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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
March 12, 2024
The GOP can't leave MAGA — "Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party"
An ex-MAGA activist warns "no civic savior is coming" as Donald Trump's cognitive decline becomes undeniable
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) What if Donald Trump defeats President Biden and takes control of the White House in 2025? He has already announced his plans to become the country’s first dictator, and to launch a reign of terror and revenge against his so-called enemies. As detailed in documents such as Project 2025, Agenda 47, and elsewhere, the infrastructure is being created right now to put Trump's neofascist plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy in effect on “day one." The so-called resistance will not have the courtesy of ramping up or mobilizing to stop Dictator Trump’s onslaught. It will be a “shock and awe” campaign visited upon the American people.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to make better sense of Donald Trump’s obvious cognitive challenges and related behavior in the context of the country’s democracy crisis and the 2024 election, and what may happen next, I recently asked a range of experts for their thoughts and suggestions.
Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributing editor for the Atlantic. He is also co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."
..... If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a healthy Supreme Court. We don’t. It is corrupt and not to be trusted when it comes to Trump. If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a press corps that would put a spotlight on what is real and not “both sides” everything while focusing on the horse race instead of the consequences of the election. President Biden needs to use the power of his bully pulpit to focus, over and over and over again, on the consequences of electing this monster for our democracy and the fundamental health of our country.
.....(snip)....
Rich Logis is an ex-MAGA activist and Founder of Leaving MAGA.
.....Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party; not because we should desire a one-party nation, but because one of America’s two major parties will nominate someone who helped orchestrate a coup d'état against the Constitution—which Trump swore to defend and protect—and the American people—whom he swore to defend and protect—to remain in power. Yes, I admit: I’m catastrophizing. I also did so in 2016, when I thought the Democrats and Hillary Clinton posed existential threats to our nation, and to my family, my livelihood and I. Ignorant I was; now, I’m clearer-minded, and acutely understand MAGA because I actually lived it. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/the-cant-leave-maga--americans-must-electorally-mercy-the-party/
The GOP can't leave MAGA -- "Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party"
The GOP can't leave MAGA — "Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party"
An ex-MAGA activist warns "no civic savior is coming" as Donald Trump's cognitive decline becomes undeniable
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) What if Donald Trump defeats President Biden and takes control of the White House in 2025? He has already announced his plans to become the country’s first dictator, and to launch a reign of terror and revenge against his so-called enemies. As detailed in documents such as Project 2025, Agenda 47, and elsewhere, the infrastructure is being created right now to put Trump's neofascist plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy in effect on “day one." The so-called resistance will not have the courtesy of ramping up or mobilizing to stop Dictator Trump’s onslaught. It will be a “shock and awe” campaign visited upon the American people.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to make better sense of Donald Trump’s obvious cognitive challenges and related behavior in the context of the country’s democracy crisis and the 2024 election, and what may happen next, I recently asked a range of experts for their thoughts and suggestions.
Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributing editor for the Atlantic. He is also co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."
..... If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a healthy Supreme Court. We don’t. It is corrupt and not to be trusted when it comes to Trump. If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a press corps that would put a spotlight on what is real and not “both sides” everything while focusing on the horse race instead of the consequences of the election. President Biden needs to use the power of his bully pulpit to focus, over and over and over again, on the consequences of electing this monster for our democracy and the fundamental health of our country.
.....(snip)....
Rich Logis is an ex-MAGA activist and Founder of Leaving MAGA.
.....Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party; not because we should desire a one-party nation, but because one of America’s two major parties will nominate someone who helped orchestrate a coup d'état against the Constitution—which Trump swore to defend and protect—and the American people—whom he swore to defend and protect—to remain in power. Yes, I admit: I’m catastrophizing. I also did so in 2016, when I thought the Democrats and Hillary Clinton posed existential threats to our nation, and to my family, my livelihood and I. Ignorant I was; now, I’m clearer-minded, and acutely understand MAGA because I actually lived it. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/the-cant-leave-maga--americans-must-electorally-mercy-the-party/
March 11, 2024
The GOP can't leave MAGA — "Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party"
An ex-MAGA activist warns "no civic savior is coming" as Donald Trump's cognitive decline becomes undeniable
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) What if Donald Trump defeats President Biden and takes control of the White House in 2025? He has already announced his plans to become the country’s first dictator, and to launch a reign of terror and revenge against his so-called enemies. As detailed in documents such as Project 2025, Agenda 47, and elsewhere, the infrastructure is being created right now to put Trump's neofascist plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy in effect on “day one." The so-called resistance will not have the courtesy of ramping up or mobilizing to stop Dictator Trump’s onslaught. It will be a “shock and awe” campaign visited upon the American people.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to make better sense of Donald Trump’s obvious cognitive challenges and related behavior in the context of the country’s democracy crisis and the 2024 election, and what may happen next, I recently asked a range of experts for their thoughts and suggestions.
Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributing editor for the Atlantic. He is also co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."
..... If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a healthy Supreme Court. We don’t. It is corrupt and not to be trusted when it comes to Trump. If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a press corps that would put a spotlight on what is real and not “both sides” everything while focusing on the horse race instead of the consequences of the election. President Biden needs to use the power of his bully pulpit to focus, over and over and over again, on the consequences of electing this monster for our democracy and the fundamental health of our country.
.....(snip)....
Rich Logis is an ex-MAGA activist and Founder of Leaving MAGA.
.....Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party; not because we should desire a one-party nation, but because one of America’s two major parties will nominate someone who helped orchestrate a coup d'état against the Constitution—which Trump swore to defend and protect—and the American people—whom he swore to defend and protect—to remain in power. Yes, I admit: I’m catastrophizing. I also did so in 2016, when I thought the Democrats and Hillary Clinton posed existential threats to our nation, and to my family, my livelihood and I. Ignorant I was; now, I’m clearer-minded, and acutely understand MAGA because I actually lived it. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/the-cant-leave-maga--americans-must-electorally-mercy-the-party/
The GOP can't leave MAGA -- "Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party"
The GOP can't leave MAGA — "Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party"
An ex-MAGA activist warns "no civic savior is coming" as Donald Trump's cognitive decline becomes undeniable
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) What if Donald Trump defeats President Biden and takes control of the White House in 2025? He has already announced his plans to become the country’s first dictator, and to launch a reign of terror and revenge against his so-called enemies. As detailed in documents such as Project 2025, Agenda 47, and elsewhere, the infrastructure is being created right now to put Trump's neofascist plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy in effect on “day one." The so-called resistance will not have the courtesy of ramping up or mobilizing to stop Dictator Trump’s onslaught. It will be a “shock and awe” campaign visited upon the American people.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to make better sense of Donald Trump’s obvious cognitive challenges and related behavior in the context of the country’s democracy crisis and the 2024 election, and what may happen next, I recently asked a range of experts for their thoughts and suggestions.
Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributing editor for the Atlantic. He is also co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."
..... If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a healthy Supreme Court. We don’t. It is corrupt and not to be trusted when it comes to Trump. If this were a healthy democracy, we would have a press corps that would put a spotlight on what is real and not “both sides” everything while focusing on the horse race instead of the consequences of the election. President Biden needs to use the power of his bully pulpit to focus, over and over and over again, on the consequences of electing this monster for our democracy and the fundamental health of our country.
.....(snip)....
Rich Logis is an ex-MAGA activist and Founder of Leaving MAGA.
.....Americans must electorally mercy-kill the Republican Party; not because we should desire a one-party nation, but because one of America’s two major parties will nominate someone who helped orchestrate a coup d'état against the Constitution—which Trump swore to defend and protect—and the American people—whom he swore to defend and protect—to remain in power. Yes, I admit: I’m catastrophizing. I also did so in 2016, when I thought the Democrats and Hillary Clinton posed existential threats to our nation, and to my family, my livelihood and I. Ignorant I was; now, I’m clearer-minded, and acutely understand MAGA because I actually lived it. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/the-cant-leave-maga--americans-must-electorally-mercy-the-party/
March 11, 2024
(Salon) Former President Donald Trump praised German dictator Adolf Hitler while in the White House, former chief of staff John Kelly told CNN.
Trump repeatedly praised authoritarian leaders while serving as president, Kelly and other former senior advisers told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the former aides said. But his most unnerving praise was for Hitler.
“He said, ‘Well, but Hitler did some good things.’ I said, ‘Well, what?’ And he said, ‘Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.’ But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, ‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing,’” Kelly recalled, according to Sciutto. “I mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison.”
“It’s pretty hard to believe he missed the Holocaust, though, and pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400,000 American GIs that were killed in the European theater,” Kelly added. “But I think it’s more, again, the tough guy thing.” ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/he-said-hitler-did-some-good-things-ex-chief-of-staff-says-praised-hitler-in/?in_brief=true
"He said, Hitler did some good things": Ex-chief of staff says Trump praised Hitler in White House
(Salon) Former President Donald Trump praised German dictator Adolf Hitler while in the White House, former chief of staff John Kelly told CNN.
Trump repeatedly praised authoritarian leaders while serving as president, Kelly and other former senior advisers told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the former aides said. But his most unnerving praise was for Hitler.
“He said, ‘Well, but Hitler did some good things.’ I said, ‘Well, what?’ And he said, ‘Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.’ But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, ‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing,’” Kelly recalled, according to Sciutto. “I mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison.”
“It’s pretty hard to believe he missed the Holocaust, though, and pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400,000 American GIs that were killed in the European theater,” Kelly added. “But I think it’s more, again, the tough guy thing.” ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/he-said-hitler-did-some-good-things-ex-chief-of-staff-says-praised-hitler-in/?in_brief=true
March 11, 2024
(Michigan Advance) U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing), a 2024 U.S. Senate candidate, is scheduled on Monday to unveil her “‘opportunity agenda,” a platform that lays out her priorities to help eliminate barriers to economic opportunities in Michigan’s urban communities, the Michigan Advance has learned.
Slotkin will unveil the agenda in remarks before a group of business, faith and community leaders and elected officials in Detroit, followed by a community conversation. Her policy proposals are the result of dozens of meetings and events with leaders from communities of color across Michigan over the last year. The effort, according to her campaign, was developed in close collaboration with many of those community leaders.
....(snip)....
“In a multi-racial, multi-ethnic country like ours, it’s essential that Americans always have a path to get into the middle class, especially in a place like Michigan,” said Slotkin. “That path has narrowed in recent years, especially for communities of color. After a year of listening to communities across Michigan, we drafted an Opportunity Agenda, which lays out specific things I’d focus on if elected to the U.S. Senate. The Opportunity Agenda was meant to directly answer the question: if elected, what specifically will you do for communities of color in Michigan? I’m grateful to the many community leaders in Detroit and across Michigan who helped craft this plan and provided feedback, and I know that leaders and constituents will use it to hold me accountable to these priorities starting on day one.” ......................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/11/slotkin-to-unveil-opportunity-agenda-in-detroit-including-filibuster-reform/
Slotkin to unveil 'opportunity agenda' in Detroit, including filibuster reform
(Michigan Advance) U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing), a 2024 U.S. Senate candidate, is scheduled on Monday to unveil her “‘opportunity agenda,” a platform that lays out her priorities to help eliminate barriers to economic opportunities in Michigan’s urban communities, the Michigan Advance has learned.
Slotkin will unveil the agenda in remarks before a group of business, faith and community leaders and elected officials in Detroit, followed by a community conversation. Her policy proposals are the result of dozens of meetings and events with leaders from communities of color across Michigan over the last year. The effort, according to her campaign, was developed in close collaboration with many of those community leaders.
....(snip)....
The agenda includes:
* Reducing health disparities by increasing access to quality healthcare, nutritious food, and going after the long-standing problems like infant mortality and Black maternal health
* Expanding early childhood development programs that are proven to work – including Head Start, the expanded Child Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to support parents and families
* Increasing access to capital and federal contracting opportunities for minority businesses, and increasing accountability for lenders
* Reforming the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, which is critical to having an up-or-down vote on key legislation like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which Slotkin has co-sponsored in Congress
“In a multi-racial, multi-ethnic country like ours, it’s essential that Americans always have a path to get into the middle class, especially in a place like Michigan,” said Slotkin. “That path has narrowed in recent years, especially for communities of color. After a year of listening to communities across Michigan, we drafted an Opportunity Agenda, which lays out specific things I’d focus on if elected to the U.S. Senate. The Opportunity Agenda was meant to directly answer the question: if elected, what specifically will you do for communities of color in Michigan? I’m grateful to the many community leaders in Detroit and across Michigan who helped craft this plan and provided feedback, and I know that leaders and constituents will use it to hold me accountable to these priorities starting on day one.” ......................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/11/slotkin-to-unveil-opportunity-agenda-in-detroit-including-filibuster-reform/
March 11, 2024
The MAGA Aesthetic Is Beginning to Rot
The stable of imagery associated with the far-right insurgency no longer seems as fresh as it did when Trump first donned his red cap.
CHRIS LEHMANN
(The Nation) For headline writers and Beltway pundits, the takeaway from last week’s State of the Union address was clear: Despite ongoing speculation about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, he delivered a pugnacious, energetic, and policy-driven speech, which served as the unofficial debut of his 2024 reelection pitch. But beyond the forensic attention devoted to Biden’s delivery from the podium, there was another pronounced theme amid the SOTU pageantry: the corresponding enfeeblement of the MAGA aesthetic, which played such a central role in Donald Trump’s surprise election to the presidency in 2016.
The MAGA brand crisis was telegraphed most dramatically in the immediate run-up to the speech, as Biden did the traditional presidential slow-walk toward the podium, greeting assembled lawmakers along the way. Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene approached Biden wearing a red MAGA hat and handed the president a badge commemorating Laken Riley, the Georgia nurse allegedly murdered by a suspect who entered the country illegally. Greene also sported a “Say Her Name” T-shirt, again in reference to Riley. When Biden espied Greene’s ensemble, he delivered an astonished double take as eloquent as any line in his speech.
....(snip)....
What was most telling about Greene’s stunt wardrobe was the date on the hat: Instead of being minted for the looming 2024 general election, it came from Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, which—despite the lies of Trump, Greene, and other MAGA leaders— he lost decisively. And make no mistake: Greene, a perfect specimen of do-nothing right-wing congressional service, lives for these camera-ready moments of political theater. She certainly didn’t descend to the same level of sartorial carelessness back when she dressed as a Chinese spy balloon.
....(snip)....
To better understand why MAGA iconography is now misfiring, it’s useful to review the original nature of its appeal. The MAGA brand is familiar to anyone who’s watched a half-hour cable TV infomercial: It’s a mass-produced, rather carelessly assembled, badge of self-improvement doubling as a pronouncement on the parlous state of the American republic. It promises the same instant boons to well-being that you’d get from B-grade TV hosts hawking diet gummies or snuggle blankets. The fact that so much of official MAGA ideology is so deeply incoherent is testimony to the many ways that Trumpism is a brand first, and a political affiliation as something of an afterthought. ..............(more)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/maga-aesthetic-trump-style/
The MAGA Aesthetic Is Beginning to Rot
The MAGA Aesthetic Is Beginning to Rot
The stable of imagery associated with the far-right insurgency no longer seems as fresh as it did when Trump first donned his red cap.
CHRIS LEHMANN
(The Nation) For headline writers and Beltway pundits, the takeaway from last week’s State of the Union address was clear: Despite ongoing speculation about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, he delivered a pugnacious, energetic, and policy-driven speech, which served as the unofficial debut of his 2024 reelection pitch. But beyond the forensic attention devoted to Biden’s delivery from the podium, there was another pronounced theme amid the SOTU pageantry: the corresponding enfeeblement of the MAGA aesthetic, which played such a central role in Donald Trump’s surprise election to the presidency in 2016.
The MAGA brand crisis was telegraphed most dramatically in the immediate run-up to the speech, as Biden did the traditional presidential slow-walk toward the podium, greeting assembled lawmakers along the way. Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene approached Biden wearing a red MAGA hat and handed the president a badge commemorating Laken Riley, the Georgia nurse allegedly murdered by a suspect who entered the country illegally. Greene also sported a “Say Her Name” T-shirt, again in reference to Riley. When Biden espied Greene’s ensemble, he delivered an astonished double take as eloquent as any line in his speech.
....(snip)....
What was most telling about Greene’s stunt wardrobe was the date on the hat: Instead of being minted for the looming 2024 general election, it came from Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, which—despite the lies of Trump, Greene, and other MAGA leaders— he lost decisively. And make no mistake: Greene, a perfect specimen of do-nothing right-wing congressional service, lives for these camera-ready moments of political theater. She certainly didn’t descend to the same level of sartorial carelessness back when she dressed as a Chinese spy balloon.
....(snip)....
To better understand why MAGA iconography is now misfiring, it’s useful to review the original nature of its appeal. The MAGA brand is familiar to anyone who’s watched a half-hour cable TV infomercial: It’s a mass-produced, rather carelessly assembled, badge of self-improvement doubling as a pronouncement on the parlous state of the American republic. It promises the same instant boons to well-being that you’d get from B-grade TV hosts hawking diet gummies or snuggle blankets. The fact that so much of official MAGA ideology is so deeply incoherent is testimony to the many ways that Trumpism is a brand first, and a political affiliation as something of an afterthought. ..............(more)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/maga-aesthetic-trump-style/
March 11, 2024
Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán: The American right's most disturbing global alliance grows desperate
We are watching the beginning of a tectonic shift in the world order
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2024 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) I've been following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's increasing influence on the American far right for some time as he hosted the likes of former Fox News celebrity Tucker Carlson and held a CPAC meeting in Budapest. (They're doing it again in April with Orbán once again doing the hosting duties.) He was the darling of a certain faction of the conservative coalition even before Donald Trump won and whose election in 2016 super-charged the "illiberal democracy" ideology here in the U.S. which we now know as MAGA. He likewise hopes to consolidate the European far-right into a MAGA-style movement throughout the continent.
....(snip)....
Trump himself doesn't seem completely sold on that idea since he's pushing for mass round-ups and deportations of non-citizens by National Guard troops and a total lockdown of the country to keep foreigners who "don't like our religion" (or Israel) out of the country. And he's promised to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections" which leans more in the direction of Putin's Russia or Pinochet's Chile. But Orbán's ideas about how to make the government bureaucracy into a patronage operation, gerrymander the legislature in ways that pretty much strangle real democracy while turning the independent media and academia into impotent irrelevancies are being observed very carefully by the Trump 2.0 planners and they will be implemented if they gain power. (It's also the case that Orbán demonized migrants as a political strategy and even built a fence to keep them out, so they do have that in common as well.)
....(snip)....
I'm not sure why anyone questions Donald Trump's intentions when he says things like that. It's always been clear that he is an instinctive autocrat. He couldn't understand why the Department of Justice didn't act as his personal lawyer, for instance, or why he was constrained by the Constitution from exercising power over the entire government. He said repeatedly that he had "an Article II" which allowed him to "do whatever I want" and that the president has "total authority." Even today he argues that the president has "total immunity" which is now pending before the Supreme Court. Of course he admires dictators and autocrats and believes that's what the presidency should be.
....(snip)....
The truth is that Orbán may need Trump more than Trump needs Orbán. He's isolated in Europe and in order to fulfill his larger agenda he needs a friend in the White House, and Joe Biden will not be that. Over the past month, his party has been in turmoil with the resignation of the president and former justice minister over a pardon scandal involving a notorious child sex abuser. This has placed Orban in a difficult position since he has waged a Ron DeSantis-style crusade against LGBTQ rights and pedophilia (which he conflates for political purposes.) .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/donald-and-viktor-orbn-the-american-rights-most-disturbing-global-alliance-grows-desperate/
Donald Trump and Viktor Orbn: The American right's most disturbing global alliance grows desperate
Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán: The American right's most disturbing global alliance grows desperate
We are watching the beginning of a tectonic shift in the world order
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2024 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) I've been following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's increasing influence on the American far right for some time as he hosted the likes of former Fox News celebrity Tucker Carlson and held a CPAC meeting in Budapest. (They're doing it again in April with Orbán once again doing the hosting duties.) He was the darling of a certain faction of the conservative coalition even before Donald Trump won and whose election in 2016 super-charged the "illiberal democracy" ideology here in the U.S. which we now know as MAGA. He likewise hopes to consolidate the European far-right into a MAGA-style movement throughout the continent.
....(snip)....
Trump himself doesn't seem completely sold on that idea since he's pushing for mass round-ups and deportations of non-citizens by National Guard troops and a total lockdown of the country to keep foreigners who "don't like our religion" (or Israel) out of the country. And he's promised to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections" which leans more in the direction of Putin's Russia or Pinochet's Chile. But Orbán's ideas about how to make the government bureaucracy into a patronage operation, gerrymander the legislature in ways that pretty much strangle real democracy while turning the independent media and academia into impotent irrelevancies are being observed very carefully by the Trump 2.0 planners and they will be implemented if they gain power. (It's also the case that Orbán demonized migrants as a political strategy and even built a fence to keep them out, so they do have that in common as well.)
....(snip)....
I'm not sure why anyone questions Donald Trump's intentions when he says things like that. It's always been clear that he is an instinctive autocrat. He couldn't understand why the Department of Justice didn't act as his personal lawyer, for instance, or why he was constrained by the Constitution from exercising power over the entire government. He said repeatedly that he had "an Article II" which allowed him to "do whatever I want" and that the president has "total authority." Even today he argues that the president has "total immunity" which is now pending before the Supreme Court. Of course he admires dictators and autocrats and believes that's what the presidency should be.
....(snip)....
The truth is that Orbán may need Trump more than Trump needs Orbán. He's isolated in Europe and in order to fulfill his larger agenda he needs a friend in the White House, and Joe Biden will not be that. Over the past month, his party has been in turmoil with the resignation of the president and former justice minister over a pardon scandal involving a notorious child sex abuser. This has placed Orban in a difficult position since he has waged a Ron DeSantis-style crusade against LGBTQ rights and pedophilia (which he conflates for political purposes.) .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/11/donald-and-viktor-orbn-the-american-rights-most-disturbing-global-alliance-grows-desperate/
March 10, 2024
He needed a hambulance.
A 52-year-old Florida man thought to be suffering from severe migraines was actually battling a bizarre tapeworm infestation in his brain — caused by eating undercooked bacon.
The unnamed patient, whose tale of medical woe recently wriggled its way into the American Journal of Case Reports, had been complaining of week-long, aggressive headaches over a four-month period after consuming the pesky pork product.
Experts said the individual’s “lifelong preference for soft bacon” wasn’t the sole cause of the specific, bizarre ailment — but rather that the breakfast favorite had gone bad, with undercooking leaving the man exceptionally vulnerable. ..........(more)
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/florida-man-complains-migraines-docs-232005257.html
Man complains of migraines -- docs find tapeworm in his brain from eating undercooked bacon
He needed a hambulance.
A 52-year-old Florida man thought to be suffering from severe migraines was actually battling a bizarre tapeworm infestation in his brain — caused by eating undercooked bacon.
The unnamed patient, whose tale of medical woe recently wriggled its way into the American Journal of Case Reports, had been complaining of week-long, aggressive headaches over a four-month period after consuming the pesky pork product.
Experts said the individual’s “lifelong preference for soft bacon” wasn’t the sole cause of the specific, bizarre ailment — but rather that the breakfast favorite had gone bad, with undercooking leaving the man exceptionally vulnerable. ..........(more)
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/florida-man-complains-migraines-docs-232005257.html
March 10, 2024
Nervous about November? Stop listening to pundits and start defending the president
It's the only way that we are going to defeat the anti-democratic forces that are looking to transform our nation
By BRAD BAUMAN
PUBLISHED MARCH 10, 2024 6:33AM (EDT)
(Salon) This past week’s State of the Union, and the incredibly powerful performance by the President, in any other era, would result in a rash of articles about the strong position he is in as we move closer to the November election. Of course, we don’t live in any other era, and in the post-truth “feelings over facts” timeline in which we live, we know that his opponents are going to double down on their attacks and that is going to fuel even more hot takes about President Biden’s fitness for office from pundits and armchair strategists all over Washington. Some of those takes will repeat deeply offensive and ageist attacks on his mental capacity that were dropped into a special counsel report by a deeply political operative who sought to harm him– despite the fact that the report completely exonerated him of any wrongdoing. That, of course, is the price of doing the right thing in an America that is defined by its MAGA obsession– even when you play by the rules, you will be attacked mercilessly.
Despite the fact that we’ve been living in a world in which a small group of authoritarians surrounding Donald Trump continue to gaslight and attack the rest of us, there are still pundits and operatives who haven’t adapted their strategies and tactics to those realities. They view every single thing said by the abusers as something we need to consider and we need to be afraid of. These conversations end up fueling private conversations at the cocktail parties all over Washington, in which otherwise well-meaning staffers, consultants and strategists discuss and dissect these attacks to the point where they result in big portions of the progressive infrastructure seizing up, unsure of how to react and afraid that whatever they do will be the thing that will propel Trump back to the White House.
....(snip)....
Otherwise convincible voters are looking for leadership and reassurance that the president is strong and that the past four years have been an incredible success. They don’t want to hear us wonder out loud about what Trump’s allies are saying and they definitely don’t want us to lend those attacks credence. Doing so undercuts the campaign’s ability to make a case for the next four years and undercuts our ability to defend democracy against those who are intent on destroying it. Further, there has arguably never been a clearer choice and message between two Presidential candidates as there is in 2024. The Biden presidency has been an astonishing success that prevented our nation from spiraling into failure, restored confidence in our world leadership and created the most successful economic recovery in the post-pandemic world. We just need to get out there and defend it.
....(snip)....
The only way that we are going to defeat the anti-democratic forces that are looking to transform our nation in ways that keep us all up at night is to present a unified opposition. The only thing that our opponents understand is the exercise of force and power. When we equivocate or fail to defend a President who has brought our nation back from the brink of ruin, all they sense is our fear, and all it does is embolden them. Instead of dragging the entire nation into a debate over our President’s fitness, it's time for all of us to do the one thing that will prevent him from losing– get out there and start defending his record. If not, then we’ll all be sitting around in October wondering where things went so wrong. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/10/nervous-about-november-stop-listening-to-pundits-and-start-defending-the/
Nervous about November? Stop listening to pundits and start defending the president
Nervous about November? Stop listening to pundits and start defending the president
It's the only way that we are going to defeat the anti-democratic forces that are looking to transform our nation
By BRAD BAUMAN
PUBLISHED MARCH 10, 2024 6:33AM (EDT)
(Salon) This past week’s State of the Union, and the incredibly powerful performance by the President, in any other era, would result in a rash of articles about the strong position he is in as we move closer to the November election. Of course, we don’t live in any other era, and in the post-truth “feelings over facts” timeline in which we live, we know that his opponents are going to double down on their attacks and that is going to fuel even more hot takes about President Biden’s fitness for office from pundits and armchair strategists all over Washington. Some of those takes will repeat deeply offensive and ageist attacks on his mental capacity that were dropped into a special counsel report by a deeply political operative who sought to harm him– despite the fact that the report completely exonerated him of any wrongdoing. That, of course, is the price of doing the right thing in an America that is defined by its MAGA obsession– even when you play by the rules, you will be attacked mercilessly.
Despite the fact that we’ve been living in a world in which a small group of authoritarians surrounding Donald Trump continue to gaslight and attack the rest of us, there are still pundits and operatives who haven’t adapted their strategies and tactics to those realities. They view every single thing said by the abusers as something we need to consider and we need to be afraid of. These conversations end up fueling private conversations at the cocktail parties all over Washington, in which otherwise well-meaning staffers, consultants and strategists discuss and dissect these attacks to the point where they result in big portions of the progressive infrastructure seizing up, unsure of how to react and afraid that whatever they do will be the thing that will propel Trump back to the White House.
....(snip)....
Otherwise convincible voters are looking for leadership and reassurance that the president is strong and that the past four years have been an incredible success. They don’t want to hear us wonder out loud about what Trump’s allies are saying and they definitely don’t want us to lend those attacks credence. Doing so undercuts the campaign’s ability to make a case for the next four years and undercuts our ability to defend democracy against those who are intent on destroying it. Further, there has arguably never been a clearer choice and message between two Presidential candidates as there is in 2024. The Biden presidency has been an astonishing success that prevented our nation from spiraling into failure, restored confidence in our world leadership and created the most successful economic recovery in the post-pandemic world. We just need to get out there and defend it.
....(snip)....
The only way that we are going to defeat the anti-democratic forces that are looking to transform our nation in ways that keep us all up at night is to present a unified opposition. The only thing that our opponents understand is the exercise of force and power. When we equivocate or fail to defend a President who has brought our nation back from the brink of ruin, all they sense is our fear, and all it does is embolden them. Instead of dragging the entire nation into a debate over our President’s fitness, it's time for all of us to do the one thing that will prevent him from losing– get out there and start defending his record. If not, then we’ll all be sitting around in October wondering where things went so wrong. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/10/nervous-about-november-stop-listening-to-pundits-and-start-defending-the/
March 10, 2024
The state of Alabama hypocrisy
A twisted version of rogue Christianity governs my deep-red home state in matters of life, death and control
By RANDALL HORTON
PUBLISHED MARCH 10, 2024 8:59AM (EDT)
(Salon) Last year, I wrote an article titled, “Damn right, I come from Alabama” in response to the Montgomery brawl that captured the nation’s attention for weeks.
I made a bold remark that Alabama was finally on the right side of history in terms of how it is viewed by others outside the state, for once: footage of Black folk standing up for themselves in the face of blatant racism went viral. However, I must admit, after the article ran, I privately contemplated how many days, minutes, seconds would it take for Alabama to reassume its stupidity-throne with some backward, ignorant thing that would once again recrown it as the epitome of whistling Dixie.
....(snip)....
To pull the covers off this Christian hypocrisy, follow me back to January 25, 2024, when Alabama made international news in how it killed a man on death row. The execution was a heinous, immoral and outright shocking display of vitriolic violence, incorporating a procedure that had never been used before. Of course, leave it for Alabama to be the worldwide leader in all things ignorant — or as they say down South, ignant. Allow me to give you the visual: a contraption resembling a diver’s helmet was placed on Kenneth Eugene Smith as he awaited death. One could surmise Mr. Smith looked like a deep sea diver or an astronaut, except his only exploration would be via a one-way ticket to the great beyond.
....(snip)....
This is what the new generation would call a WTF moment in history. Right after Alabama suffocates a human being to death, the state then spins its own narrative spin with yet another spin. How can the state kill a human being and yet say it is immoral to kill a human being? I would love to ask the powers that be within the state the following question: Are not all human beings molded in your God’s image? Or is this a selective God that will sanction murder in the same breath as condone it? .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/10/the-state-of-alabama-hypocrisy/
The state of Alabama hypocrisy
The state of Alabama hypocrisy
A twisted version of rogue Christianity governs my deep-red home state in matters of life, death and control
By RANDALL HORTON
PUBLISHED MARCH 10, 2024 8:59AM (EDT)
(Salon) Last year, I wrote an article titled, “Damn right, I come from Alabama” in response to the Montgomery brawl that captured the nation’s attention for weeks.
I made a bold remark that Alabama was finally on the right side of history in terms of how it is viewed by others outside the state, for once: footage of Black folk standing up for themselves in the face of blatant racism went viral. However, I must admit, after the article ran, I privately contemplated how many days, minutes, seconds would it take for Alabama to reassume its stupidity-throne with some backward, ignorant thing that would once again recrown it as the epitome of whistling Dixie.
....(snip)....
To pull the covers off this Christian hypocrisy, follow me back to January 25, 2024, when Alabama made international news in how it killed a man on death row. The execution was a heinous, immoral and outright shocking display of vitriolic violence, incorporating a procedure that had never been used before. Of course, leave it for Alabama to be the worldwide leader in all things ignorant — or as they say down South, ignant. Allow me to give you the visual: a contraption resembling a diver’s helmet was placed on Kenneth Eugene Smith as he awaited death. One could surmise Mr. Smith looked like a deep sea diver or an astronaut, except his only exploration would be via a one-way ticket to the great beyond.
....(snip)....
This is what the new generation would call a WTF moment in history. Right after Alabama suffocates a human being to death, the state then spins its own narrative spin with yet another spin. How can the state kill a human being and yet say it is immoral to kill a human being? I would love to ask the powers that be within the state the following question: Are not all human beings molded in your God’s image? Or is this a selective God that will sanction murder in the same breath as condone it? .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/10/the-state-of-alabama-hypocrisy/
March 9, 2024
Biden said Republicans oppose women's rights — Katie Britt's "tradwife" response proved him right
The "pro-life" lie gives way to GOP leaders denouncing women's suffrage and attacking birth control
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 9, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) Politicians love to talk about their families, but in her Thursday night response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. went even further, portraying her powerful position as little more than the hobby of a housewife. While allowing that it's an "honor" to be a senator, Britt argued, "that’s not the job that matters most." Instead, she said her real job is to be "a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids."
Britt seemed to want viewers to imagine her in an apron, gazing lovingly upon her family and realizing she must sacrifice some measure of domesticity for "the future of children." It's all nonsense, of course. She is exactly the "permanent politician" she accused Biden of being, as any perusal of her resume will show. Britt holds a political science degree and law degree from the University of Alabama. She went straight from graduation to work on the staff of her predecessor, Sen. Richard Shelby. She worked in private practice and government, but never as a full-time stay-at-home mother.
And yet, even as her colleagues were in D.C. for the speech, Britt framed herself as a hausfrau, talking about how "my husband, Wesley, and I just watched President Biden’s State of the Union Address from our living room." Her address was filmed from her kitchen with an aesthetic that former White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri mocked as "'tradwife," which is internet slang for "traditional wife." As feminist writer Jill Filipovic wrote, Britt's was a message of who women should be: "Afraid, valued only for being mothers, and in the kitchen." Republicans didn't even bother to hide the sexist nostalgia they were angling for. As the New York Times reported, talking points circulated before the speech suggested Republicans call her "America's mom."
....(snip)....
The mask has been slipping for a while, as Republicans adore Trump, a man who bragged on tape about how much he loves to sexually assault women. Britt's bizarre speech Thursday night is part of a larger effort by the Christian right to put a cheerful face on their repressive and hateful policy preferences. Thankfully, most in the press seemed to see right through her, and even the loudest MAGA voices were disappointed at Britt's failed efforts at playing the frightened housewife. But more work needs to be done to link her strange performance to the full-scale assault Republicans are launching against women's rights. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/09/biden-said-oppose-womens-rights--katie-britts-tradwife-response-proved-him-right/
Biden said Republicans oppose women's rights -- Katie Britt's "tradwife" response proved him right
Biden said Republicans oppose women's rights — Katie Britt's "tradwife" response proved him right
The "pro-life" lie gives way to GOP leaders denouncing women's suffrage and attacking birth control
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MARCH 9, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) Politicians love to talk about their families, but in her Thursday night response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. went even further, portraying her powerful position as little more than the hobby of a housewife. While allowing that it's an "honor" to be a senator, Britt argued, "that’s not the job that matters most." Instead, she said her real job is to be "a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids."
Britt seemed to want viewers to imagine her in an apron, gazing lovingly upon her family and realizing she must sacrifice some measure of domesticity for "the future of children." It's all nonsense, of course. She is exactly the "permanent politician" she accused Biden of being, as any perusal of her resume will show. Britt holds a political science degree and law degree from the University of Alabama. She went straight from graduation to work on the staff of her predecessor, Sen. Richard Shelby. She worked in private practice and government, but never as a full-time stay-at-home mother.
And yet, even as her colleagues were in D.C. for the speech, Britt framed herself as a hausfrau, talking about how "my husband, Wesley, and I just watched President Biden’s State of the Union Address from our living room." Her address was filmed from her kitchen with an aesthetic that former White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri mocked as "'tradwife," which is internet slang for "traditional wife." As feminist writer Jill Filipovic wrote, Britt's was a message of who women should be: "Afraid, valued only for being mothers, and in the kitchen." Republicans didn't even bother to hide the sexist nostalgia they were angling for. As the New York Times reported, talking points circulated before the speech suggested Republicans call her "America's mom."
....(snip)....
The mask has been slipping for a while, as Republicans adore Trump, a man who bragged on tape about how much he loves to sexually assault women. Britt's bizarre speech Thursday night is part of a larger effort by the Christian right to put a cheerful face on their repressive and hateful policy preferences. Thankfully, most in the press seemed to see right through her, and even the loudest MAGA voices were disappointed at Britt's failed efforts at playing the frightened housewife. But more work needs to be done to link her strange performance to the full-scale assault Republicans are launching against women's rights. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/03/09/biden-said-oppose-womens-rights--katie-britts-tradwife-response-proved-him-right/
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