his operation is "in a meltdown" now: Former GOP lawmaker | Salon.comTags: export gop trump gop cowardice
- RNC officially labels Jan. 6 attack on Capitol "legitimate political discourse" | Salon.comTags: gop gop cowardice jan6
- Opinion | The Republican Party’s Orwellian censure of Liz Cheney - The Washington PostTags: gop gop cowardice
- Opinion | Glenn Youngkin’s awful new effort to block covid-19 mask mandates is already sparking a rebellion - The Washington PostTags: gop gop cowardice science covid bullshit export
- Aaron Rodgers Trump Cold Open - SNL - YouTubeA tiny bit on Rodgers, but it basically nails the Virginia election. Tags: trump elections snl gop gop cowardice
- Lessons Trump Supporters Are Teaching Their Children"Compassion is a flaw. To feel empathy is to show weakness. Sitting with people long enough to see them and understand their story and to feel a bit of their pain will only slow you down. The more callous you can become, the less vulnerable you are. The greatest virtue in this life is to simply not give a damn about other people. A dead heart is much better than a bleeding one." Tags: trump gop gop cowardice cruelty export
- Republicans seethe with violence and lies. Texas is part of a bigger war they’re waging | Rebecca Solnit | The GuardianTags: gop gop cowardice cruelty
- The John Birch Society Never Left | The New RepublicAnnotations: Journalistic commentators have settled into a narrative about what it all means: The American right is reverting to what it looked like before the mid-1960s, when William F. Buckley single-handedly purged the conservative movement of the outright racists and conspiracy theorists, like Robert Welch and his John Birch Society, who threatened to condemn American conservatism to permanent exile on the political fringes. What’s necessary now is for the GOP to show some of Buckley’s backbone, they say. “In the past,” wrote Ronald Brownstein in The Atlantic, “the GOP had a stronger core of resistance to extremism than it’s had in the era of Donald Trump, QAnon, the Proud Boys, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.” Although it wouldn’t be fair to beat up only on Buckley. It was Ronald Reagan, after all, remembered today as the avatar of the Republicans’ lost respectability, who in 1971 described African United Nations delegates to a chortling Richard Nixon as “monkeys … uncomfortable wearing shoes.” He espoused conspiracy theories like the claim that Gerald Ford staged assassination attempts against himself to win sympathy votes in the 1976 presidential primaries, and that the Soviet Union had removed 20 million young people to the countryside to practice for reconstructing their society after launching an offensive nuclear war. The newsletter of Reagan’s political action committee advocated the quack cancer cure (and pet Bircher cause) laetrile, which “[m]ay be efficacious against cancer but which government in its wisdom wants to keep people from using.” (The reason was that it didn’t work, and frequently killed people.) Tags: gop gop cowardice trump export
- FBI: Militia-style group surveilled Capitol weeks after riotTags: antifa gop cowardice gop jan6 export
- PolitiFact | Misinformation and the Jan. 6 insurrection: When ‘patriot warriors’ were fed liesTags: bullshit elections trump gop gop cowardice export
BULLSHIT, GASLIGHTING, PROPAGANDA, ETC.
Sure, a lot of politicians lie or at least spin. Trump takes it to new levels. He says things like “my inauguration was the biggest thing ever” because he knows his base doesn’t care that he’s lying. We’re talking more than 15,000 false or misleading claims. You can argue some of them. The totality is staggering.
I have a separate page on bullshit. It’s not all Trump. But most of it is.
IMMIGRATION
Trump’s cruelty extends to the issues. His take on immigration doesn’t hold water. It’s not meant to. It’s just rooted in the belief that “others” don’t deserve the basic dignities that we white people do.
- Opinion | Marjorie Taylor Greene’s impeachment push will blow back on the GOP“Open border,” my ass. Tags: export immigration
- 'Low-Skilled' Migrant Workers Are Vital to the U.S. EconomyTags: immigration economics agriculture economy export
- Uninstalling Stephen Miller - The BulwarkTags: gop cruelty immigration
- More Immigration, Less Inflation - The Bulwark"Job dissatisfaction may spur upward mobility, but then who is going to do the jobs ambitious workers leave? " Note that 77% of Americans understand this. Tags: immigration export economics
- Leviticus on immigrationTags: immigration gop cruelty
- Opinion | George W. Bush: How to restore confidence in the American immigration system - The Washington Post"We also need a modernized asylum system that provides humanitarian support and appropriate legal channels for refugees to pursue their cases in a timely manner. The rules for asylum should be reformed by Congress to guard against unmerited entry and reserve that vital status for its intended recipients. Increased legal immigration, focused on employment and skills, is also a choice that both parties should be able to get behind." Tags: immigration export democrats gop bush
- Democrats’ Free Pass on Immigration Is Over - The Atlantic"Not everyone who comes to the United States for a job needs humanitarian protection, but everyone who comes for humanitarian protection needs a job. Yet our laws are so outdated and our elected officials so dependent on divisive talking points that we can’t figure out a lawful way to solve a problem that should be quite fixable" Tags: immigration biden democrats
- What are President Biden's challenges at the border? - BBC NewsTags: biden immigration
- Climate denial is waning on the right. What’s replacing it might be just as scary | Climate crisis | The GuardianTags: environment racism immigration conservative gop export
- Tweet / TwitterFugelsang on immigration and "illegals" Tags: trump immigration gop export
- Uninstalling Stephen Miller - The BulwarkTags: trump gop immigration cruelty extremism
- Why the Legal Immigration System Is Broken: A Short List of Problems | Cato @ LibertyTags: immigration gop
- https://youtube.com/watch?v=w4U3jw0jx88&feature=shareTags: immigration trump
- Trump cabinet officials voted in 2018 White House meeting to separate migrant children, say officialsTags: trump cruelty immigration
- Opinion | Jeh Johnson: Politics is drowning out consensus on immigration. It’s time for some straight talk. - The Washington PostTags: immigration
- There’s no immigration crisis, and these charts prove it - The Washington PostTags: immigration
- 74% favor legal status for those brought to US illegally as children as Supreme Court weighs DACA | Pew Research CenterTags: immigration
- Administration to Divert Billions From Pentagon to Fund Border Wall - The New York TimesTags: trump military immigration
- 'Christian left' is reviving in America, appalled by treatment of migrantsYes, Bush and Obama deported people. They didn't veer into abject cruelty and scapegoating. Tags: immigration religion gop trump cruelty export
- Tohono O'odham sacred site Monument Hill blasted for border wallTags: trump cruelty racism immigration
GUNS
A strong majority of Americans recognize that this issue needs attention.
- May 6, 2023 - by Heather Cox RichardsonOur modern interpretation of the Second Amendment - and by "our," include the NRA - is very, very recent. The NRA used to support common-sense gun control Tags: guns export
- An Army Veteran’s Thoughts on the Assault Rifle Debate | by Paul Combs | Blow Your Stack | Apr, 2023 | MediumTags: guns
- What is courage? - YouTubeCharles Bronson in the Magnificent Seven Tags: guns
- Former Duke men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski discusses Uvalde shooting on ACC Radio - The Chronicle“You’re a damn American, and the other [people] who are suffering are people that need you,” Krzyzewski said of congresspeople who have opposed gun control reforms. “What the hell are we doing? We’re not taking care of our people.” “You should be ashamed of yourself if you’re in a position of power...” he added. “You have the ultimate platform. You have a chance to vote. Your vote represents a bunch of, a lot of people. You shouldn't vote for the party. You should vote for the people that you serve. And you should have the guts, the courage and it's your duty. It's your duty to do that. We are not doing that duty at the national level when our country is suffering greatly.” Tags: guns gop cowardice
- U.S. biathletes shoot guns to compete. They want gun control for America. - The Washington Post"“Not only am I a biathlete, but I’m also an avid hunter,” U.S. biathlete Tim Burke said. “If locking up all of my sports rifles and my hunting rifles meant saving one life, I would do it.”" Tags: Olympics Winter sports biathlon guns
- Guns, Risks, and Safety - The American ConservativeTags: guns
- https://youtube.com/watch?v=YsvKycLXzEI&feature=shareTags: gop cowardice guns
- 2022 Letter - CEOS For Gun SafetyTags: guns export
- Tips for cooking red herringQuality satire Tags: satire guns
- How to Prevent Gun Massacres? Look Around the World | The New YorkerTags: guns
- Onlookers urged police to charge into Texas school : NPRTags: guns export
- Biden’s claim that the 1994 assault-weapons law ‘brought down’ mass shootings - The Washington PostEvidence has grown significantly Tags: guns export
- https://youtube.com/watch?v=BxrANYjq2i8&feature=shareTags: guns
- AG Letitia James’ lawsuit against the NRA won’t kill the gun rights movement.Could be even scarier. Uh oh. Tags: guns
- Opinion | Kenosha Tells Us More About Where the Right Is Headed Than the R.N.C. DidTags: trump cruelty guns
- NSSF | Real Solutions. Safer Communities.Not bad, but it doesn't do anything about assault rifles or any weapon of mass shootings. And it won't, because they represent manufacturers. Tags: guns
- Why we scapegoat video games for mass violence and why it’s a mistake - The Washington PostTags: guns video games violence
- How Americans are supporting gun control in the wake of mass shootings like El Paso - The Washington Post"Rep. Mike Turner, a Republican who represents Dayton in Congress and has a 93 percent rating from the NRA, called Tuesday for an assault weapons ban." Tags: guns gop
- Video games don’t cause mass shootings. But gamer culture encourages hate. - The Washington Post"Video games do not create mass killers, but they invite people with terrible ideas, including white supremacy, to congregate." Tags: video games guns violence
- Mass shootings aren't growing more common – and evidence contradicts common stereotypes about the killersSurprises: Not as many white guys as you might think, not growing. Not surprising: Not linked to video games, dubious link to garden-variety mental issues Tags: guns
HEALTH CARE
The GOP is going against Americans’ wishes on this one, too.
- How the Schumer-Manchin climate bill might impact you and change U.S. - The Washington PostTags: export climate change economics inflation health care inequality biden
- U.S. to begin offering updated booster shots in SeptemberTags: export health care covid
- As monkeypox panic spreads, doctors in Africa see a double standard - The Washington PostTags: health care
- Up to 43m Americans could lose health insurance amid pandemic, report says | US news | The GuardianTags: safety net health care
- Was the White House office for global pandemics eliminated? - The Washington PostTechnically, sort of, but "He said the move was akin to terminating the fire department chief and putting the firefighters in the police department. " Tags: trump incompetent health care
- From Jerry Falwell Jr. to Dr. Drew: 5 Coronavirus Doubters - The New York TimesTags: trump gop incompetent health care
- Donald Trump finally takes the coronavirus emergency seriously - CNNPoliticsTags: trump incompetent health care
- Experts agree that Trump's coronavirus response was poor, but the US was ill-prepared in the first placeIn short -- Trump made a bad situation worse. Blame past presidents, but also blame past Congresses Tags: trump incompetent gop health care
- Heading into Iowa: Where do the Democratic candidates stand on health care coverage?Tags: democrats health care
- Trump’s traffic jam of false claims on preexisting conditions - The Washington PostTags: trump health care
- The Americans dying because they can't afford medical care | US news | The GuardianThis is acceptable? Tags: health care
- As rural Americans struggle for health care access, insurers may be making things worseDefinitely an area Democrats should be noticing. Tags: health care rural america democrats
- Millions in U.S. Lost Someone Who Couldn't Afford TreatmentTags: health care trump
- What Elizabeth Warren should have said about Medicare-for-all - The Washington PostTags: health care democrats
- How the US could afford 'Medicare for all'Tags: health care
- Why Doesn’t America Have Universal Health Care? One Word: Race - The New York TimesTags: health care racism
- As price of insulin soars, Americans caravan to Canada for lifesaving medicine - The Washington PostTags: health care trump
- Hundreds of Canadian doctors demand lower salaries. (Yes, lower.) - The Washington PostTags: empathy politics canada health care
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2019/05/11/feature/whos-going-to-take-care-of-these-people/Tags: economics health care trump
- Trump Administration Files Formal Request to Strike Down All of Obamacare - The New York TimesHey, remember that great alternative we were all going to have? Tags: trump gop cowardice health care
CLIMATE CHANGE
When a TV show books “each side” of this issue, it should be “hey, we can still adapt, even if it’ll cost our kids a lot of money” to “we’re doomed.”
I have a separate page of links here.
THE ECONOMY
In the short term, Trump has managed to carry over the momentum built during the Obama years. (The stock market and the economy as a whole have grown more slowly under Trump than under his predecessors.) In the long term, he’s leaving massive deficits and jobs that won’t last as coal fades out and manufacturing gets more automated. He’s also hurting a lot of Americans with tariffs that take away their overseas markets and send prices upwards.
Presidents sometimes get too much credit or blame for the economy in general. It wasn’t Bush’s fault that the economy crashed after 9/11. It was Bush’s fault that the economy crashed again under his watch — and the GOP learned nothing from that.
Trump, like many authoritarians before him, has specialized in grandiose promises and Potemkin villages. (Appropriate for a guy with close ties to Russia.) He’ll offer the rabble a little token — hey, we saved your factory (for now). He’ll bamboozle workers and farmers into thinking he’s on their side. He’s not. Not in the long run.
- What if We’re Thinking About Inflation All Wrong? - The New YorkerPrice controls … work? Tags: economics export
- Conservative Americans are building a parallel economy"The Right Stuff captured over 50,000 hopeful singles in the two months after its debut, but has barely attracted more since (women are especially lacking)." Tags: gop economics export
- April 27, 2023 - by Heather Cox RichardsonBiden is doing some big-picture things Tags: biden democrats economics foreign policy
- Red States, Blue States: Two Economies, One NationTags: gop economics partisanship export
- The lessons from America’s astonishing economic record | The Economist"In addition, the more that Americans think their economy is a problem in need of fixing, the more likely their politicians are to mess up the next 30 years. Although America’s openness brought prosperity for its firms and its consumers, both Mr Trump and Mr Biden have turned to protectionism and the politics of immigration have become toxic. Subsidies could boost investment in deprived areas in the short term, but risk dulling market incentives to innovate." Tags: economics
- The Free Trade Era is Over - The AtlanticWhy "Buy American" has limits Tags: economics trade tariffs biden export
- 'Low-Skilled' Migrant Workers Are Vital to the U.S. EconomyTags: immigration economics agriculture economy export
- Steve Bannon’s indictment reveals the truth about Trumpism | Andrew Gawthorpe | The GuardianTags: trump corruption economics export
- Why the "Inflation Reduction Act" is no such thing - The Washington PostPearlstein goes beyond short-term inflation, castigates both parties and demonstrates what needs to be done long term. Tags: export economics
- How the Schumer-Manchin climate bill might impact you and change U.S. - The Washington PostTags: export climate change economics inflation health care inequality biden
- Trump’s most enduring legacy could be the historic rise in the national debt - The Washington PostTags: gop trump economics
- State laws on abortion, transgender issues have companies balking on coming to Oklahoma, development official says | Politics | tulsaworld.comTags: abortion economics gop
- Opinion | The economic outlook might not be that gloomy after all - The Washington Post"Things could be even better if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) stopped holding hostage the popular bipartisan bill that would make the United States more competitive against China in semiconductor manufacturing. The Republican leader has refused to support the bill unless Democrats drop their reconciliation bill that would cut the deficit, contain drug prices and extend Medicare solvency." Tags: economics biden gop
- The Right’s Climate Change ShameSullivan makes a good point here that the recent climate report does well to get right-wingers' attention by framing it in economic terms. I've long figured we needed to do that. Asking "OK, would you rather pay a carbon tax now or pay to relocate everyone who lives on the coast? Or build a giant sea wall around every major city while your beach houses are swallowed by the ocean?" Tags: climate change gop economics science
- American Farmers Are in Crisis - EaterTags: trump tariffs economics
- Opinion | Shocker: Democrats’ predictions about the GOP tax cut are coming true - The Washington Post"Among the things Democrats pointed out was that even before the tax cut, corporations were making near-record profits and sitting on mountains of cash; if they wanted to invest, create jobs and raise wages, they already had the means to do it. They also observed that even before the tax cut passed, corporations were saying publicly that they intended to use the money for stock buybacks." Tags: economics trump gop taxes
- Trump announces steel and aluminum tariffs Thursday over objections from advisers and Republicans - The Washington PostTags: tariffs economics trump
- Heretics welcome! Economics needs a new Reformation | Larry Elliott | The Guardian"Secondly, we should stop treating economics as a science because it is nothing of the sort. A proper science involves testing a hypothesis against the available evidence. If the evidence doesn’t support the theory, a physicist or a biologist will discard the theory and try to come up one that does work empirically. "Economics doesn’t work like that. Theories can be shown to work only by making a series of highly questionable assumptions – such as that humans always behave predictably and rationally. When there is hard evidence that disputes the validity of the theory, there is no question of ditching the theory." Tags: economics
- A majority of millennials now reject capitalism, poll shows - The Washington PostMore complex than it appears at first glance. Sample: "For those who grew up during the Cold War, capitalism meant freedom from the Soviet Union and other totalitarian regimes. For those who grew up more recently, capitalism has meant a financial crisis from which the global economy still hasn't completely recovered." But read a little further, and it seems this generation is rejecting the notion that poor people are to blame for their own poverty. Some people are simply unlucky in a multitude of ways -- everything from a mistimed business idea to a disability. And the system feels rigged toward those who are far luckier, inheriting money or having other advantages. Bottom line: The kids aren't going to stand by while fatcats hide millions and others starve. I think you CAN address that concern within "capitalism." But the candidate of 2020 and beyond will HAVE to do that. Tags: capitalism universal basic income economics millennial
- The Panama Papers prove it: America can afford a universal basic income | Money | The Guardian"If the super-rich actually paid what they owe in taxes, the US would have loads more money available for public services" Tags: universal basic income economics
OTHER ISSUES
Foreign policy: Trump sees “deals” as “winner take all.” It’s never a win-win. Other world leaders are not amused. (Well, maybe they are.)
And don’t forget what Trump did to our allies, the Kurds.
Mock religion: This is not someone who follows the example of Jesus. The evangelicals who follow him will leave Christianity in a far worse place. They’re accelerating the Millennials’ departure from any church.
Debt: Remember when the Republicans cared about this? Notice that the annual deficit was lower under Obama after the stimulus.
Veterans and the military: He’s no friend of either. This Facebook page wraps it up nicely.
Basic competence: Yikes.
SUMMARY
We’re being governed by someone who should be in jail with his colleagues. He’s stirring up violent hatred that goes well with his abject cruelty. He’s buying off rich people with tax cuts that add to the deficit, and he’s buying off poorer people with smoke and mirrors. He has made a country that has always been a beacon of democracy a place where a minority of people with no sense of empathy and honesty rule the roost.
He’s doing absolutely nothing to make the world a better place in the future. Quite the opposite. His legacy will be inaction on climate change, massive debt, environmental devastation, ruined relationships with our overseas allies, and worst of all, a complete disrespect for the truth — or for other people.
And while you, like me, may not be directly harmed, millions of other people are.
So you know what you need to do.
Register.
Vote.
Consider donating or working for a campaign.
And get others to do the same.