As Trump seems to be doing a speed run to destroy the United States Government and solidify permanent one party rule, it can be easy to gloss over any one particular scandal. That's by design, btw. They're using a blitzkrieg approach, where they overwhelm us all with a continuous stream of ridiculous and egregious moves to the point where it becomes hard to recall any given event. What ends up happening is that the average person (that is, someone who doesn't pay too close attention to politics) may not remember anything of substance - that's the plan. They want it so that it all gets muddy to the point where everything blurs together, to the point where you don't know what's even true anymore.
It's important then for us to focus in on these events and scandals, examine what Trump and his criminal pals actually say and do, educate ourselves and our neighbors. We must not let anything get memory holed.
Anyway, please check out the video, because Trump is a god damned idiot, and it's important that we don't forget how much of a monster this man is.
Hey folks, so if you've been paying attention to politics over the last week you can see the Trump people are using a blitzkrieg-like approach, to overwhelm the media cycle with the stupid and outlandish, and while everyone is too busy being distracted by whatever idiotic thing they're then able to sneak in some truly odious policies. This is literally right out of the fascist playbook, and when I say that I'm not being hyperbolic. Hitler did the same thing after he was elected - one crazy policy change after another in rapid succession - and by May of 1933 he was essentially a dictator for life. The Trump people are going full steam ahead with that gameplan.
It's important then for us to be vigilant and not let anything slip through the cracks, and also to focus in on those policy changes and executive orders which will affect us all in our daily lives. To this end I decided to review some of what I think are the more odious and insane executive orders President Cheeto-face McSphincterMouth signed in his first week.
Jesus, it's only been a week and we're already in chaos.
So the good news is that after more than a year a cease fire has been brokered which will pause the genocide in Gaza. The bad news is that it's a cease fire, and not a peace agreement, and it comes far too late. 46,600 people have already been killed (please keep in mind, this is a lower estimate. The real number is probably several times this.) Will this allow the Palestinians to return home, and to begin rebuilding their lives? Nope. And after forty five days the wonton slaughter will start up all over again.
It's an incredibly shitty for Biden to go out, and it's hugely disappointing. I want to say that Biden is probably the best president I've had in my lifetime, except for how he handled the genocide in Gaza. He blew it so bad the republicans are taking power with a trifecta. Nobody is going to remember the good things that Biden did - the student debt relief, pardoning of non-violent drug offenders, the Afghan withdrawal, rescheduling marijuana, and so on. Now until the end of time whenever anyone looks back on Biden they're going to associate his name with "Genocide." Truly a pathetic end for someone who could have been a great president.
For those of you who voted for Trump and thought Trump was somehow going to end the war in Gaza, you're in for a rude awakening. One doesn't have to have psychic powers to know Trump is going to make everything worse. If you have family or friends in Gaza then it's time to start praying, because that will literally be more effective than trying to get Trump to do the right thing.
Do any of you out there remember Jordan Neely? Don't feel bad if you can't, his was but just another tragedy in the endless stream of shitstorms that have been the last couple of years. Long story short, Jordan Neely was a homeless person who was essentially murdered by yet another white vigilante, strangled to death for the crime of being hungry and shouting at people on the subway.
See, the right wing in this country really likes vigilantes, on two conditions: 1) The Vigilante is white, and 2) The Victim is black, or a "liberal." The first pseudo-example I remember of this was George Zimmerman, the shooter of Trayvon Martin back in 2015. He didn't fit the profile exactly (Zimmerman was a latino after all,) but the next example sure did: Kyle Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse was the first white vigilante to parlay the death of his victims into a full blown career as a right-wing influencer, and he rode the grifter wave hard. He did all the talk shows, did guest appearances at TP USA events, went on all the right-wing chud grifter podcasts, and even has his own video game FFS. The right wing media machine saw they had a star, and they used Rittenhouse to spread their hateful agenda just as much as Rittenhouse used them for monetary gain. And all he had to do was blow two people away.
But all stars eventually fade. Rittenhouse just doesn't turn heads the way he used to. Sure he's still a Z-grade conservative grifter celebrity - but when was the last time Rittenhouse was in the news? So the right wing hate machine as been trying to create a new white vigilante superstar ever since. A few may-have-beens have come and gone in the last few years - the guy who shot two people to death in Panama for the crime of protesting in the road comes to mind - but nobody has had the same kind of pull that Rittenhouse had, nobody has had that same pizzazz. Nobody except for Daniel Penny.
Daniel Penny has it all - he's young, he's white, he's an ex-marine. He could easily pass for your typical American male, the kind of guy who drives a pickup truck and knows a little too much about football. He also has what Rittenhouse doesn't: He's tall, he's reasonably good looking. He doesn't look like an overgrown child. You don't expect to see his mom show up to bring him his inhaler. He looks tough.
And the right-wing media A-holes have been pushing Daniel Penny over the last few weeks, and pushing him hard. He's been on Fox Nation, been interviewed with that drunken maniac Janine Piro. JD Vance had him as a special guest during the Army-Navy football game. This is only the beginning for Daniel Penny, as it's plain as day his future as a conservative white vigilante Maga Grifter is there for the taking so should he choose. And thus the right-wing hate machine chugs ever onward, exploiting those by whom it is also exploited by, spreading hate and fear and making Republicans rich at the expense of everything else that really matters.
All it took was one hungry man being strangled to death because he made too much noise.
So unless you've been living on a deserted island you know what's been going on with the United Healthcare CEO shooting. And honestly I'm not surprised this has happened, in fact I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more often.
More than anything, I see this whole story as a failure of leadership. Corporate oppression is an issue that cuts across party lines, especially when it comes to health insurance - we ALL get the spikey dildo from the insurance companies, and everyone hates them. But when was the last time you heard anyone talking about it? When was the last time you heard any politician try to take on the health insurance companies? Where are the leaders on the left and in the democratic party on this, what are they doing and what is their plan? And I say "democrat" and "the left" because the conservatives and Republicans have already shown us they could care less if you live or die. Republicans do not give a shit if you have insurance. Trump has had eight years, and he still only has "concepts" of a plan. (Anyone remember when he claimed his healthcare plan would be unveiled in "two weeks?" Those were the days.)
I just wish that it didn't take a rich person getting blown away for us to start talking about the problems in this country.
President Biden has finally done what he should've done two years ago and pardoned his son Hunter, and for some reason this seems to be causing rending of clothing and gnashing of teeth amongst the Democratic establishment. This is mainly because I think the Democrats, as an institution, are not adverse to abusing power, but rather don't like the appearance of doing so. This is very different from the Republicans, who just do whatever they want and dgaf. I think if there's one lesson that the Democrats need to learn about their massive failure in 2024, it's that it really doesn't matter anymore what a president does, what he says, or even what his policies are - all that really matters is how people feel. I mean, Trump does and says the most horrible things and his policies are complete dogshit that ruin people's lives, but somehow people still vote for him - and when he does stuff like pardon Steve Bannon for ripping off his own followers to the tune of a million dollars nobody said a god damn thing. It was barely in the news for more than an afternoon. Maybe the Democrats should learn the lesson and start actually not worrying about optics so much.
Also, if the idea of a president using his power to directly benefit himself and his family enrages you, then get ready because you're really going to hate the next four years. That's what happens when people don't vote.
Back in 2016 when Hillary was the favorite to win the election all the Trump people started threatening a second civil war if he lost. In 2020 when it was clear Biden was going to take it they did the same thing - and then they showed up at the capital in a giant mob and tried to murder Congress and stop the certification on January 6th. Now four years later Trump is finally starting to be held accountable for the crime of trying to steal the election, and the MAGA chud douchebags are threatening violence again. These morons have been screaming for a second civil war now for years, crying like little babies every time they lose an election, coming up with ever more ridiculous conspiracy theories, and blaming everyone but themselves as to why they fail so much. I say bring it assholes.
What really gets me is that these idiots are ready to rip the country apart over Donald Trump, who is quite possibly the most vile, corrupt, and overall selfish human being who's ever been involved in American politics. This is the one man who truly does not give a flying shit about anyone other than himself. His every action is calculated purely for his own gain. He would literally sell each and every one of these red-hat wearing morons out without a second thought, and yet millions of these dupes are ready to destroy their own country to support him. It's truly depressing.
I always thought that the United States would collapse due to something like a world war or some other grand catastrophe. I didn't know all it would take is one piece of shit reality TV star.
