I HATE SHAKING HANDS WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!
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welcome to suckers
the base
where intelligence, logic, and knowledge are replaced by
lies, ignorance, and infinite stupidity of people who actually believed
trump
"There's a word: disinformation. If you say it enough and keep saying it — just keep saying it — and they'll start to believe you."
december 2023
THE BASIC LAWS OF HUMAN STUPIDITY
THE BASIC LAWS OF HUMAN STUPIDITY ARE ANCIENT. THE DEFINITIVE ESSAY ON THE SUBJECT IS YOUNGER. CALLED THE BASIC LAWS OF HUMAN STUPIDITY, IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 1976 BY AN ITALIAN ECONOMIST.
1. ALWAYS AND INEVITABLY, EVERYONE UNDERESTIMATES THE NUMBER OF STUPID INDIVIDUALS IN CIRCULATION.
2. THE PROBABILITY THAT A CERTAIN PERSON BE STUPID IS INDEPENDENT OF ANY OTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF THAT PERSON.
3. A STUPID PERSON IS A PERSON WHO CAUSES LOSSES TO ANOTHER PERSON OR TO A GROUP OF PERSONS, WHILE HIMSELF DERIVING NO GAIN AND EVEN POSSIBLY INCURRING LOSSES.
4. NON-STUPID PEOPLE ALWAYS UNDERESTIMATE THE DAMAGING POWER OF STUPID INDIVIDUALS. IN PARTICULAR, NON-STUPID PEOPLE CONSTANTLY FORGET THAT AT ALL TIMES AND PLACES AND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TO DEAL AND/OR ASSOCIATE WITH STUPID PEOPLE ALWAYS TURNS OUT TO BE A COSTLY MISTAKE.
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The Four Kinds of Trump Supporters
MatthewG - du
… 1) Affluent cynics who care about nothing except getting their taxes cut. These are often well-educated people who’s entire politics are “I vote my wallet, first, second, and last.”
2) White identity types. “Why is it racist to ask for an NAAWP? Why is it racist for me to want a White History month? Why is it racist for me to love my White ancestry? Why do people hate me when i point out that Adolf Hitler made some valid arguments? Mean liberals are always calling me racist! Waaaaaah!!”
3) Religious fundamentalists : These are the people who claim to represent traditional godly morality, except when Trump pays porn stars for sex.
4) Stupid people : I mean really stupid people. Not necessarily low IQ, per se - although there’s probably a correlation with that - but willfully stupid people who believe that Bill Gates invented Coronavirus in a lab, protests against police brutality are a “Masonic psyop” and that Trump is our only hope against the Bankers/Illuminati/Secret Fluoridation Conspiracy.
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NANCEGREGGS @ DU
Total FAIL
No matter how much the Republicans rail against Trump's treatment by the DOJ, the truth will ultimately prevail.
No matter how often they regurgitate their latest talking point that investigating a former "pResident" is unprecedented, it doesn't change the fact that Trump's crimes while holding that office are unprecedented as well.
No matter how many Republicans rant about having their phones seized, their offices raided, their statements and actions scrutinized, the fact remains that the evidence of their criminal behaviour will eventually fall into the hands of the DOJ, and they will be dealt with accordingly.
No matter how hard Republicans try to sell the idea that Trump is being persecuted for political reasons, it doesn't alter the fact that he incited an armed mob to attack the Capitol and overthrow our democracy.
No matter how many media whores play the both-siderism game in pursuit of ratings, the truths that will be exposed over the coming weeks and months will only serve to destroy whatever credibility they have left.
What the GOP has tried desperately to ignore is the idea that certain truths are self-evident - and those self-evident truths are now being revealed on a daily basis.
While cries of "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down" may resonate with the braindead GOP 'base', it won't keep the long arm of the law from doing what needs to be done - and, in the end, WILL be done.
I would strongly advise any Republican who participated in, enabled, or furthered Trump's crimes to lawyer-up now - because the way things are going, turning on him is your only viable option.
Trump Faithful' Worldview
Bonhoeffer on the ‘Stupidity’ That Led to Hitler’s Rise
“Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. … The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other. The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances. The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.”
The Ethical Bankruptcy of the US Ruling Elites Paved Way for Trump
by Henry A. Giroux
The real issue that needs to be examined is what kind of society produces a Donald Trump. Why have Americans flocked to his rallies and roared in support for his bigoted epithets and militant intolerance? Given how the legacies of white colonialism, enslavement, and Jim Crow politics have influenced the nation for generations -- influences that scholars like Angela Davis, Michelle Alexander, and Mumia Abu-Jamal relentlessly critique -- Trump is just the latest manifestation of a social order that has always been dominated by whites and that has always been deeply racist. Trump exemplifies a no-holds-barred form of intolerance that shares the ideology of hate espoused by armed vigilante groups that bomb Planned Parenthood offices, ambush immigrants on the border, and burn mosques. How else to explain that extremists such as Christian nationalists, the Ku Klux Klan, and white militia groups are flocking to support Trump?
WILLIAM RIVERS PITT: TRUMP TOOK THE HAGGARD INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY -- ITS AGING, XENOPHOBIC, RURAL, POORLY INFORMED BASE THAT HAS BEEN SO WELL-TRAINED TO HATE -- AND MADE THEM HIS, TO THE POINT THAT ALMOST NO GOP OFFICE-SEEKER TODAY WILL SPEAK ILL OF HIM, FOR FEAR THAT MADDENED TRUMP SUPPORTERS WILL STUFF LIVE RATS THROUGH THEIR MAIL SLOT. MANY TRUMP SUPPORTERS ARE JUST AS DISPOSABLE TO TRUMP AS THEY HAVE BEEN TO THE GOP FOR GENERATIONS.
Finally: Conservative prescribes calling out Trump supporters as moral failures and bad citizens
Dartagnan
daily kos
Wednesday March 08, 2023
Conservative author, academic, and former Naval War College professor Tom Nichols, staff writer for The Atlantic, would seem to be an unlikely critic of the tens of millions of Americans who voted (twice) for Donald Trump and continue to pay adoring homage to him with their unflagging support. But it appears that Nichols has finally heard and seen enough to deliver a clear-eyed verdict on these people and their essential character (or lack thereof).
Nichols’ conclusion is unsparing, if quite delayed: Any American who supports Donald Trump at this point in time is both a moral failure and a bad citizen.
This is a somewhat unusual take to appear in a national publication. The very nature of political reporting almost invariably focuses on political actors themselves, their words, actions, and overt behavior, and not on the voters whose personal choices result in them being elected in the first place. But the truth, of course, is that without a broad base of public support, the behavior of any particular politician—however attractive or repulsive it might be—can have no significance to our lives. It’s only when you factor in the judgment and approval of those Americans who lend their encouragement to a particular political figure that their actions become relevant. Given the drastic negative impact that the election of Donald Trump in 2016 had—and continues to have—on this country’s institutions (not to mention the physical and psychological well-being of American citizens), it’s long past time to assess the true nature of the people whose individual political choices are ultimately responsible for foisting his presence on us.
Nichols uses the speech Trump delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week to make his point. For those who intentionally ignored it, it was a speech redolent with threats, insults, and dark, violent imagery that evidently foreshadows how Trump will conduct his 2024 campaign.
But rather than dwelling on the speech itself, Nichols sensibly asks how we as a nation are supposed to engage with people who clearly revel in such a demented attitude willfully displayed by a candidate for the U.S. presidency.
As Nichols notes, the media in this country have effectively dodged this issue for years.
In the past, reporters have approached such questions gingerly, poking their head into coffee shops, asking for comments at rallies, and claiming to overhear conversations at gas stations, all in the service of trying to understand Trump voters. (Only The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper has ever managed to get anywhere in such interviews, and the answers he elicits are often terrifyingly dumb.) These respectful conversations with Trump voters have produced almost nothing useful beyond failed theories about “economic anxiety” and other rationalizations that capture little about why Trump voters continue to support a posse of authoritarian goons.
Nichols reminds us that the spectacle of a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Trump’s abysmal malfeasance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the litany of election-related lies haven’t had any noticeable effect on his core base of support. That suggests his base would simply tolerate any future abuse of power Trump could possibly commit. It’s abundantly clear by now that if Trump were reelected, he would swiftly refashion the tools of government into the steel claws of a fascist state, one in which, as Nichols observes, “they won’t even pretend to care about the Constitution or the rule of law.”
Yet those same adoring masses stand ready to bow to Trump’s every edict, no matter how twisted or malignant. That’s a unique circumstance in American history, and it reveals just how off the rails a huge segment of the population has gone.
And this is where Nichols arrives at his core conclusion:
By now it should be clear that the people listening to Trump don’t care about facts, or even about policy or politics. They enjoy the show, and they want it back on TV for another four years. And this is a problem not with Trump but with the voters.
It is long past time to admit that support for Trump, after all that we now know, is a moral failing. As I wrote in a recent book, there is such a thing as being a bad citizen in a democracy, and we should cease the pretend arguments about policy—remember, the 2020 GOP convention didn’t even bother with a platform. Instead, anyone who cares about the health of American democracy, of any party or political belief, should say clearly that to applaud Trump’s fantasies and threats at CPAC is to show an utter lack of civic character.
We shouldn’t minimize what Nichols is saying here. A sense of morals is more or less the foundation on which all pretense of human decency rests, at least in this country; to assert a collective “moral failing” on the part of millions of Americans is not simply an accusation, it is a stunning condemnation of millions of Americans as fundamentally indecent people. And to possess “an utter lack of civic character” objectively means to have no sense of the obligations of civil society, and thus to offer no intrinsic worth to the nation.
Nichols essentially urges both the media and the rest of the American citizenry to stop coddling these people as some kind of “concerned citizenry,” and treat them like the nihilistic pariahs they actually are, “with media outlets holding elected Republicans to account for Trump’s statements—but also with each of us refusing to accept rationalizations and equivocation from even our friends and family.”
Hillary Clinton once called Trump voters “deplorables.” Nichols’ point here simply confirms that her description wasn’t off the mark, and goes a long way towards explaining why so many of them wore that label proudly, like a badge of honor. People with no moral compass and a lack of any civic character cannot be insulted, because they cannot fathom why their behavior could possibly be criticized. To the extent they have “beliefs,” those beliefs are wholly centered on resentments against those they feel are undeserving, compared to themselves. They simply want the show to go on, fed by a malevolent personality who they have effectively deified. Where all of this ultimately ends up—at least in their minds—isn’t that hard to predict, either.
Admittedly that reality may be hard to square with your smiling neighbor, the Trump supporter down the street who waves to you as he mows his lawn, the friendly Trump-supporting couple with the “Let’s Go Brandon” bumper sticker on their SUV, or the old friend turned Trump supporter from high school who sends his heartfelt condolences on the death of your father. All of these folks manage to display some moral sense, at the micro level of ordinary human interaction.
But what’s really inside their heads when it comes to politics is a cipher that we don’t have the tools or the time to unlock. We don’t attend the rallies, we don’t converse across their kitchen tables or in their social media bubbles, we don’t see them glowering at the TV while Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson feed them the hate-ridden propaganda that sustains them. We just see the little clues they occasionally wear on their sleeve, hear the talk radio station they listen to in their driveway as we pass by, notice the off-the-cuff remark or the knowing sneer or occasional glares directed at you or someone else.
“I am your retribution,” Trump intoned to the delight of his CPAC audience, capturing in a single phrase everything we need to know about that swath of Americans who continue to support him. But the fact that so many people in this country just want to watch it all burn down doesn’t obligate the rest of us to condone or continue tolerating them, treating them as something special that needs to be “understood” while they proceed to poison our democracy and its institutions.
No more tolerance for the moral failures and bad citizens. Democrats already understand enough, and we have for a very long time.
Nichols’ conclusion is unsparing, if quite delayed: Any American who supports Donald Trump at this point in time is both a moral failure and a bad citizen.
This is a somewhat unusual take to appear in a national publication. The very nature of political reporting almost invariably focuses on political actors themselves, their words, actions, and overt behavior, and not on the voters whose personal choices result in them being elected in the first place. But the truth, of course, is that without a broad base of public support, the behavior of any particular politician—however attractive or repulsive it might be—can have no significance to our lives. It’s only when you factor in the judgment and approval of those Americans who lend their encouragement to a particular political figure that their actions become relevant. Given the drastic negative impact that the election of Donald Trump in 2016 had—and continues to have—on this country’s institutions (not to mention the physical and psychological well-being of American citizens), it’s long past time to assess the true nature of the people whose individual political choices are ultimately responsible for foisting his presence on us.
Nichols uses the speech Trump delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week to make his point. For those who intentionally ignored it, it was a speech redolent with threats, insults, and dark, violent imagery that evidently foreshadows how Trump will conduct his 2024 campaign.
But rather than dwelling on the speech itself, Nichols sensibly asks how we as a nation are supposed to engage with people who clearly revel in such a demented attitude willfully displayed by a candidate for the U.S. presidency.
As Nichols notes, the media in this country have effectively dodged this issue for years.
In the past, reporters have approached such questions gingerly, poking their head into coffee shops, asking for comments at rallies, and claiming to overhear conversations at gas stations, all in the service of trying to understand Trump voters. (Only The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper has ever managed to get anywhere in such interviews, and the answers he elicits are often terrifyingly dumb.) These respectful conversations with Trump voters have produced almost nothing useful beyond failed theories about “economic anxiety” and other rationalizations that capture little about why Trump voters continue to support a posse of authoritarian goons.
Nichols reminds us that the spectacle of a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Trump’s abysmal malfeasance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the litany of election-related lies haven’t had any noticeable effect on his core base of support. That suggests his base would simply tolerate any future abuse of power Trump could possibly commit. It’s abundantly clear by now that if Trump were reelected, he would swiftly refashion the tools of government into the steel claws of a fascist state, one in which, as Nichols observes, “they won’t even pretend to care about the Constitution or the rule of law.”
Yet those same adoring masses stand ready to bow to Trump’s every edict, no matter how twisted or malignant. That’s a unique circumstance in American history, and it reveals just how off the rails a huge segment of the population has gone.
And this is where Nichols arrives at his core conclusion:
By now it should be clear that the people listening to Trump don’t care about facts, or even about policy or politics. They enjoy the show, and they want it back on TV for another four years. And this is a problem not with Trump but with the voters.
It is long past time to admit that support for Trump, after all that we now know, is a moral failing. As I wrote in a recent book, there is such a thing as being a bad citizen in a democracy, and we should cease the pretend arguments about policy—remember, the 2020 GOP convention didn’t even bother with a platform. Instead, anyone who cares about the health of American democracy, of any party or political belief, should say clearly that to applaud Trump’s fantasies and threats at CPAC is to show an utter lack of civic character.
We shouldn’t minimize what Nichols is saying here. A sense of morals is more or less the foundation on which all pretense of human decency rests, at least in this country; to assert a collective “moral failing” on the part of millions of Americans is not simply an accusation, it is a stunning condemnation of millions of Americans as fundamentally indecent people. And to possess “an utter lack of civic character” objectively means to have no sense of the obligations of civil society, and thus to offer no intrinsic worth to the nation.
Nichols essentially urges both the media and the rest of the American citizenry to stop coddling these people as some kind of “concerned citizenry,” and treat them like the nihilistic pariahs they actually are, “with media outlets holding elected Republicans to account for Trump’s statements—but also with each of us refusing to accept rationalizations and equivocation from even our friends and family.”
Hillary Clinton once called Trump voters “deplorables.” Nichols’ point here simply confirms that her description wasn’t off the mark, and goes a long way towards explaining why so many of them wore that label proudly, like a badge of honor. People with no moral compass and a lack of any civic character cannot be insulted, because they cannot fathom why their behavior could possibly be criticized. To the extent they have “beliefs,” those beliefs are wholly centered on resentments against those they feel are undeserving, compared to themselves. They simply want the show to go on, fed by a malevolent personality who they have effectively deified. Where all of this ultimately ends up—at least in their minds—isn’t that hard to predict, either.
Admittedly that reality may be hard to square with your smiling neighbor, the Trump supporter down the street who waves to you as he mows his lawn, the friendly Trump-supporting couple with the “Let’s Go Brandon” bumper sticker on their SUV, or the old friend turned Trump supporter from high school who sends his heartfelt condolences on the death of your father. All of these folks manage to display some moral sense, at the micro level of ordinary human interaction.
But what’s really inside their heads when it comes to politics is a cipher that we don’t have the tools or the time to unlock. We don’t attend the rallies, we don’t converse across their kitchen tables or in their social media bubbles, we don’t see them glowering at the TV while Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson feed them the hate-ridden propaganda that sustains them. We just see the little clues they occasionally wear on their sleeve, hear the talk radio station they listen to in their driveway as we pass by, notice the off-the-cuff remark or the knowing sneer or occasional glares directed at you or someone else.
“I am your retribution,” Trump intoned to the delight of his CPAC audience, capturing in a single phrase everything we need to know about that swath of Americans who continue to support him. But the fact that so many people in this country just want to watch it all burn down doesn’t obligate the rest of us to condone or continue tolerating them, treating them as something special that needs to be “understood” while they proceed to poison our democracy and its institutions.
No more tolerance for the moral failures and bad citizens. Democrats already understand enough, and we have for a very long time.
Talking to the stupid is a waste of time.
Trump and Bannon are partners in crime as they 'line their pockets' with their fans' money: historian
Tom Boggioni - raw story
September 09, 2022
In a column for the Guardian, historian and podcaster Andrew Gawthorpe explained that the latest accusations aimed at Steve Bannon -- which led to his turning himself in on Thursday morning -- could also be applied to his old boss, Donald Trump.
As the historian noted, Bannon is facing jail time for his part in bilking supporters out of an approximate $25 million that was to be earmarked for the private building of Trump's wall along the southern border -- with a substantial amount ending up "lining his pockets."
As Gawthorpe wrote, Bannon, like Trump, has portrayed himself as a champion of the common man while enriching himself at their expense, with the historian adding, "He’s not the everyman – he’s the corrupt elite."
Writing, "This was driven home once again on Thursday, when Bannon surrendered himself to New York prosecutors to face charges of defrauding donors to We Build the Wall, a non-profit organization that raised over $25m to build a wall to keep immigrants from crossing America’s southern border," he added, "This affair – in which two people have already pleaded guilty – is a very direct example of a prominent figure in the Maga movement lining their pockets with the money of unsuspecting marks."
"During his first presidential campaign in 2016, Trump – with Bannon at his side – tried to present himself as a champion of the downtrodden. He promised to bring jobs back from overseas and help Americans get over their economic anxiety. But as soon as he got into office, he governed as a plutocrat," he suggested. "His one significant legislative achievement before the coronavirus pandemic was a 2017 tax bill which forced lower-income groups to pay more and allowed higher income groups to pay less. And every year the administration proposed steep cuts to the social programs used by real ordinary Americans, including a 2021 budget which would have cut $1.2tn from Medicaid, food stamps and elsewhere."
According to Gawthorpe, the border wall is an example of the Trump and Bannon MAGA grift, with both profiting.
"The border wall has endured as the ultimate symbol of Trumpism because the soul of his movement is racism and exclusion, not charity and assistance," he explained. "It is through the stoking of hatred and division that Maga elites keep the punters engaged and happy to open their wallets. It’s also how they keep themselves rich and – through blocking any attempt to actually help working people – ensure the poor stay poor."
"This, the true driving force of Trumpism, makes a mockery of conservatives who pretend that the Republican party can become a “multiethnic, multiracial, working-class party," he added before concluding, "Maga is nothing but a scam with hate in its heart and other people’s money in its pockets. Just ask Steve Bannon."
You can read more here.
As the historian noted, Bannon is facing jail time for his part in bilking supporters out of an approximate $25 million that was to be earmarked for the private building of Trump's wall along the southern border -- with a substantial amount ending up "lining his pockets."
As Gawthorpe wrote, Bannon, like Trump, has portrayed himself as a champion of the common man while enriching himself at their expense, with the historian adding, "He’s not the everyman – he’s the corrupt elite."
Writing, "This was driven home once again on Thursday, when Bannon surrendered himself to New York prosecutors to face charges of defrauding donors to We Build the Wall, a non-profit organization that raised over $25m to build a wall to keep immigrants from crossing America’s southern border," he added, "This affair – in which two people have already pleaded guilty – is a very direct example of a prominent figure in the Maga movement lining their pockets with the money of unsuspecting marks."
"During his first presidential campaign in 2016, Trump – with Bannon at his side – tried to present himself as a champion of the downtrodden. He promised to bring jobs back from overseas and help Americans get over their economic anxiety. But as soon as he got into office, he governed as a plutocrat," he suggested. "His one significant legislative achievement before the coronavirus pandemic was a 2017 tax bill which forced lower-income groups to pay more and allowed higher income groups to pay less. And every year the administration proposed steep cuts to the social programs used by real ordinary Americans, including a 2021 budget which would have cut $1.2tn from Medicaid, food stamps and elsewhere."
According to Gawthorpe, the border wall is an example of the Trump and Bannon MAGA grift, with both profiting.
"The border wall has endured as the ultimate symbol of Trumpism because the soul of his movement is racism and exclusion, not charity and assistance," he explained. "It is through the stoking of hatred and division that Maga elites keep the punters engaged and happy to open their wallets. It’s also how they keep themselves rich and – through blocking any attempt to actually help working people – ensure the poor stay poor."
"This, the true driving force of Trumpism, makes a mockery of conservatives who pretend that the Republican party can become a “multiethnic, multiracial, working-class party," he added before concluding, "Maga is nothing but a scam with hate in its heart and other people’s money in its pockets. Just ask Steve Bannon."
You can read more here.
why talking to the stupid is a waist of time!!!
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New research on Trump voters: They're not the sharpest tools in the box
Now there's proof: Trump's voters lack "cognitive sophistication," often believe Bible is literal word of God
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA - salon
PUBLISHED MARCH 23, 2022 6:00AM (EDT)
The United States is experiencing an existential democracy crisis, with leading Republicans and millions of their voters and supporters either tacitly or explicitly embracing authoritarianism or fascism. Democrats, for the most part, have not responded with the urgency required to save America's democracy from the rising neofascist tide.
American society was founded on white settler colonialism, genocide and slavery. This unresolved birth defect at the foundation of the American democratic experiment meant that the country was racially exclusionary by design, from the founding well into the 20th century. At present, American politics is contoured by asymmetrical political polarization, in which Republicans have moved so far to the right that the party's most "moderate" members are far more extreme than the most "conservative" Democrats. This makes substantive compromise and bipartisanship in the interests of the common good and the American people almost impossible.
Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Trump supporters and Trump-loathers, increasingly do not live in the same neighborhoods or communities. In all, they largely do not socialize with each other, or have other forms of meaningful interpersonal relationships in day-to-day life.
To the degree that "race" is a proxy for political values and beliefs, the color line functions as a practical dividing line of partisan identity and voting. Religion is also a societal space that is divided by politics. For example, public opinion research shows that white right-wing evangelical Christians have increasingly embraced authoritarian views, conspiracy theories and other anti-democratic and antisocial values.
As the new Faith in America survey by Deseret News & Marist College highlights, the basic understanding of the role of religion in a secular democracy has become so polarized that 70% of Republicans believe that religion should influence a person's political values, where as only 28% of Democrats and 45% of independents share that view.
Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, also do not consume the same sources of information about news and politics. Conservatives now inhabit their own self-created media echo chamber, which functions as a type of lie-filled and toxic closed episteme and sealed-off universe. The creation of such an alternate reality is an important attribute of fascism, in which truth itself must be destroyed and replaced with fantasies and fictions in support of the leader and his movement.
Recent research by Darren Sherkat, a professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University, demonstrates that America's democracy crisis may be even more intractable than the above evidence suggests. In his recent article "Cognitive Sophistication, Religion, and the Trump Vote," which appeared in the January 2021 edition of Social Science Quarterly, Sherkat examined data from the 2018 General Social Survey and concluded that there are substantial negative differences between the thinking processes and cognition of white Trump voters, as shown in the 2016 presidential election, as compared to other voters who supported Hillary Clinton or another candidate, or who did not vote at all.
Sherkat observes that Trump support has been linked to religion and level of education, but until now not to "cognitive sophistication," which was found "to have a positive effect on voting, but a negative effect on choosing Trump." He notes that "philosophers and political elites have debated the potential effects of mass political participation" for generations, concerned "about the unsophisticated masses coming under the sway of a demagogue." In effect, this debate was always about the quality he calls cognitive sophistication, since citizens who lack it "may not be able to understand and access reliable and valid information about political issues and may be vulnerable to political propaganda":
Low levels of cognitive sophistication may lead people to embrace simple cognitive shortcuts, like stereotypes and prejudices that were amplified by the Trump campaign. Additionally, the simple linguistic style presented by Trump may have appealed to voters with limited education and cognitive sophistication. Beginning with [T.W.] Adorno's classic study of the authoritarian personality, empirical works have linked low levels of cognitive sophistication with right-wing orientations....
Trump's campaign may also have been more attractive to people with low cognitive sophistication and a preference for low-effort information processing because compared to other candidates Trump's speeches were given at a much lower reading level…. While much of the Trump campaign's rhetoric and orientation may have resonated with the poorly educated and cognitively unsophisticated, those overlapping groups are less likely to register to vote or to turn out in an election.
As part of his research, Sherkat evaluated the political decision-making and cognition of Trump's voters, using a 10-point vocabulary exam. In a guest essay at the website Down with Tyranny, he explains what this vocabulary test revealed about white Trump voters:
Overall, the model predicts that almost 73% of respondents who missed all 10 questions would vote for Trump (remember, that is controlling for education and the other factors), while about 51% who were average on the exam are expected to vote for Trump. Only 35% of people who had a perfect score on the exam are predicted to be Trump supporters.
Notably, this very strong, significant effect of verbal ability can be identified within educational groups. While non-college whites certainly turned out more heavily for Trump, the smart ones did not — only 38% of those with perfect scores are expected to go for Trump, and only 46% of non-college graduates who scored a standard deviation above the mean. The same is true for college graduates — low cognition college graduates were more likely to vote for Trump. ...
What is really depressing isn't just the poles of the vocabulary exam, it's the average. The mean and median of the scale is 6 — so half of white Americans missed 4 of the easy vocabulary questions.
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Belief that the Bible is the literal "word of God" also impacted Trump voting: "Viewing the Bible as a book of fables is also significantly predictive of vote choice, with secular beliefs reducing the odds of a Trump vote by 80 percent when compared to literalists, and reducing the odds of a Trump vote by 52 percent when compared to respondents who view the Bible as inspired by God."
In an email to Salon, Sherkat offered additional context and implication on the relationship between white Christianity, American neofascism and cognition:
The problem of the contemporary American fascist right is rooted in education and information. And this problem is not simply about attainment of some quantity of education, but of the quality and content of education, how that leads generations of white Christian Americans to process information about a wide range of issues. The segregation academies that proliferated in the mid-1960s and accelerated in the 1970s have taught millions of Americans a radically skewed version of American and world history and encouraged a continued segregated society. The homeschooling movement augmented this division, and further denigrated the value of knowledge.
White fundamentalist Christians have always segmented their communities from the rest of America, and even exert considerable control over public educational institutions, particularly in rural areas and in the states which embraced slavery. White fundamentalist Christians distrust mainstream social institutions like education and print media, and they actively seek to eliminate public education and to provide alternative sources of information. As a result, people who identify with and participate in white Christian denominations and who subscribe to fundamentalist beliefs have substantial intellectual deficits that make them easy marks for a wide variety of schemes — from financial fraud to conspiracy theories.
If you can't read the New York Times, you're going to believe whatever you hear on talk radio or on television. It's simply impossible for people with limited vocabularies and low levels of cognitive functioning to make sense of the complex realities of the political world. And we now have a population where for 55 years substantial fractions of white people have gone to private fundamentalist Christian schools that leave them both indoctrinated in Christian nationalism and ill-prepared to process any additional information. Worse, we now have over a million children in a given year who are homeschooled by parents who are uneducated white fundamentalists — and that total has been pretty constant for three decades since the homeschooling movement blossomed.[...]
American society was founded on white settler colonialism, genocide and slavery. This unresolved birth defect at the foundation of the American democratic experiment meant that the country was racially exclusionary by design, from the founding well into the 20th century. At present, American politics is contoured by asymmetrical political polarization, in which Republicans have moved so far to the right that the party's most "moderate" members are far more extreme than the most "conservative" Democrats. This makes substantive compromise and bipartisanship in the interests of the common good and the American people almost impossible.
Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Trump supporters and Trump-loathers, increasingly do not live in the same neighborhoods or communities. In all, they largely do not socialize with each other, or have other forms of meaningful interpersonal relationships in day-to-day life.
To the degree that "race" is a proxy for political values and beliefs, the color line functions as a practical dividing line of partisan identity and voting. Religion is also a societal space that is divided by politics. For example, public opinion research shows that white right-wing evangelical Christians have increasingly embraced authoritarian views, conspiracy theories and other anti-democratic and antisocial values.
As the new Faith in America survey by Deseret News & Marist College highlights, the basic understanding of the role of religion in a secular democracy has become so polarized that 70% of Republicans believe that religion should influence a person's political values, where as only 28% of Democrats and 45% of independents share that view.
Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, also do not consume the same sources of information about news and politics. Conservatives now inhabit their own self-created media echo chamber, which functions as a type of lie-filled and toxic closed episteme and sealed-off universe. The creation of such an alternate reality is an important attribute of fascism, in which truth itself must be destroyed and replaced with fantasies and fictions in support of the leader and his movement.
Recent research by Darren Sherkat, a professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University, demonstrates that America's democracy crisis may be even more intractable than the above evidence suggests. In his recent article "Cognitive Sophistication, Religion, and the Trump Vote," which appeared in the January 2021 edition of Social Science Quarterly, Sherkat examined data from the 2018 General Social Survey and concluded that there are substantial negative differences between the thinking processes and cognition of white Trump voters, as shown in the 2016 presidential election, as compared to other voters who supported Hillary Clinton or another candidate, or who did not vote at all.
Sherkat observes that Trump support has been linked to religion and level of education, but until now not to "cognitive sophistication," which was found "to have a positive effect on voting, but a negative effect on choosing Trump." He notes that "philosophers and political elites have debated the potential effects of mass political participation" for generations, concerned "about the unsophisticated masses coming under the sway of a demagogue." In effect, this debate was always about the quality he calls cognitive sophistication, since citizens who lack it "may not be able to understand and access reliable and valid information about political issues and may be vulnerable to political propaganda":
Low levels of cognitive sophistication may lead people to embrace simple cognitive shortcuts, like stereotypes and prejudices that were amplified by the Trump campaign. Additionally, the simple linguistic style presented by Trump may have appealed to voters with limited education and cognitive sophistication. Beginning with [T.W.] Adorno's classic study of the authoritarian personality, empirical works have linked low levels of cognitive sophistication with right-wing orientations....
Trump's campaign may also have been more attractive to people with low cognitive sophistication and a preference for low-effort information processing because compared to other candidates Trump's speeches were given at a much lower reading level…. While much of the Trump campaign's rhetoric and orientation may have resonated with the poorly educated and cognitively unsophisticated, those overlapping groups are less likely to register to vote or to turn out in an election.
As part of his research, Sherkat evaluated the political decision-making and cognition of Trump's voters, using a 10-point vocabulary exam. In a guest essay at the website Down with Tyranny, he explains what this vocabulary test revealed about white Trump voters:
Overall, the model predicts that almost 73% of respondents who missed all 10 questions would vote for Trump (remember, that is controlling for education and the other factors), while about 51% who were average on the exam are expected to vote for Trump. Only 35% of people who had a perfect score on the exam are predicted to be Trump supporters.
Notably, this very strong, significant effect of verbal ability can be identified within educational groups. While non-college whites certainly turned out more heavily for Trump, the smart ones did not — only 38% of those with perfect scores are expected to go for Trump, and only 46% of non-college graduates who scored a standard deviation above the mean. The same is true for college graduates — low cognition college graduates were more likely to vote for Trump. ...
What is really depressing isn't just the poles of the vocabulary exam, it's the average. The mean and median of the scale is 6 — so half of white Americans missed 4 of the easy vocabulary questions.
---
Belief that the Bible is the literal "word of God" also impacted Trump voting: "Viewing the Bible as a book of fables is also significantly predictive of vote choice, with secular beliefs reducing the odds of a Trump vote by 80 percent when compared to literalists, and reducing the odds of a Trump vote by 52 percent when compared to respondents who view the Bible as inspired by God."
In an email to Salon, Sherkat offered additional context and implication on the relationship between white Christianity, American neofascism and cognition:
The problem of the contemporary American fascist right is rooted in education and information. And this problem is not simply about attainment of some quantity of education, but of the quality and content of education, how that leads generations of white Christian Americans to process information about a wide range of issues. The segregation academies that proliferated in the mid-1960s and accelerated in the 1970s have taught millions of Americans a radically skewed version of American and world history and encouraged a continued segregated society. The homeschooling movement augmented this division, and further denigrated the value of knowledge.
White fundamentalist Christians have always segmented their communities from the rest of America, and even exert considerable control over public educational institutions, particularly in rural areas and in the states which embraced slavery. White fundamentalist Christians distrust mainstream social institutions like education and print media, and they actively seek to eliminate public education and to provide alternative sources of information. As a result, people who identify with and participate in white Christian denominations and who subscribe to fundamentalist beliefs have substantial intellectual deficits that make them easy marks for a wide variety of schemes — from financial fraud to conspiracy theories.
If you can't read the New York Times, you're going to believe whatever you hear on talk radio or on television. It's simply impossible for people with limited vocabularies and low levels of cognitive functioning to make sense of the complex realities of the political world. And we now have a population where for 55 years substantial fractions of white people have gone to private fundamentalist Christian schools that leave them both indoctrinated in Christian nationalism and ill-prepared to process any additional information. Worse, we now have over a million children in a given year who are homeschooled by parents who are uneducated white fundamentalists — and that total has been pretty constant for three decades since the homeschooling movement blossomed.[...]
fleecing the suckers, again!!!
Trump Is Asking His Fans to Pay for New “Trump Force One” Plane
BY Igor Derysh, Salon
PUBLISHED March 11, 2022
Donald Trump’s PAC sent a fundraising email touting the construction of a new private jet, dubbed “Trump Force One,” hours after Trump’s plane was forced to make an emergency landing over the weekend, according to Insider.
A plane carrying Trump made an unscheduled landing last Saturday, while the former president was returning from a Republican National Committee donor event in New Orleans to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, according to Politico. The plane, which belongs to a donor who loaned it to Trump for the event, suffered engine failure 75 miles after taking off from New Orleans and had to turn back, according to the Washington Post. Trump ultimately returned home on the plane of another Republican donor, Craig Estey, the chairman of Nevada Restaurant Services.
Hours after the incident was reported, the Trump Save America PAC sent a fundraising email about a “very important update on his plane,” according to Insider.
“Do you want to see the new Trump Force One?” the email asked, with a link to a site that asks for monthly recurring donations of up to $2,500.
“I have a very important update on my plane, but I need to trust that you won’t share it with anyone,” said the email, which was signed by Trump (and presumably sent to many thousands of actual or possible donors). “My team is building a BRAND NEW Trump Force One.”
“The construction of this plane has been under wraps,” the email said, “not even the fake news media knows about it — and I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see.”
Critics called out the self-proclaimed billionaire for bilking his supporters of money to pay for a new private jet.
“These folks are grifters,” tweeted journalist Roland Martin.
“If your billionaire savior needs you to pay for his jet maybe he’s not being honest about his wealth,” wrote Fox News contributor Chris Hahn.
“Trump is entering televangelist territory at this point,” said Derek Martin of the government watchdog group Accountable.US. “I thought this guy was ultra-wealthy?”
The old “Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 that Trump bought in 2011 and used frequently on the campaign trail in 2016, has been sitting unused and in disrepair at an airport in Newburgh, New York, about 60 miles north of Manhattan, CNN reported last year. One of the plane’s engines is missing parts while the other is shrink-wrapped in plastic, according to the report. Instead, Trump has been using a smaller 1997 Cessna that “isn’t his favorite,” a Trump confidant told CNN, because it “doesn’t have his name on the outside.”
Aviation experts expressed surprise that Trump left his favored plane outside in the elements but a former senior Trump adviser told CNN that “flying that thing was so expensive” that “just to get it up in the air and make one stop was literally tens of thousands of dollars.”
It’s unclear whether Trump is actually buying a new jet or simply using donor funds to repair his old jet. Trump said last May that the original “Trump Force One” was being “fully restored and updated and will be put back into service.” He added that the plane would get new engines and a new paint job and will be “again used at upcoming rallies.”
It’s unclear whether Trump’s PAC is raising money that will go directly towards the plane.
“PACs are often used as slush funds,” Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance expert at the good government nonprofit Common Cause, told CNN. “Campaign finance law doesn’t require PAC money to be used for political purposes, leaving open the possibility that Trump could use PAC funds to pay for private plane repairs.”
A plane carrying Trump made an unscheduled landing last Saturday, while the former president was returning from a Republican National Committee donor event in New Orleans to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, according to Politico. The plane, which belongs to a donor who loaned it to Trump for the event, suffered engine failure 75 miles after taking off from New Orleans and had to turn back, according to the Washington Post. Trump ultimately returned home on the plane of another Republican donor, Craig Estey, the chairman of Nevada Restaurant Services.
Hours after the incident was reported, the Trump Save America PAC sent a fundraising email about a “very important update on his plane,” according to Insider.
“Do you want to see the new Trump Force One?” the email asked, with a link to a site that asks for monthly recurring donations of up to $2,500.
“I have a very important update on my plane, but I need to trust that you won’t share it with anyone,” said the email, which was signed by Trump (and presumably sent to many thousands of actual or possible donors). “My team is building a BRAND NEW Trump Force One.”
“The construction of this plane has been under wraps,” the email said, “not even the fake news media knows about it — and I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see.”
Critics called out the self-proclaimed billionaire for bilking his supporters of money to pay for a new private jet.
“These folks are grifters,” tweeted journalist Roland Martin.
“If your billionaire savior needs you to pay for his jet maybe he’s not being honest about his wealth,” wrote Fox News contributor Chris Hahn.
“Trump is entering televangelist territory at this point,” said Derek Martin of the government watchdog group Accountable.US. “I thought this guy was ultra-wealthy?”
The old “Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 that Trump bought in 2011 and used frequently on the campaign trail in 2016, has been sitting unused and in disrepair at an airport in Newburgh, New York, about 60 miles north of Manhattan, CNN reported last year. One of the plane’s engines is missing parts while the other is shrink-wrapped in plastic, according to the report. Instead, Trump has been using a smaller 1997 Cessna that “isn’t his favorite,” a Trump confidant told CNN, because it “doesn’t have his name on the outside.”
Aviation experts expressed surprise that Trump left his favored plane outside in the elements but a former senior Trump adviser told CNN that “flying that thing was so expensive” that “just to get it up in the air and make one stop was literally tens of thousands of dollars.”
It’s unclear whether Trump is actually buying a new jet or simply using donor funds to repair his old jet. Trump said last May that the original “Trump Force One” was being “fully restored and updated and will be put back into service.” He added that the plane would get new engines and a new paint job and will be “again used at upcoming rallies.”
It’s unclear whether Trump’s PAC is raising money that will go directly towards the plane.
“PACs are often used as slush funds,” Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance expert at the good government nonprofit Common Cause, told CNN. “Campaign finance law doesn’t require PAC money to be used for political purposes, leaving open the possibility that Trump could use PAC funds to pay for private plane repairs.”
RNC scamming their own donors with shady solicitations: 'These are predatory tactics'
Travis Gettys - RAW STORY
July 28, 2021
The Republican National Committee is preying on its own donors with dubious and duplicitous fundraising schemes.
The RNC sent out text messages and email this week to GOP supporters that made a fundraising request appear to be a "final notice" on an unpaid bill and urged them activate their "lifetime membership," while others falsely suggested contributions would support Donald Trump's lawsuit against social media companies, reported The Daily Beast.
"Taken all together, these are the kinds of predatory tactics you only see in the scammiest models," said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
The new messages resemble shady schemes Republicans used in the last election cycle, including a late December email Donald Trump pushed out as he fought to overturn his loss, and raked in a half billion dollars between mid-October and the end of November.
"Since donors tend to be older and maybe less fluent with the internet, or can't see the fine print on their phone, these kinds of tricks seem intended to wring as much money out of a supporter as possible, regardless of that person's intent," Libowitz said.
The RNC set up a pre-selected option to make donations recur on a monthly basis, which is reportedly under investigation in at least four states, and donors who manage to navigate the tricky opt-out process are then smacked with a frantic pop-up graphic.
"WAIT!" the full-page graphic reads. "The Radical Left is so happy that you unchecked that box. Don't give them what they want!"
Democratic solicitations connected to President Joe Biden use similar tactics, including non-existent deadlines and guilt tactics, although they're generally less aggressive and less frequent, and request much smaller gifts and do not pre-select the recurring donation option.
The RNC sent out text messages and email this week to GOP supporters that made a fundraising request appear to be a "final notice" on an unpaid bill and urged them activate their "lifetime membership," while others falsely suggested contributions would support Donald Trump's lawsuit against social media companies, reported The Daily Beast.
"Taken all together, these are the kinds of predatory tactics you only see in the scammiest models," said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
The new messages resemble shady schemes Republicans used in the last election cycle, including a late December email Donald Trump pushed out as he fought to overturn his loss, and raked in a half billion dollars between mid-October and the end of November.
"Since donors tend to be older and maybe less fluent with the internet, or can't see the fine print on their phone, these kinds of tricks seem intended to wring as much money out of a supporter as possible, regardless of that person's intent," Libowitz said.
The RNC set up a pre-selected option to make donations recur on a monthly basis, which is reportedly under investigation in at least four states, and donors who manage to navigate the tricky opt-out process are then smacked with a frantic pop-up graphic.
"WAIT!" the full-page graphic reads. "The Radical Left is so happy that you unchecked that box. Don't give them what they want!"
Democratic solicitations connected to President Joe Biden use similar tactics, including non-existent deadlines and guilt tactics, although they're generally less aggressive and less frequent, and request much smaller gifts and do not pre-select the recurring donation option.
GOP voters are being fleeced and even killed by the conservative grift 'machine': columnist
Matthew Chapman - raw story
July 16, 2021
On Friday, writing for The Washington Post, columnist Paul Waldman drew a parallel between GOP activists hawking marked-up Chinese "Freedom Phones" and the anti-vaccination propaganda echoing throughout right-wing media. Both, he argued, are part of the same scam to profit off of the outrage of their supporters — and their supporters are paying the price.
"There's no telling how many Donald Trump superfans will fall for [Freedom Phones], but they're a nearly infinitely minable resource, whether the goals of the elite conservatives targeting them are economic, political, or both," wrote Waldman. "That's also the way to understand the sweeping campaign against COVID-19 vaccination that has overtaken the right. While conservative politicians and media figures are causing increased death and suffering among their own supporters, they're doing so because it serves their most important goal: Keep the machine running."
He then explained how scams run rampant throughout the right-wing political world, as conservative grifters have worked tirelessly to separate Trump supporters from their hard-earned cash.
"There's no shortage of hands reaching into the pockets of the conservative rank-and-file, whether it's scammy pro-Trump PACs making billions of robocalls to sweep up 'donations' from the faithful or Trump and Bill O'Reilly mounting a stadium tour so you can see two of America's most famous alleged sexual harassers in person," for up to $8,500, wrote Waldman. "Keeping the machine running means outrage, anger, distrust, fear and conspiracy thinking, all wrapped up in a spinning turbine of hysteria where emotion is turned into action."
According to a recent report, 99 percent of deaths due to COVID-19 are now among unvaccinated people. A survey reported in June suggested that Republicans make up a disproportionate share of the unvaccinated population.
You can read more here.
"There's no telling how many Donald Trump superfans will fall for [Freedom Phones], but they're a nearly infinitely minable resource, whether the goals of the elite conservatives targeting them are economic, political, or both," wrote Waldman. "That's also the way to understand the sweeping campaign against COVID-19 vaccination that has overtaken the right. While conservative politicians and media figures are causing increased death and suffering among their own supporters, they're doing so because it serves their most important goal: Keep the machine running."
He then explained how scams run rampant throughout the right-wing political world, as conservative grifters have worked tirelessly to separate Trump supporters from their hard-earned cash.
"There's no shortage of hands reaching into the pockets of the conservative rank-and-file, whether it's scammy pro-Trump PACs making billions of robocalls to sweep up 'donations' from the faithful or Trump and Bill O'Reilly mounting a stadium tour so you can see two of America's most famous alleged sexual harassers in person," for up to $8,500, wrote Waldman. "Keeping the machine running means outrage, anger, distrust, fear and conspiracy thinking, all wrapped up in a spinning turbine of hysteria where emotion is turned into action."
According to a recent report, 99 percent of deaths due to COVID-19 are now among unvaccinated people. A survey reported in June suggested that Republicans make up a disproportionate share of the unvaccinated population.
You can read more here.
in the land of stupid!!!
Millions of Americans view being anti-vaccination as a part of their social identity
A poll finds more than a fifth of Americans always or sometimes self-identify with the anti-vaccine movement
By MATTHEW ROZSA - salon
PUBLISHED JUNE 8, 2021 5:40AM (EDT)
In a new paper published for the journal Politics, Groups, and Identities, researchers found that 22 percent of Americans actively identify themselves as anti-vaccination, with 14 percent saying they are "sometimes" part of the movement and 8 percent saying this is "always" the case.
These self-described anti-vaxxers "embrace" the label of anti-vaxxer "as a form of social identity," the authors write.
"We also find that people who score highly on our [anti-vaxx social identification] measure tend to be less trusting of scientific experts and more individualistic," they noted.
The study is a stark reminder that vaccine-hostile attitudes are not a fringe view, but are possessed by a substantial portion of the US population, many of whom have come to consider the label a formative part of their identity. As daily COVID-19 vaccination rates have begun to decline, the cohort of self-identified anti-vaccination Americans are contributing to the delayed march towards herd immunity in the United States.
Indeed, widespread refusal to get vaccinated is a major reason why experts doubt the number of Americans who vaccinate themselves from the deadly disease will reach 70 percent, the rough number needed to reach herd immunity. Currently, slightly more than 47 percent of Americans are vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.
Texas A&M University School of Public Health assistant professor Timothy Callaghan said in a university press release that "the fact that 22 percent of Americans at least sometimes identify as anti-vaxxers was much higher than expected and demonstrates the scope of the challenge in vaccinating the population against COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases."
Callaghan's concern reflects a growing challenge for public health experts, who have now to contend with the myriad ways in which basic public health advice has become politicized. Indeed, a March 2021 study, which revealed the extent to which partisan politics have influenced attitudes towards vaccination, found that Republican men were the most likely to be COVID-19 anti-vaxxers (49 percent) — followed by Republican-identifying women (34 percent), Democratic women (14 percent) and Democratic men (6 percent). The same study revealed that 40 percent of white non-college educated men and 38 percent of white evangelicals — groups that both lean conservative — said they would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if it was offered to them.
Another recent study also found that anti-vaccine ideas are most popular among Republicans. Despite the prevalence of anti-vaxxer views, researchers at the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that up to 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on major social media platforms are being spread by one of a mere dozen individuals and organizations, meaning that misinformation is concentrated in its dissemination.
Pre-pandemic, the modern incarnation of the general anti-vaccination movement was spurred by a 1998 paper from the medical journal The Lancet which linked autism to the measles vaccine. That paper was later thoroughly discredited by scientists, denounced by The Lancet and retracted by 10 of its 12 co-authors. Its lead author, Andrew Wakefield, lost his medical license in the United Kingdom for ethical violations. Despite this, many parents would read pseudoscientific literature inspired by Wakefield's paper and conclude that it was dangerous to vaccinate their children.
In April, Dr. Kasisomayajula Viswanath, a professor of health communication at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, spoke with Salon's Nicole Karlis about the complex nature of the anti-vaccine movement. Viswanath pointed out that there are many reasons why someone might distrust vaccines, not all of which are linked to partisan politics. Patients from underprivileged backgrounds, for instance, might have previously experienced racism in our health care system and feel an understandable wariness.
"That's very different from a group of people who are outright refusers who say, 'No, this is my freedom,'" Viswanath said. "Personal liberty is one of the biggest drivers."
These self-described anti-vaxxers "embrace" the label of anti-vaxxer "as a form of social identity," the authors write.
"We also find that people who score highly on our [anti-vaxx social identification] measure tend to be less trusting of scientific experts and more individualistic," they noted.
The study is a stark reminder that vaccine-hostile attitudes are not a fringe view, but are possessed by a substantial portion of the US population, many of whom have come to consider the label a formative part of their identity. As daily COVID-19 vaccination rates have begun to decline, the cohort of self-identified anti-vaccination Americans are contributing to the delayed march towards herd immunity in the United States.
Indeed, widespread refusal to get vaccinated is a major reason why experts doubt the number of Americans who vaccinate themselves from the deadly disease will reach 70 percent, the rough number needed to reach herd immunity. Currently, slightly more than 47 percent of Americans are vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.
Texas A&M University School of Public Health assistant professor Timothy Callaghan said in a university press release that "the fact that 22 percent of Americans at least sometimes identify as anti-vaxxers was much higher than expected and demonstrates the scope of the challenge in vaccinating the population against COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases."
Callaghan's concern reflects a growing challenge for public health experts, who have now to contend with the myriad ways in which basic public health advice has become politicized. Indeed, a March 2021 study, which revealed the extent to which partisan politics have influenced attitudes towards vaccination, found that Republican men were the most likely to be COVID-19 anti-vaxxers (49 percent) — followed by Republican-identifying women (34 percent), Democratic women (14 percent) and Democratic men (6 percent). The same study revealed that 40 percent of white non-college educated men and 38 percent of white evangelicals — groups that both lean conservative — said they would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if it was offered to them.
Another recent study also found that anti-vaccine ideas are most popular among Republicans. Despite the prevalence of anti-vaxxer views, researchers at the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that up to 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on major social media platforms are being spread by one of a mere dozen individuals and organizations, meaning that misinformation is concentrated in its dissemination.
Pre-pandemic, the modern incarnation of the general anti-vaccination movement was spurred by a 1998 paper from the medical journal The Lancet which linked autism to the measles vaccine. That paper was later thoroughly discredited by scientists, denounced by The Lancet and retracted by 10 of its 12 co-authors. Its lead author, Andrew Wakefield, lost his medical license in the United Kingdom for ethical violations. Despite this, many parents would read pseudoscientific literature inspired by Wakefield's paper and conclude that it was dangerous to vaccinate their children.
In April, Dr. Kasisomayajula Viswanath, a professor of health communication at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, spoke with Salon's Nicole Karlis about the complex nature of the anti-vaccine movement. Viswanath pointed out that there are many reasons why someone might distrust vaccines, not all of which are linked to partisan politics. Patients from underprivileged backgrounds, for instance, might have previously experienced racism in our health care system and feel an understandable wariness.
"That's very different from a group of people who are outright refusers who say, 'No, this is my freedom,'" Viswanath said. "Personal liberty is one of the biggest drivers."
Could Qanon Reign Mean the "End Times" for Democracy?
The “Philosophers,” “Thieving Scoundrels” and “Foreign Enemies” are having a collective moment that could take down America.
Thom Hartmann - hartmann.com
6/2/2021
There are people in this world who don’t like —and even hate -- democracy. They’re on the move against it, particularly here in America, and the Qanon religion/cult is the glue that’s bringing them all together.
One group doesn’t like democracy because they don’t trust the “ignorant masses” and the “rabble“ to choose leaders who can make decisions for an entire country. They’re the “Philosopher” opposers of democracy.
They’re well-represented in America by a large handful of rightwing billionaires and their “libertarian” think-tanks and front groups working against, for example, HR1/SB1 For The People Act.
Some hate democracy because they’re members of the “faction” class that James Madison warned us about in Federalist #10; the special interests. They’re the “Thieving Scoundrel” opposers of democracy.
These would be the giant businesses (and the billionaires they produce) that want to keep their profits high by poisoning our air, water and food; running giant monopolies to stomp out small businesses; or otherwise rip off America and Americans…and don’t want “we the people” to be able to protect ourselves through government regulation.
And some hate democracy because they’re running undemocratic, authoritarian governments outside the US, and if they can destroy democracy in America it’ll take a lot of pressure off of them. They’re the “Foreign Enemies” of democracy.
All three of these groups have found common cause in a collective takeover of the Republican Party and the embrace of Qanon. And, ironically, they all claim to be “defending democracy” in the process.
Voltaire wrote, “[W]hoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
That was just the first part of the quote; he was speaking specifically of the many absurdities embraced by our various religions. Which now includes Qanon, a pseudo-religion apparently started by an American pig farmer who lives in The Philippines.
It’s burrowed so deeply into the bloodstream of conventional American religion that the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention worried out loud on CNN that it’s replacing churches as parishioner’s primary religion. “[P]astors only have access to people maybe an hour or three hours a day, that's nothing compares to 24 hours a day from Facebook,” he told Erin Burnett.
While much of white evangelical Christianity has long tilted Republican, QAnon is not just Republican but anti-democracy, anti-American, pro-oligarch Republican. The Michael Flynn variety of Republican.
One in six Americans, according to a recent PRRI survey, today “believes” in the Qanon conspiracy, including the part about Democrats drinking the blood of children. Given that about a third of Americans are Republicans, and virtually all of those believers identify as Republicans, that suggests that between a third and half of all Republican voters have bought into this new secular religion/cult.
And elected Republicans are, almost to a person, either supportive of this new religion or silent on the issue.
As Voltaire said in the rest of his quote, “If the God-given understanding of your mind does not resist a demand to believe what is impossible, then you will not resist a demand to do wrong to that God-given sense of justice in your heart. As soon as one faculty of your soul has been dominated, other faculties will follow as well. And from this derives all those crimes of religion which have overrun the world.”
While religion generally has achieved an uneasy truce with democracy, the three groups mentioned earlier who openly hate and regularly work to destroy democracy have found QAnon and the general gullibility it creates in its “believers” to be extraordinarily useful.
The “Philosophers,” “Thieving Scoundrels” and “Foreign Enemies” who collectively want to bring down democracy around the world are actively promoting the various parts of the Qanon religion that each finds most useful.
The “Philosophers” use it to promote doubt about the accuracy and fairness of elections and the democratic process.
The “Thieving Scoundrels” use it to portray government efforts to reduce inequality and poverty, protect citizens from a deadly pandemic, and regulate the activity of toxic, planet-destroying industries as if they were all parts of an “evil conspiracy.”
And the “Foreign Enemies” are popping up all over social media and the internet, portraying themselves as “average people” while doing everything they can to use this new religion to stir hatred and division among Americans.
Because if democracy can be taken down in America, the oligarchs and autocrats of the world will find it much easier to bring down elsewhere.
They’re already working as hard as they can to bring authoritarian/oligarchic governance to Europe, having established beachheads in Sweden, France, Germany and England and completely taken over Turkey, Hungary and Poland.
Democracy is a fragile flame. While it burned brightly in indigenous societies for over 100,000 years, since the agricultural revolution it has only appeared a few times among what we referred to as “civilized” or “advanced” societies.
It first popped up in Greece about 3000 years ago, then in Rome around 2000 years ago; both times it failed in a few generations. It then made its appearance here in North America about 240 years ago, and now has spread to roughly half of all nations, about a fifth of the population of the world.
From the Republican Party’s efforts to rig future elections to General Michael Flynn calling for the violent overthrow of the American government to billionaire-owned or -subsidized media operations openly supporting oligarchy and ridiculing efforts to make a more pluralistic, egalitarian society, the forces that seek to destroy democracy are on the move.
The “Philosophers,” “Thieving Scoundrels” and “Foreign Enemies” are having their collective moment.
Qanon believers are now convinced that Donald Trump will return to his throne in the White House this August. Many have sworn to do everything they can to bring that about, making anything from another January 6th to mass murder like Tim McVeigh did possible.
As that recent PRRI poll found, about 1/6th of Americans agree with the statement that “the government, media, and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.” The New York Times headline reads: QAnon Now as Popular in U.S. as Some Major Religions.
They believe absurdities, and are prepared to commit atrocities. Democracy in America — and around the world — hangs by a thread.
One group doesn’t like democracy because they don’t trust the “ignorant masses” and the “rabble“ to choose leaders who can make decisions for an entire country. They’re the “Philosopher” opposers of democracy.
They’re well-represented in America by a large handful of rightwing billionaires and their “libertarian” think-tanks and front groups working against, for example, HR1/SB1 For The People Act.
Some hate democracy because they’re members of the “faction” class that James Madison warned us about in Federalist #10; the special interests. They’re the “Thieving Scoundrel” opposers of democracy.
These would be the giant businesses (and the billionaires they produce) that want to keep their profits high by poisoning our air, water and food; running giant monopolies to stomp out small businesses; or otherwise rip off America and Americans…and don’t want “we the people” to be able to protect ourselves through government regulation.
And some hate democracy because they’re running undemocratic, authoritarian governments outside the US, and if they can destroy democracy in America it’ll take a lot of pressure off of them. They’re the “Foreign Enemies” of democracy.
All three of these groups have found common cause in a collective takeover of the Republican Party and the embrace of Qanon. And, ironically, they all claim to be “defending democracy” in the process.
Voltaire wrote, “[W]hoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
That was just the first part of the quote; he was speaking specifically of the many absurdities embraced by our various religions. Which now includes Qanon, a pseudo-religion apparently started by an American pig farmer who lives in The Philippines.
It’s burrowed so deeply into the bloodstream of conventional American religion that the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention worried out loud on CNN that it’s replacing churches as parishioner’s primary religion. “[P]astors only have access to people maybe an hour or three hours a day, that's nothing compares to 24 hours a day from Facebook,” he told Erin Burnett.
While much of white evangelical Christianity has long tilted Republican, QAnon is not just Republican but anti-democracy, anti-American, pro-oligarch Republican. The Michael Flynn variety of Republican.
One in six Americans, according to a recent PRRI survey, today “believes” in the Qanon conspiracy, including the part about Democrats drinking the blood of children. Given that about a third of Americans are Republicans, and virtually all of those believers identify as Republicans, that suggests that between a third and half of all Republican voters have bought into this new secular religion/cult.
And elected Republicans are, almost to a person, either supportive of this new religion or silent on the issue.
As Voltaire said in the rest of his quote, “If the God-given understanding of your mind does not resist a demand to believe what is impossible, then you will not resist a demand to do wrong to that God-given sense of justice in your heart. As soon as one faculty of your soul has been dominated, other faculties will follow as well. And from this derives all those crimes of religion which have overrun the world.”
While religion generally has achieved an uneasy truce with democracy, the three groups mentioned earlier who openly hate and regularly work to destroy democracy have found QAnon and the general gullibility it creates in its “believers” to be extraordinarily useful.
The “Philosophers,” “Thieving Scoundrels” and “Foreign Enemies” who collectively want to bring down democracy around the world are actively promoting the various parts of the Qanon religion that each finds most useful.
The “Philosophers” use it to promote doubt about the accuracy and fairness of elections and the democratic process.
The “Thieving Scoundrels” use it to portray government efforts to reduce inequality and poverty, protect citizens from a deadly pandemic, and regulate the activity of toxic, planet-destroying industries as if they were all parts of an “evil conspiracy.”
And the “Foreign Enemies” are popping up all over social media and the internet, portraying themselves as “average people” while doing everything they can to use this new religion to stir hatred and division among Americans.
Because if democracy can be taken down in America, the oligarchs and autocrats of the world will find it much easier to bring down elsewhere.
They’re already working as hard as they can to bring authoritarian/oligarchic governance to Europe, having established beachheads in Sweden, France, Germany and England and completely taken over Turkey, Hungary and Poland.
Democracy is a fragile flame. While it burned brightly in indigenous societies for over 100,000 years, since the agricultural revolution it has only appeared a few times among what we referred to as “civilized” or “advanced” societies.
It first popped up in Greece about 3000 years ago, then in Rome around 2000 years ago; both times it failed in a few generations. It then made its appearance here in North America about 240 years ago, and now has spread to roughly half of all nations, about a fifth of the population of the world.
From the Republican Party’s efforts to rig future elections to General Michael Flynn calling for the violent overthrow of the American government to billionaire-owned or -subsidized media operations openly supporting oligarchy and ridiculing efforts to make a more pluralistic, egalitarian society, the forces that seek to destroy democracy are on the move.
The “Philosophers,” “Thieving Scoundrels” and “Foreign Enemies” are having their collective moment.
Qanon believers are now convinced that Donald Trump will return to his throne in the White House this August. Many have sworn to do everything they can to bring that about, making anything from another January 6th to mass murder like Tim McVeigh did possible.
As that recent PRRI poll found, about 1/6th of Americans agree with the statement that “the government, media, and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.” The New York Times headline reads: QAnon Now as Popular in U.S. as Some Major Religions.
They believe absurdities, and are prepared to commit atrocities. Democracy in America — and around the world — hangs by a thread.
FLEECING THE SUCKERS!!!
Aldous Huxley, 'brave new world", said...
“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.”
One could say then, as a general rule, that white misunderstanding, misrepresentation, evasion, and self-deception on matters related to race are among the most pervasive mental phenomena of the past few hundred years, a cognitive and moral economy psychically required for conquest, colonization, and enslavement.
The Racial Contract, Charles Mills
denial conservative style!!
From Crooks & Liars: I've never gone wrong betting on the racism and arrogant ignorance of the Right: I've only erred occasionally on the point spread. And predicting Conservative behavior is dead-easy because traditionally they only have four basic settings:
Pleading Ignorance.
Of course Conservatives are ignorant -- deeply and malignantly ignorant. This comes from letting lying demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity take a dump in their skulls for the last 20 years. But since the GOP OnStar only emits turns in one direction, traditionally the only way Conservatives have been permitted to be "wrong" about anything was that they were "not Conservative enough!". From Crain's, October, 2015:
- Arrogant triumphalism: The aforementioned "We won! You lost! Bush is a genius! Suck it Libtards!"
- All-out denialism: The aforementioned "Everything I see on non-Fox teevee is fake! Terrible lies by the terrible Murrica-hating Libtard media conspiracy!"
- Bargaining: It doesn't matter whether or not I'm a brain-washed moron...because Both Sides!"
- Running Away: As I pointed out back during the first Great Skedaddle back in 2009, because Conservatives are by nature abject moral cowards, their last "out" is doing like German soldiers did after the fall of Berlin: stop running away from the catastrophe they created only long enough to burn their uniforms. See, "I'm an independent."
Pleading Ignorance.
Of course Conservatives are ignorant -- deeply and malignantly ignorant. This comes from letting lying demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity take a dump in their skulls for the last 20 years. But since the GOP OnStar only emits turns in one direction, traditionally the only way Conservatives have been permitted to be "wrong" about anything was that they were "not Conservative enough!". From Crain's, October, 2015:
explaining the suckers!!!
Why the Big Lie is so effective
Why the Republicans' Big Lie works so well: A sociopathic party, and a damaged country
Democrats and the media need to understand the truth, right now: This is an existential struggle for democracy
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA - salon
PUBLISHED MAY 18, 2021 3:13PM (UTC)
The Republican Party and the right-wing movement are expert and prodigious liars. This causes great frustration and anger for Democrats, progressives and others who believe in real "we the people" American democracy. The American people have become massively confused and disoriented by the Republicans' torrent of lies.
Why are the Republicans able to lie so much and so easily? There are two primary reasons.
The foundational explanation is that the modern Republican Party and right-wing movement are sociopathic. The Republican Party meets those criteria, as I explained in an earlier essay at Salon:
As detailed by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, exhibiting three or more of the following traits is sufficient for the diagnosis of sociopathy:
Callous unconcern for the feelings of others
Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms and obligations
Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them
Very low tolerance to frustration, a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence
Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment
Markedly prone to blame others or to offer plausible rationalization for the behavior that has brought the person into conflict with society
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders adds these two qualifiers:
Deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
Impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead
The day-to-day practical explanation for the Republican Party's habitual lying (and that of the right more generally) is that it is a highly effective political strategy for helping them win and keep power.
To that point, the Republican Party's policies are unpopular with the American people. If Republicans told the truth about those policies, they would rarely or never be able to win free and fair elections.
Moreover, today's Republican Party is almost fully a neofascist political organization and personality cult centered around Donald Trump. Its goal is to overthrow America's multiracial secular democracy and replace it with an apartheid-style plutocracy (flavored with theocracy). Assaulting empirical reality, undermining any sense of shared truth and values and replacing it all with an approved narrative that serves their goals is a primary method that fascists and authoritarians gain control over a society.
In his own way, Republican strategist and mastermind Karl Rove predicted such a future in 2004 with his observation about the Iraq war: "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
Donald Trump publicly lied at least 30,000 times while president and faced few if any negative consequences for that behavior. Moreover, he came within several thousand votes of "winning" the 2020 presidential election because of his strategic use of lying, deception and trickery, including voter suppression and voter intimidation.
---
Contrary to what the hope-peddlers and happy-pill sellers of the mainstream news media would like to believe, the Republican Party is not in disarray, in the midst of a "civil war" or "trying to find its soul." The party is largely united behind Trump and the Big Lie.
Democracy Corps summarizes the findings of its new research on Trump support in battleground states:
We conducted a large, mostly cell phone survey with an oversample of Republicans in the 2022 battleground for the U.S. Senate, governorships, and House, and it is painfully clear Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy know their party. The Trump loyalists who strongly approve of him are two thirds of those who identify as, "Republican." And they are joined by the Trump aligned to form a breathtaking, three quarters of the party in the electoral battleground states and districts that will decide who leads the country.
---
Democracy Corps further argues that "Trump's current focus on the stolen election" must not be dismissed as "an amusing side-show":
It is about Blacks and Democratic politicians in the cities using illegal voting procedures and stuffing ballot boxes to steal away Trump's great victory his battle to save America. This survey shows what are the true drivers of GOP identity — the deep hostility to Black Lives Matter, undocumented immigrants, and Antifa. And imagine their reaction to the flood of unaccompanied children at the border, the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, and Black Lives Matter protests after each police shooting of unarmed Blacks.
There is no escaping the reality that Trump's Republican Party is a self-consciously and self-confidently anti-democratic, anti-immigrant party that will battle for the future of white people in a multicultural America.
The Trump loyalists — again, two-thirds of the party — respond with deep emotion to the term, "MAGA," that captures their whole embrace of Trump's battle to make America great again. And it is an unfinished battle and campaign.
---
Social scientists and other researchers have shown that Trump's followers ignore his lies (in effect endorsing them) because they view him as not "politically correct" and a type of "outsider" who is "taking on the system" on their behalf.
Researchers have also shown that enthusiasm for Trump's campaign and presidency were and are directly related to support for his lies.
In addition, Republican politicians are significantly more likely to lie than are Democrats. Republican voters have been trained to understand that political lying is normal — if not perhaps even virtuous.
Today's Republican Party and broader right-wing movement are tied together by white identity politics, white supremacy and a commitment to defend "traditional values" and "white America."
Because politics is now a core aspect of how Republicans and Trumpists define their personhood, lying is easily normalized. False claims have become integrated into their thinking about the world and reality.
Right-wing Christians are among Trump and the Republican Party's most loyal followers. While telling lies is supposedly contrary to their faith, white evangelicals and Christian nationalists support the lies told by Trump and other "saviors" if they are perceived as serving the purpose of helping to create "God's kingdom" in America and around the world.[...]
Why are the Republicans able to lie so much and so easily? There are two primary reasons.
The foundational explanation is that the modern Republican Party and right-wing movement are sociopathic. The Republican Party meets those criteria, as I explained in an earlier essay at Salon:
As detailed by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, exhibiting three or more of the following traits is sufficient for the diagnosis of sociopathy:
Callous unconcern for the feelings of others
Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms and obligations
Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them
Very low tolerance to frustration, a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence
Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment
Markedly prone to blame others or to offer plausible rationalization for the behavior that has brought the person into conflict with society
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders adds these two qualifiers:
Deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
Impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead
The day-to-day practical explanation for the Republican Party's habitual lying (and that of the right more generally) is that it is a highly effective political strategy for helping them win and keep power.
To that point, the Republican Party's policies are unpopular with the American people. If Republicans told the truth about those policies, they would rarely or never be able to win free and fair elections.
Moreover, today's Republican Party is almost fully a neofascist political organization and personality cult centered around Donald Trump. Its goal is to overthrow America's multiracial secular democracy and replace it with an apartheid-style plutocracy (flavored with theocracy). Assaulting empirical reality, undermining any sense of shared truth and values and replacing it all with an approved narrative that serves their goals is a primary method that fascists and authoritarians gain control over a society.
In his own way, Republican strategist and mastermind Karl Rove predicted such a future in 2004 with his observation about the Iraq war: "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
Donald Trump publicly lied at least 30,000 times while president and faced few if any negative consequences for that behavior. Moreover, he came within several thousand votes of "winning" the 2020 presidential election because of his strategic use of lying, deception and trickery, including voter suppression and voter intimidation.
---
Contrary to what the hope-peddlers and happy-pill sellers of the mainstream news media would like to believe, the Republican Party is not in disarray, in the midst of a "civil war" or "trying to find its soul." The party is largely united behind Trump and the Big Lie.
Democracy Corps summarizes the findings of its new research on Trump support in battleground states:
We conducted a large, mostly cell phone survey with an oversample of Republicans in the 2022 battleground for the U.S. Senate, governorships, and House, and it is painfully clear Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy know their party. The Trump loyalists who strongly approve of him are two thirds of those who identify as, "Republican." And they are joined by the Trump aligned to form a breathtaking, three quarters of the party in the electoral battleground states and districts that will decide who leads the country.
---
Democracy Corps further argues that "Trump's current focus on the stolen election" must not be dismissed as "an amusing side-show":
It is about Blacks and Democratic politicians in the cities using illegal voting procedures and stuffing ballot boxes to steal away Trump's great victory his battle to save America. This survey shows what are the true drivers of GOP identity — the deep hostility to Black Lives Matter, undocumented immigrants, and Antifa. And imagine their reaction to the flood of unaccompanied children at the border, the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, and Black Lives Matter protests after each police shooting of unarmed Blacks.
There is no escaping the reality that Trump's Republican Party is a self-consciously and self-confidently anti-democratic, anti-immigrant party that will battle for the future of white people in a multicultural America.
The Trump loyalists — again, two-thirds of the party — respond with deep emotion to the term, "MAGA," that captures their whole embrace of Trump's battle to make America great again. And it is an unfinished battle and campaign.
---
Social scientists and other researchers have shown that Trump's followers ignore his lies (in effect endorsing them) because they view him as not "politically correct" and a type of "outsider" who is "taking on the system" on their behalf.
Researchers have also shown that enthusiasm for Trump's campaign and presidency were and are directly related to support for his lies.
In addition, Republican politicians are significantly more likely to lie than are Democrats. Republican voters have been trained to understand that political lying is normal — if not perhaps even virtuous.
Today's Republican Party and broader right-wing movement are tied together by white identity politics, white supremacy and a commitment to defend "traditional values" and "white America."
Because politics is now a core aspect of how Republicans and Trumpists define their personhood, lying is easily normalized. False claims have become integrated into their thinking about the world and reality.
Right-wing Christians are among Trump and the Republican Party's most loyal followers. While telling lies is supposedly contrary to their faith, white evangelicals and Christian nationalists support the lies told by Trump and other "saviors" if they are perceived as serving the purpose of helping to create "God's kingdom" in America and around the world.[...]
TraitorTrump Bamboozled Donors With Recurring Donations
A NY Times blockbuster report explains how Trump fleeced his online donors for recurring donations by hiding the "opt-out" button.
By John Amato - crooks & liars
4/5/2021
The New York Times released a blockbuster report on how Trump fleeced his online donors, including those in hospice.
The campaign billed donors for weekly donations by programming their page to accept "weekly" as a default. The "opt-out" button was hidden below fine print, which got longer as the "campaign" dragged on.
These extra donations kept his campaign afloat while his emptying unwitting supporter's bank accounts to do so.
As P.T. Barnum has often been quoted as saying, 'there's a sucker born every day.' The Trump campaign took that mantra to unconscionable heights.
[This fundraising] duplicity was actually an intentional scheme to boost revenues by the Trump campaign and the for-profit company that processed its online donations, WinRed. Facing a cash crunch and getting badly outspent by the Democrats, the campaign had begun last September to set up recurring donations by default for online donors, for every week until the election.
Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out. As the election neared, the Trump team made that disclaimer increasingly opaque, an investigation by The New York Times showed. It introduced a second prechecked box, known internally as a “money bomb,” that doubled a person’s contribution. Eventually its solicitations featured lines of text in bold and capital letters that overwhelmed the opt-out language.
The campaign billed donors for weekly donations by programming their page to accept "weekly" as a default. The "opt-out" button was hidden below fine print, which got longer as the "campaign" dragged on.
These extra donations kept his campaign afloat while his emptying unwitting supporter's bank accounts to do so.
As P.T. Barnum has often been quoted as saying, 'there's a sucker born every day.' The Trump campaign took that mantra to unconscionable heights.
[This fundraising] duplicity was actually an intentional scheme to boost revenues by the Trump campaign and the for-profit company that processed its online donations, WinRed. Facing a cash crunch and getting badly outspent by the Democrats, the campaign had begun last September to set up recurring donations by default for online donors, for every week until the election.
Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out. As the election neared, the Trump team made that disclaimer increasingly opaque, an investigation by The New York Times showed. It introduced a second prechecked box, known internally as a “money bomb,” that doubled a person’s contribution. Eventually its solicitations featured lines of text in bold and capital letters that overwhelmed the opt-out language.
Donald Trump's "real" legacy to America: The weaponization of an alternate reality
Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson and the entire GOP have learned a dark lesson from their former master: Simply deny the truth
By ALAN D. BLOTCKY - SALON
MARCH 3, 2021 11:01AM (UTC)
Sen. Ted Cruz is a proud disciple of Donald Trump's legacy to America — his weaponization of alternate reality. In recent days, Cruz has been positively Trumpian in his betrayal and lack of empathy regarding his family's getaway to a beach resort in Mexico while his state was paralyzed by a catastrophic winter storm. To make matters worse, Cruz championed an alternate reality by concocting different versions of the "truth" with a web of lies and shifting blame to his children. For now, his alternate reality appears to have won the day.
Sen. Ron Johnson claims that the mood among the demonstrators at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was largely "positive," and that there were "fake Trump protesters" in the crowd. In proclaiming this blatant falsehood, Johnson is egging on the millions of Trump supporters who still believe that the election was stolen from their leader. Alternate reality lives on.
At the conclusion of Trump's second impeachment trial, he was acquitted for his role in the insurrection at the Capitol. Despite being presented with mountains of audio and video evidence from that fateful day, 43 out of 50 Republican senators voted to exonerate him. It was not just cowardice or foolishness that led to their votes. No, they made a purposeful decision to follow their cult leader into the abyss of his alternate reality. According to Trump, his speech that morning to the escalating mob was "totally appropriate." Alternate reality triumphed over observable truth on center stage.
Trump has created his alternate reality to bolster his fragile ego and to advance his political fortunes. He has used it to cover up his evident character defects and to persuade others to believe in his greatness and superiority. His "reality" consists of "big lies," small lies, conspiracy theories, misinformation, propaganda, false narratives and violence. He is masterful — although deeply corrupt — at blurring and even shattering truth for his political advantage. In Trump's fantasyland, there is no oversight, no accountability and no laws that apply to him. The means justify the ends. Anything he says or does is acceptable as long as it brings him attention, adoration, profit and power.
Unfortunately for our country, Trump's use of alternate reality has become the ideology of the Republican Party and nearly half of all Americans. This explains why most of the party and legions of followers still support a man who has been impeached twice, botched the deadly coronavirus pandemic, crashed the economy and incited an insurrection against our government. This is what happens when a demagogue promulgates a "reality" that carries the weight of the presidency but is inherently toxic and pernicious.
A large swath of America has adopted and internalized Trump's use of alternate reality. Millions of Americans have been brainwashed into accepting his distorted reality. They view Trump as their cult leader who possesses the qualities of greatness. They believe in his alternate reality — even his blatant lies, his outlandish conspiracy theories and his provocation of violence. And now, they believe that the use of alternate reality by both politicians and followers is smart and effective strategy.
Trump's alternate reality is wholly malignant and dangerous because it undermines objective truth. It is a myth. It is an illusion. Trump is a salesman, a carnival barker, a con man. He has no interest in people, policy or public service. All he cares about is selling himself — his personal and commercial brand — through his lies, his conspiracy theories and his propaganda. Anything is fair game, even an alternate reality that is nonsensical and poisonous.
Trump's use of alternate reality is antithetical to democratic principles and the Constitution. He does not love democracy and he does not love America. He wants to destroy it. He is an authoritarian at heart. He orchestrated and incited an insurrection against our government, intended to overthrow the will of the people. His singular goal was to maintain his power at any cost. If that had happened, his alternate reality would have lived on and flourished. We would have become a country of lies, conspiracy theories, propaganda and violence — also known as an authoritarian state.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are the antidotes to Trump's alternate reality. They function within the context of facts, the truth and science. They have not constructed an alternate reality that is self-serving and virulent. They cherish democracy and understand that its sustainability requires observable and transparent truth.
The solution is for Trump to be marginalized and purged. Even now that he is out of office, he has hit the airwaves to continue to spread the "Big Lie" that he won the election. He will never accept or understand that his alternate reality is destructive to the well-being of our people. Nor does he care. He still thinks it is his sure-fire ticket to success. After all, he became president and came close to winning re-election by convincing Americans that his "exceptionalism" could be theirs too — and that their lives would be better for it. Please tell the families of the 500,000 dead Americans that their lives are better. Please tell the millions of Americans who are jobless, broke and frightened that their lives are improved.
Americans must stop being lazy and complacent about figuring out the observable truth. They cannot let partisan bias allow their thinking to be hijacked by an alternate reality. Cable news networks and social media platforms must make truth their sole vehicle of communication. Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Facebook and other entities must take responsibility for promoting truth over fiction, facts over lies and critical observation over conspiracy theories.
Trump's weaponization of alternate reality must be repudiated once and for all. Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson and other congressional Republicans need to rebuke Trump's alternate reality — and must stop creating their own for purely selfish and political reasons.
There is only one truth — the objective truth. What Donald Trump and his cohorts do not want you to know is that truth is the one "real" ticket to success in a democracy based on freedom, rule of law and the will of the people. History shows that our country has never been divided by alternate reality versus the truth in such a stark and destructive way. It would be so much easier for us to govern ourselves if we could make objective truth our top, shared priority.
The use of alternate reality by Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, or anyone else — including millions of Americans — is unacceptable, anti-democratic and venomous to our way of life. Observable, verifiable and transparent truth is what our democracy is founded upon. Without that, all is lost.
Sen. Ron Johnson claims that the mood among the demonstrators at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was largely "positive," and that there were "fake Trump protesters" in the crowd. In proclaiming this blatant falsehood, Johnson is egging on the millions of Trump supporters who still believe that the election was stolen from their leader. Alternate reality lives on.
At the conclusion of Trump's second impeachment trial, he was acquitted for his role in the insurrection at the Capitol. Despite being presented with mountains of audio and video evidence from that fateful day, 43 out of 50 Republican senators voted to exonerate him. It was not just cowardice or foolishness that led to their votes. No, they made a purposeful decision to follow their cult leader into the abyss of his alternate reality. According to Trump, his speech that morning to the escalating mob was "totally appropriate." Alternate reality triumphed over observable truth on center stage.
Trump has created his alternate reality to bolster his fragile ego and to advance his political fortunes. He has used it to cover up his evident character defects and to persuade others to believe in his greatness and superiority. His "reality" consists of "big lies," small lies, conspiracy theories, misinformation, propaganda, false narratives and violence. He is masterful — although deeply corrupt — at blurring and even shattering truth for his political advantage. In Trump's fantasyland, there is no oversight, no accountability and no laws that apply to him. The means justify the ends. Anything he says or does is acceptable as long as it brings him attention, adoration, profit and power.
Unfortunately for our country, Trump's use of alternate reality has become the ideology of the Republican Party and nearly half of all Americans. This explains why most of the party and legions of followers still support a man who has been impeached twice, botched the deadly coronavirus pandemic, crashed the economy and incited an insurrection against our government. This is what happens when a demagogue promulgates a "reality" that carries the weight of the presidency but is inherently toxic and pernicious.
A large swath of America has adopted and internalized Trump's use of alternate reality. Millions of Americans have been brainwashed into accepting his distorted reality. They view Trump as their cult leader who possesses the qualities of greatness. They believe in his alternate reality — even his blatant lies, his outlandish conspiracy theories and his provocation of violence. And now, they believe that the use of alternate reality by both politicians and followers is smart and effective strategy.
Trump's alternate reality is wholly malignant and dangerous because it undermines objective truth. It is a myth. It is an illusion. Trump is a salesman, a carnival barker, a con man. He has no interest in people, policy or public service. All he cares about is selling himself — his personal and commercial brand — through his lies, his conspiracy theories and his propaganda. Anything is fair game, even an alternate reality that is nonsensical and poisonous.
Trump's use of alternate reality is antithetical to democratic principles and the Constitution. He does not love democracy and he does not love America. He wants to destroy it. He is an authoritarian at heart. He orchestrated and incited an insurrection against our government, intended to overthrow the will of the people. His singular goal was to maintain his power at any cost. If that had happened, his alternate reality would have lived on and flourished. We would have become a country of lies, conspiracy theories, propaganda and violence — also known as an authoritarian state.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are the antidotes to Trump's alternate reality. They function within the context of facts, the truth and science. They have not constructed an alternate reality that is self-serving and virulent. They cherish democracy and understand that its sustainability requires observable and transparent truth.
The solution is for Trump to be marginalized and purged. Even now that he is out of office, he has hit the airwaves to continue to spread the "Big Lie" that he won the election. He will never accept or understand that his alternate reality is destructive to the well-being of our people. Nor does he care. He still thinks it is his sure-fire ticket to success. After all, he became president and came close to winning re-election by convincing Americans that his "exceptionalism" could be theirs too — and that their lives would be better for it. Please tell the families of the 500,000 dead Americans that their lives are better. Please tell the millions of Americans who are jobless, broke and frightened that their lives are improved.
Americans must stop being lazy and complacent about figuring out the observable truth. They cannot let partisan bias allow their thinking to be hijacked by an alternate reality. Cable news networks and social media platforms must make truth their sole vehicle of communication. Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Facebook and other entities must take responsibility for promoting truth over fiction, facts over lies and critical observation over conspiracy theories.
Trump's weaponization of alternate reality must be repudiated once and for all. Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson and other congressional Republicans need to rebuke Trump's alternate reality — and must stop creating their own for purely selfish and political reasons.
There is only one truth — the objective truth. What Donald Trump and his cohorts do not want you to know is that truth is the one "real" ticket to success in a democracy based on freedom, rule of law and the will of the people. History shows that our country has never been divided by alternate reality versus the truth in such a stark and destructive way. It would be so much easier for us to govern ourselves if we could make objective truth our top, shared priority.
The use of alternate reality by Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, or anyone else — including millions of Americans — is unacceptable, anti-democratic and venomous to our way of life. Observable, verifiable and transparent truth is what our democracy is founded upon. Without that, all is lost.
Why do 70 million Americans — and many members of Congress — still follow Trump?
Trump's mass of followers is a huge problem for America — but they're not all the same. This taxonomy should help
By ALAN D. BLOTCKY - SETH D. NORRHOLM - SALON
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 11:00AM (UTC)
The persistent Trump "base" and the Republican members of Congress who maintain fealty to Donald Trump do so for a variety of reasons. They are not a monolithic body but a loosely associated conglomeration of supporters with their own individual or group reasons for remaining loyal to the twice-impeached ex-President.
"Membership" in the Trump base may include entry into one or more of the following categories.
Not all Trump supporters are alike. It is inaccurate and wrong to lump them together. It misses the point and undermines any chance for reaching out to supporters in order to reinvent a Republican Party that is reasonable, more moderate and hinged to our American democracy.
Short of convicting and repudiating Trump at his upcoming impeachment trial — which appears highly unlikely — we will be left with the task of disambiguating and understanding his followers and what motivates them, and connecting with as many of them as possible. The future of our two-party democracy, and our entire country, will hang in the balance.
"Membership" in the Trump base may include entry into one or more of the following categories.
- "All-in" isolationists, ultra-nationalists, white supremacists, racists and insurrectionists Arguably all those who marched in Charlottesville in summer 2017 and many of those stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 are openly racist, and have felt liberated by the rhetoric and policies of the Trump era. For them, Trumpism represented an enticing outlet for perceived slights or a platform upon which to boost their identity, sense of meaning or being, and self-importance.
- Opportunists and political chameleons Those who fall into this category recognized that the Trump train presented itself as a vehicle by which one could achieve fame, success, ambition and political or personal gain. Those with political ambition watched Trump's tactics, saw its success and made the decision to be a Trump sycophant and copycat. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, mediocre members of society who had the financial means to run for Congress, are noted Trump exampled who will ride this train until it throws them off (and even then will continue to chase it). Fox News talking heads fall into this category as well. Following opportunity often requires suppressing any logic, rational thought or independent notions. This is a key factor behind the flip-flopping of politicians like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (who has vacillated in his defense and indictment of Trump and his insurrection), Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio (two former Republican rivals to Trump who were mercilessly dragged by him only to become full-throated supporters), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for whom every Trump-related decision comes with an eye on the next election cycle. These are the political chameleons who will change as needed to survive.
- Narrow-minded, limited information input and vulnerable to cultism This group of followers is either actively or passively limited in the information that they receive through on-air and online media outlets. As a result of their "soda straw" approach to Republicanism, conservatism or Trumpism, they are simply not exposed to the damning evidence that exists to show Trump and the GOP's unethical, immoral and likely criminal behavior. This is the consumer of a steady diet of right-wing sources such as Fox News, OANN and Newsmax. One cannot discuss this group without referring to the concept of shared omnipotence, a cult leader tactic by which followers are repeatedly told that the leader will take them to a "promised land" (e.g., a place of increased wealth, no immigrants or people of color, world superiority or dominance, protection from death) and if they don't follow, the result is certain doom.
- Voting with their pocketbook Members of this group are totally focused on individual and family wealth. They voted for Trump twice because of his tax breaks for wealthier Americans. They may be repulsed by Trump the man, but they feel compelled to vote for him because they are profiting from his policies. They are one-issue voters and they will not be deterred by any of Trump's antics, lies or dishonesty.
- Hold your nose and vote Republican These group members are cousins of the previous group. This faction is diehard conservative Republicans who are unwavering in their support of the GOP based on years of support and the hope that this period is an aberration that will correct itself soon. Sen. Mitt Romney is one of the remaining stalwarts of this group.
- But he and I are Christians! In many ways an outgrowth of the latter group, these followers maintain their identity and faith as evangelical Christians. They have consistently voted Republican for a widely varying set of reasons, the abortion issue first and foremost among them. Now, electing and supporting Donald Trump, who is arguably the embodiment of sin, requires resolution of a huge case of cognitive dissonance. To accept Trump and Trumpism requires that a "true" Christian must fit this obviously square block into a circular halo. Attempts to reconcile this dissonance include pairing Trump with known Christian leaders and evangelicals, citing scripture that appears to validate this choice, or projecting Christian values on to Trump and Trumpists.
Not all Trump supporters are alike. It is inaccurate and wrong to lump them together. It misses the point and undermines any chance for reaching out to supporters in order to reinvent a Republican Party that is reasonable, more moderate and hinged to our American democracy.
Short of convicting and repudiating Trump at his upcoming impeachment trial — which appears highly unlikely — we will be left with the task of disambiguating and understanding his followers and what motivates them, and connecting with as many of them as possible. The future of our two-party democracy, and our entire country, will hang in the balance.
proof of stupidity!!!
Peek inside the minds of Trump supporters who think the president is doing an awesome job with COVID
October 30, 2020
By Alex Henderson, AlterNet
Countless critics of President Donald Trump, from liberals and progressives to Never Trump conservatives, have been arguing that Trump deserves to be voted out of office on Tuesday, Nov. 3, because of his wretched response to the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis has killed more than 227,900 people in the United States and over 1.1 million people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
But journalist Olga Khazan, this week in an article for The Atlantic, offers some reasons why many White males in Trump’s hardcore MAGA base actually admire his coronavirus response. And as absurd as their reasoning is, Khazan’s piece is still an interesting read.
“Some 82% of Republicans approve of Trump’s coronavirus response — a higher percentage than before the president was diagnosed with the virus,” Khazan explains. “This is despite the fact that more than 220,000 Americans have died and virtually every public health expert, including those who have worked for Republican administrations, says the president has performed abysmally.”
One of the interviewees for Khazan’s article is a McKinney, Texas resident and Trump supporter named Kurtis. Many Trump critics, Khazan observes, believe that leaving coronavirus to states and municipalities to cope with has been a disaster. But Kurtis told Khazan, “He left it up to each state to make their own decision on how they wanted to proceed” — and according to Kurtis, that was a victory for states’ rights.
Kurtis, discussing Trump’s recent hospitalization for coronavirus, told Khazan, “Trump’s willing to accept that risk to win for the American people. And Joe Biden is sitting in his basement.”
Khazan notes that according to Katherine Cramer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Trump supporters believe that Trump is trusting Americans to make their own decisions during the pandemic. And sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild told Khazan, in essence, that as Trump supporters see it, Trump’s coronavirus response underscores his belief in the rugged individualism of White males.
“Many White men feel that their gender and race have been vilified, says the sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild,” Khazan writes. “Their economic prospects are bad, and American culture tells them that their gender is too. So, they’ve turned to Trump as a type of folk hero — one who can restore their sense of former glory. Exposing themselves and others to the coronavirus is part of that heroism.”
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama argued that many conservative working class white men who were struggling financially sought validation in their “guns” and “religion.” The right-wing media was furious, claiming that Obama was insulting or mocking conservatives. But the centrist Obama wasn’t trying to be insulting; to non-wingnuts, he sounded empathetic. And some of the interviewees for Khazan’s article — like Obama 12 years ago — argued that white males who aren’t in great shape financially seek validation through Trump’s right-wing politics.
Hochschild told Khazan that in rural Kentucky, for example, financially disadvantaged White men “are starved for a sense of heroism. They don’t feel good about themselves. They feel like they haven’t done as well as their fathers, that they’re on a downward slope.” And Trump, according to Hochschild, plays to that.
Khazan explains, “Men who attend Trump’s rallies sometimes tell journalists that they’re willing to risk their lives to show up for Trump. ‘If I die, I die. We got to get this country moving,’ these men tell reporters. Or: ‘If I catch COVID, that’s the consequences of my actions. So, I’m willing to take that risk and have a good time today.'”
But journalist Olga Khazan, this week in an article for The Atlantic, offers some reasons why many White males in Trump’s hardcore MAGA base actually admire his coronavirus response. And as absurd as their reasoning is, Khazan’s piece is still an interesting read.
“Some 82% of Republicans approve of Trump’s coronavirus response — a higher percentage than before the president was diagnosed with the virus,” Khazan explains. “This is despite the fact that more than 220,000 Americans have died and virtually every public health expert, including those who have worked for Republican administrations, says the president has performed abysmally.”
One of the interviewees for Khazan’s article is a McKinney, Texas resident and Trump supporter named Kurtis. Many Trump critics, Khazan observes, believe that leaving coronavirus to states and municipalities to cope with has been a disaster. But Kurtis told Khazan, “He left it up to each state to make their own decision on how they wanted to proceed” — and according to Kurtis, that was a victory for states’ rights.
Kurtis, discussing Trump’s recent hospitalization for coronavirus, told Khazan, “Trump’s willing to accept that risk to win for the American people. And Joe Biden is sitting in his basement.”
Khazan notes that according to Katherine Cramer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Trump supporters believe that Trump is trusting Americans to make their own decisions during the pandemic. And sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild told Khazan, in essence, that as Trump supporters see it, Trump’s coronavirus response underscores his belief in the rugged individualism of White males.
“Many White men feel that their gender and race have been vilified, says the sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild,” Khazan writes. “Their economic prospects are bad, and American culture tells them that their gender is too. So, they’ve turned to Trump as a type of folk hero — one who can restore their sense of former glory. Exposing themselves and others to the coronavirus is part of that heroism.”
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama argued that many conservative working class white men who were struggling financially sought validation in their “guns” and “religion.” The right-wing media was furious, claiming that Obama was insulting or mocking conservatives. But the centrist Obama wasn’t trying to be insulting; to non-wingnuts, he sounded empathetic. And some of the interviewees for Khazan’s article — like Obama 12 years ago — argued that white males who aren’t in great shape financially seek validation through Trump’s right-wing politics.
Hochschild told Khazan that in rural Kentucky, for example, financially disadvantaged White men “are starved for a sense of heroism. They don’t feel good about themselves. They feel like they haven’t done as well as their fathers, that they’re on a downward slope.” And Trump, according to Hochschild, plays to that.
Khazan explains, “Men who attend Trump’s rallies sometimes tell journalists that they’re willing to risk their lives to show up for Trump. ‘If I die, I die. We got to get this country moving,’ these men tell reporters. Or: ‘If I catch COVID, that’s the consequences of my actions. So, I’m willing to take that risk and have a good time today.'”
Nancegreggs: Okay, NOW I Get it!
After four years of watching Trump-humpers in action, I now understand why some hairdryers come with the warning “Do not use while sleeping or showering”, why some children's clothes are clearly labelled “Remove child before laundering”, and some shirts come with the warning “Do not iron while wearing”.
I used to wonder who these labels were intended for – now I know.
the stupid don't change!!!
Robert Reich: The end of Trump’s Fifth Avenue
Just a few weeks before the election, and his supporters still haven’t budged. But the end is near
ROBERT REICH - salon
OCTOBER 13, 2020 10:50AM (UTC)
I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters," Trump boasted in 2016.
Trump's 5th Avenue principle is being tested as never before. So far, more than 214,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, one of the world's highest death rates – due in part to Trump initially downplaying its dangers, then refusing responsibility for it, promoting quack remedies for it, muzzling government experts on it, pushing states to reopen despite it, and discouraging people from wearing masks.
Yet some 40 percent of Americans have stuck by him nonetheless. They've remained loyal even after he turned the White House into a hotspot for the virus, even after he caught it himself, and even after asserting just days ago that it's less lethal than the flu. A recent nonpartisan study concluded that Trump's blatant disinformation has been the largest driver of COVID misinformation in the world.
They've stuck by him even as more than 11 million Americans have lost their jobs, 40 million risk eviction from their homes, 14 million have lost health insurance, and almost one out of five Americans with kids at home cannot afford to adequately feed their children.
They've stuck by him even though more Americans have sought unemployment benefits this year than voted for him in 2016, even after Trump cut off talks on economic relief, even though he's pushing the Supreme Court to repeal the Affordable Care Act, causing 20 million more to lose health insurance.
Trump is in effect standing in the middle of 5th Avenue, killing Americans.
Yet here we are, just a few weeks before the election, and his supporters still haven't budged. The latest polls show him with 40% to 43% of voters, while Joe Biden has a bare majority.
The most egregious test of Trump's 5th Avenue principle is still to come, when he tries to kill off American democracy. He's counting on his supporters to keep him in power even after he loses the popular vote.
He's ready to claim that mail-in ballots, made necessary by the pandemic, are rife with "fraud like you've never seen," as he asserted during his debate with Biden – although it's been shown that Americans are more likely to be struck by lightning than commit voter fraud.
He'll likely allege fraudulent election results in any Republican-led state which he loses by a small margin – such as Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin.
Then he'll rely on the House of Representatives to put him over the top.
"We are going to be counting ballots for the next two years," Trump warned at a recent Pennsylvania rally, noting "we have the advantage if we go back to Congress. I think it's 26 to 22 or something because it's counted one vote per state."
He was referring to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which provides that if state electors deadlock or can't agree on a president, the decision goes to the House. There, each of the nation's 50 states get one vote.
That means small Republican-dominated states like Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming (each with one House member, who's a Republican) would have the same clout as large Democratic states like California (with 52 House members, 44 of whom are Democrats).
Trump does have the advantage right now: 26 state congressional delegations in the House are now controlled by Republicans, and 22 by Democrats. Two — Pennsylvania and Michigan — are essentially tied.
But he won't necessarily retain that advantage. The decision would be made by lawmakers elected in November, who will be sworn in on January 3 – three days before they'll convene to decide the winner of the election.
Which is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is focusing on races that could tip the balance of state delegations – not just in Pennsylvania and Michigan but any others within reach.
"It's sad we have to have to plan this way," she wrote in a letter to her colleagues last week, "but it's what we must do to ensure the election is not stolen."
Trump's 5th Avenue principle has kept him in power despite deprivation and death that would have doomed the presidencies of anyone else. But as a former New Yorker he should know that 5th Avenue ends at the Harlem River at 142nd Street, and the end is near.
Trump's 5th Avenue principle is being tested as never before. So far, more than 214,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, one of the world's highest death rates – due in part to Trump initially downplaying its dangers, then refusing responsibility for it, promoting quack remedies for it, muzzling government experts on it, pushing states to reopen despite it, and discouraging people from wearing masks.
Yet some 40 percent of Americans have stuck by him nonetheless. They've remained loyal even after he turned the White House into a hotspot for the virus, even after he caught it himself, and even after asserting just days ago that it's less lethal than the flu. A recent nonpartisan study concluded that Trump's blatant disinformation has been the largest driver of COVID misinformation in the world.
They've stuck by him even as more than 11 million Americans have lost their jobs, 40 million risk eviction from their homes, 14 million have lost health insurance, and almost one out of five Americans with kids at home cannot afford to adequately feed their children.
They've stuck by him even though more Americans have sought unemployment benefits this year than voted for him in 2016, even after Trump cut off talks on economic relief, even though he's pushing the Supreme Court to repeal the Affordable Care Act, causing 20 million more to lose health insurance.
Trump is in effect standing in the middle of 5th Avenue, killing Americans.
Yet here we are, just a few weeks before the election, and his supporters still haven't budged. The latest polls show him with 40% to 43% of voters, while Joe Biden has a bare majority.
The most egregious test of Trump's 5th Avenue principle is still to come, when he tries to kill off American democracy. He's counting on his supporters to keep him in power even after he loses the popular vote.
He's ready to claim that mail-in ballots, made necessary by the pandemic, are rife with "fraud like you've never seen," as he asserted during his debate with Biden – although it's been shown that Americans are more likely to be struck by lightning than commit voter fraud.
He'll likely allege fraudulent election results in any Republican-led state which he loses by a small margin – such as Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin.
Then he'll rely on the House of Representatives to put him over the top.
"We are going to be counting ballots for the next two years," Trump warned at a recent Pennsylvania rally, noting "we have the advantage if we go back to Congress. I think it's 26 to 22 or something because it's counted one vote per state."
He was referring to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which provides that if state electors deadlock or can't agree on a president, the decision goes to the House. There, each of the nation's 50 states get one vote.
That means small Republican-dominated states like Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming (each with one House member, who's a Republican) would have the same clout as large Democratic states like California (with 52 House members, 44 of whom are Democrats).
Trump does have the advantage right now: 26 state congressional delegations in the House are now controlled by Republicans, and 22 by Democrats. Two — Pennsylvania and Michigan — are essentially tied.
But he won't necessarily retain that advantage. The decision would be made by lawmakers elected in November, who will be sworn in on January 3 – three days before they'll convene to decide the winner of the election.
Which is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is focusing on races that could tip the balance of state delegations – not just in Pennsylvania and Michigan but any others within reach.
"It's sad we have to have to plan this way," she wrote in a letter to her colleagues last week, "but it's what we must do to ensure the election is not stolen."
Trump's 5th Avenue principle has kept him in power despite deprivation and death that would have doomed the presidencies of anyone else. But as a former New Yorker he should know that 5th Avenue ends at the Harlem River at 142nd Street, and the end is near.
the real losers!!!
Authoritarians for Trump: Experts explain what’s wrong with the president’s strongest supporters
October 12, 2020
By Travis Gettys - raw story
President Donald Trump has tapped into a wellspring of authoritarianism running beneath the American electorate, according to a new book, and those voters aren’t going away if he loses.
Psychology professor Bob Altemeyer and former Nixon White House lawyer John Dean explore that anti-democratic dynamic in their new book, “Authoritarian Nightmare,” and found that many Republican voters prefer strong authoritarian leadership, reported the Washington Post.
“[Many Trump supporters] are submissive, fearful, and longing for a mighty leader who will protect them from life’s threats,” the authors write. “They divide the world into friend and foe, with the latter greatly outnumbering the former.”
The authors measure authoritarianism using the right-wing authoritarian (RWA) scale Altemeyer developed in the early 1980s, which identifies authoritarian tendencies on a sliding scale, and surveyed 990 American voters in fall 2019 with help from the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
“They found a striking linear relationship between support for Trump and an authoritarian mind-set,” the Post reported. “The stronger a person supported Trump, the higher he or she scored on the RWA scale. People saying they strongly disapproved of Trump, for instance, had an average RWA score of 54. Those indicating complete support of the president, on the other hand, had an average score of 119, more than twice as authoritarian as Trump opponents.”
Many experts from a variety of fields agree that Trump displays authoritarian tendencies and poses a threat to U.S. democracy, but he needs his supporters to impose his will on American institutions and traditions.
“Even if Donald Trump disappeared tomorrow,” Altemeyer and Dean write, “the millions of people who made him president would be ready to make someone else similar president instead.
Psychology professor Bob Altemeyer and former Nixon White House lawyer John Dean explore that anti-democratic dynamic in their new book, “Authoritarian Nightmare,” and found that many Republican voters prefer strong authoritarian leadership, reported the Washington Post.
“[Many Trump supporters] are submissive, fearful, and longing for a mighty leader who will protect them from life’s threats,” the authors write. “They divide the world into friend and foe, with the latter greatly outnumbering the former.”
The authors measure authoritarianism using the right-wing authoritarian (RWA) scale Altemeyer developed in the early 1980s, which identifies authoritarian tendencies on a sliding scale, and surveyed 990 American voters in fall 2019 with help from the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
“They found a striking linear relationship between support for Trump and an authoritarian mind-set,” the Post reported. “The stronger a person supported Trump, the higher he or she scored on the RWA scale. People saying they strongly disapproved of Trump, for instance, had an average RWA score of 54. Those indicating complete support of the president, on the other hand, had an average score of 119, more than twice as authoritarian as Trump opponents.”
Many experts from a variety of fields agree that Trump displays authoritarian tendencies and poses a threat to U.S. democracy, but he needs his supporters to impose his will on American institutions and traditions.
“Even if Donald Trump disappeared tomorrow,” Altemeyer and Dean write, “the millions of people who made him president would be ready to make someone else similar president instead.
‘They’re all hustlers’: Trump mocks his religious supporters behind their backs
AlterNet Staff
September 29, 2020
President Donald Trump is at the center of controversy following the release of a report detailing his alleged remarks about evangelical Christian leaders and supporters of the faith.
A report published by The Atlantic alleges that although Trump appeals to right-wing evangelicals leaders, megachurch leaders, and their Christian supporters, he has mocked many of them behind closed doors.
The article began with an excerpt from his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen's memoir "Disloyal" where he recounted a 2015 meeting with Trump.
At the time, Trump had been reading a report about Atlanta megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar. The prominent pastor, whom Trump personally knew, had recently petitioned his congregation for a $60 million private jet. Trump allegedly described the Dollar's request as a "scam" and said the pastor was "full of s***."
"They're all hustlers," Trump surmised.
On multiple other occasions, Trump also alluded to the same conclusion. In fact, after one meeting with religious leaders who laid hands on him during a group prayer, Trump allegedly said, "Can you believe that bulls**t? Can you believe people believe that bulls**t?'"
Despite his alleged antics behind closed doors, evangelical Christians are seen as devout supporters of Trump and twice as likely to describe the president as a "religious man," according to Pew Research.
Trump has even presented himself as the president advocating in the best interest of faith-based leaders.
However, former members of the Trump Organization previously argued otherwise often alluding to instances similar to Cohen's recount.
"To those who have known and worked with Trump closely, the notion that he might have a secret spiritual side is laughable. 'I always assumed he was an atheist,' Barbara Res, a former executive at the Trump Organization, told me. 'He's not a religious guy,' A. J. Delgado, who worked on his 2016 campaign, told me. "Whenever I see a picture of him standing in a group of pastors, all of their hands on him, I see a thought bubble [with] the words 'What suckers,'" Mary Trump, the president's niece, told me."
Despite the criticism, the White House has responded in Trump's defense saying, "people of faith know that President Trump is a champion for religious liberty and the sanctity of life, and he has taken strong actions to support them and protect their freedom to worship. The president is also well known for joking and his terrific sense of humor, which he shares with people of all faiths."
Even if solid evidence were presented to evangelical Christians, Greg Thornbury, former president at the evangelical King University, who was pursued by Trump's campaign in 2016, insists they would not believe the allegations.
Thornbury said, "I don't think for a moment that they would believe he's cynical about them."
A report published by The Atlantic alleges that although Trump appeals to right-wing evangelicals leaders, megachurch leaders, and their Christian supporters, he has mocked many of them behind closed doors.
The article began with an excerpt from his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen's memoir "Disloyal" where he recounted a 2015 meeting with Trump.
At the time, Trump had been reading a report about Atlanta megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar. The prominent pastor, whom Trump personally knew, had recently petitioned his congregation for a $60 million private jet. Trump allegedly described the Dollar's request as a "scam" and said the pastor was "full of s***."
"They're all hustlers," Trump surmised.
On multiple other occasions, Trump also alluded to the same conclusion. In fact, after one meeting with religious leaders who laid hands on him during a group prayer, Trump allegedly said, "Can you believe that bulls**t? Can you believe people believe that bulls**t?'"
Despite his alleged antics behind closed doors, evangelical Christians are seen as devout supporters of Trump and twice as likely to describe the president as a "religious man," according to Pew Research.
Trump has even presented himself as the president advocating in the best interest of faith-based leaders.
However, former members of the Trump Organization previously argued otherwise often alluding to instances similar to Cohen's recount.
"To those who have known and worked with Trump closely, the notion that he might have a secret spiritual side is laughable. 'I always assumed he was an atheist,' Barbara Res, a former executive at the Trump Organization, told me. 'He's not a religious guy,' A. J. Delgado, who worked on his 2016 campaign, told me. "Whenever I see a picture of him standing in a group of pastors, all of their hands on him, I see a thought bubble [with] the words 'What suckers,'" Mary Trump, the president's niece, told me."
Despite the criticism, the White House has responded in Trump's defense saying, "people of faith know that President Trump is a champion for religious liberty and the sanctity of life, and he has taken strong actions to support them and protect their freedom to worship. The president is also well known for joking and his terrific sense of humor, which he shares with people of all faiths."
Even if solid evidence were presented to evangelical Christians, Greg Thornbury, former president at the evangelical King University, who was pursued by Trump's campaign in 2016, insists they would not believe the allegations.
Thornbury said, "I don't think for a moment that they would believe he's cynical about them."
stupidity abounds!!!
‘I don’t believe it’: Huntington Beach a symbol of mask resistance as doubters abound
By JAKE SHERIDAN - la times
JULY 22, 20205 AM
As Brad Colburn whisked his metal detector over the tan sands of Huntington Beach, a rejection of Orange County’s spiking coronavirus infection rates surfaced.
“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe the rates are rising,” Colburn said. “They’re inflated. It’s another way of shutting everything down … of the Democrats trying to get what they want.”
The 58-year-old Huntington Beach resident said he has yet to wear a mask outside of shopping. Standing by a beach path as cyclists and in-line skaters zoomed by, he offered his own alternative policy to restrictive coronavirus health orders.
“If you don’t want to go outside, don’t go outside,” Colburn said.
More than any other place in California, Huntington Beach has come to symbolize resistance to many of the coronavirus safety rules government officials have imposed in recent months. It’s not as though no one in the city is wearing masks and social distancing.
But many who oppose mandatory mask rules and other measures like closing beaches have been outspoken here, and used the tourist mecca as a platform for their views. In May, angry demonstrators converged a block away at the now mostly quiet Huntington Beach Pier to protest the state-ordered shutdown of local businesses.
Since then, many roaming through the city’s downtown area are proudly not wearing masks. And the stance has even inspired a parody video that went viral on social media in recent weeks.
Fred Smoller, a professor of political science at nearby Chapman University, described Huntington Beach as a conservative stronghold and said that the attitudes about the coronavirus there reflect larger political divides.
“Their ideology is a lens through which they are viewing the coronavirus,” Smoller said. “I would imagine many people there see it as a hoax, which the president has encouraged them to do in order to up his chance of reelection. I’m sure there’s quite a bit of animus toward the governor.… They’re viewing [state restrictions] as further evidence of the deep state and of an intrusive government.”
Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said the city would continue its educational efforts to keep residents safe.
Masks, she said in an email statement to The Times, are “critical in keeping people healthy and helping our businesses operate safely in the limited capacity they are able to.”
When asked about opposition to COVID-19 restrictions in Huntington Beach, Semeta said she was aware people around the state are “uncomfortable with the use of face coverings.”
“I can certainly understand that sentiment. However, while there is still much we are learning about this virus, health experts have come out strongly recommending face coverings as an effective measure that helps stop the spread of COVID-19,” Semeta said, urging residents to wear them.
The number of Orange County coronavirus cases has surged in recent weeks, with more than 31,000 confirmed cases and more than 500 deaths. The number of hospitalizations has tripled in the last two months and overall infections have grown so dramatically that the county is now second in the state to Los Angeles County.
There is widespread acceptance that masks play a key role in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, and their widespread use in other countries is credited with slowing infections dramatically.
But skepticism abounds over the seriousness of the outbreak.
The Orange County Board of Education voted last week to approve recommendations for reopening schools that did not include mandatory use of masks or increased social distancing in classrooms. The board, however, did leave reopening plans up to individual school districts.
But those concerns became moot Friday when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order that would not allow most California schools to reopen when the academic year begins, shifting instead toward full-time remote learning in response to the summer surge in coronavirus cases.
In a viral video that’s generated more than 1.5 million views since last week, YouTubers Tom Allen and John Parr offered Huntington Beach residents face coverings.
Allen and Parr, who use the pseudonyms Chad Kroeger and JT Parr, respectively, are West Hollywood-based comedians who run a web series called “Chad Goes Deep.” Previously, they advocated for house parties during an L.A. City Council meeting.
“No one here has a mask, but we brought our own supply to fix the problem,” Allen said at the beginning of the video, which showed mostly spiteful reactions to the offering. The two quickly learned the dearth of face coverings didn’t stem from need.
“We found out that it’s not really a shortage, people just kinda think they suck,” Allen told The Times. Parr said Huntington Beach seemed “relatively safe” during their visit in early July, when the duo passed out all 20 packs of masks they brought. The mask promotion angered some residents, however.
“Some dudes tried to fight us, which was scary,” Parr said.
---
“People are tired of it. People must be given responsibility for their own actions,” said Step, a Fullerton resident. “Newsom needs to stop being a monarch.” The government should focus on information sharing, he said.
“How can you fight something that you have no control over,” he said.
Eleanor Dunai’s mask was fixed to her wrist as she passed Main Street’s now outdoor-only restaurants on her way home from the post office. She said she wears the face covering in enclosed spaces but not outside where there’s a beach breeze.
“I think it’s kind of off-the-cuff,” Dunai, 57, said of the state’s COVID restrictions. She thinks gyms shouldn’t have opened before salons, which she feels safer in. Both gyms and salons have shut down again.
“It seems like the smallest fraction of the population are getting their way, not the majority,” she said. Polling shows a slight majority of Californians believe the state reopened too quickly, and more than three-quarters of the population are concerned they or their family members will contract COVID-19. She said she worries, too, but thinks strict health orders no longer make sense.
“If we continue to hide and be totally isolated, we’re dragging it out,” Dunai said. “People need to take responsibility for their own actions.”
“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe the rates are rising,” Colburn said. “They’re inflated. It’s another way of shutting everything down … of the Democrats trying to get what they want.”
The 58-year-old Huntington Beach resident said he has yet to wear a mask outside of shopping. Standing by a beach path as cyclists and in-line skaters zoomed by, he offered his own alternative policy to restrictive coronavirus health orders.
“If you don’t want to go outside, don’t go outside,” Colburn said.
More than any other place in California, Huntington Beach has come to symbolize resistance to many of the coronavirus safety rules government officials have imposed in recent months. It’s not as though no one in the city is wearing masks and social distancing.
But many who oppose mandatory mask rules and other measures like closing beaches have been outspoken here, and used the tourist mecca as a platform for their views. In May, angry demonstrators converged a block away at the now mostly quiet Huntington Beach Pier to protest the state-ordered shutdown of local businesses.
Since then, many roaming through the city’s downtown area are proudly not wearing masks. And the stance has even inspired a parody video that went viral on social media in recent weeks.
Fred Smoller, a professor of political science at nearby Chapman University, described Huntington Beach as a conservative stronghold and said that the attitudes about the coronavirus there reflect larger political divides.
“Their ideology is a lens through which they are viewing the coronavirus,” Smoller said. “I would imagine many people there see it as a hoax, which the president has encouraged them to do in order to up his chance of reelection. I’m sure there’s quite a bit of animus toward the governor.… They’re viewing [state restrictions] as further evidence of the deep state and of an intrusive government.”
Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said the city would continue its educational efforts to keep residents safe.
Masks, she said in an email statement to The Times, are “critical in keeping people healthy and helping our businesses operate safely in the limited capacity they are able to.”
When asked about opposition to COVID-19 restrictions in Huntington Beach, Semeta said she was aware people around the state are “uncomfortable with the use of face coverings.”
“I can certainly understand that sentiment. However, while there is still much we are learning about this virus, health experts have come out strongly recommending face coverings as an effective measure that helps stop the spread of COVID-19,” Semeta said, urging residents to wear them.
The number of Orange County coronavirus cases has surged in recent weeks, with more than 31,000 confirmed cases and more than 500 deaths. The number of hospitalizations has tripled in the last two months and overall infections have grown so dramatically that the county is now second in the state to Los Angeles County.
There is widespread acceptance that masks play a key role in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, and their widespread use in other countries is credited with slowing infections dramatically.
But skepticism abounds over the seriousness of the outbreak.
The Orange County Board of Education voted last week to approve recommendations for reopening schools that did not include mandatory use of masks or increased social distancing in classrooms. The board, however, did leave reopening plans up to individual school districts.
But those concerns became moot Friday when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order that would not allow most California schools to reopen when the academic year begins, shifting instead toward full-time remote learning in response to the summer surge in coronavirus cases.
In a viral video that’s generated more than 1.5 million views since last week, YouTubers Tom Allen and John Parr offered Huntington Beach residents face coverings.
Allen and Parr, who use the pseudonyms Chad Kroeger and JT Parr, respectively, are West Hollywood-based comedians who run a web series called “Chad Goes Deep.” Previously, they advocated for house parties during an L.A. City Council meeting.
“No one here has a mask, but we brought our own supply to fix the problem,” Allen said at the beginning of the video, which showed mostly spiteful reactions to the offering. The two quickly learned the dearth of face coverings didn’t stem from need.
“We found out that it’s not really a shortage, people just kinda think they suck,” Allen told The Times. Parr said Huntington Beach seemed “relatively safe” during their visit in early July, when the duo passed out all 20 packs of masks they brought. The mask promotion angered some residents, however.
“Some dudes tried to fight us, which was scary,” Parr said.
---
“People are tired of it. People must be given responsibility for their own actions,” said Step, a Fullerton resident. “Newsom needs to stop being a monarch.” The government should focus on information sharing, he said.
“How can you fight something that you have no control over,” he said.
Eleanor Dunai’s mask was fixed to her wrist as she passed Main Street’s now outdoor-only restaurants on her way home from the post office. She said she wears the face covering in enclosed spaces but not outside where there’s a beach breeze.
“I think it’s kind of off-the-cuff,” Dunai, 57, said of the state’s COVID restrictions. She thinks gyms shouldn’t have opened before salons, which she feels safer in. Both gyms and salons have shut down again.
“It seems like the smallest fraction of the population are getting their way, not the majority,” she said. Polling shows a slight majority of Californians believe the state reopened too quickly, and more than three-quarters of the population are concerned they or their family members will contract COVID-19. She said she worries, too, but thinks strict health orders no longer make sense.
“If we continue to hide and be totally isolated, we’re dragging it out,” Dunai said. “People need to take responsibility for their own actions.”
America's nervous breakdown: For white folks who love Trump, a descent into madness
Trump's fans had a choice: They could reject his toxic nonsense or completely lose their shIt. They chose B
BOB CESCA - SALON
JULY 7, 2020 5:27PM (UTC)
Normally, I wouldn't be at all concerned about a professional tabloid weirdo like Kanye West running for president. Today, however, I'm actually quite concerned, and not because I think Kanye is likely to win or even fumble his way onto enough ballots to make a dent. He won't. For now.
The problem with Kanye or other political hobbyists running for president is that it further erodes the already threadbare integrity of our presidential politics, making it increasingly acceptable for other famous-for-being-famous nincompoops to run, and perhaps win. The last four years have illustrated how profoundly dangerous that can be.
These days, the ground is especially fertile for dilettantes and tourists to run for national office. Even on the Democratic side, sparingly. There are myriad reasons for it, but chief among them is that we appear to be experiencing an American nervous breakdown — a societal form of psychological imbalance that's abundantly evident and worsening by the day.
It became blindingly noticeable in 2016, but during the course of this year in particular, our national freakout has worsened to a point where sound judgment has been dangerously inhibited, while reality and reason have become increasingly rare commodities, largely abandoned by at least 40 percent of us. America is engaged in a transcontinental meltdown and it's not getting better.
If you need evidence, take a look around you.
Alleged grownups are routinely scolding anyone wearing a mask, either because the mask wearers are, they say, succumbing to fear or because the mask wearers are merely doing it to express their disapproval of Donald Trump, whose existence as president, by the way, is more responsible than anything else for the breakdown. Trump has exploited the bully pulpit to undermine our national sense of right and wrong, of reality and fiction, to the point where his most loyal disciples — again, chronological adults — don't have any idea what's real and what's fake.
To wit: there was a video flying around Twitter over the weekend in which a Florida lawyer dressed up like the Grim Reaper was accosted by a possibly-intoxicated beachgoer who insisted that the coronavirus outbreak is a plot by China, via the Bidens, to screw Donald Trump. Another video showed a woman destroying a display rack of N-95 masks at a department store because something-something-QAnon. Likewise, a couple was captured on video painting over the yellow "Black Lives Matter" slogan on the street in the sleepy suburban town of Martinez, California, while blurting pro-Trump non sequiturs at astonished onlookers. It seems like there are new videos like these every hour on the hour, each one showing privileged white Americans in full catastrophic meltdown.
Sizable crowds of Trump supporters, along with party-going assemblies of younger people, are gathering together without masks and without social distancing in defiance of the virus, apparently believing the pandemic can be intimidated by patriotic American resolve, not unlike our national reaction to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Hundreds if not thousands of these dinguses, along with the friends and family members they may subsequently infect, will end up burdening our already overburdened health care system because they were too selfish and irresponsible to do the right thing — to exercise some self-control, at least enough to make the reasonable choices required to end the pandemic. Instead, they're worsening it for everyone.
More than 130,000 Americans are dead on Donald Trump's watch. That's 32,500 times the death toll at Benghazi, or 44 times the 9/11 attacks. The United States now has the worst rate of new coronavirus infections in the world, also on Trump's watch and indeed directly attributable to the president's twisted, malicious, selfish insistence upon prematurely reopening the economy. Russia, meanwhile, reportedly paid bounties to Taliban fighters for killing American soldiers and Trump has yet to condemn his paymaster Putin, much less call for retaliatory sanctions. These are only the most recent tentpole news stories, not even taking into consideration hundreds of other examples of rank villainy, as well as the 20,000 lies this president has told since Inauguration Day. Yet somehow, amid all this, Trump is miraculously polling in the low 40s.
Why? The American nervous breakdown.
Presidents have always set the tone for the rest of the country. Donald Trump's continued insistence on reinforcing his racist, exclusionary, vindictive, obnoxious, necrotic and ultimately self-defeating brand is driving the nation toward a cultural and societal breaking point, and the gravitational pull of this decline seems to be strengthening by the day. Around 30 years ago, Trump stopped trying to build things and instead chose to build the only thing he's "good" at building: the Trump brand. From the early 1990s onward, he's been all about the things that compose his public persona, and he'll never deviate from that, even if he kills thousands of Americans while destroying the economy in the process.
Inside his warped one-track mind, the Trump brand will always take priority over everything else, and ever since March, that brand has been in direct conflict with the reality of the pandemic.
At some point earlier in the year, Trump was faced with a critical choice, as he saw it: either to make decisions that benefit the nation, or to prioritize his own brand with an eye on re-election. He could tell the truth about the seriousness of the virus and the difficult, sometimes painful things we'd have to do to flatten the curve, or he could continue to ignore all that while, like the mayor in "Jaws," downplaying the threat because it doesn't mesh with his always winning, always great, always tremendous brand.
Consequently, Trump chose to vilify responsible actions like staying home, mask-wearing and social distancing — characterizing those things as us-versus-them propositions, politicizing the crisis, and sending the message to his 40-percenters that this was all about the Democrats trying to destroy Trump. In a June interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump actually said that mask-wearing was meant to "signal disapproval of him." No, it's actually about not getting the virus or spreading it to other people, but facts are irrelevant when confronted by the Trump brand, which mandates that all actions by Americans land in one of two categories: pro-Trump or anti-Trump. There's no such thing as a "nothing to do with Trump" category. Not to him.
Trump's nihilistic approach to the worst crisis of our time, which now includes pretending the virus doesn't exist other than as a vehicle to demonize his enemies, is short-circuiting the wiring inside the heads of his Red Hat fanboys, who are now witnessing their own people succumbing to the virus and trying to somehow square this brutal reality with the "everything's fine!" attitude coming from their addled messiah. No wonder they're losing their shpadoinkle — again, facts and Trump-fiction are colliding in their heads and they're powerless to recalibrate their bullshit detectors. The results, as we've all observed, have been explosive.
As long as the president relentlessly ejaculates screechy all-caps grievances into the atmosphere, his weirdly impressionable fans will continue to be inspired to do the same. As long as he markets in obvious lies and ludicrous conspiracy theories, his fans will continue to buy as fact every word emerging from a place of (undeserved and unearned) authority. As long as he sets an example of racism and misogyny, his fans will continue to reject the values of tolerance and empathy. Indeed, the Trump brand has gone viral and infected 40 percent of us, who won't easily return to the land of reality and responsibility any time soon. This is entirely by design. Trump understands the power of the Oval Office. Trump thrives on chaos and manufactures it. He both expects and requires that his followers adopt his corrosive behavior, not unlike sports fans wearing the colors of their favorite team. And they've become so intensely loyal to the brand that they're losing what's left of their minds to protect and defend it.
As for the rest of us, we all feel like we're leaning too far back in our chairs, almost falling over but not quite — that queasy feeling of impending doom, compacted between intense stress over our personal health and our personal finances, not knowing whether outside interference with the election combined with Trump's attempts to cheat will give us four more years of this national madness. The frenetic uncertainty we're enduring shouldn't be exacerbated by the existence of an unstable tyrant in the White House, but it is.
Trump's destabilizing and omnipresent existence, and especially the power this Mad King possesses, is the prime catalyst for this national nervous breakdown. There's one last remaining treatment: We must find the collective strength to electorally humiliate Trump and his brand out of existence. He must be resoundingly toppled in November. The alternative is unthinkable, but it could involve an eventual President Kanye West or President Joe Exotic at some point in our lifetimes — a possibility as inconceivable today as "President Donald Trump" was five or 10 years ago.
The problem with Kanye or other political hobbyists running for president is that it further erodes the already threadbare integrity of our presidential politics, making it increasingly acceptable for other famous-for-being-famous nincompoops to run, and perhaps win. The last four years have illustrated how profoundly dangerous that can be.
These days, the ground is especially fertile for dilettantes and tourists to run for national office. Even on the Democratic side, sparingly. There are myriad reasons for it, but chief among them is that we appear to be experiencing an American nervous breakdown — a societal form of psychological imbalance that's abundantly evident and worsening by the day.
It became blindingly noticeable in 2016, but during the course of this year in particular, our national freakout has worsened to a point where sound judgment has been dangerously inhibited, while reality and reason have become increasingly rare commodities, largely abandoned by at least 40 percent of us. America is engaged in a transcontinental meltdown and it's not getting better.
If you need evidence, take a look around you.
Alleged grownups are routinely scolding anyone wearing a mask, either because the mask wearers are, they say, succumbing to fear or because the mask wearers are merely doing it to express their disapproval of Donald Trump, whose existence as president, by the way, is more responsible than anything else for the breakdown. Trump has exploited the bully pulpit to undermine our national sense of right and wrong, of reality and fiction, to the point where his most loyal disciples — again, chronological adults — don't have any idea what's real and what's fake.
To wit: there was a video flying around Twitter over the weekend in which a Florida lawyer dressed up like the Grim Reaper was accosted by a possibly-intoxicated beachgoer who insisted that the coronavirus outbreak is a plot by China, via the Bidens, to screw Donald Trump. Another video showed a woman destroying a display rack of N-95 masks at a department store because something-something-QAnon. Likewise, a couple was captured on video painting over the yellow "Black Lives Matter" slogan on the street in the sleepy suburban town of Martinez, California, while blurting pro-Trump non sequiturs at astonished onlookers. It seems like there are new videos like these every hour on the hour, each one showing privileged white Americans in full catastrophic meltdown.
Sizable crowds of Trump supporters, along with party-going assemblies of younger people, are gathering together without masks and without social distancing in defiance of the virus, apparently believing the pandemic can be intimidated by patriotic American resolve, not unlike our national reaction to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Hundreds if not thousands of these dinguses, along with the friends and family members they may subsequently infect, will end up burdening our already overburdened health care system because they were too selfish and irresponsible to do the right thing — to exercise some self-control, at least enough to make the reasonable choices required to end the pandemic. Instead, they're worsening it for everyone.
More than 130,000 Americans are dead on Donald Trump's watch. That's 32,500 times the death toll at Benghazi, or 44 times the 9/11 attacks. The United States now has the worst rate of new coronavirus infections in the world, also on Trump's watch and indeed directly attributable to the president's twisted, malicious, selfish insistence upon prematurely reopening the economy. Russia, meanwhile, reportedly paid bounties to Taliban fighters for killing American soldiers and Trump has yet to condemn his paymaster Putin, much less call for retaliatory sanctions. These are only the most recent tentpole news stories, not even taking into consideration hundreds of other examples of rank villainy, as well as the 20,000 lies this president has told since Inauguration Day. Yet somehow, amid all this, Trump is miraculously polling in the low 40s.
Why? The American nervous breakdown.
Presidents have always set the tone for the rest of the country. Donald Trump's continued insistence on reinforcing his racist, exclusionary, vindictive, obnoxious, necrotic and ultimately self-defeating brand is driving the nation toward a cultural and societal breaking point, and the gravitational pull of this decline seems to be strengthening by the day. Around 30 years ago, Trump stopped trying to build things and instead chose to build the only thing he's "good" at building: the Trump brand. From the early 1990s onward, he's been all about the things that compose his public persona, and he'll never deviate from that, even if he kills thousands of Americans while destroying the economy in the process.
Inside his warped one-track mind, the Trump brand will always take priority over everything else, and ever since March, that brand has been in direct conflict with the reality of the pandemic.
At some point earlier in the year, Trump was faced with a critical choice, as he saw it: either to make decisions that benefit the nation, or to prioritize his own brand with an eye on re-election. He could tell the truth about the seriousness of the virus and the difficult, sometimes painful things we'd have to do to flatten the curve, or he could continue to ignore all that while, like the mayor in "Jaws," downplaying the threat because it doesn't mesh with his always winning, always great, always tremendous brand.
Consequently, Trump chose to vilify responsible actions like staying home, mask-wearing and social distancing — characterizing those things as us-versus-them propositions, politicizing the crisis, and sending the message to his 40-percenters that this was all about the Democrats trying to destroy Trump. In a June interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump actually said that mask-wearing was meant to "signal disapproval of him." No, it's actually about not getting the virus or spreading it to other people, but facts are irrelevant when confronted by the Trump brand, which mandates that all actions by Americans land in one of two categories: pro-Trump or anti-Trump. There's no such thing as a "nothing to do with Trump" category. Not to him.
Trump's nihilistic approach to the worst crisis of our time, which now includes pretending the virus doesn't exist other than as a vehicle to demonize his enemies, is short-circuiting the wiring inside the heads of his Red Hat fanboys, who are now witnessing their own people succumbing to the virus and trying to somehow square this brutal reality with the "everything's fine!" attitude coming from their addled messiah. No wonder they're losing their shpadoinkle — again, facts and Trump-fiction are colliding in their heads and they're powerless to recalibrate their bullshit detectors. The results, as we've all observed, have been explosive.
As long as the president relentlessly ejaculates screechy all-caps grievances into the atmosphere, his weirdly impressionable fans will continue to be inspired to do the same. As long as he markets in obvious lies and ludicrous conspiracy theories, his fans will continue to buy as fact every word emerging from a place of (undeserved and unearned) authority. As long as he sets an example of racism and misogyny, his fans will continue to reject the values of tolerance and empathy. Indeed, the Trump brand has gone viral and infected 40 percent of us, who won't easily return to the land of reality and responsibility any time soon. This is entirely by design. Trump understands the power of the Oval Office. Trump thrives on chaos and manufactures it. He both expects and requires that his followers adopt his corrosive behavior, not unlike sports fans wearing the colors of their favorite team. And they've become so intensely loyal to the brand that they're losing what's left of their minds to protect and defend it.
As for the rest of us, we all feel like we're leaning too far back in our chairs, almost falling over but not quite — that queasy feeling of impending doom, compacted between intense stress over our personal health and our personal finances, not knowing whether outside interference with the election combined with Trump's attempts to cheat will give us four more years of this national madness. The frenetic uncertainty we're enduring shouldn't be exacerbated by the existence of an unstable tyrant in the White House, but it is.
Trump's destabilizing and omnipresent existence, and especially the power this Mad King possesses, is the prime catalyst for this national nervous breakdown. There's one last remaining treatment: We must find the collective strength to electorally humiliate Trump and his brand out of existence. He must be resoundingly toppled in November. The alternative is unthinkable, but it could involve an eventual President Kanye West or President Joe Exotic at some point in our lifetimes — a possibility as inconceivable today as "President Donald Trump" was five or 10 years ago.
Trump ‘patriots’ ready to die for freedom scream at county commissioners because they don’t want to wear face masks
June 24, 2020
By Brad Reed - raw story
Supporters of President Donald Trump in Palm Beach County, Florida this week screamed at county commissioners who voted unanimously to require that residents wear face masks when out in public.
As The Daily Beast reports, the public hearing on Palm Beach County’s new mask policy drew scores of angry self-described “patriots” who accused the commissioners of taking part in a conspiracy involving Bill Gates to enact a tyrannical government in the United States.
“Every single one of you has a smirk behind that little mask, but every single one of you are going to get punished by God,” thundered one angry woman. “You cannot escape God. You cannot escape God. I’m going to say that again. You cannot escape God.”
Another woman wearing a camouflage “Trump 2020” hat told the commissioners that they were failing in their jobs by mandating masks while looters were purportedly ready to roll into Palm Beach County.
“Well, guess what, the riots are spreading, too!” she fumed. “And what the hell are we going to do about that? We’re going to arrest patriots for not wearing a mask? That’s what you want?”
The woman concluded by shouting, “And I say Trump 2020!”
And another man accused the commissioners who voted for the mask mandate of also working to defund the local police department.
“But what’s going to happen when you get the call… ‘Oh, we got to defund the police, we got to get rid of them,'” he fumed. “Who’s going to arrest the people for [not] wearing stupid masks?… What are you going to do? How are you going to put the people down?”
As The Daily Beast reports, the public hearing on Palm Beach County’s new mask policy drew scores of angry self-described “patriots” who accused the commissioners of taking part in a conspiracy involving Bill Gates to enact a tyrannical government in the United States.
“Every single one of you has a smirk behind that little mask, but every single one of you are going to get punished by God,” thundered one angry woman. “You cannot escape God. You cannot escape God. I’m going to say that again. You cannot escape God.”
Another woman wearing a camouflage “Trump 2020” hat told the commissioners that they were failing in their jobs by mandating masks while looters were purportedly ready to roll into Palm Beach County.
“Well, guess what, the riots are spreading, too!” she fumed. “And what the hell are we going to do about that? We’re going to arrest patriots for not wearing a mask? That’s what you want?”
The woman concluded by shouting, “And I say Trump 2020!”
And another man accused the commissioners who voted for the mask mandate of also working to defund the local police department.
“But what’s going to happen when you get the call… ‘Oh, we got to defund the police, we got to get rid of them,'” he fumed. “Who’s going to arrest the people for [not] wearing stupid masks?… What are you going to do? How are you going to put the people down?”
What does Trump mean by "war president"? He's really the leader of a death cult
Trump is endangering and humiliating his own followers. Will they learn the lessons of history? Obviously not.
CHAUNCEY DEVEGA - salon
MAY 21, 2020 10:00AM (UTC)
In explaining his response to the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump has at times claimed to be a "war president." This is a gift to journalists, reporters and the commentariat — but a toxic one.
In the malignant reality that is the Age of Trump, "war president" is a concept such people believe they understand. It summons images of a solemn and inspiring president and a patriotic public and political class. This is an easy story to write and follow, even if neither journalists nor the public believe Trump's claim to be true.
But because so many members of the American news media are still unwilling to accepting the fact that Trump is an authoritarian and a would-be fascist dictator, they are stuck in familiar old habits — which have become obsolete in a time of failing democracy.
Such denial of America's new reality means that too many reporters, journalists and other political observers function as the president's dupes, desperate to normalize his abnormalities and dangers.
These old habits not unlearned and replaced by new and better ways of thinking have transformed too much of the mainstream news media into vectors for Trump to inject his poison into the body politic.
"Obamagate" is covered as though it were something real instead of another mess of Trumpian right-wing lies. Trump's incoherent gibberish is rephrased or parsed to sound halfway intelligible and "presidential." It took years for reporters to state plainly that Trump is a compulsive liar. Many reporters have assumed, and still do, that Trump has the best intentions for the United States and its people, as opposed to the worst. Too many remain in denial about the fact that Trump cares only for himself, and not at all for the common good. It is still forbidden to speak publicly in major news media about Trump's evident mental unfitness. Rampant "both-sides-ism" still abounds, in which Trump's abominations are presented as just "differences of opinion" and his administration is rarely or never described as being fascist, authoritarian or white supremacist.
Donald Trump is operating from a very different playbook than previous presidents. When he summons the "war president" archetype, he means something very different than is commonly understood by most people in the news media or among the public.
With the power of those words, Donald Trump is declaring, once again, that he has no respect for the rule of law, the Constitution or democracy. Trump's "war president" operates in a "state of exception" where his authoritarian powers expand and his war on democracy wins another victory. Philosopher Jason Stanley explained this in a recent conversation here at Salon:
When an authoritarian or like-minded leaders and regimes want to suspend democracy, they use the language of "war." Trump calling himself a "war president" enables him to do drastic things such as rushing bills through Congress without proper debate, hearings and public scrutiny. An emergency is a very dangerous time, and the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is a real emergency makes matters much more perilous and complicated.
If Trump imagines himself to be a great leader and "war president" in his struggle against the "invisible enemy" of the coronavirus then he needs foot soldiers ("warriors") who are willing to go in harm's way — to be implements of his will, to serve loyally and without dissent as they do battle on his behalf.
In his role as "war president" in the time of pandemic, Trump leads a death cult.
The members of that cult are told by Trump and his agents to gather together at rallies and other staged events where they proclaim the pandemic to be a "hoax" or a "fraud" and protest that they are being "oppressed" by public health laws designed to save lives. Some will become infected, fall ill and die, while quite likely spreading the lethal pathogen to innocent people.
Trump's mouthpieces command his followers to go shopping, eat out at restaurants and spend money because to do so is "patriotic" and shows love for "the country." Trump's followers now view wearing protective masks as "weak" and effeminate, a surrender to "political correctness." If these Trump "warriors" happen to die, it is a glorious act of sacrifice.
In Trump and his right-wing movement's cruel and evil view of the world, deaths from the coronavirus are a good thing: Weak, sick, elderly and other vulnerable people should be gracious enough to die; they have outlived their usefulness.
In its own perverse way Donald Trump's Republican Party death cult is "inclusive": There are the heroes and also the "useless eaters." Both groups, with different justifications, are to be sacrificed or culled in the plutocrats' social-Darwinist project.
The logic of glorious death and sacrifice for Donald Trump's fascist regime is nothing new. The death cult and glory are core myths of fascism.
Novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco explained this in a 1995 New York Review of Books essay entitled "Ur-Fascism":
In such a perspective everybody is educated to become a hero. In every mythology the hero is an exceptional being, but in Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death. It is not by chance that a motto of the [Spanish fascist] Falangists was Viva la Muerte (in English it should be translated as "Long Live Death!"). In non-fascist societies, the lay public is told that death is unpleasant but must be faced with dignity; believers are told that it is the painful way to reach a supernatural happiness. By contrast, the Ur-Fascist hero craves heroic death, advertised as the best reward for a heroic life. The Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death.
During a recent trip to a medical equipment supply center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump channeled this ideology in a literal sense, praising the deaths of health care workers from the coronavirus as "a beautiful thing to see":
They are warriors, aren't they? When you see them going into those hospitals and they're putting the stuff that you deliver, but they're wrapping themselves and the doors are opening and they're going through the doors and they're not even ready to go through those doors. They probably shouldn't….
They're running into death just like soldiers run into bullets, in a true sense. I see that with the doctors and the nurses and so many other people. They go into those hospitals, it's incredible to see. It's a beautiful thing to see. But I really call them "warriors." We're all warriors; everyone in our country is a warrior.
In the final analysis, Trump's views his supporters as human kindling who will fuel his vainglorious assault on American democracy and civil society.
But there is little glory or greatness in Donald Trump's death cult. Is it marvelous to die for the "freedom" to eat in bad chain restaurants, shop at big-box retail stores or get mediocre haircuts at the mall or on Main Street? Suffocating, drowning as phlegm fills your lungs because you refused to stay home, practice social distancing and wear a mask is more the stuff of a grim Monty Python sketch than Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will."
Moreover, the "sacrifice" of Trump's death cult members and other supporters is both pitiful and comical because Trump cares nothing for his "white working class" followers.
Adolf Hitler's chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "The whole German people will perish with us, so gloriously that even after a thousand years the heroic downfall of the Germans will occupy pride of place in world history."
There was of course no pride for the defeated German nation, only ignominy and destruction. Trump's followers and his other supplicants would be wise to learn that lesson.
History should warn Donald Trump's "warriors" what awaits them when their Great Leader finally meets his downfall. Will they listen? The answer of course is no.
In the malignant reality that is the Age of Trump, "war president" is a concept such people believe they understand. It summons images of a solemn and inspiring president and a patriotic public and political class. This is an easy story to write and follow, even if neither journalists nor the public believe Trump's claim to be true.
But because so many members of the American news media are still unwilling to accepting the fact that Trump is an authoritarian and a would-be fascist dictator, they are stuck in familiar old habits — which have become obsolete in a time of failing democracy.
Such denial of America's new reality means that too many reporters, journalists and other political observers function as the president's dupes, desperate to normalize his abnormalities and dangers.
These old habits not unlearned and replaced by new and better ways of thinking have transformed too much of the mainstream news media into vectors for Trump to inject his poison into the body politic.
"Obamagate" is covered as though it were something real instead of another mess of Trumpian right-wing lies. Trump's incoherent gibberish is rephrased or parsed to sound halfway intelligible and "presidential." It took years for reporters to state plainly that Trump is a compulsive liar. Many reporters have assumed, and still do, that Trump has the best intentions for the United States and its people, as opposed to the worst. Too many remain in denial about the fact that Trump cares only for himself, and not at all for the common good. It is still forbidden to speak publicly in major news media about Trump's evident mental unfitness. Rampant "both-sides-ism" still abounds, in which Trump's abominations are presented as just "differences of opinion" and his administration is rarely or never described as being fascist, authoritarian or white supremacist.
Donald Trump is operating from a very different playbook than previous presidents. When he summons the "war president" archetype, he means something very different than is commonly understood by most people in the news media or among the public.
With the power of those words, Donald Trump is declaring, once again, that he has no respect for the rule of law, the Constitution or democracy. Trump's "war president" operates in a "state of exception" where his authoritarian powers expand and his war on democracy wins another victory. Philosopher Jason Stanley explained this in a recent conversation here at Salon:
When an authoritarian or like-minded leaders and regimes want to suspend democracy, they use the language of "war." Trump calling himself a "war president" enables him to do drastic things such as rushing bills through Congress without proper debate, hearings and public scrutiny. An emergency is a very dangerous time, and the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is a real emergency makes matters much more perilous and complicated.
If Trump imagines himself to be a great leader and "war president" in his struggle against the "invisible enemy" of the coronavirus then he needs foot soldiers ("warriors") who are willing to go in harm's way — to be implements of his will, to serve loyally and without dissent as they do battle on his behalf.
In his role as "war president" in the time of pandemic, Trump leads a death cult.
The members of that cult are told by Trump and his agents to gather together at rallies and other staged events where they proclaim the pandemic to be a "hoax" or a "fraud" and protest that they are being "oppressed" by public health laws designed to save lives. Some will become infected, fall ill and die, while quite likely spreading the lethal pathogen to innocent people.
Trump's mouthpieces command his followers to go shopping, eat out at restaurants and spend money because to do so is "patriotic" and shows love for "the country." Trump's followers now view wearing protective masks as "weak" and effeminate, a surrender to "political correctness." If these Trump "warriors" happen to die, it is a glorious act of sacrifice.
In Trump and his right-wing movement's cruel and evil view of the world, deaths from the coronavirus are a good thing: Weak, sick, elderly and other vulnerable people should be gracious enough to die; they have outlived their usefulness.
In its own perverse way Donald Trump's Republican Party death cult is "inclusive": There are the heroes and also the "useless eaters." Both groups, with different justifications, are to be sacrificed or culled in the plutocrats' social-Darwinist project.
The logic of glorious death and sacrifice for Donald Trump's fascist regime is nothing new. The death cult and glory are core myths of fascism.
Novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco explained this in a 1995 New York Review of Books essay entitled "Ur-Fascism":
In such a perspective everybody is educated to become a hero. In every mythology the hero is an exceptional being, but in Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death. It is not by chance that a motto of the [Spanish fascist] Falangists was Viva la Muerte (in English it should be translated as "Long Live Death!"). In non-fascist societies, the lay public is told that death is unpleasant but must be faced with dignity; believers are told that it is the painful way to reach a supernatural happiness. By contrast, the Ur-Fascist hero craves heroic death, advertised as the best reward for a heroic life. The Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death.
During a recent trip to a medical equipment supply center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump channeled this ideology in a literal sense, praising the deaths of health care workers from the coronavirus as "a beautiful thing to see":
They are warriors, aren't they? When you see them going into those hospitals and they're putting the stuff that you deliver, but they're wrapping themselves and the doors are opening and they're going through the doors and they're not even ready to go through those doors. They probably shouldn't….
They're running into death just like soldiers run into bullets, in a true sense. I see that with the doctors and the nurses and so many other people. They go into those hospitals, it's incredible to see. It's a beautiful thing to see. But I really call them "warriors." We're all warriors; everyone in our country is a warrior.
In the final analysis, Trump's views his supporters as human kindling who will fuel his vainglorious assault on American democracy and civil society.
But there is little glory or greatness in Donald Trump's death cult. Is it marvelous to die for the "freedom" to eat in bad chain restaurants, shop at big-box retail stores or get mediocre haircuts at the mall or on Main Street? Suffocating, drowning as phlegm fills your lungs because you refused to stay home, practice social distancing and wear a mask is more the stuff of a grim Monty Python sketch than Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will."
Moreover, the "sacrifice" of Trump's death cult members and other supporters is both pitiful and comical because Trump cares nothing for his "white working class" followers.
Adolf Hitler's chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "The whole German people will perish with us, so gloriously that even after a thousand years the heroic downfall of the Germans will occupy pride of place in world history."
There was of course no pride for the defeated German nation, only ignominy and destruction. Trump's followers and his other supplicants would be wise to learn that lesson.
History should warn Donald Trump's "warriors" what awaits them when their Great Leader finally meets his downfall. Will they listen? The answer of course is no.
thoughts and prayers, suckers!!!
Trump’s biggest fans are so bent on taking hydroxychloroquine they’re making their own
May 20, 2020
By Travis Gettys - raw story
President Donald Trump’s staunchest fans are so bent on taking hydroxychloroquine they’re sharing recipes for making their own.
The president has been hyping the anti-malarial drug as a preventative and treatment for the coronavirus, and claimed this week he’s been taking it himself, and his right-wing allies have promoting it and also taking the drug themselves, reported The Daily Beast.
“Tell everyone you’re taking it,” tweeted Lionel Lebron, a QAnon conspiracy theorist and conservative social media personality who visited Trump at the White House in 2018. “Even if you’re not. Say you’re taking it via enema. A high colonic with a twist of lime.”
The Food and Drug Administration does not recommend hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 outside of hospitals or clinical trials, warning the drug can produce “abnormal heart rhythms” in some patients, and a Veterans Affairs study found the drug had no effect on the virus and may lead to death for some patients.
But other QAnon conspiracy theorists are so sure that Trump’s right about hydroxychloroquine they’re sharing recipes for the drug that consists of steeping various fruit rinds so followers can avoid “big pharmas fillers.”
Others, such as Missouri chiropractor Eric Nepute, are urging their online followers to drink Schweppes Tonic Water for the quinine, falsely claiming its effects “similar-ish” to hydroxychloroquine, but the Snopes website says a person would need to drink 25 liters a day to ingest enough quinine for medicinal purposes.
Talk radio host and former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka claims he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine for a month to prevent COVID-19 infection, and Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS), a doctor and Kansas Senate candidate, says he and several family members are taking hydroxychloroquine as a prevenative.
“I’m relieved President Trump is taking it,” Marshall said.
Fringe right-wing figure Michael Coudrey, who’s been retweeted by the president in the past, claimed the drug has pleasant side effects.
“My face is also very plush and vibrant,” Coudrey tweeted.
The president has been hyping the anti-malarial drug as a preventative and treatment for the coronavirus, and claimed this week he’s been taking it himself, and his right-wing allies have promoting it and also taking the drug themselves, reported The Daily Beast.
“Tell everyone you’re taking it,” tweeted Lionel Lebron, a QAnon conspiracy theorist and conservative social media personality who visited Trump at the White House in 2018. “Even if you’re not. Say you’re taking it via enema. A high colonic with a twist of lime.”
The Food and Drug Administration does not recommend hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 outside of hospitals or clinical trials, warning the drug can produce “abnormal heart rhythms” in some patients, and a Veterans Affairs study found the drug had no effect on the virus and may lead to death for some patients.
But other QAnon conspiracy theorists are so sure that Trump’s right about hydroxychloroquine they’re sharing recipes for the drug that consists of steeping various fruit rinds so followers can avoid “big pharmas fillers.”
Others, such as Missouri chiropractor Eric Nepute, are urging their online followers to drink Schweppes Tonic Water for the quinine, falsely claiming its effects “similar-ish” to hydroxychloroquine, but the Snopes website says a person would need to drink 25 liters a day to ingest enough quinine for medicinal purposes.
Talk radio host and former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka claims he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine for a month to prevent COVID-19 infection, and Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS), a doctor and Kansas Senate candidate, says he and several family members are taking hydroxychloroquine as a prevenative.
“I’m relieved President Trump is taking it,” Marshall said.
Fringe right-wing figure Michael Coudrey, who’s been retweeted by the president in the past, claimed the drug has pleasant side effects.
“My face is also very plush and vibrant,” Coudrey tweeted.
supporters, please follow your leaders advice, what have you got to lose?
Trump Makes 'Dangerous' Coronavirus Suggestion
He speculated about injecting disinfectants into body
By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff
Apr 24, 2020 6:33 AM CDT
(NEWSER) – President Trump alarmed doctors Thursday with some unusual suggestions during the daily coronavirus briefing. After Homeland Security science chief William Bryan spoke about how heat, sunlight, and disinfectants can kill the virus outside the body, Trump asked about using them inside the body, the Hill reports. "Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous—whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light—and I think you said that hasn't been checked but you're going to test it," Trump said. "And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting." Bryan later stressed that the findings did not mean "the summer is just going to totally kill the virus."
Trump also speculated about internal use of disinfectants after Bryan said substances like bleach could kill the virus on surfaces, the New York Times reports. "Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning?" Trump wondered. "Because, you see, it gets on the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it'd be interesting to check that." Doctors strongly warned the public against following Trump's suggestions. "This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it's dangerous," pulmonologist Dr. Vin Gupta tells NBC. "It's a common method that people utilize when they want to kill themselves." (The CDC says that since the pandemic began, there has been a surge in poisonings involving cleaning products.)
Trump also speculated about internal use of disinfectants after Bryan said substances like bleach could kill the virus on surfaces, the New York Times reports. "Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning?" Trump wondered. "Because, you see, it gets on the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it'd be interesting to check that." Doctors strongly warned the public against following Trump's suggestions. "This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it's dangerous," pulmonologist Dr. Vin Gupta tells NBC. "It's a common method that people utilize when they want to kill themselves." (The CDC says that since the pandemic began, there has been a surge in poisonings involving cleaning products.)
Quit telling your MAGA parents to take the coronavirus seriously — they'll never listen
It's no good browbeating Trump fans about social distancing. It will never work, and is likely to backfire
AMANDA MARCOTTE - salon
APRIL 28, 2020 5:00PM (UTC)
Despite Donald "Why Not Shoot Up Lysol?" Trump's unsubtle yearning to "reopen" the economy (which won't work) and let the novel coronavirus run rampant, a new poll from the Washington Post and the University of Maryland shows that strong majorities of Americans think that's a really stupid idea. Eight out of ten Americans took one look at the yahoos protesting the lockdowns in various state capitals and said, nah, living is more important than being able to order that 400-calorie vanilla-hazelnut frappuccino inside the Starbucks instead of from the drive-through window. Despite the mighty efforts of Republicans to create a false dichotomy between saving lives and saving the economy, it appears most Americans understand that Americans can't go back to work if they're laid up or dying from COVID-19.
These poll numbers are likely cold comfort, however, to those who have family members, especially parents, among the 17% of Americans who think the social distancing orders are too restrictive. It's a group that's largely composed of Fox News addicts and Trump superfans, who are more inclined to believe the coronavirus is being exaggerated — or is even a hoax — because their beloved cable "news" channel has been telling them just that.
(To be clear, this group is a minority even among Republican voters, only 27% of whom oppose the coronavirus restrictions.)
Anyway, these folks are often indifferent or even hostile to the social distancing recommendations, and are engaging in all kinds of behavior that put them at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. So right now, a lot of adult children and other relatives of Fox News addicts — who tend to be senior citizens — are stressing out badly, fearful that their family members will catch a disease that tends to kill older people at a much higher clip.
Sam Stein at the Daily Beast profiled some of these families, which are often split between rabidly right-wing parents and more politically progressive kids. These kids love their parents, even as they disagree with them fiercely about whether it's okay to vote for a wannabe fascist whose laziness and aversion to reading made him ignore more than a dozen daily briefings warning him about the coronavirus in January and February. So they're starting to panic, watching their parents ignore the social distancing recommendations and risk severe illness or death out of misguided loyalty to Fox News and President Inject-It.
Understandably, the kids describe mounting pressure campaigns on their parents, and even trying to leverage visitations with the grandkids, to convince MAGA-Mom and MAGA-Dad to stay home and stop socializing. It isn't working.
As one woman put it, "I genuinely believe that if Fox started reporting something as ridiculous as 'only people with naturally red hair can get coronavirus,' my parents would believe it."
While the temptation to browbeat one's family members is understandable, it's almost certainly a waste of time and an unnecessary stress factor for those whose parents are already this far down the Fox News rabbit hole. As I've been writing about throughout the Trump administration, the grim reality is that the ego protection matters more to Trump voters than facts, logic or, for the most hardcore, even their own personal health. To admit they were wrong in voting for a man who suggested cleaning out the lungs of coronavirus patients with household disinfectants is too humiliating. And so it's easier, for this 27% of Republicans at least, to buy into conspiracy theories that the virus is an exaggeration or a hoax than to admit to themselves that they made a dreadful mistake in voting for this dangerous moron.
In fact, browbeating Trump-worshipping relatives about the coronavirus is likely to backfire — it'll only make them more likely to go to parties, refuse to wear masks or make unnecessary trips to the store "just to pick up a few things."
"In fact, head-on attempts to persuade can sometimes trigger a backfire effect, where people not only fail to change their minds when confronted with the facts — they may hold their wrong views more tenaciously than ever," as science writer Chris Mooney explained in a 2011 article for Mother Jones.
This was first shown in a 2006 study that showed that when conservatives were presented with proof that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction — which was the Bush administration's pretext for the Iraq invasion — they dug their heels in even harder and insisted more fiercely that Saddam did so have WMDs. Subsequent research has shown this same effect on people with a wide variety of misguided beliefs.
Anyone who has argued with someone who is deeply wrong about something has experienced this problem. If you offer them incontrovertible proof of their wrongness, they feel embarrassed and get angry. They view you, the person who is actually right, as a smug know-it-all. In order to protect their ego, they embrace a defiant persona, that of someone who will seek revenge for this humiliation by clinging even harder to the wrong belief.
This is the "stick it to the libs" mentality in a nutshell. For right-wing parents with liberal children, it's likely that the backfire effect is even more pronounced. Admitting that people you trained to use the potty are now more broad-minded and knowledgeable than you, especially about something as personal as your political views, is a painful humiliation for the parents of Fox News nation. So instead of admitting that their kids might have a point about the dangers of this virus, parents who are already in denial are likely to dig in deeper if they're feeling pressured.
As hard as it may be to swallow, the best thing to do, if you have parents who prefer to listen to Diamond and Silk rather than public health officials, is not to argue with them. In this time of crisis it's more critical than ever, for the sake of everyone's mental health, to understand what you can control and what you can't. Parents or other family members who have decided that loyalty to Trump is more important than their health go in the "can't control" column.
These poll numbers are likely cold comfort, however, to those who have family members, especially parents, among the 17% of Americans who think the social distancing orders are too restrictive. It's a group that's largely composed of Fox News addicts and Trump superfans, who are more inclined to believe the coronavirus is being exaggerated — or is even a hoax — because their beloved cable "news" channel has been telling them just that.
(To be clear, this group is a minority even among Republican voters, only 27% of whom oppose the coronavirus restrictions.)
Anyway, these folks are often indifferent or even hostile to the social distancing recommendations, and are engaging in all kinds of behavior that put them at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. So right now, a lot of adult children and other relatives of Fox News addicts — who tend to be senior citizens — are stressing out badly, fearful that their family members will catch a disease that tends to kill older people at a much higher clip.
Sam Stein at the Daily Beast profiled some of these families, which are often split between rabidly right-wing parents and more politically progressive kids. These kids love their parents, even as they disagree with them fiercely about whether it's okay to vote for a wannabe fascist whose laziness and aversion to reading made him ignore more than a dozen daily briefings warning him about the coronavirus in January and February. So they're starting to panic, watching their parents ignore the social distancing recommendations and risk severe illness or death out of misguided loyalty to Fox News and President Inject-It.
Understandably, the kids describe mounting pressure campaigns on their parents, and even trying to leverage visitations with the grandkids, to convince MAGA-Mom and MAGA-Dad to stay home and stop socializing. It isn't working.
As one woman put it, "I genuinely believe that if Fox started reporting something as ridiculous as 'only people with naturally red hair can get coronavirus,' my parents would believe it."
While the temptation to browbeat one's family members is understandable, it's almost certainly a waste of time and an unnecessary stress factor for those whose parents are already this far down the Fox News rabbit hole. As I've been writing about throughout the Trump administration, the grim reality is that the ego protection matters more to Trump voters than facts, logic or, for the most hardcore, even their own personal health. To admit they were wrong in voting for a man who suggested cleaning out the lungs of coronavirus patients with household disinfectants is too humiliating. And so it's easier, for this 27% of Republicans at least, to buy into conspiracy theories that the virus is an exaggeration or a hoax than to admit to themselves that they made a dreadful mistake in voting for this dangerous moron.
In fact, browbeating Trump-worshipping relatives about the coronavirus is likely to backfire — it'll only make them more likely to go to parties, refuse to wear masks or make unnecessary trips to the store "just to pick up a few things."
"In fact, head-on attempts to persuade can sometimes trigger a backfire effect, where people not only fail to change their minds when confronted with the facts — they may hold their wrong views more tenaciously than ever," as science writer Chris Mooney explained in a 2011 article for Mother Jones.
This was first shown in a 2006 study that showed that when conservatives were presented with proof that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction — which was the Bush administration's pretext for the Iraq invasion — they dug their heels in even harder and insisted more fiercely that Saddam did so have WMDs. Subsequent research has shown this same effect on people with a wide variety of misguided beliefs.
Anyone who has argued with someone who is deeply wrong about something has experienced this problem. If you offer them incontrovertible proof of their wrongness, they feel embarrassed and get angry. They view you, the person who is actually right, as a smug know-it-all. In order to protect their ego, they embrace a defiant persona, that of someone who will seek revenge for this humiliation by clinging even harder to the wrong belief.
This is the "stick it to the libs" mentality in a nutshell. For right-wing parents with liberal children, it's likely that the backfire effect is even more pronounced. Admitting that people you trained to use the potty are now more broad-minded and knowledgeable than you, especially about something as personal as your political views, is a painful humiliation for the parents of Fox News nation. So instead of admitting that their kids might have a point about the dangers of this virus, parents who are already in denial are likely to dig in deeper if they're feeling pressured.
As hard as it may be to swallow, the best thing to do, if you have parents who prefer to listen to Diamond and Silk rather than public health officials, is not to argue with them. In this time of crisis it's more critical than ever, for the sake of everyone's mental health, to understand what you can control and what you can't. Parents or other family members who have decided that loyalty to Trump is more important than their health go in the "can't control" column.
thoughts & prayers!!!
Trump supporters are willing to die to reopen economy: ‘When it’s my time to go, God’s going to call me home’
April 15, 2020
By Brad Reed - raw story
Supporters of President Donald Trump are getting antsy about stay-at-home orders — and they’re encouraging one another to openly rebel against strict measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
The Daily Beast reports that Trump supporters are sparking a “protest movement” against social distancing restrictions aimed at forcing governors to reopen their economies at a time when tens of thousands of Americans have died from the virus in the span of just one month.
North Carolina-based conservative activist Ashley Smith, who founded an anti-social distancing group called “ReopenNC,” said that she wasn’t worried about dying as long as it means the economy can reopen.
“When it’s my time to go, God’s going to call me home,” she tells the publication. “I think that to live is inherently to take risks. I’m not concerned about this virus any more than I am about the flu.”
Michigan activist Rosanne Ponkowski, meanwhile, said that the lower-than-expected projected death toll from COVID-19 justifies reopening the economy, despite the fact that the death toll has only been lowered due to social distancing restrictions.
“They were predicting huge numbers of people falling ill and dying, and that wasn’t the case,” she said.
Former Georgia Congressman Jack Kingston, a longtime ally of Trump, summed up conservative anger over the restrictions like this: “The liquor stores and dispensaries are open but I can’t buy gun!”
RELATED: WATCH: Profanity-spewing police captain approaches nanny and her ‘coronavirus kids’ to berate them over social distancing
The Daily Beast reports that Trump supporters are sparking a “protest movement” against social distancing restrictions aimed at forcing governors to reopen their economies at a time when tens of thousands of Americans have died from the virus in the span of just one month.
North Carolina-based conservative activist Ashley Smith, who founded an anti-social distancing group called “ReopenNC,” said that she wasn’t worried about dying as long as it means the economy can reopen.
“When it’s my time to go, God’s going to call me home,” she tells the publication. “I think that to live is inherently to take risks. I’m not concerned about this virus any more than I am about the flu.”
Michigan activist Rosanne Ponkowski, meanwhile, said that the lower-than-expected projected death toll from COVID-19 justifies reopening the economy, despite the fact that the death toll has only been lowered due to social distancing restrictions.
“They were predicting huge numbers of people falling ill and dying, and that wasn’t the case,” she said.
Former Georgia Congressman Jack Kingston, a longtime ally of Trump, summed up conservative anger over the restrictions like this: “The liquor stores and dispensaries are open but I can’t buy gun!”
RELATED: WATCH: Profanity-spewing police captain approaches nanny and her ‘coronavirus kids’ to berate them over social distancing
Trump's voters will never admit they were wrong — even in the face of national catastrophe
Trump's fans will never admit they made a mistake — that's the hill they'll die on, and not just metaphorically
AMANDA MARCOTTE - salon
APRIL 13, 2020 5:00PM (UTC)
In the age of the coronavirus, with most of us locked away in our homes, we turn to numbers to get a sense of what the hell is happening in this country. Number of diagnosed cases of the novel coronavirus: 555,371, though experts believe the real number is far higher due to under-testing. Number of deaths: 22,056, though experts believe the real number is far higher because of people who die at home or have their deaths misclassified. Number of newly unemployed: 17 million, though experts believe it's likely higher because so many laid-off workers were unable to file for unemployment. Unemployment rate: 13%, and there are concerns it could go as high or higher than the unemployment rate during the Great Depression.
There's one number that's holding steady, however, and it's the number that may very well decide if we are looking at four more years of this hellscape or if we'll get new leadership that actually takes competence in government seriously: Donald Trump's approval rating. That hasn't budged below its baseline of around 40 to 42%. The initial boost Trump got from the rally-round-the-flag effect during this crisis has pretty much evaporated. But so far, that baseline is as immovable as Trump is from a TV camera.
In a sane country, the president's approval rating would be cratering as people absorbed the should-be-indisputable fact that this crisis is his fault. The evidence for that is not exactly hidden! There have been repeated blockbuster reports laying out how Trump resisted taking any measures that would have slowed the spread of the virus for months, believing that people would never notice disease and death so long as he kept saying it wasn't real.
Just this weekend, there was another such report, a damning New York Times article that laid out Trump rejected or ignored warnings from health officials and blocked any useful response in favor of propaganda. Meanwhile, the coronavirus spread throughout the country, indifferent to Trump's apparent belief that lying about viruses make them go away.
And yet, that baseline approval rating doesn't budge, even as Trump voters cannot deny the soaring number of COVID-19 cases and the subsequent economic devastation.
The most apparent cause of this delusional behavior on behalf of nearly half of American voters is that these folks are encased in a Fox News bubble. Trump voters have been encouraged to reject legitimate news sources as "fake news," and instead to get all their information from Trump-worshipping radio and cable hosts who spent months minimizing the virus and then switched seamlessly to swooning over how Trump will single-handedly defeat it with his magical snake-oil cures. Of course, these folks also listen to Trump himself, a shameless liar who will declare victory no matter how badly he fails.
But that explanation only goes so far, in no small part because the propaganda Trump voters inhale is so transparently stupid. Trump voters are clearly smart enough to tie their shoes and find their way to a voting booth, so it's unlikely that they are lacking the baseline mental acuity necessary to see through the ham-fisted manipulations on offer from Trump and Fox News.
For instance, Fox News host Sean Hannity got all self-righteous on-air last week, accusing the mainstream media of downplaying the virus in January.
But it's unlikely that even the dimmest bulbs in his audience will forget that, in February and March — which, for those keeping track, are the months that come after January — Hannity himself accused the mainstream media of "fear-mongering" about the virus, falsely claimed that the seasonal flu is "much more dangerous" and repeatedly argued that Trump had everything under control. Hannity was obsessed with pushing this "don't worry" message, so that even the most casual Fox viewer received it.
Trump's own spin efforts are also comical, at least in how delusional and unconvincing they are. On Sunday, Trump actually tried to spin the declaration of a 50-state national emergency as if it were a testament to his leadership:
This is, of course, similar to setting your own house on fire and, as you stand in the smoldering remains, declaring yourself a very stable genius for remembering how to dial 911.
Few people, if any, are actually stupid enough to fall for this. No, the ugly truth is that Trump voters are playing along with these obvious lies because they cannot accept the alternative, which is to admit it was dumb and bad to vote for Trump in the first place.
Back in 2017, I wrote a lengthy feature predicting just this: No matter how bad things get under Trump, his voters will stand by him rather than admit they were wrong to vote for him in the first place. The psychological experts I spoke with explained that admitting you're wrong is tough for anyone, because it's such a blow to the ego.
But what the past few years have shown us is that the already difficult task of admitting you are wrong is even harder for conservatives, because it will also require recognizing the unthinkable possibility that liberals were right. Just as Trump was warned for months about the coronavirus, conservatives were warned for literally a year and a half in 2015 and 2016 that voting for Trump — a dimwitted reality TV star who is all ego and no brains — would result in disaster. To face reality now would mean giving into the twin humiliations of admitting they were wrong and the liberals were right, a double humiliation that is clearly too painful to bear.
Trump, being a terminal narcissist, understands the importance of ego preservation implicitly, which is why he often reframes criticism of his own failures as attacks on the people who voted for him. During impeachment, this worked beautifully. Republican voters could see as well as anyone that Trump was guilty as hell, and that his blackmail scheme against the Ukrainian president was just the latest in a pattern of lifelong disregard for the law. But that 42% would rather deny the facts in front of their nose than admit that they were wrong and the Democrats were right.
Back then, it seemed the stakes couldn't get higher, but now they've been raised about as high as they can get, with the body count piling up and the economy in meltdown. In the face of all that, however, conservatives apparently continue to believe that saving face matters more than anything — more than saving American lives and more than rescuing the economy. You've heard the expression about a person who refuses to admit he's wrong: "This is the hill he'll die on." For the 42% or so who can't quit Donald Trump no matter what, that hill is starting to look less metaphorical and more literal every day.
There's one number that's holding steady, however, and it's the number that may very well decide if we are looking at four more years of this hellscape or if we'll get new leadership that actually takes competence in government seriously: Donald Trump's approval rating. That hasn't budged below its baseline of around 40 to 42%. The initial boost Trump got from the rally-round-the-flag effect during this crisis has pretty much evaporated. But so far, that baseline is as immovable as Trump is from a TV camera.
In a sane country, the president's approval rating would be cratering as people absorbed the should-be-indisputable fact that this crisis is his fault. The evidence for that is not exactly hidden! There have been repeated blockbuster reports laying out how Trump resisted taking any measures that would have slowed the spread of the virus for months, believing that people would never notice disease and death so long as he kept saying it wasn't real.
Just this weekend, there was another such report, a damning New York Times article that laid out Trump rejected or ignored warnings from health officials and blocked any useful response in favor of propaganda. Meanwhile, the coronavirus spread throughout the country, indifferent to Trump's apparent belief that lying about viruses make them go away.
And yet, that baseline approval rating doesn't budge, even as Trump voters cannot deny the soaring number of COVID-19 cases and the subsequent economic devastation.
The most apparent cause of this delusional behavior on behalf of nearly half of American voters is that these folks are encased in a Fox News bubble. Trump voters have been encouraged to reject legitimate news sources as "fake news," and instead to get all their information from Trump-worshipping radio and cable hosts who spent months minimizing the virus and then switched seamlessly to swooning over how Trump will single-handedly defeat it with his magical snake-oil cures. Of course, these folks also listen to Trump himself, a shameless liar who will declare victory no matter how badly he fails.
But that explanation only goes so far, in no small part because the propaganda Trump voters inhale is so transparently stupid. Trump voters are clearly smart enough to tie their shoes and find their way to a voting booth, so it's unlikely that they are lacking the baseline mental acuity necessary to see through the ham-fisted manipulations on offer from Trump and Fox News.
For instance, Fox News host Sean Hannity got all self-righteous on-air last week, accusing the mainstream media of downplaying the virus in January.
But it's unlikely that even the dimmest bulbs in his audience will forget that, in February and March — which, for those keeping track, are the months that come after January — Hannity himself accused the mainstream media of "fear-mongering" about the virus, falsely claimed that the seasonal flu is "much more dangerous" and repeatedly argued that Trump had everything under control. Hannity was obsessed with pushing this "don't worry" message, so that even the most casual Fox viewer received it.
Trump's own spin efforts are also comical, at least in how delusional and unconvincing they are. On Sunday, Trump actually tried to spin the declaration of a 50-state national emergency as if it were a testament to his leadership:
This is, of course, similar to setting your own house on fire and, as you stand in the smoldering remains, declaring yourself a very stable genius for remembering how to dial 911.
Few people, if any, are actually stupid enough to fall for this. No, the ugly truth is that Trump voters are playing along with these obvious lies because they cannot accept the alternative, which is to admit it was dumb and bad to vote for Trump in the first place.
Back in 2017, I wrote a lengthy feature predicting just this: No matter how bad things get under Trump, his voters will stand by him rather than admit they were wrong to vote for him in the first place. The psychological experts I spoke with explained that admitting you're wrong is tough for anyone, because it's such a blow to the ego.
But what the past few years have shown us is that the already difficult task of admitting you are wrong is even harder for conservatives, because it will also require recognizing the unthinkable possibility that liberals were right. Just as Trump was warned for months about the coronavirus, conservatives were warned for literally a year and a half in 2015 and 2016 that voting for Trump — a dimwitted reality TV star who is all ego and no brains — would result in disaster. To face reality now would mean giving into the twin humiliations of admitting they were wrong and the liberals were right, a double humiliation that is clearly too painful to bear.
Trump, being a terminal narcissist, understands the importance of ego preservation implicitly, which is why he often reframes criticism of his own failures as attacks on the people who voted for him. During impeachment, this worked beautifully. Republican voters could see as well as anyone that Trump was guilty as hell, and that his blackmail scheme against the Ukrainian president was just the latest in a pattern of lifelong disregard for the law. But that 42% would rather deny the facts in front of their nose than admit that they were wrong and the Democrats were right.
Back then, it seemed the stakes couldn't get higher, but now they've been raised about as high as they can get, with the body count piling up and the economy in meltdown. In the face of all that, however, conservatives apparently continue to believe that saving face matters more than anything — more than saving American lives and more than rescuing the economy. You've heard the expression about a person who refuses to admit he's wrong: "This is the hill he'll die on." For the 42% or so who can't quit Donald Trump no matter what, that hill is starting to look less metaphorical and more literal every day.
For Republicans there is no more reliable source of accurate information on coronavirus than Trump: poll
March 25, 2020
By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement - raw story
When President Donald Trump last week praised two older drugs used to treat Malaria, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, as “game changers” in the fight against coronavirus, perhaps it was only a matter of time.
Trump, in fact, told Americans, “it’s not going to kill anybody.”
ABC News✔
@ABC
Pres. Trump touts chloroquine, an old malaria drug, that doctors say may help treat novel coronavirus, claims it will be available "almost immediately."
Read more about chloroquine: http://abcn.ws/2WtkxC6
An Arizona man, as many now know, is dead and his wife seriously ill after ingesting a fish tank cleaner that contained the same active ingredient as the drug Trump promoted.
A new poll shows for Republicans there is no more reliable source of accurate information on coronavirus than President Donald Trump. Nine out of 10 Republicans say Trump is the most reliable source of accurate information on coronavirus, and more see him as accurate than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Who do you trust and not trust to give you accurate information about the virus and what to do during the outbreak?” a CBS News/YouGov poll asked.
For Republicans, 90% said President Trump, tying medical professionals. 84% said the CDC, 81% said their friends and family, 71% said religious leaders, 65% said their governor, and just 13% said the national media, social media, and online sources.
For Democrats, the responses were far different.
92% said medical professionals, 87% listed the CDC as their top choice for accurate information on the coronavirus. 75% said their governor, 72% said the national media and their friends and family, 44% said their religious leaders, 28% said social media and online sources, and just 14% said Trump.
Trump, in fact, told Americans, “it’s not going to kill anybody.”
ABC News✔
@ABC
Pres. Trump touts chloroquine, an old malaria drug, that doctors say may help treat novel coronavirus, claims it will be available "almost immediately."
Read more about chloroquine: http://abcn.ws/2WtkxC6
An Arizona man, as many now know, is dead and his wife seriously ill after ingesting a fish tank cleaner that contained the same active ingredient as the drug Trump promoted.
A new poll shows for Republicans there is no more reliable source of accurate information on coronavirus than President Donald Trump. Nine out of 10 Republicans say Trump is the most reliable source of accurate information on coronavirus, and more see him as accurate than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Who do you trust and not trust to give you accurate information about the virus and what to do during the outbreak?” a CBS News/YouGov poll asked.
For Republicans, 90% said President Trump, tying medical professionals. 84% said the CDC, 81% said their friends and family, 71% said religious leaders, 65% said their governor, and just 13% said the national media, social media, and online sources.
For Democrats, the responses were far different.
92% said medical professionals, 87% listed the CDC as their top choice for accurate information on the coronavirus. 75% said their governor, 72% said the national media and their friends and family, 44% said their religious leaders, 28% said social media and online sources, and just 14% said Trump.
Here's Why Big Christianity Will Back Trump and Republicans Forever
Baked Potato - demo underground
3/10/2020
The Christian Right believe people in the US and the world are protected by the hand of Trump, acting as a servant of God. They believe that a trust in God and prayer ward off demons. These demons can be anyone or any realism which is against Trump or against Republican values and reasoning, or other so-called deeply held religious beliefs. The demons can also include an unfortunate or untimely disease. To protect Trump, these demons and truths must be denied as lies, fake, or simply a hoax.
God will protect them, they hope, if they act sincere and pray in earnest. That’s why they don’t believe CoronaVirus is going to hurt them. Trump knows this and exploits their religiosity for his own gain. The believers know Trump is despicable. But, they also think God is using Trump and believe Trump will protect them. They believe Jesus’ hand will heal them through Trump.
Donald Trump’s core believers are in a conundrum. If Jesus loves them, why did He send them Trump, a man who embodies every sin imaginable? They support Trump *because* he is so bad. Supporters think Trump must be certainly legitimate, because their God, “a loving and caring God”, would not forsake them and allow a religious imposter as President, while they overlook him being bad to the core. They believe Trump has cleverly cloaked himself in sin to be mesmeric and enable him to get chosen as the savior.
Trump is terrible, they believe, because that’s the way God *wants* it. They believe it takes a terrible man to beat down a terrible threat. The terrible threat to them are nonbelievers and others they are conditioned to believe are bad. The nonbelievers and undesirable people can be anybody they conjure up in their heads as not deserving to be treated as a human. We know these non-humans, to them, are the immigrants and the homeless and non-white and the LGBT community. And, the Democrats.
To Trump’s sycophants, Democrats are the Devil and they believe the Devil must be defeated under any circumstances, or by any means. They believe God sent them Trump, with all his faults, to accomplish that mission. And, they believe that for Trump to fail, it would mean they have personally failed as well. And, that failure would be unbearable to them. To have Trump fail would mean God and Christianity itself has failed, and that would mean everything they deeply believe is wrong.
The Trump believers will do anything to support Trump because in their eyes Trump is an agent of God and must be helped to perfect God’s plan. To fail Trump is to fail their God and all humanity. Anything or anyone that stands in their or Trump’s way, is an enemy. Even the Truth is now the enemy, and they are committed to Trump, and will never believe otherwise. Trump and his ilk know they can control the “truth” through religion. “Truth” is what people believe as fact, not necessarily fact itself.
What is the way forward? The way is to not give up or give in. Don’t be tricked or cajoled into fighting dirty. That’s what they want because it reinforces their belief Democrats are bad. The religious right are masters at deception and deceit. The Right Wing controls vast sums of money, and thus a vast people. They have the means and motivation to carry on toward their belief and ultimate goal that only Armageddon or a total world calamity will shock a non-believing world into their thinking. We can be fierce and strong fighters, but also be righteous, decent, and morally upright.
The power of people to control their own destiny is being whittled away. The ultimate fear of the religious right is a fear that the very people they have hurt and oppressed will rise up and destroy them. They oppress, but convince their followers that they are the oppressed ones. We fight back with a peaceful, but massive assemblage of patriots and citizens who cherish decency and Democracy. We fight back with a stern resolve to not allow any freedom to be taken away under the guise of religion, or the workings of a false Messiah.
Trump is ruling using the time tested Republican tactic of fear. The fanatical religious right and the oligarchs loathe Trump, but will use him until he is no longer a viable tool. Trump uses racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia for control. So, we fight back against those enemies of Democracy and decency. We elect women and men, regardless of ethnicity or gender or sexuality. We vote and help others to register and vote. We also may have deeply held beliefs, and those beliefs may include a god or higher being. Democrats are inclusive and open to all people. Together, we are the supreme and perfect champions! Together, we will win!
God will protect them, they hope, if they act sincere and pray in earnest. That’s why they don’t believe CoronaVirus is going to hurt them. Trump knows this and exploits their religiosity for his own gain. The believers know Trump is despicable. But, they also think God is using Trump and believe Trump will protect them. They believe Jesus’ hand will heal them through Trump.
Donald Trump’s core believers are in a conundrum. If Jesus loves them, why did He send them Trump, a man who embodies every sin imaginable? They support Trump *because* he is so bad. Supporters think Trump must be certainly legitimate, because their God, “a loving and caring God”, would not forsake them and allow a religious imposter as President, while they overlook him being bad to the core. They believe Trump has cleverly cloaked himself in sin to be mesmeric and enable him to get chosen as the savior.
Trump is terrible, they believe, because that’s the way God *wants* it. They believe it takes a terrible man to beat down a terrible threat. The terrible threat to them are nonbelievers and others they are conditioned to believe are bad. The nonbelievers and undesirable people can be anybody they conjure up in their heads as not deserving to be treated as a human. We know these non-humans, to them, are the immigrants and the homeless and non-white and the LGBT community. And, the Democrats.
To Trump’s sycophants, Democrats are the Devil and they believe the Devil must be defeated under any circumstances, or by any means. They believe God sent them Trump, with all his faults, to accomplish that mission. And, they believe that for Trump to fail, it would mean they have personally failed as well. And, that failure would be unbearable to them. To have Trump fail would mean God and Christianity itself has failed, and that would mean everything they deeply believe is wrong.
The Trump believers will do anything to support Trump because in their eyes Trump is an agent of God and must be helped to perfect God’s plan. To fail Trump is to fail their God and all humanity. Anything or anyone that stands in their or Trump’s way, is an enemy. Even the Truth is now the enemy, and they are committed to Trump, and will never believe otherwise. Trump and his ilk know they can control the “truth” through religion. “Truth” is what people believe as fact, not necessarily fact itself.
What is the way forward? The way is to not give up or give in. Don’t be tricked or cajoled into fighting dirty. That’s what they want because it reinforces their belief Democrats are bad. The religious right are masters at deception and deceit. The Right Wing controls vast sums of money, and thus a vast people. They have the means and motivation to carry on toward their belief and ultimate goal that only Armageddon or a total world calamity will shock a non-believing world into their thinking. We can be fierce and strong fighters, but also be righteous, decent, and morally upright.
The power of people to control their own destiny is being whittled away. The ultimate fear of the religious right is a fear that the very people they have hurt and oppressed will rise up and destroy them. They oppress, but convince their followers that they are the oppressed ones. We fight back with a peaceful, but massive assemblage of patriots and citizens who cherish decency and Democracy. We fight back with a stern resolve to not allow any freedom to be taken away under the guise of religion, or the workings of a false Messiah.
Trump is ruling using the time tested Republican tactic of fear. The fanatical religious right and the oligarchs loathe Trump, but will use him until he is no longer a viable tool. Trump uses racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia for control. So, we fight back against those enemies of Democracy and decency. We elect women and men, regardless of ethnicity or gender or sexuality. We vote and help others to register and vote. We also may have deeply held beliefs, and those beliefs may include a god or higher being. Democrats are inclusive and open to all people. Together, we are the supreme and perfect champions! Together, we will win!
believing in donald trump and republicans!!!
Foxconn's Wisconsin factory isn't what it initially promised. Can it still create a high-tech hub?
2020/3/2 07:17 (CST)
©Chicago Tribune
By the end of the year, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn expects to start production at a brand-new liquid crystal display manufacturing plant in southeast Wisconsin.
The million-square-foot building’s outline is visible from what used to be quiet two-lane roads, widened to accommodate the surge of activity Foxconn is expected to bring to an area that was once largely farmland. A handful of additional buildings and a power substation are taking shape nearby.
Foxconn’s plans have changed dramatically since its initial announcement, feeding skepticism over whether it can deliver on a pledge to create 13,000 jobs and turn southeast Wisconsin into a hub of high-tech electronics manufacturing. Some question whether the project will pay off for Mount Pleasant and Racine County, which are investing hundreds of millions of dollars and have seen several residents displaced from their homes.
“It’s like a bait-and-switch,” said Kim Mahoney, who lives in the only house still standing in what used to be a small subdivision on the Foxconn site.
But backers say Foxconn’s arrival has been a much-needed shot in the arm for workforce development efforts in an area lacking in skilled manufacturing workers and they remain confident even a scaled-down project will boost the local economy.
“You would love the movie if you hadn’t seen the trailer,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
It was “the trailer” that convinced the state to offer an incentive package worth up to $3 billion if the company hit benchmarks tied to jobs, wages and investment and to fast-track preparations for Foxconn’s arrival. Local government agencies agreed to front investments in infrastructure improvements and buy property promised to Foxconn, at a total cost currently estimated at $808 million.
The company’s agreement with Mount Pleasant and Racine County calls for those expenditures to be repaid over time through property taxes and special assessments. Foxconn is obligated to make up any shortfall if it doesn’t raise the value of the main site to $1.4 billion by 2023.
Foxconn continues to fulfill its financial obligations under the local contract, which “ensures strong taxpayer protections and minimum valuation guarantees,” Racine County Executive Jonathan Delgrave said in a statement. The company paid $8.4 million in property taxes and special assessment payments, in addition to a one-time $60 million payment, as of Dec. 30.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin officials have said the company’s shifting plans call into question its eligibility for up to $3 billion in incentives negotiated at the start of the project. Foxconn missed job creation and investment targets required to earn tax incentives in 2018, and won’t report on last year’s progress until April.
It’s not that nothing is happening in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn said earlier this year it has invested nearly $372 million at the site, where it has started building a 260,000-square-foot plant that will manufacture and assemble components for computer servers and a data center with offices, in addition to the million-square-foot liquid crystal display factory.
But it’s also building a different kind of factory than the one agreed to in its contract with Wisconsin. The company originally was to build a Generation 10.5 factory that would produce large LCD panels often used to make large flat-screen TVs. Instead, it will build a Generation 6 facility producing smaller panels with potential applications in education, medicine, entertainment and the military.
A smaller Generation 6 factory would be less likely to attract additional suppliers to hoping to do business with Foxconn to Mount Pleasant, said Bob O’Brien, co-founder and president of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who was recently hired by the state as an expert on the flat-panel display industry.
Those other businesses would have brought more jobs and helped build out a “Wisconn Valley” beyond just Foxconn.
“The notion that it will deliver on all of its initial promise is not conceivable,” O’Brien said. “But the notion it will deliver on some and you could have an LCD manufacturing site in Wisconsin is still in the realm of possibility.”
Analysts said it wasn’t surprising Foxconn abandoned plans for the cutting-edge Generation 10.5 plant, as prices for the large TV panels made at those factories plunged.
“In 2017, you could see an oversupply coming unless you had just crazy expectations about how big the TV market could get,” said Charles Annis, with technology research firm Omdia.
Sheehy, of the Milwaukee commerce association, said officials in Wisconsin underestimated how rapidly the industry was evolving. Usually, incentives are offered to companies with more defined plans, he said.
Both Foxconn and Wisconsin have gone through leadership changes as well. Foxconn founder Terry Gou stepped down to consider a run for the presidency of Taiwan last year before withdrawing from the race. Wisconsin’s governor when the deal was signed, Republican Scott Walker, was replaced by Tony Evers, a Democrat, in 2018.
The changes in Foxconn’s plans have raised concerns about whether the work underway in Mount Pleasant is still eligible for the incentives outlined in its contract with the state, said Missy Hughes, who took the reins of the state’s economic development agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., last fall. Taxpayers agreed “to invest in a certain kind of project, and that’s changed, taxpayers deserve to know what’s the new vision,” she said.
“We want to continue to have a partnership, and coming to the table doesn’t eliminate that partnership," she said. "It hopefully strengthens it.”
Foxconn Technology Group said it made changes to the plan in response to market demand, and the company has remained in discussions with the state “regarding our commitment to bring substantial impact to Wisconsin’s economy, workforce and educational institutions.” It will continue to report on hiring and capital expenditures.
“While Foxconn continues to respond to an ever-changing technology and supply chain landscape, our commitment to creating a global technology hub and manufacturing ecosystem in Wisconsin remains unchanged,” Foxconn said in the statement.
Asked how much the company expected to invest, how many people it expected to employ in Mount Pleasant, and how those jobs would be divided between research and manufacturing roles, Foxconn said it “will make business and hiring decisions based on timing that positions the company, its employees, and its local partners for long-term success while continuing to comply with the WEDC pay-for-performance agreement.”
Despite the uncertainty, the community is preparing for Foxconn’s production to ramp up. The anticipated need for thousands more skilled manufacturing workers helped secure $5 million in state funding for investments in advanced manufacturing programs at Kenosha’s Gateway Technical College, including a 35,800-square-foot expansion to a facility for manufacturing and engineering programs.
Even if Foxconn falls short of its plans to create 13,000 jobs, Gateway President Bryan Albrecht said he isn’t worried about keeping those courses full. Wisconsin companies like Rockwell Automation, InSinkErator and S.C. Johnson — even gummy candy maker Haribo, which plans to open a factory in Pleasant Prairie this year — have been calling for more workers with the skills to work with automated systems, he said.
In Illinois, the College of Lake County is making similar investments in programs that could prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing, which will help accommodate more students.
Those investments were driven by demand from local employers, but Foxconn “has been a good thing for manufacturing because it created a dialogue among a lot of people considering their needs and how we can support manufacturers here,” said Richard Ammon, dean of engineering, mathematics and physical science.
Older workers are retiring and there isn’t a big enough pipeline of young workers to replace them. Companies also are adding new technology, creating more demand for workers who know how to analyze data from sensors, program robots or keep automated systems running smoothly.
“It got to the point where we enrolled an employee in a nine-month (automation technician) certification program because we figured he’d graduate before we’d find someone,” said Robyn Safron, senior human resources manager at Hydraforce, a Lincolnshire-based hydraulic valve maker that brought in its first robot two years ago.
Companies competing for talent say they’ve raised wages in certain roles and are investing in in-house training, as well as apprenticeship programs that let employees work while studying in the classroom and getting on-the-job training.
The prospect of a scaled-down Foxconn is something of a relief to Mundelein-based MacLean-Fogg, which manufactures components for the auto industry.
“We were nervous about it as to how it was going to impact our ability to be able to fill positions, because it was hard enough as it was,” said Kristin Malbasa, executive vice president of human resources. “At the same time, because it’s hard, we didn’t know where they were going to find 13,000 people.”
In addition to workforce development, efforts are underway in Wisconsin to build the infrastructure needed to accommodate Foxconn’s growth.
About $250 million is being spent on state, village and county roads around Foxconn’s Mount Pleasant site, widening some and building new ones. The Foxconn development also helped secure funding that sped up planned improvements to nearby Interstate 94, said Wisconsin Transportation Department spokesperson Michael Pyritz.
But in Milwaukee, officials rejected plans to provide additional public transit options for people commuting to Mount Pleasant, said Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman, who pointed to uncertainty about the project’s eventual scale and lack of dedicated funding.
In Mount Pleasant, some homeowners said they were shocked to learn their property had been promised to Foxconn while watching the project’s announcement on the news. Others said it was difficult to start looking for new homes while waiting to hear what the village would offer for their land. Mount Pleasant said it paid 140% of fair market value for homes, plus relocation benefits.
Mahoney, who has refused to move from her home on the Foxconn site, said she and her husband don’t want the project to fail but don’t believe the village’s offer would “make us whole." Her husband, Jim, occasionally checks out the construction site through a spotting scope. Mahoney said she tries not to look past the trees at the edge of their yard.
She’s running for a seat on Racine County’s Board of Supervisors and said she wants to know what the county is doing to protect itself in case Foxconn’s plan falls short.
But other residents, including some who hadn’t been eager to move, said they remain optimistic the deal will be good for the community despite the changes.
“What business doesn’t change as the economy and other things happen out there? It doesn’t bother me … things are still progressing forward,” said Randy Burrow, 61, who retired after working in UPS’ automotive department and moved to Spring Prairie after the village bought his home in Mount Pleasant.
Tom Fleiss, who used to farm land that is now part of the Foxconn site, was skeptical the company would create the 13,000 jobs initially promised but still thinks it will benefit an area that’s already seeing development.
“Everything around it is going to have a lot of jobs, we’ve just got to get the next generation to fill them,” he said.
That’s why Hughes is confident investments in workforce and infrastructure will be needed — whether or not Foxconn drives that need.
“The energy is there. We’ll see whether or not the return comes from Foxconn or others, but I have a lot of confidence that investment is strong there,” she said.
The million-square-foot building’s outline is visible from what used to be quiet two-lane roads, widened to accommodate the surge of activity Foxconn is expected to bring to an area that was once largely farmland. A handful of additional buildings and a power substation are taking shape nearby.
Foxconn’s plans have changed dramatically since its initial announcement, feeding skepticism over whether it can deliver on a pledge to create 13,000 jobs and turn southeast Wisconsin into a hub of high-tech electronics manufacturing. Some question whether the project will pay off for Mount Pleasant and Racine County, which are investing hundreds of millions of dollars and have seen several residents displaced from their homes.
“It’s like a bait-and-switch,” said Kim Mahoney, who lives in the only house still standing in what used to be a small subdivision on the Foxconn site.
But backers say Foxconn’s arrival has been a much-needed shot in the arm for workforce development efforts in an area lacking in skilled manufacturing workers and they remain confident even a scaled-down project will boost the local economy.
“You would love the movie if you hadn’t seen the trailer,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
It was “the trailer” that convinced the state to offer an incentive package worth up to $3 billion if the company hit benchmarks tied to jobs, wages and investment and to fast-track preparations for Foxconn’s arrival. Local government agencies agreed to front investments in infrastructure improvements and buy property promised to Foxconn, at a total cost currently estimated at $808 million.
The company’s agreement with Mount Pleasant and Racine County calls for those expenditures to be repaid over time through property taxes and special assessments. Foxconn is obligated to make up any shortfall if it doesn’t raise the value of the main site to $1.4 billion by 2023.
Foxconn continues to fulfill its financial obligations under the local contract, which “ensures strong taxpayer protections and minimum valuation guarantees,” Racine County Executive Jonathan Delgrave said in a statement. The company paid $8.4 million in property taxes and special assessment payments, in addition to a one-time $60 million payment, as of Dec. 30.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin officials have said the company’s shifting plans call into question its eligibility for up to $3 billion in incentives negotiated at the start of the project. Foxconn missed job creation and investment targets required to earn tax incentives in 2018, and won’t report on last year’s progress until April.
It’s not that nothing is happening in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn said earlier this year it has invested nearly $372 million at the site, where it has started building a 260,000-square-foot plant that will manufacture and assemble components for computer servers and a data center with offices, in addition to the million-square-foot liquid crystal display factory.
But it’s also building a different kind of factory than the one agreed to in its contract with Wisconsin. The company originally was to build a Generation 10.5 factory that would produce large LCD panels often used to make large flat-screen TVs. Instead, it will build a Generation 6 facility producing smaller panels with potential applications in education, medicine, entertainment and the military.
A smaller Generation 6 factory would be less likely to attract additional suppliers to hoping to do business with Foxconn to Mount Pleasant, said Bob O’Brien, co-founder and president of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who was recently hired by the state as an expert on the flat-panel display industry.
Those other businesses would have brought more jobs and helped build out a “Wisconn Valley” beyond just Foxconn.
“The notion that it will deliver on all of its initial promise is not conceivable,” O’Brien said. “But the notion it will deliver on some and you could have an LCD manufacturing site in Wisconsin is still in the realm of possibility.”
Analysts said it wasn’t surprising Foxconn abandoned plans for the cutting-edge Generation 10.5 plant, as prices for the large TV panels made at those factories plunged.
“In 2017, you could see an oversupply coming unless you had just crazy expectations about how big the TV market could get,” said Charles Annis, with technology research firm Omdia.
Sheehy, of the Milwaukee commerce association, said officials in Wisconsin underestimated how rapidly the industry was evolving. Usually, incentives are offered to companies with more defined plans, he said.
Both Foxconn and Wisconsin have gone through leadership changes as well. Foxconn founder Terry Gou stepped down to consider a run for the presidency of Taiwan last year before withdrawing from the race. Wisconsin’s governor when the deal was signed, Republican Scott Walker, was replaced by Tony Evers, a Democrat, in 2018.
The changes in Foxconn’s plans have raised concerns about whether the work underway in Mount Pleasant is still eligible for the incentives outlined in its contract with the state, said Missy Hughes, who took the reins of the state’s economic development agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., last fall. Taxpayers agreed “to invest in a certain kind of project, and that’s changed, taxpayers deserve to know what’s the new vision,” she said.
“We want to continue to have a partnership, and coming to the table doesn’t eliminate that partnership," she said. "It hopefully strengthens it.”
Foxconn Technology Group said it made changes to the plan in response to market demand, and the company has remained in discussions with the state “regarding our commitment to bring substantial impact to Wisconsin’s economy, workforce and educational institutions.” It will continue to report on hiring and capital expenditures.
“While Foxconn continues to respond to an ever-changing technology and supply chain landscape, our commitment to creating a global technology hub and manufacturing ecosystem in Wisconsin remains unchanged,” Foxconn said in the statement.
Asked how much the company expected to invest, how many people it expected to employ in Mount Pleasant, and how those jobs would be divided between research and manufacturing roles, Foxconn said it “will make business and hiring decisions based on timing that positions the company, its employees, and its local partners for long-term success while continuing to comply with the WEDC pay-for-performance agreement.”
Despite the uncertainty, the community is preparing for Foxconn’s production to ramp up. The anticipated need for thousands more skilled manufacturing workers helped secure $5 million in state funding for investments in advanced manufacturing programs at Kenosha’s Gateway Technical College, including a 35,800-square-foot expansion to a facility for manufacturing and engineering programs.
Even if Foxconn falls short of its plans to create 13,000 jobs, Gateway President Bryan Albrecht said he isn’t worried about keeping those courses full. Wisconsin companies like Rockwell Automation, InSinkErator and S.C. Johnson — even gummy candy maker Haribo, which plans to open a factory in Pleasant Prairie this year — have been calling for more workers with the skills to work with automated systems, he said.
In Illinois, the College of Lake County is making similar investments in programs that could prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing, which will help accommodate more students.
Those investments were driven by demand from local employers, but Foxconn “has been a good thing for manufacturing because it created a dialogue among a lot of people considering their needs and how we can support manufacturers here,” said Richard Ammon, dean of engineering, mathematics and physical science.
Older workers are retiring and there isn’t a big enough pipeline of young workers to replace them. Companies also are adding new technology, creating more demand for workers who know how to analyze data from sensors, program robots or keep automated systems running smoothly.
“It got to the point where we enrolled an employee in a nine-month (automation technician) certification program because we figured he’d graduate before we’d find someone,” said Robyn Safron, senior human resources manager at Hydraforce, a Lincolnshire-based hydraulic valve maker that brought in its first robot two years ago.
Companies competing for talent say they’ve raised wages in certain roles and are investing in in-house training, as well as apprenticeship programs that let employees work while studying in the classroom and getting on-the-job training.
The prospect of a scaled-down Foxconn is something of a relief to Mundelein-based MacLean-Fogg, which manufactures components for the auto industry.
“We were nervous about it as to how it was going to impact our ability to be able to fill positions, because it was hard enough as it was,” said Kristin Malbasa, executive vice president of human resources. “At the same time, because it’s hard, we didn’t know where they were going to find 13,000 people.”
In addition to workforce development, efforts are underway in Wisconsin to build the infrastructure needed to accommodate Foxconn’s growth.
About $250 million is being spent on state, village and county roads around Foxconn’s Mount Pleasant site, widening some and building new ones. The Foxconn development also helped secure funding that sped up planned improvements to nearby Interstate 94, said Wisconsin Transportation Department spokesperson Michael Pyritz.
But in Milwaukee, officials rejected plans to provide additional public transit options for people commuting to Mount Pleasant, said Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman, who pointed to uncertainty about the project’s eventual scale and lack of dedicated funding.
In Mount Pleasant, some homeowners said they were shocked to learn their property had been promised to Foxconn while watching the project’s announcement on the news. Others said it was difficult to start looking for new homes while waiting to hear what the village would offer for their land. Mount Pleasant said it paid 140% of fair market value for homes, plus relocation benefits.
Mahoney, who has refused to move from her home on the Foxconn site, said she and her husband don’t want the project to fail but don’t believe the village’s offer would “make us whole." Her husband, Jim, occasionally checks out the construction site through a spotting scope. Mahoney said she tries not to look past the trees at the edge of their yard.
She’s running for a seat on Racine County’s Board of Supervisors and said she wants to know what the county is doing to protect itself in case Foxconn’s plan falls short.
But other residents, including some who hadn’t been eager to move, said they remain optimistic the deal will be good for the community despite the changes.
“What business doesn’t change as the economy and other things happen out there? It doesn’t bother me … things are still progressing forward,” said Randy Burrow, 61, who retired after working in UPS’ automotive department and moved to Spring Prairie after the village bought his home in Mount Pleasant.
Tom Fleiss, who used to farm land that is now part of the Foxconn site, was skeptical the company would create the 13,000 jobs initially promised but still thinks it will benefit an area that’s already seeing development.
“Everything around it is going to have a lot of jobs, we’ve just got to get the next generation to fill them,” he said.
That’s why Hughes is confident investments in workforce and infrastructure will be needed — whether or not Foxconn drives that need.
“The energy is there. We’ll see whether or not the return comes from Foxconn or others, but I have a lot of confidence that investment is strong there,” she said.
Hey, Trump supporters: He'd rather endanger your health than lose an election
Trump and his trolls downplay coronavirus to protect him — and may be encouraging their fans to take dumb risks
AMANDA MARCOTTE - salon
FEBRUARY 27, 2020 6:25PM (UTC)
Donald Trump lies, all the time, about everything. Right-wing media and congressional Republicans back him up on these lies. As many a liberal who has confronted Trump supporters over the relentless lying has found, a lot of his voters simply don't care if he lies. They view his lying as fair game, because it's all in service of sticking it to the hated liberals. If Trump lies, cheats and steals — as his base sees it — he's doing it for them, so they can claim big wins in the culture war. Therefore it's all justified.
But this may be Trump's biggest deception of them all, because, in truth, he doesn't actually care for his own voters one single whit. The only person Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. While his supporters bray in glee over the way Trump's lies drive "the libs" nuts, they're falling for his biggest con of all — because he wouldn't hesitate to screw over every single one of his supporters, if he thought it would help him.
Trump's ease with betraying even his most loyal followers has been evident in his response to the threat of coronavirus, the apparent viral epidemic that began started in China and has now spread to at least 47 countries, including the United States. For most leaders who don't have a crippling case of sociopathic narcissism, the threat of this disease turning into a global pandemic would cause concern for the well-being of the nation, and of humanity at large. The response of any normal president, of whichever party, would be guided by the principle that the most important thing is the health and safety of Americans.
For Trump, however, the main priority — in fact, the only significant one — is to make sure this viral outbreak doesn't harm his chances of getting re-elected in November. If that means lying to his loyal supporters, even in a way that puts their own lives in danger, he won't hesitate to do that.
That much was made obvious in Wednesday's White House press conference on the epidemic. Even as Trump's own health officials noted that there have been at least 60 cases in the U.S. and they expect many more, Trump dismissed the situation, suggesting that the disease has already been beaten back. "We've had tremendous success," he said, asserting that the whole thing was likely to end quickly, with "just one or two people [infected] over the next short period of time."
Instead of admitting how serious this situation looks, Trump — who only sees other people's actions through a Trump-centric lens — has suggested that his enemies have exaggerated the threat of the disease to hurt him. He tweeted on Wednesday that the media was "doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus [sic] look as bad as possible" for the purpose of "panicking markets" to hurt his re-election.
(In fact, most of these media figureheads Trump hates so much stand to lose lots of money if the stock market tanks. But Trump is incapable of understanding that people have motivations that have nothing to do with him.)
It's not especially surprising that Trump, who projects his own ugly impulses onto others, would believe that people are exaggerating or inventing the coronavirus threat for political gain. After all, that's what he would do.
He has done that, in fact, as my colleague Sophia Tesfaye noted in a Thursday-morning piece in which she reminds readers that Trump and the Republicans deliberately hyped up the threat of Ebola virus to spread racist fears about Africans and damage Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections.
Similarly, one of Trump's favorite things to do at his rallies is to claim, with absolutely no evidence, that "windmills," as he calls wind turbines, cause cancer. He just made this up out of whole cloth, and the purpose is obvious: Trump despises the push for clean energy, and believes he can use it as a culture-war campaign issue about nanny-state liberalism. He will say literally anything, no matter how false or inflammatory, in order to demonize any energy source that doesn't involve burning fossil fuels.
But this isn't just about Trump's sociopathic solipsism. Right-wing media in general is all too happy to threaten the health and well-being of its audience by telling them that the media is overhyping the threat in order to undermine Trump. Rush Limbaugh, who now has stage 4 lung cancer after years of denying that smoking was dangerous, has accused the media of lying about coronavirus, suggested that it's no worse than "the common cold," and implied that leftists are making up the threat of a pandemic, just as they made up the climate crisis. (In actual reality, both things are real.) Laura Ingraham has advanced a nutbar conspiracy theory that China is somehow lying about the virus to hurt Trump.
To make it worse, the Trump-supported media has decided to attack one of the remaining competent people in charge, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They're furious that Messonnier has spoken to media outlets, commenting on the threat of the virus and asking health care workers to prepare themselves.
To punish and discredit her for the sin of putting the public health over Trump's political interests, Limbaugh, aided by right-wing bloggers, has been spreading a conspiracy theory accusing Messonnier of being part of a "deep state" conspiracy against Trump. Their evidence? She is the sister of former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a Trump appointee now hated by Trumpers because he got fed up with lying for the president and started telling the truth. These lurid and false conspiracy theories should be contrasted with the mildness of Messonnier's actual comments, which have focused on the CDC's plans to slow the spread of the disease.
What's interesting about Trump and his minions ruthlessly and relentlessly lying is that the audience for these lies is mostly Trump's supporters, not the general public. Most Americans, who don't support Trump, know perfectly well that he's a liar and don't believe a word he says. The people who are being told to take risks with their health and ignore advice from Messonnier and other public health officials are Trump voters themselves.
This is hardly the first time that Trump has risked the safety of his own supporters in service of his own ego. Last summer, he infamously used a Sharpie to fake a map in order to make it seem like Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama, even though weather experts said it would not. He did this entirely to save face, because he had previously tweeted that Alabama was under threat and was angry about being publicly corrected.
The incident went viral, partly because the fake map was so badly done, but also because it showed that Trump won't hesitate to put his own supporters in danger, for the slightest, pettiest and most self-serving reasons. Luckily, the map was not remotely convincing, and did not lead to panicked evacuations, which sometimes cause injury and death in accidents.
Trump's lies about coronavirus, on the other hand, are a big deal. The advice from health officials on how to prevent transmission is fairly standard — wash your hands; pay attention to travel advisories — but it's now being counteracted by Trump and the right-wing media encouraging their audiences to be distrustful of all such expertise. Will some people in MAGA America, eager as always to stick it to "the libs," forgo hand-washing rather than betray their faith in their leader? It's possible. Trump simply don't care if his fans get sick or die, as long as he feels his own interests are being protected.
But this may be Trump's biggest deception of them all, because, in truth, he doesn't actually care for his own voters one single whit. The only person Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. While his supporters bray in glee over the way Trump's lies drive "the libs" nuts, they're falling for his biggest con of all — because he wouldn't hesitate to screw over every single one of his supporters, if he thought it would help him.
Trump's ease with betraying even his most loyal followers has been evident in his response to the threat of coronavirus, the apparent viral epidemic that began started in China and has now spread to at least 47 countries, including the United States. For most leaders who don't have a crippling case of sociopathic narcissism, the threat of this disease turning into a global pandemic would cause concern for the well-being of the nation, and of humanity at large. The response of any normal president, of whichever party, would be guided by the principle that the most important thing is the health and safety of Americans.
For Trump, however, the main priority — in fact, the only significant one — is to make sure this viral outbreak doesn't harm his chances of getting re-elected in November. If that means lying to his loyal supporters, even in a way that puts their own lives in danger, he won't hesitate to do that.
That much was made obvious in Wednesday's White House press conference on the epidemic. Even as Trump's own health officials noted that there have been at least 60 cases in the U.S. and they expect many more, Trump dismissed the situation, suggesting that the disease has already been beaten back. "We've had tremendous success," he said, asserting that the whole thing was likely to end quickly, with "just one or two people [infected] over the next short period of time."
Instead of admitting how serious this situation looks, Trump — who only sees other people's actions through a Trump-centric lens — has suggested that his enemies have exaggerated the threat of the disease to hurt him. He tweeted on Wednesday that the media was "doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus [sic] look as bad as possible" for the purpose of "panicking markets" to hurt his re-election.
(In fact, most of these media figureheads Trump hates so much stand to lose lots of money if the stock market tanks. But Trump is incapable of understanding that people have motivations that have nothing to do with him.)
It's not especially surprising that Trump, who projects his own ugly impulses onto others, would believe that people are exaggerating or inventing the coronavirus threat for political gain. After all, that's what he would do.
He has done that, in fact, as my colleague Sophia Tesfaye noted in a Thursday-morning piece in which she reminds readers that Trump and the Republicans deliberately hyped up the threat of Ebola virus to spread racist fears about Africans and damage Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections.
Similarly, one of Trump's favorite things to do at his rallies is to claim, with absolutely no evidence, that "windmills," as he calls wind turbines, cause cancer. He just made this up out of whole cloth, and the purpose is obvious: Trump despises the push for clean energy, and believes he can use it as a culture-war campaign issue about nanny-state liberalism. He will say literally anything, no matter how false or inflammatory, in order to demonize any energy source that doesn't involve burning fossil fuels.
But this isn't just about Trump's sociopathic solipsism. Right-wing media in general is all too happy to threaten the health and well-being of its audience by telling them that the media is overhyping the threat in order to undermine Trump. Rush Limbaugh, who now has stage 4 lung cancer after years of denying that smoking was dangerous, has accused the media of lying about coronavirus, suggested that it's no worse than "the common cold," and implied that leftists are making up the threat of a pandemic, just as they made up the climate crisis. (In actual reality, both things are real.) Laura Ingraham has advanced a nutbar conspiracy theory that China is somehow lying about the virus to hurt Trump.
To make it worse, the Trump-supported media has decided to attack one of the remaining competent people in charge, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They're furious that Messonnier has spoken to media outlets, commenting on the threat of the virus and asking health care workers to prepare themselves.
To punish and discredit her for the sin of putting the public health over Trump's political interests, Limbaugh, aided by right-wing bloggers, has been spreading a conspiracy theory accusing Messonnier of being part of a "deep state" conspiracy against Trump. Their evidence? She is the sister of former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a Trump appointee now hated by Trumpers because he got fed up with lying for the president and started telling the truth. These lurid and false conspiracy theories should be contrasted with the mildness of Messonnier's actual comments, which have focused on the CDC's plans to slow the spread of the disease.
What's interesting about Trump and his minions ruthlessly and relentlessly lying is that the audience for these lies is mostly Trump's supporters, not the general public. Most Americans, who don't support Trump, know perfectly well that he's a liar and don't believe a word he says. The people who are being told to take risks with their health and ignore advice from Messonnier and other public health officials are Trump voters themselves.
This is hardly the first time that Trump has risked the safety of his own supporters in service of his own ego. Last summer, he infamously used a Sharpie to fake a map in order to make it seem like Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama, even though weather experts said it would not. He did this entirely to save face, because he had previously tweeted that Alabama was under threat and was angry about being publicly corrected.
The incident went viral, partly because the fake map was so badly done, but also because it showed that Trump won't hesitate to put his own supporters in danger, for the slightest, pettiest and most self-serving reasons. Luckily, the map was not remotely convincing, and did not lead to panicked evacuations, which sometimes cause injury and death in accidents.
Trump's lies about coronavirus, on the other hand, are a big deal. The advice from health officials on how to prevent transmission is fairly standard — wash your hands; pay attention to travel advisories — but it's now being counteracted by Trump and the right-wing media encouraging their audiences to be distrustful of all such expertise. Will some people in MAGA America, eager as always to stick it to "the libs," forgo hand-washing rather than betray their faith in their leader? It's possible. Trump simply don't care if his fans get sick or die, as long as he feels his own interests are being protected.
health insurance for suckers!!!
Short-term health care coverage backed by Trump administration costing patients more money than Obamacare plans
February 25, 2020
By Travis Gettys - raw story
Short-term health insurance plans promoted by the Trump administration as a cheaper alternative to Obamacare could actually end up costing more.
A new study from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society found the plans offers less protection and fewer benefits than Affordable Care Act-compliant coverage, which costs patients more out of pocket, reported the Houston Chronicle.
“We suspected based on the lower premiums that the benefits would not be as robust and saw that out in the data,” said Lucy Culp, executive director of state and government affairs for the Washington-based cancer research organization.
The monthly premium on one popular short-term policy was $77, researchers found, compared to $293 for a comparable ACA-compliant plan.
The study also found the deductible on the short-term plan was $12,500, compared to $4,600 on an ACA-compliant plan.
Short-term policies can be attractive to healthier patients looking to play lower premiums, but they can be disastrous for patients diagnosed with medical conditions.
“A segment of the population that is lower income may not have great access to affordable options,” Culp told the newspaper. “They would’ve qualified for the Medicaid expansion, but in a state like Texas that doens’t offer that, it may be more affordable in the short-term if you’re looking just at the premium.”
The Trump administration expanded support for limited plans in 2018, and federal officials also scrapped penalties for not carrying comprehensive health care coverage.
A new study from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society found the plans offers less protection and fewer benefits than Affordable Care Act-compliant coverage, which costs patients more out of pocket, reported the Houston Chronicle.
“We suspected based on the lower premiums that the benefits would not be as robust and saw that out in the data,” said Lucy Culp, executive director of state and government affairs for the Washington-based cancer research organization.
The monthly premium on one popular short-term policy was $77, researchers found, compared to $293 for a comparable ACA-compliant plan.
The study also found the deductible on the short-term plan was $12,500, compared to $4,600 on an ACA-compliant plan.
Short-term policies can be attractive to healthier patients looking to play lower premiums, but they can be disastrous for patients diagnosed with medical conditions.
“A segment of the population that is lower income may not have great access to affordable options,” Culp told the newspaper. “They would’ve qualified for the Medicaid expansion, but in a state like Texas that doens’t offer that, it may be more affordable in the short-term if you’re looking just at the premium.”
The Trump administration expanded support for limited plans in 2018, and federal officials also scrapped penalties for not carrying comprehensive health care coverage.
from the land of stupid!!
Tennessee Christians are replacing health insurance with ‘sharing ministries’ that require people to live Godly lives: report
February 25, 2020
By Matthew Chapman - raw story
On Tuesday, Brett Kelman of The Tennessean wrote about a spike in the uninsured rate in Tennessee — driven in part by 31,000 Christians in the state foregoing health insurance in favor of church-backed “sharing ministries.”
These ministries are pitched as alternatives to medical coverage, but they are not health insurance at all — rather, they are better described as religious crowdfunding ventures where fellow congregants may cover your medical bills. But the key word is may. According to Kelman, “these groups don’t actually guarantee any payment, and if you break their rules by smoking pot or having unmarried sex, you are on your own.”
They are also not bound by any of the Affordable Care Act regulations, meaning they can deny any essential benefits they want and deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. But with the added twist that for those who are refused coverage, they are urged to use faith and prayer as a substitute for medicine.
Such restrictions were demonstrated vividly two months ago, when one such group, Samaritan Ministries, refused to pay medical expenses for a child named Blake Collie, whose family owed hundreds of thousands of dollars after he was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm. Samaritan Ministries, despite charging hundreds in “premiums,” does not cover any hospitalization over $250,000 — and instructs patients who are denied to “just trust God.”
These “sharing ministries” join a number of groups that appear to offer insurance but are not qualified health plans — a problem that has snowballed as the Trump administration has enacted rules making it easier to sell “association” or “short-term” health plans that are exempt from most ACA rules.
These ministries are pitched as alternatives to medical coverage, but they are not health insurance at all — rather, they are better described as religious crowdfunding ventures where fellow congregants may cover your medical bills. But the key word is may. According to Kelman, “these groups don’t actually guarantee any payment, and if you break their rules by smoking pot or having unmarried sex, you are on your own.”
They are also not bound by any of the Affordable Care Act regulations, meaning they can deny any essential benefits they want and deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. But with the added twist that for those who are refused coverage, they are urged to use faith and prayer as a substitute for medicine.
Such restrictions were demonstrated vividly two months ago, when one such group, Samaritan Ministries, refused to pay medical expenses for a child named Blake Collie, whose family owed hundreds of thousands of dollars after he was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm. Samaritan Ministries, despite charging hundreds in “premiums,” does not cover any hospitalization over $250,000 — and instructs patients who are denied to “just trust God.”
These “sharing ministries” join a number of groups that appear to offer insurance but are not qualified health plans — a problem that has snowballed as the Trump administration has enacted rules making it easier to sell “association” or “short-term” health plans that are exempt from most ACA rules.
Elderly Trump voter suggests making him president for life — then says he may have to sell personal property for meds
February 24, 2020
By Tom Boggioni - raw story
In a revealing interview with Politico’s Tim Alberta, an elderly Iowa man who barely gets by driving for Uber three days a week said he wouldn’t mind if Donald Trump is made president for life and then admitted he is considering selling some of his personal property to make ends meet — including to pay for medicine.
In a deep dive into the anxiety facing all voters facing a pivotal 2020 presidential election, Alberta decided to interview Uber drivers who have been shepherding political operatives around before and after the Iowa caucuses to get a feel for the current political zeitgeist.
Of particular note was an interview with Iowan Joseph Gay, who pointed out he probably wouldn’t still be a voter if not for Donald Trump.
Saying he voted for Democrats before former President Ronald Reagan came on the scene, the 68-year-old Gay remarked, “I think Trump is the best thing that has come along in America in a long, long time. And I think all the trouble they’re giving him, it’s just criminal. They said they were going to impeach him even before he took office. It’s just not right. He’s the only president I’ve ever seen keep his word, keep his promises.”
Calling the current president “An amazing person, ” Gay continued, “You know, if it wasn’t for Trump, I might not even be a Republican anymore. The Republicans stopped caring about me a long time ago. I wouldn’t vote for Democrats either. Honestly, I would just stop voting altogether. I really wish Trump could serve three terms—or even longer. Let him serve as long as he wants.”
Asked about his personal circumstances, the Uber driver admitted that he had not made good financial decisions over the years, and explained that he and his wife both work for Uber — each driving their Ford Ecosport three days a week, while also admitting he is not satisfied with the cut the company takes for his labors.
As for Trump, he had little bad to say about the president other than some of his statements ( “Oh, once in a while he says things that are goofy, and it’s like, ‘C’mon Donald, you didn’t need to say that”) while also saying he enjoys the president’s sense of humor, including when Trump calls Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “Pocahontas, ” saying, “That was funny. Childish, maybe. But still funny.”
Asked if he has any complaints, Gay said his financial situation is not looking any brighter under the president — for which he blames himself.
“Having worked odd jobs most of his life—mostly involving construction and delivery—Gay has no pension, no savings, no nest egg for retirement,” Politico’s Alberta writes while noting that the jobs that Gay and his wife hold “…supplement(s) their Social Security, which isn’t enough to cover the cost of living.”
Of major concern for the couple is healthcare costs with the Iowan confessing, “We don’t have a retirement thing, and medicine is expensive, so money would get pretty tight,” he said. “I’ve got some things I could probably sell. But still.”
Nonetheless, he wants nothing to do with what the Democrats have to offer, saying he is concerned about creeping socialism.
“I can’t tell you a single one I’d vote for anymore. They’re all socialists now. It’s dangerous,” he told Alberta.
You can read more political observations from Iowa Uber drivers here.
In a deep dive into the anxiety facing all voters facing a pivotal 2020 presidential election, Alberta decided to interview Uber drivers who have been shepherding political operatives around before and after the Iowa caucuses to get a feel for the current political zeitgeist.
Of particular note was an interview with Iowan Joseph Gay, who pointed out he probably wouldn’t still be a voter if not for Donald Trump.
Saying he voted for Democrats before former President Ronald Reagan came on the scene, the 68-year-old Gay remarked, “I think Trump is the best thing that has come along in America in a long, long time. And I think all the trouble they’re giving him, it’s just criminal. They said they were going to impeach him even before he took office. It’s just not right. He’s the only president I’ve ever seen keep his word, keep his promises.”
Calling the current president “An amazing person, ” Gay continued, “You know, if it wasn’t for Trump, I might not even be a Republican anymore. The Republicans stopped caring about me a long time ago. I wouldn’t vote for Democrats either. Honestly, I would just stop voting altogether. I really wish Trump could serve three terms—or even longer. Let him serve as long as he wants.”
Asked about his personal circumstances, the Uber driver admitted that he had not made good financial decisions over the years, and explained that he and his wife both work for Uber — each driving their Ford Ecosport three days a week, while also admitting he is not satisfied with the cut the company takes for his labors.
As for Trump, he had little bad to say about the president other than some of his statements ( “Oh, once in a while he says things that are goofy, and it’s like, ‘C’mon Donald, you didn’t need to say that”) while also saying he enjoys the president’s sense of humor, including when Trump calls Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “Pocahontas, ” saying, “That was funny. Childish, maybe. But still funny.”
Asked if he has any complaints, Gay said his financial situation is not looking any brighter under the president — for which he blames himself.
“Having worked odd jobs most of his life—mostly involving construction and delivery—Gay has no pension, no savings, no nest egg for retirement,” Politico’s Alberta writes while noting that the jobs that Gay and his wife hold “…supplement(s) their Social Security, which isn’t enough to cover the cost of living.”
Of major concern for the couple is healthcare costs with the Iowan confessing, “We don’t have a retirement thing, and medicine is expensive, so money would get pretty tight,” he said. “I’ve got some things I could probably sell. But still.”
Nonetheless, he wants nothing to do with what the Democrats have to offer, saying he is concerned about creeping socialism.
“I can’t tell you a single one I’d vote for anymore. They’re all socialists now. It’s dangerous,” he told Alberta.
You can read more political observations from Iowa Uber drivers here.
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you can't educate the stupid!!!
The Russia investigation was a "hoax"?
kentuck @ demo underground
2/24/2020
Every Trump supporter I have seen or heard believes it was a "hoax". They laugh if you bring it up.
I cannot understand how they are able to overlook so many incidents of collusion and conspiracy?
Why were there so many secret meetings of Trump campaign officials with Russian government officials and why did they lie about it? General Flynn even lied to the FBI about it. He is facing possible jail time.
Why did Donald Trump tell the American people that he had no business interests with Russia as he was negotiating to build a Trump Tower in Moscow? Why did he refuse to show his tax returns or where he had his business interests? Should not every American be curious about that?
Why did Donald Trump go to such extremes to stop the Mueller investigation? Even going so far as to try and fire the Special Counsel. And demanding that his subordinates do the dirty work for him and lie about it? How could any rational person overlook such incriminating acts?
Why did Donald Trump pass Top Secret info about about an Israeli agent to Russian officials behind closed doors at the White House? Why did the American people have to find out about it from Russian sources? Why did Donald Trump insist on secret meetings with Putin with no notes or records?
Why did Donald Trump withdraw American troops from Syria and leave the Kurd allies exposed to Turkisk aggression, with no American support? And leave Syria completely in the hands of the Russians? After he bad-mouthed our NATO allies and has never had an unkind word for Vladimir Putin? All the while, saying that no one has been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump?
When he found out the name of the Defense official that authorized the sale of arms to Ukraine, to defend themselves from Russian aggression, he fired him. No one benefited but Russia.
And they laugh and parrot the charges of Donald Trump that it was all a "hoax". It is totally irrational.
After Bill Barr covered up the Mueller investigation, Trump supporters were convinced it was a "hoax", just as Trump said.
Yet, the facts and the evidence say otherwise.
I cannot understand how they are able to overlook so many incidents of collusion and conspiracy?
Why were there so many secret meetings of Trump campaign officials with Russian government officials and why did they lie about it? General Flynn even lied to the FBI about it. He is facing possible jail time.
Why did Donald Trump tell the American people that he had no business interests with Russia as he was negotiating to build a Trump Tower in Moscow? Why did he refuse to show his tax returns or where he had his business interests? Should not every American be curious about that?
Why did Donald Trump go to such extremes to stop the Mueller investigation? Even going so far as to try and fire the Special Counsel. And demanding that his subordinates do the dirty work for him and lie about it? How could any rational person overlook such incriminating acts?
Why did Donald Trump pass Top Secret info about about an Israeli agent to Russian officials behind closed doors at the White House? Why did the American people have to find out about it from Russian sources? Why did Donald Trump insist on secret meetings with Putin with no notes or records?
Why did Donald Trump withdraw American troops from Syria and leave the Kurd allies exposed to Turkisk aggression, with no American support? And leave Syria completely in the hands of the Russians? After he bad-mouthed our NATO allies and has never had an unkind word for Vladimir Putin? All the while, saying that no one has been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump?
When he found out the name of the Defense official that authorized the sale of arms to Ukraine, to defend themselves from Russian aggression, he fired him. No one benefited but Russia.
And they laugh and parrot the charges of Donald Trump that it was all a "hoax". It is totally irrational.
After Bill Barr covered up the Mueller investigation, Trump supporters were convinced it was a "hoax", just as Trump said.
Yet, the facts and the evidence say otherwise.
white rural Christian America
excerpted from: An insider says that white rural Christian America has a ‘dark, racist underbelly’
...“Rural white America needs to be better understood,” is not one of the dots. “Rural white America needs to be better understood,” is a dodge, meant to avoid the real problems because talking about the real problems is viewed as too upsetting, too mean, too arrogant, too elite, too snobbish. Pointing out that Aunt Bea’s views of Mexicans, blacks and gays is bigoted isn’t the thing one does in polite society. Too bad more people don’t think the same about Aunt Bea’s views. It’s the classic, “You’re a racist for calling me a racist,” ploy.
Here are the honest truths that rural Christian white Americans don’t want to accept; until they accept these truths, nothing is going to change:
*Their economic situation is largely the result of voting for supply-side economic policies that have been the largest redistribution of wealth from the bottom/middle to the top in U.S. history.
*Immigrants haven’t taken their jobs. If all immigrants, legal or otherwise, were removed from the U.S., our economy would come to a screeching halt and food prices would soar.
*Immigrants are not responsible for companies moving their plants overseas. The almost exclusively white business owners are responsible, because they care more about their shareholders (who are also mostly white) than about American workers.
*No one is coming for their guns. All that has been proposed during the entire Obama administration is having better background checks.
*Gay people getting married is not a threat to their freedom to believe in whatever white god they want to. No one is going to make their church marry gays, have a gay pastor or accept gays for membership.
*Women having access to birth control doesn’t affect their lives either, especially women they complain about being teenage single mothers.
*Blacks are not “lazy moochers living off their hard-earned tax dollars” any more than many of their fellow rural neighbors. People in need are people in need. People who can’t find jobs because of their circumstances, a changing economy or outsourcing overseas belong to all races.
*They get a tremendous amount of help from the government they complain does nothing for them. From the roads and utility grids they use to farm subsidies, crop insurance and commodities protections, they benefit greatly from government assistance. The Farm Bill is one of the largest financial expenditures by the U.S. government. Without government assistance, their lives would be considerably worse.
*They get the largest share of Food Stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
*They complain about globalization, yet line up like everyone else to get the latest Apple products. They have no problem buying foreign-made guns, scopes and hunting equipment. *They don’t think twice about driving trucks whose engines were made in Canada, tires made in Japan, radios made in Korea, and computer parts made in Malaysia.
*They use illicit drugs as much as any other group. But when other people do it is a “moral failing” and they should be severely punished, legally. When they do it, it is a “health crisis” that needs sympathy and attention.
*When jobs dry up for whatever reason, they refuse to relocate but lecture the poor in places like Flint for staying in failing towns.
*They are quick to judge minorities for being “welfare moochers,” but don’t think twice about cashing their welfare checks every month.
*They complain about coastal liberals, but taxes from California and New York cover their farm subsidies, help maintain their highways and keep the hospitals in their sparsely populated rural areas open for business.
*They complain about “the little man being run out of business,” and then turn around and shop at big-box stores.
*They make sure outsiders are not welcome, deny businesses permits to build, then complain about businesses, plants opening up in less rural areas.
*Government has not done enough to help them in many cases, but their local and state governments are almost completely Republican and so are their representatives and senators. Instead of holding them accountable, they vote them into office over and over and over again.
*All the economic policies and ideas that could help rural America belong to the Democratic Party: raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, spending on infrastructure, renewable energy growth, slowing down the damage done by climate change, and healthcare reform. All of these and more would really help a lot of rural white Americans.
Here are the honest truths that rural Christian white Americans don’t want to accept; until they accept these truths, nothing is going to change:
*Their economic situation is largely the result of voting for supply-side economic policies that have been the largest redistribution of wealth from the bottom/middle to the top in U.S. history.
*Immigrants haven’t taken their jobs. If all immigrants, legal or otherwise, were removed from the U.S., our economy would come to a screeching halt and food prices would soar.
*Immigrants are not responsible for companies moving their plants overseas. The almost exclusively white business owners are responsible, because they care more about their shareholders (who are also mostly white) than about American workers.
*No one is coming for their guns. All that has been proposed during the entire Obama administration is having better background checks.
*Gay people getting married is not a threat to their freedom to believe in whatever white god they want to. No one is going to make their church marry gays, have a gay pastor or accept gays for membership.
*Women having access to birth control doesn’t affect their lives either, especially women they complain about being teenage single mothers.
*Blacks are not “lazy moochers living off their hard-earned tax dollars” any more than many of their fellow rural neighbors. People in need are people in need. People who can’t find jobs because of their circumstances, a changing economy or outsourcing overseas belong to all races.
*They get a tremendous amount of help from the government they complain does nothing for them. From the roads and utility grids they use to farm subsidies, crop insurance and commodities protections, they benefit greatly from government assistance. The Farm Bill is one of the largest financial expenditures by the U.S. government. Without government assistance, their lives would be considerably worse.
*They get the largest share of Food Stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
*They complain about globalization, yet line up like everyone else to get the latest Apple products. They have no problem buying foreign-made guns, scopes and hunting equipment. *They don’t think twice about driving trucks whose engines were made in Canada, tires made in Japan, radios made in Korea, and computer parts made in Malaysia.
*They use illicit drugs as much as any other group. But when other people do it is a “moral failing” and they should be severely punished, legally. When they do it, it is a “health crisis” that needs sympathy and attention.
*When jobs dry up for whatever reason, they refuse to relocate but lecture the poor in places like Flint for staying in failing towns.
*They are quick to judge minorities for being “welfare moochers,” but don’t think twice about cashing their welfare checks every month.
*They complain about coastal liberals, but taxes from California and New York cover their farm subsidies, help maintain their highways and keep the hospitals in their sparsely populated rural areas open for business.
*They complain about “the little man being run out of business,” and then turn around and shop at big-box stores.
*They make sure outsiders are not welcome, deny businesses permits to build, then complain about businesses, plants opening up in less rural areas.
*Government has not done enough to help them in many cases, but their local and state governments are almost completely Republican and so are their representatives and senators. Instead of holding them accountable, they vote them into office over and over and over again.
*All the economic policies and ideas that could help rural America belong to the Democratic Party: raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, spending on infrastructure, renewable energy growth, slowing down the damage done by climate change, and healthcare reform. All of these and more would really help a lot of rural white Americans.
|
|
Tea Party Republican, Joe Walsh, on #Cult45
Roland99 @ demo underground
2/4/2020
Joe Walsh✔
@WalshFreedom
I spoke in front of 3,000 Iowa Republicans last night. It was like a MAGA rally. I told them we needed a President who doesn’t lie all the time. The crowd booed me. I told them we needed a President who wasn’t indecent & cruel. The crowd booed me. 1/
10:13 AM - Feb 4, 2020
I spoke in front of 3,000 Iowa Republicans last night. It was like a MAGA rally. I told them we needed a President who doesn’t lie all the time. The crowd booed me. I told them we needed a President who wasn’t indecent & cruel. The crowd booed me. 1/
I told them we needed a President who doesn’t care only about himself. The crowd booed me. I told them the Republican Party needed to do some real soul searching. The crowd booed me. 2/
I told them that, because of Trump, young people, women, and people of color want nothing to do with the Republican Party. The crowd booed me. I told them I’m a pro life, pro gun, secure the border conservative, but we need a President who is decent and represents everyone. 3/
The crowd booed me. I got booed, yelled at, jeered, and given the middle finger for the 3-4 minutes I spoke to these 3,000 people. Afterwards, I realized again that 99.9% of these folks don’t support me. They don’t care that Trump lies, they don’t care that he’s cruel, 4/
they don’t care that he cheats to get re-elected, they don’t care that he attacks the free press, they don’t care that he increases the debt, they don’t care that his tariffs have killed Iowa farmers, they don’t care that Trump abuses the Constitution and acts like a dictator. 5/
Afterwards, I realized again that my Republican Party isn’t a Party, it’s a cult. I realized again that nobody can beat Trump in a Republican Primary. And most importantly and most sadly, I realized again that I don’t belong in this party. I have no home in this party. 6/
And I realized again that something new needs to begin. Whether it’s a political party, or a movement, I don’t know. But there needs to be a home for conservatives who are decent, principled, and respectful. Conservatives who embrace all God’s children, acknowledge that 7/
climate change is real, get serious about our debt, abide by our Constitution, and tell the truth. I hope to be a part of this new party. This new movement. But job #1 in 2020 is to stop Trump. And all of us from across the political spectrum need to come together 8/
to stop Trump. Let’s make sure Trump is defeated in 2020, then we get back to respectfully debating issues. Instead of talking about Trump everyday. Let’s put aside our differences on certain issues now and understand that Trump is the single greatest threat to this Republic. 9/
@WalshFreedom
I spoke in front of 3,000 Iowa Republicans last night. It was like a MAGA rally. I told them we needed a President who doesn’t lie all the time. The crowd booed me. I told them we needed a President who wasn’t indecent & cruel. The crowd booed me. 1/
10:13 AM - Feb 4, 2020
I spoke in front of 3,000 Iowa Republicans last night. It was like a MAGA rally. I told them we needed a President who doesn’t lie all the time. The crowd booed me. I told them we needed a President who wasn’t indecent & cruel. The crowd booed me. 1/
I told them we needed a President who doesn’t care only about himself. The crowd booed me. I told them the Republican Party needed to do some real soul searching. The crowd booed me. 2/
I told them that, because of Trump, young people, women, and people of color want nothing to do with the Republican Party. The crowd booed me. I told them I’m a pro life, pro gun, secure the border conservative, but we need a President who is decent and represents everyone. 3/
The crowd booed me. I got booed, yelled at, jeered, and given the middle finger for the 3-4 minutes I spoke to these 3,000 people. Afterwards, I realized again that 99.9% of these folks don’t support me. They don’t care that Trump lies, they don’t care that he’s cruel, 4/
they don’t care that he cheats to get re-elected, they don’t care that he attacks the free press, they don’t care that he increases the debt, they don’t care that his tariffs have killed Iowa farmers, they don’t care that Trump abuses the Constitution and acts like a dictator. 5/
Afterwards, I realized again that my Republican Party isn’t a Party, it’s a cult. I realized again that nobody can beat Trump in a Republican Primary. And most importantly and most sadly, I realized again that I don’t belong in this party. I have no home in this party. 6/
And I realized again that something new needs to begin. Whether it’s a political party, or a movement, I don’t know. But there needs to be a home for conservatives who are decent, principled, and respectful. Conservatives who embrace all God’s children, acknowledge that 7/
climate change is real, get serious about our debt, abide by our Constitution, and tell the truth. I hope to be a part of this new party. This new movement. But job #1 in 2020 is to stop Trump. And all of us from across the political spectrum need to come together 8/
to stop Trump. Let’s make sure Trump is defeated in 2020, then we get back to respectfully debating issues. Instead of talking about Trump everyday. Let’s put aside our differences on certain issues now and understand that Trump is the single greatest threat to this Republic. 9/
earth 2???
‘The best thing about Trump is his heart’: President’s supporters camp out in the snow ahead of NH rally
February 10, 2020
By Sky Palma - raw story
For almost a full day, supporters of President Trump braved the snow in pitched tents in anticipation of his upcoming rally in Manchester, New Hampshire this Monday night.
Speaking with WBZ-TV’s Nick Giovanni, the campers proclaimed their love for Trump.
“We’re a swing state,” one person said. “Sometimes we’re blue, sometimes we’re red, and I feel like over the past couple of years, people are really seeing that Trump really is for America.”
Another person said that it’s Trump’s “heart” that garners her support.
“What I like the best about Trump, and I tell this to people who are on both sides, is this right here,” a woman said while pointing to her chest. “His heart.”
Watch WBZ-TV’s report
Speaking with WBZ-TV’s Nick Giovanni, the campers proclaimed their love for Trump.
“We’re a swing state,” one person said. “Sometimes we’re blue, sometimes we’re red, and I feel like over the past couple of years, people are really seeing that Trump really is for America.”
Another person said that it’s Trump’s “heart” that garners her support.
“What I like the best about Trump, and I tell this to people who are on both sides, is this right here,” a woman said while pointing to her chest. “His heart.”
Watch WBZ-TV’s report
how stupid are these people!!!
Unions now back Republicans as often as Democrats in GOP-dominated Ohio
February 10, 2020
By Travis Gettys - raw story
Labor unions are donating as much to Ohio Republicans as they are to Democrats, because there simply aren’t enough of them in positions of power in the GOP-dominated state.
About 90 cents on the dollar are contributed nationally to Democrats by labor unions, but a Cincinnati Enquirer analysis found that unions donated about the same amount of money in 2019 to Republicans.
“At the end of the day, a union’s job is to represent its members,” said state Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Hyde Park), who’s also a Commercial Workers Union representative. “Democrats need to do a better job at making the case for why we do a better job of standing up for folks and earning that support.”
Building trade unions have contributed to Republicans for years, and trade unions backed then-Gov. John Kasich as he tried to restrict collective bargaining rights for public employees unions.
But Democratic candidates are finding that labor unions will endorse and donate to their GOP opponents and their campaigns because Republicans hold supermajorities in the state House and Senate, and Gov. Mike DeWine is also a Republican.
That means unions will need GOP support to get something done or to block “right to work” laws or prevailing wage restrictions.
“There’s a lot of pragmatism behind it,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association. “It’s not practical to only support one party.”
About 90 cents on the dollar are contributed nationally to Democrats by labor unions, but a Cincinnati Enquirer analysis found that unions donated about the same amount of money in 2019 to Republicans.
“At the end of the day, a union’s job is to represent its members,” said state Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Hyde Park), who’s also a Commercial Workers Union representative. “Democrats need to do a better job at making the case for why we do a better job of standing up for folks and earning that support.”
Building trade unions have contributed to Republicans for years, and trade unions backed then-Gov. John Kasich as he tried to restrict collective bargaining rights for public employees unions.
But Democratic candidates are finding that labor unions will endorse and donate to their GOP opponents and their campaigns because Republicans hold supermajorities in the state House and Senate, and Gov. Mike DeWine is also a Republican.
That means unions will need GOP support to get something done or to block “right to work” laws or prevailing wage restrictions.
“There’s a lot of pragmatism behind it,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association. “It’s not practical to only support one party.”
Trump's Wasteland of Farmlands
P.M. Carpenter | the smirking chimp
February 4, 2020 - 6:29am
What with our criminal president being impeached by a responsible House and untried by a reckless Senate, and additionally with today's kickoff of quadrennial primary madness, stories such as this one, from Reuters, receive depressingly little coverage.
Here's what Trump has accomplished for probably his strongest, most loyal voting bloc:
"U.S. farm bankruptcies hit an eight-year high
"U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data."
What is the No. 1 cause of farmers' financial misery, as cited by those in the know?
"The increase in cases had been somewhat expected, bankruptcy experts and agricultural economists said, as farmers face trade battles, ever-mounting farm debt, prolonged low commodity prices, volatile weather patterns and a fatal pig disease that has decimated China’s herd."
So get out there, girl and boy farmers, and vote again for that dumbfuck of a swindler who's rolling in on you and costing you your livelihood all that much sooner.
Here's what Trump has accomplished for probably his strongest, most loyal voting bloc:
"U.S. farm bankruptcies hit an eight-year high
"U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data."
What is the No. 1 cause of farmers' financial misery, as cited by those in the know?
"The increase in cases had been somewhat expected, bankruptcy experts and agricultural economists said, as farmers face trade battles, ever-mounting farm debt, prolonged low commodity prices, volatile weather patterns and a fatal pig disease that has decimated China’s herd."
So get out there, girl and boy farmers, and vote again for that dumbfuck of a swindler who's rolling in on you and costing you your livelihood all that much sooner.
The biggest con job of them all...
Soph0571 - demo underground
1/18/20
They manipulate the low skilled and no skilled to believe that this shit is somehow in their best interests, so that they fight for those who would steal their futures, against any attempts to change this toxic status quo of extreme privilege outside the norms of governance… CON JOB 101...
What is different today is the people in the White house and Number 10. They are very different beasts from those that have come before. We know this. They actively support this monopolisation of national and international cross border corporate fiefdoms. Wankers are going to destroy democracy if they get the chance. Checks and balances are there for a reason, those around them need to do a much better job on this.
What is different today is the people in the White house and Number 10. They are very different beasts from those that have come before. We know this. They actively support this monopolisation of national and international cross border corporate fiefdoms. Wankers are going to destroy democracy if they get the chance. Checks and balances are there for a reason, those around them need to do a much better job on this.
Trump and Foxconn promised swing-state Wisconsin 13,000 jobs that have never materialized
January 13, 2020
By Tom Boggioni - raw story
According to National Public Radio report from WUMW- Milwaukee, the much-hyped announcement from Donald Trump and Taiwanese multinational electronics company Foxconn over the creation of 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin where high-resolution LCD screens would be manufactured has been a bust so far.
The report — which can be listened to below — notes, “Two and a half years ago President Trump boasted of a plan to build a huge high-tech manufacturing plant in Wisconsin for Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn. They originally promised 13,000 new jobs, but it has not gone as planned.”
Pointing out that former Republican Gov. Scott Walker also helped lead the effort by offering the company “an enormous subsidy package topping $3 billion — the biggest ever state incentive for a foreign company — local governments also promised to sweeten the deal but it’s been a largely bumpy ride ever since.”
“First Foxconn reduced the size of the LCD display panel that says its going to build here meaning fewer jobs. In fact, in 2018 it didn’t meet the threshold to qualify for state money. That gets us to last winter when Foxconn said they might not build a factory here after all,” WUMW reports. “President Trump got the company to do a quick about-face.” The report notes that multiple facilities are being built around the state — but the manufacturing jobs that were promised are still way off — if they are coming at all.
“Foxconn did hold a series of hiring fairs last fall,” and those who attended are still holding out hope that jobs appear.
In the meantime Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) has been working with the company to get them to live up to their job promises made when they negotiated the subsidy package with Republican Governor Walker, as a state official noted, “The company is well behind schedule and investment, hiring and things like supply chains in the number of manufacturing jobs that are associated with this project versus the original project.”
According to a recent report in Reason, the Foxconn deal has already cost the state $20 billion in lost economic growth.
The report — which can be listened to below — notes, “Two and a half years ago President Trump boasted of a plan to build a huge high-tech manufacturing plant in Wisconsin for Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn. They originally promised 13,000 new jobs, but it has not gone as planned.”
Pointing out that former Republican Gov. Scott Walker also helped lead the effort by offering the company “an enormous subsidy package topping $3 billion — the biggest ever state incentive for a foreign company — local governments also promised to sweeten the deal but it’s been a largely bumpy ride ever since.”
“First Foxconn reduced the size of the LCD display panel that says its going to build here meaning fewer jobs. In fact, in 2018 it didn’t meet the threshold to qualify for state money. That gets us to last winter when Foxconn said they might not build a factory here after all,” WUMW reports. “President Trump got the company to do a quick about-face.” The report notes that multiple facilities are being built around the state — but the manufacturing jobs that were promised are still way off — if they are coming at all.
“Foxconn did hold a series of hiring fairs last fall,” and those who attended are still holding out hope that jobs appear.
In the meantime Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) has been working with the company to get them to live up to their job promises made when they negotiated the subsidy package with Republican Governor Walker, as a state official noted, “The company is well behind schedule and investment, hiring and things like supply chains in the number of manufacturing jobs that are associated with this project versus the original project.”
According to a recent report in Reason, the Foxconn deal has already cost the state $20 billion in lost economic growth.
They are literally 'dynastic' cult sheep cause they are allowed to be openly racist nasty again...
Soph0571 - demo underground
What I don't understand is, if you wanted to create the fourth reich... and one can only assume that this is the plan with these fuckers... why choose this family of utter dimwits.
I mean come on....If they feel they need to move to an authoritarian despotic regime because religious and racist bollocks, surely they could come up with something better than the Trumps to fulfil their nasty nazi dreams of white power?
Why on earth would they not choose a family with a stronger gene set and BRAINS...
Ivanka has no agency, she is a plastic barbie who has never spoken with anything but Trumps voice - what grown arsed woman does that?
The smug wankers that are the brothers have no chins - which tells you everything you need to know...
They all believe they are clever but they are so stupid that they believe because privilege bought them an education that this translates into intellectual superiority in comparison to the hoi polloi... fucking idiots.
Trump cultists would choose this family to be their dynastic heroes? There is only one explanation. Permission for in your face public hate has been granted for the first time in 40 years, and they want to cling onto it for the next 50 years, and in their white supremacist dreams eventually take us back a 100 years. They will literally give up democracy for this... Racist Nazi Zombie Fuckers...
Why bother having a revolution at all? Better to stick to Mad King George 3rd who at least had an excuse for being mad...
21st Century republicans, hankering after a 16th century mode of governance? Heh
Just saying...
I mean come on....If they feel they need to move to an authoritarian despotic regime because religious and racist bollocks, surely they could come up with something better than the Trumps to fulfil their nasty nazi dreams of white power?
Why on earth would they not choose a family with a stronger gene set and BRAINS...
Ivanka has no agency, she is a plastic barbie who has never spoken with anything but Trumps voice - what grown arsed woman does that?
The smug wankers that are the brothers have no chins - which tells you everything you need to know...
They all believe they are clever but they are so stupid that they believe because privilege bought them an education that this translates into intellectual superiority in comparison to the hoi polloi... fucking idiots.
Trump cultists would choose this family to be their dynastic heroes? There is only one explanation. Permission for in your face public hate has been granted for the first time in 40 years, and they want to cling onto it for the next 50 years, and in their white supremacist dreams eventually take us back a 100 years. They will literally give up democracy for this... Racist Nazi Zombie Fuckers...
Why bother having a revolution at all? Better to stick to Mad King George 3rd who at least had an excuse for being mad...
21st Century republicans, hankering after a 16th century mode of governance? Heh
Just saying...
klassy!!!
Former Mrs. Florida, a MAGAt, jailed a month for stealing her mom's SS checks.
edbermac - demo underground
1/10/20
A federal judge in Florida has ordered Mrs. Florida 2016 to spend a month in jail for stealing her mother's Social Security checks rather than using the money to pay for nursing home care.
Karyn Turk, 47, was also sentenced on Thursday to five months of house arrest when she gets out of prison, and must perform 100 hours of community service in a nursing home, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Turk's adoptive mother died in June at the age of 83, after suffering Alzheimer's and dementia. A court-appointed guardian accused Turk of using her mother's Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Palm Beach' and to garner publicity.
The guardian accused Turk of using the money to rent large homes and buying tables at fancy equestrian events.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7873511/Ex-Mrs-Florida-headed-prison-stealing-moms-checks.html
Karyn Turk, 47, was also sentenced on Thursday to five months of house arrest when she gets out of prison, and must perform 100 hours of community service in a nursing home, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Turk's adoptive mother died in June at the age of 83, after suffering Alzheimer's and dementia. A court-appointed guardian accused Turk of using her mother's Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Palm Beach' and to garner publicity.
The guardian accused Turk of using the money to rent large homes and buying tables at fancy equestrian events.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7873511/Ex-Mrs-Florida-headed-prison-stealing-moms-checks.html
Trump supporters howl with rage at GOP’s Doug Collins after he apologizes for saying Dems ‘love terrorists’
January 10, 2020
By Brad Reed - raw story
Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) has issued a formal apology for his inflammatory statement earlier in the week that Democrats are “in love with terrorists” — and Trump supporters are not happy about it.
In a tweet posted on Friday morning, Collins expressed regret for claiming Democrats only opposed the president’s assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani because they support terrorism.
“Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week,” he said, before explaining his rationale for opposing Democrats’ efforts to restrict Trump’s ability to declare war against Iran. “I remain committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with my fellow citizens to keep all Americans safe.”
Collins took a lot of flack for his statement, most notably from Iraq War veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who angrily shot back that she “left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists.”
Many Trump supporters, however, attacked Collins’s apology as a sign of weakness and said it was something they can’t ever imagine the president doing.
Check out reactions from angry Trump fans below.
kish
@RobertKishell
Replying to @RepDougCollins
The Dems are proving they are sympathetic to them out of hatred for POTUS.
8:31 AM - Jan 10, 2020
Andrew ‘BUILD THE WALL’ White 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@caspias
Replying to @RepDougCollins
But they are. They love terrorists and citizens of foreign nations more than US Citizens. Their words and policies make it clear.
8:31 AM - Jan 10, 2020
RELATED: GOP’s Doug Collins sent out fundraising email saying ‘I Will Not Apologize’ 45 minutes before apologizing
In a tweet posted on Friday morning, Collins expressed regret for claiming Democrats only opposed the president’s assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani because they support terrorism.
“Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week,” he said, before explaining his rationale for opposing Democrats’ efforts to restrict Trump’s ability to declare war against Iran. “I remain committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with my fellow citizens to keep all Americans safe.”
Collins took a lot of flack for his statement, most notably from Iraq War veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who angrily shot back that she “left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists.”
Many Trump supporters, however, attacked Collins’s apology as a sign of weakness and said it was something they can’t ever imagine the president doing.
Check out reactions from angry Trump fans below.
kish
@RobertKishell
Replying to @RepDougCollins
The Dems are proving they are sympathetic to them out of hatred for POTUS.
8:31 AM - Jan 10, 2020
Andrew ‘BUILD THE WALL’ White 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@caspias
Replying to @RepDougCollins
But they are. They love terrorists and citizens of foreign nations more than US Citizens. Their words and policies make it clear.
8:31 AM - Jan 10, 2020
RELATED: GOP’s Doug Collins sent out fundraising email saying ‘I Will Not Apologize’ 45 minutes before apologizing
Crazed Trump supporters plotted to kidnap child they believed was being abused by Satanists: police
January 7, 2020
By Brad Reed - raw story
Police in Colorado say that they’ve broken up a plot hatched by Trump-loving conspiracy theorists to kidnap a child whom they falsely believed was being abused by Satanist pedophiles.
Colorado-based NBC affiliate 9 News reports that 50-year-old Cynthia Abcug, a resident of Parker, Colorado, was arrested late last month in Montana and charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping.
A warrant was issued for Abcug’s arrest last year after her own daughter warned a caseworker that Abcug was heavily armed and planning to kidnap her sibling, who had been taken into protective custody.
The daughter also warned that her mother “had gotten into some conspiracy theories” and was “spiraling down.” The conspiracy theory in question was QAnon, which states that President Donald Trump is engaged in a covert battle with Satanist pedophiles who supposedly control the entire Democratic Party.
Abcug was planning to raid the house where her child had been taken into protective custody with the help of an unidentified man who is also a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory.
According to the arrest affidavit, Abcug claimed that her child was being held by “evil Satan worshippers” and “pedophiles,” thus forcing her to take up arms and conduct a rescue operation.
Colorado-based NBC affiliate 9 News reports that 50-year-old Cynthia Abcug, a resident of Parker, Colorado, was arrested late last month in Montana and charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping.
A warrant was issued for Abcug’s arrest last year after her own daughter warned a caseworker that Abcug was heavily armed and planning to kidnap her sibling, who had been taken into protective custody.
The daughter also warned that her mother “had gotten into some conspiracy theories” and was “spiraling down.” The conspiracy theory in question was QAnon, which states that President Donald Trump is engaged in a covert battle with Satanist pedophiles who supposedly control the entire Democratic Party.
Abcug was planning to raid the house where her child had been taken into protective custody with the help of an unidentified man who is also a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory.
According to the arrest affidavit, Abcug claimed that her child was being held by “evil Satan worshippers” and “pedophiles,” thus forcing her to take up arms and conduct a rescue operation.
Trump brazenly lies to gullible evangelicals — his biggest lie is that he’s a Christian himself: op-ed
January 6, 2020
By Sky Palma - raw story
In an op-ed for the conservative outlet The Bulwark, Steven Waldman argues that while Trump is a prolific liar, he has a special category of lies he reserves for evangelicals who are his ardent supporters. “Some of these lies are about himself, some are about the world we all live in. Some are about what Trump claims he’s done for Christians,” he writes.
But Trump has been less helpful to their cause then evangelicals think, according to Waldman.
For example, Trump claims he fulfilled his campaign promise of repealing the Johnson Amendment, the law that curtails churches from endorsing political candidates while still maintaining their tax-exempt status.
“This is not a thing that actually happened,” Waldman points out. “What actually did happen, in the real world, is that Trump proposed repealing the Johnson amendment and the Republican controlled Congress failed to do it. When Trump had to decide what issues to emphasize during budget negotiations, he did not aggressively push the Johnson amendment repeal. The Johnson amendment is still on the books.”
In regards to Trump’s claim that he’s advancing religious freedom around the world, one need only to look to China and their ongoing persecution of Muslims to know that’s not entirely true.
In Trump’s world, “religious freedom takes second chair—at best—to trade” when it comes to China. Waldman notes that Trump’s religious freedom crusade has not extended to Saudi Arabia, where scores of protesters, “most of whom are religious minorities, have been beheaded or sentenced to death in the kingdom, some of them minors.”
Another lie Waldman says Trump tells his evangelical base is that “everyone else despises them. That way, his supporters can be angrily defensive, while still feeling good about themselves.”
Finally, Waldman cites the ultimate lie that Trump tells evangelicals: that he himself is a devout Christian.
Read his full piece over at The Bulwark.
But Trump has been less helpful to their cause then evangelicals think, according to Waldman.
For example, Trump claims he fulfilled his campaign promise of repealing the Johnson Amendment, the law that curtails churches from endorsing political candidates while still maintaining their tax-exempt status.
“This is not a thing that actually happened,” Waldman points out. “What actually did happen, in the real world, is that Trump proposed repealing the Johnson amendment and the Republican controlled Congress failed to do it. When Trump had to decide what issues to emphasize during budget negotiations, he did not aggressively push the Johnson amendment repeal. The Johnson amendment is still on the books.”
In regards to Trump’s claim that he’s advancing religious freedom around the world, one need only to look to China and their ongoing persecution of Muslims to know that’s not entirely true.
In Trump’s world, “religious freedom takes second chair—at best—to trade” when it comes to China. Waldman notes that Trump’s religious freedom crusade has not extended to Saudi Arabia, where scores of protesters, “most of whom are religious minorities, have been beheaded or sentenced to death in the kingdom, some of them minors.”
Another lie Waldman says Trump tells his evangelical base is that “everyone else despises them. That way, his supporters can be angrily defensive, while still feeling good about themselves.”
Finally, Waldman cites the ultimate lie that Trump tells evangelicals: that he himself is a devout Christian.
Read his full piece over at The Bulwark.
They are a lost cause... Soph0571 - DEMO UNDERGROUND
stupidity = evangelicals = stupidity!!!
Here’s the extraordinary delusion that makes US evangelicals think they must support Trump
December 23, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
Conservative evangelical Christians in the United States are among President Donald Trump’s fiercest supporters, despite the fact that the president has led an extraordinarily immoral life.
Paul Djupe, a professor of political science at Denison University, has found that there’s an extraordinary delusion that lies behind evangelicals’ loyalty to Trump: Namely, they believe that they will lose their freedom to practice their religion if a Democrat ever retakes the White House.
Writing in the Washington Post, Djupe describes evangelicals’ fears of what would happen to them if Trump were removed from the White House — and also explains why those fears are completely unfounded.
“Of those white evangelical Protestants, we found that 60 percent believed that atheists would not allow them First Amendment rights and liberties,” he writes. “More specifically, we asked whether they believed atheists would prevent them from being able to ‘hold rallies, teach, speak freely, and run for public office.’ Similarly, 58 percent believed ‘Democrats in Congress’ would not allow them to exercise these liberties if they were in power.”
However, Djupe then points to his own research to show why this belief is completely untrue.
“65 percent of atheists and 53 percent of Democrats who listed Christian fundamentalists as their least-liked group are willing to allow them to engage in three or more of these activities,” he writes.
So what is behind this belief that atheists are obsessed with stripping away evangelicals’ first amendment rights? Djupe believes that right-wing media outlets such as Fox News and talk radio are a major factor.
“Conservative Christians believe their rights are in peril partly because that’s what they’re hearing, quite explicitly, from conservative media, religious elites, partisan commentators and some politicians, including the president,” he writes.
Read the whole op-ed here.
Paul Djupe, a professor of political science at Denison University, has found that there’s an extraordinary delusion that lies behind evangelicals’ loyalty to Trump: Namely, they believe that they will lose their freedom to practice their religion if a Democrat ever retakes the White House.
Writing in the Washington Post, Djupe describes evangelicals’ fears of what would happen to them if Trump were removed from the White House — and also explains why those fears are completely unfounded.
“Of those white evangelical Protestants, we found that 60 percent believed that atheists would not allow them First Amendment rights and liberties,” he writes. “More specifically, we asked whether they believed atheists would prevent them from being able to ‘hold rallies, teach, speak freely, and run for public office.’ Similarly, 58 percent believed ‘Democrats in Congress’ would not allow them to exercise these liberties if they were in power.”
However, Djupe then points to his own research to show why this belief is completely untrue.
“65 percent of atheists and 53 percent of Democrats who listed Christian fundamentalists as their least-liked group are willing to allow them to engage in three or more of these activities,” he writes.
So what is behind this belief that atheists are obsessed with stripping away evangelicals’ first amendment rights? Djupe believes that right-wing media outlets such as Fox News and talk radio are a major factor.
“Conservative Christians believe their rights are in peril partly because that’s what they’re hearing, quite explicitly, from conservative media, religious elites, partisan commentators and some politicians, including the president,” he writes.
Read the whole op-ed here.
The Cruelty Is the Point
President Trump and his supporters find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear.
Adam Serwer - The Atlantic
The Museum of African-American History and Culture is in part a catalog of cruelty. Amid all the stories of perseverance, tragedy, and unlikely triumph are the artifacts of inhumanity and barbarism: the child-size slave shackles, the bright red robes of the wizards of the Ku Klux Klan, the recordings of civil-rights protesters being brutalized by police.
The artifacts that persist in my memory, the way a bright flash does when you close your eyes, are the photographs of lynchings. But it’s not the burned, mutilated bodies that stick with me. It’s the faces of the white men in the crowd. There’s the photo of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Indiana in 1930, in which a white man can be seen grinning at the camera as he tenderly holds the hand of his wife or girlfriend. There’s the undated photo from Duluth, Minnesota, in which grinning white men stand next to the mutilated, half-naked bodies of two men lashed to a post in the street—one of the white men is straining to get into the picture, his smile cutting from ear to ear. There’s the photo of a crowd of white men huddled behind the smoldering corpse of a man burned to death; one of them is wearing a smart suit, a fedora hat, and a bright smile.
Their names have mostly been lost to time. But these grinning men were someone’s brother, son, husband, father. They were human beings, people who took immense pleasure in the utter cruelty of torturing others to death—and were so proud of doing so that they posed for photographs with their handiwork, jostling to ensure they caught the eye of the lens, so that the world would know they’d been there. Their cruelty made them feel good, it made them feel proud, it made them feel happy. And it made them feel closer to one another.
The Trump era is such a whirlwind of cruelty that it can be hard to keep track. This week alone, the news broke that the Trump administration was seeking to ethnically cleanse more than 193,000 American children of immigrants whose temporary protected status had been revoked by the administration, that the Department of Homeland Security had lied about creating a database of children that would make it possible to unite them with the families the Trump administration had arbitrarily destroyed, that the White House was considering a blanket ban on visas for Chinese students, and that it would deny visas to the same-sex partners of foreign officials. At a rally in Mississippi, a crowd of Trump supporters cheered as the president mocked Christine Blasey Ford, the psychology professor who has said that Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump has nominated to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, attempted to rape her when she was a teenager. “Lock her up!” they shouted.
Ford testified to the Senate, utilizing her professional expertise to describe the encounter, that one of the parts of the incident she remembered most was Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge laughing at her as Kavanaugh fumbled at her clothing. “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter,” Ford said, referring to the part of the brain that processes emotion and memory, “the uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense.” And then at Tuesday’s rally, the president made his supporters laugh at her.
Even those who believe that Ford fabricated her account, or was mistaken in its details, can see that the president’s mocking of her testimony renders all sexual-assault survivors collateral damage. Anyone afraid of coming forward, afraid that she would not be believed, can now look to the president to see her fears realized. Once malice is embraced as a virtue, it is impossible to contain.
The cruelty of the Trump administration’s policies, and the ritual rhetorical flaying of his targets before his supporters, are intimately connected. As Lili Loofbourow wrote of the Kavanaugh incident in Slate, adolescent male cruelty toward women is a bonding mechanism, a vehicle for intimacy through contempt. The white men in the lynching photos are smiling not merely because of what they have done, but because they have done it together.
We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border-patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with Down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting to Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president had sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by the police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that the perpetrators of this cruelty enjoy it; it is that they enjoy it with one another. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to one another, and to Trump.
Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life.
The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting. The president who demanded the execution of five black and Latino teenagers for a crime they didn’t commit decrying “false accusations,” when his Supreme Court nominee stands accused; his supporters who fancy themselves champions of free speech meet references to Hillary Clinton or a woman whose only crime was coming forward to offer her own story of abuse with screams of “Lock her up!” The political movement that elected a president who wanted to ban immigration by adherents of an entire religion, who encourages police to brutalize suspects, and who has destroyed thousands of immigrant families for violations of the law less serious than those of which he and his coterie stand accused, now laments the state of due process.
This isn’t incoherent. It reflects a clear principle: Only the president and his allies, his supporters, and their anointed are entitled to the rights and protections of the law, and if necessary, immunity from it. The rest of us are entitled only to cruelty, by their whim. This is how the powerful have ever kept the powerless divided and in their place, and enriched themselves in the process.
A blockbuster New York Times investigation on Tuesday reported that President Trump’s wealth was largely inherited through fraudulent schemes, that he became a millionaire while still a child, and that his fortune persists in spite of his fumbling entrepreneurship, not because of it. The stories are not unconnected. The president and his advisers have sought to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense; they have attempted to corrupt federal law-enforcement agencies to protect themselves and their cohorts, and they have exploited the nation’s darkest impulses in the pursuit of profit. But their ability to get away with this fraud is tied to cruelty.
Trump’s only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president’s ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united. And as long as he makes them feel that way, they will let him get away with anything, no matter what it costs them.
The artifacts that persist in my memory, the way a bright flash does when you close your eyes, are the photographs of lynchings. But it’s not the burned, mutilated bodies that stick with me. It’s the faces of the white men in the crowd. There’s the photo of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Indiana in 1930, in which a white man can be seen grinning at the camera as he tenderly holds the hand of his wife or girlfriend. There’s the undated photo from Duluth, Minnesota, in which grinning white men stand next to the mutilated, half-naked bodies of two men lashed to a post in the street—one of the white men is straining to get into the picture, his smile cutting from ear to ear. There’s the photo of a crowd of white men huddled behind the smoldering corpse of a man burned to death; one of them is wearing a smart suit, a fedora hat, and a bright smile.
Their names have mostly been lost to time. But these grinning men were someone’s brother, son, husband, father. They were human beings, people who took immense pleasure in the utter cruelty of torturing others to death—and were so proud of doing so that they posed for photographs with their handiwork, jostling to ensure they caught the eye of the lens, so that the world would know they’d been there. Their cruelty made them feel good, it made them feel proud, it made them feel happy. And it made them feel closer to one another.
The Trump era is such a whirlwind of cruelty that it can be hard to keep track. This week alone, the news broke that the Trump administration was seeking to ethnically cleanse more than 193,000 American children of immigrants whose temporary protected status had been revoked by the administration, that the Department of Homeland Security had lied about creating a database of children that would make it possible to unite them with the families the Trump administration had arbitrarily destroyed, that the White House was considering a blanket ban on visas for Chinese students, and that it would deny visas to the same-sex partners of foreign officials. At a rally in Mississippi, a crowd of Trump supporters cheered as the president mocked Christine Blasey Ford, the psychology professor who has said that Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump has nominated to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, attempted to rape her when she was a teenager. “Lock her up!” they shouted.
Ford testified to the Senate, utilizing her professional expertise to describe the encounter, that one of the parts of the incident she remembered most was Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge laughing at her as Kavanaugh fumbled at her clothing. “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter,” Ford said, referring to the part of the brain that processes emotion and memory, “the uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense.” And then at Tuesday’s rally, the president made his supporters laugh at her.
Even those who believe that Ford fabricated her account, or was mistaken in its details, can see that the president’s mocking of her testimony renders all sexual-assault survivors collateral damage. Anyone afraid of coming forward, afraid that she would not be believed, can now look to the president to see her fears realized. Once malice is embraced as a virtue, it is impossible to contain.
The cruelty of the Trump administration’s policies, and the ritual rhetorical flaying of his targets before his supporters, are intimately connected. As Lili Loofbourow wrote of the Kavanaugh incident in Slate, adolescent male cruelty toward women is a bonding mechanism, a vehicle for intimacy through contempt. The white men in the lynching photos are smiling not merely because of what they have done, but because they have done it together.
We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border-patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with Down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting to Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president had sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by the police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that the perpetrators of this cruelty enjoy it; it is that they enjoy it with one another. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to one another, and to Trump.
Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life.
The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting. The president who demanded the execution of five black and Latino teenagers for a crime they didn’t commit decrying “false accusations,” when his Supreme Court nominee stands accused; his supporters who fancy themselves champions of free speech meet references to Hillary Clinton or a woman whose only crime was coming forward to offer her own story of abuse with screams of “Lock her up!” The political movement that elected a president who wanted to ban immigration by adherents of an entire religion, who encourages police to brutalize suspects, and who has destroyed thousands of immigrant families for violations of the law less serious than those of which he and his coterie stand accused, now laments the state of due process.
This isn’t incoherent. It reflects a clear principle: Only the president and his allies, his supporters, and their anointed are entitled to the rights and protections of the law, and if necessary, immunity from it. The rest of us are entitled only to cruelty, by their whim. This is how the powerful have ever kept the powerless divided and in their place, and enriched themselves in the process.
A blockbuster New York Times investigation on Tuesday reported that President Trump’s wealth was largely inherited through fraudulent schemes, that he became a millionaire while still a child, and that his fortune persists in spite of his fumbling entrepreneurship, not because of it. The stories are not unconnected. The president and his advisers have sought to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense; they have attempted to corrupt federal law-enforcement agencies to protect themselves and their cohorts, and they have exploited the nation’s darkest impulses in the pursuit of profit. But their ability to get away with this fraud is tied to cruelty.
Trump’s only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president’s ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united. And as long as he makes them feel that way, they will let him get away with anything, no matter what it costs them.
Trump supporters overwhelmingly hostile towards journalists: Pew study
December 13, 2019
By Sky Palma - raw story
When it comes to hostility towards journalism, Trump supporters take the cake according to a new study.
The study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 17% of Republicans who “somewhat approve” of Trump’s performance said they believe journalists have very low ethical standards. Around 12% of “never-Trump” Republicans felt the same way. But when it comes to Trump’s most loyal supporters, 40% of them say that journalists have very low ethical standards. Another 45% answered low, leaving out the “very,” according to the Pew study.
Democrats who oppose Trump had a more favorable opinion of journalism, with just 4% saying that journalists have very low ethical standards and 33% saying journalism is overall trustworthy. Twenty-three percent of Republicans who are lukewarm in their opinions of Trump said that journalists are trustworthy, but that figure sank to 9% when it came to die-hard Trump fans.
You can read more over at libn.com.
The study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 17% of Republicans who “somewhat approve” of Trump’s performance said they believe journalists have very low ethical standards. Around 12% of “never-Trump” Republicans felt the same way. But when it comes to Trump’s most loyal supporters, 40% of them say that journalists have very low ethical standards. Another 45% answered low, leaving out the “very,” according to the Pew study.
Democrats who oppose Trump had a more favorable opinion of journalism, with just 4% saying that journalists have very low ethical standards and 33% saying journalism is overall trustworthy. Twenty-three percent of Republicans who are lukewarm in their opinions of Trump said that journalists are trustworthy, but that figure sank to 9% when it came to die-hard Trump fans.
You can read more over at libn.com.
Unhinged Trump supporter yells about his .357 Magnum after reporter asks about impeachment
December 11, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
A Trump supporter was caught on camera this week yelling about the .357 Magnum he owned after a reporter asked him about the prospect of President Donald Trump being removed from office.
In an interview with CBS News, the unidentified Trump supporter insisted that the Senate would never convict the president even if the House voted to impeach him.
“He’s not going to be removed,” the supporter said. “He’s not going to be removed! He’s not going to be removed!”
“Do you feel confident in that?” the reporter asked.
“My .357 Magnum is comfortable with that!” he said. “End of story!”
Another Trump supporter interviewed by CBS News predicted that it would mean a “second Civil War” if Trump were removed, while another Trump supporter told the network that there could be “a lot of mad Americans” and “possible violence” if Trump is removed from office.
In an interview with CBS News, the unidentified Trump supporter insisted that the Senate would never convict the president even if the House voted to impeach him.
“He’s not going to be removed,” the supporter said. “He’s not going to be removed! He’s not going to be removed!”
“Do you feel confident in that?” the reporter asked.
“My .357 Magnum is comfortable with that!” he said. “End of story!”
Another Trump supporter interviewed by CBS News predicted that it would mean a “second Civil War” if Trump were removed, while another Trump supporter told the network that there could be “a lot of mad Americans” and “possible violence” if Trump is removed from office.
the stupid!!!
MSNBC catches Trump voter literally fighting back tears over impeachment: ‘He’s done such a great job’
December 10, 2019
By David Edwards - raw story
One voter who spoke to MSNBC on Tuesday was near tears because she said that Democrats are treating President Donald Trump unfairly in impeachment proceedings.
After Democrats officially revealed articles of impeachment against Trump, MSNBC caught up with some of the president’s supporters, who had been waiting in line to see him speak in Pennsylvania Tuesday evening.
One man said that he did not trust the “so-called experts” on impeachment because “they are the ones that got us into trouble that the United States has been in for a while.”
“Nobody’s perfect,” another man donned in Trump gear said. “He hasn’t been without mistakes. But he certainly has done more things right than wrong. And he’s done a lot for this country with jobs and supporting the military and everything that he does. It’s just wonderful.”
Barbara Hitcho said that she was “breaking up here because I’m very upset today.”
“I’m glad I’m here,” Hitcho sniffled as she spoke to MSNBC. “I think it’s so hard because he’s done such a great job and this is the way that he’s being treated. It’s very upsetting to me.”
After Democrats officially revealed articles of impeachment against Trump, MSNBC caught up with some of the president’s supporters, who had been waiting in line to see him speak in Pennsylvania Tuesday evening.
One man said that he did not trust the “so-called experts” on impeachment because “they are the ones that got us into trouble that the United States has been in for a while.”
“Nobody’s perfect,” another man donned in Trump gear said. “He hasn’t been without mistakes. But he certainly has done more things right than wrong. And he’s done a lot for this country with jobs and supporting the military and everything that he does. It’s just wonderful.”
Barbara Hitcho said that she was “breaking up here because I’m very upset today.”
“I’m glad I’m here,” Hitcho sniffled as she spoke to MSNBC. “I think it’s so hard because he’s done such a great job and this is the way that he’s being treated. It’s very upsetting to me.”
Trump supporters lose their minds when church shows Nativity scene in immigrant cages
December 8, 2019
By Sarah K. Burris - raw story
MAGA supporters are losing their minds after a photo of the Nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church was posted to Facebook.
The scene depicts Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus separated and put in their own cages, a reference to the families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. Inside the church, the family is shown as reunited.
Senior minister Karen Clark Ristine shared the image on Facebook with the message hoping that everyone in the United States could see the photo and read the story for Christmas.
“The theological statement posted with the nativity: In a time in our country when refugee families seek asylum at our borders and are unwillingly separated from one another, we consider the most well-known refugee family in the world,” she wrote. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the Holy Family. Shortly after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were forced to flee with their young son from Nazareth to Egypt to escape King Herod, a tyrant. They feared persecution and death.”
She went on to ask what would likely happen to the Holy family if they sought refuge in the United States today.
“Imagine Joseph and Mary separated at the border and Jesus no older than two taken from his mother and placed behind the fences of a Border Patrol detention center as more than 5,500 children have been the past three years,” she continued. “Jesus grew up to teach us kindness and mercy and a radical welcome of all people.”
She cited Matthew 25:35, which quotes Jesus expressing his gratitude for those who fed him when he was hungry and welcomed him in, even though he was a stranger. It’s not something generally upheld by Evangelical Christians supporting President Donald Trump.
“In the Claremont United Methodist Church nativity scene this Christmas, the Holy Family takes the place of the thousands of nameless families separated at our borders,” said the senior minister.
Comments on the post have taken a turn for the ugly, with those who disagree with the depiction attacking the church, the minister, conspiracy theories, and more.
“Imagine taking money you could have spent helping the indigent and spending it on barbed wire and cages to virtue signal,” commented Victor Hamby.
The church’s website gives details about the church’s work with asylum seekers and the $10,000 they recently raised for Justice For Our Neighbors, a group that gives free legal counsel for detained and separated children.
“Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were not refugees. Bethlehem was their home town. That is a despicable nativity,” proclaimed Jared Stanley. Jesus was actually Galilean from Nazareth, which is why he’s generally referred to as Jesus from Nazareth.
The scene depicts Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus separated and put in their own cages, a reference to the families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. Inside the church, the family is shown as reunited.
Senior minister Karen Clark Ristine shared the image on Facebook with the message hoping that everyone in the United States could see the photo and read the story for Christmas.
“The theological statement posted with the nativity: In a time in our country when refugee families seek asylum at our borders and are unwillingly separated from one another, we consider the most well-known refugee family in the world,” she wrote. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the Holy Family. Shortly after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were forced to flee with their young son from Nazareth to Egypt to escape King Herod, a tyrant. They feared persecution and death.”
She went on to ask what would likely happen to the Holy family if they sought refuge in the United States today.
“Imagine Joseph and Mary separated at the border and Jesus no older than two taken from his mother and placed behind the fences of a Border Patrol detention center as more than 5,500 children have been the past three years,” she continued. “Jesus grew up to teach us kindness and mercy and a radical welcome of all people.”
She cited Matthew 25:35, which quotes Jesus expressing his gratitude for those who fed him when he was hungry and welcomed him in, even though he was a stranger. It’s not something generally upheld by Evangelical Christians supporting President Donald Trump.
“In the Claremont United Methodist Church nativity scene this Christmas, the Holy Family takes the place of the thousands of nameless families separated at our borders,” said the senior minister.
Comments on the post have taken a turn for the ugly, with those who disagree with the depiction attacking the church, the minister, conspiracy theories, and more.
“Imagine taking money you could have spent helping the indigent and spending it on barbed wire and cages to virtue signal,” commented Victor Hamby.
The church’s website gives details about the church’s work with asylum seekers and the $10,000 they recently raised for Justice For Our Neighbors, a group that gives free legal counsel for detained and separated children.
“Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were not refugees. Bethlehem was their home town. That is a despicable nativity,” proclaimed Jared Stanley. Jesus was actually Galilean from Nazareth, which is why he’s generally referred to as Jesus from Nazareth.
Trump supporters live in an ‘alternate universe’ like post-truth Soviet Union: Former world chess champion Kasparov
December 5, 2019
By Alex Henderson, AlterNet
Before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Russia established a capitalist government that was headed by President Boris Yeltsin and later, President Vladimir Putin, it was infamous for Orwellian language: government-owned media reported what the Soviet Communist Party told them to report. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was among those who grew up in the Soviet Union, and in a December 5 op-ed for CNN’s website, he finds some Orwellian parallels between the old Soviet Union and the Trump Administration.
Now 56, Kasparov points out that in the Soviet Union, “reality” was “whatever” the Soviet Communist Party “put out on the nightly news.” Kasparov notes that the Soviet Union’s official government newspapers were Pravda and Izvestia; in Russian, “pravda” is the word for “truth,” while “izvestia” means “news.” And Kasparov recalls that in the Soviet Union, a common joke was that “there is no news in the truth and no truth in the news.”
“I’m a post-Soviet citizen,” Kasparov explains. “The country of my birth ceased to exist in 1991. We enjoyed less than a decade of tenuous freedom in Russia before Vladimir Putin launched its post-democratic phase. My ongoing attempts to fight that tragedy led to my exile in the United States. Now, my new home finds itself locked in its own perilous battle: a battle to avoid becoming the latest member of the post-truth world.”
Kasparov goes on to explain why Trump’s presidency reminds him so much of the Soviet Union.
“Unable to change the facts, Trump and his supporters instead try to shift the debate into an alternate universe where the truth is whatever they say it is today,” Kasparov observes. “Trump repeats the same lies over and over, and it’s hard to say which is more troubling: that his followers don’t realize that they are lies or that they don’t care. Globalization and the internet may have made the world smaller, but now, we’re experiencing a counterattack: the regionalization of truth.”
Kasparov observes that in 2019, Americans have a lot more media options than he had growing up in the Soviet Union; the problem is that Trump supporters only consume media that carries his water — Fox News, for example.
“If you watched the impeachment hearings only on Fox News, you would have thought things were going great for the president,” Kasparov notes. “Any phrase that might sound like it exonerated him — and there weren’t many — was repeated over and over like a mantra. The copious and damning evidence provided may as well not have existed.”
Kasparov wraps up his op-ed on a sobering note, explaining that whether it’s pro-Putin media in Putin’s Russia or pro-Trump media in the United States, niche media is quite effective when it comes to indoctrination.
“What’s the truth? In the era of regionalized facts, it depends on where you stand, what channel you’re watching — and what party you belong to,” Kasparov stresses. “But there cannot be a red state reality and a blue state reality any more than there should be one world map inside of Russia and a different one outside. Trump is finally facing the music, and that must begin with everyone facing the facts.”
Now 56, Kasparov points out that in the Soviet Union, “reality” was “whatever” the Soviet Communist Party “put out on the nightly news.” Kasparov notes that the Soviet Union’s official government newspapers were Pravda and Izvestia; in Russian, “pravda” is the word for “truth,” while “izvestia” means “news.” And Kasparov recalls that in the Soviet Union, a common joke was that “there is no news in the truth and no truth in the news.”
“I’m a post-Soviet citizen,” Kasparov explains. “The country of my birth ceased to exist in 1991. We enjoyed less than a decade of tenuous freedom in Russia before Vladimir Putin launched its post-democratic phase. My ongoing attempts to fight that tragedy led to my exile in the United States. Now, my new home finds itself locked in its own perilous battle: a battle to avoid becoming the latest member of the post-truth world.”
Kasparov goes on to explain why Trump’s presidency reminds him so much of the Soviet Union.
“Unable to change the facts, Trump and his supporters instead try to shift the debate into an alternate universe where the truth is whatever they say it is today,” Kasparov observes. “Trump repeats the same lies over and over, and it’s hard to say which is more troubling: that his followers don’t realize that they are lies or that they don’t care. Globalization and the internet may have made the world smaller, but now, we’re experiencing a counterattack: the regionalization of truth.”
Kasparov observes that in 2019, Americans have a lot more media options than he had growing up in the Soviet Union; the problem is that Trump supporters only consume media that carries his water — Fox News, for example.
“If you watched the impeachment hearings only on Fox News, you would have thought things were going great for the president,” Kasparov notes. “Any phrase that might sound like it exonerated him — and there weren’t many — was repeated over and over like a mantra. The copious and damning evidence provided may as well not have existed.”
Kasparov wraps up his op-ed on a sobering note, explaining that whether it’s pro-Putin media in Putin’s Russia or pro-Trump media in the United States, niche media is quite effective when it comes to indoctrination.
“What’s the truth? In the era of regionalized facts, it depends on where you stand, what channel you’re watching — and what party you belong to,” Kasparov stresses. “But there cannot be a red state reality and a blue state reality any more than there should be one world map inside of Russia and a different one outside. Trump is finally facing the music, and that must begin with everyone facing the facts.”
This is what Trump thinks of you!!!
OP-ED POLITICS & ELECTIONS
Many Evangelicals Excuse Anything Trump Does — Because He’s the “Chosen One”
BY
Sasha Abramsky, Truthout
PUBLISHED November 30, 201
Energy Secretary Rick Perry is the latest Trump official or acolyte to prostrate himself, using cult-like terms, before the president. Trump is, in Perry’s worldview, a man tagged by God to occupy his leadership role. In this, the energy secretary is echoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – who has averred Trump may have been chosen by God to defend Israel against Iran – and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s erstwhile press secretary, who also argued that God had played a role in Trump’s election. Perry is also mimicking ex-Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who has argued that Trump is the most “godly, Biblical president” in her lifetime. He is following in the footsteps of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University, which produced a movie in 2018 titled The Trump Prophecy that likewise argued President Trump had been chosen by God.
And, of course, Perry is also echoing Trump himself, who earlier this year embraced the notion that he was indeed The Chosen One, and subsequently tweeted about his own “great and unmatched wisdom.”
There is something utterly baffling about this notion, that, in the year 2019, in a country that prides itself on its democratic culture and its intellectual institutions, and that has a constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, medieval visions of governance are being touted by much of the U.S. leadership. The country has had its fair share of fundamentalist and fanatic political leaders, but at no previous point in its history has the divine right to rule been seriously proposed as a governing principle by those in positions of power. After all, presidents are supposed to be elected; the divine right to rule of kings is something that was (or so we thought) put to bed centuries ago.
And yet, opinion polls of evangelicals show that by massive margins they support Trump. A large number of them truly believe that the hand of God is at work in his ascendancy; and they aren’t about to withdraw their support for such a vehicle of God’s will just because he is covered head to toe in the stench of scandal and is on the verge of becoming only the third president in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Polling conducted in late October, a month into the impeachment hearings, showed Trump’s evangelical base remained rock-solid in its support for him.
Some evangelists aver that Donald J. Trump is a modern-day version of the ancient Persian king Cyrus, the autocratic nonbeliever who is used by God to fulfill his design – conquering Babylon and freeing the Jews from bondage. Cyrus, as king, is a man who exists outside of, above, ordinary moral law; a daring emperor constrained by nothing and no one. In many ways, Cyrus is a Nietzschean figure 2,500 years before Friedrich Nietzsche. Secretary of State Pompeo, an evangelical Christian with a taste for “End Times” philosophy, frequently references Cyrus’s story.
Trump himself, who has left a trail of sexual assault allegations in his wake over the decades, has shown scant religious sensibilities throughout his life. When it proved politically expedient during the presidential campaign, he claimed to belong to a church in Manhattan, but the church itself put out a statement that he was not an active member.
As president, however, Trump has demonstrated a feral talent for wooing the religious right and keeping them on his side through one scandal after another after another. He has done so by appointing dozens of extremist judges who will, over the coming decades, work to restrict or end access to abortion, break down the walls that separate church from state, limit LGBTQ rights, allow for an increasing number of carve-outs so that religious groups and individuals don’t have to adhere to anti-discrimination laws, dilute science teaching in schools, and so on.
At the start of this month, Trump hired the Florida-based prosperity gospel televangelist Paula White onto his White House staff. It was an illuminating moment. White, who has a grand talent for self-promotion and an instinct for what Trump would term “the art of the deal,” believes that far from siding with the meek and the downtrodden, God rewards believers monetarily. More shockingly, prosperity gospel advocates also argue that God particularly likes those who already enjoy financial success.
The prosperity gospel is an extreme version of what the German sociologist Max Weber wrote about in his 1905 classic The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber theorized that Calvin’s theory of predestination, in which believers could not know for sure whether they were lucky enough to be assigned to heaven or unlucky enough to be heading to hell, created an extreme state of angst. Unsure of their place in eternity, Calvin’s followers looked for any and every earthly hint as to whether they were among God’s favored ones. Monetary success, in this anxious milieu, soon became seen as a sign of divine favor.
But whereas Calvin’s puritan followers accumulated wealth without ostentatious spending – thus, Weber argued, providing a surplus of money that could be invested and that would eventually sow the seeds of early capitalism – the prosperity gospel is about bling and kitsch. It is about showing off and strutting one’s financial stuff.
Nearly 100 years ago, the Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson was alleged to have made a pact with the devil at the crossroads outside of the little town of Clarksdale – a pact that traded Johnson’s soul in exchange for the ability to create soul-shatteringly good music. Trump’s own such crossroads pact, signed at his tower where Central Park south meets Central Park west, is with religious preachers such as White. He doesn’t necessarily believe what he’s signed onto here, but since it comes with tremendous political benefits, he’s perfectly happy to indulge in this marriage of convenience. And, truth be told, White’s peculiar version of Christianity suits him to a tee. For the real estate tycoon with a fetish for all things gold, the prosperity gospel is the perfect religious expression: It’s hucksterism gussied up as religion. And it lends itself to cultist hero-worship.
Those who thrive financially — in this rendition of the gospel, regardless of the methods by which they attain wealth — deserve praise and adulation. Perry saying that Trump has been chosen by God is really no more or less sycophantic than the parade of cabinet members early in Trump’s presidency who lavished the sorts of praise on him that one might expect to hear in a fully ripe dictatorship.
In an article on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s site about whether Trump is a modern-day Cyrus, I find this comment: “I love this president as he navigates through the anti-christ DEMONcrats. As Christian’s [sic], we better stand by this man placed by our GOD.THINK ABOUT IT, WE’RE ON THE VERGE OF KILLING ROE VS WADE AND THE SLAUGHTER OF BABY HUMAN BEINGS!!!!!”
If that’s the calculus, Trump’s myriad moral failings mean nothing. To those that adhere to this worldview, they don’t care if the president mocks a disabled journalist or the Gold Star family of a veteran killed in action. Trump swears in public, boasts of sexual assault and even says that he could shoot someone dead in broad view without losing the support of his base. Yet, to such believers, all of these are simply the imperfections of a man ordained by God to rid the U.S. of abortion and secularism and the other great sins of the modern age.
Which brings me back to Rick Perry. Perry’s up to his eyeballs in the Ukraine scandal. But instead of coming clean, he has, like so many other high officials, unquestioningly followed Trump’s orders and refused to comply with congressional subpoenas to testify.
The rule of law and the constitutional order are under direct, sustained assault from the executive branch. And so long as senior figures such as Perry look at Trump and see something akin to a biblical prophecy adapted for the modern age, they will continue to side with a lawless president over the constitutionally guaranteed authority of the U.S. Congress.
And, of course, Perry is also echoing Trump himself, who earlier this year embraced the notion that he was indeed The Chosen One, and subsequently tweeted about his own “great and unmatched wisdom.”
There is something utterly baffling about this notion, that, in the year 2019, in a country that prides itself on its democratic culture and its intellectual institutions, and that has a constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, medieval visions of governance are being touted by much of the U.S. leadership. The country has had its fair share of fundamentalist and fanatic political leaders, but at no previous point in its history has the divine right to rule been seriously proposed as a governing principle by those in positions of power. After all, presidents are supposed to be elected; the divine right to rule of kings is something that was (or so we thought) put to bed centuries ago.
And yet, opinion polls of evangelicals show that by massive margins they support Trump. A large number of them truly believe that the hand of God is at work in his ascendancy; and they aren’t about to withdraw their support for such a vehicle of God’s will just because he is covered head to toe in the stench of scandal and is on the verge of becoming only the third president in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Polling conducted in late October, a month into the impeachment hearings, showed Trump’s evangelical base remained rock-solid in its support for him.
Some evangelists aver that Donald J. Trump is a modern-day version of the ancient Persian king Cyrus, the autocratic nonbeliever who is used by God to fulfill his design – conquering Babylon and freeing the Jews from bondage. Cyrus, as king, is a man who exists outside of, above, ordinary moral law; a daring emperor constrained by nothing and no one. In many ways, Cyrus is a Nietzschean figure 2,500 years before Friedrich Nietzsche. Secretary of State Pompeo, an evangelical Christian with a taste for “End Times” philosophy, frequently references Cyrus’s story.
Trump himself, who has left a trail of sexual assault allegations in his wake over the decades, has shown scant religious sensibilities throughout his life. When it proved politically expedient during the presidential campaign, he claimed to belong to a church in Manhattan, but the church itself put out a statement that he was not an active member.
As president, however, Trump has demonstrated a feral talent for wooing the religious right and keeping them on his side through one scandal after another after another. He has done so by appointing dozens of extremist judges who will, over the coming decades, work to restrict or end access to abortion, break down the walls that separate church from state, limit LGBTQ rights, allow for an increasing number of carve-outs so that religious groups and individuals don’t have to adhere to anti-discrimination laws, dilute science teaching in schools, and so on.
At the start of this month, Trump hired the Florida-based prosperity gospel televangelist Paula White onto his White House staff. It was an illuminating moment. White, who has a grand talent for self-promotion and an instinct for what Trump would term “the art of the deal,” believes that far from siding with the meek and the downtrodden, God rewards believers monetarily. More shockingly, prosperity gospel advocates also argue that God particularly likes those who already enjoy financial success.
The prosperity gospel is an extreme version of what the German sociologist Max Weber wrote about in his 1905 classic The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber theorized that Calvin’s theory of predestination, in which believers could not know for sure whether they were lucky enough to be assigned to heaven or unlucky enough to be heading to hell, created an extreme state of angst. Unsure of their place in eternity, Calvin’s followers looked for any and every earthly hint as to whether they were among God’s favored ones. Monetary success, in this anxious milieu, soon became seen as a sign of divine favor.
But whereas Calvin’s puritan followers accumulated wealth without ostentatious spending – thus, Weber argued, providing a surplus of money that could be invested and that would eventually sow the seeds of early capitalism – the prosperity gospel is about bling and kitsch. It is about showing off and strutting one’s financial stuff.
Nearly 100 years ago, the Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson was alleged to have made a pact with the devil at the crossroads outside of the little town of Clarksdale – a pact that traded Johnson’s soul in exchange for the ability to create soul-shatteringly good music. Trump’s own such crossroads pact, signed at his tower where Central Park south meets Central Park west, is with religious preachers such as White. He doesn’t necessarily believe what he’s signed onto here, but since it comes with tremendous political benefits, he’s perfectly happy to indulge in this marriage of convenience. And, truth be told, White’s peculiar version of Christianity suits him to a tee. For the real estate tycoon with a fetish for all things gold, the prosperity gospel is the perfect religious expression: It’s hucksterism gussied up as religion. And it lends itself to cultist hero-worship.
Those who thrive financially — in this rendition of the gospel, regardless of the methods by which they attain wealth — deserve praise and adulation. Perry saying that Trump has been chosen by God is really no more or less sycophantic than the parade of cabinet members early in Trump’s presidency who lavished the sorts of praise on him that one might expect to hear in a fully ripe dictatorship.
In an article on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s site about whether Trump is a modern-day Cyrus, I find this comment: “I love this president as he navigates through the anti-christ DEMONcrats. As Christian’s [sic], we better stand by this man placed by our GOD.THINK ABOUT IT, WE’RE ON THE VERGE OF KILLING ROE VS WADE AND THE SLAUGHTER OF BABY HUMAN BEINGS!!!!!”
If that’s the calculus, Trump’s myriad moral failings mean nothing. To those that adhere to this worldview, they don’t care if the president mocks a disabled journalist or the Gold Star family of a veteran killed in action. Trump swears in public, boasts of sexual assault and even says that he could shoot someone dead in broad view without losing the support of his base. Yet, to such believers, all of these are simply the imperfections of a man ordained by God to rid the U.S. of abortion and secularism and the other great sins of the modern age.
Which brings me back to Rick Perry. Perry’s up to his eyeballs in the Ukraine scandal. But instead of coming clean, he has, like so many other high officials, unquestioningly followed Trump’s orders and refused to comply with congressional subpoenas to testify.
The rule of law and the constitutional order are under direct, sustained assault from the executive branch. And so long as senior figures such as Perry look at Trump and see something akin to a biblical prophecy adapted for the modern age, they will continue to side with a lawless president over the constitutionally guaranteed authority of the U.S. Congress.
Trump-loving evangelical leaders are only speaking for ‘flatlining’ white Christians whose worldview is dying: religious scholar
November 26, 2019
By Tom Boggioni - raw story
Addressing recent comments by supporters of Donald Trump who maintain that the three-time divorced, the non-church-going president is the “chosen one,” MSNBC contributor Eddie Glaude stated with some certainty the assertion is “nonsense,” and that Trump’s evangelical enablers are speaking for a dying faction of white rightwing Christianity.
Speaking with host Stephanie Ruhle, Glaude — who chairs the Department of African American Studies at Princeton — said, “This is dangerous in so far as when you try to yolk politics to God talk, you’re trying to sacralize politics. You’re trying to insulate that from criticism because you’re taking it out of human doing and you’re saying that God sanctioned what you’re doing. whether or not you’re Donald Trump or Martin Luther King Jr.”
After explaining that he’s a religious scholar, Glaude was asked about recent comments made by evangelist Franklin Graham that “the impeachment fight is a spiritual battle.”
“Yeah, to hear Franklin Graham or Paula White is to, in some ways hear the voices of a particular segment of white Christianity that I think has flatlined,” he explained. “It’s not growing in terms of its demographics. you look at the arguments within Liberty University itself. We see these folks desperately clinging to Donald Trump because I think the writing is on the wall'”
“Even young evangelicals,” host Ruhle suggested.
“We saw those debates at Liberty itself,” Glaude continued. “So part of what we have to kind of wrap our mind around, Stephanie, is this: white Christianity has always been in some ways the adjective overturning the noun. The church right next to the slave auction block. Preachers and ministers leading mobs to destroy communities in Wilmington and Tulsa.”
“There’s a way in which people have reconciled the gospel with evil, to justify their practices with the gospel,” he elaborated. “What we’re seeing from the mouths of folks like Franklin Graham and Paula White and others is the use of the gospel to justify their wanton and craven desire to walk the corridors of power.”
Speaking with host Stephanie Ruhle, Glaude — who chairs the Department of African American Studies at Princeton — said, “This is dangerous in so far as when you try to yolk politics to God talk, you’re trying to sacralize politics. You’re trying to insulate that from criticism because you’re taking it out of human doing and you’re saying that God sanctioned what you’re doing. whether or not you’re Donald Trump or Martin Luther King Jr.”
After explaining that he’s a religious scholar, Glaude was asked about recent comments made by evangelist Franklin Graham that “the impeachment fight is a spiritual battle.”
“Yeah, to hear Franklin Graham or Paula White is to, in some ways hear the voices of a particular segment of white Christianity that I think has flatlined,” he explained. “It’s not growing in terms of its demographics. you look at the arguments within Liberty University itself. We see these folks desperately clinging to Donald Trump because I think the writing is on the wall'”
“Even young evangelicals,” host Ruhle suggested.
“We saw those debates at Liberty itself,” Glaude continued. “So part of what we have to kind of wrap our mind around, Stephanie, is this: white Christianity has always been in some ways the adjective overturning the noun. The church right next to the slave auction block. Preachers and ministers leading mobs to destroy communities in Wilmington and Tulsa.”
“There’s a way in which people have reconciled the gospel with evil, to justify their practices with the gospel,” he elaborated. “What we’re seeing from the mouths of folks like Franklin Graham and Paula White and others is the use of the gospel to justify their wanton and craven desire to walk the corridors of power.”
‘I watch Fox News every night’: Man says he stabbed Baby Trump balloon because it was ‘good vs. evil’
November 11, 2019
By David Edwards - raw story
A man who allegedly stabbed a balloon figure protesting President Donald Trump says that he was fighting “evil.”
Over the weekend, 32-year-old Hoyt Deau Hutchinson was charged with felony first degree criminal mischief after he was seen slashing a “Baby Trump” balloon that activists were using to protest the president’s visit to Tuscaloosa for the LSU/Alabama football game.
On Monday, Hutchinson called in to the Rick & Bubba Show to defend his actions, according to Al.com.
“I got so fired up when I rolled by the balloon and I rolled down the window and I said something to them and I figured they saw me,” he explained. “I figured only way I was going to get close enough to that balloon was to blend in. (I) went and bought me an Alabama shirt and walked up like I was walking to the game and like I was going to take a picture with [the Trump balloon].”
“I was so fired up. I was shaking I was so mad,” Hutchinson added.
He went on to complain that “a lot of people my age don’t keep up with the news and politics.”
“I watch the news every night,” he insisted. “I watch Fox News every night. Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity are my favorite two anchors.”
Hutchinson compared the incident to a Biblical story about Jesus.
“It comes a point when you gotta take a stand,” he opined. “We don’t have two parties anymore. We have good vs. evil. When you got one party that says it’s OK to kill babies and by the way, this is the first time I’m ever seen a liberal get mad about chopping up a baby.”
Over the weekend, 32-year-old Hoyt Deau Hutchinson was charged with felony first degree criminal mischief after he was seen slashing a “Baby Trump” balloon that activists were using to protest the president’s visit to Tuscaloosa for the LSU/Alabama football game.
On Monday, Hutchinson called in to the Rick & Bubba Show to defend his actions, according to Al.com.
“I got so fired up when I rolled by the balloon and I rolled down the window and I said something to them and I figured they saw me,” he explained. “I figured only way I was going to get close enough to that balloon was to blend in. (I) went and bought me an Alabama shirt and walked up like I was walking to the game and like I was going to take a picture with [the Trump balloon].”
“I was so fired up. I was shaking I was so mad,” Hutchinson added.
He went on to complain that “a lot of people my age don’t keep up with the news and politics.”
“I watch the news every night,” he insisted. “I watch Fox News every night. Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity are my favorite two anchors.”
Hutchinson compared the incident to a Biblical story about Jesus.
“It comes a point when you gotta take a stand,” he opined. “We don’t have two parties anymore. We have good vs. evil. When you got one party that says it’s OK to kill babies and by the way, this is the first time I’m ever seen a liberal get mad about chopping up a baby.”
remember, this stupid woman votes!!!
Pennsylvania Trump supporter: You’d have to know why Trump shot someone on Fifth Avenue to know he was wrong
November 6, 2019
By Matthew Chapman - raw story
On Wednesday, CNN’s Alisyn Camerota held a forum with a group of voters from key Pennsylvania counties about their views of President Donald Trump and the impeachment inquiry — and one voter, Crystal Arlington, was adamant that nothing would change her mind on the president.
“Crystal, is there anything he could do that would make you not vote for him?” asked Camerota.
“No,” said Arlington.
“If he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, would you vote for him?” Camerota pressed her, recalling Trump’s infamous quote from 2016 that he could do so and his supporters would stick with him.
“You’d have to know why he shot him,” interjected another panelist.
“Yeah, why did he shoot him?” said Arlington, agreeing with him.
“Crystal, is there anything he could do that would make you not vote for him?” asked Camerota.
“No,” said Arlington.
“If he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, would you vote for him?” Camerota pressed her, recalling Trump’s infamous quote from 2016 that he could do so and his supporters would stick with him.
“You’d have to know why he shot him,” interjected another panelist.
“Yeah, why did he shoot him?” said Arlington, agreeing with him.
Here are 3 reasons Midwest farmers hurt by the US-China trade war still support Trump
November 4, 2019
By The Conversation
America’s farmers have borne the brunt of China’s retaliation in the trade war that President Donald Trump launched in 2018.
One reason: China is the biggest buyer of many U.S. agricultural products, such as soybeans, grain sorghum, cotton and cattle hides, which made these products an obvious target for retaliatory tariffs.
The other related reason is more strategic: China hoped inflicting economic costs on U.S. farmers – who voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016 – would in turn put pressure on the president to end his trade war.
Although farmers have lost billions of dollars in exports, China’s strategy hasn’t created the intended effect, with surveys of farmers continuing to show strong support for the president.
We conducted our own survey of corn and soybean farmers. Published in October, it suggests three reasons farmers support Trump’s trade policies despite the costs.
Easing the pain
Undoubtedly, China’s retaliatory tariffs on almost all U.S. agricultural exports, most notably soybeans, feed grains and pork products, have been painful for farmers.
China bought anywhere from US$20 billion to $26 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products a year from 2012 to 2017. Chinese purchases plunged to $9.2 billion in 2018 and are on a slightly higher pace so far this year. Soybean exports alone fell 75% from 2017 to 2018.
Plunging exports
The total value of U.S. farm exports to China dropped significantly in 2018.
Over 80% of the 693 Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota farmers we surveyed from February through June said trade disruptions had an adverse effect on their net farm income in 2018. Almost a third reported that their income dropped by over 20%.
But the Trump administration’s efforts to ease their pain have paid off. The administration gave soybean, sorghum and other farmers $12 billion in assistance in 2018, which the vast majority of our survey participants found useful. The survey was conducted before an additional $16 billion in payments went to farmers this year, both to offset trade losses as well as the effects of too much rain.
Long-term gains
We also found that farmers largely view the trade disruption as short-term pain for long-term gain.
While only 14% think their farm operations will be better off financially a year from now, more than half said they expected something good to ultimately come out of the trade war. And about 44% said they believe the U.S.
economy will be stronger in three years. China’s 2017 decision to allow imports of U.S. beef and its 2020 national ethanol mandate also give farmers hope for new export opportunities.
In other words, most farmers are prepared to sacrifice income for a while on the belief they’ll make up for it down the road. Since agriculture is a highly cyclical industry, this sanguine view is understandable.
In fact, U.S. agricultural exports to China this year rebounded a bit compared with a year ago, thanks to China’s recent exemptions of tariffs on U.S. soybeans and pork products.
Frustration with China
Finally, we found a growing frustration with China’s erratic buying behavior.
For example, China shut out U.S. beef for 14 years over a mad cow scare in 2003, keeping the ban more than a decade after other countries like Japan and South Korea lifted theirs.
Chinese purchase of products such as distillers grains or corn sometimes just disappear. These may have been offshoots of adjustments China made to its corn support policy, but, from the perspective of U.S. farmers, Chinese demand for certain U.S. agricultural commodities has been annoyingly inconsistent.
Although we didn’t ask survey participants a specific question on this topic, many farmers provided their own unsolicited comments that voiced this frustration.
“The Chinese do not play by the rules,” one Illinois farmer said. “They cancel shipment orders that are not in their favor. They continue to steal our patents. Only President Trump has tried to stop these unfair trade practices.”
Or as a farmer from Minnesota explained: “China imposed the tariffs and refused to buy soybeans in an attempt to hurt our agriculture and get us to turn against a president they do not want. They have been stealing technology and jobs for too long and giving us back inferior goods. Prior to this, they manipulated our markets by buying and then canceling or refusing shipments of grain.”
The possibility of relief
Our survey showed that most farmers recognize that they will continue to be the biggest victims of the U.S.-China trade war and will likely lose markets – some permanently – as China diversifies away from American producers.
As one Illinois farmer who was less supportive of tariffs put it, “we are not the only game in town.” U.S. agricultural exports will face growing competition from Brazil on soybeans and from Europe and Australia on meat.
Yet 56% still said they supported imposing tariffs on Chinese products, while only 30% oppose them.
One reason: China is the biggest buyer of many U.S. agricultural products, such as soybeans, grain sorghum, cotton and cattle hides, which made these products an obvious target for retaliatory tariffs.
The other related reason is more strategic: China hoped inflicting economic costs on U.S. farmers – who voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016 – would in turn put pressure on the president to end his trade war.
Although farmers have lost billions of dollars in exports, China’s strategy hasn’t created the intended effect, with surveys of farmers continuing to show strong support for the president.
We conducted our own survey of corn and soybean farmers. Published in October, it suggests three reasons farmers support Trump’s trade policies despite the costs.
Easing the pain
Undoubtedly, China’s retaliatory tariffs on almost all U.S. agricultural exports, most notably soybeans, feed grains and pork products, have been painful for farmers.
China bought anywhere from US$20 billion to $26 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products a year from 2012 to 2017. Chinese purchases plunged to $9.2 billion in 2018 and are on a slightly higher pace so far this year. Soybean exports alone fell 75% from 2017 to 2018.
Plunging exports
The total value of U.S. farm exports to China dropped significantly in 2018.
Over 80% of the 693 Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota farmers we surveyed from February through June said trade disruptions had an adverse effect on their net farm income in 2018. Almost a third reported that their income dropped by over 20%.
But the Trump administration’s efforts to ease their pain have paid off. The administration gave soybean, sorghum and other farmers $12 billion in assistance in 2018, which the vast majority of our survey participants found useful. The survey was conducted before an additional $16 billion in payments went to farmers this year, both to offset trade losses as well as the effects of too much rain.
Long-term gains
We also found that farmers largely view the trade disruption as short-term pain for long-term gain.
While only 14% think their farm operations will be better off financially a year from now, more than half said they expected something good to ultimately come out of the trade war. And about 44% said they believe the U.S.
economy will be stronger in three years. China’s 2017 decision to allow imports of U.S. beef and its 2020 national ethanol mandate also give farmers hope for new export opportunities.
In other words, most farmers are prepared to sacrifice income for a while on the belief they’ll make up for it down the road. Since agriculture is a highly cyclical industry, this sanguine view is understandable.
In fact, U.S. agricultural exports to China this year rebounded a bit compared with a year ago, thanks to China’s recent exemptions of tariffs on U.S. soybeans and pork products.
Frustration with China
Finally, we found a growing frustration with China’s erratic buying behavior.
For example, China shut out U.S. beef for 14 years over a mad cow scare in 2003, keeping the ban more than a decade after other countries like Japan and South Korea lifted theirs.
Chinese purchase of products such as distillers grains or corn sometimes just disappear. These may have been offshoots of adjustments China made to its corn support policy, but, from the perspective of U.S. farmers, Chinese demand for certain U.S. agricultural commodities has been annoyingly inconsistent.
Although we didn’t ask survey participants a specific question on this topic, many farmers provided their own unsolicited comments that voiced this frustration.
“The Chinese do not play by the rules,” one Illinois farmer said. “They cancel shipment orders that are not in their favor. They continue to steal our patents. Only President Trump has tried to stop these unfair trade practices.”
Or as a farmer from Minnesota explained: “China imposed the tariffs and refused to buy soybeans in an attempt to hurt our agriculture and get us to turn against a president they do not want. They have been stealing technology and jobs for too long and giving us back inferior goods. Prior to this, they manipulated our markets by buying and then canceling or refusing shipments of grain.”
The possibility of relief
Our survey showed that most farmers recognize that they will continue to be the biggest victims of the U.S.-China trade war and will likely lose markets – some permanently – as China diversifies away from American producers.
As one Illinois farmer who was less supportive of tariffs put it, “we are not the only game in town.” U.S. agricultural exports will face growing competition from Brazil on soybeans and from Europe and Australia on meat.
Yet 56% still said they supported imposing tariffs on Chinese products, while only 30% oppose them.
Historian explains what binds Trump’s extremely rich and desperately poor supporters together
November 3, 2019
By Common Dreams- Commentary - raw story
Like many who lean left, even many to the right of center, I find Donald Trump’s contempt for law, disrespect for people, derision of opponents, disdain for facts and truth, erratic and self-serving behavior, and violation of democratic principles of government, frightening. I worry about the future of the nation if he is reelected, and if climate change is as disruptive as predicted, of the world. I fully expect that if Trump loses a close race in 2020 he will declare the election “fake news” and refuse to recognize the result. I have no confidence that Republicans in the legislative and judicial branches would stand up for the Constitution and throw the bastard out.
Joseph Biden describes Trump as an aberration and believes he can work with responsible Republicans. Even Biden’s more progressive opponents in the Democratic Party Presidential nomination race, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, were proud to tout their Republican friends during the televised October debate. I doubt very much we will see an across-the-aisle Kumbaya moment. Donald Trump captured a Republican Party that has been moving in his autocratic and win-at-any-cost direction since the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
What I struggle with understanding is how Trump, who is so self-evidently incompetent, morally repulsive, and biased in favor of the rich, holds onto his support among the white working-class and religious voters who attend his rallies and cheer hysterically for their hero. Sometimes pro-rich Republican Party elected officials and the wealthy and corporate interests they represent do mildly challenge Trump’s erratic foreign, domestic, and economic policies, but they always seem to swallow good sense, self-interest, and personal pride, to stay in the Trump fold. Understanding Trump’s hold on his supporters is key to building a coalition and a platform that can defeat Trump and retake American government and society.
It is not sufficient to dismiss Trump’s working-class legions as racist misanthropes or crackpots, although I believe many are, or wealthy Trumpers as just out to pad their pockets at everyone else’s expense. I think what unifies such a strange coalition is the appeal of the slogans “Make America Great Again” and “America First.”
The Trump voter is a football fan rooting for the home team. “American First” is about winning the game at any cost, whatever the consequences, even if it means spying on the other team’s practices, deflating the footballs, or undermining the game. After all, what’s the big deal and everybody cheats. The goal is to win, not to kiss your sister.
What binds Trump’s extremely rich and economically struggling supporters together are their cynical beliefs about the motives of others. They think everyone else is out to steal what is rightfully theirs, whether it is great wealth or a small house with a lousy job, and that “liberals” have an unrealistic view of human nature, which permits them to welcome refugees and undocumented immigrants and to help Blacks and the undeserving who only want to grab away what they have. Get advantage for yourself; protect what you have; use the government to promote your personal business interest. That is the way the game is played. Meanwhile, rightwing religious leaders can ignore everything immoral that Trump does because, after all, we are all sinners and God works in strange ways.
A successful Democratic candidate in 2020 will have to challenge the perception that they are loony liberal eggheads without a sense of reality and with contempt for ordinary people, the reincarnation of Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hilary Clinton. Detailed position papers and pledges to share a beer at the local watering hole are not going to cut it.
The candidate will have to be sharp about class divisions and be nasty.
Who believes the rich are ever going to protect the rights of everyone else when the economy tanks and they want bailouts?
Will employers keep contributing to private health insurance plans when costs rise or corporate profits decline, or will they just lay workers off and hire someone else at a lower rate without benefits?
What happens to sons and daughters when every nation declares their own interests come first, global alliances and international agreements breakdown, and there are wars to protect and defend the rich who are always exempt because of bone spurs?
Whether humans create climate change or nature does, what happens when your basement floods, the roof blows away, and the mortgage still has to be paid?
Which side are you on, with the bull-shitters, or with the white, black, brown and yellow, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and atheist working stiffs and families around the world who are in a position similar to you as rightwing repressive governments stay in power by keeping them divided?
Which side are you on?
Joseph Biden describes Trump as an aberration and believes he can work with responsible Republicans. Even Biden’s more progressive opponents in the Democratic Party Presidential nomination race, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, were proud to tout their Republican friends during the televised October debate. I doubt very much we will see an across-the-aisle Kumbaya moment. Donald Trump captured a Republican Party that has been moving in his autocratic and win-at-any-cost direction since the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
What I struggle with understanding is how Trump, who is so self-evidently incompetent, morally repulsive, and biased in favor of the rich, holds onto his support among the white working-class and religious voters who attend his rallies and cheer hysterically for their hero. Sometimes pro-rich Republican Party elected officials and the wealthy and corporate interests they represent do mildly challenge Trump’s erratic foreign, domestic, and economic policies, but they always seem to swallow good sense, self-interest, and personal pride, to stay in the Trump fold. Understanding Trump’s hold on his supporters is key to building a coalition and a platform that can defeat Trump and retake American government and society.
It is not sufficient to dismiss Trump’s working-class legions as racist misanthropes or crackpots, although I believe many are, or wealthy Trumpers as just out to pad their pockets at everyone else’s expense. I think what unifies such a strange coalition is the appeal of the slogans “Make America Great Again” and “America First.”
The Trump voter is a football fan rooting for the home team. “American First” is about winning the game at any cost, whatever the consequences, even if it means spying on the other team’s practices, deflating the footballs, or undermining the game. After all, what’s the big deal and everybody cheats. The goal is to win, not to kiss your sister.
What binds Trump’s extremely rich and economically struggling supporters together are their cynical beliefs about the motives of others. They think everyone else is out to steal what is rightfully theirs, whether it is great wealth or a small house with a lousy job, and that “liberals” have an unrealistic view of human nature, which permits them to welcome refugees and undocumented immigrants and to help Blacks and the undeserving who only want to grab away what they have. Get advantage for yourself; protect what you have; use the government to promote your personal business interest. That is the way the game is played. Meanwhile, rightwing religious leaders can ignore everything immoral that Trump does because, after all, we are all sinners and God works in strange ways.
A successful Democratic candidate in 2020 will have to challenge the perception that they are loony liberal eggheads without a sense of reality and with contempt for ordinary people, the reincarnation of Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hilary Clinton. Detailed position papers and pledges to share a beer at the local watering hole are not going to cut it.
The candidate will have to be sharp about class divisions and be nasty.
Who believes the rich are ever going to protect the rights of everyone else when the economy tanks and they want bailouts?
Will employers keep contributing to private health insurance plans when costs rise or corporate profits decline, or will they just lay workers off and hire someone else at a lower rate without benefits?
What happens to sons and daughters when every nation declares their own interests come first, global alliances and international agreements breakdown, and there are wars to protect and defend the rich who are always exempt because of bone spurs?
Whether humans create climate change or nature does, what happens when your basement floods, the roof blows away, and the mortgage still has to be paid?
Which side are you on, with the bull-shitters, or with the white, black, brown and yellow, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and atheist working stiffs and families around the world who are in a position similar to you as rightwing repressive governments stay in power by keeping them divided?
Which side are you on?
Behar exposes "sad truth" about some Trump voters: "They don’t want health care if
you get it also"
A Florida man told the NY Times he'd rather do without health care than pay for someone he didn't think deserved it
TRAVIS GETTYS - salon
OCTOBER 21, 2019 5:18PM (UTC)
Joy Behar nailed the “sad truth” about spiteful supporters of President Donald Trump.
“The View” co-host pointed to a New York Times column written by University of Florida professor Darlena Cunha, who spoke with some of her neighbors about their support for the scandal-plagued Republican president.
One man who struck up a conversation with the writer apologized right away for his poor dental health, which he couldn’t afford to improve, but said he’d rather do without health care than pay for someone he didn’t think deserved it.
“I’d rather take care of my own self with tape than be stuck in a system where I pay for everyone else,” the man told Cunha.
Behar was flabbergasted by the man’s attitude, but said his view was sadly common among Trump supporters.
“You should really read this,” Behar said, “because a lot of them need dental work and they need medical care, but they will vote for Trump.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin asked why they would vote for a president who wants to undo the Affordable Care Act.
“They don’t want the medical care if you get it also,” Behar said. “They don’t want their teeth fixed if you get your teeth fixed also.”
“So they cut their nose to spite their face,” Hostin said.
“Exactly, and those are the people voting for Trump,” Behar agreed. “Until those people realize their teeth are going to fall out of their heads whether they like it or not, Trump is still in charge. That’s the sad truth.”
“The View” co-host pointed to a New York Times column written by University of Florida professor Darlena Cunha, who spoke with some of her neighbors about their support for the scandal-plagued Republican president.
One man who struck up a conversation with the writer apologized right away for his poor dental health, which he couldn’t afford to improve, but said he’d rather do without health care than pay for someone he didn’t think deserved it.
“I’d rather take care of my own self with tape than be stuck in a system where I pay for everyone else,” the man told Cunha.
Behar was flabbergasted by the man’s attitude, but said his view was sadly common among Trump supporters.
“You should really read this,” Behar said, “because a lot of them need dental work and they need medical care, but they will vote for Trump.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin asked why they would vote for a president who wants to undo the Affordable Care Act.
“They don’t want the medical care if you get it also,” Behar said. “They don’t want their teeth fixed if you get your teeth fixed also.”
“So they cut their nose to spite their face,” Hostin said.
“Exactly, and those are the people voting for Trump,” Behar agreed. “Until those people realize their teeth are going to fall out of their heads whether they like it or not, Trump is still in charge. That’s the sad truth.”
suckers explained!!!
The faith of the Fox Nation: belief in opinions trumps hope in news
A new PRRI survey shows just how much sway Fox News holds over Republicans who watch as their primary news source
MELANIE MCFARLAND - salon
OCTOBER 22, 2019 12:55AM (UTC)
A longtime sticking point among Fox News employees is their insistent differentiation between its news division, where employees practice actual journalism, and its opinion division, where employees practice actual nativism, spew misinformation, and have been actively campaigning for Donald Trump’s re-election since 2016. Inside the organization, they claim to believe that the news side is separate from the opinion side, and insist that the audience can tell the difference.
News anchor Shepard Smith once characterized comparing the two as “apples and teaspoons.”
“Everybody’s got a job to do,” Smith told the Huffington Post. Sean Hannity, he went on to explain, “is trying to get conservatives elected. And he wants you to listen to him and believe what he believes. And I’m disseminating facts.”
Of course, he said this in 2016. A little over a week ago, Smith walked away from Fox at the end of his Friday, Oct. 11 broadcast, signing off with a declaration of, “Even in our currently polarized nation, it’s my hope that the facts will win the day. That the truth will always matter. That journalism and journalists will thrive.”
Say what you will about Smith, or the fact that the surfeit of positive coverage he’s received since his departure conveniently downplays the fact that he spent 23 years with an organization that steadily ramping up its divisive rhetoric and peddling dangerous lies to benefit the bottom line. The man is not in the practice of making haphazard statements.
This specifically refers to his usage of “hope” in that statement, not “I have faith” or “I believe.” Hope is a beautiful word, but it’s also named for the tiny, squeaky little thing at the bottom of Pandora’s box — you know, the weakling that could only emerge after all the demons had escaped, and could not have done so without a helping hand.
Belief and faith are far more powerful because they require no proof or data to legitimize them. Fox News runs on the two concepts, which is why its hardcore audience isn’t referred to as “viewers” but Fox Fans that come together as the Fox Nation.
And it is that faith that is holding sway over a significant chunk of the electorate, as the Public Religion Research Institute validates in the findings of its study, released on Monday.
Conclusions published in “Fractured Nation: Widening Partisan Polarization and Key Issues in 2020 Presidential Elections” are drawn from a survey of more than 2,000 Americans and include a number of insights about the politically driven rancor tearing our country apart. But a few key findings specifically call out the influence of Fox News.
For example, the study indicates that 55 percent of Republicans who view Fox as their primary news source say there is nothing Trump could do to lose their approval. Only 29 percent of Republicans who don’t view Fox as their primary news source feel this way.
Those same Republicans oppose Trump being impeached and removed from office to the tune of 98 percent. The study goes further, asking questions beyond the scope of Trump and the 2020 election. For example, Fox Fan Republicans feel that society punishes men simply for being men (68 percent) and has become “too feminine” (73 percent). In the Fox Nation, white people face discrimination at the same rates as black people (77 percent) and immigrants are invading the United States (78 percent), and therefore they favor more restrictive immigration policies (96 percent).
That last part bears mentioning since, as you might recall, around this time a year ago Smith gained praise and generated headlines during the height of the Fox News-enabled frenzy over the migrant caravan for going against the loud messaging from Fox News’ prime time panic block, driven by Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, and Hannity.
“The migrants, according to FOX News reporting, are more than two months away if any of them actually come,” Smith said. “But tomorrow is one week before the midterm election, which is what all of this is about. There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you. There is nothing at all to worry about.”[...]
News anchor Shepard Smith once characterized comparing the two as “apples and teaspoons.”
“Everybody’s got a job to do,” Smith told the Huffington Post. Sean Hannity, he went on to explain, “is trying to get conservatives elected. And he wants you to listen to him and believe what he believes. And I’m disseminating facts.”
Of course, he said this in 2016. A little over a week ago, Smith walked away from Fox at the end of his Friday, Oct. 11 broadcast, signing off with a declaration of, “Even in our currently polarized nation, it’s my hope that the facts will win the day. That the truth will always matter. That journalism and journalists will thrive.”
Say what you will about Smith, or the fact that the surfeit of positive coverage he’s received since his departure conveniently downplays the fact that he spent 23 years with an organization that steadily ramping up its divisive rhetoric and peddling dangerous lies to benefit the bottom line. The man is not in the practice of making haphazard statements.
This specifically refers to his usage of “hope” in that statement, not “I have faith” or “I believe.” Hope is a beautiful word, but it’s also named for the tiny, squeaky little thing at the bottom of Pandora’s box — you know, the weakling that could only emerge after all the demons had escaped, and could not have done so without a helping hand.
Belief and faith are far more powerful because they require no proof or data to legitimize them. Fox News runs on the two concepts, which is why its hardcore audience isn’t referred to as “viewers” but Fox Fans that come together as the Fox Nation.
And it is that faith that is holding sway over a significant chunk of the electorate, as the Public Religion Research Institute validates in the findings of its study, released on Monday.
Conclusions published in “Fractured Nation: Widening Partisan Polarization and Key Issues in 2020 Presidential Elections” are drawn from a survey of more than 2,000 Americans and include a number of insights about the politically driven rancor tearing our country apart. But a few key findings specifically call out the influence of Fox News.
For example, the study indicates that 55 percent of Republicans who view Fox as their primary news source say there is nothing Trump could do to lose their approval. Only 29 percent of Republicans who don’t view Fox as their primary news source feel this way.
Those same Republicans oppose Trump being impeached and removed from office to the tune of 98 percent. The study goes further, asking questions beyond the scope of Trump and the 2020 election. For example, Fox Fan Republicans feel that society punishes men simply for being men (68 percent) and has become “too feminine” (73 percent). In the Fox Nation, white people face discrimination at the same rates as black people (77 percent) and immigrants are invading the United States (78 percent), and therefore they favor more restrictive immigration policies (96 percent).
That last part bears mentioning since, as you might recall, around this time a year ago Smith gained praise and generated headlines during the height of the Fox News-enabled frenzy over the migrant caravan for going against the loud messaging from Fox News’ prime time panic block, driven by Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, and Hannity.
“The migrants, according to FOX News reporting, are more than two months away if any of them actually come,” Smith said. “But tomorrow is one week before the midterm election, which is what all of this is about. There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you. There is nothing at all to worry about.”[...]
Trump supporters cry bitter tears after bus company they never bothered paying leaves them stranded
October 18, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
Hundreds of Trump supporters this week were left stranded by bus company U.S. Coachways after the organizers for a “March for Trump” rally in Washington D.C. failed to pay them.
The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports that the Trump supporters had expected U.S. Coachways to pick them up and bring them to D.C. where they were set to rally against House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. After the buses never showed up, however, Trump supporters claimed that the bus company was part of a “deep state” conspiracy aimed at silencing their voices.
In reality, U.S. Coachways’ chief marketing officer Joseph Heap tells Sommer, the company withheld the buses because multiple credit card payments made by Trump rally organizers were declined.
“We want to get people down there,” he said. “But unfortunately, payment is required.”
This did not stop Trump supporters from claiming that the company was part of a sinister plot to silence them, however.
“We are incredibly disappointed at US Coachways, their actions prevented hundreds of Americans from exercising their first amendment rights and to have their voices heard,” Women for America First, the organized behind the anti-impeachment rally, said in a statement.
Sommer reports that some Trump supporters took to social media to accuse U.S. Coachways of being part of a diabolical plot to overthrow in American government.
“Guess what, you lefty, soy-drinking latte pieces of sh*t: You’re not taking this country,” said one Trump supporter in a YouTube video posted this week. “It ain’t going to happen.”
The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports that the Trump supporters had expected U.S. Coachways to pick them up and bring them to D.C. where they were set to rally against House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. After the buses never showed up, however, Trump supporters claimed that the bus company was part of a “deep state” conspiracy aimed at silencing their voices.
In reality, U.S. Coachways’ chief marketing officer Joseph Heap tells Sommer, the company withheld the buses because multiple credit card payments made by Trump rally organizers were declined.
“We want to get people down there,” he said. “But unfortunately, payment is required.”
This did not stop Trump supporters from claiming that the company was part of a sinister plot to silence them, however.
“We are incredibly disappointed at US Coachways, their actions prevented hundreds of Americans from exercising their first amendment rights and to have their voices heard,” Women for America First, the organized behind the anti-impeachment rally, said in a statement.
Sommer reports that some Trump supporters took to social media to accuse U.S. Coachways of being part of a diabolical plot to overthrow in American government.
“Guess what, you lefty, soy-drinking latte pieces of sh*t: You’re not taking this country,” said one Trump supporter in a YouTube video posted this week. “It ain’t going to happen.”
Minnesota Man With Trump Bumper Sticker Waved Gun at Driver With Warren Bumper Sticker: Police
Pilar Melendez - Reporter - daily beast cheat sheet
Published 10.08.19 11:40AM ET
A Minnesota Trump supporter was arrested for waving his gun at another driver who had a bumper sticker showing her support for presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), police said Tuesday. Joseph Schumacher, 27, is facing felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor firearm charges after allegedly pulling up next to a woman on Monday and yelling at her for her bumper sticker, the Moorhead Police Department said. After Schumacher told the woman, who has not been identified, that he disliked her car decal, he allegedly pointed to his own Trump bumper sticker and talked about his political views. Before driving past the woman’s car, he held up and waved a handgun at her, police said.
Authorities found the 27-year-old inside a nearby business shortly after the incident—and recovered a loaded handgun from his car’s center console. Schumacher was booked into Clay County jail and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Authorities found the 27-year-old inside a nearby business shortly after the incident—and recovered a loaded handgun from his car’s center console. Schumacher was booked into Clay County jail and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Michigan Republicans thank ‘Uncle Ted’ Nugent for testifying after he says their state ‘doesn’t qualify as America’
September 17, 2019
By David Edwards - raw story
Republican lawmakers in Michigan invited conservative rocker Ted Nugent to testify even though he has said the state “doesn’t qualify as America.”
In testimony on the Michigan state House floor on Tuesday, Nugent spoke in support of a bill that would reverse a ban on deer and elk baiting. The ban was put in place in 2018 due to suspicions that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was being spread through piles of bait.
For his part, Nugent argued that the ban was ineffective because deer are “swapping spit.”
“If they think they can stop deer from swapping spit, they’re idiots,” Nugent testified, according to The Detroit News.
At the conclusion of his testimony, Republican state Rep. Jason Sheppard reportedly thanked “Uncle Ted” for appearing.
In July, Nugent told conservative host Laura Ingraham that Michigan “don’t even qualify as America anymore.”
“I was born in Detroit. You know Laura, Michigan was the arsenal of democracy,” Nugent opined. “But unfortunately it’s turned into a suburb of San Francisco now politically and it just breaks my heart.”
“California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts — politically, those states don’t even qualify as America anymore. It’s just heartbreaking.”
In testimony on the Michigan state House floor on Tuesday, Nugent spoke in support of a bill that would reverse a ban on deer and elk baiting. The ban was put in place in 2018 due to suspicions that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was being spread through piles of bait.
For his part, Nugent argued that the ban was ineffective because deer are “swapping spit.”
“If they think they can stop deer from swapping spit, they’re idiots,” Nugent testified, according to The Detroit News.
At the conclusion of his testimony, Republican state Rep. Jason Sheppard reportedly thanked “Uncle Ted” for appearing.
In July, Nugent told conservative host Laura Ingraham that Michigan “don’t even qualify as America anymore.”
“I was born in Detroit. You know Laura, Michigan was the arsenal of democracy,” Nugent opined. “But unfortunately it’s turned into a suburb of San Francisco now politically and it just breaks my heart.”
“California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts — politically, those states don’t even qualify as America anymore. It’s just heartbreaking.”
Pennsylvania Trump voter shreds president for breaking promises to Rust Belt: ‘He pulled a Houdini on us’
September 13, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
A Pennsylvania man who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 told CNN on Friday that he’s bitterly disappointed in how he’s seen no progress in manufacturing jobs returning to his community.
John Golomb, a retired steel worker who backed the president in 2016 because of his promises to bring back good paying jobs to the Rust Belt, explained to CNN that Trump gave his community false hope about an economic revival during his first presidential campaign.
“We had Donald Trump come here and profess about reviving American steel,” he said. “That’s just what all of us steelworkers wanted to hear!”
In the nearly three years since the election, however, Golomb said he’s still waiting for Trump to fulfill his promises.
“When he was elected, he pulled a Houdini on us,” he said. “He disappeared.”
The retired steelworker was then asked what he would tell the president if he ever came back to campaign in his community.
“He wouldn’t speak to me because I would have to tell him truth,” Golomb said. “Where are your promises?”
John Golomb, a retired steel worker who backed the president in 2016 because of his promises to bring back good paying jobs to the Rust Belt, explained to CNN that Trump gave his community false hope about an economic revival during his first presidential campaign.
“We had Donald Trump come here and profess about reviving American steel,” he said. “That’s just what all of us steelworkers wanted to hear!”
In the nearly three years since the election, however, Golomb said he’s still waiting for Trump to fulfill his promises.
“When he was elected, he pulled a Houdini on us,” he said. “He disappeared.”
The retired steelworker was then asked what he would tell the president if he ever came back to campaign in his community.
“He wouldn’t speak to me because I would have to tell him truth,” Golomb said. “Where are your promises?”
if you are stupid enough to believe trump, then you will BELIEVE anything!!!
Pro-Trump parents are falling for a hoax that claims Antifa will report them to Child Protective Services
Alex Henderson - alternet
September 12, 2019
Hoaxes and bizarre conspiracy theories are common on the far right, and one of the recent ones involves Antifa: a fake Twitter account, @JoinAntifa, claims that Antifa is reporting conservative parents to Child Protective Services for supporting President Donald Trump. And even though it is total nonsense, that hasn’t stopped right-wing activists like Patrick Howley from promoting it — or pro-Trump parents from believing it.
On Twitter, @JoinAntifa is a troll account: it isn’t really operated by anyone from Antifa. And a recent post said, “I just called the police on my neighbor. He has a Trump sign on his front lawn. I told the police that I think he is abusing his daughter.”
Howley, founder of Big League Politics, saw the tweet and forwarded it, asserting, “BREAKING: Self-identified ANTIFA operatives are filing false reports on Trump-supporting parents to Child Protective Services, and encouraging others to do the same, knowing CPS is liberal. Lots of sources say this is happening — don’t let them say this was a joke.”
The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports that even though the @JoinAntifa tweet was bogus, right-wing blogs have been claiming that it is authentic.
“Despite its popularity on the right, this idea is totally fake,” Sommer reported on September 12. “The entire claim is based on the single @JoinAntifa tweet. @JoinAntifa has just 36 followers, and is obviously set up to either troll Trump supporters or help create damaging fake news stories about Antifa.”
As of Wednesday, September 11, Sommer reported, Twitter “had limited the account’s visibility on the site, apparently to stop it from spreading disinformation.”
@JoinAntifa has a page with some goofy, over-the-top graphics, one of which depicts five well-armed members of the “Antifa Poll Protection Force” and declares that they are “legally armed and protecting poll integrity in red districts” and will be “coming November 2020.”
Of course, there is no such thing as the “Antifa Poll Protection Force.” And while Antifa is controversial — even on the left — their members aren’t known for promoting the use of firearms.
On Twitter, @JoinAntifa is a troll account: it isn’t really operated by anyone from Antifa. And a recent post said, “I just called the police on my neighbor. He has a Trump sign on his front lawn. I told the police that I think he is abusing his daughter.”
Howley, founder of Big League Politics, saw the tweet and forwarded it, asserting, “BREAKING: Self-identified ANTIFA operatives are filing false reports on Trump-supporting parents to Child Protective Services, and encouraging others to do the same, knowing CPS is liberal. Lots of sources say this is happening — don’t let them say this was a joke.”
The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports that even though the @JoinAntifa tweet was bogus, right-wing blogs have been claiming that it is authentic.
“Despite its popularity on the right, this idea is totally fake,” Sommer reported on September 12. “The entire claim is based on the single @JoinAntifa tweet. @JoinAntifa has just 36 followers, and is obviously set up to either troll Trump supporters or help create damaging fake news stories about Antifa.”
As of Wednesday, September 11, Sommer reported, Twitter “had limited the account’s visibility on the site, apparently to stop it from spreading disinformation.”
@JoinAntifa has a page with some goofy, over-the-top graphics, one of which depicts five well-armed members of the “Antifa Poll Protection Force” and declares that they are “legally armed and protecting poll integrity in red districts” and will be “coming November 2020.”
Of course, there is no such thing as the “Antifa Poll Protection Force.” And while Antifa is controversial — even on the left — their members aren’t known for promoting the use of firearms.
Texas Trump voters horrified to discover they’re about to be on the wrong side of his campaign promise
September 5, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
Texas resident Shirley Menard says she “reluctantly” backed President Donald Trump in the 2016 election — and now she could turn out to be a big loser thanks to the president’s top campaign promise.
As the New York Times reports, Menard learned this past June that the federal government plans to build a 30-foot-tall barrier right in her backyard within the next year to fulfill Trump’s pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I never thought they’d go through a subdivision,” Menard tells the paper. “My blood pressure has not been normal since I got that letter.”
What’s more, residents in the border town of Brownsville, Texas have been surprised to learn that Trump’s wall will divide the local River Bend Resort and Golf Club, which is a living community for older adults, in half.
“About 70 percent of the community — some 200 properties — would be stranded south of the barricade but north of the river,” the Times reports.
River Bend resident Jerry Olsen, meanwhile, tells the Times that the plans for a wall are “throwing an upheaval onto us,” while adding that “none of us at our age need the additional stress.” Despite all this, however, Olsen tells the Times that he may vote for Trump again in 2020.
River Bend resident and 2016 Trump vote Avie Greenslit, meanwhile, tells the Times that she has learned her lesson and would not back the president again next year.
“He’s not going to get my vote in 2020,” she says.
As the New York Times reports, Menard learned this past June that the federal government plans to build a 30-foot-tall barrier right in her backyard within the next year to fulfill Trump’s pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I never thought they’d go through a subdivision,” Menard tells the paper. “My blood pressure has not been normal since I got that letter.”
What’s more, residents in the border town of Brownsville, Texas have been surprised to learn that Trump’s wall will divide the local River Bend Resort and Golf Club, which is a living community for older adults, in half.
“About 70 percent of the community — some 200 properties — would be stranded south of the barricade but north of the river,” the Times reports.
River Bend resident Jerry Olsen, meanwhile, tells the Times that the plans for a wall are “throwing an upheaval onto us,” while adding that “none of us at our age need the additional stress.” Despite all this, however, Olsen tells the Times that he may vote for Trump again in 2020.
River Bend resident and 2016 Trump vote Avie Greenslit, meanwhile, tells the Times that she has learned her lesson and would not back the president again next year.
“He’s not going to get my vote in 2020,” she says.
analyzing the stupids!!!
Trump’s hardcore fans crave ‘chaos’ and think ‘society should be burned to the ground’: political scientists
September 4, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
A widely lauded new study from three political scientists has found that the people who are most strongly attracted to President Donald Trump are fueled by “chaos” and tend to believe that “society should be burned to the ground.”
The study, which was cited in the latest column from the New York Times’ Thomas Edsall, found that social media websites have allowed angry conspiracy theorists to gain mass audiences, whereas in the past they have been relegated to the fringes of political discourse.
These formerly fringe actors are driven by the need to create chaos, Edsall writes, and that’s why they are drawn so strongly to Trump’s presidency.
The study’s authors — political scientists Michael Bang Petersen and Mathias Osmundsen of Aarhus University in Denmark, and Kevin Arceneaux of Temple University — found that Trump supporters were far more likely than other voters to be sympathetic toward statements such as “I fantasize about a natural disaster wiping out most of humanity such that a small group of people can start all over” and “I think society should be burned to the ground.”
These views are a minority among voters, the authors claim, but they nonetheless have “incredible amounts of support” among the general population. In fact, the study found that 24 percent of all 6,000-plus people surveyed said they believed society “should be burned to the ground.”
Edsall concludes by worrying about the very dangerous reaction that could occur from the president’s supporters if he goes down in defeat in 2020.
“A political leader who thrives on chaos, relishes disorder and governs on the principle of narcissistic self-interest is virtually certain to find defeat intolerable,” he warns. “If voters deny Trump a second term, how many of his most ardent supporters, especially those with a ‘need for chaos,’ will find defeat unbearable?”
Read the whole column here.
The study, which was cited in the latest column from the New York Times’ Thomas Edsall, found that social media websites have allowed angry conspiracy theorists to gain mass audiences, whereas in the past they have been relegated to the fringes of political discourse.
These formerly fringe actors are driven by the need to create chaos, Edsall writes, and that’s why they are drawn so strongly to Trump’s presidency.
The study’s authors — political scientists Michael Bang Petersen and Mathias Osmundsen of Aarhus University in Denmark, and Kevin Arceneaux of Temple University — found that Trump supporters were far more likely than other voters to be sympathetic toward statements such as “I fantasize about a natural disaster wiping out most of humanity such that a small group of people can start all over” and “I think society should be burned to the ground.”
These views are a minority among voters, the authors claim, but they nonetheless have “incredible amounts of support” among the general population. In fact, the study found that 24 percent of all 6,000-plus people surveyed said they believed society “should be burned to the ground.”
Edsall concludes by worrying about the very dangerous reaction that could occur from the president’s supporters if he goes down in defeat in 2020.
“A political leader who thrives on chaos, relishes disorder and governs on the principle of narcissistic self-interest is virtually certain to find defeat intolerable,” he warns. “If voters deny Trump a second term, how many of his most ardent supporters, especially those with a ‘need for chaos,’ will find defeat unbearable?”
Read the whole column here.
In Case You've Ever Wondered ...
NanceGreggs - Demo Underground
It’s not that being a Republican turns you into someone who is easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and – for lack of a better term – downright stupid.
It’s that the Republican party has courted people like that for decades precisely because they’re easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and/or downright stupid.
The reason for enticing such voters is obvious. If you want supporters who don’t pay attention to the news, can be convinced to vote against their own best interests, and will literally believe anything you tell them, you don’t waste your time trying to find recruits among the intelligent, well-informed thinking class.
The gullible, the easily-led, those who refuse to acknowledge facts – they didn’t just wander into the Republican party. They were specifically targeted as likely marks – people who don’t have the common sense to recognize that they’ve been fucked over, time and again, by the very party they have been convinced is championing their cause.
The GOP realized long ago that the most easily manipulated people in the country are Evangelicals – and their efforts to lure these people into being their voting ‘base’ has paid off handsomely. All it took was a bunch of snappy slogans about being the party of ‘Christian values’, and throwing the occasional abortion is murder bone out there to be gnawed on by the alleged faithful.
As if any further proof of the success of this strategy was needed, the GOP sold Trump – a liar, an adulterer, a corrupt, foul-mouthed failure known for bilking people out of their money – as a man chosen by God to lead a nation. And their Christian base bought it without question or hesitation.
Luring the racists and bigots was as simple as stoking their fear of losing what they believe to be their rightful place at the top of the food chain by virtue of their whiteness. All it takes to entice a bigot is to rail against the blacks, the browns, the Muslims – the ‘others’ who, despite their obvious inferiority, are taking all the best-paying jobs away from the more deserving white folk. Even jobless whites on social assistance are convinced they’d get bigger welfare cheques and food stamp allotments, if not for all those ‘others’ getting a piece of what should be exclusively their pie.
Again, the GOP have played this card masterfully, casting ‘others’ as disease-carrying drug dealers and rapists, genetically predisposed to violence and crime. When Republicans talk about the ‘need for immigration reform’, what the bigots hear is ”we hate the same people you hate – so vote for us.” And they do.
So if you’ve ever wondered at the fact that the Republican’s “base” consists of the ill-informed, the easily manipulated, and the dumbest people on the planet, remember that’s not a coincidence – it is by design. These people were specifically invited by the GOP powers-that-be, because they are just too stupid to figure out – even after all these years of being shafted – that their only purpose is to be led by the nose to vote for politicians who couldn’t care less about them between one election and the next.
The nomination of Trump was the culmination of decades of manipulating the incurably stupid into electing a man they could recognize as being “one of them” – an illiterate bully who dismisses facts as fake news, history as meaningless trivia, and science as mumbo-jumbo sorcery.
Even Trump’s persecution complex plays well among those who believe themselves to be looked down upon by Democrats, “elitists” who believe that education, scientific study, and literacy are endeavours relevant in the real world. It is a bill of goods that has been sold to the dumb-and-dumber among us, a clarion call to those who believe that book learnin’ is the work of the devil, and the only purpose of edumacation is a means by which to belittle those who take pride in their own lack thereof.
Most importantly, Trump’s disastrous “pResidency” created the perfect distraction, giving higher-ups in the GOP the cover necessary to craft legislation that surpresses the rights of the citizenry – the right to vote, the right to affordable healthcare, the right of women to choose – while lining their own pockets via tax-cuts for the wealthy, and personally enriching themselves while their unwitting ‘base’ is busy railing against those who would take down their hero.
Every scandal, every lie told, every dismissal of fact, every insult leveled at our allies is just another distraction to keep the great unwashed from focusing on what really matters – i.e. the upholding of the Constitution, adherence to the rule of law, and the protection of democracy itself.
While Trump-humpers busy themselves defending Ivanka’s cluelessness, Jared’s ineptitude, and the appointments of inexperienced yes-men to positions of power, Republican lawmakers busy themselves with diminishing the rights of the populace – a perfect storm of empowering themselves while their unwitting enablers cheer their efforts to do so.
So in case you’ve ever wondered why the Republican ‘base’ is comprised of ill-informed idiots who have been led to undermine their own interests, be assured that that base was carefully cultivated to do exactly that. They were manipulated into believing the unbelievable and defending the indefensible.
The GOP isn’t interested in the well-informed, the truth-seekers, the fact-checkers. They have recognized how harnessing the power of the abjectly stupid could serve their purpose, and have done an incredible job of doing so.
As we head into the 2020 election, what we as Democrats are up against is not people who see the achievement of common goals accomplished by different means. What we are up against is an army of easily-manipulated voters being led by a party that preys on the incredibly stupid as a means to an end.
In other words, you’re not stupid because you’re a Republican – you’re a Republican because you are stupid.
Your ignorance was duly noted and, as a result, you were earmarked as easy-pickens when the Republicans decided that the easily-led were a reliable source of votes.
The good news is that despite the willingness of ignorant sheep to be led to to the slaughter-house by Republican Judas Goats, there are still the more intelligent among us who are willing to save them from their own ignorance before it's too late.
I believe our willingness to do so is testament to our commitment to the survival of our country and its democracy, despite the ignorant idiots who don't deserve our protection.
It’s that the Republican party has courted people like that for decades precisely because they’re easily manipulated, woefully ill-informed, and/or downright stupid.
The reason for enticing such voters is obvious. If you want supporters who don’t pay attention to the news, can be convinced to vote against their own best interests, and will literally believe anything you tell them, you don’t waste your time trying to find recruits among the intelligent, well-informed thinking class.
The gullible, the easily-led, those who refuse to acknowledge facts – they didn’t just wander into the Republican party. They were specifically targeted as likely marks – people who don’t have the common sense to recognize that they’ve been fucked over, time and again, by the very party they have been convinced is championing their cause.
The GOP realized long ago that the most easily manipulated people in the country are Evangelicals – and their efforts to lure these people into being their voting ‘base’ has paid off handsomely. All it took was a bunch of snappy slogans about being the party of ‘Christian values’, and throwing the occasional abortion is murder bone out there to be gnawed on by the alleged faithful.
As if any further proof of the success of this strategy was needed, the GOP sold Trump – a liar, an adulterer, a corrupt, foul-mouthed failure known for bilking people out of their money – as a man chosen by God to lead a nation. And their Christian base bought it without question or hesitation.
Luring the racists and bigots was as simple as stoking their fear of losing what they believe to be their rightful place at the top of the food chain by virtue of their whiteness. All it takes to entice a bigot is to rail against the blacks, the browns, the Muslims – the ‘others’ who, despite their obvious inferiority, are taking all the best-paying jobs away from the more deserving white folk. Even jobless whites on social assistance are convinced they’d get bigger welfare cheques and food stamp allotments, if not for all those ‘others’ getting a piece of what should be exclusively their pie.
Again, the GOP have played this card masterfully, casting ‘others’ as disease-carrying drug dealers and rapists, genetically predisposed to violence and crime. When Republicans talk about the ‘need for immigration reform’, what the bigots hear is ”we hate the same people you hate – so vote for us.” And they do.
So if you’ve ever wondered at the fact that the Republican’s “base” consists of the ill-informed, the easily manipulated, and the dumbest people on the planet, remember that’s not a coincidence – it is by design. These people were specifically invited by the GOP powers-that-be, because they are just too stupid to figure out – even after all these years of being shafted – that their only purpose is to be led by the nose to vote for politicians who couldn’t care less about them between one election and the next.
The nomination of Trump was the culmination of decades of manipulating the incurably stupid into electing a man they could recognize as being “one of them” – an illiterate bully who dismisses facts as fake news, history as meaningless trivia, and science as mumbo-jumbo sorcery.
Even Trump’s persecution complex plays well among those who believe themselves to be looked down upon by Democrats, “elitists” who believe that education, scientific study, and literacy are endeavours relevant in the real world. It is a bill of goods that has been sold to the dumb-and-dumber among us, a clarion call to those who believe that book learnin’ is the work of the devil, and the only purpose of edumacation is a means by which to belittle those who take pride in their own lack thereof.
Most importantly, Trump’s disastrous “pResidency” created the perfect distraction, giving higher-ups in the GOP the cover necessary to craft legislation that surpresses the rights of the citizenry – the right to vote, the right to affordable healthcare, the right of women to choose – while lining their own pockets via tax-cuts for the wealthy, and personally enriching themselves while their unwitting ‘base’ is busy railing against those who would take down their hero.
Every scandal, every lie told, every dismissal of fact, every insult leveled at our allies is just another distraction to keep the great unwashed from focusing on what really matters – i.e. the upholding of the Constitution, adherence to the rule of law, and the protection of democracy itself.
While Trump-humpers busy themselves defending Ivanka’s cluelessness, Jared’s ineptitude, and the appointments of inexperienced yes-men to positions of power, Republican lawmakers busy themselves with diminishing the rights of the populace – a perfect storm of empowering themselves while their unwitting enablers cheer their efforts to do so.
So in case you’ve ever wondered why the Republican ‘base’ is comprised of ill-informed idiots who have been led to undermine their own interests, be assured that that base was carefully cultivated to do exactly that. They were manipulated into believing the unbelievable and defending the indefensible.
The GOP isn’t interested in the well-informed, the truth-seekers, the fact-checkers. They have recognized how harnessing the power of the abjectly stupid could serve their purpose, and have done an incredible job of doing so.
As we head into the 2020 election, what we as Democrats are up against is not people who see the achievement of common goals accomplished by different means. What we are up against is an army of easily-manipulated voters being led by a party that preys on the incredibly stupid as a means to an end.
In other words, you’re not stupid because you’re a Republican – you’re a Republican because you are stupid.
Your ignorance was duly noted and, as a result, you were earmarked as easy-pickens when the Republicans decided that the easily-led were a reliable source of votes.
The good news is that despite the willingness of ignorant sheep to be led to to the slaughter-house by Republican Judas Goats, there are still the more intelligent among us who are willing to save them from their own ignorance before it's too late.
I believe our willingness to do so is testament to our commitment to the survival of our country and its democracy, despite the ignorant idiots who don't deserve our protection.
Trump’s ‘snow job’ Foxconn deal cost these people their homes — and now they say they were ‘railroaded’
September 3, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
President Donald Trump’s much touted deal with manufacturer Foxconn to bring manufacturing jobs to Wisconsin hasn’t delivered its promised jobs — and now homeowners who have lost their houses thanks to the deal are saying they’ve been misled.
The Racine Journal Times reports that several residents of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin are upset that they were threatened with eminent domain unless they agreed to sell their property to help with the construction of a Foxconn plant that has repeatedly failed to meet expectations for delivering jobs.
As the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year, contractors working for Foxconn have “bulldozed about 75 homes in Mount Pleasant and cleared hundreds of farmland acres” in preparation for the construction of the plant in the town.
Shawn and Sarah Mayer, two residents who lost their house thanks to the Foxconn deal, tell the Journal Times that they were told in 2017 that they would either agree to sell their home or have it seized via eminent domain to make way for the Foxconn plant.
However, after the Mayers sold their home, it was revealed that Foxconn might not even need their land to build a planned road to the facility.
“I’ll always be a little bit bitter, just because we elect the officials that railroaded us on this,” Shawn Mayer tells the Journal Times. “I did my homework when they said Foxconn is coming… Two places they said they were going to build, and they didn’t.”
Industry analyst Alberto Moel tells the Journal Times that this kind of poor planning and failure to meet promises is typical of how Foxconn operates, and he describes Foxconn’s Wisconsin deal as nothing more than a “snow job.”
Read the whole report here.
The Racine Journal Times reports that several residents of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin are upset that they were threatened with eminent domain unless they agreed to sell their property to help with the construction of a Foxconn plant that has repeatedly failed to meet expectations for delivering jobs.
As the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year, contractors working for Foxconn have “bulldozed about 75 homes in Mount Pleasant and cleared hundreds of farmland acres” in preparation for the construction of the plant in the town.
Shawn and Sarah Mayer, two residents who lost their house thanks to the Foxconn deal, tell the Journal Times that they were told in 2017 that they would either agree to sell their home or have it seized via eminent domain to make way for the Foxconn plant.
However, after the Mayers sold their home, it was revealed that Foxconn might not even need their land to build a planned road to the facility.
“I’ll always be a little bit bitter, just because we elect the officials that railroaded us on this,” Shawn Mayer tells the Journal Times. “I did my homework when they said Foxconn is coming… Two places they said they were going to build, and they didn’t.”
Industry analyst Alberto Moel tells the Journal Times that this kind of poor planning and failure to meet promises is typical of how Foxconn operates, and he describes Foxconn’s Wisconsin deal as nothing more than a “snow job.”
Read the whole report here.
It's not just trump supporters who are suckers!!!
Group to tout bleach-based ‘miracle cure’ at upstate New York 'seminar'
Attendants could be given the powerful bleach, just days after FDA put out its strongest warning about the ‘miracle mineral solution’
Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian
Fri 16 Aug 2019 04.00 EDT
Advocates of a “medicine” called MMS will gather in a hotel in upstate New York on Saturday to promote what they claim to be a miracle cure for cancer that is in fact a powerful bleach that can cause serious harm and even death.
The self-proclaimed “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing” – a group that in reality is neither a church nor a medical outfit – plans to lure supporters and unsuspecting individuals to a “seminar” at the Marienthal Country Inn in Eden, New York. It is charging $450 per person, or $800 for a couple, for the privilege of being inculcated over two days into the false promises of its remedy, “miracle mineral solution” or MMS.
A document seen by the Guardian shows that the group intends to provide the industrial-strength bleach to attendants for them to drink. “We just might surprise everyone every so often with a dose of MMS1. Be ready,” its literature states.
Earlier this week it posted on its Facebook page a video of a man firing multiple handgun rounds in a shooting range above the caption “More G2 Church security training”.
The New York meeting comes just five days after the US Food and Drug Administration put out its strongest warning about MMS. It bluntly warned consumers not to buy or drink the product which it called a “dangerous bleach which has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects”.
The acting commissioner of the FDA, Ned Sharpless, said that “miracle mineral solution and similar products are not FDA-approved, and ingesting these products is the same as drinking bleach. Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason.”
The FDA has pledged to track down the peddlers of the bleach and “take appropriate enforcement actions against those who attempt to evade FDA regulations and market unapproved and potentially dangerous products to the American public”. So far though there is no sign of the agency taking action against the Genesis II meeting on Saturday, despite complaints having been made to federal officials by health campaigners.
Dealers in MMS usually sell the product in two parts: sodium chlorite and citric acid. The two liquids are combined to make chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleaching agent used in industrial processes including textile manufacture.
Genesis II sells the liquid online for $20 for a four-ounce bottle. It tries to evade federal regulations by cloaking the product in pseudo-religious language – payments are “donations” and the bottles of bleach are “sacraments”.
The peddlers claim that drinking the bleach can cure any number of serious illnesses, including cancer, HIV/Aids and malaria as well as autism. The FDA however points out that there is no scientific evidence supporting either the safety or effectiveness of the product – on the contrary, when imbibed it can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea and potentially fatal low blood pressure arising from dehydration.
The operation is masterminded by Mark and Jonathan Grenon, who have given themselves the title of “bishops” within the “church”. A video posted by Jonathan Grenon on Facebook last September shows the production of the substance in a shed in Florida that is being used as a makeshift factory.
The Grenons, acting as yet with impunity, have begun touting their dangerous formula globally. Recent “seminars” similar to this weekend’s event in New York state have been held in Chile, Ecuador, South Africa and New Zealand.
Genesis II was cited as an influence behind a massive distribution of the bleach to up to 50,000 poor villagers in Uganda. The network, exposed by the Guardian, was set up by an American pastor with the support of a British man, Sam Little, who has now been charged by Ugandan authorities with carrying out illegal clinical trials involving impure drugs.
Fiona O’Leary, a campaigner against pseudo science whose work helped to get MMS banned in Ireland in 2016, said that the New York seminar posed a threat to vulnerable people. She called on the FDA to shut it down.
“The Grenons plan to dose their ‘students’ with this toxic bleach and will be mixing these dangerous chemicals at this seminar. The FDA know all about the Grenons for many years but have ignored our many complaints to date,” she said.
The Guardian asked Mark Grenon why he was peddling a potentially dangerous chemical to residents of New York state under the pretext that it was a miracle cure. He replied by email that “you and your Guardian newspaper are just puppets of the evil players of this world like the Murdoch/Rothschild families!”
The self-proclaimed “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing” – a group that in reality is neither a church nor a medical outfit – plans to lure supporters and unsuspecting individuals to a “seminar” at the Marienthal Country Inn in Eden, New York. It is charging $450 per person, or $800 for a couple, for the privilege of being inculcated over two days into the false promises of its remedy, “miracle mineral solution” or MMS.
A document seen by the Guardian shows that the group intends to provide the industrial-strength bleach to attendants for them to drink. “We just might surprise everyone every so often with a dose of MMS1. Be ready,” its literature states.
Earlier this week it posted on its Facebook page a video of a man firing multiple handgun rounds in a shooting range above the caption “More G2 Church security training”.
The New York meeting comes just five days after the US Food and Drug Administration put out its strongest warning about MMS. It bluntly warned consumers not to buy or drink the product which it called a “dangerous bleach which has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects”.
The acting commissioner of the FDA, Ned Sharpless, said that “miracle mineral solution and similar products are not FDA-approved, and ingesting these products is the same as drinking bleach. Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason.”
The FDA has pledged to track down the peddlers of the bleach and “take appropriate enforcement actions against those who attempt to evade FDA regulations and market unapproved and potentially dangerous products to the American public”. So far though there is no sign of the agency taking action against the Genesis II meeting on Saturday, despite complaints having been made to federal officials by health campaigners.
Dealers in MMS usually sell the product in two parts: sodium chlorite and citric acid. The two liquids are combined to make chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleaching agent used in industrial processes including textile manufacture.
Genesis II sells the liquid online for $20 for a four-ounce bottle. It tries to evade federal regulations by cloaking the product in pseudo-religious language – payments are “donations” and the bottles of bleach are “sacraments”.
The peddlers claim that drinking the bleach can cure any number of serious illnesses, including cancer, HIV/Aids and malaria as well as autism. The FDA however points out that there is no scientific evidence supporting either the safety or effectiveness of the product – on the contrary, when imbibed it can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea and potentially fatal low blood pressure arising from dehydration.
The operation is masterminded by Mark and Jonathan Grenon, who have given themselves the title of “bishops” within the “church”. A video posted by Jonathan Grenon on Facebook last September shows the production of the substance in a shed in Florida that is being used as a makeshift factory.
The Grenons, acting as yet with impunity, have begun touting their dangerous formula globally. Recent “seminars” similar to this weekend’s event in New York state have been held in Chile, Ecuador, South Africa and New Zealand.
Genesis II was cited as an influence behind a massive distribution of the bleach to up to 50,000 poor villagers in Uganda. The network, exposed by the Guardian, was set up by an American pastor with the support of a British man, Sam Little, who has now been charged by Ugandan authorities with carrying out illegal clinical trials involving impure drugs.
Fiona O’Leary, a campaigner against pseudo science whose work helped to get MMS banned in Ireland in 2016, said that the New York seminar posed a threat to vulnerable people. She called on the FDA to shut it down.
“The Grenons plan to dose their ‘students’ with this toxic bleach and will be mixing these dangerous chemicals at this seminar. The FDA know all about the Grenons for many years but have ignored our many complaints to date,” she said.
The Guardian asked Mark Grenon why he was peddling a potentially dangerous chemical to residents of New York state under the pretext that it was a miracle cure. He replied by email that “you and your Guardian newspaper are just puppets of the evil players of this world like the Murdoch/Rothschild families!”
Stupidity and Hypocrisy to the extreme!!!
Trump-loving evangelicals say they’re grateful the president has saved them from seeing Obama’s rainbow White House
August 13, 2019
By Brad Reed - Raw Story
Conservative evangelical Christians in the United States are President Donald Trump’s most staunch supporters, despite the fact that the president is a serial adulterer who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault and who regularly deploys racist attacks on political opponents.
A Washington Post profile of Trump-loving evangelicals shows that many of them felt they were under assault by former President Barack Obama — and one of them pointed to the Obama White House lighting up in rainbow colors in 2015 to celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing LGBT marriage.
“I didn’t see it lit up in a rainbow this June,” Pennsylvania-based Rev. Chris Gillott told the Post in justifying his support for the president.
Gillott went on to say that he didn’t want to be considered a bigot for opposing the rights of gay people to marry one another.
“If you think marriage is between one man and one woman, you’re a bigot and we don’t need you in this country,” he said. “There is animus being attributed to Christian core beliefs. And where that’s coming from is the left.”
Joey Rogers, an evangelical who hails from Florida, similarly told the Post that he believes Trump is helping restore a system of government based on the Ten Commandments, even though the president breaks some of those commandments on a regular basis.
“All of our laws are based on the Ten Commandments,” he said. “I think that’s why the country is losing the values that we once had.”
Cheryl Gough, a preschool teacher at Bay Life Church in Florida, told the Post that she likes what Trump is doing on policy, while also brushing off the multiple allegations of sexual assault made against him.
“I don’t see him as a rapist,” she explained. “He can be not the nicest person, but I don’t see — I’m not calling her a liar. There’s just been too many allegations. Now you’re coming to the public about it?”
A Washington Post profile of Trump-loving evangelicals shows that many of them felt they were under assault by former President Barack Obama — and one of them pointed to the Obama White House lighting up in rainbow colors in 2015 to celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing LGBT marriage.
“I didn’t see it lit up in a rainbow this June,” Pennsylvania-based Rev. Chris Gillott told the Post in justifying his support for the president.
Gillott went on to say that he didn’t want to be considered a bigot for opposing the rights of gay people to marry one another.
“If you think marriage is between one man and one woman, you’re a bigot and we don’t need you in this country,” he said. “There is animus being attributed to Christian core beliefs. And where that’s coming from is the left.”
Joey Rogers, an evangelical who hails from Florida, similarly told the Post that he believes Trump is helping restore a system of government based on the Ten Commandments, even though the president breaks some of those commandments on a regular basis.
“All of our laws are based on the Ten Commandments,” he said. “I think that’s why the country is losing the values that we once had.”
Cheryl Gough, a preschool teacher at Bay Life Church in Florida, told the Post that she likes what Trump is doing on policy, while also brushing off the multiple allegations of sexual assault made against him.
“I don’t see him as a rapist,” she explained. “He can be not the nicest person, but I don’t see — I’m not calling her a liar. There’s just been too many allegations. Now you’re coming to the public about it?”
‘We’re All Tired of Being Called Racists’
At Donald Trump’s rally in Cincinnati, droves of attendees made it clear that they stood with the president despite his recent comments.
ELAINA PLOTT - The Atlantic
8/2/19
CINCINNATI—Donald Trump’s supporters would like to be clear: They are tired of being called racists.
Leave it to the president’s eldest son to set the tone. Last night at the 17,500-person-capacity U.S. Bank Arena downtown here, Donald Trump Jr. strode onto the stage two hours before the president was scheduled to speak. The venue was already brimming.
It had been a rough week for his father. On July 28, President Trump was once again deemed racist after lashing out at House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, whose district includes part of Baltimore. Trump referred to the city 40 miles north of Washington as “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” in which “no human being would want to live.” Those comments came shortly after the president suggested that four progressive congresswomen of color “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” prompting the crowd at his July 17 rally in Greenville, North Carolina, to chant, “Send her back!” Trump—though he later disavowed the chant—did nothing to stop it.
Last night, Trump supporters in Cincinnati were eager to defend their man.
“It’s amazing that when Donald Trump makes a comment about Baltimore, it’s racist, it’s terrible, it’s this. But when the mayor of that town, when the congressman from that town, says the exact same thing, ‘Oh! No problem!’” Trump Jr. boomed, referring to a statement that Cummings made in 1999, calling Baltimore “drug-infested.”
“It’s sad,” he continued, “that using ‘racism’ has become the easy button of left-wing politics. All right? Because guess what? It still is an issue … But by making a mockery of it by saying every time you can’t win a fight—‘Oh! We’re just gonna push the button!’ it’s racist—you hurt those that are actually afflicted by it. People hear it, they roll their eyes, and they walk on. And that’s a disgrace, and that’s what you’ve been given in the identity politics of the left.”
The crowd erupted in jeers and boos. It was a segment of Jr.’s speech that in many ways echoed that of a speaker who’d appeared before him, Brandon Straka, a gay Trump supporter who founded the WalkAway movement to encourage people to leave the Democratic Party. “Insinuations of bigotry and racism,” Straka claimed, were “divisive tactics” used by the “liberal media to control minorities in this country.” “This is a president who serves minorities,” he said, “because he loves minorities.”
As speakers mounted their defenses of the president, it seemed apparent that supporters were cheering them on as a means of affirming not just Trump, but also themselves. Because to accuse a politician of holding virulent racist beliefs is also, if only implicitly, to condemn his or her voters of harboring those same tendencies.
And that’s what the rally-goers I spoke to last night seemed most nonplussed by—not so much that Trump had been roundly condemned in recent days as a racist, or a bigot, but that they, by virtue of association, had been as well. But rather than distance themselves from Trump, the accusations have only seemed to strengthen their support of this president. To back down, they suggested, would be to bow down to the scourge of political correctness.
“We’re all tired of being called racists,” a 74-year-old bespectacled white man named Richard Haines told me. “You open your mouth, you’re a racist. My daughter is a liberal, and she’s [using the word] all the time. We don’t talk politics; we can’t—all the time she always accuses me of hate.”
Haines, who told me he had just returned to the United States from Thailand, where he had done missionary work for 15 years with impoverished children, said that he knew what real racism looked like—that his father was a “bigot” who “didn’t like black people.”
“Donald is not racist, you know?” Haines said. “He makes a statement, and they take the words out of context and try to twist everything so that he’s a racist. And I think it’s gonna backfire.”
Before the rally began, I sat down on the floor of the arena with two women—Roseanna, 50, and Amy, 48—who felt similarly. (Neither woman was comfortable providing her last name for this story.) Roseanna, who wore a red T-shirt, white shorts, and a MAGA hat adorned with multiple buttons, including one featuring the likeness of Hillary Clinton behind bars, had driven an hour and a half from Lexington, Kentucky. She defended Trump’s statements about Baltimore. “He didn’t say nothing about the color of somebody’s skin,” Roseanna said, yet it seemed like everyone was “wishing him toward ‘He’s a bigot.’
“I’m sick to death of it. I have 13 grandchildren—13,” she continued. “Four of them are biracial, black and white; another two of them are black and white; and another two of them are Singapore and white. You think I’m a racist? I go and I give them kids kisses like nobody’s business.”
When I asked Roseanna and Amy whether they would join in a “Send her back!” chant were it to take place that night, both women said no, but out of deference to Trump. “He apologized for that, so I think us as Trump supporters will respect him for that,” Roseanna said. She then shared her thoughts on the chant’s target, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who came to America as a refugee from Somalia.
“Look, but she is gonna get—you know, I don’t want her stinkin’ Muslim crap in my country,” Roseanna said.
“Sharia law,” Amy chimed in. Her iridescent CoverGirl highlighter glinted under the stadium lights. “Sharia law.”
“That’s not America,” Roseanna said. “She is a Muslim through and through …She wants that all here.” She wondered whether Omar had come to the U.S. illegally.
After a pump-up playlist that included Elton John, The Sundays, and Céline Dion, and after a brief speech by Vice President Mike Pence, the president himself took the stage. It wasn’t long before Trump brought up “the four congresswomen” and bemoaned the conditions of inner cities after years of Democratic leadership. He said he could name one city after another that’s “failed,” “but I won’t do that.” He flashed a grin. “I don’t want to be controversial.” (Multiple rally-goers shouted, “Baltimore!”)
The president’s speech was ultimately more memorable for what wasn’t said than for what was. The rally included its share of greatest hits—a “Build the wall” demand here, a “Lock her up” chant there, a rant about windmills as bird killers, among other things—but there were no deafening incantations about ejecting American citizens of color from their home.
Robert Morris, a 72-year-old man who was fixing his van outside the arena before the rally started, had predicted as much to me. “We’re not that kind. They got a little carried away there,” he said of the Greenville crowd. Morris, too, said he was tired of being called a racist. Just yesterday, he said, he’d given a stranger $20 to help his foster child, who was black. And he sends money as often as he can to a school charity in the Dominican Republic. So if anybody started a chant like that, Morris said, “I’ll tell them, shut it down, you’re acting like them. We’re not them. The Democrats—they call names, they accuse, they’re always slandering, they always have a negative.”
“Send her back?” No, he said, that wouldn’t happen again, because “we’re positive.” He chuckled a bit. “But I’d buy her a ticket so she can go on a cruise back.” Omar was, he said, “a very ungrateful person.”
Leave it to the president’s eldest son to set the tone. Last night at the 17,500-person-capacity U.S. Bank Arena downtown here, Donald Trump Jr. strode onto the stage two hours before the president was scheduled to speak. The venue was already brimming.
It had been a rough week for his father. On July 28, President Trump was once again deemed racist after lashing out at House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, whose district includes part of Baltimore. Trump referred to the city 40 miles north of Washington as “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” in which “no human being would want to live.” Those comments came shortly after the president suggested that four progressive congresswomen of color “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” prompting the crowd at his July 17 rally in Greenville, North Carolina, to chant, “Send her back!” Trump—though he later disavowed the chant—did nothing to stop it.
Last night, Trump supporters in Cincinnati were eager to defend their man.
“It’s amazing that when Donald Trump makes a comment about Baltimore, it’s racist, it’s terrible, it’s this. But when the mayor of that town, when the congressman from that town, says the exact same thing, ‘Oh! No problem!’” Trump Jr. boomed, referring to a statement that Cummings made in 1999, calling Baltimore “drug-infested.”
“It’s sad,” he continued, “that using ‘racism’ has become the easy button of left-wing politics. All right? Because guess what? It still is an issue … But by making a mockery of it by saying every time you can’t win a fight—‘Oh! We’re just gonna push the button!’ it’s racist—you hurt those that are actually afflicted by it. People hear it, they roll their eyes, and they walk on. And that’s a disgrace, and that’s what you’ve been given in the identity politics of the left.”
The crowd erupted in jeers and boos. It was a segment of Jr.’s speech that in many ways echoed that of a speaker who’d appeared before him, Brandon Straka, a gay Trump supporter who founded the WalkAway movement to encourage people to leave the Democratic Party. “Insinuations of bigotry and racism,” Straka claimed, were “divisive tactics” used by the “liberal media to control minorities in this country.” “This is a president who serves minorities,” he said, “because he loves minorities.”
As speakers mounted their defenses of the president, it seemed apparent that supporters were cheering them on as a means of affirming not just Trump, but also themselves. Because to accuse a politician of holding virulent racist beliefs is also, if only implicitly, to condemn his or her voters of harboring those same tendencies.
And that’s what the rally-goers I spoke to last night seemed most nonplussed by—not so much that Trump had been roundly condemned in recent days as a racist, or a bigot, but that they, by virtue of association, had been as well. But rather than distance themselves from Trump, the accusations have only seemed to strengthen their support of this president. To back down, they suggested, would be to bow down to the scourge of political correctness.
“We’re all tired of being called racists,” a 74-year-old bespectacled white man named Richard Haines told me. “You open your mouth, you’re a racist. My daughter is a liberal, and she’s [using the word] all the time. We don’t talk politics; we can’t—all the time she always accuses me of hate.”
Haines, who told me he had just returned to the United States from Thailand, where he had done missionary work for 15 years with impoverished children, said that he knew what real racism looked like—that his father was a “bigot” who “didn’t like black people.”
“Donald is not racist, you know?” Haines said. “He makes a statement, and they take the words out of context and try to twist everything so that he’s a racist. And I think it’s gonna backfire.”
Before the rally began, I sat down on the floor of the arena with two women—Roseanna, 50, and Amy, 48—who felt similarly. (Neither woman was comfortable providing her last name for this story.) Roseanna, who wore a red T-shirt, white shorts, and a MAGA hat adorned with multiple buttons, including one featuring the likeness of Hillary Clinton behind bars, had driven an hour and a half from Lexington, Kentucky. She defended Trump’s statements about Baltimore. “He didn’t say nothing about the color of somebody’s skin,” Roseanna said, yet it seemed like everyone was “wishing him toward ‘He’s a bigot.’
“I’m sick to death of it. I have 13 grandchildren—13,” she continued. “Four of them are biracial, black and white; another two of them are black and white; and another two of them are Singapore and white. You think I’m a racist? I go and I give them kids kisses like nobody’s business.”
When I asked Roseanna and Amy whether they would join in a “Send her back!” chant were it to take place that night, both women said no, but out of deference to Trump. “He apologized for that, so I think us as Trump supporters will respect him for that,” Roseanna said. She then shared her thoughts on the chant’s target, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who came to America as a refugee from Somalia.
“Look, but she is gonna get—you know, I don’t want her stinkin’ Muslim crap in my country,” Roseanna said.
“Sharia law,” Amy chimed in. Her iridescent CoverGirl highlighter glinted under the stadium lights. “Sharia law.”
“That’s not America,” Roseanna said. “She is a Muslim through and through …She wants that all here.” She wondered whether Omar had come to the U.S. illegally.
After a pump-up playlist that included Elton John, The Sundays, and Céline Dion, and after a brief speech by Vice President Mike Pence, the president himself took the stage. It wasn’t long before Trump brought up “the four congresswomen” and bemoaned the conditions of inner cities after years of Democratic leadership. He said he could name one city after another that’s “failed,” “but I won’t do that.” He flashed a grin. “I don’t want to be controversial.” (Multiple rally-goers shouted, “Baltimore!”)
The president’s speech was ultimately more memorable for what wasn’t said than for what was. The rally included its share of greatest hits—a “Build the wall” demand here, a “Lock her up” chant there, a rant about windmills as bird killers, among other things—but there were no deafening incantations about ejecting American citizens of color from their home.
Robert Morris, a 72-year-old man who was fixing his van outside the arena before the rally started, had predicted as much to me. “We’re not that kind. They got a little carried away there,” he said of the Greenville crowd. Morris, too, said he was tired of being called a racist. Just yesterday, he said, he’d given a stranger $20 to help his foster child, who was black. And he sends money as often as he can to a school charity in the Dominican Republic. So if anybody started a chant like that, Morris said, “I’ll tell them, shut it down, you’re acting like them. We’re not them. The Democrats—they call names, they accuse, they’re always slandering, they always have a negative.”
“Send her back?” No, he said, that wouldn’t happen again, because “we’re positive.” He chuckled a bit. “But I’d buy her a ticket so she can go on a cruise back.” Omar was, he said, “a very ungrateful person.”
easy money off the suckers!!!
MAGA hats are just the beginning: Inside the "brilliant and sinister" world of Trump merchandise
Much of the merchandise is meant to “validate the grievances of Trump’s base — and then, turn them into hard cash"
ALEX HENDERSON - Salon
JULY 31, 2019 2:07PM (UTC)
No piece of Trump campaign merchandise is more symbolic of his quest for reelection — or more infamous — than red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats, which presently sell for $25 on his 2020 campaign website. But MAGA hats are only one of the many types of merchandise that President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign is selling, and a report by Alex Isenstadt for Politico describes the ways in which merchandising is bringing in millions of dollars for the campaign.
Much of the merchandise, Isenstadt reports, is meant to “stoke and validate the grievances of Trump’s base — and then, turn them into hard cash.” And such items range from t-shirts mocking Rep. Adam Schiff (the California Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee) as a “pencil neck” to Trump-themed plastic straws. The Trump campaign’s online store is selling the straws as a right-wing alternative to “liberal paper straws” that “don’t work,” and they’ve been profitable: Isenstadt reports that since they became available on July 19, the plastic straws (which are recyclable) have generated “more than $456,000 in sales.”
Tara McGowan, a Democratic strategist, told Politico that the Trump campaign’s ability to bring in so much money exploiting disdain for paper straws is “both brilliant and sinister.”
McGowan explained, “I think something Trump has always understood very clearly is how to tap into a cultural moment or zeitgeist and leverage it to his advantage. So for him, taking a relatively new thing in the world that most people hate and leveraging it to both make a political statement and raise (hundreds of thousands) of dollars by selling plastic straws is both brilliant and sinister.”
Trump’s 2020 campaign, according to Isenstadt, has also been selling merchandise attacking former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — for example, “Collusion Delusion” T-shirts, “Witch Hunt” coffee mugs, and “No Collusion” beverage coolers. “Pencil Neck Adam Schiff” T-shirts, Isenstadt reports, have brought in “around $250,000” for the campaign. And not surprisingly, MAGA hats are still a big seller.
GOP strategist Eric Wilson, who served as digital director for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, commented that all this merchandising shows how well Trump’s campaign knows its audience.
“It’s almost guerilla marketing,” Wilson told Politico. “What you’re seeing is the president using his bully pulpit and then, the campaign being nimble enough to capitalize on it.”
Much of the merchandise, Isenstadt reports, is meant to “stoke and validate the grievances of Trump’s base — and then, turn them into hard cash.” And such items range from t-shirts mocking Rep. Adam Schiff (the California Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee) as a “pencil neck” to Trump-themed plastic straws. The Trump campaign’s online store is selling the straws as a right-wing alternative to “liberal paper straws” that “don’t work,” and they’ve been profitable: Isenstadt reports that since they became available on July 19, the plastic straws (which are recyclable) have generated “more than $456,000 in sales.”
Tara McGowan, a Democratic strategist, told Politico that the Trump campaign’s ability to bring in so much money exploiting disdain for paper straws is “both brilliant and sinister.”
McGowan explained, “I think something Trump has always understood very clearly is how to tap into a cultural moment or zeitgeist and leverage it to his advantage. So for him, taking a relatively new thing in the world that most people hate and leveraging it to both make a political statement and raise (hundreds of thousands) of dollars by selling plastic straws is both brilliant and sinister.”
Trump’s 2020 campaign, according to Isenstadt, has also been selling merchandise attacking former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — for example, “Collusion Delusion” T-shirts, “Witch Hunt” coffee mugs, and “No Collusion” beverage coolers. “Pencil Neck Adam Schiff” T-shirts, Isenstadt reports, have brought in “around $250,000” for the campaign. And not surprisingly, MAGA hats are still a big seller.
GOP strategist Eric Wilson, who served as digital director for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, commented that all this merchandising shows how well Trump’s campaign knows its audience.
“It’s almost guerilla marketing,” Wilson told Politico. “What you’re seeing is the president using his bully pulpit and then, the campaign being nimble enough to capitalize on it.”
from the mouths of the stupid!!!
‘It Makes Us Want to Support Him More’
Amid a convulsive week in American politics, at one of the darkest rallies Donald Trump has ever held, his base showed up in force to tell the president he’s done nothing wrong.
PETER NICHOLAS - The Atlantic
1:15 PM ET
GREENVILLE, N.C.—Before the rally began, I wanted to know why they’d come.
In the heavy, humid hours, I walked up and down the line winding through a parking lot at East Carolina University to interview some two dozen people who wanted to see the president. Many didn’t make it inside. About 90 minutes before Donald Trump took the stage, police announced that the 8,000-person basketball arena was full and those still waiting would have to watch on an oversize TV monitor set up outside. Rather than head home, they stuck around for a tailgate party of sorts.
Some cracked open beers and lit cigars, sitting on folding chairs in front of the TV. People walked by in shirts that read in trump we trust and fuck off, we’re full. Earlier, in the 100-degree heat, a four-member family band called the Terry Train entertained the crowd with a song mocking CNN. Lying Wolf Blitzer and Lying John King. Don Lemon lies about everything … Erin Burnett, can you hear us yet? We’ll give you a story you can never forget. It built to this refrain: CNN sucks!
The event itself would soon turn into one of the darkest of Trump’s political career, with the president road testing a new enemy and eliciting from the crowd a fresh, frenzied three-word chant: “Send her back!” But even before he appeared, this week in American politics had been a convulsive one. Trump tweeted racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color—including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the target of “Send her back!”—and the House, in turn, rebuked the president in a party-line vote.
---
It doesn’t appear that Trump’s supporters inside the arena, with their “Send her back!” chants, believed his message needed any softening. One thing was certain: When Trump stepped behind the podium, he looked out at an audience that was fertile ground for continued attacks on the four representatives—a crowd that believed the congresswomen may have deserved what they got.
Here, a few snapshots.
Cheryl Stacy, 64, a retired nurse from Beaufort County, North Carolina
“Everything he says is how I feel,” Stacy said. “I feel like, ‘Hey, man. You hate the country, you don’t like it, you trash the country—get out of the country! Move on!’”
On the House resolution that labeled Trump’s attacks on the congresswomen racist: “I don’t think they were racist at all. I know this president. I’ve been to his inauguration, been to his other rallies. Everything he says I agree with,” she said. “He’s speaking for me. He may be a little rough around the ed, but he’s not a politician. I’m a little rough around the edges in this interview, but I love this country.”
As for Trump’s tweets: “Everybody’s tweeting crazy things. Everybody is! Why point the finger at him?”
Lee Chambers, 69, a real-estate agent and retired Air Force officer from Gainesville, Virginia
“He didn’t say anything in his comments about race,” Chambers said. The representatives “happen to have views that are toxic, especially for members of Congress. They lie to advance their cause.”
Chambers was one of the few African Americans I saw in the crowd outside the arena. Asked whether he faces criticism for backing Trump, he laughed: “The only time I’ve gotten heat is at my family reunion.” He mentioned his red pro-Trump hat: “I’ve got five different hats. I just bought another one. I’m excited. I want people to know that there are people who support this president.” At his family reunions, “they told me don’t wear my Trump gear again. And I told them, ‘It’s a free country.’”
Randall Terry, 60, an anti-abortion activist from Memphis and the father of the Terry Train band members
Trump’s comments about the congresswomen were “not even remotely racist,” Terry said. “It was only about the systems of government from where they’re from. These wenches. These disrespectful wenches criticize our country incessantly.
“Well, Ilhan Omar, go back to some Middle Eastern country where you’d be afraid to live under Sharia law! I’m of Italian descent. I don’t care what color the skin is … You don’t like America? Go back to where your ancestors are from and then try to make that country better.”
Matthew Ritchie, 18, an incoming student at Texas A&M University from Kernersville, North Carolina
“I want to be here. I feel unity here. Everyone is like-minded here and celebrating the U.S. and our president,” Ritchie said. Trump “has done a good job so far. He’s been able to get more jobs back into the U.S. They’re building more cars here; the economy is growing.”
Could he imagine casting his first-ever vote for someone other than Trump? “If there were grounds for impeachment, I would look at those. But it would have to be very credible for me to change my mind.” As for Trump’s tweets about the congresswomen, “I don’t believe it was racist. He’s just making a point and speaking his mind. That’s important. There aren’t enough people who say that nowadays. Everyone is politically correct. You can’t get out what you want to say. I like that in a person. He speaks from the heart and speaks his mind.”
Nancy Chiu, 53, a nurse, and her son Chen Chiu, 23, who works for a software company, both from Raleigh, North Carolina
Chen Chiu said his mother, a naturalized citizen, “didn’t like where she was at in Cuba. There was no food. You had no freedom of speech. So she left. She came to the U.S. seeking a better home. She left family and friends. There is so much freedom here.”
Nancy Chiu said she plans to vote for Trump in 2020, dismissing criticism of him as “fake news.” “He’s following his agenda,” she said. “Nothing is perfect.”
Asked about Trump’s criticism of the congresswomen, her son said: “They are Americans. My mom was Cuban. She didn’t like how things were going there. She saw the opportunity and she left.”
Gary Welker, 47, owner of a tattoo business and a lawn-care service from Hubert, North Carolina
“You ask what appeals to me [about Trump]. The easiest way to say it: everything. Everything about him,” Welker said. “Everything about what he’s doing for this country.” Referencing the separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border, and motioning to a man standing nearby in line, he said: “If I had my child with me right now, and I would punch that young man in the mouth, I would go to jail and my child would be taken away. So if they come into this country illegally, they should be taken from their children.
Coming here illegally is wrong. There are ports of entry and legal ways to do it. Do it the right way.”
Are the congresswomen Trump attacked Americans who belong in this country? “I don’t know,” he said. “Why don’t you answer that?”
In the heavy, humid hours, I walked up and down the line winding through a parking lot at East Carolina University to interview some two dozen people who wanted to see the president. Many didn’t make it inside. About 90 minutes before Donald Trump took the stage, police announced that the 8,000-person basketball arena was full and those still waiting would have to watch on an oversize TV monitor set up outside. Rather than head home, they stuck around for a tailgate party of sorts.
Some cracked open beers and lit cigars, sitting on folding chairs in front of the TV. People walked by in shirts that read in trump we trust and fuck off, we’re full. Earlier, in the 100-degree heat, a four-member family band called the Terry Train entertained the crowd with a song mocking CNN. Lying Wolf Blitzer and Lying John King. Don Lemon lies about everything … Erin Burnett, can you hear us yet? We’ll give you a story you can never forget. It built to this refrain: CNN sucks!
The event itself would soon turn into one of the darkest of Trump’s political career, with the president road testing a new enemy and eliciting from the crowd a fresh, frenzied three-word chant: “Send her back!” But even before he appeared, this week in American politics had been a convulsive one. Trump tweeted racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color—including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the target of “Send her back!”—and the House, in turn, rebuked the president in a party-line vote.
---
It doesn’t appear that Trump’s supporters inside the arena, with their “Send her back!” chants, believed his message needed any softening. One thing was certain: When Trump stepped behind the podium, he looked out at an audience that was fertile ground for continued attacks on the four representatives—a crowd that believed the congresswomen may have deserved what they got.
Here, a few snapshots.
Cheryl Stacy, 64, a retired nurse from Beaufort County, North Carolina
“Everything he says is how I feel,” Stacy said. “I feel like, ‘Hey, man. You hate the country, you don’t like it, you trash the country—get out of the country! Move on!’”
On the House resolution that labeled Trump’s attacks on the congresswomen racist: “I don’t think they were racist at all. I know this president. I’ve been to his inauguration, been to his other rallies. Everything he says I agree with,” she said. “He’s speaking for me. He may be a little rough around the ed, but he’s not a politician. I’m a little rough around the edges in this interview, but I love this country.”
As for Trump’s tweets: “Everybody’s tweeting crazy things. Everybody is! Why point the finger at him?”
Lee Chambers, 69, a real-estate agent and retired Air Force officer from Gainesville, Virginia
“He didn’t say anything in his comments about race,” Chambers said. The representatives “happen to have views that are toxic, especially for members of Congress. They lie to advance their cause.”
Chambers was one of the few African Americans I saw in the crowd outside the arena. Asked whether he faces criticism for backing Trump, he laughed: “The only time I’ve gotten heat is at my family reunion.” He mentioned his red pro-Trump hat: “I’ve got five different hats. I just bought another one. I’m excited. I want people to know that there are people who support this president.” At his family reunions, “they told me don’t wear my Trump gear again. And I told them, ‘It’s a free country.’”
Randall Terry, 60, an anti-abortion activist from Memphis and the father of the Terry Train band members
Trump’s comments about the congresswomen were “not even remotely racist,” Terry said. “It was only about the systems of government from where they’re from. These wenches. These disrespectful wenches criticize our country incessantly.
“Well, Ilhan Omar, go back to some Middle Eastern country where you’d be afraid to live under Sharia law! I’m of Italian descent. I don’t care what color the skin is … You don’t like America? Go back to where your ancestors are from and then try to make that country better.”
Matthew Ritchie, 18, an incoming student at Texas A&M University from Kernersville, North Carolina
“I want to be here. I feel unity here. Everyone is like-minded here and celebrating the U.S. and our president,” Ritchie said. Trump “has done a good job so far. He’s been able to get more jobs back into the U.S. They’re building more cars here; the economy is growing.”
Could he imagine casting his first-ever vote for someone other than Trump? “If there were grounds for impeachment, I would look at those. But it would have to be very credible for me to change my mind.” As for Trump’s tweets about the congresswomen, “I don’t believe it was racist. He’s just making a point and speaking his mind. That’s important. There aren’t enough people who say that nowadays. Everyone is politically correct. You can’t get out what you want to say. I like that in a person. He speaks from the heart and speaks his mind.”
Nancy Chiu, 53, a nurse, and her son Chen Chiu, 23, who works for a software company, both from Raleigh, North Carolina
Chen Chiu said his mother, a naturalized citizen, “didn’t like where she was at in Cuba. There was no food. You had no freedom of speech. So she left. She came to the U.S. seeking a better home. She left family and friends. There is so much freedom here.”
Nancy Chiu said she plans to vote for Trump in 2020, dismissing criticism of him as “fake news.” “He’s following his agenda,” she said. “Nothing is perfect.”
Asked about Trump’s criticism of the congresswomen, her son said: “They are Americans. My mom was Cuban. She didn’t like how things were going there. She saw the opportunity and she left.”
Gary Welker, 47, owner of a tattoo business and a lawn-care service from Hubert, North Carolina
“You ask what appeals to me [about Trump]. The easiest way to say it: everything. Everything about him,” Welker said. “Everything about what he’s doing for this country.” Referencing the separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border, and motioning to a man standing nearby in line, he said: “If I had my child with me right now, and I would punch that young man in the mouth, I would go to jail and my child would be taken away. So if they come into this country illegally, they should be taken from their children.
Coming here illegally is wrong. There are ports of entry and legal ways to do it. Do it the right way.”
Are the congresswomen Trump attacked Americans who belong in this country? “I don’t know,” he said. “Why don’t you answer that?”
'He pulled the wool over our eyes': workers blame Trump for moving jobs overseas
Trump pledged to stop ‘offshoring’ but manufacturing workers at GE and Carrier say Trump has broken his campaign promise
Michael Sainato
The Guardian
Wed 10 Jul 2019 07.00 BST
Next Friday, Eddie Martin will work his last day at the General Electric plant in Salem, Virginia, after working there for seven years.
GE announced in June last year it was shutting down the Salem plant, which opened in 1955. More than 250 employees were affected, as those jobs will be sent overseas to India. Martin is one such employee.
He says: “It’s horrible. You have over 200 people losing their jobs just so the company can build a $200m plant in India and pay those people $3.50 an hour.”
Martin plans to go back to school and work in marine mechanics. He says: “This has left a bad taste in my mouth. I will hopefully never work in manufacturing ever again.”
Promises to save US manufacturing and prevent American jobs moving abroad were a key part of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. But since Trump took office in January 2017, nearly 200,000 jobs have been moved overseas, based on Trade Adjustment Assistance certified petitions.
That includes firms doing business with the US government. According to research by Good Jobs Nation, 14,444 jobs were moved abroad by the top 100 federal contractors in the United States in Trump’s first two years in office. The rate of “offshoring” among the top 100 federal contractors actually exceeds rates throughout the Obama administration and the majority of the Bush administration, aside from 2008 when the economic recession hit.
Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at UC Berkeley, says: “There has been relatively little change since Trump took office. Plant closings are devastating. For the worker, it is damaging and it can create the kind of stresses that cause divorces, break up families, and disrupt the ability to care for parents or young children. This kind of disruption creates far-reaching anxiety and anger and we saw that politically expressed in 2016.”
That leaves workers like those at the Virginia GE plant with a feeling of being lied to as they watch their livelihoods disappear.
“It’s taking away a livable wage in the area,” says Darryl Castillo, who worked at the plant for six years and will be among the last wave of layoffsscheduled for early December.
Castillo was involved in union negotiations to try to prevent the plant from closing, but the union’s concession offerings to save GE money ended in failure. He says: “It really didn’t matter what the number in savings was. They were going to close it no matter what, and that was very disappointing. They gave us a general hope of ‘help us help you to keep it open’ – but it was a bold-faced lie.”
GE confirmed the Virginia jobs will be outsourced to India. “This action is difficult and does not reflect the performance, dedication, and hard work of our employees,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We remain committed to work with the union to support affected employees, nearly half of whom are eligible for retirement.”
For some of the tens of thousands of workers affected by plant closures and job offshoring across the United States, Trump’s 2016 promises to save their jobs and stop their plants from closing have left a sense of betrayal.
“I believed it. I thought he was going to save some jobs. He pulled the wool right over our eyes and he’s still doing it till this day,” says 58-year-old Susan Cropper, who worked at a Carrier plant in Huntington, Indiana, for 31 years before the plant closed and she was laid off along with over 700 employees in March last year.
After being laid off, it took her eight months to find another job, but it pays much less than what she was making at Carrier. “Not only did I lose my job, now I’m not going to work long enough to build another retirement somewhere else,” she says.
Trump had promised throughout his presidential campaign to save the nearby Carrier plant in Indianapolis, which has laid off hundreds of workers since he made a deal with the company in December 2016. The deal was supposed to prevent those jobs from being sent abroad to Carrier’s plant in Mexico.
“I gave the best years of my life to that corporation that threw me out like I was a rag doll,” Cropper adds. “Carrier was rewarded with more government contracts, tax breaks, and the executives get to keep their lifestyle and line their pockets. It’s been a really unfair process.”
Carrier did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
During a presidential campaign stop in Burlington, Iowa, Trump declared: “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” But critics claim that when it came to stepping up to prevent a Siemens turbine plant from closing in Burlington in December, Trump was nowhere to be found.
“I sent a letter to the White House and got a response that this is a state or local matter, so they brushed us off,” says 64-year-old Robert Morrison, one of 125 workers who were laid off when the Burlington plant closed. “We felt abandoned and betrayed not only by Siemens, but by our elected officials, from Trump down.”
According to Morrison, many workers either moved away or took jobs with pay cuts and long commutes.
He was forced to retire early.
“This was my job of 31 years. I loved that job,” he says. “I was hoping my son or grandson and nephews could work there some day. We made a fantastic product used around the world. Now the turbines are going to be made in India and Czech Republic.”
A Siemens spokesperson said the plant closed because of market decline.
GE announced in June last year it was shutting down the Salem plant, which opened in 1955. More than 250 employees were affected, as those jobs will be sent overseas to India. Martin is one such employee.
He says: “It’s horrible. You have over 200 people losing their jobs just so the company can build a $200m plant in India and pay those people $3.50 an hour.”
Martin plans to go back to school and work in marine mechanics. He says: “This has left a bad taste in my mouth. I will hopefully never work in manufacturing ever again.”
Promises to save US manufacturing and prevent American jobs moving abroad were a key part of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. But since Trump took office in January 2017, nearly 200,000 jobs have been moved overseas, based on Trade Adjustment Assistance certified petitions.
That includes firms doing business with the US government. According to research by Good Jobs Nation, 14,444 jobs were moved abroad by the top 100 federal contractors in the United States in Trump’s first two years in office. The rate of “offshoring” among the top 100 federal contractors actually exceeds rates throughout the Obama administration and the majority of the Bush administration, aside from 2008 when the economic recession hit.
Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at UC Berkeley, says: “There has been relatively little change since Trump took office. Plant closings are devastating. For the worker, it is damaging and it can create the kind of stresses that cause divorces, break up families, and disrupt the ability to care for parents or young children. This kind of disruption creates far-reaching anxiety and anger and we saw that politically expressed in 2016.”
That leaves workers like those at the Virginia GE plant with a feeling of being lied to as they watch their livelihoods disappear.
“It’s taking away a livable wage in the area,” says Darryl Castillo, who worked at the plant for six years and will be among the last wave of layoffsscheduled for early December.
Castillo was involved in union negotiations to try to prevent the plant from closing, but the union’s concession offerings to save GE money ended in failure. He says: “It really didn’t matter what the number in savings was. They were going to close it no matter what, and that was very disappointing. They gave us a general hope of ‘help us help you to keep it open’ – but it was a bold-faced lie.”
GE confirmed the Virginia jobs will be outsourced to India. “This action is difficult and does not reflect the performance, dedication, and hard work of our employees,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We remain committed to work with the union to support affected employees, nearly half of whom are eligible for retirement.”
For some of the tens of thousands of workers affected by plant closures and job offshoring across the United States, Trump’s 2016 promises to save their jobs and stop their plants from closing have left a sense of betrayal.
“I believed it. I thought he was going to save some jobs. He pulled the wool right over our eyes and he’s still doing it till this day,” says 58-year-old Susan Cropper, who worked at a Carrier plant in Huntington, Indiana, for 31 years before the plant closed and she was laid off along with over 700 employees in March last year.
After being laid off, it took her eight months to find another job, but it pays much less than what she was making at Carrier. “Not only did I lose my job, now I’m not going to work long enough to build another retirement somewhere else,” she says.
Trump had promised throughout his presidential campaign to save the nearby Carrier plant in Indianapolis, which has laid off hundreds of workers since he made a deal with the company in December 2016. The deal was supposed to prevent those jobs from being sent abroad to Carrier’s plant in Mexico.
“I gave the best years of my life to that corporation that threw me out like I was a rag doll,” Cropper adds. “Carrier was rewarded with more government contracts, tax breaks, and the executives get to keep their lifestyle and line their pockets. It’s been a really unfair process.”
Carrier did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
During a presidential campaign stop in Burlington, Iowa, Trump declared: “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” But critics claim that when it came to stepping up to prevent a Siemens turbine plant from closing in Burlington in December, Trump was nowhere to be found.
“I sent a letter to the White House and got a response that this is a state or local matter, so they brushed us off,” says 64-year-old Robert Morrison, one of 125 workers who were laid off when the Burlington plant closed. “We felt abandoned and betrayed not only by Siemens, but by our elected officials, from Trump down.”
According to Morrison, many workers either moved away or took jobs with pay cuts and long commutes.
He was forced to retire early.
“This was my job of 31 years. I loved that job,” he says. “I was hoping my son or grandson and nephews could work there some day. We made a fantastic product used around the world. Now the turbines are going to be made in India and Czech Republic.”
A Siemens spokesperson said the plant closed because of market decline.
Trump-loving MAGA hat wearer outside migrant camp screams disgusting vulgarity at AOC
July 1, 2019
By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement - Raw Story
A MAGA hat-wearing man outside a Clint, Texas federal government migrant concentration camp screamed a vulgarity at Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as she walked into the facility Monday afternoon.
“You disgusting piece of shit,” he yelled, as he held up his camera phone apparently filming her.
“Piece of shit Ocasio,” he screamed, as award-winning photographer Ivan Pierre Aguirre captured on video and posted to Twitter. “Do your job! Do your job Ocasio, you piece of shit.”
He also appeared to say “Do something about the voter,” or “about the border,” but it was unclear.
“You disgusting piece of shit,” he yelled, as he held up his camera phone apparently filming her.
“Piece of shit Ocasio,” he screamed, as award-winning photographer Ivan Pierre Aguirre captured on video and posted to Twitter. “Do your job! Do your job Ocasio, you piece of shit.”
He also appeared to say “Do something about the voter,” or “about the border,” but it was unclear.
Trump fan has a ‘fake news’ meltdown after being told president boasted he could shoot someone
June 28, 2019
By Tom Boggioni - Raw Story
In a video created by the Young Turks, an unidentified woman blew up at the mention that President Donald Trump once said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and his fans — like her –wouldn’t care.
In the video, the woman was asked to describe socialism and seemed to link it to race and Democrats turning on white people.
Pressed by TYT reporter Emma Vigeland, the woman stated, “I define socialism when you bring down your own country, your own race because he [Joe Biden] is not black.”
“What does that mean? Bringing them down to black people, is that what you mean?” Vigeland pressed.
“No,” the woman shot back. “He’s saying the white people — he doesn’t look at himself in the mirror?”
Asked about Trump’s highly publicized shooting comments, the woman — sporting a MAGA hat — refused to admit the president ever said such a thing, replying, “No, I don’t think so.”
“He did say that, it’s on tape,” Vigeland replied.
“I don’t believe it, that’s fake, that’s fake news,” the woman avidly insisted.
In the video, the woman was asked to describe socialism and seemed to link it to race and Democrats turning on white people.
Pressed by TYT reporter Emma Vigeland, the woman stated, “I define socialism when you bring down your own country, your own race because he [Joe Biden] is not black.”
“What does that mean? Bringing them down to black people, is that what you mean?” Vigeland pressed.
“No,” the woman shot back. “He’s saying the white people — he doesn’t look at himself in the mirror?”
Asked about Trump’s highly publicized shooting comments, the woman — sporting a MAGA hat — refused to admit the president ever said such a thing, replying, “No, I don’t think so.”
“He did say that, it’s on tape,” Vigeland replied.
“I don’t believe it, that’s fake, that’s fake news,” the woman avidly insisted.
Trump fans think he’s macho — but he’s actually a moral weakling who preys on women and kids
Amanda Marcotte / Salon - Alternet
June 25, 2019
Donald Trump’s fans are obsessed with the idea that their hero is the pinnacle of manliness, here to restore the supposed greatness of American masculinity after its alleged assault at the hands of feminism and “political correctness.” His fans paint semi-erotic art portraying Trump as handsome and virile, either with a couple of dozen pounds shaved off his waistline or as an over-muscular he-man. They are so sure that Trump radiates a vibrant masculinity that Trump fanboy and convicted criminal Dinesh D’Souza recently posted a picture of Trump sitting next to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the caption, “Masculinity in the twenty first century: which one is YOU?” The implicit assumption was that the orange-tinted primate, hunched over in a poorly-fitted suit was obviously more of a studly macho man than the suave young Canadian.
To outsiders, the idea that Trump is a model of desirable masculinity is just plain bizarre, as he lacks not just the positive markers of traditional manhood — stoicism, strength and virility — but any positive human qualities at all. But this past month has offered a strong reminder of what, exactly, Trump fans believe makes Trump such a harbinger of restored masculine greatness: His viciousness and cruelty.
Forget the handsome knight in shining armor protecting the weak of chivalric myth. Trump’s “manhood” is strictly about punching down and targeting those who are most vulnerable, with a particular sadism reserved for women and children.
Two of the biggest stories competing for headline space right now are a new allegation from journalist E. Jean Carroll that Trump raped her in the 1990s and reports from border towns in Texas that refugee children separated from their families have been crammed into cages in horrific conditions. But really, both stories are of a piece, illustrating Trump’s baseline impulses, which thrill his fans. He tries to make himself feel tough and powerful by inflicting pain on those who are smaller and unable to protect themselves.
Picking on someone your own size is, in Trump’s terms, for losers. “Winners,” in TrumpWorld, are the men who torture children and overpower women.
Forget the handsome knight in shining armor protecting the weak of chivalric myth. Trump’s “manhood” is strictly about punching down and targeting those who are most vulnerable, with a particular sadism reserved for women and children.
Two of the biggest stories competing for headline space right now are a new allegation from journalist E. Jean Carroll that Trump raped her in the 1990s and reports from border towns in Texas that refugee children separated from their families have been crammed into cages in horrific conditions. But really, both stories are of a piece, illustrating Trump’s baseline impulses, which thrill his fans. He tries to make himself feel tough and powerful by inflicting pain on those who are smaller and unable to protect themselves.
Picking on someone your own size is, in Trump’s terms, for losers. “Winners,” in TrumpWorld, are the men who torture children and overpower women.
Trump’s “denial,” then, only serves to confirm that he has the capacity for cruelty and misogyny that fuels the crime of rape. It is yet another reminder that the issue isn’t so much that his followers don’t believe the accusations against him — after all, he’s on tape bragging about how he enjoys sexual assault — as that they thrill to his unconcealed malice. They mistake his willingness to hurt vulnerable as strength and feel that by siding with a sadist, they will somehow be more powerful and manly for it.
Grown women have some power to fight back, however, as evidenced by Carroll’s own telling of her escape mid-rape. Children, on the other hand, make even better targets for Trump and his supporters, as they can do almost nothing to resist the abuses of those who need to overpower the vulnerable to feel good about themselves.
This, I think, goes a long way to explaining the horrific situation on the border, where reports are streaming out of migrant children being forced to sleep on cold concrete and not allowed to shower or brush their teeth. Lawyers and reporters say that children are being left in soiled clothes and babies are handed off to older children to be cared for. CNN, for instance, spoke to a 14-year-old who was crammed in a cell with a 4-year-old stranger and an 11-year-old boy, caring for a toddler who was sick and covered in filth.
The administration is attempting to play off this horror show as the result of overcrowding due to a rapid influx of migrants. But all the evidence suggests instead that the government is deliberately abusing small children to satisfy the sadism of Trump and his supporters. As CNN has reported, “officials at the border seem to be making no effort to release children to caregivers — many have parents in the US — rather than holding them for weeks in overcrowded cells at the border.”
This, I think, goes a long way to explaining the horrific situation on the border, where reports are streaming out of migrant children being forced to sleep on cold concrete and not allowed to shower or brush their teeth. Lawyers and reporters say that children are being left in soiled clothes and babies are handed off to older children to be cared for. CNN, for instance, spoke to a 14-year-old who was crammed in a cell with a 4-year-old stranger and an 11-year-old boy, caring for a toddler who was sick and covered in filth.
The administration is attempting to play off this horror show as the result of overcrowding due to a rapid influx of migrants. But all the evidence suggests instead that the government is deliberately abusing small children to satisfy the sadism of Trump and his supporters. As CNN has reported, “officials at the border seem to be making no effort to release children to caregivers — many have parents in the US — rather than holding them for weeks in overcrowded cells at the border.”
But I’d argue this is about more than Trump’s use of brinksmanship and hostage-taking as his primary political strategy. It’s also about he and his supporters making themselves feel big and powerful by picking on those who are weak and helpless. The word “bully” feels too small to capture what’s going on, but it does capture the pettiness at the heart of Trumpism. When Trump’s fans speak of making America “great,” this is what they mean: Finding someone smaller and more vulnerable and inflicting abuse on them, just because you can.
To outsiders, the idea that Trump is a model of desirable masculinity is just plain bizarre, as he lacks not just the positive markers of traditional manhood — stoicism, strength and virility — but any positive human qualities at all. But this past month has offered a strong reminder of what, exactly, Trump fans believe makes Trump such a harbinger of restored masculine greatness: His viciousness and cruelty.
Forget the handsome knight in shining armor protecting the weak of chivalric myth. Trump’s “manhood” is strictly about punching down and targeting those who are most vulnerable, with a particular sadism reserved for women and children.
Two of the biggest stories competing for headline space right now are a new allegation from journalist E. Jean Carroll that Trump raped her in the 1990s and reports from border towns in Texas that refugee children separated from their families have been crammed into cages in horrific conditions. But really, both stories are of a piece, illustrating Trump’s baseline impulses, which thrill his fans. He tries to make himself feel tough and powerful by inflicting pain on those who are smaller and unable to protect themselves.
Picking on someone your own size is, in Trump’s terms, for losers. “Winners,” in TrumpWorld, are the men who torture children and overpower women.
Forget the handsome knight in shining armor protecting the weak of chivalric myth. Trump’s “manhood” is strictly about punching down and targeting those who are most vulnerable, with a particular sadism reserved for women and children.
Two of the biggest stories competing for headline space right now are a new allegation from journalist E. Jean Carroll that Trump raped her in the 1990s and reports from border towns in Texas that refugee children separated from their families have been crammed into cages in horrific conditions. But really, both stories are of a piece, illustrating Trump’s baseline impulses, which thrill his fans. He tries to make himself feel tough and powerful by inflicting pain on those who are smaller and unable to protect themselves.
Picking on someone your own size is, in Trump’s terms, for losers. “Winners,” in TrumpWorld, are the men who torture children and overpower women.
Trump’s “denial,” then, only serves to confirm that he has the capacity for cruelty and misogyny that fuels the crime of rape. It is yet another reminder that the issue isn’t so much that his followers don’t believe the accusations against him — after all, he’s on tape bragging about how he enjoys sexual assault — as that they thrill to his unconcealed malice. They mistake his willingness to hurt vulnerable as strength and feel that by siding with a sadist, they will somehow be more powerful and manly for it.
Grown women have some power to fight back, however, as evidenced by Carroll’s own telling of her escape mid-rape. Children, on the other hand, make even better targets for Trump and his supporters, as they can do almost nothing to resist the abuses of those who need to overpower the vulnerable to feel good about themselves.
This, I think, goes a long way to explaining the horrific situation on the border, where reports are streaming out of migrant children being forced to sleep on cold concrete and not allowed to shower or brush their teeth. Lawyers and reporters say that children are being left in soiled clothes and babies are handed off to older children to be cared for. CNN, for instance, spoke to a 14-year-old who was crammed in a cell with a 4-year-old stranger and an 11-year-old boy, caring for a toddler who was sick and covered in filth.
The administration is attempting to play off this horror show as the result of overcrowding due to a rapid influx of migrants. But all the evidence suggests instead that the government is deliberately abusing small children to satisfy the sadism of Trump and his supporters. As CNN has reported, “officials at the border seem to be making no effort to release children to caregivers — many have parents in the US — rather than holding them for weeks in overcrowded cells at the border.”
This, I think, goes a long way to explaining the horrific situation on the border, where reports are streaming out of migrant children being forced to sleep on cold concrete and not allowed to shower or brush their teeth. Lawyers and reporters say that children are being left in soiled clothes and babies are handed off to older children to be cared for. CNN, for instance, spoke to a 14-year-old who was crammed in a cell with a 4-year-old stranger and an 11-year-old boy, caring for a toddler who was sick and covered in filth.
The administration is attempting to play off this horror show as the result of overcrowding due to a rapid influx of migrants. But all the evidence suggests instead that the government is deliberately abusing small children to satisfy the sadism of Trump and his supporters. As CNN has reported, “officials at the border seem to be making no effort to release children to caregivers — many have parents in the US — rather than holding them for weeks in overcrowded cells at the border.”
But I’d argue this is about more than Trump’s use of brinksmanship and hostage-taking as his primary political strategy. It’s also about he and his supporters making themselves feel big and powerful by picking on those who are weak and helpless. The word “bully” feels too small to capture what’s going on, but it does capture the pettiness at the heart of Trumpism. When Trump’s fans speak of making America “great,” this is what they mean: Finding someone smaller and more vulnerable and inflicting abuse on them, just because you can.
Trump supporter struggles to explain racism towards Muslim neighbor: ‘They were just — walking around’
June 20, 2019
By Sarah K. Burris - Raw Story
In an extensive report by The New York Times, Somali refugees in St. Cloud, Minnesota lamented that they face an absurd amount of racism after fleeing ISIS and a war-torn country.
The story describes a local meeting at the Faith Lutheran Church where a free-flowing discussion about politics, abortion, and more quickly turned to discuss the so-called “refugee problem.”
Nearly every person in attendance gave support to President Donald Trump. “Others said that markers of progress were more interpersonal, and they would only be comfortable in their community if the Somali-born refugees converted to Christianity,” the Times wrote.
But it was one woman, who declined to give her name, complained about what she called “no-go zones” where “white residents said they felt uncomfortable” because of the presence of Somali-Americans.
“They were just —” the woman paused, and the Times described her as “searching for the words to describe the offending behavior of the Somali-Americans.”
“They were just walking around,” the woman complained.
One of the stories the piece outlines is a 21-year-old young woman named Ekram Elmoge. She said that the city was “diversity without inclusion.” Describing harassment by white residents, she recalled white students yelling at her, “Go back to your country!” and “You’re here for free money!”
The stories got worse from there.
Read the full story at The New York Times.
The story describes a local meeting at the Faith Lutheran Church where a free-flowing discussion about politics, abortion, and more quickly turned to discuss the so-called “refugee problem.”
Nearly every person in attendance gave support to President Donald Trump. “Others said that markers of progress were more interpersonal, and they would only be comfortable in their community if the Somali-born refugees converted to Christianity,” the Times wrote.
But it was one woman, who declined to give her name, complained about what she called “no-go zones” where “white residents said they felt uncomfortable” because of the presence of Somali-Americans.
“They were just —” the woman paused, and the Times described her as “searching for the words to describe the offending behavior of the Somali-Americans.”
“They were just walking around,” the woman complained.
One of the stories the piece outlines is a 21-year-old young woman named Ekram Elmoge. She said that the city was “diversity without inclusion.” Describing harassment by white residents, she recalled white students yelling at her, “Go back to your country!” and “You’re here for free money!”
The stories got worse from there.
Read the full story at The New York Times.
can't explain stupid!!!
Truck driver tells CNN he’s ‘100 percent’ voting for Trump in 2020 — even as he’s getting hurt by the trade war
May 31, 2019
By Brad Reed - raw story
Mark Zimmerman, the chief operating officer at Pennsylvania-based trucking company Zimmerman Truck Lines, admits he’s getting hurt by President Donald Trump’s trade war — but he still plans on voting for Trump in 2020 no matter what.
In an interview with CNN, Zimmerman admitted that his business is “a challenge” and that “every day we come to work is a fight.” Part of the reason it’s so challenging, explained CNN’s Bill Weir, is that Trump’s trade war has resulted in fewer imports coming into the United States, which means less demand for trucking services.
“Industry data shows that the rates trucking companies charge are down as much as 17 percent,” Weir noted.
Zimmerman also told Weir that his business’s revenue is down 8 percent from last year.
Nonetheless, when asked by Weir whom he’d vote for in 2020, Zimmerman didn’t hesitate.
“I am 100 percent certain I’m voting for President Trump in 2020,” he said.
At the end of his segment, Weir took a guess as to why Trump supporters like Zimmerman are standing by him even as he hurts them financially.
“They don’t see him as failing,” he said. “They see him as fighting for them.”
In an interview with CNN, Zimmerman admitted that his business is “a challenge” and that “every day we come to work is a fight.” Part of the reason it’s so challenging, explained CNN’s Bill Weir, is that Trump’s trade war has resulted in fewer imports coming into the United States, which means less demand for trucking services.
“Industry data shows that the rates trucking companies charge are down as much as 17 percent,” Weir noted.
Zimmerman also told Weir that his business’s revenue is down 8 percent from last year.
Nonetheless, when asked by Weir whom he’d vote for in 2020, Zimmerman didn’t hesitate.
“I am 100 percent certain I’m voting for President Trump in 2020,” he said.
At the end of his segment, Weir took a guess as to why Trump supporters like Zimmerman are standing by him even as he hurts them financially.
“They don’t see him as failing,” he said. “They see him as fighting for them.”
all trump's suckers weren't white!!!
'I get called a sell-out all the time': Trump's voters of colour speak out
What’s it like to be one of the few minority supporters among the president’s overwhelmingly white following?
Donald Trump likes to claim, among other things, that his presidency has been a huge success for non-white Americans. But for all his claims, repeated polls show the president remains very unpopular among people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Nowhere is that more apparent than at his rallies.
In Montoursville, Pennsylvania, on Monday evening, the line of people waiting to see Trump stretched roughly the amount of time it took this Guardian reporter to walk 15 minutes. Aside from length – thousands and thousands of supporters had turned up – one other thing was noticeable: the line was overwhelmingly filled with white people.
“I get called a sell-out all the time,” said Sany Dash. She was standing outside the aircraft hangar where the president was due to appear in a couple of hours’ time.
“A sell-out and a traitor to my race. It happens almost every day online.”
Dash, in her 40s, lives in New York City, and was born in India. She said her abusers – whose platform of choice is usually Facebook – accuse her of being a “white Christian” who has stolen a profile photo from the internet and is now masquerading as Hispanic. In reality, she caught the Trump bug during his 2016 campaign, and on Monday she and a friend were selling Trump baseball caps which bore the message: “Bye bye Dems.” Dash was wearing the red version, which had the US flag embossed on the peak.
“Oh hell no,” she said when asked if she wore the hat in New York. “They’d kill me.”
Dash runs technology companies in New York. She said people commonly think she supports Trump because of the potential benefits for business. But the first issue she raised was immigration.
“I don’t think illegal immigrants should be coming in any more. Why should they not stand in line like we did,” Dash said. Her family emigrated to the US after her father was offered a job by Nasa.
“They need to pay. You can’t just be here for free,” she said.
“Everyone else, when you do visa processing you wait in India or wherever else to come to the US. These guys don’t wait. They just … they get,” Dash said.
Dash also said she had detected hypocrisy from the left in their investigations into Trump.
“I feel like Hillary’s side never got investigated. Why don’t we ever see the Democrats in trouble? Why do they never get investigated?” Dash said. (Hillary Clinton was investigated by a Benghazi select committee for two years, while her husband was impeached.)
Dash has been to 45 Trump rallies in the past two years. She had noticed the lack of diversity among the crowd.
“The brown and black people are scared to come out and to be labelled,” Dash said.
“These [white] people, this is their safe haven.”
Trump has repeatedly said his support has increased among ethnic minority voters. But there is scant evidence for his claims.
In January the president made a series of suspect assertions regarding his approval among Hispanic and Latino voters. Politico was among the news outlets to point out that he was wrong.
In 2016 exit polls showed that just 8% of African American voters chose Trump, with 89% voting for Hillary Clinton. Last year, CNN’s Harry Enten found that African American support had increased slightly, with an average of 12% approving of Trump’s job performance and 84% disapproving. A March survey by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, however, showed 88% of African Americans disapprove of the president.
Which is to say: if Trump has increased his support among some ethnic minority voters, it is only slightly.
Abdul-Malik Walker, from Williamsport, was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat to shield himself from the sun.
“I like what Trump is doing for African Americans,” Walker said.
“Even in businesses, for African American ownership. I just think there’s a lot of opportunity for everybody.”
Walker, 35, was released from prison at the beginning of the month and said he got a job – he works as an HVAC technician – almost immediately.
“Under the previous president a lot of people were going home to nothing.”
Walker liked Trump before he became president, through The Apprentice and Trump’s regular appearances on the Howard Stern radio show. He voted for Obama in 2008, but will opt for Trump in 2020.
“Anybody who pays attention I think will vote for Trump if they’re a minority. Especially African Americans, because Biden, you know, was part of the crime bill in 1994 with mass incarceration mandatory minimums. And coming from prison that’s something that I don’t like. I would never vote for Biden based on that.”
Biden helped write the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act when he was a senator from Delaware. The bill earmarked $8.7bn for building new prisons, and introduced a “three-strikes” provision that mandated life imprisonment without parole for certain people convicted of violent crimes.
Experts say it contributed to an increase in incarceration and in the length of prison sentences, despite Biden’s claim, just last week, to the contrary.
Despite a seemingly problematic track record – in the 1970s Biden also opposed busing students to different districts, which aimed to achieve racial balance in schools – polling suggests the former vice-president currently has overwhelming support among non-white voters.
And while Walker is a full-throated Trump supporter, it seems unlikely that his friends and family, at least, will be won over. Walker showed the Guardian some of the texts he had received after posting a photo of himself in a Make America Great Again hat.
“You acting like Kanye West,” read a message from his cousin. Walker’s sister had threatened to disown him – he said she was joking – and another family member had replied with a facepalm emoji.
One text said simply: “What the hell’s going on here?”
Nowhere is that more apparent than at his rallies.
In Montoursville, Pennsylvania, on Monday evening, the line of people waiting to see Trump stretched roughly the amount of time it took this Guardian reporter to walk 15 minutes. Aside from length – thousands and thousands of supporters had turned up – one other thing was noticeable: the line was overwhelmingly filled with white people.
“I get called a sell-out all the time,” said Sany Dash. She was standing outside the aircraft hangar where the president was due to appear in a couple of hours’ time.
“A sell-out and a traitor to my race. It happens almost every day online.”
Dash, in her 40s, lives in New York City, and was born in India. She said her abusers – whose platform of choice is usually Facebook – accuse her of being a “white Christian” who has stolen a profile photo from the internet and is now masquerading as Hispanic. In reality, she caught the Trump bug during his 2016 campaign, and on Monday she and a friend were selling Trump baseball caps which bore the message: “Bye bye Dems.” Dash was wearing the red version, which had the US flag embossed on the peak.
“Oh hell no,” she said when asked if she wore the hat in New York. “They’d kill me.”
Dash runs technology companies in New York. She said people commonly think she supports Trump because of the potential benefits for business. But the first issue she raised was immigration.
“I don’t think illegal immigrants should be coming in any more. Why should they not stand in line like we did,” Dash said. Her family emigrated to the US after her father was offered a job by Nasa.
“They need to pay. You can’t just be here for free,” she said.
“Everyone else, when you do visa processing you wait in India or wherever else to come to the US. These guys don’t wait. They just … they get,” Dash said.
Dash also said she had detected hypocrisy from the left in their investigations into Trump.
“I feel like Hillary’s side never got investigated. Why don’t we ever see the Democrats in trouble? Why do they never get investigated?” Dash said. (Hillary Clinton was investigated by a Benghazi select committee for two years, while her husband was impeached.)
Dash has been to 45 Trump rallies in the past two years. She had noticed the lack of diversity among the crowd.
“The brown and black people are scared to come out and to be labelled,” Dash said.
“These [white] people, this is their safe haven.”
Trump has repeatedly said his support has increased among ethnic minority voters. But there is scant evidence for his claims.
In January the president made a series of suspect assertions regarding his approval among Hispanic and Latino voters. Politico was among the news outlets to point out that he was wrong.
In 2016 exit polls showed that just 8% of African American voters chose Trump, with 89% voting for Hillary Clinton. Last year, CNN’s Harry Enten found that African American support had increased slightly, with an average of 12% approving of Trump’s job performance and 84% disapproving. A March survey by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, however, showed 88% of African Americans disapprove of the president.
Which is to say: if Trump has increased his support among some ethnic minority voters, it is only slightly.
Abdul-Malik Walker, from Williamsport, was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat to shield himself from the sun.
“I like what Trump is doing for African Americans,” Walker said.
“Even in businesses, for African American ownership. I just think there’s a lot of opportunity for everybody.”
Walker, 35, was released from prison at the beginning of the month and said he got a job – he works as an HVAC technician – almost immediately.
“Under the previous president a lot of people were going home to nothing.”
Walker liked Trump before he became president, through The Apprentice and Trump’s regular appearances on the Howard Stern radio show. He voted for Obama in 2008, but will opt for Trump in 2020.
“Anybody who pays attention I think will vote for Trump if they’re a minority. Especially African Americans, because Biden, you know, was part of the crime bill in 1994 with mass incarceration mandatory minimums. And coming from prison that’s something that I don’t like. I would never vote for Biden based on that.”
Biden helped write the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act when he was a senator from Delaware. The bill earmarked $8.7bn for building new prisons, and introduced a “three-strikes” provision that mandated life imprisonment without parole for certain people convicted of violent crimes.
Experts say it contributed to an increase in incarceration and in the length of prison sentences, despite Biden’s claim, just last week, to the contrary.
Despite a seemingly problematic track record – in the 1970s Biden also opposed busing students to different districts, which aimed to achieve racial balance in schools – polling suggests the former vice-president currently has overwhelming support among non-white voters.
And while Walker is a full-throated Trump supporter, it seems unlikely that his friends and family, at least, will be won over. Walker showed the Guardian some of the texts he had received after posting a photo of himself in a Make America Great Again hat.
“You acting like Kanye West,” read a message from his cousin. Walker’s sister had threatened to disown him – he said she was joking – and another family member had replied with a facepalm emoji.
One text said simply: “What the hell’s going on here?”
know anyone this stupid???
Trump voter in economically ravaged community gives horrifying reason why he’ll never abandon the president
Brad Reed - raw story
20 MAY 2019 AT 09:17 ET
The New York Times recently traveled to Ohio, where people who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 say they’re sticking with him despite the fact that their area’s economy still hasn’t significantly improved since the last presidential election.
Darrell Franks, a retired tool and die maker who backs Trump, told the Times that he likes the idea of having a president who frightens the rest of the world.
“What I want from a president is the rest of the world to look at him and go, ‘Don’t mess with that guy, he will get even,’” he said.
Franks then went on to elaborate about what he does not want to see from a presidential candidate.
“I don’t want kinder, gentler,” he said. “I don’t want some female that wants her agenda.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) similarly told the Times that many people in the area have long been angry about its economic decline and will respond well to someone who promises to hurt others on their behalf.
“The communities were cut loose and ignored and then they voted for Trump because at least he’s punching somebody in the face, and no one else is,” Ryan explained.
Darrell Franks, a retired tool and die maker who backs Trump, told the Times that he likes the idea of having a president who frightens the rest of the world.
“What I want from a president is the rest of the world to look at him and go, ‘Don’t mess with that guy, he will get even,’” he said.
Franks then went on to elaborate about what he does not want to see from a presidential candidate.
“I don’t want kinder, gentler,” he said. “I don’t want some female that wants her agenda.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) similarly told the Times that many people in the area have long been angry about its economic decline and will respond well to someone who promises to hurt others on their behalf.
“The communities were cut loose and ignored and then they voted for Trump because at least he’s punching somebody in the face, and no one else is,” Ryan explained.
Shocker! The GoFundMe Campaign to Build the Wall Is a Bust
And now, the donors to the effort are demanding answers.
Will Sommer - daily beast
05.10.19 5:09 AM ET
Back in December, Washington state Trump supporter Joshua Greene donated a small amount of money to the crowdfunding effort to build a wall along the southern U.S. border. He wasn’t alone. The GoFundMe page to build the wall, to which he’d donated, was a sensation on the right in late 2018 and raised more than $20 million.
Organized by triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, the campaign eventually morphed into a nonprofit called We Build the Wall, which promised to build portions of the wall on private land using the money it raised.
Months later, there’s no evidence that any construction has started, despite claims from Kolfage and his allies that construction would start in April. And now Greene is wondering what ever happened to that wall he was promised his dollars would fund?
“The lack of updates is very concerning,” Greene wrote in an email to Right Richter.
He’s not the only GoFundMe donor curious about what happened to the wall money. Since We Build the Wall blew their April deadline, Twitter replies to Kolfage and the group’s Facebook page have filled up with angry donors. Greene started tweeting his displeasure, too.
We Build the Wall has frequently presented itself as poised to start building portions of the wall on private land. In February, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach—who is a member of We Build the Wall’s board of directors—claimed that the group was “getting ready to break ground, probably in April.”
Kolfage himself went further, saying in a radio interview in March that “we’re going to start breaking ground next month.” The group had even promised to invite donors to a groundbreaking ceremony.
More than a week into May, though, We Build the Wall hasn’t shown any proof that any ground has been broken, and donors say they weren’t invited to any promised groundbreaking ceremony.
Donors to the group have begun taking out their frustrations on the organization’s Facebook page, which often hypes the threat of immigrants crossing the border illegally.
“Show me video of wall being built and I’ll pony up my next donation,” reads one angry Facebook comment.
“Where is the rest of the money going?” reads another.
Making donors more nervous is that Kolfage has a history of participating in questionable endeavors. He was a prolific operator of hoax pages on Facebook, and money he raised in the past to help veterans’ programs in hospitals never actually went to those hospitals.
Complicating the effort further is that it’s not that easy to find private land right on the border where a wall can be built.
Kolfage and We Build the Wall’s board of directors have spent plenty of time in Arizona, ostensibly scouting private land to build the wall. But The Phoenix New Times reported in March that the “vast majority” of land on the border in the state is owned by the federal government. Meanwhile, many of the people who actually own land on the border told the New Times that they hadn’t been contacted by We Build the Wall.
We Build the Wall didn’t respond to requests for comment. In a Facebook comment this week, the group claimed, once again, that it was very close to building the wall. Conveniently, though, We Build the Wall claimed the information about the private wall’s location had to be “secure” in order to confound liberal foes.
“VERY soon we can release the details but have to keep that information secure for the time being as to prevent giving our detractors a heads up to derail our progress,” the statement reads. “Soon, everyone will have the update they’ve been waiting for which we can’t wait to share. This updated delay is just the unfortunate process of building a controversial barrier some people don’t want to happen.”
Kolfage has made similar statements in the past, claiming in a March radio interview that he can’t say where the wall will be built because Trump critics like the American Civil Liberties Union would try to stop it.
“I wish I could name where it’s at, but we can’t name it because of the ACLU, these other liberal groups that want to sue us and impede our progress,” Kolfage said. “But it’s actually happening.”
As for Greene, he’s fed up with the lack of information about the campaign he financially supported.
“I knew Brian had some previous shady GoFundMe campaigns,” Greene emailed. “I felt more confident when he brought on other big names to work with him, I haven’t seen a tweet from ANY of them.”
Organized by triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, the campaign eventually morphed into a nonprofit called We Build the Wall, which promised to build portions of the wall on private land using the money it raised.
Months later, there’s no evidence that any construction has started, despite claims from Kolfage and his allies that construction would start in April. And now Greene is wondering what ever happened to that wall he was promised his dollars would fund?
“The lack of updates is very concerning,” Greene wrote in an email to Right Richter.
He’s not the only GoFundMe donor curious about what happened to the wall money. Since We Build the Wall blew their April deadline, Twitter replies to Kolfage and the group’s Facebook page have filled up with angry donors. Greene started tweeting his displeasure, too.
We Build the Wall has frequently presented itself as poised to start building portions of the wall on private land. In February, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach—who is a member of We Build the Wall’s board of directors—claimed that the group was “getting ready to break ground, probably in April.”
Kolfage himself went further, saying in a radio interview in March that “we’re going to start breaking ground next month.” The group had even promised to invite donors to a groundbreaking ceremony.
More than a week into May, though, We Build the Wall hasn’t shown any proof that any ground has been broken, and donors say they weren’t invited to any promised groundbreaking ceremony.
Donors to the group have begun taking out their frustrations on the organization’s Facebook page, which often hypes the threat of immigrants crossing the border illegally.
“Show me video of wall being built and I’ll pony up my next donation,” reads one angry Facebook comment.
“Where is the rest of the money going?” reads another.
Making donors more nervous is that Kolfage has a history of participating in questionable endeavors. He was a prolific operator of hoax pages on Facebook, and money he raised in the past to help veterans’ programs in hospitals never actually went to those hospitals.
Complicating the effort further is that it’s not that easy to find private land right on the border where a wall can be built.
Kolfage and We Build the Wall’s board of directors have spent plenty of time in Arizona, ostensibly scouting private land to build the wall. But The Phoenix New Times reported in March that the “vast majority” of land on the border in the state is owned by the federal government. Meanwhile, many of the people who actually own land on the border told the New Times that they hadn’t been contacted by We Build the Wall.
We Build the Wall didn’t respond to requests for comment. In a Facebook comment this week, the group claimed, once again, that it was very close to building the wall. Conveniently, though, We Build the Wall claimed the information about the private wall’s location had to be “secure” in order to confound liberal foes.
“VERY soon we can release the details but have to keep that information secure for the time being as to prevent giving our detractors a heads up to derail our progress,” the statement reads. “Soon, everyone will have the update they’ve been waiting for which we can’t wait to share. This updated delay is just the unfortunate process of building a controversial barrier some people don’t want to happen.”
Kolfage has made similar statements in the past, claiming in a March radio interview that he can’t say where the wall will be built because Trump critics like the American Civil Liberties Union would try to stop it.
“I wish I could name where it’s at, but we can’t name it because of the ACLU, these other liberal groups that want to sue us and impede our progress,” Kolfage said. “But it’s actually happening.”
As for Greene, he’s fed up with the lack of information about the campaign he financially supported.
“I knew Brian had some previous shady GoFundMe campaigns,” Greene emailed. “I felt more confident when he brought on other big names to work with him, I haven’t seen a tweet from ANY of them.”
Trump supporters admit they were ‘fooled’ by Trump organization outed as a con
Sarah K. Burris - raw story
05 MAY 2019 AT 18:39 ET
A Trump supporter during a press conference at Trump Tower. (a katz / Shutterstock.com)
Elderly supporters of President Donald Trump are lamenting that they’ve been “fooled” by a former fundraising staffer that worked on the president’s 2016 campaign.
According to an analysis by Axios and the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), “nearly all” of the money raised into a group called The Presidential Coalition is going back into fundraising more money and into administrative costs. It isn’t helping the president, and the money isn’t doing much to help elect other conservative Republicans.
Axios reached out to 12 supporters about where their money actually went. Unsurprisingly, they were angry and upset.
“I thought the money was going toward the president,” said retired widow Barbara Bloom, who is in her 70s. “You know, I’d get repeated duplicates for things. [Their mailers] would most of the time say the first $15 was for your membership, but how many times do you pay membership? … It’s ridiculous; it’s insulting. I’m just really disenchanted with it all.”
Mrs. Bloom wasn’t alone. Minnesota resident Wallace Payne admitted he’s an easy target for scams like this.
“I gave them money after seeing their mailers, and because I think Trump deserves it. … I’m old and easily fooled I guess. … It’s disappointing, very disappointing,” the 86-year-old Republican admitted.
But small-dollar donors weren’t the only ones fooled. Mega-donor George Kunkel spent $101,000 on Trump in 2017 and 2018. In an interview with Axios, he said he thought “the money goes toward supporting the president.” He maintained that some of it did benefit the president because “I saw the ads.”
Axios showed him the breakdown of the disbursements, revealing he too was fooled by the so-called “Presidential Coalition.”
RELATED: BUSTED: Trump’s old fundraiser is raising cash for other Republicans — but is not spending it on them
President Donald Trump’s former fundraiser is now running the Presidental Coalition, an organization aimed at raising money for conservative candidates who support the president. But that's not where the money is going.
According to an analysis by Axios and the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), “nearly all” of the money raised into a group called The Presidential Coalition is going back into fundraising more money and into administrative costs. It isn’t helping the president, and the money isn’t doing much to help elect other conservative Republicans.
Axios reached out to 12 supporters about where their money actually went. Unsurprisingly, they were angry and upset.
“I thought the money was going toward the president,” said retired widow Barbara Bloom, who is in her 70s. “You know, I’d get repeated duplicates for things. [Their mailers] would most of the time say the first $15 was for your membership, but how many times do you pay membership? … It’s ridiculous; it’s insulting. I’m just really disenchanted with it all.”
Mrs. Bloom wasn’t alone. Minnesota resident Wallace Payne admitted he’s an easy target for scams like this.
“I gave them money after seeing their mailers, and because I think Trump deserves it. … I’m old and easily fooled I guess. … It’s disappointing, very disappointing,” the 86-year-old Republican admitted.
But small-dollar donors weren’t the only ones fooled. Mega-donor George Kunkel spent $101,000 on Trump in 2017 and 2018. In an interview with Axios, he said he thought “the money goes toward supporting the president.” He maintained that some of it did benefit the president because “I saw the ads.”
Axios showed him the breakdown of the disbursements, revealing he too was fooled by the so-called “Presidential Coalition.”
RELATED: BUSTED: Trump’s old fundraiser is raising cash for other Republicans — but is not spending it on them
President Donald Trump’s former fundraiser is now running the Presidental Coalition, an organization aimed at raising money for conservative candidates who support the president. But that's not where the money is going.
When will people realize they’re being duped by Republicans?
by Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly - alternet
May 3, 2019
Trump beat Clinton by less than a point in Wisconsin. Since then, Democrat Tony Evers squeaked out a win for governor against Republican incumbent Scott Walker. That should firmly place the state in the “swing” column.
As a resident of next-door Minnesota, the symbol that most represents Wisconsin is the ubiquitous cheesehead.
The fact that an entire state—but especially its Packer fans—have associated themselves with the dairy industry tells you just how important cows are in Wisconsin. All kidding aside, that suggests that this is really bad news.
Wisconsin is known as “America’s Dairyland,” but the milk makers who gave the state its moniker are vanishing, falling prey to a variety of impediments, including President Trump and his global trade war.
Over the past two years, nearly 1,200 of the state’s dairy farms have stopped milking cows and so far this year, another 212 have disappeared, with many shifting production to beef or vegetables. The total number of herds in Wisconsin is now below 8,000 — about half as many as 15 years ago. In 2018, 49 Wisconsin farms filed for bankruptcy — the highest of any state in the country, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Racine, Wisconsin, located in the southeastern part of the state on the shore of Lake Michigan, isn’t known for cows.
The Racine County area was once among the wealthiest in the state, credited with inventing products from the garbage disposal to malted milk, and home of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed headquarters of SC Johnson, maker of Pledge, Raid and Drano. The county lost major employers with the manufacturing decline. The city of Racine has one of the state’s highest poverty rates.
Early in his presidency, Trump promised Racine a megadeal with the Taiwanese firm Foxconn, which was slated to bring 13,000 jobs to the area. The state of Wisconsin offered $2.85 billion in tax credits, while the city and county mortgaged their future and borrowed around $350 million to buy land and make infrastructure improvements.
Contractors have bulldozed about 75 homes in Mount Pleasant and cleared hundreds of farmland acres. Crews are widening Interstate 94 from Milwaukee to the Illinois state line to accommodate driverless trucks and thousands of employees.
On Foxconn’s part, here is the latest.
As of Dec. 31, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant, famous as an Apple Inc. supplier, had spent only $99 million, 1% of its pledged investment, according to its latest state filings. The company projected as many as 2,080 in-state employees by the end of 2019 but had fewer than 200 at last year’s end, state filings show. The village is still awaiting factory building plans for review. Locals said Foxconn contractors have recently been scarce on the site.
Lately, Foxconn representatives aren’t even showing up at town hall meetings to discuss the project.
You have to wonder how much the residents of a state like Wisconsin can take from Republicans before they realize that they’ve been duped.
As a resident of next-door Minnesota, the symbol that most represents Wisconsin is the ubiquitous cheesehead.
The fact that an entire state—but especially its Packer fans—have associated themselves with the dairy industry tells you just how important cows are in Wisconsin. All kidding aside, that suggests that this is really bad news.
Wisconsin is known as “America’s Dairyland,” but the milk makers who gave the state its moniker are vanishing, falling prey to a variety of impediments, including President Trump and his global trade war.
Over the past two years, nearly 1,200 of the state’s dairy farms have stopped milking cows and so far this year, another 212 have disappeared, with many shifting production to beef or vegetables. The total number of herds in Wisconsin is now below 8,000 — about half as many as 15 years ago. In 2018, 49 Wisconsin farms filed for bankruptcy — the highest of any state in the country, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Racine, Wisconsin, located in the southeastern part of the state on the shore of Lake Michigan, isn’t known for cows.
The Racine County area was once among the wealthiest in the state, credited with inventing products from the garbage disposal to malted milk, and home of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed headquarters of SC Johnson, maker of Pledge, Raid and Drano. The county lost major employers with the manufacturing decline. The city of Racine has one of the state’s highest poverty rates.
Early in his presidency, Trump promised Racine a megadeal with the Taiwanese firm Foxconn, which was slated to bring 13,000 jobs to the area. The state of Wisconsin offered $2.85 billion in tax credits, while the city and county mortgaged their future and borrowed around $350 million to buy land and make infrastructure improvements.
Contractors have bulldozed about 75 homes in Mount Pleasant and cleared hundreds of farmland acres. Crews are widening Interstate 94 from Milwaukee to the Illinois state line to accommodate driverless trucks and thousands of employees.
On Foxconn’s part, here is the latest.
As of Dec. 31, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant, famous as an Apple Inc. supplier, had spent only $99 million, 1% of its pledged investment, according to its latest state filings. The company projected as many as 2,080 in-state employees by the end of 2019 but had fewer than 200 at last year’s end, state filings show. The village is still awaiting factory building plans for review. Locals said Foxconn contractors have recently been scarce on the site.
Lately, Foxconn representatives aren’t even showing up at town hall meetings to discuss the project.
You have to wonder how much the residents of a state like Wisconsin can take from Republicans before they realize that they’ve been duped.
This. One would almost think it intentional....
Trump supporters believe these 10 incredibly fake facts are true
Michael Hayne, Alternet - raw story
29 APR 2019 AT 11:12 ET
Americans, divided and polarized as they are, live in two distinct worlds. In one world, the earth is not flat, climate change is real and Bill and Hillary aren’t pimping kids out in the basement of a pizza restaurant.
The other world is devoid of reason, evidence and pretty much any type of historical facts. Despite the fact that Trump voters have been fleeced by the biggest con man in the world, they continue to devour the lies he sells on a silver platter. When it comes to facts, Trump supporters aren’t head over heels in love with them. After all, Trump’s rise came as a result of playing to uninformed and angry people’s primal and worst sensibilities. They’re right and the entire world is wrong, because that’s what their cult leader told them, and who needs Google anyway?
Here are 10 incredibly fake facts that Trump supporters believe are true.
1. Trump is a devoted Christian.
The thrice-married, pu$$y-grabbing Trump is actually quite the exemplary Christian, at least in the minds of his supporters. They are so convinced of this fake fact that they welcomed Trump at Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University this past weekend, where the president was given an honorary doctorate.
2. The economy is improving because of Trump.
If there’s anything Trump does better than filing for Chapter 11, it’s taking credit for things other people have done. Part-time First Lady Melania Trump stole a speech from Michelle Obama, so it only seems fitting that the Donald do it as well. Now, even though he hasn’t signed a single piece of economic legislation and all economic data is just a continuation of President Obama’s efforts, Trump seems to have no issue taking credit for all of the positive economic news. And despite the fact that Trump had been in office for a whopping two weeks, Fox News gave Trump full credit for a positive jobs report in January.
3. ‘Millions voted illegally’ (without a single shred of proof).
Not too long ago, a poll found that 55 percent of Trump supporters believe his daft conspiracy theory that the only reason he lost the popular vote is because “millions voted illegally” for Hillary Clinton. Ignorance is bliss, right?
4. Immigration is off the rails and illegal immigrants are all violent criminals.
Trump played to the racist tendencies of working-class whites when he declared that Mexicans were criminals and rapists, except for some. He also took a page from Richard Nixon’s handbook and touted law and order for the silent majority. But here’s the thing for folks who reside in Realitytown, USA: net migration from Mexico is basically zero and stats show that undocumened immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But facts are not how you Make America Great Again!
5. Trump should have the power to overturn judicial rulings.
Utterly clueless when it comes to the U.S. Constitution (except for the Second Amendment), 51 percent of Trump supporters think the Executive Branch should have the power to overrule the Judicial Branch. This came after Trump was overruled in his efforts to impose a Muslim travel ban.
6. Trumpcare is great while Obamacare is awful.
Okay, this one is especially heinous. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he talked constantly about how easy it would be to gut Obamacare and impose a version of his own that would cover everyone. Here are the facts:
7. Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Ah yes, the birther question. The very thing that catapulted a washed-up reality TV host to political fame and fortune. Trump had been accusing President Obama of not being born in America for years, which seems to have resonated with his supporters: 59 percent of Trump supporters didn’t think Obama was born in the United States, while just a mere 23 percent said he was.
8. There’s a war on gun owners.
Despite the fact that gun ownership ballooned under President Obama and his sensible gun legislation failed miserably in the NRA-owned Republican Congress, Trump supporters believed there was a major “war” on guns. The biggest (and stupidest) conspiracy was the one involving Jade Helm, when right-wingers thought a military exercise was actually a secret ploy by Obama to declare martial law and seize all the guns.
9. All the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are bogus.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that continues to pile up regarding Trump’s ties to Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, his supporters will hear nothing of it. They love Russia and think CNN and every other major news outlet is fake news that hates America. Bear in mind, all of this seems to be leading up to impeachment. But yeah, nothing to see here.
10. Trump is honest and trustworthy.
This may be the greatest fake fact of fake facts: Trump is honest and trustworthy. Despite the fact that nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is a brazen lie that can be disproved in a New York minute, his supporters think he’s honest. That’s just a special kind of ignorance you can’t fix. While some of his supporters have since seen the light of day, a majority of them still trust him despite all the explanations of his lies the media makes.
In short, it may just take Trump throwing puppies into a firepit for a majority of his supporters to recognize him for the lying con man that he is. Let’s certainly hope not, as that may not be out of the realm of possibility.
The other world is devoid of reason, evidence and pretty much any type of historical facts. Despite the fact that Trump voters have been fleeced by the biggest con man in the world, they continue to devour the lies he sells on a silver platter. When it comes to facts, Trump supporters aren’t head over heels in love with them. After all, Trump’s rise came as a result of playing to uninformed and angry people’s primal and worst sensibilities. They’re right and the entire world is wrong, because that’s what their cult leader told them, and who needs Google anyway?
Here are 10 incredibly fake facts that Trump supporters believe are true.
1. Trump is a devoted Christian.
The thrice-married, pu$$y-grabbing Trump is actually quite the exemplary Christian, at least in the minds of his supporters. They are so convinced of this fake fact that they welcomed Trump at Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University this past weekend, where the president was given an honorary doctorate.
2. The economy is improving because of Trump.
If there’s anything Trump does better than filing for Chapter 11, it’s taking credit for things other people have done. Part-time First Lady Melania Trump stole a speech from Michelle Obama, so it only seems fitting that the Donald do it as well. Now, even though he hasn’t signed a single piece of economic legislation and all economic data is just a continuation of President Obama’s efforts, Trump seems to have no issue taking credit for all of the positive economic news. And despite the fact that Trump had been in office for a whopping two weeks, Fox News gave Trump full credit for a positive jobs report in January.
3. ‘Millions voted illegally’ (without a single shred of proof).
Not too long ago, a poll found that 55 percent of Trump supporters believe his daft conspiracy theory that the only reason he lost the popular vote is because “millions voted illegally” for Hillary Clinton. Ignorance is bliss, right?
4. Immigration is off the rails and illegal immigrants are all violent criminals.
Trump played to the racist tendencies of working-class whites when he declared that Mexicans were criminals and rapists, except for some. He also took a page from Richard Nixon’s handbook and touted law and order for the silent majority. But here’s the thing for folks who reside in Realitytown, USA: net migration from Mexico is basically zero and stats show that undocumened immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But facts are not how you Make America Great Again!
5. Trump should have the power to overturn judicial rulings.
Utterly clueless when it comes to the U.S. Constitution (except for the Second Amendment), 51 percent of Trump supporters think the Executive Branch should have the power to overrule the Judicial Branch. This came after Trump was overruled in his efforts to impose a Muslim travel ban.
6. Trumpcare is great while Obamacare is awful.
Okay, this one is especially heinous. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he talked constantly about how easy it would be to gut Obamacare and impose a version of his own that would cover everyone. Here are the facts:
- Around 24 million people will lose their health insurance—many of them his most vocal supporters
- Premiums, especially for Americans 50 and older, will increase dramatically.
- States can opt-out of protecting people with pre-existing conditions.
- Coverage will get worse.
- Medicaid will be gutted.
7. Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Ah yes, the birther question. The very thing that catapulted a washed-up reality TV host to political fame and fortune. Trump had been accusing President Obama of not being born in America for years, which seems to have resonated with his supporters: 59 percent of Trump supporters didn’t think Obama was born in the United States, while just a mere 23 percent said he was.
8. There’s a war on gun owners.
Despite the fact that gun ownership ballooned under President Obama and his sensible gun legislation failed miserably in the NRA-owned Republican Congress, Trump supporters believed there was a major “war” on guns. The biggest (and stupidest) conspiracy was the one involving Jade Helm, when right-wingers thought a military exercise was actually a secret ploy by Obama to declare martial law and seize all the guns.
9. All the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are bogus.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that continues to pile up regarding Trump’s ties to Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, his supporters will hear nothing of it. They love Russia and think CNN and every other major news outlet is fake news that hates America. Bear in mind, all of this seems to be leading up to impeachment. But yeah, nothing to see here.
10. Trump is honest and trustworthy.
This may be the greatest fake fact of fake facts: Trump is honest and trustworthy. Despite the fact that nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is a brazen lie that can be disproved in a New York minute, his supporters think he’s honest. That’s just a special kind of ignorance you can’t fix. While some of his supporters have since seen the light of day, a majority of them still trust him despite all the explanations of his lies the media makes.
In short, it may just take Trump throwing puppies into a firepit for a majority of his supporters to recognize him for the lying con man that he is. Let’s certainly hope not, as that may not be out of the realm of possibility.
Such a catchy slogan for Nazi's. Soph0571 - Demo Underground
‘He lied — I’m no better off’: Regretful Trump voter tells C-SPAN he’s ready to back Bernie in 2020
Brad Reed - raw story
26 APR 2019 AT 07:53 ET
A man who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 told C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Friday that he is experiencing significant regrets — and he says he’s open to backing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 race.
During a discussion about whether Trump deserves to be challenged by another Republican in the 2020 primary race, a man from North Carolina called in to admit that voting for Trump in 2016 was a big mistake that he doesn’t intend to repeat.
“For the last election, I trusted Trump,” he said. “I thought he is — he was going to throw a monkey wrench into the elite establishment and make America great again.”
However, the man then told C-SPAN that he’s seen a big gap between the president’s promises and reality.
“He lied,” the man said. “I am no better off. My friends who are regular workers are no better off. The Midwest… no better off. This year, if I don’t have someone to challenge him on the outside, I am voting for Bernie because he makes the most sense.”
The man went on to explain that he liked what Sanders has been saying about tackling prescription drug costs, which Trump promised to handle in 2016 but has so far failed to do.
During a discussion about whether Trump deserves to be challenged by another Republican in the 2020 primary race, a man from North Carolina called in to admit that voting for Trump in 2016 was a big mistake that he doesn’t intend to repeat.
“For the last election, I trusted Trump,” he said. “I thought he is — he was going to throw a monkey wrench into the elite establishment and make America great again.”
However, the man then told C-SPAN that he’s seen a big gap between the president’s promises and reality.
“He lied,” the man said. “I am no better off. My friends who are regular workers are no better off. The Midwest… no better off. This year, if I don’t have someone to challenge him on the outside, I am voting for Bernie because he makes the most sense.”
The man went on to explain that he liked what Sanders has been saying about tackling prescription drug costs, which Trump promised to handle in 2016 but has so far failed to do.
‘Is nothing sacred?’ Evangelicals are supporting ‘Trump over Jesus’: conservative columnist
Brad Reed - raw story
09 APR 2019 AT 06:43 ET
With news breaking that President Donald Trump wants to restart his policy of separating migrant families, conservative columnist Matt Lewis has written a scathing column taking the president’s evangelical supporters to task for supporting what he says is a very anti-Christian policy.
Writing in The Daily Beast, Lewis argues that “it’s hard for me to see how conservative Christians in the Trump era can square their theology with their politics” if they back him reinstating baby jails for migrant children.
Lewis then goes directly to the Bible to show that Christians are commanded by God to be welcoming to strangers and to value the importance of families.
“Exodus 23:9 says, ‘Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt,'” Lewis writes. “Hebrews 13:2 says, ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.'”
Lewis then shows that separating families in particular is a direct affront to Christian teachings.
“When it comes to separating children, I’m reminded of the book of Matthew, where Jesus says, ‘[W]hoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me’ and ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven,'” he writes.
What’s more, Lewis writes that evangelicals as a whole used to be far more welcoming to immigrants — and that their turn against refugees coincides with their embrace of Trump.
“By failing to condemn Trump’s border policies, evangelicals on the right are turning a blind eye to the lessons of the Bible and Ronald Reagan,” he concludes. “Is nothing sacred?”
Read the whole column here.
Writing in The Daily Beast, Lewis argues that “it’s hard for me to see how conservative Christians in the Trump era can square their theology with their politics” if they back him reinstating baby jails for migrant children.
Lewis then goes directly to the Bible to show that Christians are commanded by God to be welcoming to strangers and to value the importance of families.
“Exodus 23:9 says, ‘Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt,'” Lewis writes. “Hebrews 13:2 says, ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.'”
Lewis then shows that separating families in particular is a direct affront to Christian teachings.
“When it comes to separating children, I’m reminded of the book of Matthew, where Jesus says, ‘[W]hoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me’ and ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven,'” he writes.
What’s more, Lewis writes that evangelicals as a whole used to be far more welcoming to immigrants — and that their turn against refugees coincides with their embrace of Trump.
“By failing to condemn Trump’s border policies, evangelicals on the right are turning a blind eye to the lessons of the Bible and Ronald Reagan,” he concludes. “Is nothing sacred?”
Read the whole column here.
HEALTHCARE
Look at These Absolutely Ordinary Americans Who Hate Medicare for All
Libby Watson - splinter news.com
The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future is a lobbying group dedicated to fighting single-payer and even public option health plans, formed by the biggest players in the health insurance industry—pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and health insurers, among others. We don’t know how much money they have, but one of their members, the pharma trade group PhRMA, raised $456 million last year alone, so it’s likely to be quite a lot.
I receive PAHCF’s press releases, which are frequent. Every so often, they’ll highlight “voices throughout the nation” in a recurring feature they call “WHAT THEY ARE SAYING,” collecting anti-Medicare for All letters to the editor and op-eds from around the country. The strong implication is that these voices are somehow representative of Real Americans who fear Medicare for All, and not just the talking points of an industry-sponsored group.
Take this quote from Mustafa Tameez in a March 1 PAHCF press release, for example:
Mustafa Tameez, Businessman, Texas:
… I think we have to do is improve what’s working with the ACA and fix what’s broken before we try and change the system all over again … We have to have a better partnership with both the public sector and the private sector, and I think the solutions lie there, rather than all the solutions are with the private sector or all with the public sector. Anytime you see strong public-private partnerships, that’s when you find most efficiency, rather than putting it in one or the other.
PAHCF describes Tameez as a “businessman.” Sounds nice and normal, someone who would have a unique understanding into how harmful Medicare for All could be—taxes!!! Ahhh!!!
But Tameez isn’t simply a businessman. He’s the managing director at Texas-based Outreach Strategists, a public affairs and lobbying firm. Their clients include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, University of Texas Physicians, and St. Luke’s Hospital, among others. This seems rather relevant, but is not disclosed. Another PAHCF press release quoted an op-ed that Tameez published on the Houston Chronicle’s In the Loop blog, which doesn’t describe his job at all.
In advocacy campaigns, there are grassroots—genuine, broad-based political action by real people not employed in politics day to day—and grasstops, the practice of cultivating local leaders to influence their communities. And then there’s astroturfing, the practice of trying to create a false impression of broad public support or outrage on an issue when there isn’t any. Big, well-funded advocacy firms in DC spend quite a lot of their time doing these sorts of things.
This is the advantage of “grassroots” activities: It lends a legitimacy that, say, quotes from the people who directly stand to profit from the continuation of a private healthcare system can never achieve. It is more convincing to hear arguments about what would happen to real people from those real people than just another politics wanker in DC. But when those voices are few and far between, sometimes you have to get a little bit creative about who counts as a regular American.
Tameez isn’t the only example of this. A PAHCF press release from today quotes a letter to the editor of the Billings Gazette from Jim Corson, who is simply quoted as “Jim Corson, Montana.” Who is Jim? Jim worked for former Sen. Max Baucus for 14 years. Baucus, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee and the Affordable Care Act’s chief proponent in the Senate, helped kill the public option in the ACA, and was a fierce opponent of even discussing single-payer in healthcare reform hearings in 2009. Now, that’s not to say that what happened 10 years ago means Corson is ethically compromised on this issue; it just means that highlighting his voice as one of Real Americans without saying who he actually is comes off as just a tad dishonest.
We’ve reached out to PAHCF to ask if they’ve worked with any of the individuals highlighted in their newsletters to place letters to the editor or op-eds in newspapers. We’ve also reached out to all of the letter and op-ed writers named in this post themselves to ask if they had help placing these and if they disclosed their work or political activism to the papers or the PAHCF. We’ll update if and when we receive any responses.
James Rang was described as a “businessman” in Iowa when PAHCF quoted his March 7 op-ed in the Telegraph Herald, which is behind a paywall, saying: “In a single-payer system, patient choice and free-market competition are removed to make way for higher costs and reductions in the standards of our care.”
What is not disclosed is that Rang’s business is the insurance business: He is the vice president in the employee benefits department at the Friedman Group, meaning it is his job to sell health insurance to businesses. In 2018, James won an award from Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Way to go, Jim! But I would say that when it comes to PAHCF pushing his quote, it is somewhat less convincing that it came from a guy whose job is to sell private health insurance, since that entire industry would basically go away if Medicare for All passed.
Carlos Carbonell from Florida is yet another person described as a “businessman,” when PAHCF quoted his words to the Orlando Sentinel’s “panel of 100 influential leaders.” The Sentinel described Carbonell as a “CEO/Founder Echo: Tech Strategy & Apps.” You know, Apps. What Carbonell also is: A “Public Affairs Advisor” at Converge Strategies, a government affairs (read: lobbying) firm whose website says it works with the healthcare industry, though it doesn’t name specific clients. Just another businessman sharing his businessman opinion!
Jack A. Roy’s February 23 letter to the editor of the Eagle-Tribune in Massachussetts is quoted, saying: “Recently many politicians have embraced another healthcare proposal, ‘Medicare for All.’ I do not understand how this could work.” Who is Jack? Jack is the former head of the Haverhill City Republican Committee. Just a normal person who could otherwise absolutely be expected to be open to supporting Medicare for All.
Mark Havlicek is yet another “businessman” quoted by PAHCF from his short February 18 letter to the Des Moines Register, which doesn’t actually describe him as a businessman at all. How did PAHCF know what Havlicek does for a living? Did they just guess, since it seems like 90 percent of the letters to the editor are written by bored “businessmen” who should be doing their real jobs?
Anyway, Havlicek is indeed a businessman. According to his LinkedIn, he is a vice president at Wells Fargo Mortgage and runs a management consulting firm, though his page says the group also offers “political consulting.” This makes sense, since Havlicek is experienced in politics: He was a member of Jeb Bush’s Iowa leadership team, and a press release from the time describes him as a “committed Republican activist.” Again, just someone who you would expect to have a good-faith objection to Medicare for All.
To be clear, PAHCF has also quoted other people who don’t work in politics or have any discernible financial interest in the current healthcare system. That’s not surprising, since Medicare for All is a big issue, and there must be some people out there who don’t want it and who have the time and energy to write a letter to their local paper saying so.
But this is, I would say, quite a lot of fake-ass people to quote without disclosing anything about who they are, or how they found them. So next time you see PAHCF or people or groups with similar aims push out “voices throughout the nation” who are objecting to Medicare for All, just think hard about who those voices actually are, and how representative of the rest of the country they are.
I receive PAHCF’s press releases, which are frequent. Every so often, they’ll highlight “voices throughout the nation” in a recurring feature they call “WHAT THEY ARE SAYING,” collecting anti-Medicare for All letters to the editor and op-eds from around the country. The strong implication is that these voices are somehow representative of Real Americans who fear Medicare for All, and not just the talking points of an industry-sponsored group.
Take this quote from Mustafa Tameez in a March 1 PAHCF press release, for example:
Mustafa Tameez, Businessman, Texas:
… I think we have to do is improve what’s working with the ACA and fix what’s broken before we try and change the system all over again … We have to have a better partnership with both the public sector and the private sector, and I think the solutions lie there, rather than all the solutions are with the private sector or all with the public sector. Anytime you see strong public-private partnerships, that’s when you find most efficiency, rather than putting it in one or the other.
PAHCF describes Tameez as a “businessman.” Sounds nice and normal, someone who would have a unique understanding into how harmful Medicare for All could be—taxes!!! Ahhh!!!
But Tameez isn’t simply a businessman. He’s the managing director at Texas-based Outreach Strategists, a public affairs and lobbying firm. Their clients include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, University of Texas Physicians, and St. Luke’s Hospital, among others. This seems rather relevant, but is not disclosed. Another PAHCF press release quoted an op-ed that Tameez published on the Houston Chronicle’s In the Loop blog, which doesn’t describe his job at all.
In advocacy campaigns, there are grassroots—genuine, broad-based political action by real people not employed in politics day to day—and grasstops, the practice of cultivating local leaders to influence their communities. And then there’s astroturfing, the practice of trying to create a false impression of broad public support or outrage on an issue when there isn’t any. Big, well-funded advocacy firms in DC spend quite a lot of their time doing these sorts of things.
This is the advantage of “grassroots” activities: It lends a legitimacy that, say, quotes from the people who directly stand to profit from the continuation of a private healthcare system can never achieve. It is more convincing to hear arguments about what would happen to real people from those real people than just another politics wanker in DC. But when those voices are few and far between, sometimes you have to get a little bit creative about who counts as a regular American.
Tameez isn’t the only example of this. A PAHCF press release from today quotes a letter to the editor of the Billings Gazette from Jim Corson, who is simply quoted as “Jim Corson, Montana.” Who is Jim? Jim worked for former Sen. Max Baucus for 14 years. Baucus, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee and the Affordable Care Act’s chief proponent in the Senate, helped kill the public option in the ACA, and was a fierce opponent of even discussing single-payer in healthcare reform hearings in 2009. Now, that’s not to say that what happened 10 years ago means Corson is ethically compromised on this issue; it just means that highlighting his voice as one of Real Americans without saying who he actually is comes off as just a tad dishonest.
We’ve reached out to PAHCF to ask if they’ve worked with any of the individuals highlighted in their newsletters to place letters to the editor or op-eds in newspapers. We’ve also reached out to all of the letter and op-ed writers named in this post themselves to ask if they had help placing these and if they disclosed their work or political activism to the papers or the PAHCF. We’ll update if and when we receive any responses.
James Rang was described as a “businessman” in Iowa when PAHCF quoted his March 7 op-ed in the Telegraph Herald, which is behind a paywall, saying: “In a single-payer system, patient choice and free-market competition are removed to make way for higher costs and reductions in the standards of our care.”
What is not disclosed is that Rang’s business is the insurance business: He is the vice president in the employee benefits department at the Friedman Group, meaning it is his job to sell health insurance to businesses. In 2018, James won an award from Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Way to go, Jim! But I would say that when it comes to PAHCF pushing his quote, it is somewhat less convincing that it came from a guy whose job is to sell private health insurance, since that entire industry would basically go away if Medicare for All passed.
Carlos Carbonell from Florida is yet another person described as a “businessman,” when PAHCF quoted his words to the Orlando Sentinel’s “panel of 100 influential leaders.” The Sentinel described Carbonell as a “CEO/Founder Echo: Tech Strategy & Apps.” You know, Apps. What Carbonell also is: A “Public Affairs Advisor” at Converge Strategies, a government affairs (read: lobbying) firm whose website says it works with the healthcare industry, though it doesn’t name specific clients. Just another businessman sharing his businessman opinion!
Jack A. Roy’s February 23 letter to the editor of the Eagle-Tribune in Massachussetts is quoted, saying: “Recently many politicians have embraced another healthcare proposal, ‘Medicare for All.’ I do not understand how this could work.” Who is Jack? Jack is the former head of the Haverhill City Republican Committee. Just a normal person who could otherwise absolutely be expected to be open to supporting Medicare for All.
Mark Havlicek is yet another “businessman” quoted by PAHCF from his short February 18 letter to the Des Moines Register, which doesn’t actually describe him as a businessman at all. How did PAHCF know what Havlicek does for a living? Did they just guess, since it seems like 90 percent of the letters to the editor are written by bored “businessmen” who should be doing their real jobs?
Anyway, Havlicek is indeed a businessman. According to his LinkedIn, he is a vice president at Wells Fargo Mortgage and runs a management consulting firm, though his page says the group also offers “political consulting.” This makes sense, since Havlicek is experienced in politics: He was a member of Jeb Bush’s Iowa leadership team, and a press release from the time describes him as a “committed Republican activist.” Again, just someone who you would expect to have a good-faith objection to Medicare for All.
To be clear, PAHCF has also quoted other people who don’t work in politics or have any discernible financial interest in the current healthcare system. That’s not surprising, since Medicare for All is a big issue, and there must be some people out there who don’t want it and who have the time and energy to write a letter to their local paper saying so.
But this is, I would say, quite a lot of fake-ass people to quote without disclosing anything about who they are, or how they found them. So next time you see PAHCF or people or groups with similar aims push out “voices throughout the nation” who are objecting to Medicare for All, just think hard about who those voices actually are, and how representative of the rest of the country they are.
Why are Trump fans celebrating that he’s a ‘Russian stooge’ instead of a traitor?
Brad Reed - raw story
29 MAR 2019 AT 12:59 ET
Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson on Friday rained hell on Trump supporters who are spiking the football in wake of the news that special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish there was a criminal conspiracy between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
In his latest column, the former George W. Bush speechwriter outlined all the unethical behavior that Trump and his associates engaged in during the 2016 presidential campaign, including taking meetings with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton, openly encouraging the release of Clinton’s hacked emails, and trying to land a massive real estate deal with the Kremlin while running for president.
Although none of these actions may be technically illegal, Gerson writes, they are definitely unethical and work to benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to undermine confidence in democracy.
“Trump supporters are doing a victory dance over the fact that he isn’t a Russian agent, just a Russian stooge,” Gerson writes. “And Trump’s supporters are spiking the ball following an investigation that did not clear the president of obstruction charges. So it is still a legal judgment call whether the president is a crook.”
Gerson then warns Trump fans that their president is only going to look worse once Mueller’s full report is released.
“Barr’s summary of the Mueller report is the most favorable interpretation Trump is likely to get,” he writes. “The report itself may be a catalogue of horrible judgment, unethical behavior and noncriminal corruption. It may put Trump Inc. in a very bad light. If and when it comes out in full. In the meantime, the Trump administration is defendant, judge and jury.”
Read the whole column here.
In his latest column, the former George W. Bush speechwriter outlined all the unethical behavior that Trump and his associates engaged in during the 2016 presidential campaign, including taking meetings with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton, openly encouraging the release of Clinton’s hacked emails, and trying to land a massive real estate deal with the Kremlin while running for president.
Although none of these actions may be technically illegal, Gerson writes, they are definitely unethical and work to benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to undermine confidence in democracy.
“Trump supporters are doing a victory dance over the fact that he isn’t a Russian agent, just a Russian stooge,” Gerson writes. “And Trump’s supporters are spiking the ball following an investigation that did not clear the president of obstruction charges. So it is still a legal judgment call whether the president is a crook.”
Gerson then warns Trump fans that their president is only going to look worse once Mueller’s full report is released.
“Barr’s summary of the Mueller report is the most favorable interpretation Trump is likely to get,” he writes. “The report itself may be a catalogue of horrible judgment, unethical behavior and noncriminal corruption. It may put Trump Inc. in a very bad light. If and when it comes out in full. In the meantime, the Trump administration is defendant, judge and jury.”
Read the whole column here.
Author explains how GOP uses racism to fool dumb whites: ‘At least our tax dollars aren’t going to welfare queens’
David Edwards - raw story
19 MAR 2019 AT 13:54 ET
A new book by physician Jonathan Metzl explores how the Republican Party uses racism to fool white people into voting for policies that are against their own self-interests.
In his book, Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland, Metzl argues that political beliefs like support for gun rights or opposition to the Affordable Care Act can be tied to racism.
Vox’s Sean Illing spoke to Metzl about the new book in an interview that was published this week.
Metzl explained:
That’s the core question I address in the book. I look at the rejection of the Affordable Care Act in the South. I look at policies that make it far easier for people to get guns and carry guns everywhere. I look at tax cuts that benefit wealthy Americans but cut roads, bridges, and schools in poor and working-class areas. Every one of those policies has been sold as a policy that will make America great again. But they have devastating consequences for working-class populations, particularly working-class white populations, in many instances.
You can’t really understand why people might support those agendas if you just start the conversation today. There are long trajectories of anti-government sentiment that course through the South that Trump has tapped into. There are also concerns about what it means to have the government intervene in ways that equally distribute resources that working-class white populations fear might undermine their own sense of privilege.
I think the GOP has also been remarkably successful at tapping into this narrative — a narrative that makes people anxious that immigrants and minorities are going to take away privileges that are theirs.
Metzl was careful to point out that some of the Republicans he spoke to did not appear to be racist.
“It might hurt us but at least our tax dollars aren’t going to Mexicans and welfare queens,” he recalled one person saying.
“The key point I make in the book is that all these negative health risks don’t necessarily stem from racist individuals,” he said. “The health risks rise when the politics of racial resentment shapes the health care policies, the health policies, in your state or community. So it really was the policies themselves that were racially motivated, not the individual people or their psychologies.”
In his book, Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland, Metzl argues that political beliefs like support for gun rights or opposition to the Affordable Care Act can be tied to racism.
Vox’s Sean Illing spoke to Metzl about the new book in an interview that was published this week.
Metzl explained:
That’s the core question I address in the book. I look at the rejection of the Affordable Care Act in the South. I look at policies that make it far easier for people to get guns and carry guns everywhere. I look at tax cuts that benefit wealthy Americans but cut roads, bridges, and schools in poor and working-class areas. Every one of those policies has been sold as a policy that will make America great again. But they have devastating consequences for working-class populations, particularly working-class white populations, in many instances.
You can’t really understand why people might support those agendas if you just start the conversation today. There are long trajectories of anti-government sentiment that course through the South that Trump has tapped into. There are also concerns about what it means to have the government intervene in ways that equally distribute resources that working-class white populations fear might undermine their own sense of privilege.
I think the GOP has also been remarkably successful at tapping into this narrative — a narrative that makes people anxious that immigrants and minorities are going to take away privileges that are theirs.
Metzl was careful to point out that some of the Republicans he spoke to did not appear to be racist.
“It might hurt us but at least our tax dollars aren’t going to Mexicans and welfare queens,” he recalled one person saying.
“The key point I make in the book is that all these negative health risks don’t necessarily stem from racist individuals,” he said. “The health risks rise when the politics of racial resentment shapes the health care policies, the health policies, in your state or community. So it really was the policies themselves that were racially motivated, not the individual people or their psychologies.”
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Trump supporters say, "We suffered 8 years under Barack Obama". Fair enough. Let's take a look....
Heartstrings - demo underground
3/13/19
The day Obama took office, the Dow closed at 7,949 points. Eight years later, the Dow had almost tripled.
General Motors and Chrysler were on the brink of bankruptcy, with Ford not far behind, and their failure, along with their supply chains, would have meant the loss of millions of jobs. Obama pushed through a controversial, $80 billion bailout to save the car industry. The U.S. car industry survived, started making money again, and the entire $80 billion was paid back, with interest.
While we remain vulnerable to lone-wolf attacks, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully executed a mass attack here since 9/11.
Obama ordered the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
He drew down the number of troops from 180,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan to just 15,000, and increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
He launched a program called Opening Doors which, since 2010, has led to a 47 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans. He set a record 73 straight months of private-sector job growth.
Due to Obama’s regulatory policies, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 12%, production of renewable energy more than doubled, and our dependence on foreign oil was cut in half.
He signed The Lilly Ledbetter Act, making it easier for women to sue employers for unequal pay.
His Omnibus Public Lands Management Act designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, creating thousands of miles of trails and protecting over 1,000 miles of rivers.
He reduced the federal deficit from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2016.
For all the inadequacies of the Affordable Care Act, we seem to have forgotten that, before the ACA, you could be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition and kids could not stay on their parents’ policies up to age 26.
Obama approved a $14.5 billion system to rebuild the levees in New Orleans.
All this, even as our own Mitch McConnell famously asserted that his singular mission would be to block anything President Obama tried to do.
While Obama failed on his campaign pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, that prison’s population decreased from 242 to around 50.
He expanded funding for embryonic stem cell research, supporting ground breaking advancement in areas like spinal injury treatment and cancer.
Credit card companies can no longer charge hidden fees or raise interest rates without advance notice.
Most years, Obama threw a 4th of July party for military families. He held babies, played games with
children, served barbecue, and led the singing of “Happy Birthday” to his daughter Malia, who was born on July 4.
Welfare spending is down: for every 100 poor families, just 24 receive cash assistance, compared with 64 in 1996.
Obama comforted families and communities following more than a dozen mass shootings. After Sandy Hook, he said, “The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.”
Yet, he never took away anyone’s guns........
He sang Amazing Grace, spontaneously, at the altar.
He was the first president since Eisenhower to serve two terms without personal or political scandal.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
President Obama was not perfect, as no man and no president is, and you can certainly disagree with his political ideologies. But to say we suffered?
If that’s the argument, if this is how we suffered for 8 years under Barack Obama, I have one wish:
may we be so fortunate as to suffer 8 more."
by Teri Carter, Lexington Herald-Leader
General Motors and Chrysler were on the brink of bankruptcy, with Ford not far behind, and their failure, along with their supply chains, would have meant the loss of millions of jobs. Obama pushed through a controversial, $80 billion bailout to save the car industry. The U.S. car industry survived, started making money again, and the entire $80 billion was paid back, with interest.
While we remain vulnerable to lone-wolf attacks, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully executed a mass attack here since 9/11.
Obama ordered the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
He drew down the number of troops from 180,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan to just 15,000, and increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
He launched a program called Opening Doors which, since 2010, has led to a 47 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans. He set a record 73 straight months of private-sector job growth.
Due to Obama’s regulatory policies, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 12%, production of renewable energy more than doubled, and our dependence on foreign oil was cut in half.
He signed The Lilly Ledbetter Act, making it easier for women to sue employers for unequal pay.
His Omnibus Public Lands Management Act designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, creating thousands of miles of trails and protecting over 1,000 miles of rivers.
He reduced the federal deficit from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2016.
For all the inadequacies of the Affordable Care Act, we seem to have forgotten that, before the ACA, you could be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition and kids could not stay on their parents’ policies up to age 26.
Obama approved a $14.5 billion system to rebuild the levees in New Orleans.
All this, even as our own Mitch McConnell famously asserted that his singular mission would be to block anything President Obama tried to do.
While Obama failed on his campaign pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, that prison’s population decreased from 242 to around 50.
He expanded funding for embryonic stem cell research, supporting ground breaking advancement in areas like spinal injury treatment and cancer.
Credit card companies can no longer charge hidden fees or raise interest rates without advance notice.
Most years, Obama threw a 4th of July party for military families. He held babies, played games with
children, served barbecue, and led the singing of “Happy Birthday” to his daughter Malia, who was born on July 4.
Welfare spending is down: for every 100 poor families, just 24 receive cash assistance, compared with 64 in 1996.
Obama comforted families and communities following more than a dozen mass shootings. After Sandy Hook, he said, “The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.”
Yet, he never took away anyone’s guns........
He sang Amazing Grace, spontaneously, at the altar.
He was the first president since Eisenhower to serve two terms without personal or political scandal.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
President Obama was not perfect, as no man and no president is, and you can certainly disagree with his political ideologies. But to say we suffered?
If that’s the argument, if this is how we suffered for 8 years under Barack Obama, I have one wish:
may we be so fortunate as to suffer 8 more."
by Teri Carter, Lexington Herald-Leader
so why you vote for a republican???
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Do you think your average Deplorable can explain
DemocratSinceBirth - demo underground
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Due process
The roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches
The Bill Of Rights
Pluralism
Majority rule/individual rights
Habeas corpus
Liberal democracy
Democratic republic
Judicial review
Here are 3 reasons why voters fall for politicians’ lies
Mack Clayton Shelley, II - THE CONVERSATION - COMMENTARY - raw story
10 MAR 2019 AT 14:34 ET
Politicians use and abuse statistics and fabricate when it suits their purposes. Contemporary examples of either deliberate or inadvertent misuse of data are easy to find on all sides of the political divide, from the Trump administration’s claim that U.S. border officials detained “nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists” last year at the Mexican border to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s December tweet asserting that “66 percent of Medicare for All could have been funded already” with the money spent on the Pentagon’s accounting errors.
The notion of politically related lying with numbers has been around a long time, back at least to Mark Twain in a 1906 book in which he attributed the phrase “lies, damn lies and statistics” to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Lots of others claim parentage of the phrase or are given credit for coining it.
I have spent 40 years teaching and publishing in political science and statistics, focused on helping students become critical thinkers. I believe that politicians can get away with lies so easily because the public is not trained to critically consume statistical information or to defend against other (dis)information that is deliberately designed to mislead.
1. Lack of statistical skills
It’s difficult to be a critical consumer of statistical information, because that requires the ability to process numeric data in context.
Many Americans do not do well with processing information about numbers and consequently may make poor decisions. People who are more numerate are less susceptible to being led to a false conclusion, are less affected by their mood, and are more aware of the levels of risk associated with actions and decisions.
For example, if you flip four coins in a row, what’s the probability of getting two heads? Most people guess 50 percent. Figuring out that the answer is actually 37.5 percent takes some work and is not intuitive. So is understanding that a run of nine consecutive tails does not mean that the tenth coin flip is likely to be a head.
In the same way, it’s easy for people to believe the tweet from President Donald Trump, based on outdated information from the Texas secretary of state that “58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriends.”
In reality, proven cases of voter fraud are rare and voter lists often are inaccurate about current citizenship status. A scary-sounding statement that “58,000 non-citizens voted” should trigger immediate head-scratching and fact-checking; as it has turned out, most of the alleged illegal votes were cast by people who subsequently had become citizens and eligible to vote.
2. Letting emotions get the better of you
It’s easy for politicians to take advantage of what Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon calls “bounded rationality.” “Bounded rationality” is about being influenced by emotions, preconceived notions and things I may think I know but really don’t.
What’s more, political figures can get away with saying things that don’t square with the facts, because it would take too much effort for the average person to fact-check everything for accuracy.
Coupled with this is the psychological process of “confirmation bias.” If you hear or read or someone tells you something that sounds wrong to you, you tend to block out ideas, facts or data that don’t jibe with your current beliefs.
Confirmation bias can apply to a wide array of issues, including gun control, sexual double standards and more.
3. Overestimating your own knowledge
This brings us to the Dunning–Kruger effect.
People with lesser abilities tend to overstate their level of knowledge and understanding. If I see a bad call by a football referee, my first reaction might be to say that I could have gotten that call right, but I’m totally not trained as a referee and wouldn’t have a clue about what call to make on most plays.
This perception of illusory superiority comes from people not being equipped to realize that they don’t know what they don’t know. That in turn makes it all the more difficult to separate out “fake news” from reality. In a 2017 study, researchers Chris Vargo at the University of Colorado and Lei Guo and Michelle Amazeen at Boston University showed that false reports are instrumental in setting the news agenda for partisan media, despite fact-checkers’ efforts. Other research shows that most Americans who see fake news believe it.
Combined with a general lack of knowledge about political processes, these mental processes make it tough for anyone to understand the facts about major issues. Elected public officials are hired by the electorate precisely because they are good at saying things you like to hear. They are rewarded for what they say – rather than for doing the right thing.
The notion of politically related lying with numbers has been around a long time, back at least to Mark Twain in a 1906 book in which he attributed the phrase “lies, damn lies and statistics” to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Lots of others claim parentage of the phrase or are given credit for coining it.
I have spent 40 years teaching and publishing in political science and statistics, focused on helping students become critical thinkers. I believe that politicians can get away with lies so easily because the public is not trained to critically consume statistical information or to defend against other (dis)information that is deliberately designed to mislead.
1. Lack of statistical skills
It’s difficult to be a critical consumer of statistical information, because that requires the ability to process numeric data in context.
Many Americans do not do well with processing information about numbers and consequently may make poor decisions. People who are more numerate are less susceptible to being led to a false conclusion, are less affected by their mood, and are more aware of the levels of risk associated with actions and decisions.
For example, if you flip four coins in a row, what’s the probability of getting two heads? Most people guess 50 percent. Figuring out that the answer is actually 37.5 percent takes some work and is not intuitive. So is understanding that a run of nine consecutive tails does not mean that the tenth coin flip is likely to be a head.
In the same way, it’s easy for people to believe the tweet from President Donald Trump, based on outdated information from the Texas secretary of state that “58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriends.”
In reality, proven cases of voter fraud are rare and voter lists often are inaccurate about current citizenship status. A scary-sounding statement that “58,000 non-citizens voted” should trigger immediate head-scratching and fact-checking; as it has turned out, most of the alleged illegal votes were cast by people who subsequently had become citizens and eligible to vote.
2. Letting emotions get the better of you
It’s easy for politicians to take advantage of what Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon calls “bounded rationality.” “Bounded rationality” is about being influenced by emotions, preconceived notions and things I may think I know but really don’t.
What’s more, political figures can get away with saying things that don’t square with the facts, because it would take too much effort for the average person to fact-check everything for accuracy.
Coupled with this is the psychological process of “confirmation bias.” If you hear or read or someone tells you something that sounds wrong to you, you tend to block out ideas, facts or data that don’t jibe with your current beliefs.
Confirmation bias can apply to a wide array of issues, including gun control, sexual double standards and more.
3. Overestimating your own knowledge
This brings us to the Dunning–Kruger effect.
People with lesser abilities tend to overstate their level of knowledge and understanding. If I see a bad call by a football referee, my first reaction might be to say that I could have gotten that call right, but I’m totally not trained as a referee and wouldn’t have a clue about what call to make on most plays.
This perception of illusory superiority comes from people not being equipped to realize that they don’t know what they don’t know. That in turn makes it all the more difficult to separate out “fake news” from reality. In a 2017 study, researchers Chris Vargo at the University of Colorado and Lei Guo and Michelle Amazeen at Boston University showed that false reports are instrumental in setting the news agenda for partisan media, despite fact-checkers’ efforts. Other research shows that most Americans who see fake news believe it.
Combined with a general lack of knowledge about political processes, these mental processes make it tough for anyone to understand the facts about major issues. Elected public officials are hired by the electorate precisely because they are good at saying things you like to hear. They are rewarded for what they say – rather than for doing the right thing.
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
2/22/2019
The Everyday Delusions of the Trump Supporter (White Terrorist Edition)
If you're going to be a supporter of President Donald Trump, there's a certain amount of delusion you've got to have. And there's a whole range of the kinds of delusional thinking that can infect you. You've got the seemingly practical delusions of most of the GOP members of Congress, a kind of "I can live with his barking insanity and wholesale destruction of our constitutional system if I get tax cuts for my wealthy donors" delusion. On the other end of the spectrum, you've got the nutzoid conspiracy theorists, the ones who believe that Trump is a superhero who is being undermined by a cabal of Hillary Clinton, Democrats, media types, and, sure, Jews.
In the middle is the average delusional Trump voter, the kind who justify everything he does by declaring that Trump's not racist, not dumb, and certainly not unqualified for the job. They actually believe stupid shit he says, like that a border wall would solve all our problems with illegal drugs and prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the country. They actually believe that Trump saved the economy from the wreckage of Obama's (checks notes) 75 straight months of job growth. They will justify anything in terms of Trump's obvious awesomeness, wondering how we can't comprehend the wonder that is the glowing orange blob that is Donald Trump. And, perhaps most mindbending, some of them actually believe that the rise of white supremacist terrorism and violence in this country has nothing to do with Trump.
Like some things ought to be a no-brainer, right? When the FBI arrested very white guy Christopher Hasson in Maryland last week, he had a shit-ton of guns and ammos, as well as several Hulks worth of steroids and a small CVS of other drugs and supplies, and a plan to start a race war and a kill list of Democratic lawmakers and members of the media who are critical of Trump. So it's not a huge leap of logic to assume that asshole was inspired by Trump's rhetoric.
But not Eddie Scarry of the Washington Examiner (Motto: "No, not that one. Not that one either. Okay, just fuckin' click to find out"). In a "column" (if by "column," you mean, "A moronic, masturbatory yawp that its author desperately hopes will get him some Hannity man-love") titled, "Christopher Hasson, Coast Guard officer, was a nihilist and there’s no evidence he was a Trump supporter," says, well, the title pretty much says the entire thing, just on repeat.
It's all a bunch of self-own, really. In court documents, Scarry points out that in January, Hasson searched for "what if trump illegally impeached” and “civil war if trump impeached.” But don't you dare say that means he wanted civil war if Trump was impeached. Besides, Scarry says Hasson was driven by "a preoccupation with race and a nihilistic view that had no clear attachment to politics at all, outside of an unspecified antipathy for “liberalist/globalist ideology.” But don't you dare smack your head as you tell this bridge troll that Trump has a preoccupation with race and has derided "globalists." For Scarry and his delusional ilk, Trump simply can't be the racist piece of shit the majority of us know he is because, well, he isn't? I don't know. I can't get that up in my own ass.
In order to keep asserting, as he does, "Hasson didn’t care about Trump," Scarry ignores a couple of things. Like that almost all of the people on Hasson's kill list have been directly criticized by Trump. Otherwise, why would he give a shit about Joe Scarborough or Richard Blumenthal (who he called "Sen blumen jew," continuing that hilarious conservative sense of humor)? Or that he wants to kill "poca warren," which uses Trump's nickname for Elizabeth Warren?
The very act of eliminating Trump's influence on Hasson requires a ludicrous amount of denial. But that's more or less the only way Trump voters can exist in their bizarre, thick bubble where facts and reality don't penetrate.
(Note: It took everything I could not to make a joke about the name "Scarry." I couldn't decide whether or not to go with "frightening" or "full of scars" or "related to Richard Scarry.")
(Note again: The fact that an individual can legally buy that many guns makes us a ridiculously dumb country.)
In the middle is the average delusional Trump voter, the kind who justify everything he does by declaring that Trump's not racist, not dumb, and certainly not unqualified for the job. They actually believe stupid shit he says, like that a border wall would solve all our problems with illegal drugs and prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the country. They actually believe that Trump saved the economy from the wreckage of Obama's (checks notes) 75 straight months of job growth. They will justify anything in terms of Trump's obvious awesomeness, wondering how we can't comprehend the wonder that is the glowing orange blob that is Donald Trump. And, perhaps most mindbending, some of them actually believe that the rise of white supremacist terrorism and violence in this country has nothing to do with Trump.
Like some things ought to be a no-brainer, right? When the FBI arrested very white guy Christopher Hasson in Maryland last week, he had a shit-ton of guns and ammos, as well as several Hulks worth of steroids and a small CVS of other drugs and supplies, and a plan to start a race war and a kill list of Democratic lawmakers and members of the media who are critical of Trump. So it's not a huge leap of logic to assume that asshole was inspired by Trump's rhetoric.
But not Eddie Scarry of the Washington Examiner (Motto: "No, not that one. Not that one either. Okay, just fuckin' click to find out"). In a "column" (if by "column," you mean, "A moronic, masturbatory yawp that its author desperately hopes will get him some Hannity man-love") titled, "Christopher Hasson, Coast Guard officer, was a nihilist and there’s no evidence he was a Trump supporter," says, well, the title pretty much says the entire thing, just on repeat.
It's all a bunch of self-own, really. In court documents, Scarry points out that in January, Hasson searched for "what if trump illegally impeached” and “civil war if trump impeached.” But don't you dare say that means he wanted civil war if Trump was impeached. Besides, Scarry says Hasson was driven by "a preoccupation with race and a nihilistic view that had no clear attachment to politics at all, outside of an unspecified antipathy for “liberalist/globalist ideology.” But don't you dare smack your head as you tell this bridge troll that Trump has a preoccupation with race and has derided "globalists." For Scarry and his delusional ilk, Trump simply can't be the racist piece of shit the majority of us know he is because, well, he isn't? I don't know. I can't get that up in my own ass.
In order to keep asserting, as he does, "Hasson didn’t care about Trump," Scarry ignores a couple of things. Like that almost all of the people on Hasson's kill list have been directly criticized by Trump. Otherwise, why would he give a shit about Joe Scarborough or Richard Blumenthal (who he called "Sen blumen jew," continuing that hilarious conservative sense of humor)? Or that he wants to kill "poca warren," which uses Trump's nickname for Elizabeth Warren?
The very act of eliminating Trump's influence on Hasson requires a ludicrous amount of denial. But that's more or less the only way Trump voters can exist in their bizarre, thick bubble where facts and reality don't penetrate.
(Note: It took everything I could not to make a joke about the name "Scarry." I couldn't decide whether or not to go with "frightening" or "full of scars" or "related to Richard Scarry.")
(Note again: The fact that an individual can legally buy that many guns makes us a ridiculously dumb country.)
Paradox: Here’s why white evangelical women love Donald Trump
THE CONVERSATION - COMMENTARY - raw story
20 FEB 2019 AT 09:12 ET
During the US president Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in early February, House Democratic women showed up clad all in white. The colour, a nod to the suffragettes, was meant to show their displeasure with the president’s policies towards women, climate change and immigration. But Trump’s contentious relationship with Democratic women contrasts sharply with the support he receives from another group of women – white evangelicals.
As is well known by now, in the November 2016 presidential election, 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. That constituted the largest “evangelical vote” in nearly two decades. If scholars, journalists and the general public have puzzled over why so many white evangelicals would vote for someone whose language and behaviour violated key tenets of the Christian faith, the question of why evangelical women voted for him is even more puzzling – especially given Trump’s long track record of alleged sexual misconduct and derogatory comments about women.
But the 2016 vote wasn’t a fluke. A recent poll reports that two-thirds of white evangelical women still approve of the president.
Believing in Trump
During my research fieldwork with evangelical Christian women at Bethel Church and Jesus Culture in California, they reported that they backed Trump because they believed he would battle hard on key issues, such as immigration. As one woman told me about her vote for Trump: “It’s founded in personal and emotional beliefs. Politics is different.”
Social scientists have pointed out how Trump successfully taps into an evangelical narrative, based on white American nationalism, of returning Christians to their rightful place at the centre of American life. Recently, for example, Trump declared his unity with evangelicals, promising to “cherish and honour” them by denouncing late-term abortion. Trump’s embattled language aligns with common evangelical narratives that casts them as being “under attack” by a secular majority, or needing to go into “combat mode” against political issues such as trans-inclusive bathrooms. Framing their political involvement in this way is instrumental to sustaining evangelicals as a cohesive religious group.
Rather than just representing the Republican party, Trump reproduces emotionally driven evangelical narratives, including the imperative to return the US to its rightful (white) Christian heritage. For many white evangelical women, accustomed to hearing these narratives in their churches, Trump’s language is resonant and familiar.
Another reason why white evangelical women support Trump can be explained by their prioritisation of racial and religious identity over their gender identity. All of us manage and negotiate our various identities, emphasising some and suppressing others depending on the socio-political context we are in. Even the question of how a woman could vote for a sexist president presupposes the primacy of gender as a deeply felt identity category for all women.
Instead, the evangelical women I met explained that to be evangelical is firstly to be politically engaged with Republican partisanship, and secondly to focus this engagement around core issues – including abortion and immigration. In other words, many white evangelical women prioritise their religious and racial identities over their gender identities and in so doing are able to reconcile themselves with Trump.
Their evangelical identity – and particularly, its white, nationalist constitution – is their most valued aspect of identity, and their gender is secondary to it.
Trump’s brand of femininity
A final explanation that helps us make sense of the incongruity of the fact of white women voting for a president who seems inimical to their interests has to do with how femininity is constructed by some groups. Much white evangelical culture is highly gendered – and men and women play very traditional gender roles in these religious communities. Tellingly, Trump (and the women he surrounds himself with) embody these white evangelical gender roles.
In my study of evangelical women in the US and the UK, I found that the women measure themselves against an “ideal” Christian woman, a figure of femininity many in the west may view as old-fashioned or outdated. This “ideal”, described to me by the participants in my research, is strong but submissive, traditionally pretty but also outdoorsy, smart but not too smart, sexy but also chaste.
White evangelical women, including Bethel’s co-pastor Beni Johnson, rally behind Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump and equate their conservative version of traditional femininity with grace and elegance. Similarly, Paula White, Trump’s personal pastor, conforms to the version of the “ideal” woman reported to me by white evangelical women as she is blonde-haired, blue-eyed, slim and stylish.
And so rather than becoming disillusioned with Trump, as the New York Times claims, white evangelical women continue to rally behind the president they voted into power in 2016. The fact that several scandals and allegations of sexual impropriety have failed to cost him their support reveals how some groups of people prioritise the different identities they hold – and how strongly ideas of femininity operate within tightly bound communities.
Many white evangelicals position themselves as a minority faction waging war against a non-Christian majority when, in fact, they continue to hold considerable sway over politics, both in the electoral college and in terms of voters in general. The seeming paradox of white evangelical women backing Trump really isn’t a paradox at all. In fact, their support says more about the state of white evangelical Christianity in the US than it does about anything else.
As is well known by now, in the November 2016 presidential election, 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. That constituted the largest “evangelical vote” in nearly two decades. If scholars, journalists and the general public have puzzled over why so many white evangelicals would vote for someone whose language and behaviour violated key tenets of the Christian faith, the question of why evangelical women voted for him is even more puzzling – especially given Trump’s long track record of alleged sexual misconduct and derogatory comments about women.
But the 2016 vote wasn’t a fluke. A recent poll reports that two-thirds of white evangelical women still approve of the president.
Believing in Trump
During my research fieldwork with evangelical Christian women at Bethel Church and Jesus Culture in California, they reported that they backed Trump because they believed he would battle hard on key issues, such as immigration. As one woman told me about her vote for Trump: “It’s founded in personal and emotional beliefs. Politics is different.”
Social scientists have pointed out how Trump successfully taps into an evangelical narrative, based on white American nationalism, of returning Christians to their rightful place at the centre of American life. Recently, for example, Trump declared his unity with evangelicals, promising to “cherish and honour” them by denouncing late-term abortion. Trump’s embattled language aligns with common evangelical narratives that casts them as being “under attack” by a secular majority, or needing to go into “combat mode” against political issues such as trans-inclusive bathrooms. Framing their political involvement in this way is instrumental to sustaining evangelicals as a cohesive religious group.
Rather than just representing the Republican party, Trump reproduces emotionally driven evangelical narratives, including the imperative to return the US to its rightful (white) Christian heritage. For many white evangelical women, accustomed to hearing these narratives in their churches, Trump’s language is resonant and familiar.
Another reason why white evangelical women support Trump can be explained by their prioritisation of racial and religious identity over their gender identity. All of us manage and negotiate our various identities, emphasising some and suppressing others depending on the socio-political context we are in. Even the question of how a woman could vote for a sexist president presupposes the primacy of gender as a deeply felt identity category for all women.
Instead, the evangelical women I met explained that to be evangelical is firstly to be politically engaged with Republican partisanship, and secondly to focus this engagement around core issues – including abortion and immigration. In other words, many white evangelical women prioritise their religious and racial identities over their gender identities and in so doing are able to reconcile themselves with Trump.
Their evangelical identity – and particularly, its white, nationalist constitution – is their most valued aspect of identity, and their gender is secondary to it.
Trump’s brand of femininity
A final explanation that helps us make sense of the incongruity of the fact of white women voting for a president who seems inimical to their interests has to do with how femininity is constructed by some groups. Much white evangelical culture is highly gendered – and men and women play very traditional gender roles in these religious communities. Tellingly, Trump (and the women he surrounds himself with) embody these white evangelical gender roles.
In my study of evangelical women in the US and the UK, I found that the women measure themselves against an “ideal” Christian woman, a figure of femininity many in the west may view as old-fashioned or outdated. This “ideal”, described to me by the participants in my research, is strong but submissive, traditionally pretty but also outdoorsy, smart but not too smart, sexy but also chaste.
White evangelical women, including Bethel’s co-pastor Beni Johnson, rally behind Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump and equate their conservative version of traditional femininity with grace and elegance. Similarly, Paula White, Trump’s personal pastor, conforms to the version of the “ideal” woman reported to me by white evangelical women as she is blonde-haired, blue-eyed, slim and stylish.
And so rather than becoming disillusioned with Trump, as the New York Times claims, white evangelical women continue to rally behind the president they voted into power in 2016. The fact that several scandals and allegations of sexual impropriety have failed to cost him their support reveals how some groups of people prioritise the different identities they hold – and how strongly ideas of femininity operate within tightly bound communities.
Many white evangelicals position themselves as a minority faction waging war against a non-Christian majority when, in fact, they continue to hold considerable sway over politics, both in the electoral college and in terms of voters in general. The seeming paradox of white evangelical women backing Trump really isn’t a paradox at all. In fact, their support says more about the state of white evangelical Christianity in the US than it does about anything else.
HERE ARE 10 INCREDIBLY FAKE FACTS THAT TRUMP SUPPORTERS THINK ARE TRUE
MICHAEL HAYNE, ALTERNET- RAW STORY
2/13/19
Americans, divided and polarized as they are, live in two distinct worlds. In one world, the earth is not flat, climate change is real and Bill and Hillary aren’t pimping kids out in the basement of a pizza restaurant.
The other world is devoid of reason, evidence and pretty much any type of historical facts. Despite the fact that Trump voters have been fleeced by the biggest con man in the world, they continue to devour the lies he sells on a silver platter. When it comes to facts, Trump supporters aren’t head over heels in love with them. After all, Trump’s rise came as a result of playing to uninformed and angry people’s primal and worst sensibilities. They’re right and the entire world is wrong, because that’s what their cult leader told them, and who needs Google anyway?
Here are 10 incredibly fake facts that Trump supporters believe are true.
1. Trump is a devoted Christian.
The thrice-married, pu$$y-grabbing Trump is actually quite the exemplary Christian, at least in the minds of his supporters. They are so convinced of this fake fact that they welcomed Trump at Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University this past weekend, where the president was given an honorary doctorate.
2. The economy is improving because of Trump.
If there’s anything Trump does better than filing for Chapter 11, it’s taking credit for things other people have done. Part-time First Lady Melania Trump stole a speech from Michelle Obama, so it only seems fitting that the Donald do it as well. Now, even though he hasn’t signed a single piece of economic legislation and all economic data is just a continuation of President Obama’s efforts, Trump seems to have no issue taking credit for all of the positive economic news. And despite the fact that Trump had been in office for a whopping two weeks, Fox News gave Trump full credit for a positive jobs report in January.
3. ‘Millions voted illegally’ (without a single shred of proof).
Not too long ago, a poll found that 55 percent of Trump supporters believe his daft conspiracy theory that the only reason he lost the popular vote is because “millions voted illegally” for Hillary Clinton. Ignorance is bliss, right?
4. Immigration is off the rails and illegal immigrants are all violent criminals.
Trump played to the racist tendencies of working-class whites when he declared that Mexicans were criminals and rapists, except for some. He also took a page from Richard Nixon’s handbook and touted law and order for the silent majority. But here’s the thing for folks who reside in Realitytown, USA: net migration from Mexico is basically zero and stats show that undocumented immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But facts are not how you Make America Great Again!
5. Trump should have the power to overturn judicial rulings.
Utterly clueless when it comes to the U.S. Constitution (except for the Second Amendment), 51 percent of Trump supporters think the Executive Branch should have the power to overrule the Judicial Branch. This came after Trump was overruled in his efforts to impose a Muslim travel ban.
6. Trumpcare is great while Obamacare is awful.
Okay, this one is especially heinous. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he talked constantly about how easy it would be to gut Obamacare and impose a version of his own that would cover everyone. Here are the facts:
Trumpcare is stealing from the poor to give to the rich, but his supporters don’t mind being screwed by their dear leader.
7. Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Ah yes, the birther question. The very thing that catapulted a washed-up reality TV host to political fame and fortune. Trump had been accusing President Obama of not being born in America for years, which seems to have resonated with his supporters: 59 percent of Trump supporters didn’t think Obama was born in the United States, while just a mere 23 percent said he was.
8. There’s a war on gun owners.
Despite the fact that gun ownership ballooned under President Obama and his sensible gun legislation failed miserably in the NRA-owned Republican Congress, Trump supporters believed there was a major “war” on guns. The biggest (and stupidest) conspiracy was the one involving Jade Helm, when right-wingers thought a military exercise was actually a secret ploy by Obama to declare martial law and seize all the guns.
9. All the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are bogus.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that continues to pile up regarding Trump’s ties to Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, his supporters will hear nothing of it. They love Russia and think CNN and every other major news outlet is fake news that hates America. Bear in mind, all of this seems to be leading up to impeachment. But yeah, nothing to see here.
10. Trump is honest and trustworthy.
This may be the greatest fake fact of fake facts: Trump is honest and trustworthy. Despite the fact that nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is a brazen lie that can be disproved in a New York minute, his supporters think he’s honest. That’s just a special kind of ignorance you can’t fix. While some of his supporters have since seen the light of day, a majority of them still trust him despite all the explanations of his lies the media makes.
In short, it may just take Trump throwing puppies into a firepit for a majority of his supporters to recognize him for the lying con man that he is. Let’s certainly hope not, as that may not be out of the realm of possibility.
The other world is devoid of reason, evidence and pretty much any type of historical facts. Despite the fact that Trump voters have been fleeced by the biggest con man in the world, they continue to devour the lies he sells on a silver platter. When it comes to facts, Trump supporters aren’t head over heels in love with them. After all, Trump’s rise came as a result of playing to uninformed and angry people’s primal and worst sensibilities. They’re right and the entire world is wrong, because that’s what their cult leader told them, and who needs Google anyway?
Here are 10 incredibly fake facts that Trump supporters believe are true.
1. Trump is a devoted Christian.
The thrice-married, pu$$y-grabbing Trump is actually quite the exemplary Christian, at least in the minds of his supporters. They are so convinced of this fake fact that they welcomed Trump at Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University this past weekend, where the president was given an honorary doctorate.
2. The economy is improving because of Trump.
If there’s anything Trump does better than filing for Chapter 11, it’s taking credit for things other people have done. Part-time First Lady Melania Trump stole a speech from Michelle Obama, so it only seems fitting that the Donald do it as well. Now, even though he hasn’t signed a single piece of economic legislation and all economic data is just a continuation of President Obama’s efforts, Trump seems to have no issue taking credit for all of the positive economic news. And despite the fact that Trump had been in office for a whopping two weeks, Fox News gave Trump full credit for a positive jobs report in January.
3. ‘Millions voted illegally’ (without a single shred of proof).
Not too long ago, a poll found that 55 percent of Trump supporters believe his daft conspiracy theory that the only reason he lost the popular vote is because “millions voted illegally” for Hillary Clinton. Ignorance is bliss, right?
4. Immigration is off the rails and illegal immigrants are all violent criminals.
Trump played to the racist tendencies of working-class whites when he declared that Mexicans were criminals and rapists, except for some. He also took a page from Richard Nixon’s handbook and touted law and order for the silent majority. But here’s the thing for folks who reside in Realitytown, USA: net migration from Mexico is basically zero and stats show that undocumented immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But facts are not how you Make America Great Again!
5. Trump should have the power to overturn judicial rulings.
Utterly clueless when it comes to the U.S. Constitution (except for the Second Amendment), 51 percent of Trump supporters think the Executive Branch should have the power to overrule the Judicial Branch. This came after Trump was overruled in his efforts to impose a Muslim travel ban.
6. Trumpcare is great while Obamacare is awful.
Okay, this one is especially heinous. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he talked constantly about how easy it would be to gut Obamacare and impose a version of his own that would cover everyone. Here are the facts:
- Around 24 million people will lose their health insurance—many of them his most vocal supporters
- Premiums, especially for Americans 50 and older, will increase dramatically.
- States can opt-out of protecting people with pre-existing conditions.
- Coverage will get worse.
- Medicaid will be gutted.
Trumpcare is stealing from the poor to give to the rich, but his supporters don’t mind being screwed by their dear leader.
7. Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Ah yes, the birther question. The very thing that catapulted a washed-up reality TV host to political fame and fortune. Trump had been accusing President Obama of not being born in America for years, which seems to have resonated with his supporters: 59 percent of Trump supporters didn’t think Obama was born in the United States, while just a mere 23 percent said he was.
8. There’s a war on gun owners.
Despite the fact that gun ownership ballooned under President Obama and his sensible gun legislation failed miserably in the NRA-owned Republican Congress, Trump supporters believed there was a major “war” on guns. The biggest (and stupidest) conspiracy was the one involving Jade Helm, when right-wingers thought a military exercise was actually a secret ploy by Obama to declare martial law and seize all the guns.
9. All the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are bogus.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that continues to pile up regarding Trump’s ties to Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, his supporters will hear nothing of it. They love Russia and think CNN and every other major news outlet is fake news that hates America. Bear in mind, all of this seems to be leading up to impeachment. But yeah, nothing to see here.
10. Trump is honest and trustworthy.
This may be the greatest fake fact of fake facts: Trump is honest and trustworthy. Despite the fact that nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is a brazen lie that can be disproved in a New York minute, his supporters think he’s honest. That’s just a special kind of ignorance you can’t fix. While some of his supporters have since seen the light of day, a majority of them still trust him despite all the explanations of his lies the media makes.
In short, it may just take Trump throwing puppies into a firepit for a majority of his supporters to recognize him for the lying con man that he is. Let’s certainly hope not, as that may not be out of the realm of possibility.
This is why right wingers don't support insurance for contraception - they don't need it, 100% fool proof birth control for Trumpists everywhere!
Why I proudly wear my Make America Great Again hat | Opinion
Ryan Moore, Guest Columnist - the tennessean
Published 6:00 a.m. CT Jan. 30, 2019
Ryan Moore with his MAGA hat and dog (Photo: Submitted)
I was formerly a liberal my whole life, but my views changed over time and now I’m a Republican and ardent supporter of President Trump.
I have been wearing a Make America Great Again aka MAGA hat almost everywhere I go for approximately the last year.
In person I have received only positive feedback other than a few dirty looks and under-the-breath mutters.
Social media is a whole different story. Somehow, on social media, people feel emboldened to say things they would never have the courage to say to my face and many people hide behind fake/anonymous names and photos.
On Instagram I have a little blue check mark by my name so my comments usually seem to get more attention.
Many people have wished me dead, made threats and often call me racist simply because I support the wall and the President of the United States.
My great-grandparents legally immigrated to America as children. I am completely in favor of legal immigration but I am totally against illegal immigration (it’s illegal you know).
The color of a person’s skin has absolutely nothing to do with immigration or the wall.
It is the Democrats who are obsessed with “people of color” and gender. Republicans look at people for who they are not for their gender or skin color.
Never have I made a hateful or racist comment toward anyone, but, almost daily, I get hateful and racist comments directed at me on Instagram and Twitter.
People say, "You white,” coupled with a variety of hateful expletives or personal insults.
It’s okay for them to disagree with my political views, but it’s not okay for them to despise and attack me for the color of my skin. I believe in being respectful to everyone whether I agree or disagree with their politics and opinions.
And skin color and gender have nothing to do with my political opinions, yet nearly every day someone replies to one of my comments: “Oh, of course that comment was made by a white man."
White men are the most hated and discriminated against group of people in the United States now. If you don’t believe that, you simply aren’t paying attention or looking at it objectively.
I’m very proud to wear my MAGA hat. All of the official MAGA hats are made in the USA. The hat is a symbol of wanting to put America first and wanting products to be made in America and wanting them to be made by Americans.
Buy American, hire American. It’s about putting the interests of the United States and all its people ahead of the interests of other nations.
How absurd would it be to put the interests of other nations ahead of our own? The phrase "Make America Great Again" and the MAGA hat have absolutely nothing to do with race or gender.
The “Again” does not mean anyone wants to go back to a time before all races and both sexes had full equality. It is simply the fact that there are some things in America’s past that are better than they are now and of course there are other things that are better in present day America.
I truly would like everyone to be civil and respectful to one another, but I must admit in one way I get a kick out of the hate I get from liberals by wearing my MAGA hat – it shows either they misunderstand or they’re just closed-minded, hateful and intolerant.
Ryan Moore is a writer, social media strategist and songwriter. He resides in Washington state but works remotely for a nonprofit based in Tennessee near Nashville. Find him on Twitter at @RyanMoore and on Instagram at @RyanMoore.
I have been wearing a Make America Great Again aka MAGA hat almost everywhere I go for approximately the last year.
In person I have received only positive feedback other than a few dirty looks and under-the-breath mutters.
Social media is a whole different story. Somehow, on social media, people feel emboldened to say things they would never have the courage to say to my face and many people hide behind fake/anonymous names and photos.
On Instagram I have a little blue check mark by my name so my comments usually seem to get more attention.
Many people have wished me dead, made threats and often call me racist simply because I support the wall and the President of the United States.
My great-grandparents legally immigrated to America as children. I am completely in favor of legal immigration but I am totally against illegal immigration (it’s illegal you know).
The color of a person’s skin has absolutely nothing to do with immigration or the wall.
It is the Democrats who are obsessed with “people of color” and gender. Republicans look at people for who they are not for their gender or skin color.
Never have I made a hateful or racist comment toward anyone, but, almost daily, I get hateful and racist comments directed at me on Instagram and Twitter.
People say, "You white,” coupled with a variety of hateful expletives or personal insults.
It’s okay for them to disagree with my political views, but it’s not okay for them to despise and attack me for the color of my skin. I believe in being respectful to everyone whether I agree or disagree with their politics and opinions.
And skin color and gender have nothing to do with my political opinions, yet nearly every day someone replies to one of my comments: “Oh, of course that comment was made by a white man."
White men are the most hated and discriminated against group of people in the United States now. If you don’t believe that, you simply aren’t paying attention or looking at it objectively.
I’m very proud to wear my MAGA hat. All of the official MAGA hats are made in the USA. The hat is a symbol of wanting to put America first and wanting products to be made in America and wanting them to be made by Americans.
Buy American, hire American. It’s about putting the interests of the United States and all its people ahead of the interests of other nations.
How absurd would it be to put the interests of other nations ahead of our own? The phrase "Make America Great Again" and the MAGA hat have absolutely nothing to do with race or gender.
The “Again” does not mean anyone wants to go back to a time before all races and both sexes had full equality. It is simply the fact that there are some things in America’s past that are better than they are now and of course there are other things that are better in present day America.
I truly would like everyone to be civil and respectful to one another, but I must admit in one way I get a kick out of the hate I get from liberals by wearing my MAGA hat – it shows either they misunderstand or they’re just closed-minded, hateful and intolerant.
Ryan Moore is a writer, social media strategist and songwriter. He resides in Washington state but works remotely for a nonprofit based in Tennessee near Nashville. Find him on Twitter at @RyanMoore and on Instagram at @RyanMoore.
Trump is a ‘fraud’ and his remaining supporters are too ‘addled’ to figure that out: ex-Bush speechwriter
Tom Boggioni - raw story
29 JAN 2019 AT 13:32 ET
According to a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, Donald Trump’s capitulation to the Democrats — led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — to re-open the government should put to rest the belief that the president is a brilliant negotiator.
In a word, Michael Gerson called Trump a “fraud.”
In his Washington Post column, the former speechwriter said the only people who believe anything the president says now are Trump diehards who refuse to see the president for what he is.
“When the president is doing a spectacularly bad job, a majority of our fellow citizens — or at least a clear majority of people contacted for the Post-ABC News poll — think Trump is doing badly,” Gerson wrote, linking to a poll showing the president’s support collapsing.
According to Gerson, Trump ran as a successful businessman who would use his brilliant negotiating talents to rein in government, but his record as a real estate developer paints a different picture.
“The president was elected, in part, by giving his supporters an impression of business acumen. This was, in fact, the image carefully cultivated by book publishers and TV producers. And by Trump himself as a presidential candidate, who claimed to be a peerless negotiator, an unrivaled businessman and an excellent manager,” Gerson wrote. “These claims can now be believed only by the ideologically addled.”
“His reputation as a self-made billionaire lies in ruins,” he continued. “An extensive New York Times article on Trump’s wealth found a bassinet millionaire, consistently bailed out of bad bets, who dodged gift taxes, milked his empire for cash and cultivated a deceptive image of business brilliance. And special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation may reveal serious corruption and perjury in cataloging Trump’s 30-year panting desire to sell his brand in Russia.”
Gerson then ticked off a laundry list of Trump’s faults as both a boss and as a person.
“Who can take Trump seriously as a manager?” he asked. He has a talent for weeding out the talented and responsible. He is a world-class nepotist. He is incapable of delegation or of taking conflicting advice. He is unreliable in dealing with his allies. He is capable of taking several conflicting policy views on the same topic — be it health care, or the “dreamers,” or gun control — in a matter of days or hours. He often has no clear goals. He has no attention span and is consistently ignorant of details. He is prone to vicious and public abuse of rivals and of employees.”
“Try to put that profile up on LinkedIn,” he added sarcastically.
Summing up, he called the president — and his fanatical fans — out.
“No one can reasonably claim to believe in Trump’s brand as it was sold in 2016. We have plumbed the shallows of his boasts. They are refuted lies,” the conservative columnist accused. “And whatever else the president may be, he is a fraud.”
In a word, Michael Gerson called Trump a “fraud.”
In his Washington Post column, the former speechwriter said the only people who believe anything the president says now are Trump diehards who refuse to see the president for what he is.
“When the president is doing a spectacularly bad job, a majority of our fellow citizens — or at least a clear majority of people contacted for the Post-ABC News poll — think Trump is doing badly,” Gerson wrote, linking to a poll showing the president’s support collapsing.
According to Gerson, Trump ran as a successful businessman who would use his brilliant negotiating talents to rein in government, but his record as a real estate developer paints a different picture.
“The president was elected, in part, by giving his supporters an impression of business acumen. This was, in fact, the image carefully cultivated by book publishers and TV producers. And by Trump himself as a presidential candidate, who claimed to be a peerless negotiator, an unrivaled businessman and an excellent manager,” Gerson wrote. “These claims can now be believed only by the ideologically addled.”
“His reputation as a self-made billionaire lies in ruins,” he continued. “An extensive New York Times article on Trump’s wealth found a bassinet millionaire, consistently bailed out of bad bets, who dodged gift taxes, milked his empire for cash and cultivated a deceptive image of business brilliance. And special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation may reveal serious corruption and perjury in cataloging Trump’s 30-year panting desire to sell his brand in Russia.”
Gerson then ticked off a laundry list of Trump’s faults as both a boss and as a person.
“Who can take Trump seriously as a manager?” he asked. He has a talent for weeding out the talented and responsible. He is a world-class nepotist. He is incapable of delegation or of taking conflicting advice. He is unreliable in dealing with his allies. He is capable of taking several conflicting policy views on the same topic — be it health care, or the “dreamers,” or gun control — in a matter of days or hours. He often has no clear goals. He has no attention span and is consistently ignorant of details. He is prone to vicious and public abuse of rivals and of employees.”
“Try to put that profile up on LinkedIn,” he added sarcastically.
Summing up, he called the president — and his fanatical fans — out.
“No one can reasonably claim to believe in Trump’s brand as it was sold in 2016. We have plumbed the shallows of his boasts. They are refuted lies,” the conservative columnist accused. “And whatever else the president may be, he is a fraud.”
the fools are pissed!!!
Q-Anon supporters are outraged over Trump’s border wall cave-in
The president's most fervent supporters are rapidly losing faith in the "plan."
LUKE BARNES - thinkprogress
JAN 25, 2019, 3:37 PM
Supporters of the Q-Anon conspiracy theory are reacting with outrage to President Donald Trump’s announcement Friday that had reached a deal with lawmakers to end the partial government shutdown without the $5.7 billion he had previously demanded for his border wall.
The Q-Anon theory gained some mainstream exposure in 2018, when a small number of supporters were seen waving Q signs at Trump rallies. In a nutshell, the conspiracy holds that Trump, at some unspecified point in the future, will declare martial law and that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will hand down hundreds of sealed indictments against Deep State “traitors” like Hillary Clinton, George Soros and President Barack Obama.
After its 15 minutes of fame last summer, the Q-Anon movement started to die down, as pro-Trump online figures like Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter, WikiLeaks, and Michael Flynn Jr. all denounced the theory as fake. Noted far-right troll Jack Posobiec also ran a segment on One America News in September in which he claimed to have “exposed” Q-Anon as a hoax. That month, Reddit, which had been Q supporters’ home-base for months, also banned r/GreatAwakening, the Q-Anon subreddit, for violations of content policy.
That did not deter the hardline believers however, who migrated to alternate platforms such as Voat (a Reddit “free speech” knockoff) where they continued to speculate when the “Storm” — i.e. the arrests — would be made. Trump’s proposed border wall was seen as proof that Q-Anon was real, as it pointed to the overarching idea that Trump was fighting back and winning against the Deep State.
Trump’s latest back-down, then, has triggered confrontation and controversy within the Q community. As Q-Anon researcher Travis View noted, initial reaction to Trump’s announcement was not positive, as it lent credence to the theory that Q was a hoax, and that Trump was not orchestrating 5-D chess moves against the Deep State cabal.
Initial reactions on Voat were equally negative. “This is an embarrassment,” one Q-supporter wrote. “I had such high hopes for our President, but it has become clear he just has no chance of defeating the evil that rules our country. As far as Q goes, sad to say how hard I fell for a LARP [Live Action Roleplay, a common insult in far-right online circles].” Another Q-supporter put things in simpler terms, writing “fuck all of you, drumming on that we all need to trust a plan you’ve never seen and can’t even prove exists.”
The community was soon overrun with other posts pushing back against Trump’s supposed cave-in. Some pleaded for more time, others claimed that the Democrats would emerge looking worse (despite a new AP poll showing Trump at his lowest approval ratings since taking office) and that the matter was out of Trump’s hands. Many posters were also outwardly hostile to Trump’s concession and, for that matter, the entire Q-Anon theory.
The reaction is worrying, as Q-Anon supporters have previously shown themselves capable of stunts that are both dangerous and have the capacity for violence. Last June for instance a man with an AR-15 drove onto the Hoover Dam in an armored truck, demanding the government release evidence validating Q-Anon.
The Q-Anon theory gained some mainstream exposure in 2018, when a small number of supporters were seen waving Q signs at Trump rallies. In a nutshell, the conspiracy holds that Trump, at some unspecified point in the future, will declare martial law and that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will hand down hundreds of sealed indictments against Deep State “traitors” like Hillary Clinton, George Soros and President Barack Obama.
After its 15 minutes of fame last summer, the Q-Anon movement started to die down, as pro-Trump online figures like Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter, WikiLeaks, and Michael Flynn Jr. all denounced the theory as fake. Noted far-right troll Jack Posobiec also ran a segment on One America News in September in which he claimed to have “exposed” Q-Anon as a hoax. That month, Reddit, which had been Q supporters’ home-base for months, also banned r/GreatAwakening, the Q-Anon subreddit, for violations of content policy.
That did not deter the hardline believers however, who migrated to alternate platforms such as Voat (a Reddit “free speech” knockoff) where they continued to speculate when the “Storm” — i.e. the arrests — would be made. Trump’s proposed border wall was seen as proof that Q-Anon was real, as it pointed to the overarching idea that Trump was fighting back and winning against the Deep State.
Trump’s latest back-down, then, has triggered confrontation and controversy within the Q community. As Q-Anon researcher Travis View noted, initial reaction to Trump’s announcement was not positive, as it lent credence to the theory that Q was a hoax, and that Trump was not orchestrating 5-D chess moves against the Deep State cabal.
Initial reactions on Voat were equally negative. “This is an embarrassment,” one Q-supporter wrote. “I had such high hopes for our President, but it has become clear he just has no chance of defeating the evil that rules our country. As far as Q goes, sad to say how hard I fell for a LARP [Live Action Roleplay, a common insult in far-right online circles].” Another Q-supporter put things in simpler terms, writing “fuck all of you, drumming on that we all need to trust a plan you’ve never seen and can’t even prove exists.”
The community was soon overrun with other posts pushing back against Trump’s supposed cave-in. Some pleaded for more time, others claimed that the Democrats would emerge looking worse (despite a new AP poll showing Trump at his lowest approval ratings since taking office) and that the matter was out of Trump’s hands. Many posters were also outwardly hostile to Trump’s concession and, for that matter, the entire Q-Anon theory.
The reaction is worrying, as Q-Anon supporters have previously shown themselves capable of stunts that are both dangerous and have the capacity for violence. Last June for instance a man with an AR-15 drove onto the Hoover Dam in an armored truck, demanding the government release evidence validating Q-Anon.
‘The die-hards are dying harder’: Iowans ‘can’t believe’ farmers are still standing by Trump
Martin Cizmar - raw story
23 JAN 2019 AT 09:27 ET
Farmers in Iowa have been hit hard by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and the government shutdown, but continue to support Trump, much to the chagrin of their neighbors.
A CNN reporter traveled to Montecillo, Iowa where soybean prices have plummeted because of the trade war with China, but where farmers are getting free-flowing subsidies to offset their losses with $12 billion in American tax dollars.
The farmers he talked to support Trump, while their neighbors are aghast.
Farmers are able to subsist on their generous handouts, but are not able to invest in infrastructure on their farms with banks refusing to loan money.
They also can’t get data they need from the Department of Agriculture because of the shutdown.
Despite this, Dave Walton, a soybean farmer, “refused” to criticize Trump, who flipped the state from blue to red with the help of people like him.
“He campaigned on a lot of the things he’s doing right now and he’s doing it,” Walton said.
Farmer Brian Wolken said a lot of farmers are “big fans of Donald Trump.”
“Until he’s out of office I don’t think you’ll hear them say anything bad about him,” he said. “They’re just gonna say ‘This is going to be good for us in the long run.'”
Not everyone has been swayed, though. Others in the town, which now has a Democratic Congressman, said they are shocked by how the farmers are acting.
One eye doctor said he’s lost patients because he criticized Trump, and doesn’t care.
An elderly rural Iowa resident named Mel Manternach said it’s “unbelievable that the farmers of Iowa continue to support Trump.”
“I can’t believe that they’re that blind,” he said. “Some of the die-hards are dying harder.”
A CNN reporter traveled to Montecillo, Iowa where soybean prices have plummeted because of the trade war with China, but where farmers are getting free-flowing subsidies to offset their losses with $12 billion in American tax dollars.
The farmers he talked to support Trump, while their neighbors are aghast.
Farmers are able to subsist on their generous handouts, but are not able to invest in infrastructure on their farms with banks refusing to loan money.
They also can’t get data they need from the Department of Agriculture because of the shutdown.
Despite this, Dave Walton, a soybean farmer, “refused” to criticize Trump, who flipped the state from blue to red with the help of people like him.
“He campaigned on a lot of the things he’s doing right now and he’s doing it,” Walton said.
Farmer Brian Wolken said a lot of farmers are “big fans of Donald Trump.”
“Until he’s out of office I don’t think you’ll hear them say anything bad about him,” he said. “They’re just gonna say ‘This is going to be good for us in the long run.'”
Not everyone has been swayed, though. Others in the town, which now has a Democratic Congressman, said they are shocked by how the farmers are acting.
One eye doctor said he’s lost patients because he criticized Trump, and doesn’t care.
An elderly rural Iowa resident named Mel Manternach said it’s “unbelievable that the farmers of Iowa continue to support Trump.”
“I can’t believe that they’re that blind,” he said. “Some of the die-hards are dying harder.”
When you thought your racist dreams were gonna come true....and this happened instead... ..it's called KARMA!
by TruckFump - demo underground
Trump voters are selfish — and they love him because they identify with him
CHAUNCEY DEVEGA, SALON - COMMENTARY - raw story
13 JAN 2019 AT 12:20 ET
...In his new article, “Personal values and support for Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential primary,” published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, psychologist Ryne Sherman explains “a prototypical Trump supporter” as someone with “little interest in supporting social welfare programs,” “a strong desire for power,” “a strong desire to make money,” various “concerns about personal and financial safety” and a “preference for strictly adhering to social conventions (i.e., order, structure, and following the chain of command).”
---
These findings complement what is already known about Donald Trump’s voters, a group comprising tens of millions of white Americans who have joined what is effectively a political death cult, and apparently will not abandon their Great Leader under any circumstances.
Trump’s Republican and conservative supporters share the following attributes:
As we continue to try to make sense of the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, it is important to keep in mind several other factors.
Trump’s voters are not nihilists. They know what they want, and believe that Donald Trump and the Republican Party are fulfilling their desires.
Trump’s voters are conservatives on political steroids. They are the leading edge of a Republican Party and broader conservative movement that since the late 1960s has become increasingly extreme, reactionary, racist and hostile to democracy.
There is nothing “normal” about Trump’s political movement or his voters. This moment is a perilous outlier in modern American history. The country’s democracy and future are in peril.
In total, Trump’s voters are in a political, symbolic and emotionally transactional relationship with him and the Republican Party.
Ultimately, Trump is likely to be re-elected in 2020 if his supporters are understood to be “innocents” who were somehow tricked into supporting him.
Donald Trump has agency. His voters have agency. Together they have chosen a path that may bring lasting ruin to American society.
---
These findings complement what is already known about Donald Trump’s voters, a group comprising tens of millions of white Americans who have joined what is effectively a political death cult, and apparently will not abandon their Great Leader under any circumstances.
Trump’s Republican and conservative supporters share the following attributes:
- They are more likely to be authoritarians and to embrace other extreme right-wing ideologies.
- They are racially resentful and hostile to nonwhites. This attitude is especially pronounced towards African-Americans.
- They exhibit forms of toxic behavior associated with “collective narcissism.”
- They believe that white people are the real victims of racism in America.
- They are political bullies who engage in social dominance behavior against individuals and groups they view as Other (nonwhites and immigrants, Muslims, gays and lesbians) or their political enemies (liberals and progressives).
- They hold sexist and misogynistic views.
- Trump’s most extreme and enthusiastic supporters in the “alt-right” feature the “dark triad” of personality traits: narcissism, a propensity for violence, and a Machiavellian longing to manipulate others.
- They have little regard for America’s democratic norms and institutions and believe that winning at costs is all that matters — even if that means siding with a foreign power such as Russia to elect Donald Trump
- They live in regions of the United States where people are more likely to be unhappy, miserable and physically unwell and to suffer from the “deaths of despair.”
- They are attracted to Trump’s threats of violence and his other antisocial behavior.
- They are anti-intellectual, disdainful of higher education and hostile towards experts.
- They possess a deep fear of death and social obsolescence which compels them towards “strong leaders,” guns, superficial expressionss of patriotism and Christian fundamentalism
- They are extremely gullible and thus vulnerable to disinformation and other lies, as disseminated through the right-wing media.
- They seek simple answers to complex problems and are quick to reject new and inconvenient information.
- Either directly or indirectly, they want to hurt others whom they consider “un-American” or outside their tribe and community
As we continue to try to make sense of the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, it is important to keep in mind several other factors.
Trump’s voters are not nihilists. They know what they want, and believe that Donald Trump and the Republican Party are fulfilling their desires.
Trump’s voters are conservatives on political steroids. They are the leading edge of a Republican Party and broader conservative movement that since the late 1960s has become increasingly extreme, reactionary, racist and hostile to democracy.
There is nothing “normal” about Trump’s political movement or his voters. This moment is a perilous outlier in modern American history. The country’s democracy and future are in peril.
In total, Trump’s voters are in a political, symbolic and emotionally transactional relationship with him and the Republican Party.
Ultimately, Trump is likely to be re-elected in 2020 if his supporters are understood to be “innocents” who were somehow tricked into supporting him.
Donald Trump has agency. His voters have agency. Together they have chosen a path that may bring lasting ruin to American society.
Angry at shutdown, Trump supporter says 'He's not hurting the people he needs to be hurting'
Laura Clawson
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday January 08, 2019 · 7:45 AM PST
One of Donald Trump's explanations about why it wasn’t on him to end his government shutdown was that “most of the people not getting paid are Democrats.” But whatever the percentage of Democrats, the 800,000 people Trump’s shutdown is leaving without paychecks include plenty of Republicans. Not just any Republicans—the kind of people who, faced with problems from the shutdown, say this:
“I voted for him, and he’s the one who’s doing this,” she said of Mr. Trump. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
Let that one sink in for a minute. “He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” No. Wait. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” Good things … like hurting people.
That distillation of the Trump supporter’s ethos comes to you courtesy of Crystal Minton, a prison secretary in the Florida Panhandle. Her life has been made enormously more difficult first by Hurricane Michael and now by the shutdown. The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei reports that Minton and other prison workers in her town are dealing not just with the shutdown, but with hurricane damage to their own homes and to the prison where they work. They’re forced to drive seven hours for two-week stints at the facility where prisoners were relocated. That means they’re leaving their families and shelling out hundreds of dollars in expenses for which they’re not being reimbursed. It’s an outrageous situation, and you have to feel for them. And Minton is a single mother of a seven-year-old and also cares for her disabled parents; she is in an incredibly difficult position.
But … “He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” Her problem with Trump is not just that he’s hurting her but that he’s hurting her instead of … other people. (Two children died in U.S. custody last month, by the way.) This is a woman who stands ready to be happy with Trump if he’ll help her at the expense of other people. This is a Trump supporter being honest about what being a Trump supporter means, even at the moment of disillusionment with Trump.
“I voted for him, and he’s the one who’s doing this,” she said of Mr. Trump. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
Let that one sink in for a minute. “He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” No. Wait. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” Good things … like hurting people.
That distillation of the Trump supporter’s ethos comes to you courtesy of Crystal Minton, a prison secretary in the Florida Panhandle. Her life has been made enormously more difficult first by Hurricane Michael and now by the shutdown. The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei reports that Minton and other prison workers in her town are dealing not just with the shutdown, but with hurricane damage to their own homes and to the prison where they work. They’re forced to drive seven hours for two-week stints at the facility where prisoners were relocated. That means they’re leaving their families and shelling out hundreds of dollars in expenses for which they’re not being reimbursed. It’s an outrageous situation, and you have to feel for them. And Minton is a single mother of a seven-year-old and also cares for her disabled parents; she is in an incredibly difficult position.
But … “He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” Her problem with Trump is not just that he’s hurting her but that he’s hurting her instead of … other people. (Two children died in U.S. custody last month, by the way.) This is a woman who stands ready to be happy with Trump if he’ll help her at the expense of other people. This is a Trump supporter being honest about what being a Trump supporter means, even at the moment of disillusionment with Trump.
Trump voter has no regrets even as his EPA guts regulations on chemical that likely gave her kid leukemia
Brad Reed - raw story
03 JAN 2019 AT 11:00 ET
A woman who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 tells the New York Timesthat she has no regrets about voting for him even though she is fighting his administration’s efforts to roll back regulations on a chemical that likely gave her stepson leukemia.
As the Times reports, residents in Johnson County, Indiana have been battling the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to deregulate the use of TCE, a chemical that for years was used at a local industrial site that is being blamed for a major outbreak of cancer in the county’s children.
“On Wednesday, a group representing dozens of concerned parents called for a federal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General… into why Franklin’s toxic plume of trichloroethylene, or TCE, persists,” the Times reports. “The group accuses the EPA of ‘serious mismanagement’ and ‘significant delays’ at the site, even after the dangers became apparent this summer.”
One of the women who is leading the charge against the Trump EPA is Stacie Davidson, whose stepson contracted a rare form of leukemia in 2014 when he was just 10 years old. Even though her stepson has so far survived the disease and is now in remission, she says she’s appalled that Trump officials are still going through with deregulating the chemical.
“His loosening of EPA regulations, it’s infuriating,” she said.
Nonetheless, she tells the Times that this issue won’t be a deal breaker when it comes to supporting Trump.
“Trump’s a businessman,” she said. “There are great things he can do for our country. But he’s used to building high rises for money. He’s not as environmentally savvy. Our hope is that he surrounds himself with people who are more knowledgeable.”
As the Times reports, residents in Johnson County, Indiana have been battling the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to deregulate the use of TCE, a chemical that for years was used at a local industrial site that is being blamed for a major outbreak of cancer in the county’s children.
“On Wednesday, a group representing dozens of concerned parents called for a federal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General… into why Franklin’s toxic plume of trichloroethylene, or TCE, persists,” the Times reports. “The group accuses the EPA of ‘serious mismanagement’ and ‘significant delays’ at the site, even after the dangers became apparent this summer.”
One of the women who is leading the charge against the Trump EPA is Stacie Davidson, whose stepson contracted a rare form of leukemia in 2014 when he was just 10 years old. Even though her stepson has so far survived the disease and is now in remission, she says she’s appalled that Trump officials are still going through with deregulating the chemical.
“His loosening of EPA regulations, it’s infuriating,” she said.
Nonetheless, she tells the Times that this issue won’t be a deal breaker when it comes to supporting Trump.
“Trump’s a businessman,” she said. “There are great things he can do for our country. But he’s used to building high rises for money. He’s not as environmentally savvy. Our hope is that he surrounds himself with people who are more knowledgeable.”
in the land of stupid!!!
These Trump-loving Kentucky voters hate taxes — but can’t survive without government programs
Tom Boggioni - raw story
21 DEC 2018 AT 08:26 ET
In a deep dive into why a region that increasingly votes conservative, the New York Times discovered voters who loathe the federal government but have no problem receiving government largess in the form of federal assistance.
Reporting from Harlan County, Kentucky, the Times reports that it “is the nation’s fifth most dependent on federal programs, according to the government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.”
“In 2016 some 54 percent of the income of the county’s roughly 26,000 residents came from programs like Social Security and Medicaid, food stamps — formally known as SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — and the earned-income tax credit. That is up from 28 percent in 1990,” the report continues.
At the same time this federal assistance has grown, the county has also grown more conservative, making it a bastion of dependable votes for Republicans who want to cut taxes and starve the government.
One such voter is Daniel Lewis, who was severely injured in a car crash 15 years ago and gets by on $1,600 a month from disability insurance, along with Medicaid benefits and food stamps that help feed his wife and two children.
Lewis admitted, “Every need I have has been met,” yet he still voted for Donald Trump in 2016, calling him “the lesser of two evils.”
According to the Times, “As Americans have grown more reliant on federal programs over the last 50 years, they have increasingly embraced the Republican Party, a trend put in stark relief by President Trump’s 2016 victory.”
“Of the 10 states in which government transfers account for the largest share of income, seven voted for Mr. Trump. Speaking to the economic and social anxieties of blue-collar white voters over immigration, trade and demographic change, Mr. Trump has championed tax cuts for the well-to-do paired with benefit cuts for the struggling voters in his base,” the report continues.
Ironically — or maybe not — current Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevins (R) rode into office by calling for cuts in social benefits, by repeating an old quote from Ronald Reagan who once said, “The worst thing you can hear is ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Bevins won election in 2015 with 52.5 percent of the vote, with the Lexington Herald-Leader reporting he won the Kentucky counties with the highest number of Medicaid recipients — despite the fact that he ran on cutting back the program.
You can read more here.
Reporting from Harlan County, Kentucky, the Times reports that it “is the nation’s fifth most dependent on federal programs, according to the government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.”
“In 2016 some 54 percent of the income of the county’s roughly 26,000 residents came from programs like Social Security and Medicaid, food stamps — formally known as SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — and the earned-income tax credit. That is up from 28 percent in 1990,” the report continues.
At the same time this federal assistance has grown, the county has also grown more conservative, making it a bastion of dependable votes for Republicans who want to cut taxes and starve the government.
One such voter is Daniel Lewis, who was severely injured in a car crash 15 years ago and gets by on $1,600 a month from disability insurance, along with Medicaid benefits and food stamps that help feed his wife and two children.
Lewis admitted, “Every need I have has been met,” yet he still voted for Donald Trump in 2016, calling him “the lesser of two evils.”
According to the Times, “As Americans have grown more reliant on federal programs over the last 50 years, they have increasingly embraced the Republican Party, a trend put in stark relief by President Trump’s 2016 victory.”
“Of the 10 states in which government transfers account for the largest share of income, seven voted for Mr. Trump. Speaking to the economic and social anxieties of blue-collar white voters over immigration, trade and demographic change, Mr. Trump has championed tax cuts for the well-to-do paired with benefit cuts for the struggling voters in his base,” the report continues.
Ironically — or maybe not — current Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevins (R) rode into office by calling for cuts in social benefits, by repeating an old quote from Ronald Reagan who once said, “The worst thing you can hear is ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Bevins won election in 2015 with 52.5 percent of the vote, with the Lexington Herald-Leader reporting he won the Kentucky counties with the highest number of Medicaid recipients — despite the fact that he ran on cutting back the program.
You can read more here.
Trump defenders are in denial about him being an ‘inveterate liar’ who tricked them for votes: conservative columnist
Martin Cizmar - raw story
19 DEC 2018 AT 12:50 ET
Pissident Donald Trump is embattled on so many fronts that it can be dizzying to keep track.
In a new column, Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin makes the case that the debate need not focus on what high crimes & misdemeanors” means.
Rather, she says, it’s enough that Trump is an “inveterate liar, who lied to get himself elected in the first place, over every possible candidate.”
“There is a moral and political dimension that gets lost along the way: If Trump has repeatedly, compulsively lied to the American people (oh, say, thousands of times) and sent lawyers and aides out to lie for him (e.g. Sarah Sanders insisting Trump knew nothing about hush-money payments to women with whom he allegedly had extramarital affairs), why should he not be disqualified from seeking reelection?” Rubin asks.
Rubin then discusses the lies Trump told on the campaign trail and to protect himself from various court cases, plus his lies about policy accomplishments such as claiming that new steel mills were opening and that a wall on the border with Mexico was already being built.
“If one believes democracy requires that elected leaders shouldn’t trick, manipulate, bamboozle and flat-out lie to voters to obtain office and explain what is going on, then Trump should never, ever be elected to anything again,” she writes. ” What’s the Republicans’ excuse for backing an obsessive liar? Someone should start asking them.”
Read the full column here.
In a new column, Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin makes the case that the debate need not focus on what high crimes & misdemeanors” means.
Rather, she says, it’s enough that Trump is an “inveterate liar, who lied to get himself elected in the first place, over every possible candidate.”
“There is a moral and political dimension that gets lost along the way: If Trump has repeatedly, compulsively lied to the American people (oh, say, thousands of times) and sent lawyers and aides out to lie for him (e.g. Sarah Sanders insisting Trump knew nothing about hush-money payments to women with whom he allegedly had extramarital affairs), why should he not be disqualified from seeking reelection?” Rubin asks.
Rubin then discusses the lies Trump told on the campaign trail and to protect himself from various court cases, plus his lies about policy accomplishments such as claiming that new steel mills were opening and that a wall on the border with Mexico was already being built.
“If one believes democracy requires that elected leaders shouldn’t trick, manipulate, bamboozle and flat-out lie to voters to obtain office and explain what is going on, then Trump should never, ever be elected to anything again,” she writes. ” What’s the Republicans’ excuse for backing an obsessive liar? Someone should start asking them.”
Read the full column here.
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
12/07/2018
How to Convince MAGA Cretins to Fear Climate Change
Hey, you got friends or relatives who think Donald Trump is the greatest man in the history of forever (except, of course, for Jesus Christ because he's the Lord or some such shit)? You tired of their "climate change is fake news made up by Big Science for that sweet grant money" nonsense? You gotta learn to speak their language. You gotta learn to play on their fears. And you can do that pretty easily.
Let's do this shit quick and nasty.
1. Tell 'em that climate change is gonna make a whole lot more immigrants come to this country.
"Yeah, that's right, Cousin Skeeter. When there are droughts and hurricanes hitting El Salvador, the people aren't gonna just sit there and die. They're all gonna get the fuck outta el dodge-o and get somewhere that's safer. You think there are a lot of people caravanning now? You throw in some fires and floods and biblical shit, and you're gonna get a couple million people walking up north to escape it. So if you're mad about all them Messicans speaking Spanish down at the Piggly Wiggly, Skeeter, you better tell your congressman to get his ass out of Exxon's back pocket and start cleaning the air up or your little girl Liberty there is gonna have to learn to habla some espanol."
2. Tell 'em that climate change is bringing in tropical diseases.
"Hey, Aunt Jane-Bob, you better be careful when you're giggin' fer critters out there in the swamp to make your famous frog fritters for Christmas because climate change has made the mosquitoes and bitin' bugs able to make you even sicker. Yeah, there's gonna be more lyme disease and West Nile and all kinds of terrible illnesses. You tell Uncle Ricky-Bob to be care of the deer ticks when he's out huntin'. And because things have gotten so bad so fast, we're gettin' diseases from those shithole countries, things like malaria and Dengue fever and stuff that'll make you shit yourself for so long that you'll be praying for the Lord to take you."
3. Tell 'em that climate change is gonna get rid of their favorite places.
"You know how you like to take your family every year to Myrtle Beach, Lil' Brother Floyd? How you remember how our daddy took us and his daddy took him? Yeah, I miss those trips with the house right on the beach. And the best part is how you get to drive your truck up and down the shore. It don't get no better 'n that, right, Floyd? Well, if we don't turn things around, Myrtle Beach is gonna be fucked. Fucked bad. All those houses are gonna be washed away. Yeah, it ain't just liberals in California and New York and New Jersey gettin' ass-fucked by rising seas and wildfires. Daytona. Gulf Shores. They'll be underwater. The forest where you like to hunt wild boar in North Carolina? They're gettin' hit by fires. Some of your favorite spots ain't gonna be there anymore. Your son, Floydy-T, he won't be able to bring his family back to Myrtle Beach when he's all growed because there won't be a Myrtle Beach."
Now, you may ask how you get them to believe there is even such a thing as climate change. Well, after you lay out the immigrant-filled, disease-rampant, no Myrtle Beach future, you ask them, "If 98 people told you that if you just sit still and do nothing, a big ol' grizzly bear is gonna fuck you in the face, but 2 people said, 'Well, there is a grizzly bear, but we don't believe he's gonna fuck you in the face,' would you just sit still and wait to see if the grizzly bear fucks your face? Hell, no. You'd get the fuck out of there. Even if you wanna swallow grizzly bear jizz, it's not gonna go well because it's a grizzly bear. Fucking your face."
There you go, people. A handy guide to keep on your phones, in a message marked, "In case of moron, open."
Let's do this shit quick and nasty.
1. Tell 'em that climate change is gonna make a whole lot more immigrants come to this country.
"Yeah, that's right, Cousin Skeeter. When there are droughts and hurricanes hitting El Salvador, the people aren't gonna just sit there and die. They're all gonna get the fuck outta el dodge-o and get somewhere that's safer. You think there are a lot of people caravanning now? You throw in some fires and floods and biblical shit, and you're gonna get a couple million people walking up north to escape it. So if you're mad about all them Messicans speaking Spanish down at the Piggly Wiggly, Skeeter, you better tell your congressman to get his ass out of Exxon's back pocket and start cleaning the air up or your little girl Liberty there is gonna have to learn to habla some espanol."
2. Tell 'em that climate change is bringing in tropical diseases.
"Hey, Aunt Jane-Bob, you better be careful when you're giggin' fer critters out there in the swamp to make your famous frog fritters for Christmas because climate change has made the mosquitoes and bitin' bugs able to make you even sicker. Yeah, there's gonna be more lyme disease and West Nile and all kinds of terrible illnesses. You tell Uncle Ricky-Bob to be care of the deer ticks when he's out huntin'. And because things have gotten so bad so fast, we're gettin' diseases from those shithole countries, things like malaria and Dengue fever and stuff that'll make you shit yourself for so long that you'll be praying for the Lord to take you."
3. Tell 'em that climate change is gonna get rid of their favorite places.
"You know how you like to take your family every year to Myrtle Beach, Lil' Brother Floyd? How you remember how our daddy took us and his daddy took him? Yeah, I miss those trips with the house right on the beach. And the best part is how you get to drive your truck up and down the shore. It don't get no better 'n that, right, Floyd? Well, if we don't turn things around, Myrtle Beach is gonna be fucked. Fucked bad. All those houses are gonna be washed away. Yeah, it ain't just liberals in California and New York and New Jersey gettin' ass-fucked by rising seas and wildfires. Daytona. Gulf Shores. They'll be underwater. The forest where you like to hunt wild boar in North Carolina? They're gettin' hit by fires. Some of your favorite spots ain't gonna be there anymore. Your son, Floydy-T, he won't be able to bring his family back to Myrtle Beach when he's all growed because there won't be a Myrtle Beach."
Now, you may ask how you get them to believe there is even such a thing as climate change. Well, after you lay out the immigrant-filled, disease-rampant, no Myrtle Beach future, you ask them, "If 98 people told you that if you just sit still and do nothing, a big ol' grizzly bear is gonna fuck you in the face, but 2 people said, 'Well, there is a grizzly bear, but we don't believe he's gonna fuck you in the face,' would you just sit still and wait to see if the grizzly bear fucks your face? Hell, no. You'd get the fuck out of there. Even if you wanna swallow grizzly bear jizz, it's not gonna go well because it's a grizzly bear. Fucking your face."
There you go, people. A handy guide to keep on your phones, in a message marked, "In case of moron, open."
Yale psychiatrist explains how devotion to Trump is based on emotional patterns most people grow out of by age five
Tana Ganeva - raw story
03 DEC 2018 AT 14:22 ET
...Raw Story: In your opinion, what are the emotions driving Donald Trump’s base?
Bandy X. Lee: The sense of grandiose omnipotence that he displays seems especially appealing to his emotionally-needy followers. No matter what the world says, he fights back against criticism, continues to lie in the face of truth, and above all is still president. What matters is that he is winning, not whether he is honest or law-abiding. This may seem puzzling to the rest of us, but when you are overcome with feelings of powerlessness, this type of cartoonish, exaggerated force is often more important than true ability. This is the more primitive morality, as we call it, of “might makes right,” which in normal development you grow out of by age five.
But, in this case, Trump appeals to that childlike degree of emotional development? Why?
Strongman-type personalities are very appealing in times of socioeconomic or political crisis, as the population is less able to think rationally but is rather overcome with fear, or desire to draw strength from fantastical ideas. This happens to normal people in times of stress, or to people whose development has been stunted because of emotional injury. The problem is, the person who promises the impossible and states, “I alone can fix it,” and gives himself an A+ on his performance, is not a strong person who can deliver but the opposite. So Mr. Trump’s “base“ looks for someone to rescue them and their intense yearning does not allow them to see through his deception, while Mr. Trump senses better than anyone their needs (they are his) and makes use of them for his own benefit—even as he disdains his supporters for being so gullible. In this manner, they fulfill each other’s emotional needs in a mutually unhealthy way.
What’s your biggest concern?
One concern I have, in my 20 years of studying this personality structure while treating violent offenders, is the disturbing societal trend. More and more of this personality type are taking on leadership positions, including of corporations, whereas 20 years ago one would mostly find them in jails and prisons. This also means there are a growing number of people who emulate them in the general culture, who become deprived from the structures that they create, and who become emotionally traumatized as a result of any of these consequences. People who are wounded this way continue to seek omnipotent parental figures as adults, and the vicious circle continues. Unable to find outer satisfaction for their inner needs, some keep pursuing ever greater power until they reach the highest positions, but since this is the opposite of proper treatment, their conditions only grow worse while society suffers a trail of carnage. It is actually a tragedy that Mr. Trump cannot receive proper care, even as his disorder is on display for the world to see, but is rather surrounded by those who enable his illness and make use of his weaknesses to their own destructive ends.
On the one hand, different demographics that have tended to support Trump in the past—let’s white women and neo-Nazis—don’t have much in common. Are there psychological factors that unite them?
Well, he unites them through a common, mythological past that they can all be nostalgic for, and that might be his “talent.” We know from the former Yugoslavia that this past can be hundreds of years ago, not just decades, and is really a metaphor for discontent with the self in the present. Mr. Trump’s behavioral pattern is not that of leaders at all but rather of obsequious followers, as we have seen Mr. Trump become in the presence of even more successful strongmen, such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, or Rodrigo Duterte. We find in him a pattern of following exactly what his base is looking for—he has no intrinsic philosophy or ideology but is responding to an emotional need for adulation and approval, and so he will try anything that gets as many people on board as possible. He will also sense keenly those who will never go along with his pathological methods—that is, healthy people—and drop them instantly. That is why we see him desperately clinging to an ever narrower base with increasingly fringe ideas.
He also has to scapegoat groups in order to distract from his billionaire cabinet, tax breaks for the rich, and trade wars that hurt his base the most, and so his demonizing of other helpless groups will only increase with time. We were worried that he might lead us into a devastating war or stage a terrorist attack, but he actually managed to turn a humanitarian crisis of people fleeing violence into an invading army that required thousands of troops at the Mexican border. If this “feigned war” fails to distract, then he may yet stage a real war. With the special counsel’s investigations about to be released, after devastating midterm elections for him and in a vulnerable economy, he will experience loss of popularity as a terrifying threat to his inflated self-image. There will likely be no limit to the violence he is capable of, since destroying the world would be nothing compared to the shame and humiliation he might suffer.
By the way, I think we need to include a very different demographic group among his supporters, which is the richest one percent. This will be the more calculating, pragmatic group. How is such a minority able to control politics and to keep convincing 99 percent of the population to give up what it has so that it can grow richer still? It is by distracting and manipulating the 99 percent through advertising, hot-button issues such as abortion, Fox News, and reality TV, which explicitly employ psychological techniques to make the population more impulsive, irrational, and ill-informed. So when the federally-funded American Psychiatric Association, which heavily depends on the pharmaceutical industry, says that psychiatrists should not comment on the president’s mental instability, we have to question: is it protecting the psychological methods that are being used to manipulate the public so as to make it more unhealthy, while blocking information that might restore its health? If mental health professionals were allowed to educate and inform the public more about psychological matters, then the population would be empowered, and healing could start replacing the damage.
---
And the rallies?
Another way he communicates with his base is through his numerous rallies. He projects a lot. Projection is a psychological term for displacing thoughts or qualities in yourself you cannot tolerate onto someone else. He does this when he calls legitimate news “fake” and news agencies “the enemy of the people.” He is unconsciously telling us that he is himself “fake news” and “the enemy of the people.” He also made up the clever slogan, “Democrats produce mobs. Republicans produce jobs.”
And that is not accurate because …
But if you look at the statistics, the majority of the “angry mobs” that commit violence and terrorism are right-wing, while Democratic policies almost always lower unemployment rates. And when he calls Hillary Clinton “crooked” and that we should “lock her up,” he is trying to disown his fraudulent tendencies and to block thoughts of seeing himself as someone we need to lock up. The extreme exaggeration, the inability to consider the possibility that it could apply to him, and the failure to test against obvious reality give away the fact that the opposite is true, but his obedient base is predisposed to believing his defenses more than their own observations.
Trump seems to have intuited how to communicate with his base, evading the filter of the media. What do you think about that?
You are right in that it is all intuitive, not rational or logical, which would have less emotional force. Emotional power can be helpful when healthy, but when unhealthy, it can overcome all healthy approaches. As mental health professionals, we have to watch the media continue to get played, and it still has not managed to catch up. There is a phenomenon called “shared psychosis” (also called “folie à deux”) that happens when an untreated sick person is in close proximity to, say, other family members within a household. In such a situation, normal people grow increasingly out of touch with reality and take on symptoms of the person who is unwell. It can also happen with an impaired president—once in power, he becomes not only the most urgent problem that needs to be addressed but a cause of widespread deterioration of health in a way that can become a “folie à millions.” Treatment involves removing the sick individual from the others, and very quickly, the others return to normal. It shows how powerful mental sickness is: the otherwise normal person becomes sick and not the other way around. His unfettered access to the people through Twitter is as dangerous as his unfettered access to the nuclear codes, since he is laying the groundwork for a culture of violence that can unleash epidemics of violence. This is why waiting for the next decision of voters in 2020 is itself dangerous and reckless in its lack of understanding of the present danger the president poses.
Bandy X. Lee: The sense of grandiose omnipotence that he displays seems especially appealing to his emotionally-needy followers. No matter what the world says, he fights back against criticism, continues to lie in the face of truth, and above all is still president. What matters is that he is winning, not whether he is honest or law-abiding. This may seem puzzling to the rest of us, but when you are overcome with feelings of powerlessness, this type of cartoonish, exaggerated force is often more important than true ability. This is the more primitive morality, as we call it, of “might makes right,” which in normal development you grow out of by age five.
But, in this case, Trump appeals to that childlike degree of emotional development? Why?
Strongman-type personalities are very appealing in times of socioeconomic or political crisis, as the population is less able to think rationally but is rather overcome with fear, or desire to draw strength from fantastical ideas. This happens to normal people in times of stress, or to people whose development has been stunted because of emotional injury. The problem is, the person who promises the impossible and states, “I alone can fix it,” and gives himself an A+ on his performance, is not a strong person who can deliver but the opposite. So Mr. Trump’s “base“ looks for someone to rescue them and their intense yearning does not allow them to see through his deception, while Mr. Trump senses better than anyone their needs (they are his) and makes use of them for his own benefit—even as he disdains his supporters for being so gullible. In this manner, they fulfill each other’s emotional needs in a mutually unhealthy way.
What’s your biggest concern?
One concern I have, in my 20 years of studying this personality structure while treating violent offenders, is the disturbing societal trend. More and more of this personality type are taking on leadership positions, including of corporations, whereas 20 years ago one would mostly find them in jails and prisons. This also means there are a growing number of people who emulate them in the general culture, who become deprived from the structures that they create, and who become emotionally traumatized as a result of any of these consequences. People who are wounded this way continue to seek omnipotent parental figures as adults, and the vicious circle continues. Unable to find outer satisfaction for their inner needs, some keep pursuing ever greater power until they reach the highest positions, but since this is the opposite of proper treatment, their conditions only grow worse while society suffers a trail of carnage. It is actually a tragedy that Mr. Trump cannot receive proper care, even as his disorder is on display for the world to see, but is rather surrounded by those who enable his illness and make use of his weaknesses to their own destructive ends.
On the one hand, different demographics that have tended to support Trump in the past—let’s white women and neo-Nazis—don’t have much in common. Are there psychological factors that unite them?
Well, he unites them through a common, mythological past that they can all be nostalgic for, and that might be his “talent.” We know from the former Yugoslavia that this past can be hundreds of years ago, not just decades, and is really a metaphor for discontent with the self in the present. Mr. Trump’s behavioral pattern is not that of leaders at all but rather of obsequious followers, as we have seen Mr. Trump become in the presence of even more successful strongmen, such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, or Rodrigo Duterte. We find in him a pattern of following exactly what his base is looking for—he has no intrinsic philosophy or ideology but is responding to an emotional need for adulation and approval, and so he will try anything that gets as many people on board as possible. He will also sense keenly those who will never go along with his pathological methods—that is, healthy people—and drop them instantly. That is why we see him desperately clinging to an ever narrower base with increasingly fringe ideas.
He also has to scapegoat groups in order to distract from his billionaire cabinet, tax breaks for the rich, and trade wars that hurt his base the most, and so his demonizing of other helpless groups will only increase with time. We were worried that he might lead us into a devastating war or stage a terrorist attack, but he actually managed to turn a humanitarian crisis of people fleeing violence into an invading army that required thousands of troops at the Mexican border. If this “feigned war” fails to distract, then he may yet stage a real war. With the special counsel’s investigations about to be released, after devastating midterm elections for him and in a vulnerable economy, he will experience loss of popularity as a terrifying threat to his inflated self-image. There will likely be no limit to the violence he is capable of, since destroying the world would be nothing compared to the shame and humiliation he might suffer.
By the way, I think we need to include a very different demographic group among his supporters, which is the richest one percent. This will be the more calculating, pragmatic group. How is such a minority able to control politics and to keep convincing 99 percent of the population to give up what it has so that it can grow richer still? It is by distracting and manipulating the 99 percent through advertising, hot-button issues such as abortion, Fox News, and reality TV, which explicitly employ psychological techniques to make the population more impulsive, irrational, and ill-informed. So when the federally-funded American Psychiatric Association, which heavily depends on the pharmaceutical industry, says that psychiatrists should not comment on the president’s mental instability, we have to question: is it protecting the psychological methods that are being used to manipulate the public so as to make it more unhealthy, while blocking information that might restore its health? If mental health professionals were allowed to educate and inform the public more about psychological matters, then the population would be empowered, and healing could start replacing the damage.
---
And the rallies?
Another way he communicates with his base is through his numerous rallies. He projects a lot. Projection is a psychological term for displacing thoughts or qualities in yourself you cannot tolerate onto someone else. He does this when he calls legitimate news “fake” and news agencies “the enemy of the people.” He is unconsciously telling us that he is himself “fake news” and “the enemy of the people.” He also made up the clever slogan, “Democrats produce mobs. Republicans produce jobs.”
And that is not accurate because …
But if you look at the statistics, the majority of the “angry mobs” that commit violence and terrorism are right-wing, while Democratic policies almost always lower unemployment rates. And when he calls Hillary Clinton “crooked” and that we should “lock her up,” he is trying to disown his fraudulent tendencies and to block thoughts of seeing himself as someone we need to lock up. The extreme exaggeration, the inability to consider the possibility that it could apply to him, and the failure to test against obvious reality give away the fact that the opposite is true, but his obedient base is predisposed to believing his defenses more than their own observations.
Trump seems to have intuited how to communicate with his base, evading the filter of the media. What do you think about that?
You are right in that it is all intuitive, not rational or logical, which would have less emotional force. Emotional power can be helpful when healthy, but when unhealthy, it can overcome all healthy approaches. As mental health professionals, we have to watch the media continue to get played, and it still has not managed to catch up. There is a phenomenon called “shared psychosis” (also called “folie à deux”) that happens when an untreated sick person is in close proximity to, say, other family members within a household. In such a situation, normal people grow increasingly out of touch with reality and take on symptoms of the person who is unwell. It can also happen with an impaired president—once in power, he becomes not only the most urgent problem that needs to be addressed but a cause of widespread deterioration of health in a way that can become a “folie à millions.” Treatment involves removing the sick individual from the others, and very quickly, the others return to normal. It shows how powerful mental sickness is: the otherwise normal person becomes sick and not the other way around. His unfettered access to the people through Twitter is as dangerous as his unfettered access to the nuclear codes, since he is laying the groundwork for a culture of violence that can unleash epidemics of violence. This is why waiting for the next decision of voters in 2020 is itself dangerous and reckless in its lack of understanding of the present danger the president poses.
Former cult member explains Trump’s terrifying appeal to evangelical white women
Brad Reed - raw story
28 NOV 2018 AT 11:13 ET
Although President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating among women is in the dumps, his approval among white evangelical Christian women has remained resilient.
Cyndy Etler, a professional life coach who was indoctrinated into a cult as a teenage girl, has written an op-ed for the UK’s Independent newspaper in which she explains why so many evangelical women have continued to stand by Trump, even as he has routinely made sexist comments about women’s appearances.
“The rational mind assumes that any woman, assaulted or not, would reject a man who says he would date his own daughter; would be repulsed by men who are repeatedly accused of violating women,” she writes. “But then, who’s to say Donald Trump’s supporters are rational?”
Etler goes on to detail how she’s seen many evangelical women act as “enforcers” for abusive men to intimidate other women in their communities who might rebel.
She says that once you understand that evangelical doctrine demands that wives submit themselves to their husbands, their ability to overlook Trump’s crude comments about grabbing women’s genitals makes much more sense.
“Of course Trump can ‘grab them by the pussy,’ because that’s what God created women for: to submit to men,” she writes. “In the words of the Baptist ’19 kids and counting’ Duggar family’s matriarch, women should be ‘joyfully available’ for sex at all times.”
Read the whole editorial here.
Cyndy Etler, a professional life coach who was indoctrinated into a cult as a teenage girl, has written an op-ed for the UK’s Independent newspaper in which she explains why so many evangelical women have continued to stand by Trump, even as he has routinely made sexist comments about women’s appearances.
“The rational mind assumes that any woman, assaulted or not, would reject a man who says he would date his own daughter; would be repulsed by men who are repeatedly accused of violating women,” she writes. “But then, who’s to say Donald Trump’s supporters are rational?”
Etler goes on to detail how she’s seen many evangelical women act as “enforcers” for abusive men to intimidate other women in their communities who might rebel.
She says that once you understand that evangelical doctrine demands that wives submit themselves to their husbands, their ability to overlook Trump’s crude comments about grabbing women’s genitals makes much more sense.
“Of course Trump can ‘grab them by the pussy,’ because that’s what God created women for: to submit to men,” she writes. “In the words of the Baptist ’19 kids and counting’ Duggar family’s matriarch, women should be ‘joyfully available’ for sex at all times.”
Read the whole editorial here.
This is why some Trump supporters think investing in Iraq’s worthless currency will make them millionaires
Brad Reed - raw story
20 NOV 2018 AT 09:13 ET
Some supporters of President Donald Trump are being manipulated by scammers into investing in the Iraqi dinar based on the false premise that the president predicted its value would soar in the coming years.
As the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports, scammers who have been promoting the Iraqi dinar as an investment vehicle have been telling Trump supporters that the president and the Iraqi government are conducting negotiations to “revalue” the currency that each dinar is worth three-to-four times the amount of the United States dollar.
This would be a massive boost in the currencies valuation, which now has a value of less than $0.001 for every US dollar.
North Carolina Trump supporter Hayes Kotseos says she became convinced that Trump would raise the value of the dinar after seeing a video clip of the president in 2017 where he vaguely said that all currencies would soon “be on a level playing field.”
“I love my president, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” Kotseos tells the Daily Beast of her reaction to the video.
Afterward, she and her husband invested thousands of dollars in Iraqi dinars on the hopes that Trump’s deal-making prowess would soon make them instant millionaires.
Kotseos isn’t alone either: Sommer has found that “court papers related to dinar scams often mention millions of dollars worth of dinar purchases” and that “dinar holders regularly tweet at Trump and various Iraqi government Twitter accounts, demanding to know when they’ll finally enact the ‘RV’ that will let the money flow in.”
Read the whole report here.
As the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reports, scammers who have been promoting the Iraqi dinar as an investment vehicle have been telling Trump supporters that the president and the Iraqi government are conducting negotiations to “revalue” the currency that each dinar is worth three-to-four times the amount of the United States dollar.
This would be a massive boost in the currencies valuation, which now has a value of less than $0.001 for every US dollar.
North Carolina Trump supporter Hayes Kotseos says she became convinced that Trump would raise the value of the dinar after seeing a video clip of the president in 2017 where he vaguely said that all currencies would soon “be on a level playing field.”
“I love my president, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” Kotseos tells the Daily Beast of her reaction to the video.
Afterward, she and her husband invested thousands of dollars in Iraqi dinars on the hopes that Trump’s deal-making prowess would soon make them instant millionaires.
Kotseos isn’t alone either: Sommer has found that “court papers related to dinar scams often mention millions of dollars worth of dinar purchases” and that “dinar holders regularly tweet at Trump and various Iraqi government Twitter accounts, demanding to know when they’ll finally enact the ‘RV’ that will let the money flow in.”
Read the whole report here.
Black Trump supporters: No hate here
John N. Mitchell Tribune Staff Writer - philly tribune
Nov 17, 2018
For weeks, Tyrone L. Smith had been hearing that if he attended Saturday’s “We the People” rally on Independence Mall he’d find himself surrounded by white supremacists.
“Yeah, it’s all fake news,” said Smith, a 44-year-old African American and the founder and president of the U.S. Police Fire EMS Foundation. “Contrary to what most media are saying, this was not a racist, fascist, white supremacy get-together. We all came here just to do the right thing.”
Smith was one of a group of about 50 conservatives — and one of at least two African Americans — cordoned off behind gates on the grounds of the Mall. The gathering was billed as a pro-Constitution, pro Donald Trump rally by its organizers. Speakers, of which Smith was one, said nothing racist.
Across Market Street to the south between Fifth and Sixth streets, hundreds of police officers lined Market Street to separate a much larger group of a few hundred protesters who carried signs, heard anti-racism speeches and punctuated the afternoon with chants like “Philly is a union town, we’re gonna take the Nazis down.”
Smith, who said he had voted for former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 before voting for Trump in 2016, was not the only African American among the pro-Trump protesters.
Desmond. who preferred his last name not be used, 27, is Black and gay. He didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 but said he would support his re-election bid.
“I came here because I’m interested in meeting like-minded conservatives,” Desmond said. “I also came to demonstrate that there are Black conservatives and Black people that will come out and support the president.”
Across the street, where the larger crowd was much louder, more diverse and more boisterous, the sentiments were different.
Cindy Heyward, a legislative director with the American Postal Workers Union, said Trump has emboldened racists. She said she heard about the “We the People” march late last week.
“There was no way we were going to let them come in here with their hate-mongering and not say anything,” she said. “The reason they are coming out is because we have a racist sitting president. I’m not saying that all of his supporters are racists. But the majority of them are.”
The rally began around 10 a.m. and wound down about four hours later. Police said there were four arrests for low-level offenses. Police never let the two sides near each other.
Tensions grew in the days leading up to the rally that “We the People” might attract white supremacists groups such as Proud Boys and Three Percenters. However, there were no visible signs of any such organizations among the group. Most at the rally wore Donald Trump paraphernalia.
“I didn’t see any of them,” said march organizer Zach Rehl, “and if there were any here, we were going to remove them. We are here to express our support for President Trump and the Constitution. Not everyone supports the president and that’s fine.”
Rehl has previously organized marches in support of the police and Trump. He said supporting those things do not make him a bigot.
“I denounce racism and bigotry 100 percent and I have no issues with a person’s race, religion or anything else,” he said. “We had Ty Smith speak here today. He’s a friend. He’s a Black man. He’s very smart. I know he wouldn’t be here with us if we were a bunch of racists.”
“Yeah, it’s all fake news,” said Smith, a 44-year-old African American and the founder and president of the U.S. Police Fire EMS Foundation. “Contrary to what most media are saying, this was not a racist, fascist, white supremacy get-together. We all came here just to do the right thing.”
Smith was one of a group of about 50 conservatives — and one of at least two African Americans — cordoned off behind gates on the grounds of the Mall. The gathering was billed as a pro-Constitution, pro Donald Trump rally by its organizers. Speakers, of which Smith was one, said nothing racist.
Across Market Street to the south between Fifth and Sixth streets, hundreds of police officers lined Market Street to separate a much larger group of a few hundred protesters who carried signs, heard anti-racism speeches and punctuated the afternoon with chants like “Philly is a union town, we’re gonna take the Nazis down.”
Smith, who said he had voted for former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 before voting for Trump in 2016, was not the only African American among the pro-Trump protesters.
Desmond. who preferred his last name not be used, 27, is Black and gay. He didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 but said he would support his re-election bid.
“I came here because I’m interested in meeting like-minded conservatives,” Desmond said. “I also came to demonstrate that there are Black conservatives and Black people that will come out and support the president.”
Across the street, where the larger crowd was much louder, more diverse and more boisterous, the sentiments were different.
Cindy Heyward, a legislative director with the American Postal Workers Union, said Trump has emboldened racists. She said she heard about the “We the People” march late last week.
“There was no way we were going to let them come in here with their hate-mongering and not say anything,” she said. “The reason they are coming out is because we have a racist sitting president. I’m not saying that all of his supporters are racists. But the majority of them are.”
The rally began around 10 a.m. and wound down about four hours later. Police said there were four arrests for low-level offenses. Police never let the two sides near each other.
Tensions grew in the days leading up to the rally that “We the People” might attract white supremacists groups such as Proud Boys and Three Percenters. However, there were no visible signs of any such organizations among the group. Most at the rally wore Donald Trump paraphernalia.
“I didn’t see any of them,” said march organizer Zach Rehl, “and if there were any here, we were going to remove them. We are here to express our support for President Trump and the Constitution. Not everyone supports the president and that’s fine.”
Rehl has previously organized marches in support of the police and Trump. He said supporting those things do not make him a bigot.
“I denounce racism and bigotry 100 percent and I have no issues with a person’s race, religion or anything else,” he said. “We had Ty Smith speak here today. He’s a friend. He’s a Black man. He’s very smart. I know he wouldn’t be here with us if we were a bunch of racists.”
Flailing Trump supporter insists #MAGAbomber and Pittsburgh killer are ‘socialists’ in train-wreck interview
Brad Reed - raw story
02 NOV 2018 AT 12:26 ET
The Young Turks’ Emma Vigeland once again went out to talk with Trump supporters this week, and she found that many of them were in denial that acts of right-wing terrorism in the United States should even be classified as right-wing terrorism.
One particularly emotional Trump fan went so far as to say that white nationalists like the one who shot up the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last weekend were actually secret liberals.
“The white supremacists are not right-wing, they’re socialists!” he insisted. “They’re socialists, they believe in big government!”
Vigeland noted that white supremacists are right-wing by definition — hence, the decision to name the infamous 2017 Charlottesville rally “Unite the Right.”
“By your definition!” he shot back. “Why would someone who believes in big government be right wing? Why would someone who… uh…”
At this point, the Trump supporter let out multiple exasperated sighs.
“First of all,” he continued once he regained his composure. “The Nazis, there’s, like, 50 of them in the whole country. There’s no association with them in the Republican Party.”
Vigeland pointed out that many prominent neo-Nazis — including Richard Spencer and David Duke — adamantly backed Trump’s campaign in 2016.
“I don’t care who they like!” he said. “They’re a bunch of crazies!”
One particularly emotional Trump fan went so far as to say that white nationalists like the one who shot up the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last weekend were actually secret liberals.
“The white supremacists are not right-wing, they’re socialists!” he insisted. “They’re socialists, they believe in big government!”
Vigeland noted that white supremacists are right-wing by definition — hence, the decision to name the infamous 2017 Charlottesville rally “Unite the Right.”
“By your definition!” he shot back. “Why would someone who believes in big government be right wing? Why would someone who… uh…”
At this point, the Trump supporter let out multiple exasperated sighs.
“First of all,” he continued once he regained his composure. “The Nazis, there’s, like, 50 of them in the whole country. There’s no association with them in the Republican Party.”
Vigeland pointed out that many prominent neo-Nazis — including Richard Spencer and David Duke — adamantly backed Trump’s campaign in 2016.
“I don’t care who they like!” he said. “They’re a bunch of crazies!”
Wisconsin conservative admits he’d shoot his sister in the face for Trump: ‘She has to know how passionate I am’
Travis Gettys - raw story
02 NOV 2018 AT 09:44 ET
A Wisconsin conservative admits he would turn against his own family to back President Donald Trump if the United States slid into civil war.
The Guardian‘s Ed Pilkington spent a week attending Trump rallies in Missoula, Montana; Mesa, Arizona; Houston, Texas; Mosinee, Wisconsin; and Charlotte, North Carolina — and he explored the intense emotions the president stirred up in his most fervent devotees.
Steve Spaeth, a 40-year-old West Bend man who operates a home exteriors company, told the reporter during the Oct. 24 rally in Mosinee that “hate” was not too strong a word to describe his feelings toward anyone he considers a political enemy.
“Not at all,” Spaeth said. “I have a deep and absolute disgust for these human beings.”
He identified his enemies as CNN, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, whom he referred to as “Pocahontas” — and was the only foe Spaeth named that had not been sent a mail bomb that same week, allegedly by another Trump supporter, Cesar Sayoc.
“They want to turn America into a socialistic country,” Spaeth said. “It’s disgusting.”
The reporter asked Spaeth how far he would be willing to take his hatred, and he told Pilkington he would gladly — and violently — turn on his sister, a liberal who votes Democratic.
“If there is a civil war in this country and you were on the wrong side,” Spaeth said he told his sister, “I would have no problem shooting you in the face.”
The reporter asked if he was joking, and Spaeth insisted he was serious.
“No, I am not,” he said. “I love my sister, we get on great. But she has to know how passionate I am about our president.”
The Guardian‘s Ed Pilkington spent a week attending Trump rallies in Missoula, Montana; Mesa, Arizona; Houston, Texas; Mosinee, Wisconsin; and Charlotte, North Carolina — and he explored the intense emotions the president stirred up in his most fervent devotees.
Steve Spaeth, a 40-year-old West Bend man who operates a home exteriors company, told the reporter during the Oct. 24 rally in Mosinee that “hate” was not too strong a word to describe his feelings toward anyone he considers a political enemy.
“Not at all,” Spaeth said. “I have a deep and absolute disgust for these human beings.”
He identified his enemies as CNN, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, whom he referred to as “Pocahontas” — and was the only foe Spaeth named that had not been sent a mail bomb that same week, allegedly by another Trump supporter, Cesar Sayoc.
“They want to turn America into a socialistic country,” Spaeth said. “It’s disgusting.”
The reporter asked Spaeth how far he would be willing to take his hatred, and he told Pilkington he would gladly — and violently — turn on his sister, a liberal who votes Democratic.
“If there is a civil war in this country and you were on the wrong side,” Spaeth said he told his sister, “I would have no problem shooting you in the face.”
The reporter asked if he was joking, and Spaeth insisted he was serious.
“No, I am not,” he said. “I love my sister, we get on great. But she has to know how passionate I am about our president.”
Here’s how Trump supporters get convinced that patently untrue ‘false flag’ conspiracy theories are real
JEFFERSON MORLEY, INDEPENDENT MEDIA INSTITUTE - COMMENTARY - raw story
30 OCT 2018 AT 15:26 ET
The spread of “false flag” conspiracy theories exemplifies how the mindset of secret intelligence agencies has spread to American political life.
False flag operations—in which a heinous act is falsely blamed on an enemy—are a form of psychological warfare. And in the United States, the most sophisticated and potent psychological warfare operations have been developed by the CIA in service of U.S. “national security.”
This is not to say that there is any basis for the right-wing conspiracy theories about the Florida man arrested in connection with suspected mail bombs sent to prominent critics of the Trump administration. Or about the Parkland High students. Or the Sandy Hook shootings. There is none. They are, as John Oliver notes, “wild speculation.”
False flag theories are not just a way of denying the plain facts but of reversing their meaning to confound your enemy. Since the suspected mail bomber is a fervent supporter of the president, imputing his bomb-mailing spree to say, George Soros, deflects the blame onto the left. The rhetoric of “false flag” operations is itself a false flag.
But it is only the historical reality of the U.S. government’s false flag operations that makes the weaponization of the term possible. When the Washington Post writes about “false flag” discourse, this history is entirely omitted, the better to demonize “conspiracy theorists.”
In the Post’s ahistorical perspective, false flag operations are something only crazy people believe in, ergo, the president’s supporters are crazy. Some, like Cesar Sayoc, do seem to be clinically ill. But many are not. They may just have long memories of being lied to by Washington.
Without widespread consciousness of this history, “false flag” would have no power in public discourse. Given the reality of this history, the term has staying power in the American imagination.
Since 2004, Google searches for “false flag operations” have flared constantly.
Origins
What is hard for the Post editors to contemplate is that Americans have been taught by their government that false flag conspiracy theories are not always a fantasy.
The CIA has used false flag operations from its inception in 1947.
As I recount in the my book The Ghost (now out in paperback), CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton began opening the mail of persons suspected of communist or subversive activities on a massive scale in 1958. He shared the take with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and the Counterintelligence Program, known as COINTELPRO, took off.
From 1958 to 1974, the CIA and FBI mounted numerous false flag operations against civil rights, antiwar and pro-Cuban organizations. Government operatives would take embarrassing or extreme actions in their name, the better to discredit them. These were government-led conspiracies, and there was nothing theoretical about them.
When such operations were exposed by Senate investigators in the 1970s, the American people learned the reality: that the CIA and NSCA used false flag tactics to create an “incident” in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1964 that was used to justify escalation of the war in Vietnam.
False Flags Today
A new generation of Americans re-learned the lesson after the 2003 invasion of Iraq when the Bush-Cheney White House used a forged letter to create the impression Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain material for nuclear weapons.
In the 2016 presidential election, only one candidate made an issue out of how President George W. Bush used bogus intelligence to justify a catastrophic invasion to destroy the non-existent threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD). That candidate was Donald Trump. His factually accurate attack (a rare thing) on Jeb Bush helped him win the South Carolina primary and the Republican nomination.
One reason Trump supporters believe in patently untrue false flag conspiracy theories is because they know some false flag conspiracy theories are founded in reality. Historical facts lends credence to false flag fantasies.
False flag operations—in which a heinous act is falsely blamed on an enemy—are a form of psychological warfare. And in the United States, the most sophisticated and potent psychological warfare operations have been developed by the CIA in service of U.S. “national security.”
This is not to say that there is any basis for the right-wing conspiracy theories about the Florida man arrested in connection with suspected mail bombs sent to prominent critics of the Trump administration. Or about the Parkland High students. Or the Sandy Hook shootings. There is none. They are, as John Oliver notes, “wild speculation.”
False flag theories are not just a way of denying the plain facts but of reversing their meaning to confound your enemy. Since the suspected mail bomber is a fervent supporter of the president, imputing his bomb-mailing spree to say, George Soros, deflects the blame onto the left. The rhetoric of “false flag” operations is itself a false flag.
But it is only the historical reality of the U.S. government’s false flag operations that makes the weaponization of the term possible. When the Washington Post writes about “false flag” discourse, this history is entirely omitted, the better to demonize “conspiracy theorists.”
In the Post’s ahistorical perspective, false flag operations are something only crazy people believe in, ergo, the president’s supporters are crazy. Some, like Cesar Sayoc, do seem to be clinically ill. But many are not. They may just have long memories of being lied to by Washington.
Without widespread consciousness of this history, “false flag” would have no power in public discourse. Given the reality of this history, the term has staying power in the American imagination.
Since 2004, Google searches for “false flag operations” have flared constantly.
Origins
What is hard for the Post editors to contemplate is that Americans have been taught by their government that false flag conspiracy theories are not always a fantasy.
The CIA has used false flag operations from its inception in 1947.
As I recount in the my book The Ghost (now out in paperback), CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton began opening the mail of persons suspected of communist or subversive activities on a massive scale in 1958. He shared the take with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and the Counterintelligence Program, known as COINTELPRO, took off.
From 1958 to 1974, the CIA and FBI mounted numerous false flag operations against civil rights, antiwar and pro-Cuban organizations. Government operatives would take embarrassing or extreme actions in their name, the better to discredit them. These were government-led conspiracies, and there was nothing theoretical about them.
When such operations were exposed by Senate investigators in the 1970s, the American people learned the reality: that the CIA and NSCA used false flag tactics to create an “incident” in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1964 that was used to justify escalation of the war in Vietnam.
False Flags Today
A new generation of Americans re-learned the lesson after the 2003 invasion of Iraq when the Bush-Cheney White House used a forged letter to create the impression Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain material for nuclear weapons.
In the 2016 presidential election, only one candidate made an issue out of how President George W. Bush used bogus intelligence to justify a catastrophic invasion to destroy the non-existent threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD). That candidate was Donald Trump. His factually accurate attack (a rare thing) on Jeb Bush helped him win the South Carolina primary and the Republican nomination.
One reason Trump supporters believe in patently untrue false flag conspiracy theories is because they know some false flag conspiracy theories are founded in reality. Historical facts lends credence to false flag fantasies.
Good Trump, bad Trump: Media honors flip-flops, but we all know his fans crave the ugly
Trump navigates between conciliatory and nasty messages, but his followers all know what he really means
AMANDA MARCOTTE - salon
OCTOBER 29, 2018 8:00PM (UTC)
After a week of hate crimes — bombs mailed to prominent Democratic figures, a racist shooting in Kentucky, a mass murder at a synagogue in Pittsburgh — the debate over Donald Trump's nasty rhetoric and proclivity for conspiracy theories has intensified. It's not just the question of how much responsibility Trump bears for inspiring or motivating both the bomber and the synagogue shooter. This horrible escalation of violence also raises the question, yet again, of whether Trump is capable of toning down the rhetoric and performing the conventional presidential duty of offering condemnations of violence and calls to unite the country against terrorism.
In an interview on "Face the Nation," House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested on Sunday that meeting this minimum standard was somehow in Trump's wheelhouse of skills.
"Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't," Ryan told host John Dickerson, when Dickerson asked if Trump practices an "inclusive politics which tries to unify."
Dickerson, to his credit, expressed skepticism: "But, I mean, come on."
Ryan's wiggle room here is, of course, that Trump occasionally makes gestures towards acting presidential, such as his brief speech last week condemning the bombings or when, during a rally mere hours after Saturday's shooting, he called for "working together to extract the hateful poison of anti-Semitism from the world."
But of course Trump SOP is to then flip around and say quite different things. By Sunday evening, he was back to Twitter, blaming the media for "causing problems" and unsubtly exploiting these acts of terrorism to intimidate journalists out of negative reporting on his administration. Intentionally or not, this amounts to winking at future terrorists that their actions are welcome in assisting this effort.
So yes, Trump speaks out of both sides of his mouth, but for Paul Ryan to use that to avoid holding the president accountable for the rising tide of rancor and violence is utter nonsense. It's clear enough that the only message that Trump's supporters are hearing — the only message most people take seriously — is the one that is hateful and deceitful.
The concept of "political correctness" that is so popular on the right gives Trump the leeway he needs to placate centrist pundits with empty rhetoric about "unity," while making sure his base understands that he doesn't mean any of the conciliatory things he says.
It's not just that Trump's tone when reading denunciations of violence or bigotry is that of a third-grader reluctantly thanking grandma for buying him socks instead of toys for his birthday. It's that Trump and his administration do everything in their power to broadcast afterwards that his true feelings are not the "politically correct" ones that he felt obligated to express.
Trump's behavior this week is a good example. He not only kept dumping tantrums on Twitter that undercut the message of his speeches, but he also suggested to reporters that he might "really tone it up," a reminder to his base that he has all sorts of bile in his heart that the forces of political correctness are barely holding back.
Just in case there was any remaining doubts, White House insiders leaked a story to Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times about how it "took the importuning of his Jewish daughter and son-in-law" -- that is, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner -- "to craft a powerful statement of outrage at anti-Semitism after Saturday’s slaughter at a Pittsburgh synagogue."
Whatever individual motivations leakers may have had for planting that tidbit, the takeaway for Trump supporters is clear enough: His words opposing bigotry are not from his heart, but something he parroted at the behest of a daughter who is trying to clean up his image for the mainstream media. So these sentiments can be safely ignored.
We see this play out in Trump rallies, where obligatory language about nonviolence is met with a muted response from crowds who prefer to save their cheering for calls to lock up Trump's political opponents without cause or to egg him on as he denounces the "enemies of the people" media for daring to publish critical stories.
This avid hunger for ugliness suggests that even after Trump is gone -- whenever and however that happens -- there's little hope of opening right-wing ears to the message that racism and violence are serious problems. Terms like "political correctness," "social justice warriors" and "virtue-signaling" have become widespread on the right, and they all undergird the larger argument that no one actuallybelieves in ideals like nonviolence or justice.
Instead, the belief is that such noble sentiments are simply posturing meant to score political points. Liberals who say these things are invariably classified as hypocrites who would throw out their so-called principles the second it benefits them. Conservatives who say these things are either "cucks" who are browbeaten by the left or, in the case of Trump himself, savvy operators who virtue-signal to get the man off their backs, but will return to speaking their minds as soon as they can.
This ideology has created an almost perfect filter on right-wing media that weeds out any uncomfortable messages about violence and bigotry being wrong, since all such messages can be understood as hypocritical manifestations of political correctness.
Former Trump staffer and current right-wing talking head Sebastian Gorka, for example, appeared on Fox News after accused bomber Cesar Sayoc was arrested to complain that "violence against those you politically disagree with is OK for one party in America and one party alone and it's the Democrats." Gorka claimed that "antifa" was somehow responsible for more violence than right-wing terrorists, but cited no examples because there aren't any.
This lie serves an important political purpose, in that it instructs Fox News viewers to write off any rhetoric they hear denouncing violence as self-serving hypocrisy coming from liberals who are trying to score points. This rhetoric, in turn, justifies and encourages further right-wing violence (while claiming not to) by implying that it's an ennobling effort to settle the score.
All of this is reason to fear that the situation will get much worse in the United States before it gets better. The right is in thrall to a rhetorical system where all positive messaging is shrugged off as empty rhetoric imposed by sanctimonious hypocrites, while ugly, violent rhetoric is processed as brave truth-telling. All efforts to claim otherwise, under this system, will be read as even more "political correctness," which can safely be ignored.
In an interview on "Face the Nation," House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested on Sunday that meeting this minimum standard was somehow in Trump's wheelhouse of skills.
"Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't," Ryan told host John Dickerson, when Dickerson asked if Trump practices an "inclusive politics which tries to unify."
Dickerson, to his credit, expressed skepticism: "But, I mean, come on."
Ryan's wiggle room here is, of course, that Trump occasionally makes gestures towards acting presidential, such as his brief speech last week condemning the bombings or when, during a rally mere hours after Saturday's shooting, he called for "working together to extract the hateful poison of anti-Semitism from the world."
But of course Trump SOP is to then flip around and say quite different things. By Sunday evening, he was back to Twitter, blaming the media for "causing problems" and unsubtly exploiting these acts of terrorism to intimidate journalists out of negative reporting on his administration. Intentionally or not, this amounts to winking at future terrorists that their actions are welcome in assisting this effort.
So yes, Trump speaks out of both sides of his mouth, but for Paul Ryan to use that to avoid holding the president accountable for the rising tide of rancor and violence is utter nonsense. It's clear enough that the only message that Trump's supporters are hearing — the only message most people take seriously — is the one that is hateful and deceitful.
The concept of "political correctness" that is so popular on the right gives Trump the leeway he needs to placate centrist pundits with empty rhetoric about "unity," while making sure his base understands that he doesn't mean any of the conciliatory things he says.
It's not just that Trump's tone when reading denunciations of violence or bigotry is that of a third-grader reluctantly thanking grandma for buying him socks instead of toys for his birthday. It's that Trump and his administration do everything in their power to broadcast afterwards that his true feelings are not the "politically correct" ones that he felt obligated to express.
Trump's behavior this week is a good example. He not only kept dumping tantrums on Twitter that undercut the message of his speeches, but he also suggested to reporters that he might "really tone it up," a reminder to his base that he has all sorts of bile in his heart that the forces of political correctness are barely holding back.
Just in case there was any remaining doubts, White House insiders leaked a story to Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times about how it "took the importuning of his Jewish daughter and son-in-law" -- that is, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner -- "to craft a powerful statement of outrage at anti-Semitism after Saturday’s slaughter at a Pittsburgh synagogue."
Whatever individual motivations leakers may have had for planting that tidbit, the takeaway for Trump supporters is clear enough: His words opposing bigotry are not from his heart, but something he parroted at the behest of a daughter who is trying to clean up his image for the mainstream media. So these sentiments can be safely ignored.
We see this play out in Trump rallies, where obligatory language about nonviolence is met with a muted response from crowds who prefer to save their cheering for calls to lock up Trump's political opponents without cause or to egg him on as he denounces the "enemies of the people" media for daring to publish critical stories.
This avid hunger for ugliness suggests that even after Trump is gone -- whenever and however that happens -- there's little hope of opening right-wing ears to the message that racism and violence are serious problems. Terms like "political correctness," "social justice warriors" and "virtue-signaling" have become widespread on the right, and they all undergird the larger argument that no one actuallybelieves in ideals like nonviolence or justice.
Instead, the belief is that such noble sentiments are simply posturing meant to score political points. Liberals who say these things are invariably classified as hypocrites who would throw out their so-called principles the second it benefits them. Conservatives who say these things are either "cucks" who are browbeaten by the left or, in the case of Trump himself, savvy operators who virtue-signal to get the man off their backs, but will return to speaking their minds as soon as they can.
This ideology has created an almost perfect filter on right-wing media that weeds out any uncomfortable messages about violence and bigotry being wrong, since all such messages can be understood as hypocritical manifestations of political correctness.
Former Trump staffer and current right-wing talking head Sebastian Gorka, for example, appeared on Fox News after accused bomber Cesar Sayoc was arrested to complain that "violence against those you politically disagree with is OK for one party in America and one party alone and it's the Democrats." Gorka claimed that "antifa" was somehow responsible for more violence than right-wing terrorists, but cited no examples because there aren't any.
This lie serves an important political purpose, in that it instructs Fox News viewers to write off any rhetoric they hear denouncing violence as self-serving hypocrisy coming from liberals who are trying to score points. This rhetoric, in turn, justifies and encourages further right-wing violence (while claiming not to) by implying that it's an ennobling effort to settle the score.
All of this is reason to fear that the situation will get much worse in the United States before it gets better. The right is in thrall to a rhetorical system where all positive messaging is shrugged off as empty rhetoric imposed by sanctimonious hypocrites, while ugly, violent rhetoric is processed as brave truth-telling. All efforts to claim otherwise, under this system, will be read as even more "political correctness," which can safely be ignored.
trump deplorabes are everywhere!!!
Trump-loving pundit: Rabbi at Pittsburgh synagogue got his own people killed because he helped immigrants
Brad Reed - raw story
29 OCT 2018 AT 11:32 ET
Katie Hopkins, a pundit from the United Kingdom who has expressed deep admiration for both President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, blamed the chief rabbi of Pittsburgh for getting his own people killed because of his support for immigrants.
Writing on Twitter, Hopkins pinned the blame directly on Tree of Life Synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Myers for supposedly inspiring white nationalist Robert Bowers to murder 11 Jews at his synagogue on Saturday. In particular, Hopkins said that Myers’ past criticism of Trump’s immigrant family separation policies made him a logical target for the killer.
“Watching the pin-the-blame on the donkey after Pittsburgh Synagogue,” she wrote. “Gab. Trump. White Supremcists. The Media. Muslims. Look to the Chief Rabbi and his support for mass migration… there you will find your truths.”
In posts on social media, Bowers repeatedly invoked the baseless conspiracy theory about Jews — including frequent Trump target George Soros — funding a caravan of refugee seekers traveling from Guatemala through Mexico.
Many Twitter users following Hopkins immediately slammed her for blaming the victims of the massacre while seeming to show sympathy for a mass murderer. Check out some of the reactions below.
Writing on Twitter, Hopkins pinned the blame directly on Tree of Life Synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Myers for supposedly inspiring white nationalist Robert Bowers to murder 11 Jews at his synagogue on Saturday. In particular, Hopkins said that Myers’ past criticism of Trump’s immigrant family separation policies made him a logical target for the killer.
“Watching the pin-the-blame on the donkey after Pittsburgh Synagogue,” she wrote. “Gab. Trump. White Supremcists. The Media. Muslims. Look to the Chief Rabbi and his support for mass migration… there you will find your truths.”
In posts on social media, Bowers repeatedly invoked the baseless conspiracy theory about Jews — including frequent Trump target George Soros — funding a caravan of refugee seekers traveling from Guatemala through Mexico.
Many Twitter users following Hopkins immediately slammed her for blaming the victims of the massacre while seeming to show sympathy for a mass murderer. Check out some of the reactions below.
room full of house niggers!!!
'Why is that racist?' Trump greets young black leaders with freewheeling rant
The president’s speech to African American millennial supporters was rambling and toe-curling. But he and his audience loved it
David Smith in Washington
the guardian
Fri 26 Oct 2018 19.01 EDT
Put a 72-year-old man with a white supremacy problem in front of an audience of African American millennials wearing “Make America great again” hats and what could possibly go wrong?
Apart from some toe-curling jokes, paeans to Kanye West, rants against Democrats, “globalists” and the media, an admission that his unqualified housing secretary was appointed on a whim and a rudimentary factual mistake regarding White House history, not a lot.
Donald Trump, hosting guests from the 2018 Young Black Leadership Summit, entered the East Room on Friday with a broad smile and to rapturous cheers, chants of “USA! USA!” and a forest of raised fists and phones. Once he got the arrest of a mail bombings suspect out of the way, the autocrat-cum-standup comedian routine could begin.
“Kanye’s a great guy,” he said of the eccentric rapper. “A little different, do we say? He’s a little different. But he’s a smart guy and a good guy.”
Subsequent to his bizarre Oval Office encounter with West earlier this month, Trump claimed, his approval rating among African Americans soared by an unheard of 26 points. The audience cheered and clapped. No one asked for a fact check. The president added: “So I think Kanye, he may be the most powerful man in all of politics.”
The president, whose approval rating among African Americans languishes between 10% and 15%, according to Gallup, is not noted for his delicate approach to issues of race. When playing the role of bull in china shop, he tends to put his head down and charge. So it was here.
Surveying his audience and sweeping his hand back and forth, Trump said: “I can just look at the incredible beautiful and handsome faces. Today, you’re not allowed to use those terms because they’ll say you’re – but you know what, I’ll use it anyway, beautiful and handsome. Look at all these handsome faces … It’s not politically correct. We have to bring that back into the world of being OK, right?”
Why Trump went on this riff with an African American audience, in a way that he does not with his usual white-dominated crowds at campaign rallies, is best left to social psychologists.
The president mocked critics who suggest “America first” (a phrase close to the heart of white nationalists) could be racist and rallied the audience: “Racist? Racist? Why is that racist?” He rolled the final “r” with special glee. “Here we are, I think, does everyone in this room agree? You’re living in America. America first, right?”
The audience erupted in cheers and chants of “USA! USA!” Trump, smiling and pumping his fist like a strongman, said: “That is really beautiful.”
Sometimes it takes an unexpected audience to reveal a person’s character.
Then, a confession. “This is a beautiful meeting, I have to be honest with you. I go to a lot of ’em. Some of them, I’m a little bored. I do my thing, I say my words, I say, ‘Bye everybody’ and I go and I say, ‘It’s all right.’ But to me this is a very exciting meeting.”
Then he lurched back into “America first” territory: “Every citizen benefits when we stop foreign countries cheating our workers. That’s what they’ve been doing, you know? They’re called globalists. They like the globe. I like the globe too but we have to take care of our people.”
In the graceful state room where Lincoln, FDR and Kennedy lay in repose, where state dinners have been hosted and the world’s greatest artists have performed, someone shouted “Soros!” – a reference to the billionaire philanthropist George Soros, a target of rightwing conspiracy theories and the first recipient of a pipe bomb this week. Someone else shouted: “Lock him up!”
Trump did nothing to intervene. Portraits of George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt looked on.
Trump, whose own political career took flight on the baseless charge that Barack Obama was not born in America, pushed another button: “Every citizen benefits when we have a strong, beautiful border.” Another cheer, then cries of “Build that wall! Build that wall!” Trump referred to the caravan of people moving through Mexico. Now the audience booed.
Hopscotching between topics, Trump recalled how in his campaign for president he wooed African American voters by asking: “What the hell do you have to lose?” From this audience, whoops of delight. Trump said his advisers had told him he should not have said it because it was “disrespectful” but his poll numbers with African Americans went “up, up, up”.
He added: “A lot of people have to come to me and they’ve said, ‘Thank you for saying that because it made a lot of people think on every side of the equation. It made ’em start thinking.’”
Trump boasted that African American unemployment rate is the lowest in history. “That’s a tough soundbite for my opponent when we run, whoever that opponent’s going to be.” A man shouted: “Why vote Democrat again?” Trump: “You’re right.”
He also touted his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s work on prison reform and how former inmates are getting a second chance to find jobs. The bull was about to stampede.
“I think, frankly, the African American community – it’s not a point I ever bring up because you don’t associate it with anything except for the prisoners themselves – but the African American community appreciates that maybe more than anything we’ve done. Maybe I should start bringing it up.”
Trump said a friend who hired ex-prisoners told him they were “incredible” workers. “And I don’t mean everyone because there’s no – even in this room we probably have a couple of bad ones, right? What do you think? Are there any bad ones?”
Some guests laughed at the joke. Not everyone did.
Then another peculiar turn. Trump claimed African Americans had been promised everything by Democrats and got nothing and recalled how he once won an argument by “blurting out” that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
“Honest Abe. I wonder if he was really that honest. But you know what, let’s assume Honest Abe was Honest Abe.”
Trump has reportedly made more than 5,000 false or misleading statements since becoming president. Critics saying his lying has reached a crescendoahead of the midterm elections.
His administration could hardly be described as diverse. He made much of the presence of the brain surgeon Ben Carson, who is African American, and talked about his rather unrigorous job interview for housing secretary.
“I said: ‘Do you know much about housing?’ He said: ‘Not that much.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you’re as smart a guy as there is, you’ll figure it out.’”
Finally, after 43 minutes, Trump praised the rich history of the executive residence and claimed: “President No 6 was the first occupant of the White House.”
President No 6 was John Quincy Adams. His father, John Adams, president No 2, was the first occupant of the White House, from 1800.
But few in the audience seemed to care. Trump spent about 10 minutes signing hats.
Jimmy James, 29, from Philadelphia, said policies were more important than words.
“I don’t believe he’s a white supremacist,” he said, “but let me say something very controversial: if he’s a white supremacist, he’s doing a very good job for black people as far as unemployment being down, as far as being open-minded enough to open up the White House to black people.”
Apart from some toe-curling jokes, paeans to Kanye West, rants against Democrats, “globalists” and the media, an admission that his unqualified housing secretary was appointed on a whim and a rudimentary factual mistake regarding White House history, not a lot.
Donald Trump, hosting guests from the 2018 Young Black Leadership Summit, entered the East Room on Friday with a broad smile and to rapturous cheers, chants of “USA! USA!” and a forest of raised fists and phones. Once he got the arrest of a mail bombings suspect out of the way, the autocrat-cum-standup comedian routine could begin.
“Kanye’s a great guy,” he said of the eccentric rapper. “A little different, do we say? He’s a little different. But he’s a smart guy and a good guy.”
Subsequent to his bizarre Oval Office encounter with West earlier this month, Trump claimed, his approval rating among African Americans soared by an unheard of 26 points. The audience cheered and clapped. No one asked for a fact check. The president added: “So I think Kanye, he may be the most powerful man in all of politics.”
The president, whose approval rating among African Americans languishes between 10% and 15%, according to Gallup, is not noted for his delicate approach to issues of race. When playing the role of bull in china shop, he tends to put his head down and charge. So it was here.
Surveying his audience and sweeping his hand back and forth, Trump said: “I can just look at the incredible beautiful and handsome faces. Today, you’re not allowed to use those terms because they’ll say you’re – but you know what, I’ll use it anyway, beautiful and handsome. Look at all these handsome faces … It’s not politically correct. We have to bring that back into the world of being OK, right?”
Why Trump went on this riff with an African American audience, in a way that he does not with his usual white-dominated crowds at campaign rallies, is best left to social psychologists.
The president mocked critics who suggest “America first” (a phrase close to the heart of white nationalists) could be racist and rallied the audience: “Racist? Racist? Why is that racist?” He rolled the final “r” with special glee. “Here we are, I think, does everyone in this room agree? You’re living in America. America first, right?”
The audience erupted in cheers and chants of “USA! USA!” Trump, smiling and pumping his fist like a strongman, said: “That is really beautiful.”
Sometimes it takes an unexpected audience to reveal a person’s character.
Then, a confession. “This is a beautiful meeting, I have to be honest with you. I go to a lot of ’em. Some of them, I’m a little bored. I do my thing, I say my words, I say, ‘Bye everybody’ and I go and I say, ‘It’s all right.’ But to me this is a very exciting meeting.”
Then he lurched back into “America first” territory: “Every citizen benefits when we stop foreign countries cheating our workers. That’s what they’ve been doing, you know? They’re called globalists. They like the globe. I like the globe too but we have to take care of our people.”
In the graceful state room where Lincoln, FDR and Kennedy lay in repose, where state dinners have been hosted and the world’s greatest artists have performed, someone shouted “Soros!” – a reference to the billionaire philanthropist George Soros, a target of rightwing conspiracy theories and the first recipient of a pipe bomb this week. Someone else shouted: “Lock him up!”
Trump did nothing to intervene. Portraits of George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt looked on.
Trump, whose own political career took flight on the baseless charge that Barack Obama was not born in America, pushed another button: “Every citizen benefits when we have a strong, beautiful border.” Another cheer, then cries of “Build that wall! Build that wall!” Trump referred to the caravan of people moving through Mexico. Now the audience booed.
Hopscotching between topics, Trump recalled how in his campaign for president he wooed African American voters by asking: “What the hell do you have to lose?” From this audience, whoops of delight. Trump said his advisers had told him he should not have said it because it was “disrespectful” but his poll numbers with African Americans went “up, up, up”.
He added: “A lot of people have to come to me and they’ve said, ‘Thank you for saying that because it made a lot of people think on every side of the equation. It made ’em start thinking.’”
Trump boasted that African American unemployment rate is the lowest in history. “That’s a tough soundbite for my opponent when we run, whoever that opponent’s going to be.” A man shouted: “Why vote Democrat again?” Trump: “You’re right.”
He also touted his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s work on prison reform and how former inmates are getting a second chance to find jobs. The bull was about to stampede.
“I think, frankly, the African American community – it’s not a point I ever bring up because you don’t associate it with anything except for the prisoners themselves – but the African American community appreciates that maybe more than anything we’ve done. Maybe I should start bringing it up.”
Trump said a friend who hired ex-prisoners told him they were “incredible” workers. “And I don’t mean everyone because there’s no – even in this room we probably have a couple of bad ones, right? What do you think? Are there any bad ones?”
Some guests laughed at the joke. Not everyone did.
Then another peculiar turn. Trump claimed African Americans had been promised everything by Democrats and got nothing and recalled how he once won an argument by “blurting out” that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
“Honest Abe. I wonder if he was really that honest. But you know what, let’s assume Honest Abe was Honest Abe.”
Trump has reportedly made more than 5,000 false or misleading statements since becoming president. Critics saying his lying has reached a crescendoahead of the midterm elections.
His administration could hardly be described as diverse. He made much of the presence of the brain surgeon Ben Carson, who is African American, and talked about his rather unrigorous job interview for housing secretary.
“I said: ‘Do you know much about housing?’ He said: ‘Not that much.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you’re as smart a guy as there is, you’ll figure it out.’”
Finally, after 43 minutes, Trump praised the rich history of the executive residence and claimed: “President No 6 was the first occupant of the White House.”
President No 6 was John Quincy Adams. His father, John Adams, president No 2, was the first occupant of the White House, from 1800.
But few in the audience seemed to care. Trump spent about 10 minutes signing hats.
Jimmy James, 29, from Philadelphia, said policies were more important than words.
“I don’t believe he’s a white supremacist,” he said, “but let me say something very controversial: if he’s a white supremacist, he’s doing a very good job for black people as far as unemployment being down, as far as being open-minded enough to open up the White House to black people.”
Facebook prank tricks dozens of angry Trump supporters into protesting outside North Carolina store
Tana Ganeva - raw story
22 OCT 2018 AT 10:01 ET
Dozens of right-wing, pro-Trump protesters showed up to a North Carolina Outdoors store Saturday. They brandished Confederate flags, pro-Trump regalia, and vowed to defend the shopping center from Antifa. As it turns out, they were likely pranked. The Antifa demonstration never occurred and was most likely a gag started by a Facebook group of unknown origin, reports the Gaston Gazette.
A Facebook page for Gaston County Antifa broadcast a large-scale Antifa rally at the shopping center. “PSA for all the Gaston County Antifa out there:
This is what we will be up against Saturday October 20th at Gander Mountain,” they posted next to a picture of what appear to be right-wing protesters. “This is the fascist circle jerk of trash talkers who voted Trump and are threatening to crash our Gastonia rally.
Previous posts claimed “From the gym to the gun range, we are training and preparing.”
Rumors of an Antifa rally spread throughout the week. Yet only counter-protestors—and a few police officers—showed up Saturday.
Attendees told the Gazette they’d heard rumors Antifa members planned to burn the giant American flag at the shopping mall.
“We don’t care if it’s a prank,” a counter-protestor told the Gazette. “We’re going to show up because what’s going to happen is they’re going to call this and then we ain’t going to show up and then they’re going to really burn down an American flag and it’s going to cause someone to seriously have problems.”
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Maj. Joel Shores said that the Facebook page is not linked to a real-life group in Gaston. Nevertheless, a rally attendee vowed to guard that shopping mall “until we know Antifa ain’t coming.”
A Facebook page for Gaston County Antifa broadcast a large-scale Antifa rally at the shopping center. “PSA for all the Gaston County Antifa out there:
This is what we will be up against Saturday October 20th at Gander Mountain,” they posted next to a picture of what appear to be right-wing protesters. “This is the fascist circle jerk of trash talkers who voted Trump and are threatening to crash our Gastonia rally.
Previous posts claimed “From the gym to the gun range, we are training and preparing.”
Rumors of an Antifa rally spread throughout the week. Yet only counter-protestors—and a few police officers—showed up Saturday.
Attendees told the Gazette they’d heard rumors Antifa members planned to burn the giant American flag at the shopping mall.
“We don’t care if it’s a prank,” a counter-protestor told the Gazette. “We’re going to show up because what’s going to happen is they’re going to call this and then we ain’t going to show up and then they’re going to really burn down an American flag and it’s going to cause someone to seriously have problems.”
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Maj. Joel Shores said that the Facebook page is not linked to a real-life group in Gaston. Nevertheless, a rally attendee vowed to guard that shopping mall “until we know Antifa ain’t coming.”
if she was intelligent, she would not have supported him in the first place!!!
Longtime GOP female voters reveal what Trump did to make them finally bail on the party: ‘I hung on until I couldn’t’
Noor Al-Sibai - raw story
20 OCT 2018 AT 15:07 ET
In two letters to the editor of the Los Angeles Times, longtime Republican-voting women explained why Donald Trump has led them to leave the party.
Eileen E. Padberg, a registered Republican of 53 years, wrote that although she considers herself “an active feminist,” she stuck with the GOP because she believed it was “the party of individual rights and liberties, personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, a strong national defense and fiscal responsibility.”
“I hung on to my party registration although I didn’t always vote a straight GOP ticket,” she wrote. “I hung on until I couldn’t.”
Padberg noted that her Republican credentials “would hold up to anyone” — she founders her college’s Young Republicans club, has been a delegate and an attendee at multiple Republican National Conventions and “was the regional political director for George H.W. Bush’s campaign for president.”
The Brett Kavanaugh hearings and the GOP’s support for the now-Supreme Court justice that put her “over the edge.”
“When I heard the words coming from the Republican leadership and the president, that fine thread holding me to the GOP finally broke,” Padberg wrote. “I couldn’t believe the disrespect for women I was hearing.”
Padberg acknowledged that she’s not alone, that “surely there are thousands of women across America who gave up on the Republican Party.”
“The GOP died years ago,” she wrote, “but it finally got buried with the Kavanaugh hearings.”
Letter-writer Judy Cabrera, meanwhile, wrote that a series of events caused her to leave the party she joined “when Barry Goldwater told me he would keep government out of our pockets and out of our bedrooms.”
“Then Republicans decided they needed the religious right — never mind that science now came from scripture and intolerance became a new family value,” Cabrera wrote. “Then Republicans decided they needed lots of money, so along came Citizens United — never mind that candidates were now owned by special interests.”
The GOP sacrificing progress to “ensure that Barack Obama was a one-term president” and making “gridlock the new norm” didn’t help, but its lock-step behind Trump was, for her, the final straw.”
“Now Republicans have thrown away any moral compass or fiscal conservatism to keep a man in office who is unfit to be there — never mind that they were humiliated into sycophancy,” Cabrera noted.
“Republicans: It’s time to abandon ship,” she implored. “There has to be something better than this.”
Eileen E. Padberg, a registered Republican of 53 years, wrote that although she considers herself “an active feminist,” she stuck with the GOP because she believed it was “the party of individual rights and liberties, personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, a strong national defense and fiscal responsibility.”
“I hung on to my party registration although I didn’t always vote a straight GOP ticket,” she wrote. “I hung on until I couldn’t.”
Padberg noted that her Republican credentials “would hold up to anyone” — she founders her college’s Young Republicans club, has been a delegate and an attendee at multiple Republican National Conventions and “was the regional political director for George H.W. Bush’s campaign for president.”
The Brett Kavanaugh hearings and the GOP’s support for the now-Supreme Court justice that put her “over the edge.”
“When I heard the words coming from the Republican leadership and the president, that fine thread holding me to the GOP finally broke,” Padberg wrote. “I couldn’t believe the disrespect for women I was hearing.”
Padberg acknowledged that she’s not alone, that “surely there are thousands of women across America who gave up on the Republican Party.”
“The GOP died years ago,” she wrote, “but it finally got buried with the Kavanaugh hearings.”
Letter-writer Judy Cabrera, meanwhile, wrote that a series of events caused her to leave the party she joined “when Barry Goldwater told me he would keep government out of our pockets and out of our bedrooms.”
“Then Republicans decided they needed the religious right — never mind that science now came from scripture and intolerance became a new family value,” Cabrera wrote. “Then Republicans decided they needed lots of money, so along came Citizens United — never mind that candidates were now owned by special interests.”
The GOP sacrificing progress to “ensure that Barack Obama was a one-term president” and making “gridlock the new norm” didn’t help, but its lock-step behind Trump was, for her, the final straw.”
“Now Republicans have thrown away any moral compass or fiscal conservatism to keep a man in office who is unfit to be there — never mind that they were humiliated into sycophancy,” Cabrera noted.
“Republicans: It’s time to abandon ship,” she implored. “There has to be something better than this.”
stupid people believe anything!!!
Regretful Trump voters tell CNN why they’ve turned on ‘the dictator in White House’: ‘All he’s done is surround himself with crooks’
Brad Reed - raw story
15 OCT 2018 AT 08:11 ET
A panel of former Trump voters on Monday told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota that they deeply regret their decision — and now they’re going to back Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections.
Independent voter Anthony Miles, who was attracted to President Donald Trump’s outsider status in the 2016 election, said he was hugely disappointed in the president getting caught up in one corruption scandal after another.
“He said the system was rigged, and he said he was going to be a new sheriff in town,” Miles said. “And all he’s done is surrounded himself with crooks. How many people have been indicted who are in close cahoots with him?”
Miles also referred to Trump as “the dictator in the White House.”
Trump voter Rahul Blokhra similarly pointed out that the Trump administration’s Russia policy is wildly contradictory, as he noted it seems like Trump’s administration is leveling sanctions against the Kremlin despite Trump’s wishes.
“I’m not sure who is running the country right now!” he said.
And lifelong Republican Stephanie Martin said that she was “embarrassed” to have backed Trump after the way he’s behaved in the Oval Office.
“I consider myself part of the religious right,” she said. “And now the values I see coming from the White House just don’t mesh up with what I believe.”
She said she was particularly disturbed by the way Trump has continued to be just as divisive as president as he was as a candidate.
“There does not seem to be any effort to unite the country,” she said. “It’s always us against someone, or these people against someone else.”
Independent voter Anthony Miles, who was attracted to President Donald Trump’s outsider status in the 2016 election, said he was hugely disappointed in the president getting caught up in one corruption scandal after another.
“He said the system was rigged, and he said he was going to be a new sheriff in town,” Miles said. “And all he’s done is surrounded himself with crooks. How many people have been indicted who are in close cahoots with him?”
Miles also referred to Trump as “the dictator in the White House.”
Trump voter Rahul Blokhra similarly pointed out that the Trump administration’s Russia policy is wildly contradictory, as he noted it seems like Trump’s administration is leveling sanctions against the Kremlin despite Trump’s wishes.
“I’m not sure who is running the country right now!” he said.
And lifelong Republican Stephanie Martin said that she was “embarrassed” to have backed Trump after the way he’s behaved in the Oval Office.
“I consider myself part of the religious right,” she said. “And now the values I see coming from the White House just don’t mesh up with what I believe.”
She said she was particularly disturbed by the way Trump has continued to be just as divisive as president as he was as a candidate.
“There does not seem to be any effort to unite the country,” she said. “It’s always us against someone, or these people against someone else.”
trump supporters who have trouble finding dates!!!
no wonder trump was elected!!!
These are the 16 dumbest things that many Americans believe — and the right-wing lies behind them
SARAH SELTZER, ALTERNET - raw story
31 JUL 2018 AT 11:25 ET
Americans are often misinformed, occasionally downright dumb, and easily misled by juicy-sounding rumors. But while the right wing is taking full advantage of this reality, the Left worries that calling out lies is “rude.”
Remember when Congressman Joe Wilson stood up during Obama’s State of the Union address and shouted “You lie”? He was chastised soundly by the pundit class. But mostly he drew heat for being impolite, and was compared to Kanye West and other famous interrupters.
---
We’ve gone far beyond Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness” into a more “truth-be-damned” environment; what Rick Perlstein described in the Daily Beast as a “mendocracy. As in, rule by liars.”
Here are some examples of recent ways we have made inroads in ignorance:
The scary thing is, these kinds of rumors have a way of taking root in the popular consciousness. Just as the election season began heating up earlier this year, Newsweek published a list of “Dumb Things Americans Believe.” While some of them are garden-variety lunacy, a surprising number are lies that were fed to Americans by our leaders on the far-Right. This demonstrates that media-fed lies can easily become ingrained in the collective memory if they’re not countered quickly and surely. Newsweek’s list included the following 12 statistics taken from recent and semi-recent polls and surveys. The first half are directly related to right-wing rumormongering.
So what to do in a political and cultural landscape in which well-told lies have more validity than fact-based truth? Perlstein explained how this environment gets created by explaining what happened on Election Day this year:
“…by a two-to-one margin likely voters thought their taxes had gone up, when, for almost all of them, they had actually gone down. Republican politicians, and conservative commentators, told them Barack Obama was a tax-mad lunatic. They lied. The mainstream media did not do their job and correct them. The White House was too polite—”civil,” just like Obama promised—to say much. So people believed the lie.”
We’ve entered a bizzarro world in which calling out lies is considered rude, says Perlstein, so liars are allowed to sit tight and dominate the discourse. This gels with Bill Maher’s critique of the Rally for Sanity, that calling for “balance for balance’s sake” ignores two important aspects of news reporting: facts and evidence.
Blaming Americans for being ignorant unwashed masses–or taking potshots at an education system that doesn’t teach critical thinking– would be the easy answer to this conundrum.
But the reality is that if messaging has such a big effect on Americans, then messaging matters. Folks on our end have to counter the lies with well-told, unabashed unironic, truth-telling. And we have to demand that our media, and our politicians, call out the other side. As Perlstein notes, “When one side breaks the social contract, and the other side makes a virtue of never calling them out on it, the liar always wins. When it becomes ‘uncivil’ to call out liars, lying becomes free.”
Even worse, once lies begin to spread, they become more than rumors–they become permanent beliefs.
Remember when Congressman Joe Wilson stood up during Obama’s State of the Union address and shouted “You lie”? He was chastised soundly by the pundit class. But mostly he drew heat for being impolite, and was compared to Kanye West and other famous interrupters.
---
We’ve gone far beyond Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness” into a more “truth-be-damned” environment; what Rick Perlstein described in the Daily Beast as a “mendocracy. As in, rule by liars.”
Here are some examples of recent ways we have made inroads in ignorance:
- Polling data during and after last week’s midterm elections suggested that many Americans genuinely believe President Obama has raised their taxes — even though the reality is that our president actually lowered them for most of us. This means that people trust pundits like Rush Limbaugh, a major force behind spreading that lie, over the numbers on their own tax returns.
- Another recent phenomenon? Half of new Congressmen don’t believe in the reality of global warming. It’s not that they don’t just disagree on the source or the severity of the problem. They flat out don’t think the world is getting warmer–despite the evidence outside their windows.
- The new Congress will probably try to restore millions of dollars of funding for scientifically inaccurate, largely disastrous abstinence-only curriculum in schools, many of which have been shown to spread lies like “condoms don’t work” and “abortion causes cancer.”
- News outlets picked up a wildly inflated and completely outlandish claim from an Indian blog that Obama’s trip abroad cost $200 million a day–and listeners have swallowed it. (In this case, the White House flat-out denied it.)
The scary thing is, these kinds of rumors have a way of taking root in the popular consciousness. Just as the election season began heating up earlier this year, Newsweek published a list of “Dumb Things Americans Believe.” While some of them are garden-variety lunacy, a surprising number are lies that were fed to Americans by our leaders on the far-Right. This demonstrates that media-fed lies can easily become ingrained in the collective memory if they’re not countered quickly and surely. Newsweek’s list included the following 12 statistics taken from recent and semi-recent polls and surveys. The first half are directly related to right-wing rumormongering.
- Nearly one-fifth of Americans think Obama is a Muslim. Thanks, Fox news, for acting like this was a matter of opinion, not fact.
- 25 percent of Americans don’t believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution while less than 40 percent do. Consider the fact that several of our newly elected officials, specifically newly elected Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, share that belief.
- Earlier this year, nearly 40 percent of Americans still believed the Sarah Palin-supported lie about “death panels” being included in health care reform.
- As of just a few years ago, about half of Americans still suspected a connection between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of September 11, a lie that was reinforced by none other than Dick Cheney.
- While a hefty amount of this demonstrable cluelessness gets better as the respondents get younger, all is not well in the below-30 demographic. A majority of “young Americans” cannot identify Iraq or Afghanistan–the places their peers are fighting and dying–on a map.
- Two out of five Americans, despite the whole separation of church and state being a foundation of our democracy thing, think teachers should be able to lead prayer in classrooms. So it seems those right-wingers clamoring to tear down the wall between church and state aren’t the only ones who don’t know their constitutional principles.
- Many Americans still believe in witchcraft, ESP and other supernatural phenomena. Does that explain why Christine O’Donnell was so quick to deny her “dabbling”?
- Speaking of antiquated religious beliefs, about a decade ago, 20 percent of Americans still believed that the sun revolves around the earth. That’s just sad, considering that even the Vatican has let Galileo off the hook for being right.
- Only about half of Americans realize that Judaism is the oldest of the three monotheistic religions. Other examples of wild misunderstanding about religion and the separation of church and state can be found in this fall’s Pew survey on Americans’ religious knowledge.
- This one made a huge splash when it appeared. In 2006 more Americans were able to name two of the “seven dwarves” than two of the Supreme Court justices. And that was before Kagan and Sotomayor showed up. To be fair, Happy and Sleepy are easy to remember.
- More Americans can identify the Three Stooges than the three branches of government–you know, the ones who are jockeying over our welfare.
So what to do in a political and cultural landscape in which well-told lies have more validity than fact-based truth? Perlstein explained how this environment gets created by explaining what happened on Election Day this year:
“…by a two-to-one margin likely voters thought their taxes had gone up, when, for almost all of them, they had actually gone down. Republican politicians, and conservative commentators, told them Barack Obama was a tax-mad lunatic. They lied. The mainstream media did not do their job and correct them. The White House was too polite—”civil,” just like Obama promised—to say much. So people believed the lie.”
We’ve entered a bizzarro world in which calling out lies is considered rude, says Perlstein, so liars are allowed to sit tight and dominate the discourse. This gels with Bill Maher’s critique of the Rally for Sanity, that calling for “balance for balance’s sake” ignores two important aspects of news reporting: facts and evidence.
Blaming Americans for being ignorant unwashed masses–or taking potshots at an education system that doesn’t teach critical thinking– would be the easy answer to this conundrum.
But the reality is that if messaging has such a big effect on Americans, then messaging matters. Folks on our end have to counter the lies with well-told, unabashed unironic, truth-telling. And we have to demand that our media, and our politicians, call out the other side. As Perlstein notes, “When one side breaks the social contract, and the other side makes a virtue of never calling them out on it, the liar always wins. When it becomes ‘uncivil’ to call out liars, lying becomes free.”
Even worse, once lies begin to spread, they become more than rumors–they become permanent beliefs.
Conservative Naval professor explains the futility of trying to reach Trump voters:
‘Some of them are just bad people’
Travis Gettys - raw story
25 JUL 2018 AT 09:50 ET
Tom Nichols, a conservative professor at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, said many of President Donald Trump’s supporters were beyond the reach of logic and reason.
Nichols, a national security affairs professor who also taught at the U.S. Air Force School of Strategic Force Studies, shared an anecdote on Twitter about two Trump supporters confronting him after a lecture Tuesday at Harvard University.
Tom Nichols✔
@RadioFreeTom
During the talk, I had said (in response to a question) that Helsinki was not going to move the needle on Trump's base support, not least because the Trump base is willfully ignorant and refuses to hear anything they don't like about the summit or about Russia at all. /2
7:01 PM - Jul 24, 2018
The women, who were immigrants from India and a post-Soviet region, asked to debate Nichols afterward, and asked if he had called them “willfully evil” — and he said they sputtered after he corrected them and said they were “willfully ignorant.”
“Both did the standard Trump thing: talking at me in a fusillade of words punctuated with questions that they would not let me answer,” Nichols said. “This is a compulsion with Trumpers: they must – *must* – constantly explain to you why they *had* to vote for Trump.”
The women listed “phantom Trump successes” and insisted Trump was taking jobs away from foreign workers and giving them back to Americans, and Nichols tried to correct them.
“Look, what you believe to be true is false,” he told them. “The things you think are facts are not facts. We can’t go further here.”
The women rapidly insisted their beliefs were true, and they demanded Nichols accept their views as valid.
“You should respect my view and not call me ignorant,” one of them said, according to Nichols. “That’s not reasonable.”
Nichols told the woman she was not a reasonable person, and he said their views on Trump were simply not compatible with reality.
“Well, he’s not as bad as Obamanation,” the woman replied, referring to the former president. “That’s what he was, an abomination.”
Nichols rolled his eyes as the woman walked away, and the other woman explained she had voted for President Barack Obama but could not support Hillary Clinton — who she accused of various alleged crimes.
“These two people will never, ever change their minds,” Nichols said. “They are not accessible to reason. They demand agreement and respect, even when they don’t give it and are themselves unreasonable. This is the cohort that neither the GOP post-Trump nor Dems will ever reach.”
He said the women were unwilling to accept Nichols’ opposing viewpoint and instead only wanted to bash Obama and Clinton, and he said they would never change their minds.
“These types of Trumpers are just lost,” he said. “They’re not going to climb down, change their minds, listen to new information. Trump really could shoot them on Fifth Avenue. There’s no point in discussion, because they don’t *discuss*, they *preach*.”
“No rational or fact-based politics will reach these folks,” Nichols added. “I hate to say that, because I believe in the power of reason and facts. But they’re gone. Some of them are nice people, but dumb. Some of them are just bad people. But rationality isn’t going to change much here.”
Tom Nichols✔
@RadioFreeTom
No rational or fact-based politics will reach these folks. I hate to say that, because I believe in the power of reason and facts. But they're gone. Some of them are nice people, but dumb. Some of them are just bad people. But rationality isn't going to change much here. /14x
7:01 PM - Jul 24, 2018
Nichols, a national security affairs professor who also taught at the U.S. Air Force School of Strategic Force Studies, shared an anecdote on Twitter about two Trump supporters confronting him after a lecture Tuesday at Harvard University.
Tom Nichols✔
@RadioFreeTom
During the talk, I had said (in response to a question) that Helsinki was not going to move the needle on Trump's base support, not least because the Trump base is willfully ignorant and refuses to hear anything they don't like about the summit or about Russia at all. /2
7:01 PM - Jul 24, 2018
The women, who were immigrants from India and a post-Soviet region, asked to debate Nichols afterward, and asked if he had called them “willfully evil” — and he said they sputtered after he corrected them and said they were “willfully ignorant.”
“Both did the standard Trump thing: talking at me in a fusillade of words punctuated with questions that they would not let me answer,” Nichols said. “This is a compulsion with Trumpers: they must – *must* – constantly explain to you why they *had* to vote for Trump.”
The women listed “phantom Trump successes” and insisted Trump was taking jobs away from foreign workers and giving them back to Americans, and Nichols tried to correct them.
“Look, what you believe to be true is false,” he told them. “The things you think are facts are not facts. We can’t go further here.”
The women rapidly insisted their beliefs were true, and they demanded Nichols accept their views as valid.
“You should respect my view and not call me ignorant,” one of them said, according to Nichols. “That’s not reasonable.”
Nichols told the woman she was not a reasonable person, and he said their views on Trump were simply not compatible with reality.
“Well, he’s not as bad as Obamanation,” the woman replied, referring to the former president. “That’s what he was, an abomination.”
Nichols rolled his eyes as the woman walked away, and the other woman explained she had voted for President Barack Obama but could not support Hillary Clinton — who she accused of various alleged crimes.
“These two people will never, ever change their minds,” Nichols said. “They are not accessible to reason. They demand agreement and respect, even when they don’t give it and are themselves unreasonable. This is the cohort that neither the GOP post-Trump nor Dems will ever reach.”
He said the women were unwilling to accept Nichols’ opposing viewpoint and instead only wanted to bash Obama and Clinton, and he said they would never change their minds.
“These types of Trumpers are just lost,” he said. “They’re not going to climb down, change their minds, listen to new information. Trump really could shoot them on Fifth Avenue. There’s no point in discussion, because they don’t *discuss*, they *preach*.”
“No rational or fact-based politics will reach these folks,” Nichols added. “I hate to say that, because I believe in the power of reason and facts. But they’re gone. Some of them are nice people, but dumb. Some of them are just bad people. But rationality isn’t going to change much here.”
Tom Nichols✔
@RadioFreeTom
No rational or fact-based politics will reach these folks. I hate to say that, because I believe in the power of reason and facts. But they're gone. Some of them are nice people, but dumb. Some of them are just bad people. But rationality isn't going to change much here. /14x
7:01 PM - Jul 24, 2018
Here’s the psychological problem that causes Trump supporters to keep getting duped
Bobby Azarian, Raw Story
23 JUL 2018 AT 09:25 ET
In the past, some prominent psychologists have explained President Donald Trump’s unwavering support by alluding to a well-established psychological phenomenon known as the “Dunning-Kruger effect.” The effect is a type of cognitive bias, where people with little expertise or ability assume they have superior expertise or ability. This overestimation occurs as a result of the fact that they don’t have enough knowledge to know they don’t have enough knowledge. Or, stated more harshly, they are “too dumb to know they are dumb.” This simple but loopy concept has been demonstrated dozens of times in well-controlled psychology studies and in a variety of contexts. However, until now, the effect had not been studied in one of the most obvious and important realms—political knowledge.
A new study published in the journal Political Psychology, carried out by the political scientist Ian Anson at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, not only found that the Dunning-Kruger effect applies to politics, it also appears to be exacerbated when partisan identities are made more salient. In other words, those who score low on political knowledge tend to overestimate their expertise even more when greater emphasis is placed on political affiliation.
Anson told PsyPost that he became increasingly interested in the effect after other academics were discussing its potential role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on social media. “I follow a number of political scientists who marveled at the social media pundit class’ seeming display of ‘Dunning-Kruger-ish tendencies’ in their bombastic coverage of the election.” However, speculation by scientists does not always translate into statistically-significant findings, so Anson began thinking of ways to experimentally test what he described as a “very serious accusation.”
In order to have a large representative sample of subjects, Dr. Anson administered online surveys to over 2,600 Americans. The first survey was designed to assess political knowledge, while the second was used to examine how confident they were in their knowledge. Questions quizzed participants on topics like names of cabinet members, the length of term limits for members of Congress, and the names of programs that the U.S. government spends the least on.
As predicted, the results showed that those who scored low on political knowledge were also the ones who overestimated their level of knowledge. But that wasn’t all. When participants were given cues that made them engage in partisan thought, the Dunning-Kruger effect was made even stronger. This occurred with both Republicans and Democrats, but only in those who scored low on political knowledge to begin with.
These findings are fascinating but equally troubling. How do you combat ignorance when the ignorant believe themselves to be knowledgeable? Even worse, how do you fight it when America is becoming increasingly polarized, which certainly increases the salience of partisan identities?
While the results of Anson’s study suggest that being uninformed leads to overconfidence across the political spectrum, studies have shown that Democrats now tend to be generally more educated than Republicans, making the latter more vulnerable to the Dunning-Kruger effect. In fact, a Pew Research Center poll released in March of this year found that 54 percent of college graduates identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, compared to 39 percent who identified or leaned Republican.
Perhaps this helps explain why Trump supporters seem to be so easily tricked into believing obvious falsehoods when their leader delivers his “alternative facts” sprinkled with language designed to activate partisan identities. Because they lack knowledge but are confident that they do not, they are less likely than others to actually fact-check the claims that the President makes.
This speculation is supported by evidence from empirical studies. In 2016, an experiment found that 45 percent of Republicans believed that the Affordable Care Act included “death panels,” and a 2015 study similarly found that 54 percent of Republican primary voters believed then-president Barack Obama to be a Muslim.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is particularly worrisome when considering issues that pose existential threats, like global warming. A 2017 study conducted at the University of New Hampshire found that only 25 percent of self-described Trump supporters believed that human activities contribute to climate change.
This quirky cognitive bias could be making it easier for Donald Trump to continuously dupe his more uneducated followers. Not only are they uninformed, they are unlikely to ever try to become more informed on their own. In their minds, they have nothing new to learn.
While such a thought is disturbing, we should not lose all hope in trying to reach the victims of the Dunning-Kruger effect. At least one study found that incompetent students increased their ability to accurately estimate their class rank after being tutored in the skills they lacked. With the right education methods and a willingness to learn, the uninformed on both sides of the political aisle can gain a meta-awareness that can help them perceive themselves more objectively. Unfortunately, Anson’s study shows that getting through to these people becomes more and more difficult as the nation becomes more divided. And with Trump’s fiery rhetoric and fear mongering, that divide appears to always be growing wider, making one wonder whether Trump—through Googling himself—has become aware of the effect and is using it to his advantage. But that assumption might be giving him too much credit, as he is likely as much a victim of the Dunning-Kruger effect as his followers.
A new study published in the journal Political Psychology, carried out by the political scientist Ian Anson at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, not only found that the Dunning-Kruger effect applies to politics, it also appears to be exacerbated when partisan identities are made more salient. In other words, those who score low on political knowledge tend to overestimate their expertise even more when greater emphasis is placed on political affiliation.
Anson told PsyPost that he became increasingly interested in the effect after other academics were discussing its potential role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on social media. “I follow a number of political scientists who marveled at the social media pundit class’ seeming display of ‘Dunning-Kruger-ish tendencies’ in their bombastic coverage of the election.” However, speculation by scientists does not always translate into statistically-significant findings, so Anson began thinking of ways to experimentally test what he described as a “very serious accusation.”
In order to have a large representative sample of subjects, Dr. Anson administered online surveys to over 2,600 Americans. The first survey was designed to assess political knowledge, while the second was used to examine how confident they were in their knowledge. Questions quizzed participants on topics like names of cabinet members, the length of term limits for members of Congress, and the names of programs that the U.S. government spends the least on.
As predicted, the results showed that those who scored low on political knowledge were also the ones who overestimated their level of knowledge. But that wasn’t all. When participants were given cues that made them engage in partisan thought, the Dunning-Kruger effect was made even stronger. This occurred with both Republicans and Democrats, but only in those who scored low on political knowledge to begin with.
These findings are fascinating but equally troubling. How do you combat ignorance when the ignorant believe themselves to be knowledgeable? Even worse, how do you fight it when America is becoming increasingly polarized, which certainly increases the salience of partisan identities?
While the results of Anson’s study suggest that being uninformed leads to overconfidence across the political spectrum, studies have shown that Democrats now tend to be generally more educated than Republicans, making the latter more vulnerable to the Dunning-Kruger effect. In fact, a Pew Research Center poll released in March of this year found that 54 percent of college graduates identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, compared to 39 percent who identified or leaned Republican.
Perhaps this helps explain why Trump supporters seem to be so easily tricked into believing obvious falsehoods when their leader delivers his “alternative facts” sprinkled with language designed to activate partisan identities. Because they lack knowledge but are confident that they do not, they are less likely than others to actually fact-check the claims that the President makes.
This speculation is supported by evidence from empirical studies. In 2016, an experiment found that 45 percent of Republicans believed that the Affordable Care Act included “death panels,” and a 2015 study similarly found that 54 percent of Republican primary voters believed then-president Barack Obama to be a Muslim.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is particularly worrisome when considering issues that pose existential threats, like global warming. A 2017 study conducted at the University of New Hampshire found that only 25 percent of self-described Trump supporters believed that human activities contribute to climate change.
This quirky cognitive bias could be making it easier for Donald Trump to continuously dupe his more uneducated followers. Not only are they uninformed, they are unlikely to ever try to become more informed on their own. In their minds, they have nothing new to learn.
While such a thought is disturbing, we should not lose all hope in trying to reach the victims of the Dunning-Kruger effect. At least one study found that incompetent students increased their ability to accurately estimate their class rank after being tutored in the skills they lacked. With the right education methods and a willingness to learn, the uninformed on both sides of the political aisle can gain a meta-awareness that can help them perceive themselves more objectively. Unfortunately, Anson’s study shows that getting through to these people becomes more and more difficult as the nation becomes more divided. And with Trump’s fiery rhetoric and fear mongering, that divide appears to always be growing wider, making one wonder whether Trump—through Googling himself—has become aware of the effect and is using it to his advantage. But that assumption might be giving him too much credit, as he is likely as much a victim of the Dunning-Kruger effect as his followers.
|
|
Soft Targets: The Muddled and Anti-Intellectual American Brains That Made Election Meddling Possible
by Bill C. Davis | the smirking chimp
July 19, 2018 - 5:27am
Putin asked an interviewer - “Do you think the Russian state could get into the minds of millions of Americans and affect how they will vote?” It’s brilliant he asked an "absurd" question he knew the answer to years ago. Yes. Trump voters were soft targets. Who knew there were so many of them? Someone did - and knew which states they were in and the point value of those states.
Whatever verb: meddle, attack; disrupt; insert; interfering; the covert campaign to confuse and stampede an adequate portion of the American voting population, in a cunningly chosen number of states, had its origin in strategic contempt for the people who have come to be known as, the base. (Which, by way, is the English translation of, Al-qaeda. The base.)
Trump voters were the target before they were Trump voters. The prerequisite for expending energy on such an initiative was an analysis of the fears, appetites and intellectual wattage of the targets. These are the people who could be seduced into bad mortgages, Jimmy Swaggart, Colonel Sanders, cabbage patch dolls, Mitch McConnell, the Kardashians, and styrofoam.
It's the soft, muddled collective anti-intellectual center that made success possible. Yes - something sinister did get into the minds of, if not millions, the smartly located thousands. The soft spasmodic brain is now at the head but it was put there by the soft spasmodic guts of the country being fed whoppers. Even the expression - red meat - speaks to this. Feeding his base, "red meat." Disgusting imagery for a metaphysical reality.
It's a daily question - how did this happen? How did someone so persistently referred to as moronic and imbecilic seize the reigns of power? It's what the Mueller investigation is meant to find out. How could this have happened? Is the country that self destructive? Has the ability for critical thinking been drummed and drugged out of just enough of the American population?
The current and feverish fight to protect the American voters from Russian or any manipulation is something that should have happened decades ago. Too late? Poor education, a pervasive vapid culture and a constant massage of the collective lower instincts has spawned a juicy target for whoever or whatever want to bring the classic columns down. A large part of the body politic has been depleted of immunity. It can’t resist.
Perhaps this is why the one word which has emerged as a defensive weapon to protect an ever softening target is - resist.
Whatever verb: meddle, attack; disrupt; insert; interfering; the covert campaign to confuse and stampede an adequate portion of the American voting population, in a cunningly chosen number of states, had its origin in strategic contempt for the people who have come to be known as, the base. (Which, by way, is the English translation of, Al-qaeda. The base.)
Trump voters were the target before they were Trump voters. The prerequisite for expending energy on such an initiative was an analysis of the fears, appetites and intellectual wattage of the targets. These are the people who could be seduced into bad mortgages, Jimmy Swaggart, Colonel Sanders, cabbage patch dolls, Mitch McConnell, the Kardashians, and styrofoam.
It's the soft, muddled collective anti-intellectual center that made success possible. Yes - something sinister did get into the minds of, if not millions, the smartly located thousands. The soft spasmodic brain is now at the head but it was put there by the soft spasmodic guts of the country being fed whoppers. Even the expression - red meat - speaks to this. Feeding his base, "red meat." Disgusting imagery for a metaphysical reality.
It's a daily question - how did this happen? How did someone so persistently referred to as moronic and imbecilic seize the reigns of power? It's what the Mueller investigation is meant to find out. How could this have happened? Is the country that self destructive? Has the ability for critical thinking been drummed and drugged out of just enough of the American population?
The current and feverish fight to protect the American voters from Russian or any manipulation is something that should have happened decades ago. Too late? Poor education, a pervasive vapid culture and a constant massage of the collective lower instincts has spawned a juicy target for whoever or whatever want to bring the classic columns down. A large part of the body politic has been depleted of immunity. It can’t resist.
Perhaps this is why the one word which has emerged as a defensive weapon to protect an ever softening target is - resist.
Cartoon: It's not the economy, stupid
Matt Bors
Community
Wednesday July 25, 2018 · 5:00 AM PDT
lies
The final and last analysis of Trump-voters you will ever need to read:
DetlefK - demo underground
7/5/18
It is meant to be flattering, or at least neutral, but the short version is that the people who have been bleating about "family values" for the last half-century do not actually give a flying damn about family values and never did. It was all garbage from the get-go. ... the salt-of-the-earth Trump supporters back in Nebraska could not possibly care less about the bullshit-laden values attributed to them in fawning tributes to the heartland's common clay.
In contrast, almost all of the people I know in my hometown in Nebraska proudly supported him. They glossed over his infidelities and stressed that he seemed to be a good father. They were impressed by his “respectful” sons and admired the success of his daughters.
...
When you grow up in Nebraska, you are apparently expected to bleat about family values and the corruption of the elites, to be sure—but, socioeconomically speaking, it is apparently all a ruse meant for the children and whatever gullible reporters wander through town. In reality, when it comes to the churches and the voting booths, you can be as adulterous as you want, cheat your neighbor eagerly and gleefully, lie to everyone about everything and—if you are in the right tribe, and only if you are in the right tribe—it is expected.
...
I believe I have pointed out multiple times that in my own experiences, for example, if any business owner mentions Jesus within the first 10 minutes of meeting you you can be absolutely, 100 percent assured they are out to scam you, good and hard, which is an interesting metric of what so-called Christianity has been reduced to in many subsets of the American psyche.
...
Baffling as it may be to elites, Mr. Trump embodies a real if imperfect model of family values. People familiar with the purple family model tend to view his alienation from his children’s mother as normal and his closeness to his children as exceptional and admirable. I saw this among my acquaintances in Nebraska. Even those from red families were more likely than my acquaintances in New York to know someone who has had a child out of wedlock or is subject to a restraining order.
...
Plainly put: These are the hallmarks of terrible human beings. People who you would not trust with your children. People you would go out of your way to avoid, if you did care about honesty or family values. These are the people who press their mistresses for abortions but who also are not vexed by abortion-providing doctors being murdered in their Kansas churches; they are confederate flag-wavers in Union states, miffed that new civil rights laws a half century ago slighted their own ne’er-do-well families in some never-quite-describable way; these are people who are so obsessed with the thought that someone better is looking down on them that they are willing to punch whatever kittens need punching in order to prove they're at least better at kitten-punching than the rest of you. The opioid epidemic is centered in Trump-supporting counties. The demand that brown-looking children be placed in detention camps for fear that a terrified 8-year-old might be a hardened gang leader is a phenomenon of Trump-Supporting counties. The insistence that Treason Might Be Good Now is peddled by Fox News celebrities to die-hard Trump supporters who will repeat and retweet it willing and eagerly; it was Trump supporters, Jesus-punchers every one, who gave Alabama crapsack Roy Moore their votes even after his exposure as a child molester—complete with Bible citations from “conservative” pastors arguing that Roy Moore trolling the malls for a child bride was, in fact, in fine Old Testament tradition.
They don't give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
They didn't vote for him because of economic anxiety.
They didn't vote for him because Jesus.
They didn't vote for him because they believed his lies.
They know who Trump is. They know that he's a horrible person, that he's the epicenter of a dysfunctional family of grifters, that he lies and fondles and cheats and steals.
And that's why they like him. Because all these awful, awful things make him real and relatable. He's one of them and they are one of him. Trump is certainly more relatable than that horrible Hillary Clinton with her education and her career and her happy little family.
They voted for him because they recognized that he's not one of the perfect elite.
They voted for him because they recognized that he's just a short-fingered vulgarian.
In contrast, almost all of the people I know in my hometown in Nebraska proudly supported him. They glossed over his infidelities and stressed that he seemed to be a good father. They were impressed by his “respectful” sons and admired the success of his daughters.
...
When you grow up in Nebraska, you are apparently expected to bleat about family values and the corruption of the elites, to be sure—but, socioeconomically speaking, it is apparently all a ruse meant for the children and whatever gullible reporters wander through town. In reality, when it comes to the churches and the voting booths, you can be as adulterous as you want, cheat your neighbor eagerly and gleefully, lie to everyone about everything and—if you are in the right tribe, and only if you are in the right tribe—it is expected.
...
I believe I have pointed out multiple times that in my own experiences, for example, if any business owner mentions Jesus within the first 10 minutes of meeting you you can be absolutely, 100 percent assured they are out to scam you, good and hard, which is an interesting metric of what so-called Christianity has been reduced to in many subsets of the American psyche.
...
Baffling as it may be to elites, Mr. Trump embodies a real if imperfect model of family values. People familiar with the purple family model tend to view his alienation from his children’s mother as normal and his closeness to his children as exceptional and admirable. I saw this among my acquaintances in Nebraska. Even those from red families were more likely than my acquaintances in New York to know someone who has had a child out of wedlock or is subject to a restraining order.
...
Plainly put: These are the hallmarks of terrible human beings. People who you would not trust with your children. People you would go out of your way to avoid, if you did care about honesty or family values. These are the people who press their mistresses for abortions but who also are not vexed by abortion-providing doctors being murdered in their Kansas churches; they are confederate flag-wavers in Union states, miffed that new civil rights laws a half century ago slighted their own ne’er-do-well families in some never-quite-describable way; these are people who are so obsessed with the thought that someone better is looking down on them that they are willing to punch whatever kittens need punching in order to prove they're at least better at kitten-punching than the rest of you. The opioid epidemic is centered in Trump-supporting counties. The demand that brown-looking children be placed in detention camps for fear that a terrified 8-year-old might be a hardened gang leader is a phenomenon of Trump-Supporting counties. The insistence that Treason Might Be Good Now is peddled by Fox News celebrities to die-hard Trump supporters who will repeat and retweet it willing and eagerly; it was Trump supporters, Jesus-punchers every one, who gave Alabama crapsack Roy Moore their votes even after his exposure as a child molester—complete with Bible citations from “conservative” pastors arguing that Roy Moore trolling the malls for a child bride was, in fact, in fine Old Testament tradition.
They don't give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
They didn't vote for him because of economic anxiety.
They didn't vote for him because Jesus.
They didn't vote for him because they believed his lies.
They know who Trump is. They know that he's a horrible person, that he's the epicenter of a dysfunctional family of grifters, that he lies and fondles and cheats and steals.
And that's why they like him. Because all these awful, awful things make him real and relatable. He's one of them and they are one of him. Trump is certainly more relatable than that horrible Hillary Clinton with her education and her career and her happy little family.
They voted for him because they recognized that he's not one of the perfect elite.
They voted for him because they recognized that he's just a short-fingered vulgarian.
Here are 10 Incredibly fake facts Trump supporters believe are true
AlterNet - raw story
27 MAY 2018 AT 03:10 ET
Americans, divided and polarized as they are, live in two distinct worlds. In one world, the earth is not flat, climate change is real and Bill and Hillary aren’t pimping kids out in the basement of a pizza restaurant.
The other world is devoid of reason, evidence and pretty much any type of historical facts. Despite the fact that Trump voters have been fleeced by the biggest con man in the world, they continue to devour the lies he sells on a silver platter. When it comes to facts, Trump supporters aren’t head over heels in love with them. After all, Trump’s rise came as a result of playing to uninformed and angry people’s primal and worst sensibilities. They’re right and the entire world is wrong, because that’s what their cult leader told them, and who needs Google anyway?
Here are 10 incredibly fake facts that Trump supporters believe are true.
1. Trump is a devoted Christian.
The thrice-married, pu$$y-grabbing Trump is actually quite the exemplary Christian, at least in the minds of his supporters. They are so convinced of this fake fact that they welcomed Trump at Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University this past weekend, where the president was given an honorary doctorate.
2. The economy is improving because of Trump.
If there’s anything Trump does better than filing for Chapter 11, it’s taking credit for things other people have done. Part-time First Lady Melania Trump stole a speech from Michelle Obama, so it only seems fitting that the Donald do it as well. Now, even though he hasn’t signed a single piece of economic legislation and all economic data is just a continuation of President Obama’s efforts, Trump seems to have no issue taking credit for all of the positive economic news. And despite the fact that Trump had been in office for a whopping two weeks, Fox News gave Trump full credit for a positive jobs report in January.
3. ‘Millions voted illegally’ (without a single shred of proof).
Not too long ago, a poll found that 55 percent of Trump supporters believe his daft conspiracy theory that the only reason he lost the popular vote is because “millions voted illegally” for Hillary Clinton. Ignorance is bliss, right?
4. Immigration is off the rails and illegal immigrants are all violent criminals.
Trump played to the racist tendencies of working-class whites when he declared that Mexicans were criminals and rapists, except for some. He also took a page from Richard Nixon’s handbook and touted law and order for the silent majority. But here’s the thing for folks who reside in Realitytown, USA: net migration from Mexico is basically zero and stats show that undocumented immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But facts are not how you Make America Great Again!
5. Trump should have the power to overturn judicial rulings.
Utterly clueless when it comes to the U.S. Constitution (except for the Second Amendment), 51 percent of Trump supporters think the Executive Branch should have the power to overrule the Judicial Branch. This came after Trump was overruled in his efforts to impose a Muslim travel ban.
6. Trumpcare is great while Obamacare is awful.
Okay, this one is especially heinous. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he talked constantly about how easy it would be to gut Obamacare and impose a version of his own that would cover everyone. Here are the facts:
7. Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Ah yes, the birther question. The very thing that catapulted a washed-up reality TV host to political fame and fortune. Trump had been accusing President Obama of not being born in America for years, which seems to have resonated with his supporters: 59 percent of Trump supporters didn’t think Obama was born in the United States, while just a mere 23 percent said he was.
8. There’s a war on gun owners.
Despite the fact that gun ownership ballooned under President Obama and his sensible gun legislation failed miserably in the NRA-owned Republican Congress, Trump supporters believed there was a major “war” on guns. The biggest (and stupidest) conspiracy was the one involving Jade Helm, when right-wingers thought a military exercise was actually a secret ploy by Obama to declare martial law and seize all the guns.
9. All the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are bogus.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that continues to pile up regarding Trump’s ties to Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, his supporters will hear nothing of it. They love Russia and think CNN and every other major news outlet is fake news that hates America. Bear in mind, all of this seems to be leading up to impeachment. But yeah, nothing to see here.
10. Trump is honest and trustworthy.
This may be the greatest fake fact of fake facts: Trump is honest and trustworthy. Despite the fact that nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is a brazen lie that can be disproved in a New York minute, his supporters think he’s honest. That’s just a special kind of ignorance you can’t fix. While some of his supporters have since seen the light of day, a majority of them still trust him despite all the explanations of his lies the media makes.
In short, it may just take Trump throwing puppies into a firepit for a majority of his supporters to recognize him for the lying con man that he is. Let’s certainly hope not, as that may not be out of the realm of possibility.
The other world is devoid of reason, evidence and pretty much any type of historical facts. Despite the fact that Trump voters have been fleeced by the biggest con man in the world, they continue to devour the lies he sells on a silver platter. When it comes to facts, Trump supporters aren’t head over heels in love with them. After all, Trump’s rise came as a result of playing to uninformed and angry people’s primal and worst sensibilities. They’re right and the entire world is wrong, because that’s what their cult leader told them, and who needs Google anyway?
Here are 10 incredibly fake facts that Trump supporters believe are true.
1. Trump is a devoted Christian.
The thrice-married, pu$$y-grabbing Trump is actually quite the exemplary Christian, at least in the minds of his supporters. They are so convinced of this fake fact that they welcomed Trump at Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University this past weekend, where the president was given an honorary doctorate.
2. The economy is improving because of Trump.
If there’s anything Trump does better than filing for Chapter 11, it’s taking credit for things other people have done. Part-time First Lady Melania Trump stole a speech from Michelle Obama, so it only seems fitting that the Donald do it as well. Now, even though he hasn’t signed a single piece of economic legislation and all economic data is just a continuation of President Obama’s efforts, Trump seems to have no issue taking credit for all of the positive economic news. And despite the fact that Trump had been in office for a whopping two weeks, Fox News gave Trump full credit for a positive jobs report in January.
3. ‘Millions voted illegally’ (without a single shred of proof).
Not too long ago, a poll found that 55 percent of Trump supporters believe his daft conspiracy theory that the only reason he lost the popular vote is because “millions voted illegally” for Hillary Clinton. Ignorance is bliss, right?
4. Immigration is off the rails and illegal immigrants are all violent criminals.
Trump played to the racist tendencies of working-class whites when he declared that Mexicans were criminals and rapists, except for some. He also took a page from Richard Nixon’s handbook and touted law and order for the silent majority. But here’s the thing for folks who reside in Realitytown, USA: net migration from Mexico is basically zero and stats show that undocumented immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But facts are not how you Make America Great Again!
5. Trump should have the power to overturn judicial rulings.
Utterly clueless when it comes to the U.S. Constitution (except for the Second Amendment), 51 percent of Trump supporters think the Executive Branch should have the power to overrule the Judicial Branch. This came after Trump was overruled in his efforts to impose a Muslim travel ban.
6. Trumpcare is great while Obamacare is awful.
Okay, this one is especially heinous. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he talked constantly about how easy it would be to gut Obamacare and impose a version of his own that would cover everyone. Here are the facts:
- Around 24 million people will lose their health insurance—many of them his most vocal supporters
- Premiums, especially for Americans 50 and older, will increase dramatically.
- States can opt-out of protecting people with pre-existing conditions.
- Coverage will get worse.
- Medicaid will be gutted.
7. Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Ah yes, the birther question. The very thing that catapulted a washed-up reality TV host to political fame and fortune. Trump had been accusing President Obama of not being born in America for years, which seems to have resonated with his supporters: 59 percent of Trump supporters didn’t think Obama was born in the United States, while just a mere 23 percent said he was.
8. There’s a war on gun owners.
Despite the fact that gun ownership ballooned under President Obama and his sensible gun legislation failed miserably in the NRA-owned Republican Congress, Trump supporters believed there was a major “war” on guns. The biggest (and stupidest) conspiracy was the one involving Jade Helm, when right-wingers thought a military exercise was actually a secret ploy by Obama to declare martial law and seize all the guns.
9. All the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are bogus.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that continues to pile up regarding Trump’s ties to Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, his supporters will hear nothing of it. They love Russia and think CNN and every other major news outlet is fake news that hates America. Bear in mind, all of this seems to be leading up to impeachment. But yeah, nothing to see here.
10. Trump is honest and trustworthy.
This may be the greatest fake fact of fake facts: Trump is honest and trustworthy. Despite the fact that nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is a brazen lie that can be disproved in a New York minute, his supporters think he’s honest. That’s just a special kind of ignorance you can’t fix. While some of his supporters have since seen the light of day, a majority of them still trust him despite all the explanations of his lies the media makes.
In short, it may just take Trump throwing puppies into a firepit for a majority of his supporters to recognize him for the lying con man that he is. Let’s certainly hope not, as that may not be out of the realm of possibility.
Ex-Trump staffer apologizes to America after he allows killing of hibernating bears and their cubs
Bob Brigham - raw story
23 MAY 2018 AT 11:59 ET
Former Donald Trump transition advisor A.J. Delgado apologized to America for helping elect the commander-in-chief after the Department of Interior announced that the National Park Service is seeking to rescind a ban on shooting hibernating bears and their cubs.
Tuesday evening, NBC News reported on the dismantling of the fair chase regulations, noting that the rule change would allow “baiting brown bears with bacon and doughnuts and using spotlights to shoot mother black bears and cubs hibernating in their dens.”
NBC reported that rule would also allow people to “hunt black bears with dogs, kill wolves and pups in their dens, and use motor boats to shoot swimming caribou.”
---
Delgado was a prominent Trump defender on cable news during the 2016 election.
Following the campaign, it was revealed that Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller fathered a love child with Delgado during the campaign. Miller is married and also fathered a second child with his wife during the same period.
The Trump transition announced that Miller would be the White House communications director, a post he stepped down from before even starting, with a Christmas Eve announcement that he wanted to spend more time with his family. The announcement came only two days after his appointment.
Also on Tuesday evening, Delgado discussed her former sweetheart.
Right-wing radio host and MSNBC anchor Hugh Hewitt recommended that Trump “draft” Jason Miller to join the White House communications team.
Delgado had a harsh analysis of Hewitt’s suggestion.
“Oh you rambling fool, Miller will be tied up in lawsuits for much of this administration’s term and already disgraced himself out of a WH job,” Delgado argued. “Stop pushing your buddy – it’s about as smart as your trenchcoat ban.”
Delgado was referencing Hewitt’s widely-mocked proposal to ban trench coats after the school shooting in Sante Fe, Texas.
The former transition advisor said she hasn’t become jaded and bitter, but the Make America Great Again movement has.
Tuesday evening, NBC News reported on the dismantling of the fair chase regulations, noting that the rule change would allow “baiting brown bears with bacon and doughnuts and using spotlights to shoot mother black bears and cubs hibernating in their dens.”
NBC reported that rule would also allow people to “hunt black bears with dogs, kill wolves and pups in their dens, and use motor boats to shoot swimming caribou.”
---
Delgado was a prominent Trump defender on cable news during the 2016 election.
Following the campaign, it was revealed that Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller fathered a love child with Delgado during the campaign. Miller is married and also fathered a second child with his wife during the same period.
The Trump transition announced that Miller would be the White House communications director, a post he stepped down from before even starting, with a Christmas Eve announcement that he wanted to spend more time with his family. The announcement came only two days after his appointment.
Also on Tuesday evening, Delgado discussed her former sweetheart.
Right-wing radio host and MSNBC anchor Hugh Hewitt recommended that Trump “draft” Jason Miller to join the White House communications team.
Delgado had a harsh analysis of Hewitt’s suggestion.
“Oh you rambling fool, Miller will be tied up in lawsuits for much of this administration’s term and already disgraced himself out of a WH job,” Delgado argued. “Stop pushing your buddy – it’s about as smart as your trenchcoat ban.”
Delgado was referencing Hewitt’s widely-mocked proposal to ban trench coats after the school shooting in Sante Fe, Texas.
The former transition advisor said she hasn’t become jaded and bitter, but the Make America Great Again movement has.
It's Not Our Job to Understand 'Trump Voters'
All of these objects of our concern are male, most often white male. But they are no longer the majority, and that’s the point.
By Dartagnan / Daily Kos - alternet
May 14, 2018, 10:45 PM GMT
This past month Rebecca Solnit wrote an essay for the Literary Hub which correctly flags one of the most persistent and pernicious myths propagated by the media and other cultural markers in this country--that there is a hardscrabble, homespun “Real America” out there that we as liberals need to be paying more attention to. That this explains why we liberals fail to connect with the needs and outlooks of those who occupy the “flyover” country so casually dismissed as “rural America.” That ultimately explains why we’re currently saddled with the most despicable and venal President in modern history.
It’s the idea that we must “accommodate” a certain cultural icon that has been mythologized over and over by the media as somehow possessing superior, and therefore more valid, “values” than those we share in more urban, cosmopolitan settings (“cosmopolitan” itself being a derogatory, dog whistle term favored by those on the right when speaking of people of other colors, cultures, or sexual orientations):
The common denominator of so many of the strange and troubling cultural narratives coming our way is a set of assumptions about who matters, whose story it is, who deserves the pity and the treats and the presumptions of innocence, the kid gloves and the red carpet, and ultimately the kingdom, the power, and the glory. You already know who. It’s white people in general and white men in particular, and especially white Protestant men, some of whom are apparently dismayed to find out that there is going to be, as your mom might have put it, sharing.
***
It is this population we are constantly asked to pay more attention to and forgive even when they hate us or seek to harm us. It is toward them we are all supposed to direct our empathy.
Solnit proceeds from the observation that 80% of Americans now live in urban or highly suburban locales, as opposed to rural areas. Los Angeles and New York City themselves have greater populations than many American states combined. And yet the “story”, repeated ad nauseum throughout some of the more highly respectable media since the 2016 election, has been that we need to understand the emotions of our (nearly wholly) white, economically struggling and culturally starved brothers and sisters living in an imaginary “real” (and implicitly “small town”) America of Chevy pickups and an “honest day’s work.”
As if our own openness to cultural enlightenment and tolerance and our own work ethic is something more suspect than the attitudes these folks embody in “working-class, small town white Christian America:”
More Americans work in museums than work in coal, but coalminers are treated as sacred beings owed huge subsidies and the sacrifice of the climate, and museum workers—well, no one is talking about their jobs as a totem of our national identity.
My grandfather was a coal miner, and my mother by default became a “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Both moved out of the mines as quickly as their economic status would let them. But it is the reflexive impulse to “accommodate” tiny minorities such as “coal miners” that masks the fact that they are the ones who really ought to be “accommodating” us:
Perhaps the actual problem is that white Christian suburban, small-town, and rural America includes too many people who want to live in a bubble and think they’re entitled to, and that all of us who are not like them are menaces and intrusions who needs to be cleared out of the way.
Solnit acknowledges the obvious--it’s not all rural residents who are mean-spirited, racist or possessed of feelings of “entitlement.” And if it were just such rural dwellers then Trump would have lost the popular vote in a landslide instead of three million or so votes. Many suburban and urban residents of varying economic status contributed to his unfortunate victory. And yet the narrative has constantly reverted back to small-town America and the white “hinterland,” again as if huge immigrant populations, huge populations of people of color, women in general, Non-Christians or agnostics, and the white liberals of both sexes who interact and mingle with them every day are not as deserving of consideration. As if the needs, values, and cultural tolerance demonstrated in more urban settings are not of equal or more importance to the society as a whole. And as if “economic anxiety” wasn’t something that hits people of color in urban areas with double the impact felt by poor rural whites (check out black unemployment statistics if you doubt this).
She notes even Bernie Sanders clucked his disapproval of the notion that Trump voters were “racists, sexists and homophobes” --when many Trump voters turned out to be exactly those things:
In the aftermath of the 2016 election, we were told that we needed to be nicer to the white working class, which reaffirmed the message that whiteness and the working class were the same thing and made the vast non-white working class invisible or inconsequential. We were told that Trump voters were the salt of the earth and the authentic sufferers, even though poorer people tended to vote for the other candidate. We were told that we had to be understanding of their choice to vote for a man who threatened to harm almost everyone who was not a white Christian man, because their feelings preempt everyone else’s survival.
Nor has this “pro-bubble” impulse to “accommodate” white males been limited to discussions of political allegiance. In the aftermath of the “#MeToo” movement we were treated to article after soul-searching article about how men ranging from Matt Lauer to Matt Damon must navigate this treacherous “new” environment of women standing up for themselves. In the aftermath of the Parkland and other school shootings involving troubled white males we were treated to “analyses” of their psychological problems which bordered on sympathetic, or questions about what may have happened had someone treated them “nicer.” And we see columnists such as misogynist Kevin Williamson (who wanted to kill women who have had abortions) being given the royal treatment of due process for their twisted belief systems.
Not coincidentally, all of these objects of our concern are male, most often white male. But they are no longer the majority, and that’s the point. Soon—very soon—people of color will outnumber white males as a portion of the electorate. Women already outnumber men in terms of sheer population. It is their interests, and the necessary tolerance for multiple cultures that permits the coexistence of these diverse populations—the same tolerance that Trump voters spit on as “politically correct”—that is the narrative that matters. And it is that narrative, that “story” that should not and will not be denied.
We are as a culture moving on to a future with more people and more voices and more possibilities. Some people are being left behind, not because the future is intolerant of them but because they are intolerant of this future. White men, Protestants from the dominant culture are welcome, but as Chris Evans noted, the story isn’t going to be about them all the time, and they won’t always be the ones telling it. It’s about all of us.
It’s the idea that we must “accommodate” a certain cultural icon that has been mythologized over and over by the media as somehow possessing superior, and therefore more valid, “values” than those we share in more urban, cosmopolitan settings (“cosmopolitan” itself being a derogatory, dog whistle term favored by those on the right when speaking of people of other colors, cultures, or sexual orientations):
The common denominator of so many of the strange and troubling cultural narratives coming our way is a set of assumptions about who matters, whose story it is, who deserves the pity and the treats and the presumptions of innocence, the kid gloves and the red carpet, and ultimately the kingdom, the power, and the glory. You already know who. It’s white people in general and white men in particular, and especially white Protestant men, some of whom are apparently dismayed to find out that there is going to be, as your mom might have put it, sharing.
***
It is this population we are constantly asked to pay more attention to and forgive even when they hate us or seek to harm us. It is toward them we are all supposed to direct our empathy.
Solnit proceeds from the observation that 80% of Americans now live in urban or highly suburban locales, as opposed to rural areas. Los Angeles and New York City themselves have greater populations than many American states combined. And yet the “story”, repeated ad nauseum throughout some of the more highly respectable media since the 2016 election, has been that we need to understand the emotions of our (nearly wholly) white, economically struggling and culturally starved brothers and sisters living in an imaginary “real” (and implicitly “small town”) America of Chevy pickups and an “honest day’s work.”
As if our own openness to cultural enlightenment and tolerance and our own work ethic is something more suspect than the attitudes these folks embody in “working-class, small town white Christian America:”
More Americans work in museums than work in coal, but coalminers are treated as sacred beings owed huge subsidies and the sacrifice of the climate, and museum workers—well, no one is talking about their jobs as a totem of our national identity.
My grandfather was a coal miner, and my mother by default became a “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Both moved out of the mines as quickly as their economic status would let them. But it is the reflexive impulse to “accommodate” tiny minorities such as “coal miners” that masks the fact that they are the ones who really ought to be “accommodating” us:
Perhaps the actual problem is that white Christian suburban, small-town, and rural America includes too many people who want to live in a bubble and think they’re entitled to, and that all of us who are not like them are menaces and intrusions who needs to be cleared out of the way.
Solnit acknowledges the obvious--it’s not all rural residents who are mean-spirited, racist or possessed of feelings of “entitlement.” And if it were just such rural dwellers then Trump would have lost the popular vote in a landslide instead of three million or so votes. Many suburban and urban residents of varying economic status contributed to his unfortunate victory. And yet the narrative has constantly reverted back to small-town America and the white “hinterland,” again as if huge immigrant populations, huge populations of people of color, women in general, Non-Christians or agnostics, and the white liberals of both sexes who interact and mingle with them every day are not as deserving of consideration. As if the needs, values, and cultural tolerance demonstrated in more urban settings are not of equal or more importance to the society as a whole. And as if “economic anxiety” wasn’t something that hits people of color in urban areas with double the impact felt by poor rural whites (check out black unemployment statistics if you doubt this).
She notes even Bernie Sanders clucked his disapproval of the notion that Trump voters were “racists, sexists and homophobes” --when many Trump voters turned out to be exactly those things:
In the aftermath of the 2016 election, we were told that we needed to be nicer to the white working class, which reaffirmed the message that whiteness and the working class were the same thing and made the vast non-white working class invisible or inconsequential. We were told that Trump voters were the salt of the earth and the authentic sufferers, even though poorer people tended to vote for the other candidate. We were told that we had to be understanding of their choice to vote for a man who threatened to harm almost everyone who was not a white Christian man, because their feelings preempt everyone else’s survival.
Nor has this “pro-bubble” impulse to “accommodate” white males been limited to discussions of political allegiance. In the aftermath of the “#MeToo” movement we were treated to article after soul-searching article about how men ranging from Matt Lauer to Matt Damon must navigate this treacherous “new” environment of women standing up for themselves. In the aftermath of the Parkland and other school shootings involving troubled white males we were treated to “analyses” of their psychological problems which bordered on sympathetic, or questions about what may have happened had someone treated them “nicer.” And we see columnists such as misogynist Kevin Williamson (who wanted to kill women who have had abortions) being given the royal treatment of due process for their twisted belief systems.
Not coincidentally, all of these objects of our concern are male, most often white male. But they are no longer the majority, and that’s the point. Soon—very soon—people of color will outnumber white males as a portion of the electorate. Women already outnumber men in terms of sheer population. It is their interests, and the necessary tolerance for multiple cultures that permits the coexistence of these diverse populations—the same tolerance that Trump voters spit on as “politically correct”—that is the narrative that matters. And it is that narrative, that “story” that should not and will not be denied.
We are as a culture moving on to a future with more people and more voices and more possibilities. Some people are being left behind, not because the future is intolerant of them but because they are intolerant of this future. White men, Protestants from the dominant culture are welcome, but as Chris Evans noted, the story isn’t going to be about them all the time, and they won’t always be the ones telling it. It’s about all of us.
Kentuck - Demo Underground
It's Not Our Fault You're Stupid
NanceGreggs - demo underground
Democrats have been repeatedly been labelled as “elitists” by the GOP – which usually means we are well-read, well-informed, and can speak in complete, grammatically correct sentences. But I digress.
The fact is that what you Republican voters are willing to believe – nay, swallow whole – is proof beyond any doubt that you are stupid, stupid, stupid.
You walk around in MAGA hats that were manufactured in China by a “pResident” who campaigned on putting America first. That “pResident” continues to have ALL of his branded merchandise – including every item in his hotels and golf courses – made in low-wage countries. And you still believe that he’s sincere when he says he’s bringing jobs back to the US – and that’s because you’re stupid.
You voted for Trump because he said that if elected, he would “drain the swamp” and surround himself with “the best people”. Many of those “best people” have now been indicted, have been fired, have been forced to resign, or are currently under investigation. Thirty to forty of those “best people” who are still working in the WH can’t get security clearances, and still have access to highly classified information. Many of those “best people” only have WH appointments because they’re family members, and have absolutely no experience in government whatsoever. But you think that’s just fine – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your “pResident” claims he is innocent of colluding with the Russians. And yet he has consistently tried to shut down the investigations into his conduct, and that of his family members and friends. An innocent man says, ”Investigate anything you want, because I have nothing to hide.” Only a guilty man tries to thwart investigations that, if he truly IS innocent, would serve to vindicate him. But you still believe he has nothing to hide – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your “pResident” held a closed meeting in the Oval Office with the very Russians he was accused of colluding with, at which time he disclosed highly classified information to them. You don’t think that is in the least bit suspicious – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident’s “best people” have lied, repeatedly, about their contacts with Russian operatives – and quickly changed their stories only after being confronted with indisputable proof that they had lied. But you think there’s nothing dishonest about people who only admit the truth when they are caught lying – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your ”I have nothing to hide” pResident says he won’t answer Mueller’s questions because his lawyers have advised him not to. If he is innocent of any wrongdoing, why is he hiding behind his lawyers as an excuse to NOT vindicate himself? Why is your fearless leader afraid of those who are trying to determine the truth if, as he says, the truth is on his side? You don’t think there’s anything untoward about an allegedly “innocent man” refusing to tell his side of the story – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident – with ample help from his party – has passed “tax reform” legislation that sinks the country into unfathomable debt in order to provide tax-cuts to the wealthiest individuals and corporations, while giving YOU tax-breaks that amount to a few dollars per week in your paychecks. Paul Ryan actually bragged about meeting a woman who was grateful that her paycheck went up by $1.50 a week thanks to Trump’s “tax reform”, and you still think you’re getting a fair deal – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident has been proven to have lied over 2,000 times in his first year in office. You still believe he’s an honest truth-teller – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident has repeatedly praised Putin, and has now refused to implement the sanctions against Russia that were overwhelmingly voted for by congress. He insisted that he had “no ties to Russia”, despite all of the information that has now surfaced about the FACT that those dealings took place. Yet you still believe he has no ties to Russia – and that’s because you’re stupid.
All of our intelligence agencies agree that Russia interfered in our election process, and are continuing to do so. Your pResident insists that ALL of these agencies are lying, but you believe him instead of the thousands of people who work for these agencies – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident calls anything reported about him “fake news” – except the news that praises him, which he calls honest and truthful. And you take his word for it, despite his many, many proven lies – and that’s because you’re stupid.
While you’re busy calling Democrats “elitists” because we are looking at the facts instead of turning a blind eye to the obvious, while you wait for the promised jobs that will never materialize, while you sit in front of FOX-News in your MAGA hat cheering a pResident who is outsourcing your jobs, while you worship a man who brags about grabbing pussies because he’s a “good Christian”, while you continue to swallow whole every ludicrous, contradictory statement your Dear Leader utters, we Democrats will continue to laugh at your stupidity.
What’s unfortunate is that millions of people – from deported Dreamers to those stripped of affordable healthcare – have to live with the consequences of your stupidity. But the even more inconvenient truth is that you’re living with those consequences, too. You’re just too stupid to realize it – yet.
The fact is that what you Republican voters are willing to believe – nay, swallow whole – is proof beyond any doubt that you are stupid, stupid, stupid.
You walk around in MAGA hats that were manufactured in China by a “pResident” who campaigned on putting America first. That “pResident” continues to have ALL of his branded merchandise – including every item in his hotels and golf courses – made in low-wage countries. And you still believe that he’s sincere when he says he’s bringing jobs back to the US – and that’s because you’re stupid.
You voted for Trump because he said that if elected, he would “drain the swamp” and surround himself with “the best people”. Many of those “best people” have now been indicted, have been fired, have been forced to resign, or are currently under investigation. Thirty to forty of those “best people” who are still working in the WH can’t get security clearances, and still have access to highly classified information. Many of those “best people” only have WH appointments because they’re family members, and have absolutely no experience in government whatsoever. But you think that’s just fine – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your “pResident” claims he is innocent of colluding with the Russians. And yet he has consistently tried to shut down the investigations into his conduct, and that of his family members and friends. An innocent man says, ”Investigate anything you want, because I have nothing to hide.” Only a guilty man tries to thwart investigations that, if he truly IS innocent, would serve to vindicate him. But you still believe he has nothing to hide – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your “pResident” held a closed meeting in the Oval Office with the very Russians he was accused of colluding with, at which time he disclosed highly classified information to them. You don’t think that is in the least bit suspicious – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident’s “best people” have lied, repeatedly, about their contacts with Russian operatives – and quickly changed their stories only after being confronted with indisputable proof that they had lied. But you think there’s nothing dishonest about people who only admit the truth when they are caught lying – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your ”I have nothing to hide” pResident says he won’t answer Mueller’s questions because his lawyers have advised him not to. If he is innocent of any wrongdoing, why is he hiding behind his lawyers as an excuse to NOT vindicate himself? Why is your fearless leader afraid of those who are trying to determine the truth if, as he says, the truth is on his side? You don’t think there’s anything untoward about an allegedly “innocent man” refusing to tell his side of the story – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident – with ample help from his party – has passed “tax reform” legislation that sinks the country into unfathomable debt in order to provide tax-cuts to the wealthiest individuals and corporations, while giving YOU tax-breaks that amount to a few dollars per week in your paychecks. Paul Ryan actually bragged about meeting a woman who was grateful that her paycheck went up by $1.50 a week thanks to Trump’s “tax reform”, and you still think you’re getting a fair deal – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident has been proven to have lied over 2,000 times in his first year in office. You still believe he’s an honest truth-teller – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident has repeatedly praised Putin, and has now refused to implement the sanctions against Russia that were overwhelmingly voted for by congress. He insisted that he had “no ties to Russia”, despite all of the information that has now surfaced about the FACT that those dealings took place. Yet you still believe he has no ties to Russia – and that’s because you’re stupid.
All of our intelligence agencies agree that Russia interfered in our election process, and are continuing to do so. Your pResident insists that ALL of these agencies are lying, but you believe him instead of the thousands of people who work for these agencies – and that’s because you’re stupid.
Your pResident calls anything reported about him “fake news” – except the news that praises him, which he calls honest and truthful. And you take his word for it, despite his many, many proven lies – and that’s because you’re stupid.
While you’re busy calling Democrats “elitists” because we are looking at the facts instead of turning a blind eye to the obvious, while you wait for the promised jobs that will never materialize, while you sit in front of FOX-News in your MAGA hat cheering a pResident who is outsourcing your jobs, while you worship a man who brags about grabbing pussies because he’s a “good Christian”, while you continue to swallow whole every ludicrous, contradictory statement your Dear Leader utters, we Democrats will continue to laugh at your stupidity.
What’s unfortunate is that millions of people – from deported Dreamers to those stripped of affordable healthcare – have to live with the consequences of your stupidity. But the even more inconvenient truth is that you’re living with those consequences, too. You’re just too stupid to realize it – yet.
Republican voters are becoming increasingly less educated — according to science
Kali Holloway, AlterNet - raw story
31 MAR 2018 AT 07:30 ET
There are several key attributes that define the Republican Party in its modern incarnation: its overwhelming whiteness; its self-reported religiosity; its slavish devotion to a man who boasts he could shoot supporters and not lose a single vote, thus proving his point. Moving forward, that list should probably also include as a distinguishing factor the fact that the party is less educated than its Democrat political rivals, and growing increasingly more so.
That’s according to a study released earlier this month by the Pew Research Center. The polling organization now finds “the widest educational gap in partisan identification and leaning seen at any point in more than two decades” between Republicans and Democrats. In 1994, the majority of U.S. residents with four-year college degrees leaned or identified as Republican, at 54 percent; just 39 percent of college graduates leaned or identified as Democrats. As of 2017, those numbers have switched exactly, with the majority of college degree holders now leaning Dem-ward.
Voters with post-graduate degrees are even more likely to cast their votes for Democratic politicians, Pew finds. Sixty-three percent of postgraduates identify as Dems or Dem-leaning, while just 31 percent describe themselves as Republican or GOP leaning. That’s a huge difference from back in the mid-1990s, when postgraduates were almost equally likely to opt for either party, with 45 percent supporting Republicans and 47 percent backing Democrats.
While Dem ranks have filled with more educated voters, Republicans saw increased support by those whose highest education attainment level is a high school diploma or less. “Among those with no more than a high school education, 47 percent affiliate with the GOP or lean Republican, while 45 percent identify as Democrats or lean Democratic,” Pew researchers write in their report. That’s a shift from the late 1990s and early aughts, when a plurality of those without college degrees voted Democratic, 47 to 42 percent.
As always in America, race can’t be removed from these numbers. Since 2009—the first year of Obama’s presidency—Pew researchers have found that “white voters with no more than a high school education have moved more to the GOP.” In the near-decade that has elapsed since then, among voters without a degree, “Republicans have held significant advantages, including a 23-percentage-point lead in 2017 (58 percent Republican, 35 percent Democratic).” Whites with college degrees mostly leaned or identified as Democrats at 49 percent, just slightly outpacing the 46 percent who lean or identify as Republican. Among whites with postgraduate degrees, “59 percent align with Democrats and 37 percent Republicans.”
Pew notes that “white voters continue to be somewhat more likely to affiliate with or lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party (51 percent to 43 percent).”
An obvious contributor to the declining education level within the GOP is the party’s hostility toward higher education, which has grown more ardent in recent years, but dates back decades. In 1952, then-vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon labeled Democratic presidential contender Adlai Stevenson an “egghead,” a reference to both his intellect and emerging pate. People often point to William F. Buckley as epitomizing a more enlightened and pro-intellectual conservative movement, but that just gives posh transatlantic accents too much credit while ignoring what’s actually being stated. In fact, the National Review founder in 1963 declared he “should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University.” (He also argued American blacks weren’t quite civilized enough to havecivil rights, because he was awful on multiple fronts.) In his campaign for California governor, Ronald Reagan suggested that “universities should not subsidize intellectual curiosity,” an argument that collapses in on itself under the weight of its vacuousness. And George W. Bush won infinite points with the anti-intellectualism crowd when he announced he wasn’t much for “sitting down and reading a 500-page book on public policy or philosophy or something.”
The cumulative effect of so much literal big, dumb posturing is a pervasive culture of animosity toward not just education, but sites of learning themselves. Institutions of higher learning are among the primary targets of Republican ire in the “culture wars,” with conservatives imagining universities as liberal indoctrination factories staffed by Marxists who transform impressionable white youth into Communist feminazi agents of their own racial extinction. Last year, Pew researchers discovered that “a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (58 percent) now say that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country, up from 45 percent last year.” The same poll found 72 percent of those who identify or lean Democrat believe colleges are a positive impact on society. Similarly, a 2017 Gallup survey found that just one-third of Republicans and GOP leaning voters have “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in colleges.” Conversely, a majority, 56 percent, of Democrats gave higher education a thumbs up. Republicans and Democrats who expressed no-confidence votes in colleges did so for vastly different reasons: GOPers complained campuses are “too liberal and political,” while Dems said “colleges are too expensive, are not well-run or have deteriorating quality, or that college graduates aren’t able to find jobs.”
The GOP opposition to the learnedness is also manifest in overtly anti-education policy and various other consequences. The most plainly obvious might be how Donald Trump’s know-nothingness, along with a healthy dose of racism, ultimately granted him access to the nuclear codes. (“I love the poorly educated!” Trump condescended to supporters during his campaign.) In Wisconsin, Scott Walker is currently fighting to eliminate 13 liberal arts courses of study from the University of Wisconsin because why know stuff you can’t immediately put a price on? Education Secretary Betsy DeVos—those four preceding words only make sense because of the GOP war on education—is scrapping Obama-era rules benefitting college faculty and students. Teachers in a handful of Red States have to forced to walk out on classes in an effort get decent pay and per-student spending. From the White House’s proposal to hack up budgets for science agencies to its attacks against journalists reporting facts and statistics, GOP anti-intellectualism is a driver of a not-small portion of its goals.
College isn’t for everyone, obviously—just ask dropout Bill Gates, whom conservatives also hate. But the devaluation of education and knowledge, and the idea book learnin’ is anathema to societal well-being, is obviously absurd and destructive. As a rule, in every Congress including this majority-Republican body, nearly every member has a four-year degree, and the number of House and Senate legislators who possess postgraduate educations is far higher than in the general population. If nothing else that proves the elite GOP lawmakers actually do value education, at least when they’re thinking about themselves and their children. It’s only their voters they want to keep disinterested in learning, convinced that knowing less is somehow better.
That’s according to a study released earlier this month by the Pew Research Center. The polling organization now finds “the widest educational gap in partisan identification and leaning seen at any point in more than two decades” between Republicans and Democrats. In 1994, the majority of U.S. residents with four-year college degrees leaned or identified as Republican, at 54 percent; just 39 percent of college graduates leaned or identified as Democrats. As of 2017, those numbers have switched exactly, with the majority of college degree holders now leaning Dem-ward.
Voters with post-graduate degrees are even more likely to cast their votes for Democratic politicians, Pew finds. Sixty-three percent of postgraduates identify as Dems or Dem-leaning, while just 31 percent describe themselves as Republican or GOP leaning. That’s a huge difference from back in the mid-1990s, when postgraduates were almost equally likely to opt for either party, with 45 percent supporting Republicans and 47 percent backing Democrats.
While Dem ranks have filled with more educated voters, Republicans saw increased support by those whose highest education attainment level is a high school diploma or less. “Among those with no more than a high school education, 47 percent affiliate with the GOP or lean Republican, while 45 percent identify as Democrats or lean Democratic,” Pew researchers write in their report. That’s a shift from the late 1990s and early aughts, when a plurality of those without college degrees voted Democratic, 47 to 42 percent.
As always in America, race can’t be removed from these numbers. Since 2009—the first year of Obama’s presidency—Pew researchers have found that “white voters with no more than a high school education have moved more to the GOP.” In the near-decade that has elapsed since then, among voters without a degree, “Republicans have held significant advantages, including a 23-percentage-point lead in 2017 (58 percent Republican, 35 percent Democratic).” Whites with college degrees mostly leaned or identified as Democrats at 49 percent, just slightly outpacing the 46 percent who lean or identify as Republican. Among whites with postgraduate degrees, “59 percent align with Democrats and 37 percent Republicans.”
Pew notes that “white voters continue to be somewhat more likely to affiliate with or lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party (51 percent to 43 percent).”
An obvious contributor to the declining education level within the GOP is the party’s hostility toward higher education, which has grown more ardent in recent years, but dates back decades. In 1952, then-vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon labeled Democratic presidential contender Adlai Stevenson an “egghead,” a reference to both his intellect and emerging pate. People often point to William F. Buckley as epitomizing a more enlightened and pro-intellectual conservative movement, but that just gives posh transatlantic accents too much credit while ignoring what’s actually being stated. In fact, the National Review founder in 1963 declared he “should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University.” (He also argued American blacks weren’t quite civilized enough to havecivil rights, because he was awful on multiple fronts.) In his campaign for California governor, Ronald Reagan suggested that “universities should not subsidize intellectual curiosity,” an argument that collapses in on itself under the weight of its vacuousness. And George W. Bush won infinite points with the anti-intellectualism crowd when he announced he wasn’t much for “sitting down and reading a 500-page book on public policy or philosophy or something.”
The cumulative effect of so much literal big, dumb posturing is a pervasive culture of animosity toward not just education, but sites of learning themselves. Institutions of higher learning are among the primary targets of Republican ire in the “culture wars,” with conservatives imagining universities as liberal indoctrination factories staffed by Marxists who transform impressionable white youth into Communist feminazi agents of their own racial extinction. Last year, Pew researchers discovered that “a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (58 percent) now say that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country, up from 45 percent last year.” The same poll found 72 percent of those who identify or lean Democrat believe colleges are a positive impact on society. Similarly, a 2017 Gallup survey found that just one-third of Republicans and GOP leaning voters have “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in colleges.” Conversely, a majority, 56 percent, of Democrats gave higher education a thumbs up. Republicans and Democrats who expressed no-confidence votes in colleges did so for vastly different reasons: GOPers complained campuses are “too liberal and political,” while Dems said “colleges are too expensive, are not well-run or have deteriorating quality, or that college graduates aren’t able to find jobs.”
The GOP opposition to the learnedness is also manifest in overtly anti-education policy and various other consequences. The most plainly obvious might be how Donald Trump’s know-nothingness, along with a healthy dose of racism, ultimately granted him access to the nuclear codes. (“I love the poorly educated!” Trump condescended to supporters during his campaign.) In Wisconsin, Scott Walker is currently fighting to eliminate 13 liberal arts courses of study from the University of Wisconsin because why know stuff you can’t immediately put a price on? Education Secretary Betsy DeVos—those four preceding words only make sense because of the GOP war on education—is scrapping Obama-era rules benefitting college faculty and students. Teachers in a handful of Red States have to forced to walk out on classes in an effort get decent pay and per-student spending. From the White House’s proposal to hack up budgets for science agencies to its attacks against journalists reporting facts and statistics, GOP anti-intellectualism is a driver of a not-small portion of its goals.
College isn’t for everyone, obviously—just ask dropout Bill Gates, whom conservatives also hate. But the devaluation of education and knowledge, and the idea book learnin’ is anathema to societal well-being, is obviously absurd and destructive. As a rule, in every Congress including this majority-Republican body, nearly every member has a four-year degree, and the number of House and Senate legislators who possess postgraduate educations is far higher than in the general population. If nothing else that proves the elite GOP lawmakers actually do value education, at least when they’re thinking about themselves and their children. It’s only their voters they want to keep disinterested in learning, convinced that knowing less is somehow better.
3 Reasons Why Millions Still Support Trump
They're standing by their man, even as he fails to live to his promises.
By Paul Buchheit / AlterNet
It's incomprehensible to many of us that people could support a president who, in Bernie Sanders' words, "is compulsively dishonest, who is a bully, who actively represents the interests of the billionaire class, who is anti-science, and who is trying to divide us up based on the color of our skin, our nation of origin, our religion, our gender, or our sexual orientation."
Based on various trusted sources and a dab of cognitive science, it's fair to conclude that there are three main reasons for this unlikely phenomenon.
1. Trump's Followers Believe They're Better Than Other People
Nationalism, exceptionalism, narcissism, racism. They're all part of the big picture, although it's unfair to simply dismiss Trump people as ignorant racists. Many of them are well-educated and wealthy. But well-to-do individuals tend to feel entitled, superior, uninterested in the people they consider beneath them, and less willing to support the needs of society. Thus many wealthy white Americans are just fine with Trump's disdain for the general population.
Poorer whites also feel superior, in the sense that they're reluctant to give up their long-time self-assigned position at the top of the racial hierarchy.
Trump and the Republicans don't seem to care at all about poor people, especially people of color. It's nearly beyond belief that they'd allow a father to be torn away from his family after living in the U.S. for 30 years; that they'd allow tens of thousands of Americans to sleep outside in subzero weather; or that they'd ignore the women and children being blown up by our bombs in Yemen.
2. They're Driven by Hatred for Their Perceived Enemies
According to an ancient proverb, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. For many besieged Americans, the friend is Donald Trump, the enemy of his followers' enemies, based on his belligerent put-downs of so many target groups that have been recklessly blamed for America's problems. He's been against a 'lying' media, 'job-stealing' immigrants, 'business-stifling' environmentalists, 'elites' like Hillary Clinton who are thought to look down on struggling middle-class whites, and the LGBTQ community and pro-abortion groups, which threaten the religious right's 'traditional' values to a point they consider much worse than Trump's moral depravity.
Their greatest enemy may be the traditional politician, who has allowed the middle class to falter. Trump is unconventional, different from anyone before him. As long as their president is disrupting the status quo, change is happening, and any change, his supporters believe, is likely to defeat one or more of their enemies.
3. They Refuse to Admit They Were Wrong
In fact, the more they're proven wrong, the stronger their resolve. This is called cognitive dissonance. It's common for conservatives to construct their personal beliefs on a moral basis, to adhere to them in the face of any controversy, and if necessary to reshape the evidence to fit these beliefs. Many conservatives continue to fall for Trump's hyperbole about a "booming" economy and new jobs and better times to come.
Conservatives even tend to believe that inequality is part of the natural order, and that any attempt to change it is senseless. Cognitive dissonance kicks in for them when they are confronted with the overwhelming evidence for a collapsing middle class. Rather than re-evaluating their beliefs, they go to the other extreme and defend the widening fracture in U.S. society as a natural consequence of an imagined meritocracy. Incredibly, according to one poll, in 2014 only 5 percent of the U.S. population believed that the government should be addressing inequality.
So Now What?
In his rebuttal to Donald Trump's State of the Union address, Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) said, "This administration isn't just targeting the laws that protect us; they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection."
..that we are all worthy of protection. That will only happen with a progressive candidate who believes that a strong society makes successful individuals, not the other way around.
Based on various trusted sources and a dab of cognitive science, it's fair to conclude that there are three main reasons for this unlikely phenomenon.
1. Trump's Followers Believe They're Better Than Other People
Nationalism, exceptionalism, narcissism, racism. They're all part of the big picture, although it's unfair to simply dismiss Trump people as ignorant racists. Many of them are well-educated and wealthy. But well-to-do individuals tend to feel entitled, superior, uninterested in the people they consider beneath them, and less willing to support the needs of society. Thus many wealthy white Americans are just fine with Trump's disdain for the general population.
Poorer whites also feel superior, in the sense that they're reluctant to give up their long-time self-assigned position at the top of the racial hierarchy.
Trump and the Republicans don't seem to care at all about poor people, especially people of color. It's nearly beyond belief that they'd allow a father to be torn away from his family after living in the U.S. for 30 years; that they'd allow tens of thousands of Americans to sleep outside in subzero weather; or that they'd ignore the women and children being blown up by our bombs in Yemen.
2. They're Driven by Hatred for Their Perceived Enemies
According to an ancient proverb, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. For many besieged Americans, the friend is Donald Trump, the enemy of his followers' enemies, based on his belligerent put-downs of so many target groups that have been recklessly blamed for America's problems. He's been against a 'lying' media, 'job-stealing' immigrants, 'business-stifling' environmentalists, 'elites' like Hillary Clinton who are thought to look down on struggling middle-class whites, and the LGBTQ community and pro-abortion groups, which threaten the religious right's 'traditional' values to a point they consider much worse than Trump's moral depravity.
Their greatest enemy may be the traditional politician, who has allowed the middle class to falter. Trump is unconventional, different from anyone before him. As long as their president is disrupting the status quo, change is happening, and any change, his supporters believe, is likely to defeat one or more of their enemies.
3. They Refuse to Admit They Were Wrong
In fact, the more they're proven wrong, the stronger their resolve. This is called cognitive dissonance. It's common for conservatives to construct their personal beliefs on a moral basis, to adhere to them in the face of any controversy, and if necessary to reshape the evidence to fit these beliefs. Many conservatives continue to fall for Trump's hyperbole about a "booming" economy and new jobs and better times to come.
Conservatives even tend to believe that inequality is part of the natural order, and that any attempt to change it is senseless. Cognitive dissonance kicks in for them when they are confronted with the overwhelming evidence for a collapsing middle class. Rather than re-evaluating their beliefs, they go to the other extreme and defend the widening fracture in U.S. society as a natural consequence of an imagined meritocracy. Incredibly, according to one poll, in 2014 only 5 percent of the U.S. population believed that the government should be addressing inequality.
So Now What?
In his rebuttal to Donald Trump's State of the Union address, Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) said, "This administration isn't just targeting the laws that protect us; they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection."
..that we are all worthy of protection. That will only happen with a progressive candidate who believes that a strong society makes successful individuals, not the other way around.
suckers' funnies
Cartoon: Hard times in VHS country
By Ruben Bolling - daily kos
Thursday Mar 08, 2018 · 5:00 AM PST
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Dear Trump voter
Trump promised to drain the swamp. . . now he is surrounding himself with starving alligators expecting welfare
ROBERT REICH, ROBERTREICH.ORG
From Salon: If you voted for Donald Trump, I get it. Maybe you feel you’ve been so badly shafted by the system that you didn’t want to go back to politics as usual, and Trump seemed like he’d topple that corrupt system.
You voted to change our country’s power base — to get rid of crony capitalism and give our government back to the people who are working, paying taxes, and spending more just to survive. Lots of Americans agree with you.
But now, the president is turning his back on that idea and the many changes he promised.
He did not drain the swamp. After telling voters how he would take control away from special interests, he has surrounded himself with the very Wall Street players he decried. Now, those who gamed politicians for tax loopholes and laws that reward the rich don’t even have to sneak around with backroom deals. (video)
Steve Mnuchin, Gary Cohn, Dina Powell and others from Wall Street, as well as corporate lobbyists by the dozens, are now inside the Trump administration rigging the system for the extremely wealthy from the inside.
They want to make it easier for banks to once again gamble with your money and repeat our financial crisis. They want to cut health care for millions of you. They want to lower taxes on corporations and the rich. They want to get rid of rules that stop corporations from harming your health or safety.
You voted to change our country’s power base — to get rid of crony capitalism and give our government back to the people who are working, paying taxes, and spending more just to survive. Lots of Americans agree with you.
But now, the president is turning his back on that idea and the many changes he promised.
He did not drain the swamp. After telling voters how he would take control away from special interests, he has surrounded himself with the very Wall Street players he decried. Now, those who gamed politicians for tax loopholes and laws that reward the rich don’t even have to sneak around with backroom deals. (video)
Steve Mnuchin, Gary Cohn, Dina Powell and others from Wall Street, as well as corporate lobbyists by the dozens, are now inside the Trump administration rigging the system for the extremely wealthy from the inside.
They want to make it easier for banks to once again gamble with your money and repeat our financial crisis. They want to cut health care for millions of you. They want to lower taxes on corporations and the rich. They want to get rid of rules that stop corporations from harming your health or safety.
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A psychological analysis of Trump supporters has uncovered 5 key traits about them
Bobby Azarian, Raw Story
03 Aug 2017 at 12:52 ET
The lightning-fast ascent and political invincibility of Donald Trump has left many experts baffled and wondering, “How did we get here?” Any accurate and sufficient answer to that question must not only focus on Trump himself, but also on his uniquely loyal supporters. Given their extreme devotion and unwavering admiration for their highly unpredictable and often inflammatory leader, some have turned to the field of psychology for scientific explanations based on precise quantitative data and established theoretical frameworks.
Although analyses and studies by psychologists and neuroscientists have provided many thought-provoking explanations for his enduring support, the accounts of different experts often vary greatly, sometimes overlapping and other times conflicting. However insightful these critiques may be, it is apparent that more research and examination is needed to hone in on the exact psychological and social factors underlying this peculiar human behavior.
In a recent review paper published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology, Psychologist and UC Santa Cruz professor Thomas Pettigrew argues that five major psychological phenomena can help explain this exceptional political event.
1. Authoritarian Personality Syndrome
Authoritarianism refers to the advocacy or enforcement of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, and is commonly associated with a lack of concern for the opinions or needs of others. Authoritarian personality syndrome—a well-studied and globally-prevalent condition—is a state of mind that is characterized by belief in total and complete obedience to one’s authority. Those with the syndrome often display aggression toward outgroup members, submissiveness to authority, resistance to new experiences, and a rigid hierarchical view of society. The syndrome is often triggered by fear, making it easy for leaders who exaggerate threat or fear monger to gain their allegiance.
Although authoritarian personality is found among liberals, it is more common among the right-wing around the world. President Trump’s speeches, which are laced with absolutist terms like “losers” and “complete disasters,” are naturally appealing to those with the syndrome.
While research showed that Republican voters in the U.S. scored higher than Democrats on measures of authoritarianism before Trump emerged on the political scene, a 2016 Politico survey found that high authoritarians greatly favored then-candidate Trump, which led to a correct prediction that he would win the election, despite the polls saying otherwise.
2. Social dominance orientation
Social dominance orientation (SDO)—which is distinct but related to authoritarian personality syndrome—refers to people who have a preference for the societal hierarchy of groups, specifically with a structure in which the high-status groups have dominance over the low-status ones. Those with SDO are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest.
In Trump’s speeches, he appeals to those with SDO by repeatedly making a clear distinction between groups that have a generally higher status in society (White), and those groups that are typically thought of as belonging to a lower status (immigrants and minorities).
A 2016 survey study of 406 American adults published this year in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that those who scored high on both SDO and authoritarianism were those who intended to vote for Trump in the election.
3. Prejudice
It would be grossly unfair and inaccurate to say that every one of Trump’s supporters have prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities, but it would be equally inaccurate to say that many do not. It is a well-known fact that the Republican party, going at least as far back to Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy,” used strategies that appealed to bigotry, such as lacing speeches with “dog whistles”—code words that signaled prejudice toward minorities that were designed to be heard by racists but no one else.
While the dog whistles of the past were more subtle, Trump’s are sometimes shockingly direct. There’s no denying that he routinely appeals to bigoted supporters when he calls Muslims “dangerous” and Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “murderers,” often in a blanketed fashion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a new study has shown that support for Trump is correlated with a standard scale of modern racism.
4. Intergroup contact
Intergroup contact refers to contact with members of groups that are outside one’s own, which has been experimentally shown to reduce prejudice. As such, it’s important to note that there is growing evidence that Trump’s white supporters have experienced significantly less contact with minorities than other Americans. For example, a 2016 study found that “…the racial and ethnic isolation of Whites at the zip-code level is one of the strongest predictors of Trump support.” This correlation persisted while controlling for dozens of other variables. In agreement with this finding, the same researchers found that support for Trump increased with the voters’ physical distance from the Mexican border.
5. Relative deprivation
Relative deprivation refers to the experience of being deprived of something to which one believes they are entitled. It is the discontent felt when one compares their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them.
Common explanations for Trump’s popularity among non-bigoted voters involve economics. There is no doubt that some Trump supporters are simply angry that American jobs are being lost to Mexico and China, which is certainly understandable, although these loyalists often ignore the fact that some of these careers are actually being lost due to the accelerating pace of automation.
These Trump supporters are experiencing relative deprivation, and are common among the swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This kind of deprivation is specifically referred to as “relative,” as opposed to “absolute,” because the feeling is often based on a skewed perception of what one is entitled to. For example, an analysis conducted by FiveThirtyEight estimated that the median annual income of Trump supporters was $72,000.
If such data is accurate, the portrayal of most Trump supporters as “working class” citizens rebelling against Republican elites may be more myth than fact.
Although analyses and studies by psychologists and neuroscientists have provided many thought-provoking explanations for his enduring support, the accounts of different experts often vary greatly, sometimes overlapping and other times conflicting. However insightful these critiques may be, it is apparent that more research and examination is needed to hone in on the exact psychological and social factors underlying this peculiar human behavior.
In a recent review paper published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology, Psychologist and UC Santa Cruz professor Thomas Pettigrew argues that five major psychological phenomena can help explain this exceptional political event.
1. Authoritarian Personality Syndrome
Authoritarianism refers to the advocacy or enforcement of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, and is commonly associated with a lack of concern for the opinions or needs of others. Authoritarian personality syndrome—a well-studied and globally-prevalent condition—is a state of mind that is characterized by belief in total and complete obedience to one’s authority. Those with the syndrome often display aggression toward outgroup members, submissiveness to authority, resistance to new experiences, and a rigid hierarchical view of society. The syndrome is often triggered by fear, making it easy for leaders who exaggerate threat or fear monger to gain their allegiance.
Although authoritarian personality is found among liberals, it is more common among the right-wing around the world. President Trump’s speeches, which are laced with absolutist terms like “losers” and “complete disasters,” are naturally appealing to those with the syndrome.
While research showed that Republican voters in the U.S. scored higher than Democrats on measures of authoritarianism before Trump emerged on the political scene, a 2016 Politico survey found that high authoritarians greatly favored then-candidate Trump, which led to a correct prediction that he would win the election, despite the polls saying otherwise.
2. Social dominance orientation
Social dominance orientation (SDO)—which is distinct but related to authoritarian personality syndrome—refers to people who have a preference for the societal hierarchy of groups, specifically with a structure in which the high-status groups have dominance over the low-status ones. Those with SDO are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest.
In Trump’s speeches, he appeals to those with SDO by repeatedly making a clear distinction between groups that have a generally higher status in society (White), and those groups that are typically thought of as belonging to a lower status (immigrants and minorities).
A 2016 survey study of 406 American adults published this year in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that those who scored high on both SDO and authoritarianism were those who intended to vote for Trump in the election.
3. Prejudice
It would be grossly unfair and inaccurate to say that every one of Trump’s supporters have prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities, but it would be equally inaccurate to say that many do not. It is a well-known fact that the Republican party, going at least as far back to Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy,” used strategies that appealed to bigotry, such as lacing speeches with “dog whistles”—code words that signaled prejudice toward minorities that were designed to be heard by racists but no one else.
While the dog whistles of the past were more subtle, Trump’s are sometimes shockingly direct. There’s no denying that he routinely appeals to bigoted supporters when he calls Muslims “dangerous” and Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “murderers,” often in a blanketed fashion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a new study has shown that support for Trump is correlated with a standard scale of modern racism.
4. Intergroup contact
Intergroup contact refers to contact with members of groups that are outside one’s own, which has been experimentally shown to reduce prejudice. As such, it’s important to note that there is growing evidence that Trump’s white supporters have experienced significantly less contact with minorities than other Americans. For example, a 2016 study found that “…the racial and ethnic isolation of Whites at the zip-code level is one of the strongest predictors of Trump support.” This correlation persisted while controlling for dozens of other variables. In agreement with this finding, the same researchers found that support for Trump increased with the voters’ physical distance from the Mexican border.
5. Relative deprivation
Relative deprivation refers to the experience of being deprived of something to which one believes they are entitled. It is the discontent felt when one compares their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them.
Common explanations for Trump’s popularity among non-bigoted voters involve economics. There is no doubt that some Trump supporters are simply angry that American jobs are being lost to Mexico and China, which is certainly understandable, although these loyalists often ignore the fact that some of these careers are actually being lost due to the accelerating pace of automation.
These Trump supporters are experiencing relative deprivation, and are common among the swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This kind of deprivation is specifically referred to as “relative,” as opposed to “absolute,” because the feeling is often based on a skewed perception of what one is entitled to. For example, an analysis conducted by FiveThirtyEight estimated that the median annual income of Trump supporters was $72,000.
If such data is accurate, the portrayal of most Trump supporters as “working class” citizens rebelling against Republican elites may be more myth than fact.
Altemeyer on Trump’s Supporters
7 JUL 2017 JOHN DEAN
From Verdict Justia: ...Bob Altemeyer saw Donald Trump coming. More accurately, he saw the kinds of men and women who would vote for a Donald Trump-type candidate for high office. These are people he described in earlier works as Right Wing Authoritarians, and Enemies of Freedom. Without going too deep into the weeds, let me note a few of these people score high on testing that shows they not only can be devoted followers of authoritarian leaders, the so-called social dominators like Trump who want to be in charge, but they also test high as social dominators themselves.
Authoritarians do remain a minority, but with non-voters and anti-Hillary Clinton voters, Trump pulled off a historic upset. It appears his core supporters remain faithful—regardless of what he does or doesn’t do. So, I asked Bob Altemeyer, what if anything would get through to the Trump supporters, given the fact Trump has shown himself, so far, totally incompetent as President of the United States. Set forth below in italics is material from Bob, who is now enjoying his retirement.
It took many months for Americans to stop supporting President Nixon during Watergate, and even at the end he could count on a hard knot of supporters who would believe him, as he said to [his chief of staff] H. R. Haldeman, because they wanted to. (NYT, 11/22/1974, p. 20). A few days before he resigned, 24% of a Gallup sample approved of the way Nixon was doing his job, including 38% of the Republicans polled.
Most of Donald Trump’s supporters are probably people whom social psychologists call authoritarian followers, because they are so supportive of the authorities they consider legitimate. These are the people Trump was talking about when he famously bragged that he could shoot somebody in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue and it would make no difference to his backers. They are the people who so willingly took the “loyalty pledge” at Trump rallies in the early primaries—even calling on Trump to “do the swearing” when he had skipped it.
We know enough about authoritarian supporters from research, and history, to know it will be very hard to change their minds about the leader they adore.
One can expect some of Trump’s followers to waver if the months ahead are thick with damaging revelations like those that brought down the Nixon White House. But a repeat of “Watergate-type scandals” may not damage Trump as much as they did Nixon.
Nixon had little means of communicating directly with his supporters. Trump’s followers eagerly await his tweets to tell them the truth they will believe and repeat to one another. And so far, they have apparently believed everything he’s said.
Second, the major news outlets in the 1970s were the three TV networks. There was no Fox News. And while there were some newspaper columnists and radio personalities who supported Nixon, today there are dozens of Trump-endorsing blogs that are on tens of millions of “Favorites” lists in American homes.
Third, Trump’s party controls all three branches of the federal government.
Given this gloomy assessment of how likely Trump’s support is going to weaken, it seems clear that the more effective strategy now is to activate the Americans who oppose him, who happily amount to a solid majority of the public.
Questions [people ask):
How do people get this way? Answer: There is evidence that authoritarian followers are more afraid than most people. And also, that they were trained in self-righteousness, and ethnocentric thinking in early age.
Will Trump supporters never change? Answer: Some will, if their personal experience shows them Trump has misled them or caused them grief, such as a loss of medical coverage. And if you anticipate a close election in 2020, these people are worth pursuing. But Trump will blame others, and his supporters will give him the benefit of the doubt more than most people will.
Isn’t all this true of Obama/Clinton supporters too? Answer: Yes, to a certain extent, but the studies show it’s much more prevalent “on the right.” If you want a generalization about generalizations, these things are about 2-3x as true among right-wingers as among left-wingers. Research has shown that “progressives” are much less ethnocentric, much less prejudiced, much more likely to be guided by logic and evidence, much more likely to have consistent ideas, much less likely to conform, much less likely to trust someone just because he says he agrees with them, have much more self-insight, and so on.
With that information in mind, from someone who may understand Trump supporters better than Trump does, it is clear that to prevail in 2018 and 2020, Democrats must focus on getting sympathetic non-voters to the polls, and bring back into the fold the anti-Hillary folks, who suffered from Clinton exhaustion—voters who are clearly not right-wing authoritarians.
Authoritarians do remain a minority, but with non-voters and anti-Hillary Clinton voters, Trump pulled off a historic upset. It appears his core supporters remain faithful—regardless of what he does or doesn’t do. So, I asked Bob Altemeyer, what if anything would get through to the Trump supporters, given the fact Trump has shown himself, so far, totally incompetent as President of the United States. Set forth below in italics is material from Bob, who is now enjoying his retirement.
It took many months for Americans to stop supporting President Nixon during Watergate, and even at the end he could count on a hard knot of supporters who would believe him, as he said to [his chief of staff] H. R. Haldeman, because they wanted to. (NYT, 11/22/1974, p. 20). A few days before he resigned, 24% of a Gallup sample approved of the way Nixon was doing his job, including 38% of the Republicans polled.
Most of Donald Trump’s supporters are probably people whom social psychologists call authoritarian followers, because they are so supportive of the authorities they consider legitimate. These are the people Trump was talking about when he famously bragged that he could shoot somebody in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue and it would make no difference to his backers. They are the people who so willingly took the “loyalty pledge” at Trump rallies in the early primaries—even calling on Trump to “do the swearing” when he had skipped it.
We know enough about authoritarian supporters from research, and history, to know it will be very hard to change their minds about the leader they adore.
- They are extremely ethnocentric, dividing the world sharply into people in their in-group, and automatically disliking all others. They feel politicians who promote minority rights and immigration discriminate against them. Donald Trump tells them they are right. He is their champion.
- They are highly dogmatic. They get their ideas from others in the in-group, especially from their leader, not from evidence and logic. They say there is no evidence that will make them change their minds. They’re quite comfortable believing “alternate facts.”
- They get great satisfaction from being part of a large movement. Being in a cohesive crowd at rallies thrills them because they silently tell one another, just by being there, that they are powerful and right. They create an echo chamber that reinforces the belief that all the good people think like they do.
- They severely limit their sources of information. They get the news that they want to get. This also produces an echo chamber when the news sources they trust are copying each other and relaying Trump’s message.
- They have highly compartmentalized minds. When an unpleasant truth forces its way into their awareness, they do not try to integrate the other things they believe with it. Instead they put it in a box and isolate it from the rest of their thinking, which proceeds as if the truth never existed.
One can expect some of Trump’s followers to waver if the months ahead are thick with damaging revelations like those that brought down the Nixon White House. But a repeat of “Watergate-type scandals” may not damage Trump as much as they did Nixon.
Nixon had little means of communicating directly with his supporters. Trump’s followers eagerly await his tweets to tell them the truth they will believe and repeat to one another. And so far, they have apparently believed everything he’s said.
Second, the major news outlets in the 1970s were the three TV networks. There was no Fox News. And while there were some newspaper columnists and radio personalities who supported Nixon, today there are dozens of Trump-endorsing blogs that are on tens of millions of “Favorites” lists in American homes.
Third, Trump’s party controls all three branches of the federal government.
Given this gloomy assessment of how likely Trump’s support is going to weaken, it seems clear that the more effective strategy now is to activate the Americans who oppose him, who happily amount to a solid majority of the public.
Questions [people ask):
How do people get this way? Answer: There is evidence that authoritarian followers are more afraid than most people. And also, that they were trained in self-righteousness, and ethnocentric thinking in early age.
Will Trump supporters never change? Answer: Some will, if their personal experience shows them Trump has misled them or caused them grief, such as a loss of medical coverage. And if you anticipate a close election in 2020, these people are worth pursuing. But Trump will blame others, and his supporters will give him the benefit of the doubt more than most people will.
Isn’t all this true of Obama/Clinton supporters too? Answer: Yes, to a certain extent, but the studies show it’s much more prevalent “on the right.” If you want a generalization about generalizations, these things are about 2-3x as true among right-wingers as among left-wingers. Research has shown that “progressives” are much less ethnocentric, much less prejudiced, much more likely to be guided by logic and evidence, much more likely to have consistent ideas, much less likely to conform, much less likely to trust someone just because he says he agrees with them, have much more self-insight, and so on.
With that information in mind, from someone who may understand Trump supporters better than Trump does, it is clear that to prevail in 2018 and 2020, Democrats must focus on getting sympathetic non-voters to the polls, and bring back into the fold the anti-Hillary folks, who suffered from Clinton exhaustion—voters who are clearly not right-wing authoritarians.
funnies for trump's suckers!!!
masochists of america!!
If you Voted for Trump to be Against Hillary...you got p'wned
From Demo. Underground: You voted for Trump because Clinton was going to be in Wall Street's pocket. Trump wants to repeal Dodd-Frank and eliminate the Fiduciary Rule, letting Wall Street return to its pre-2008 ways.
You voted for Trump because of Clinton's emails. The Trump administration is running its own private email server.
You voted for Trump because you thought the Clinton Foundation was "pay for play." Trump has refused to wall off his businesses from his administration, and personally profits from payments from foreign governments.
You voted for Trump because of Clinton's role in Benghazi. Trump ordered the Yemen raid without adequate intel, and tweeted about "FAKE NEWS" while Americans died as a result of his carelessness.
You voted for Trump because Clinton didn't care about "the little guy." Trump's cabinet is full of billionaires, and he took away your health insurance so he could give them a multi-million-dollar tax break.
You voted for Trump because he was going to build a wall and Mexico was going to pay for it. American consumers will pay for the wall via import tariffs.
You voted for Trump because Clinton was going to get us into a war. Trump has provoked our enemies, alienated our allies, and given ISIS a decade's worth of recruiting material.
You voted for Trump because Clinton didn't have the stamina to do the job. Trump hung up on the Australian Prime Minister during a 5pm phone call because "it was at the end of a long day and he was tired and fatigue was setting in."
You voted for Trump because foreign leaders wouldn't "respect" Clinton. Foreign leaders, both friendly and hostile, are openly mocking Trump.
You voted for Trump because Clinton lies and "he tells it like it is." Trump and his administration lie with a regularity and brazenness that can only be described as shocking.
Let's be honest about what really happened.
The reality is that you voted for Trump because you got conned. Trump is a grifter and the American people were the mark. Now that you know the score, quit insisting the con-man is on your side.
You voted for Trump because of Clinton's emails. The Trump administration is running its own private email server.
You voted for Trump because you thought the Clinton Foundation was "pay for play." Trump has refused to wall off his businesses from his administration, and personally profits from payments from foreign governments.
You voted for Trump because of Clinton's role in Benghazi. Trump ordered the Yemen raid without adequate intel, and tweeted about "FAKE NEWS" while Americans died as a result of his carelessness.
You voted for Trump because Clinton didn't care about "the little guy." Trump's cabinet is full of billionaires, and he took away your health insurance so he could give them a multi-million-dollar tax break.
You voted for Trump because he was going to build a wall and Mexico was going to pay for it. American consumers will pay for the wall via import tariffs.
You voted for Trump because Clinton was going to get us into a war. Trump has provoked our enemies, alienated our allies, and given ISIS a decade's worth of recruiting material.
You voted for Trump because Clinton didn't have the stamina to do the job. Trump hung up on the Australian Prime Minister during a 5pm phone call because "it was at the end of a long day and he was tired and fatigue was setting in."
You voted for Trump because foreign leaders wouldn't "respect" Clinton. Foreign leaders, both friendly and hostile, are openly mocking Trump.
You voted for Trump because Clinton lies and "he tells it like it is." Trump and his administration lie with a regularity and brazenness that can only be described as shocking.
Let's be honest about what really happened.
The reality is that you voted for Trump because you got conned. Trump is a grifter and the American people were the mark. Now that you know the score, quit insisting the con-man is on your side.
